You might look into making a separate discussion thread on
/questdis/. That seems to be par for the course here.

But I'm not your momma. Whatever works.

That is indeed often the best course of action, since it works as a home-base for your quest between threads and is a good way to more easily sort discussion, worldbuilding, your own thoughts, etc, from the main plotline. It's in no way required, and there's no minimum number of posts or anything you need to start yours up. Board is here: http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questdis/.

You're also welcome to make a wiki page for your quest: http://tgchan.org/wiki/Main_Page
Someone will probably make it for you soonish and usually the author doesn't have to worry about keeping the links or anything up to date but it can be handy for keeping track of things your audience might want to refer to, etc.

sort of a subsection of
> “You got more information on the Indigenous?”

"know why the indigenous can breathe the air and we can't? i know you said some weird particle, but what makes it safe for them and not for us?"

>>782542
That sounds like a cluster fuck and a half.

>>782547
>Make a thread
>Make another thread
>Different tabs, for different stuff

Hokay, Chief.

>>782545
I'll see about maybe doing it later. But since things are quite slow, I imagine this one thread might suit things well enough.

>>782553
I already have enough tabs. As disorganized as it sounds, I like having things in one place. It's organized chaos.

>>782520
> Other
-What are the biggest problems besides security and air full of magic disease?
-How far have the microbiome sequencing and ecology efforts gotten?
-How close are we to inoculations against the local air?
-I'll need a full briefing and information feed on the local politics in order to plan things like tagging and tracking, long term observation blinds, and access to native people's records. Who do I talk to about that and how do I avoid stepping on toes?

Right, we'll resume story posts tomorrow-ish.

> “You got more information on the Indigenous?”
> Other

You smile, forcibly. “Actually, I do have some questions.” Staff Sergeant Espinoza doesn't look amused but he certainly isn't stopping you. He motions you two to stand up and follow him. “First off, what more information do we have about the Indigenous? Why can they breathe air and we can't? Is it something to do with the air?”

“The team dealing with researching the atmosphere of the New World state that the particles in the air are breathable,” says Espinoza as he kindly opens the door for you. Estelle is there, surprised, apparently listening in. He quickly motions for her to follow him as well. Thus your group gets a bit bigger. “The current and most likely theory they have is that the locals are simply more accustomed to the air than we are, having been breathing it since birth. They dissect cadavers of the local animals like deer or wolves or rabbits or whatever, can't find much difference from our comparative animals.” Wow. This man is speaking as if he were a scientist. You quickly take out a notepad from your vest and start writing things down. “The reason it's not safe for us to breathe is because we're not accustomed to it.”

“So why the gas masks then?” you ask.

“Lot of strange diseases travel by air so says our guides and the dwarves. Not to mention spellcasters. They can manipulate that magic, force poison down our throats by that conduit. I don't want to risk it, General McDowell doesn't want to risk it, I'm sure you don't want to risk it either. Inoculation is possible but progress is slow simply because we don't know much else about how this stuff works,” he explains.

Estelle blinks, looking at Espinoza. “Wow, Staff Sergeant. You're being unusually helpful today.”

Espinoza glares at Estelle. “Would you prefer I leave you to choke to death outside the wire?” he asks. Estelle rolls her eyes. “This place is dangerous, don't underestimate it.” The four of you walk up to an elevator, and he presses a button by the doors to summon it. “Besides that, the gas masks are for the safety of the Indigenous as well. We inoculate everybody for earthborne disease but you never know when someone's going to get a fever or something and suddenly it turns into some Black Death across the Continent just because they coughed on one of the guides.”

“Well, other than that, what about the microbiome-” He holds up a hand. Then points to his badge. Security. “... right. You don't-”

“I'm a soldier, not a scientist.”

“Well, other than that. I- I'd need a whole briefing on what I'll be doing here. Information on local politics, the native fauna, how we're supposed to observe and study the environment,” you explain. Of course, going by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle -you change something by studying it- perhaps this might be a bit pointless to ask. Observing something will change it. And obviously considering the usage of drones, scout teams, helicopters to recon the continent, not to mention the use of local muscle, hell it's likely the ITA's presence is probably already known.

“I'll let the Director handle that.” The four of you step into the elevator once it arrives.

-

-

“This is one thing we are after here.” Director Enzo Amalberti holds up a baseball-sized ball of Adamantium, one of the new metals discovered on this side of the Portal. “This little ball of Adamantium can pay off the student loans of every student on your campus, Doctor Brown. And on Doctor Schurz, and on Doctor er...” He glances at Diana, then shakes his head. Diana frowns a bit at that. He hefts it up into his hand, walking around the Command Center, leading you all on. “There's a good amount of it on Vespucci Island, we already have the Dwarves mining it for us, we drown those little midgets with cigarettes, liquor, and occasionally some gold bars. They won't tell us how to refine it into something usable but here we are.” He continues showing off the shiny grey ball to each of you.

“And they're using that on the Space Shuttles now?” you ask.

“Yep. NASA pays us an arm and a leg for it,” says Director Amalberti. “Half the weight of aluminum, but three times as hard as steel. This thing is practically a supermetal. But, we're running out of it in the mines of Vespucci Island.”

“How long?” you ask. You lean on the central map table, showing off the continent in full.

“Two years,” he says. “Then the Adamantium will be exhausted. I've already got ships searching for places where we can find crude oil and some Banana Republic, hehe...” He snickers a bit, continuing to play with the ball in his hands. “They want to send over logging teams to start chopping wood down.”

“But.” Estelle firmly interjects. “We're not here to loot the place, Director. We're here to study the environment, understand what goes on, it's why you hired us.”

“Yes, yes...” Director Amalberti waves it off, then shoves the ball of Adamantium in his hands. “Doctor Brown. You and Doctor Schurz are going to spearhead a survey expedition into the mainland.” You freeze. Wait. What. That wasn't mentioned. Staff Sergeant Espinoza folds his arms, looking at you expectantly. “Doctor er... Diana will accompany you. Staff Sergeant Espinoza will as well along with a team of select researchers and Security Officers. Your job will be to survey the land, make contact with the locals, get them to see things our way if you can. Try and pave the way for future expansion. We'll give you as much as you need. You'll have vehicles, you'll have choppers, you'll have equipment, you'll have the lot. We can clear you a landing site for you to set up a basecamp. We just need you to-”

“Hold on.” Director Amalberti rolls his eyes, looking to Estelle. “Before you say anymore. You're speaking as if you're deploying a small army to the mainland.”

“That's the intent,” says Staff Sergeant Espinoza. “We'll be safe if we exercise force over the Indigenous.”

“Director.” Estelle places her hands on her hips, glaring at Espinoza and the Director. “Listen, I know security and safety is paramount. But you can't just clear away a landing site and build a whole outpost on the mainland. The Indigenous probably already know we're here, yes. Who knows what they think we are. If we roll in with choppers, trucks, guns blazing, clearing woodland away. They'll think we're invaders.”

Director Amalberti snorts at that. “Ha! You think a bunch of people with bows and arrows are going to do anything against a chopper and a lot of guns?”

“I'm afraid what will happen if they try to do something,” says Estelle.

“Doctor Brown.” Director Amalberti turns to you. “Ultimately, it's up to you. But, Doctor Schurz here is a noted skeptic of basically everything we do here.” Estelle gives that motherly looking frown at him, then at you.

> “Give me a small team and a small security detail. And we can do the work.”
> “Give me as much as you can give me. I'd prefer security.”
> “I need some more time to think on this.”
> Other

we need a small but tough team. capable of defending itself but not so big it scares some magic man into sending dragons at us. and if we can slowly worm our way into being GIVEN an area on the mainland to build up a base then we can make a castle the likes they have never seen and they wont think anything of it, because fortifying land you own is completely normal.


unrelated. the mask thing at least means if someone breaks our mask we wont just suddenly die. also also we can take it off and hold our breath to show we aren't a mask wearing monster or something then put it back on before talking.

>>783430
> “Give me a small team and a small security detail. And we can do the work.”

Wouldn't it make sense to dress our team in renaissance garb, then supplement with cloth mag pouches, etc? Keep the modern gear out of immediate sight, except the weapons?

A bunch of clean shaven guys with buzzcuts and gasmasks is going to look like a death cult.

> “Give me a small team and a small security detail. And we can do the work.”

“Give me a small team and a proportional security detail as well. Vehicles we can decide on later.” The Director and Espinoza glance at each other. You can tell quite clearly they're skeptical. Most people are into that instant gratification stuff, they like throwing resources at the wall and seeing it pay off quickly. But you explain it like this, “The study of a new world like this, it's a slow burn process. The ITA's been here for five years already. It's made contact with the Dwarves and the Dog and Cat... people. It's worked out well, all things considered. Our introduction into the mainland has to be slow burn too. We can't just launch ourselves over the water and expect the Indigenous to immediately accept us. You don't bring weapons or wear strange masks and clothing or ride metal flying machines into a man's property unless you're looking for a fight. This has to be subtle.”

“What? You dress up in robes and play Shakespeare?” asks Director Amalberti. He laughs uproariously. “Hahaha!” The four of you stay quiet, awkwardly. “Ahaha! Fine, fine. You'll get your way, Doctor Brown. But listen, we have to protect our assets here.” He drops the laughter and looks at you with a very forced smile on his face. “I get my ass lit up by the UN Oversight committees every time someone dies in a scouting party or we lose a helicopter or a drone. You fail out here, that's my job gone. That's your job gone. That is if you er...” He shrugs. “Well, I shouldn't have to remind you.”

“The Interworld Transit Authority's mission is to regulate the flow of resources in and out of the New World and explore it. That means making peaceful contact with the Indigenous,” says Estelle. “-Peaceful- contact, Director. Staff Sergeant.” Espinoza simply nods at that, understanding. “We don't exactly want to repeat Christopher Columbus out here.”

“Why not? He got a holiday!” says Director Amalberti. You snicker. Okay, that was actually pretty funny. “Look. Your business is your own. Just make sure you don't laze about or go completely native smoking the local weed and sampling the local tail either. My job here is to manage the Compound, and I love that job. In the rear with the gear. You eggheads do the work for me. Alright?” You and Estelle nod. “Good.” He pats the map table, then motions for a technician. “Hey, hey, techie! Print the good Doctors a map! Doctor Brown.” He points at you. “Don't let me down. If you make contact with the locals, let them know we come in peace. All we want are some resources. And we are willing to trade. It can be carrot.” He points past you, down to the large numbers of attack helicopters on the airstrip. “Or it can be stick. Got it?”

“Yes, Director,” you nod. One of the technicians hands you a freshly printed map of the World.

“This is what our drones know of the area so far,” says the techie. Very... crude. “It's not the most complete map. Nor is it the best. I mean, we've spotted a number of minor rivers in the northeast plains, and there are singular forests along the northern mountain ranges.”

“Do we know anything else beyond this map?” you ask.

“No sir,” says the techie. “This is the absolute range of most of our air vehicles.”

Estelle says, “Right. We better get the team put together. I can put you through to Helmut in the Garage. The Director's already having him work on vehicles for us.”

“So where do we start then?” asks Espinoza.

> Get the vehicles together.
> Select a landing site.
> Get the team together.
> Other

>smoking the local weed
Never on duty, sir.
>and sampling the local tail either.
No promises there.

Landing site first. That dictates the vehicles we'll need and who to bring. A southern landing near the forest looks like it'll be in a more peaceful area, and along the border of two countries. The road network's closer, too. Who built that wall, though?
Do the goblinoids appear to have at least a tribal civilization? And uh, do those guardian rocks actually do any guarding?

>>783489
> Get the team together.

>>783492
The Guardian Pillar Rocks are so named because they're gigantic mountain-sized rock pillars. Their straight and square shapes indicate they likely used to be part of some kind of sea wall before age probably wore it all down. Basic ships and aircraft can pass through fine.

Is that an island in the SW cluster of guardian stones? Would be a respectable place to build a refueling, and launch helicopter strikes from.

The ideal location for a land base would be between the 2 major avenues, backed by the forest for lumber.

I guess we should meet our team.

So we have a voracious appetite for a super metal and we're willing to use force to secure additional deposits of it... but we're not invaders, here to loot the place.

I think I saw this in a movie once...

Yeah-no we totally are invaders and we totally are here to loot the place, even if it's a very specific kind of loot.

The way I see it there's three ways this plays out:

>We go abandon any notion of exploiting this world for resources and stick to pure research.

>We try to obtain adamantium ethically. Set up tradeposts and make it known that we will pay "top dollar" for it. Buy top dollar I mean stuff like medieval equipment made using modern materials and techniques. Simple pharmaceuticals that are common to us but would be potentially life saving to the locals e.g anti-biotics.
Basically stuff that would be very desirable to the locals that only we could provide, without introducing anything "beyond their tech level" or that would radically change their way of life.

>We (or at least our bosses) don't pretend to be the good guys. We secure the adamantium via any means necessary without apology or excuse and forfeit the right to get mad when the entire continent unites against us.

>>783608
If only we would be so lucky as to run into giant blue alien catgirls here too. I think we'll have to look for a hill giant or an orc instead.

i propose south east of the west most branch of the river. practically on the river if we can. meet locals, tell them we are traders from across the pond. technically true.


also also, we should see if there are any tests with introducing things to the local air. like putting a cow in a room and pumping air in and seeing what happens to it.

> Get the team together.

-

-

You decide that a small team of about thirty people will suffice. Twenty people will be Security detail armed with their standard FN FAL (ammunition of 7.62x51mm NATO SLAP rounds) rifles. At Staff Sergeant Espinoza's insistence, you also allowed special equipment to brought over for the expedition. There will be four Barrett M82 anti-materiel rifles, an M2 Browning, a Milkor MGL, machetes for clearing brush, incendiary grenades as well as a flamethrower... “Staff Sergeant.” You and Espinoza walk to the briefing room as you go over the list. “This all seems kind of extreme.”

“We're going into unexplored territory with just thirty people, you cannot have too much ammunition,” he states simply. “I know you want subtlety, but this is for your own safety as well. This is the absolute most subtle we can get short of bringing over a tank.”

“We have tanks?” you ask.

“Well, if the UN would allow us to deploy the Challengers on the mainland, maybe,” he mutters.

You roll your eyes. “Well. I'll consider the list. Come on, let's meet the team.” You press your badge against the cardreader next to the door, then let yourself inside the large briefing room. Inside were selected personnel that Estelle had told you would be excellent for the expedition at hand. Twenty Security troopers including Espinoza, eight civilian staff including Diana and Estelle, two indigenous guides. That made thirty one in total including yourself. They sat near the front. And already you could see some tobacco smoke up in the air.

A Dwarf smoking a cigarette. He leant back in his seat, cigarette lit between his lips, his smoky grey beard done in some lazy braids and his eyes barely visible beneath that straw hat of his. His attire was a simple, and probably custom, olive drab boiler suit. Probably an engineer assigned to the expedition.

And waiting patiently squatting on the ground, holding their rifles were you two indigenous guides. A male and a female dog... person. Officially they're referred to as the Canids and the cat versions of these people as the Felines. But they refer to themselves exclusively as -Teranaken-. You weren't specifically briefed on who they were and where they came from, but there was a decent hamlet full of them on Vespucci which the ITA made contact with. But the Teranaken, despite their helpfulness in understanding the fauna at least, refuse to elaborate on the local politics, either because they have no understanding of politics or because of more personal reasons. Their attire was more built for travel, for the male a set of camo pants and boots and a tactical webbing over his bare chest. And for the female some short shorts, a tank top, and a cargo vest. Their ears twitched as they waited for your spiel.

“Alright.” You step forward and allow Espinoza to take his seat in the back with the rest of the troopers. “How about we all introduce ourselves? First the civilian staff, then we'll get to the security detail since there's so many of you.” The Security team doesn't seem to care. Riiight. “Estelle?”

Estelle raises her hand, smiling. “Doctor Estelle Schurz, Anthropology.”

Diana nods. “Diana Szczepanski, Biology.”

And now for the unfamiliar faces. A man with long unkempt hair, glasses tucked beneath a hat like some dusty paleontologist straight from Montana. He raises his hand, smiling at you. “I'm Doctor Hal Porter. Botany, University of Virginia.”

The next man, much leaner looking with a bald spot in his brown hair and wrinkles on his face. “Doctor Ephraim Strauss. Geology with the Humboldt University of Berlin.” He folds his arms, looking around the room a bit.

And the next man over with a high-vis vest over his plaid shirt and dirty blue jeans and work boots. He brushes back his curly black hair, nodding politely. “Helmut Strauss. Engineering.” He motions to the Dwarf next to him. “This is my Dwarf assistant, Ollin.” Ollin grunts, greeting you in the native speak.

“Hasa.”

Right. Next. A man with darker skin, a moustache, and hair hidden beneath a baseball cap. “Doctor Ajay Rao, chemistry at the university at Delhi.” He speaks with an Indian accent.

And last but not least. She raises her hand, smiling. “Doctor Yuri Sawamura. Medical. Saitama Medical School.” Great, an ethologist, an anthropologist, a biologist, a botanist, a geologist, his engineer brother and his dwarf assistant, a chemist, and a medical doctor.

“Right. You've all been chosen for this expedition into the mainland,” you say. You clap your hands together, smiling at all of them. “This mission is to be done with subtle, and with as little interference into the lives of the Indigenous as possible. Are we clear?” Everyone nods, saying yes politely. “Good.”

> “So how about we get to know each other? We're going to be stuck with each for the next year most likely.”
> “Let's get to selecting a landing site.”
> “How about the Security Team introduce themselves? They are going to be our guardian angels for a while.”
> Other

let the security team speak, we don't want to make them think the science team doesn't care for them. that results in getting ditched when the going gets tough.

>>783489
>“Do we know anything else beyond this map?” you ask.

>“No sir,” says the techie. “This is the absolute range of most of our air vehicles.”

Nobody's dragged through a Dnepr/Shtil/Start-1 and launched a mapping satellite into a polar orbit?

>Weaponry
With a 30 man team, we're looking at 5-6 humvees, yes?
Might make more sense to mount M2s or M60s on each one, or a mix.
A second grenade launcher could be useful, as could tear gas rounds. It's the difference between a diplomatic incident, and killing someone important.

Sidearms for the scientific staff, at their discretion? A MP7 or something wouldn't get too bulky.

What did the dwarf, and the dogmen do before they threw in their lot with us? Were they closer to serfs or nobles?

>>783642
It's on the top of the ITA's extensive to-do list. They know which way north-south-east-west is and that the planet is actually both round and of similar size to Earth. The first five years of the ITA's incursion into Farava was mostly spent on establishing the Compound and slowly establishing a very subtle scouting presence first and figuring out how outer space works on this side of the Portal (which as it turns out is very similar).

It's likely the mapping sats will be launched sometime this year.

> “How about the Security Team introduce themselves?

>>783648
The Dwarves and the Teranaken (Wolfus) are non-native to the continent of Farava.

What the ITA has learned is that the Dwarves are more or less refugees from some catastrophe involving what the Dwarves call the "Fallen", essentially awakened fell beasts after they dug too greedily and too deep. This happened so long ago and the Dwarves are so separated as people that their ancient language is more or less extinct, with the Dwarves of Vespucci adopting the Faravan Elvish Standard. The Dwarves settled on Vespucci have little contact with the mainland aside from other Dwarf refuges who trade food for raw materials.

The Teranaken (wolfus and catfus) are non-native people as well. They notably had very little idea of language or culture beyond scavenging and looting. And the ITA so far hasn't been able to discern how or why they're here beyond "big boats came and took us here".

The ITA takes care of both parties. The Dwarves serve as laborers in the mines and in the compounds in exchange for gold and cigarettes while the Teranaken are allowed three square meals a day and protection of the helicopters by the walls. The ITA makes use of the Teranaken's naturally good hearing and smell and sight as guides for their scouting parties.

> “How about the Security Team introduce themselves? They are going to be our guardian angels for a while.”

“How's about our Security Team introduce themselves?” You motion to Espinoza. He quirks his brow, a little confused at this. You nod to him. Yes, you. Introduce yourself, Espinoza.

He sighs, standing up. The other troopers look over, a bit bored, some kind of confused that apparently the Science Team would actually give some acknowledgment to them. “I'm Staff Sergeant Miguel Espinoza. I'll be leading the Security Team with the expedition. I have the two guides here. That's Mirt.” The male, who waves at everybody with a grin. “And that's Tal.” The female, who waves lazily at everybody as well.

“They know English?” asks Doctor Porter.

“Some,” says Tal. She snarls, rubbing her nose a bit.

Staff Sergeant Espinoza nods, then motions to the rest of the security team. “And of course we have our team of expendable labor.” Everybody laughs a bit. Gotta find some humor you suppose. Espinoza pats one man's shoulder. “My 2IC Sergeant Hillenbrand.” A Sergeant from Canada. He waves at all of you with a smile. “Corporals Walter, Cody, Fermi, PFCs Victor, Chow, Green, Park, Jacobson, Cooper, Song, Haskell, Emerson, Farrell, Holden, Nakajima, Kosminsky, O'Keere, and Perez.” From all over different parts of the Earth. Hillenbrand from Canada, Chow and Song from China, Walter from England, O'Keere from Ireland, Park from South Korea, Jacobson from South Africa, and Fermi from Israel, it was like a melting pot. Not to mention the fact that Fermi and Nakajima were female from the IDF and JSDF respectively. “We are your security team.”

You smile, motioning to them. “Big round of applause, everyone.” Everybody claps at that. The two Guides glance around, then start clapping as well. “Now. Our Security Team is here for our safety. They will be equipped with the very best we can give them without sacrificing our ability to be subtle and to move efficiently. Of course, the biggest thing I can probably allow is maybe a LAW and some M2 .50s but um...” You look at the list Espinoza gave you. Ehehe... oh jeez. “Well. Listen. I'm sure we all know the score.” Everyone's attention is now firmly on you. “We want to avoid diplomatic incidents. We want to try and keep our intervention to a minimum. That means we can't just attach ourselves to a chopper and start taking pictures of everything. People and animals are stressed by things that they don't know. And believe me, we practically are the unknown here.”

Sawamura raises her hand. “Do we know anything about the people on the mainland?”

“Not much other than what I was briefed on,” you say. “The local human kingdom is expected to be the top dog in the local area. The ITA has noted that they have a very extensive fishing ship fleet. We make the expectation that they may be a monarchy of some kind, perhaps an absolute monarchy if they conform to our expectations. Drones have also confirmed the usage of basic crop rotation, irrigation, these people are more or less a very advanced people for where they are and what we know of them.”

Estelle snickers. “You're talking like an anthropologist, not an ethologist, Conrad.”

“Who do I have to blame for that,” you mutter. The crowd of scientists chuckle at that. “Now. Our job again is simple. Study the continent. Make peaceful contact with the people. If we can, I would say our first goal is to find a place for the ITA to establish its first foothold on the mainland. Hopefully with the permission of the locals. Now the-” One of the troopers, Private Kosminsky you recognize, raises his hand. “Yes, Kosminsky?”

He leans forward, the Russian flags on his collars now evident. “Are we expecting hostile contact from the locals?” he asks.

“I would presume not.” You look to Estelle.

Estelle looks back at Kosminsky. “Our research indicates that the locals are most likely already aware of our presence. And they probably wonder who they are. And judging by the fact that in the past five years no diplomats have been sent from their end or any kind of message was sent to us, they probably do not see us... people.”

“Indeed.” You fold your arms. “What will we have in terms of security equipment again?”

Staff Sergeant Espinoza says, “I will be taking you all in a convoy of six Humvees. One Humvee will carry our ammunition, another will be set to be an ambulance for Doctor Sawamura to travel in. We are expecting that the remaining Humvees will be armed both with M2 Browning machine guns. And as for Helmut's Mobile Lab-”

“Mobile Lab?” you ask.

“Ja.” Helmut nods, standing up. He presents a file over to you, showing a picture of what appears to be a large truck with an accordion style trailer attached to the back. “We built it off of an M809 5-ton 6x6. The first half of it is the expansible van, that is the laboratory where you can perform small-scale experiments, perhaps with plants and such. The second trailer behind it is attached by this accordion connector like a bendy bus.” You nod. “And in that trailer is electronics and communications equipment, all solar-powered with a backup generator as well. And you have this defense system all around which can deliver a powerful electric shock, these spotlamps in front provide illumination at night, the wheels are all independently powered as well and...”

You're fading. What you're seeing is essentially just a really big mobile laboratory.

“What about guns?” asks Espinoza.

“Guns?” asks Helmet. The troopers all nod. “Er- well. I mean, I figured the defense systems would compensate nicely for the lack of personal armament-”

“We'll just give you eggheads sidearms,” says Hillenbrand.

“So where do we land then?” asks Porter. He seems to want to get the meeting moving. Estelle nods in agreement. “I mean, we should probably choose some place safe and secluded from the civilizations on the mainland. Is that possible?”

“The entire west coast is populated by small villages of humans,” says Espinoza. “South Coast is a different story, especially directly south of the forest. I would advise actually that we land on the west coast just so we have the buffer of Indigenous humans. If you're aiming to make peaceful contact, they could inform us where all the predators are, where the safest place to set up an actual foothold would be, all that stuff.”

“But that's an incredibly obvious and conspicuous place to land. We might piss off the locals,” says Estelle. “The west coast up to the rivers is practically their backyard.”

“Where should we land, Doctor?” asks Doctor Porter.

> …?

South coast, a couple miles off that N/S road. Humvees like roads, and no sense wasting gas.

There's also the fact that no local militia is going to be large enough to take us on. Not so by a important city.

So we land, and dig in by the forest, while word spreads of our arrival.

Pick a village on the west coast to culturally enrich. The circus is coming to town!

>>783672
Also, in terms of anthropology, there is almost certainly a fishing town at the south end of that avenue. Kingdoms do not simply build major roads to nowhere.

Lower population density is desirable, because it means more sources of water. Also, farmers will eventually rather sell to us than go to a market a week away.

>>783668
>“Where should we land, Doctor?” asks Doctor Porter.
If the human presence here are primarily a fishing economy, then maybe don't land at all: find a nice big sailing ship, go say hi in your self-powered vessel (say, by running rings around them without the aid of sails), and then wait until the series of "holy shit look at this awesome boat!" gawkers leads up the chain of authority to some who can negotiate secure berthing.

>>783909
The people who are nominally in charge being our point of contact would be ideal from the point of view of minimizing interference and unnecessary war with the natives. Minimum threat engagement is a good way to avoid ruffling the feathers of the local powerbrokers, hopefully. It may be the case that we need to make a show of force though, if the local cultural traditions require us to prove our power in order to be taken seriously.

If we've got ocean access how come we haven't put together a drone fleet to map the world's coasts and depths yet? Little drone boats sending scout drones to map a few klicks inside the coasts could tell us a lot about the geopolitical situation, and that's something we need to know if we're looking for places to land and set up shop exploiting the resources. Weather satellites is one thing that's really nice to have, but we don't need space launch capability to map most of the world. It wouldn't even help that much with the mineral assay part of the problem that needs direct access to take cores.

>>784027
If nothing else, releasing a few free-roaming oceanographic survey drones is an nice bargaining chip to have with a seafaring economy. "Oh, hi, we have extremely accurate hydrographic survey maps, and we also know the movements of deep ocean currents and plankton blooms so we can tell you where fish will be".

> The South Coast

“We'll land here couple of miles down from this north and south road that's part of their major road network. We assume there'll be fishing villages we can first make contact with. We'll land to the east by this river here, which will give us access to fresh water and be a natural anchoring point if we make defenses. Then from there, we can decide if we want to stay put or if we want to move into the forest or move to make contact with the local human population. And I for one am excited to make contact with both! Hahaha!” Everyone stares at you, not seeing any kind of joke in it. To be frank, you never were good at making your lectures very entertaining anyway. You were more of a “pump out textbook year by year” kind of guy. “So. That's the plan.”

Helmut explains it like this. “The ITA will land us by ferry on the coast then. We'll have a Hind escort us in to keep bigger dragons off of us.”

“From there, we'll have to decide where we want to go,” you state. “If we go west, we'll hit human kingdom territory. We go east, well... Estelle?”

Estelle sternly says, “The southern coast is practically deserted. And the reason for that we assume is because whoever lives in those woods north of it consider it their territory. Only animals for most of that stretch. The drone footage we have that coast also indicates that there's fertile ground, wide open spaces suitable for farming, the beaches as well are practically paradise, perfect for people to live in. And yet there aren't. My theory is as before, the locals in the woods police that coast as if it were their front lawn.”

Alright then. You say, “Right. We'll leave for the mainland in two days. I want everyone to make sure their things are packed, and that we'll be ready by then. Helmut, I assume all the vehicles and equipment we need are ready?” He nods, smiling proudly. “Good. Now, couple of things before we go. One, this is a research mission, not a military mission.” This is for the Security Team. “What I say goes. If I tell you not to kill somebody, try not to. I'm sure Estelle can explain quite nicely.”

Espinoza sneers at that. “Like she has for the past five years.” Estelle huffs.

“And one more thing. We're peaceful. No shooting unless they shoot first. Right. Go ahead and get yourselves prepped.” Everyone stands up, filing outside of the door.

Doctor Porter offers his hand to you as you gather your things. “Doctor Brown. Might I say, it's an honor to finally meet you.” You smile at him, and he smiles back.

“Likewise, Doctor.” You shake his hand, firmly. “I hear your books on the botanical arts gets a lot of slackers through their senior year.”

“I pride myself on keeping things simple.” He snickers a little as Estelle walks towards you two. “How do you know Estelle?”

“I'm her ex-husband,” you explain. Doctor Porter's eyes widen for a second, then he nods in understanding.

Estelle smiles, standing and leaning to the side awkwardly. “Yeeeaah. Doctor Porter, could you give us a minute or two to talk? You two can get to know each other much later.” Doctor Porter frowns a little. And to be frank, you are kind of disappointed you won't get to talk to him until much later. Doctor Hal Porter's one of the finest minds in the field of plants after all. Still, he relents, walking away. “Conrad.”

Once the lecture hall starts clearing out, you and Estelle find yourselves alone. “Something the matter?”

“I gotta say, I'm not really a fan of this expedition,” she says quietly. You quirk your brow. Excuse me? Estelle quickly backtracks. “Not that it's because you're in charge, Conrad. I know you're a good man! And that- ugh. No. I mean... we've been here for five years. We've studied as much as we can without interfering with the lives of the native population. And it- it's...” She sighs, pinching at the bridge of her nose.

“Frustrating?” you say.

“No doubt. I have argued so extensively with the Director to not interfere with these people's lives. No deploying sea drones to map the ocean, no deploying satellites- do you realize how the indigenous might view a rocket launch into space? We could seriously wreck their culture by throwing ourselves into their lives. We probably are right now! They know we're here, much as we try to be sneaky about it.”

“Estelle, I think you're overreacting a little,” you say.

Estelle folds her arms, sighing. “You remember the Sentinelese? What happened with them?”

“Yeah. You-...” Estelle stares at you, obviously only wanting to remind you, NOT wanting you to tell you what happened with the Sentinelese. “Okay, look. Estelle. I understand your concerns. Okay?”

“Then promise me something.” She holds up a finger, looking you dead in the eye, determined. “Don't let the ITA destroy these people. They have a right to either live or die on their own. But we can't choose that for them. Okay?”

> …?

>>790225
ITs like you said. We've done everything we can from this island. We need to go out and meet people.

Aw, and I was so looking forward to performing a song to the natives to buy the land off them. We'll do our best to prevent mineral rights from infringing on the peoples' rights.

-Acknowledge that we're aware that the directive seems to be somewhere between playing Columbus and Cortez.
-Highlight the wealth and power behind establishing the base and forces here that already exist.
--Add that wealthy and powerful people who fund such things demand their way and usually get increasingly belligerent and disruptive whenever they don't get it.
-Ask if there is anything we can achieve to limit the harm of the greedy people backing the program besides trying to negotiate peaceful contact to achieve their ambitions with a minimum of disruption and harm.

“I can't promise anything,” you say. Estelle frowns a little at that. She's been here longer than you have, so you have to defer to her experience. But at the same time, you can't let Estelle guide your actions on the expedition. If the Director and the rest of the ITA want to play Spanish explorer, that's fine. But you are going to make peaceful contact. “What we can do is try and limit the interference of the people who fund this little darling expedition. We'll try our best. Alright?”

Estelle is quiet for a few seconds. Then she nods. “Fine. I trust you, Conrad.” She starts walking towards the door. “Way I see it, whatever happens.” She turns around, smiling a bit. “It'll be an adventure regardless. We need to get you out of your office anyway.”

“I should say the same damn thing to you, I'm surprised the ITA got you out of yours,” you mutter. She snorts, turning to the door. Always finding a time for a joke or two. At least she's optimistic. Once she leaves, that leaves you alone in the audience hall. And that means time to mull over the map for yourself.

Right. You pick out that handy-dandy guidebook on the language of Farava from your pocket then shift through it.

FARAVA: Used interchangeably for either “mainland” or “continent”.

-

> TWO DAYS LATER <

-

The two days preparing for the expedition were relatively uneventful. Despite your want to actually get to know your team, you were unfortunately busy studying the lay of the land from the drone and helicopter recon reports. Thankfully, the southern coast was mostly devoid of fishing villages, save for one where the southern road ends and joins with the westernmost river. That particular place was actually quite developed. From the photos, you saw at least eighty or so buildings, a large dockyard for ships with actual white sails, an antiquated wooden wall (triangular and flat architecture too, especially the bastions jutting out from them. Whoever designed the walls understood part of the idea of using trinagular defenses but not quite enough to form an entire star fort.), even what looked to be large mansions or perhaps a governor's palace?

Though it was small compared to that monster of a capital city on the peninsula. It's a shame the ITA has poor mapkeeping. But you suppose that will have to be up to you to figure things out. Judging by the photos, this village had to have a decent population, perhaps a couple of hundred people? Maybe at least five hundred if they use communal living arrangements. Along the road north, and spreading out along the north/south road were more villages, much smaller but set to farming instead of fishing.

Estelle couldn't help but snicker at your amazement at the fact that Indigenous actually made use of crop rotation! It's not -entirely- visible from the comfort of a drone, but there were very clearly multiple crops being grown at different rates from these bird's eye view photos. Oh, if only you could get closer. These Indigenous certainly aren't the savages that the media back home might like to make them out to be. Far from it in fact.

Of course, you were snapped back to reality by the stinging saltwater splashing at your clothes and your gasmask. The SSC Hovercraft was one of many naval vehicles on loan from the US Navy (up to and including the Gerald R. Ford guarding the portal entrance from our side of it. But it is on call to go through in case things get violent. Hopefully they don't.). Strapped down to the deck were your humvees, the Mobile Lab vehicle, and the portable prefab buildings for when you want to settle a more permanent base.

Establishing the portables would be prudent once you land for sure. Taking off the gas masks, even for a minute to take a drink of water or eat would be quite risky.

You lean over out the window to look up at the Guardian Pillar Rocks. Also delivering you and the team were too Griffon 2400 LCACs. You spread out the security team and divided the science team even to make sure that if one was accidentally lost, the expedition wouldn't be completely jeopardized. If the Security team lost the Science team, they'd have no direction and at worst they go back. If the Science team lost the Security team though...

Well, never let scientists run around on their own. They have a habit of getting hurt.

“Hey, Tal.” Tal looks over from the seats in the back, then steps up to you in the cockpit. Her ears twitch a bit and her tail wags at the sight of the Guardian Pillar Rocks passing by. Their enormous, almost like columns sticking out of the ocean. You could even see what appear to be etches as well, almost as if they were stone blocks stacked up one another. “What can you tell me about these rocks?”

Tal grunts, licking her teeth a little as she leans over. You lean back, trying not to make any unnecessary contact. She pokes her head out of the window, squinting at the seaspray splashing her face. Unlike the rest of the crew, she didn't have to wear a gas mask. Being native and all has its advantages. She leans back inside, then shakes her head violently, splashing water into the cabin with her wet hair, ears, and face.

“Hey, watch it!” yells the pilot.

Tal snarls, glaring at the pilot before looking at the rocks. “Don't know,” she proclaims. “Rocks are giant. Might have been a big wall or something. Legends say I guess.”

A wall? What the hell were they trying to keep out!?

“We're gonna be landing in a couple of minutes, Doctor Brown,” says the pilot. “We'll put you down at the beach and deploy your vehicles. Then we gotta go back. You got the radio, you have the flare guns, you have everything you need to contact us. We'll be on patrol at night with no lights on, NVGs only. If you need us, signal using a flare gun or the radio, we'll get to you in two hours!”

“Okay!” You nod to the pilot. Good man. You look to the other LCAC. Estelle is in there with half the team, Doctor Rao, Doctor Sawamura, and Doctor E. Strauss. The rest, Helmut Strauss, Ollin, Doctor Porter, and Doctor Szczepanski, along with half of the security team including Staff Sergeant Espinoza were with you. You step into the back of the cabin. Overall, it was sort of cramped, not very comfortable, and indeed you were at risk of falling over into somebody's lap.

Hope it's not one of the soldiers.

But still, good time to get to know your crew maybe. Though, perhaps there's more studying to do.

What? You can always find time to study, even if you're in a hovercraft.

> Study the map and the environment before you land.
> Get to know the crew. So who's talkative.
> Try and get things out of Tal and Ollin. First time you've ever seen people from this side, make the most of it.
> Other

you have already studied the maps plenty. get some practice talking to tal and ollin for when you land and need to negotiate with whoever runs the village.

>Try and get things out of Tal and Ollin.
What don't we know about their legends? Their creator mythos? Their bogeymen? What lives in the forest that would keep the southern coast so deserted?

>>794292
> Try and get things out of Tal and Ollin. First time you've ever seen people from this side, make the most of it.

We need good rapport with our guides and translators, or else we are just fucked. Getting to know your team is important, but them more than most right now.

>>794292
>Try and get things out of Tal and Ollin. First time you've ever seen people from this side, make the most of it.

Every piece of info is useful. They are the only resource we haven't gotten to know and they are probably the most valuable at this stage.

> Try and get things out of Tal and Ollin. First time you've ever seen people from this side, make the most of it.

“Ollin.” The dwarf sits in his harness, his stubby feet hanging as he rides calmly. Helmut Strauss sits next to him, a light smile on his face. You stand next to them, hanging onto the ceiling rails. Ollin puffs a bit of smoke, a cigarette hanging between his lips. It's clear that his smoking is making everyone else a little uncomfortable. But you'll accept it for now, you've never been one to tell someone to not smoke. He looks at you, curiously. “Have you or any of the dwarves set foot on Farava?”

He shakes his head. “No. My people remain on the island. We try not to make too much contact with the locals. We are not very sociable people. It is hard to trust others.”

“Something happen to your colony?” you ask.

Tal snorts. “The midgets are frequent targets for pirates and slavers. Before you arrived, us folk were guards for them. They give us food and weapons and we protect them.”

“Slavers?” You tilt your head. “There's slavery in this world?”

“I tried to read your history books,” says Ollin. “Yes. There is a slavery. It is partially why we try not to set foot on the mainland. Who knows where we could be sent if we are captured and put into bondage.”

Tal rolls her eyes. “The dwarf thinks hisself is actually worth something.” She leans in across from him, snarling. “Only thing I see is fresh meat!”

“Behave, Tal,” says Espinoza, sitting in the back corner of the hovercraft. All the other doctors shift back and away from Tal towards the other Security Troopers. Tal grumbles, leaning back in her seat, folding her arms.

“Well, regardless, do you two know anything about the mainland? Or about those Guardian Pillar Rocks?” you ask. “I imagine your cultures would have their own myths of creation.” They cock their heads, confused. “You know, how do you think the world was created? Surely the generation before you taught you how this world was made, which was passed on by the previous generation.”

Ollin scratches at his beard, taking more drags off of his cigarette. “The world at large beyond Farava as far as we know is a creation of the Elder Ones. I do know the Legend of Tirofile the World Dragon.” Oh? You kneel down, preparing to pay close attention. Ollin takes his cigarette from his mouth, chewing on his lip a little. “Legend holds that the world before was nothing but fire, lava, and ash, created by a Dragon of immense size! His teeth are said to be as large as trees, his scales harder than bedrock, his breath so intense that you would turned to ash just from a sigh, and that he could stretch across half the world.

“But out of the ashes came the High Elves, and the Elves are said to have been forged from the very fires of the earth itself, blessed with a divine vision to create a world of life. But unfortunately the World Dragon would burn to ash everything they would build and plant. And the High Elves, frustrated by this needless destruction, asked him why. Tirofile said, 'I like the way the world is. If you want to change it, you will have to kill me.'”

Tal, actually somewhat engrossed, asks, “And they killed him?”

Ollin nods slowly, rubbing his beard. “They say the battle to destroy Tirofile was enough to raise mountains and shatter the very skies. The High Elves were the first beings that used magic from birth, and thus they used it to destroy Tirofile. And once dead, the trees and grass sprouted from the soot and the ash, and the seas of lava gave way to oceans of water.”

Doctor Porter leans forward, looking at Ollin. “Amazing! So these High Elves, where are they?”

“I don't know, this is just what I learned,” says Ollin. “Though, they say that Tirofile's corpse is buried within the Draconic Mountains. No one knows for sure though.”

“What about you, Tal?” you ask.

She shrugs. “I dunno. We don't have culture I guess.”

“Sure you do,” says Doctor Porter. “Even lack of culture is culture in of itself.” Tal quirks her brow, confused. “Perhaps it's just you haven't been raised by a generation ahead of you that had any kind of cultural pursuits. Instead you're more of a simple hunter-gatherer society.”

“Eh. Whatever gets food in the belly,” Tal states simply.

“We're landing now!” says the pilot. “Hang on!” You brace yourself. Everyone grabs their things and holds on. There's a noticeable bump as the hovercraft makes landfall on the beach. You can hear the loud thrashing of air from the bigger hovercraft carrying your vehicles as well. This is not the most stealthy approach. But there's no real way to stealthily carry your equipment ashore anyway. “Alright, bail out, bail out!” The Security Troopers help the scientists out via the hatches. Tal jumps up and immediately rushes ahead to explore the area. Mirt on the other hovercraft does the same. They run low to the ground, carrying their FN FALs with them. Espinoza takes your hand, pulling you out of the hatch and helping you down onto the damp sands.

This is a very strange feeling. The feeling of exploring a new world. Five years ago you thought you were too early to explore the stars and too late to explore the continents. Now look at this. “Get the vehicles unloaded, let's go!” yells Sergeant Espinoza. The ramp drops down, and your Mobile Lab and Humvees are slowly brought down onto the beach one-by-one.

Estelle comes over to you, an MP7 hanging below her arm. “Doctor Brown! I'll get Helmut and Ollin in the Mobile Lab! I suggest we find a place to set up the prefabs so we don't have to spend the night with gas masks on!”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it,” you say. “Staff Sergeant.” Espinoza nods. “Get your men loaded up in the Humvees, I want to find a good area to set up a base camp before sundown. Try and-”

“Oi!” You all look up to the top of the beach. Tal waves you all over. “You all might want to take a look at this!”

-

-

You, Doctor Porter, Estelle, Ollin, Tal, Helmut, and Sergeant Espinoza stare at the post in front of you. It stood in these grassy fields some few miles from the tall, dark woods ahead of you. It was a wooden stake no more than three meters tall. But upon it were the still hairy scalps nailed to the wood, with maggots festering in the skin. Porter looks pale beneath the gas mask, looking at it. Above the scalps was a sign with red runes written upon it. “What does it say?” asks Sergeant Espinoza.

Tal reads it, squinting at it. “To those who poach on our lands, here are the consequences. Scalped until dead and your bodies used for fodder,” she translates. “The Elves of the Woods do not forgive thieves, poachers, or savages.” She steps back, shrugging. “Some warning.”

“I guess we know why the southern coast then is mostly deserted,” says Estelle. “The Elves guard that land ferociously.”

“I-... I would advise we stay out of there,” says Doctor Porter. “Not to seem hasty but these Elves, as nice as their forest is, seem a little savage.” Fair point.

“We should consider base camp for now,” says Sergeant Espinoza. “Doctor Brown, where are we setting up?”

> “The fishing town isn't too far a drive. Perhaps we can ask they quarter us.”
> “We can set up camp by the river in that clearing.”
> “I'd say we keep driving north until we find a good secluded spot.”
> Other

>>794945
> “The fishing town isn't too far a drive. Perhaps we can ask they quarter us.”

We're partly here to interact with locals. Let's interact.

>>794945
“I'd say we keep driving north until we find a good secluded spot.”

>>794983
Yeah. We're still to weird to live among them.

Making contact is going to be our next priority. but we need to set up camp first.

Suggested future safety protocol: Assume at all times we are in this elf forest we are being trailed or watched directly from a hunting blind. Our approach over the open sea was visible from far away, so there's good reason to expect they know we're here.

Leave a letter asking to meet with these elves, and THEN go to the fishing village. We do want to talk to them, but we have no idea what their customs or level of xenophobia is.

> “We can set up camp by the river in that clearing.”
Sorry, but medieval inns don't have hermetic seals on the doors. And we're not a circus coming to town, either - Our stay will be indefinite.

okay, do NOT go in the woods without an invitation. put a note on the sign asking to talk.

the clearing is NOT in the woods right? if so then that seems good. after setting up should try to negotiate with the village.
if not then we should head towards the village and set up outside the place and start negotiations immediately.

> “The fishing town isn't too far a drive. Perhaps we can ask they quarter us.”
> “We can set up camp by the river in that clearing.”

“We'll set up the prefabs by the river in this clearing, here.” The Humvees were moved up. You, some members of the security team, Estelle, the Doctors, Mirt and Tall as well were huddled around the map. “We'll set up some ways away from the town. But I want to take a team to try and contact the indigenous. We're here to set up peaceful contact. Better we get it out of the way rather than skulk in the shadows.”

“Agreed,” says Estelle. “If we keep to ourselves for too long, the indigenous may assume a nefarious purpose to our visit. We're better off trying and failing to contact them now rather than not contact them at all and let them stumble on us.” She folds her arms. “I will defer to Staff Sergeant Espinoza on how much ordnance we bring.”

“If it's just a simple hello and goodbye, I think two of the Humvees, plus Doctor Brown and Doctor Schurz. In total, eight people and Tal to translate. I'll manage the construction of the prefabs and make sure they get up nice and safely. Hillenbrand will come with you. If you catch any trouble hit us on the radio.” You nod. Right, at least now everyone is talking business. Once the prefabs are set up, then you can consider relaxing and maybe getting to know the rest of the team.

“Wait.” Doctor Szczepanski steps up to you all. “Don't I get a say in this?” she asks. A say? “I mean, I'd love to meet the locals. It's clear that they have a very advanced culture just from the aerial photos alone.”

“Are you an anthropologist?” asks Estelle. Doctor Szczepanski shakes her head. “Then no.”

“Well, Doctor Brown isn't an anthropologist either!” says Doctor Szczepanski.

“Doctor Brown is the head of our expedition,” says Estelle. She steps up to Doctor Szczepanski, looking her dead in the eye. “Not just that, but as an ethologist, he has a better understanding of behavioral studies both for animals and for people. He'll have a better idea of how the indigenous live and how to treat them based on their environment and by the way they treat outsiders. I'm not going to insult your work, Doctor Szczepanski, but as our team's biologist, you're not qualified to handle diplomacy with the indigenous.”

Doctor Szczepanski frowns beneath her gas mask, angrily. “They're people just like us. Some concepts are universal. If you'd allow me at least to observe, I won't interfere.”

“Actually, I would have to agree with Doctor Schurz,” says Staff Sergeant Espinoza. “I'd rather the two most qualified people interact with the locals rather than a bleeding heart biologist who's watched Ferngully too many times.” You all glare at him. “What? I don't have time for this political bullshit. Doctor Brown, we should get going. We're wasting time.”

“Doctor Brown, please.” Doctor Szczepanski looks to you, pleading. “I promise, I won't be any trouble. I just want to see first contact with the indigenous.”

> “I'd rather the qualified do this. Stay with the prefabs, Doctor.”
> “Fine. But you better stay back and do what I say.”
> Other

A Tale of Two Worlds GermanSchteel 2017/04/15(Sat)12:50 No. 796121 ID: 6a074c
File 149228581733.png - (144.00KB , 1000x1000 , ITA Map1.png )

Updated map.

There probably would be a lot for a biologist to say. Structure of fish, livestock and inhabitants, and so on. I'm game.

Is Tal the best choice for a translator? Are Dwarves or Canids indigenous to the nearby islands?

> “Fine. But you better stay back and do what I say.”

Be calm and quiet. Observe, but do not initiate interaction without clearing it by me. This is a first contact. If something goes wrong, it will be very hard to have a pleasant second contact.

>>796127
Tal or Mirt are generally the only available translators. Ollin could do it but he has to help set up the prefabs with Helmut.

As for the Dwarves and Canids, they are not native to Farava. Most you'll see of them on the mainland are imported from other continents across the ocean.

she can come, but she has to stay in the car, and tell whoever else is in there to hold her down if she tries to get out, make it an order if you have to.

>>796120
> “Fine. But you better stay back and do what I say.”

> “I'd rather the qualified do this. Stay with the prefabs, Doctor.”
This is your job, not your vacation. You *will* get to interact. It will *not* be at our first impression on the locals.

> “Fine. But you better stay back and do what I say.”

“A biologist would be useful.” Estelle and Staff Sergeant Espinoza look to you with skepticism in their eyes. Doctor Szczepanski is clearly smiling beneath her gas mask, happy at your praise. “There might be a place. But Doctor, you follow my orders. You're not here to interact. You're here to observe. Got it? You stay in the Humvee.”

“Okay!” She nods violently. “I'll do everything you say, Doctor!” With that, she heads on over to one of the Humvees.

Estelle sighs, grimacing a little. “I just hope she doesn't muck things up for us.”

“She'll be fine,” you say. Estelle shrugs, leaving it at that.

Sergeant Hillenbrand walks on over to you all. “We're ready to load up the Humvees on your go.”

“Alright. Let's go then.”

-

-

The inside of the Humvee was as spacious as it seemed from the outside. Of course you couldn't say the same for the soldiers who were chafing under the mildly hot climate of Farava. Hillenbrand himself had already rolled up his sleeves before he started at driving the Humvee. Estelle was in the Humvee behind with Doctor Szczepanski. For now you were riding with Tal, Sergeant Hillenbrand, Kosminsky on the M2 .50, and Haskell as an extra gun. The second Humvee had Estelle, Doctor Szczepanski, Emerson, Cody (one of the two medics, the other being Fermi), and Song. A good strong force you suppose that can ward off bandits.

As you drive lazily down what appears to be a dirt trail along this riverbank, you make note of your surroundings. It's green everywhere, tall grass as well, very little in the way of standing trees though. You did note some stumps, which means they do harvest it. You also note the occasional hut or lodge along the road. But all of them seem unoccupied. The occasional bend in the river and a small hill here and there keeps you from getting full sight of the town on the water. “So Sergeant Hillenbrand. Tell me about yourself,” you ask.

He shrugs, the Canadian flag somewhat faded on his collar. “Served two tours over in Iraq. Had a family, had, Misses took the kids when she realized I was taking the second tour.”

“That's a shame,” you say.

Haskell grunts, sitting in the backseat with Tal. Tal leans out the window, catching the wind with her face. Haskell says, “Eh. Comes with being a soldier. It's worse for us troopers here on the Other Side. Mail goes through slowly. One day you leave, the next year you realize she divorced you several months ago.”

“You all sound like a bunch of pussies!” yells Kosminsky. “You don't need families anyway! All you need is a good fight! I thought you were a Marine, Haskell! Don't Marines like fighting!?”

“Fuck off you commie prick!” Haskell yells back.

Tal leans back in, grinning happily. “I like this Humvee!” The Humvee bounces as it goes over a dip in the trail. “Ha! Haha!” She almost bangs her head against the ceiling, her ears twitching and her tail wagging. Haskell has to wave the tail away from his face.

Hillenbrand shakes his head, then blinks. He leans in, looking ahead. He keys the radio on his chest. “Echo 2, Echo Actual. You got eyes on what's in front of us?” You turn to him, then look ahead. You do see the town in the distance, couldn't be more than ten miles away. The dirt trail was in fact starting to give way to a more dug out and well built stone road in fact.

“Yeah, we see it, Actual,” says Emerson.

What was more concerning was the huge mass of people in front of the wall, blocking the road. Behind that mass of people was the wall itself, holding even more people. “Stop, stop,” says Hillenbrand. You all park the cars on the side of the road. Good God. You dismount, then grab a set of binoculars from inside. You peer through.

They're wearing armor. By the dull look of it, perhaps leather as well. Not a lot of metal except for helmets. A lot of them were wearing helmets actually, with segmented tails on the back, sort of like a lobster's tail, and visors either turned up to reveal their eyes or turned down to protect them. A group lined up in front held spears and shields. A group in back held anything from swords, axes, and maces, and were more heavily armored with actual plates (but not complete covering, just chest plates and arm guards. The rest appeared to be padded armor.) Behind them, a huge mass of Wolf and Cat people like Tal, wearing rags and what appear to be scavenged equipment. Their weapons were much more primitive, from spears, to clubs, and what look to be small wooden shields.

And to the sides, mounted horsemen as well. In their hands they wielded plain wooden lances. They were clad in scaled metal from the looks of things, with helmets like their infantry. And to top it off, men and women in robes behind the mass of soldiers, wielding what appeared to be staves with rope slings on the top. Riding in front on a white horse is a man clad in a mail and plate set of armor, with a red cape flowing behind him. A hood was set over his head, shrouding his face from further identification.

Estelle and Hillenbrand walk up to you. “What do you make of it?” asks Estelle. She peeks through some binoculars as well.

“Gotta be at least 600 of them down there,” you say. “100 spears, 100 infantry, 200 of those Wolfs and Cats, 50 horses, and 50 of those robed ones. Can't count how many are on the walls though.”

“We have enough ammo for all of 'em,” says Hillenbrand. You and Estelle glare at Hillenbrand. “What, we do?”

Estelle sighs. “They wouldn't dare sacrifice the perceived safety of the walls. They're trying to intimidate us.” She looks ahead at the small army set before her. “It's actually kind of working. We've only got two Humvees and obviously we're now kind of at an armed stand-off.”

You look back. “Tal!” She hurries up, FN FAL under her arm. She stomps her foot, ready to serve. “Is there a universal signal in Farava for peace or parlay or surrender or anything?”

Tal says, “You could write rune for peace on something and present to them.”

“I have my whiteboard,” says Estelle. “We could hold it up and approach them. Hope they don't try and attack us.”

> Call for support from the island. If they want to intimidate you, perhaps you could intimidate them back.
> Go with Estelle and Tal's idea. It may work.
> “We'll wait here. Maybe they'll come to us if we don't do anything.”
> Other

>>796599
> “We'll wait here. Maybe they'll come to us if we don't do anything.”

> Go with Estelle and Tal's idea. It may work.

Calling for backup will start a war, which we don't want.

Waiting will just make everyone uncomfortable and nervous.

Walking away will end any chance of contact.

We should at least try, if they rebuff us, we have the other options.

This timetable doesn't make sense at all.

You landed hours ago. Even if you were sighted, how could they dredge up 600 fighters in that time?

It almost seems like you've happened upon a troop movement or a seige of some sort. Something to do with the elves?

But yes, display whiteboard, wait for a delegation.

most odd is this was supposed to just be a small village not a giant fortification.
anyway, go out with the rune and have tal stand next to you, seeing something they recognize may make you seem less intimidating.

> “We'll wait here. Maybe they'll come to us if we don't do anything.”
Play the waiting game. If they do try anything, Hillenbrand, you know to go for the mages first, right?

> Go with Estelle and Tal's idea. It may work.

You look through the guidebook for a second, then find the appropriate rune for the word “peace”.

Looking through it now, the High Elvish standard runic system isn't too different from the English alphabet. There are some things that don't seem to translate properly though. Runic sentence structure for instance runs right-to-left, and if continuing to the next line left to right, then back to right-left for the next line, sort of like a twisting snake. There is also no apparent indicator for breaks in sentences like semi-colons, commas, or anything similar either beyond a period.

You're sure you can learn more about the language though when you get time. You turn it over to Tal and Estelle. Estelle rights down the rune on her small whiteboard, then hands it to Tal. Tal slings her rifle, then holds the whiteboard over her head. She wags her tail a little, standing up stiff and straight.

Sergeant Hillenbrand takes a look through his binoculars. “See anything?” you ask.

“Yeah.” He motions ahead. “Look there.” You look forward to see the apparent leader chatting to some of the horsemen and a flagbearer. You keep a close eye on them, then they turn their heads over to all of you. One of them is handed a tube, through which the leader looks through. A telescope perhaps? He pulls it down, then hands it away. He motions two horsemen and a flagbearer to follow him. They start riding out towards you, out in the open.

“They want to talk,” you say. You motion to Hillenbrand. “Sergeant, Estelle, Tal. Come with me.”

Hillenbrand looks back. “Guns up! Anything looks funny, be ready!” The .50s are turned down on the approaching party. The rest of the soldiers take up crouching positions beside the Humvees. You turn around to see Doctor Szczepanski peeking out of a window from her Humvee.

This ought to be good.

You four walk out towards them. Their thundering hooves was matching your heart rate right now. The flag was a navy blue field, with the golden silhouette of a griffon rearing up. They start slowing to a canter as they come closer and closer, before finally the two of you stand apart only a few feet from each other. They stand next to each other, their horses whinnying idly.

The leader speaks something in a relatively harsh voice, pointing to Tal. Tal tilts her head, then looks to you. “He's saying you're trespassing on the Kingdom's territory.” The leader glares at Tal for a second under the shade of his hood, then looks at you three. He continues speaking. “He asks if you can speak the language.” You shake your head. Tal relays it back. The leader huffs, then says something else, leaning forwards towards you.

“What's he saying now?” asks Estelle.

Tal explains, “This is the Sheriff Klimand di Terenza, Disciple of the Mana. He patrols these lands with his army from encroachment from the Wood Elves to the east.” Sheriff Klimand continues speaking. “He is asking if you are lost, or perhaps part of some sort of scouting party.” He finishes speaking with a few more words in the High Elvish standard. “He also wants to know how many of you there are.”

> Be honest, explain who you are, how many of you there are, and why you're here.
> Dance around the topic. Best to let them in on it slowly. Just let them know who you are first and try to work your way in with them.
> Lie. Claim something or other. (Like what?)
> Other

> Dance around the topic. Best to let them in on it slowly. Just let them know who you are first and try to work your way in with them.
You're a scouting party alright. And there's about, oh, seven billion of you? Not all in one place of course.

>>796920
> Be honest, explain who you are, how many of you there are, and why you're here.

We're explorers, new to the land. We're here to establish relations with you on behalf of our world.

I assume that's the truth

you are from across the sea/ocean, you did not know of any claims of land before this meeting. you are a small group and you brought your own supplies and your people are willing to trade. if he gets.. excited when you mention small group be sure to inform them that your people have a long distance method of contacting eachother and those from your home will know if you... disappear.

>>796938
This, more or less. You're a small group, representing a larger contingent, of many hundreds. You came here to study and trade.

Where you're from, there's been a lot of warfare, but you're hoping for a peaceful visit. Not a direct threat, but he shouldn't miss the implication that we're ace at it.

> Other

Tal relays your message to the Sheriff. “We are a small group, representing a larger party of many. We have come to study the land and make trade with those who will.” The Sheriff stares at Tal for a few seconds. “We can contact our people from our lands very quickly if need be. If you wish to establish a relationship.”

One of the Sheriff's men says something to the Sheriff. “He says that they are aware that a large island outside of the Pillar Rocks was taken over by strangers from the ocean,” says Tal. The Sheriff nods, rubbing his chin. You look past them for a second, and still see the army standing there in formation. Please don't let this get ugly. You take a deep breath. Finally, the Sheriff speaks again. Tal translates it as, “The Sheriff is intrigued, both by our strange manner of dress and the items that we hold in our hands.”

“He must not think these are weapons,” says Hillenbrand, patting his FN FAL.

The Sheriff continues. “He states that he is simply a servant of Mana and to Royal Family, and thus he is not the one to be talking to. However, he also says that the Kingdom will not be interested in trade with outsiders at the moment. They have far more pressing issues hounding their lands at current, and they will not be distracted from them by the arrival of some lost outsiders overstepping their bounds.”

“Like what?” you ask. Tal asks this to him.

The Sheriff shakes his head, huffing. “He won't say.” The Sheriff points to you, then states something firmly as he points out towards the sea. “And he says that you outsiders must leave.” He states something again, much more firmly. “Or he will turn his army on you and make you all leave.”

Estelle steps forward, next to you. “Maybe there's something we can exchange to stay here. We won't cause trouble for any of them.”

Once Tal translates this, the Sheriff grunts. He speaks to Tal. Tal scowls a little, then turns to you all. “He will allow us to stay if we have slaves or scales for tribute.”

“Scales?” you ask.

Tal quickly asks this to the Sheriff. The Sheriff explains it back. “Scales are the currency here in Farava. They are stamped and cut out from dragon scales.”

Estelle folds her arms, then turns to you. “We obviously don't have any scales. Any dragons shot down by the SAMs or by the gunships are just left to sink into the sea or left for the island natives to have and any that we might have belong to the science team back at the Compound for examination. It'd take us hours to get them and it might not even be enough to satisfy him.”

> “We'll give our translator Tal if you will let us stay for a while.”
> “Our people do not dabble in slavery. Sorry.”
> Other

>>797447
> “Our people do not dabble in slavery. Sorry.”

We'll see what we can do about the scales

wow, okay. let's try

"we can fix it"
when they ask 'fix what?'
"any problem you have. foreign invaders? dead. crops failing? we make them healthy again. spies or assassins? enhanced security.
name your problem and we can make it go away, in exchange we can stay"
will probably ask for a demonstration of our power. "well then pick a target nearby for us to destroy, how about that tree?" is probably a nearby tree, if not then name any nearby inanimate object. then tell your machine gunner to destroy it.

Obviously, we need to fix our dragon-harvesting policy. Potentially letting an enormous bargaining chip go to waste.

Tal knows too much of of our operation to be surrendered.
We could intimate that while we don't have many scales, we could certainly find something fitting for most gracious hosts.

Of course, if he wants to chase us off, we can split, and call in an airstrike. His replacement should be more accommodating.

we can also try to contact the elves. stand just outside the woods holding the peace sign for a bit.

'Far more pressing issues'? One would think opening trade routes to bring in supplies at this crucial time would be valuable. A service worthy of royal recognition, even... Well, we'll just take our goods and go. Let them know where to find us if they change their mind.

I think offering mercenary services is a bit more interference than we're authorized to make.

Tal is too valuable - and too dangerous - to give up.

I suggest both carrot and stick: we ask him to wait while we get some scales, and offer him exclusive rights to those we collect in the future (home base can start collecting them from future dragons and sending them over occasionally).

Then we find an excuse to display a little firepower so he's less inclined to fight us and more inclined to take the carrot (I suppose we could offer him medicine or something else the indigenous have never heard of, but that's probably more interference than we're allowed).

If they attack us, make sure to capture this guy alive.

It occurs to me that we could spin this into a win-win. He'd rather not handle the negotiations, or maybe isn't authorized to. We didn't know what suitable tribute was and didn't prepare any.


Offer him a few weeks of non-confrontation in exchange for finding us someone to negotiate with. We don't require his food or hospitality.
And in that time we can harvest some scales.
After all, we are committed to peace, but not all our leaders are.

Before diving headfirst into Operation Print Money, it's probably a good idea to check if the coinage is of value because it's stamped from dragon scales, or if it's of value because it's backed by a nation-state.

> Other

“We don't have any scales. But give us some time, at least a few weeks. We'll be able to muster up some then. We won't try to trespass anywhere near your lands until we have the money. And hopefully in the meantime, perhaps you may muster someone who can negotiate with us, yes?” Tal relays this to the Sheriff. The Sheriff looks back at his companions, who nod in approval it seems.

Tal tells you that the Sheriff says, “We have a deal. I will have scouts follow you back to your camp. I warn you, do not go near the woods, at least not without weapons. The savages are fiercely protective of their territory and their animals. We try not to cross them. I will consult with the town governor, she is a member of the royal family. You will negotiate with her later perhaps. On your way.” They turn their horses around, turning away and galloping back to their army.

You finally breath out. Crisis averted. You swear, you will not be the man who starts a Wounded Knee in this world. “Come on, back to the Humvees.” You point to Hillenbrand. “When we get back, let me know when communications are up. We need to get into talks with the compound.” He nods.

Estelle walks alongside you as you come back to the Humvees. “All things considered, that went better than I expected.”

“What were you expecting?” you ask.

“Arrows being shot at us, the goon squad over here lighting them up.” She shrugs, rubbing her arm. The Security troopers glare a little at Estelle. “Just saying. First contact without a translator could've gone extremely poorly. We're lucky we're just being forced away for now with potential for future negotiation.”

Tal snarls a little, sniffing the air. “Posh fluffy or whatever you use to call him. He looked like a butt.” Tal needs some vocabulary lessons it seems.

“Come on, let's head back to camp.”

-

-

The base camp was mostly set up by the time you got there. The prefabs were set up in a triangular fashion. The Mobile Lab was set up against the river. The other Humvees were set up in a spread out half circle around the camp site, with the troopers placing down sandbags and setting up barbed wire as well. Once inside, you dismount and head into the Mobile Lab. There, a communications link was already set up by Staff Sergeant Espinoza. “You're on with the Director, Conrad.”

“Director.” You sit down across from the screen. The Mobile Lab already had Doctor Porter in it studying some live plant samples along with Mirt looking over his shoulder curiously. Estelle follows in after you as well, leaning into the picture.

The Director, along with General McDowell, and more executive officers sitting in the compound are your audience for today. “Espinoza told me. Apparently dragon scales are the currency in this world?”

“For the continent, yes,” you say. “The humans seem reasonable. We haven't had much tension aside from the issue of proper tribute. But I figure we've shot down enough dragons with those AA defenses that you have plenty of room to get us some currency, correct?”

The Director nods, smiling. “Correct. I suppose we can bribe our way into their hearts and minds. I've been told we've shot down at least fifteen dragons over the island that we can recover. Some dozen over the water where they just sink to the bottom unfortunately. But let's count our lucky stars. Do you know how much the tribute is?” he asks.

Oh, damn it. “No, I don't. I suppose I'll have to ask later.”

“Well, do so. How are the natives, hostile, friendly?”

Estelle says, “Reasonable. The man we spoke with turned us away but did not threaten us too much. I believe we can start firmly establishing relations with the human kingdom at this point.”

“Very good.” The Director nods slowly. “Alright. We'll try and get as many scales out to you. Could take time, but expect a shipment tomorrow on the coast.” Very good. “Keep up your mission. Director out.” The transmission cuts there.

Doctor Porter comes over, blinking. “So... what do we do then?”

Estelle says, “We can try to talk with the Elves. But the humans were quite blunt with stating they were savages. I think they may be exaggerating, trying to scare us. Otherwise, we could wait for the human diplomatic contact. It's up to you, Conrad.”

> Try to make contact with the Elves.
> Wait for the human delegation, if any comes at all.
> Other

>>800185
> Wait for the human delegation, if any comes at all.

One step at a time. Perhaps some sort of sign of welcome/peace can be displayed towards the woods.

the sign post is a good spot to attempt to communicate from, the sign was clearly placed there so people could see it. just hang a message it. other then that we should stay here.

If the elves make peaceful contact, we'll talk with them, and try to make an agreement.

If they come in force, we'll slaughter them to the best of our ability.

> Wait for the human delegation, if any comes at all.
The humans didn't put those severed heads on that sign...

>>800292
yeah, but they wrote the (supposed)crimes that the owners of said scalps committed. laws imply some kind of order, it may be weird or alien to us but it exists.

Maybe put up a sign in as many languages as the translator knows that we come in peace and want to talk trade (optional) around the same place we saw those warning signs

> Wait for the human delegation, if any comes at all.
> Other

“We'll wait for the delegation. They seem stand up. I won't try and risk it on the Elves for now. But uh... I guess we put up a sign with the peace rune on it, face it towards the woods, hope the Elves come out on their own?”

Estelle shrugs, squeezing past you in the tight confines of the Mobile Lab. “I suppose we can. I'll get Mirt on it.” Mirt looks over, reacting to his name being called quickly. “Mirt, come with me.” The two of them exit out of the Mobile Lab. Doctor Porter stands around, awkwardly before going back to his tests on the plants. The Mobile Lab was not exactly a place to socialize, it was a place to work. And it showed, the walls were covered with computers, servers, equipment, technology, the works. The rear trailer was storage for most of the lab material and some parts ammunition. And of course the electric countermeasure was ready to deploy with the big red button by the door, thankfully sealed by emergency glass so no one brushes against it accidentally.

Staff Sergeant Espinoza folds his arms, looking down at the floor. “You look deep in thought, Sergeant,” you say to him.

“Hillenbrand told me what happened,” he says. “You're lucky these people seem reasonable.”

“Perhaps you're overestimating the savagery of the environment we're in,” you respond. Maybe he is. So far, you've been on the mainland for about five or six hours, no attacks by wildlife yet. “And besides, you and I both know that if it ever came to blows, technological advantage will trump their numbers.”

He tilts his head, hooking his thumbs on his belt. “Doctor. Are you already advocating we start a war?”

“We don't start wars, Sergeant, not anymore.” You shrug. “These days, at least on our side, they're called police actions, no-fly zones, interventions, humanitarian efforts, but no. Never war, too brutal a word for people. I'm not advocating that.”

“Spoken like a true politician,” he mutters. Doctor Porter looks over, curious. Staff Sergeant Espinoza looks back at him, making him go back to his experiments. Then he looks back to you. “Doctor Brown. I do have to admit, I'm worried. If the indigenous know-”

“They know where we are,” you say. “Scouts trailed us for some time before they pealed off about a mile out from the camp.”

“Helicopter support is far away, as is reinforcements. We soldiers have limits. Try not to push them,” he says. “I'll get out of your hair. There's sandbags need filling.” He squeezes past you now, then steps out of the Mobile Lab, grabbing his FN FAL to boot. You take a deep breath, then sigh deeply. Things are going almost too smoothly you suppose.

Doctor Porter looks back at you again. “All these guns you know, Doctor Brown. They scare me.” You stare at him. “Just saying. I'll shoot but- I'm not exactly Deadshot or anything.” He points a finger gun at you, then mock fires it. “Pow, hehe... eh. Yeah.” He turns his head back to the laboratory, where he runs the plants through a scanning device.

Anyway, it'll be some time before the indigenous show up. What should you do?

> See to fortifying the camp more extensively, however you can.
> Go scout around the area. Maybe catalog some of the local fauna?
> Lounge around, the brilliant men are also lazy. See who's available to talk perhaps.
> Other

>>801011
> Go scout around the area. Maybe catalog some of the local fauna?

Spend some time doing our job and learning about the environment. Might save our life someday

The answer is make yourself useful.
If another hand will get the barricades built in a timely way, pitch in.
If you're clearly not wanted there, go socialize, see if there's any pet projects you can aid.

Talking to Estelle about her initial impressions might be useful.

>>801011
this
>>801016

we got some place better for negotiation then standing outside? a clean room with a clear wall so they can see you take off your mask would help simply because then they could see your face.

>>801091
With enough saws and hammers, we could get a log cabin going. But that'd take us into the forest, where things are still complicated.

> See to fortifying the camp more extensively, however you can.
It's not that you don't trust the locals, but you're going to be ridiculed by everyone back home if your camp is overrun by fantasy fauna. Unicorn horns are pointy!

> Other

“So, Doctor Porter.” He looks over to you, a light smile beneath his mask from the look of his eyes. “Have your experiments yielded any results?”

“None so far,” he says. “The botanical fauna here in Farava is actually quite similar to ours. Photosynthetic, feeds off of water and nutrients in soil, spreads through root systems.” He points down to a glass jar, where a flower grows in a dirt pot underneath artificial lighting. The flower is actually quite beautiful, with light blue petals spread around the center like a bright star. “Take this flower for example. Ran it through some tests at the compound, very hardy these plants. They can grow pretty much anywhere. And I assume that's because of the magical particles in the air. Perhaps another source of nutrition for the plants. They don't spread the magic though, but they do er... ingest much as they would cycle in CO2 and give out fresh air.”

“Right, right.” You fold your arms. “And the...” You point to the small open basin full of more dirt and some growing green plants.

“Hydroponics project,” he says. “This is a personal request from the Director. He wants me and other botanists back at the compound looking at potential ideas for possibly growing food in this environment, food we're familiar with such as corn. These happen to be tomato plants. I have potatoes as well, along with apples, oranges, corn seeds, the whole lot. I was waiting on seeing if this would be more a permanent outpost for us before I used those though. The Director wants to know as soon as possible if it is viable to grow food we're familiar with here so we don't have to rely on hydroponics back at the compound, shipping in food from our side, or having to trade with the locals for food. Saves us some logistics troubles.”

“I see.” You nod slowly. “The Director must really trust you then, Doctor Porter.”

He shrugs. “He and I go way back. He actually gave me private funding for my projects into climate change a few years back before the portal opened. He's quite generous if he sees potential use into something. I know he might come across as callous but...” He sighs, leaning on the counter. “Nah, he's actually kind of an asshole. But that's besides the point.”

“And he hired you then?”

“I was one of the first men into the portal,” he explains. “I think people really underestimate how important botany is to a potential colonization effort into a fertile world like this. I know we're here for mining adamantine and what not, but this could be a really good place to live in a couple of years. We just need to open some space for farming. Of course, we might have to move some of the locals onto reserves I guess, open some space up for us. But overall, it's a very big place. Lot of room to grow.”

“Need my help with anything then?” you ask.

“Do you know anything about botany?”

“Sure. I grew potato plants back home,” you say.

“Did they survive?”

“... no.” You never did have time to water them. Papers needed to be graded. Students were always in your office asking for help or for a boost to their grades. Madness.

“Haha!” He shakes his head, waving you away. “I appreciate it, Doctor Brown! But I'd prefer to work alone on this. You have some fun later though. Maybe Doctor Schurz and Mirt might want your help.” Fair enough. You pat Doctor Porter on the shoulder, then step out of the Mobile Lab.

-

-

Mirt has nailed a large placard on the warning post directed out towards the woods. The warning post isn't too far from camp, can't be more than a sixth of a mile away. Estelle watches him as he nails it in. And once it's nice and secure, Estelle produces a Twix bar from her vest pocket and tosses it to him. “Good boy.” Mirt catches it in his mouth, furiously munching on the treat. She sees you coming in. “The Teranaken love chocolate.” Mirt towers over Estelle, his tail wagging, clearly asking for more. “No more, Mirt.” He huffs, a bit miffed before going to sit down by the post.

“They like tobacco too?” you ask.

Estelle shrugs, standing around idly, looking at the woods. “The tobacco's for the dwarves. Cigarettes are pretty addictive. The Director considered trading marijuana at first before the UN put a stop to it.” She looks at you, quirking her brow. “So what are you doing here?”

“Figured I'd come by to get your opinion,” you say.

“This is because the troopers won't let you help them dig those trenches is it?” she asks bluntly.

“No. I'm a Professor, I'm not a soldier. I don't dig,” you say to her.

“Clearly if your potato garden is dead.”

“You- you said you'd take care of that garden,” you say back to her. She snickers, placing her hands on her hips. “Look, Estelle. Really, tell me. What's your opinion on this? The delegation will be coming. Then we got the Elves in the woods. We have the fauna out there too.”

Estelle is silent for a few seconds, then she shoves her hands in her pockets. “Way I see it. I'm never going to be satisfied with what we do here. You know, people should be left to their own devices, left to build their own nations and such. You've read history books. Nations that meddle in the development of other nations... doesn't end up well most of the time. There are exceptions of course. Japan for one thing. After we dropped the nuke. Before then, that was pretty standard stuff.”

“What. You think we're just going to steamroll them?” you say. “Stomp all over them, destroy their culture, wipe them out?”

“No. That's basically inevitable,” she says. “I'm more scared they'll -want- us to help them. Another nation wiping out another is evolution at work. But a nation destroying itself to rebuild itself in the image of others, that's... that's tragedy.”

The two of you are quiet for some time. Mirt has already fallen asleep, leaning against the warning post. Those scalps are still there, still rotting as well. After some time though, you finally say, “I think we've done enough philosophizing, Estelle.”

“Agreed. Sorry for rambling.” She sighs deeply. “I just-” Mirt wakes up, his ears twitching a little. The two of you look at him. He stands up, grabbing his rifle. “What, what is it, Mirt?”

He points to the east, his nose twitching. “I smell something. Hear something.” He sniffs again, then points further east, towards the woods. “Smells like wounded animal.”

> Go investigate. You won't venture too far anyways.
> Leave it. You're not going to risk stepping on Elven territory now.
> Send some troopers to go investigate, their job.
> Other

>>801688
> Leave it. You're not going to risk stepping on Elven territory now.

That's bait.
furyroad.jpg

they saw the sign and are testing you. can you resist going into their territory for a wounded animal? or maybe they were just hunting and the breeze is sending the smell of a fresh kill this way.
regardless, we have no reason to run off.

>>801688
> Go investigate. You won't venture too far anyways.

>>801688
The hunt is on. Got any remote drones that can investigate?

If we have a camera drone, okay, we can send it over that way, but we shouldn't risk sending a person into Elven territory.