Garrat is doing damage with his heavy pulse with the under slung shotgun.

"No time to be graceful about this..."  He handed Shadow the machine pistols, the bent down and hefted the pilot up in a carry, Shadow's weight across his shoulders in what was commonly called a 'Fireman's Carry'.

"We're moving!" he called out.  It wouldn't be a sprint, by any means, but Roy was still pretty fresh and could make decent time...he locked his gaze on the shuttle and took off, running at the best speed he could manage, between the extra weight he was carrying and the footing in the sand.  He angled toward the water slightly, trying to find that section of beach where the sand was compacted by the water, but not so soaked that it became muddy.

As he ran, he quipped, briefly, "Lyri's gonna be mad as hell that she missed out on this..."

In reply to Green moon (msg # 3):

Justin compensating for additional weight which was affecting the Darts Pitch and Starboard Roll, he pressed on a little further until Kray was being assisted back to the shuttle.  This allowed him to break off and head out, a slight adjustment of pitch and tap on the thruster and he climbed quickly away from the beachfront. Once sufficient clear of the area he rolled and changed yaw several times in an attempt to redress the added weight he'd picked up, this manoeuvre worked allowing the Dart to operate normally.

In reply to Green moon (msg # 3):

Holstering the plasma weapon again saving a change just in case she grabs her carbine and switches back to burst again. Laying down as much suppressing fire as possible down the beach.

As Roy and Shadow start to get close to her she starts to back pedal as quickly as she can towards the shuttle. Once Roy is past her she counts three one-thousands before turning and racing for the shuttle chucking a grenade over each shoulder to discourage pursuit.

  SHadow   grunted  as he   was hefted.. holding one machine pistol in one hand  and the  two blades  and the other  Machine pistol in the other hand.. trying to fire  as they ran.. the  rounds Kicked Up sand  behind them.

 hey?...these work great... I haven't  missed the beach..yet!

 Garrats.  weapon fired..the heavy Pulse   would tear into the bodies... the  shot Gun would tear them apart.


  Kase's   fighter  flew out and Over the   Lake..bodies and parts of  bodies  dropping into the water.

 Melia sent another r Pair of    Nivarians  to  meet their gods   before  running  and  Tossing the  grenades..

  Hemsly watched them coming ,..bloody hell , i still have   5 grenades left...


 Lirg  came   walking   back a bloody smile on his face.. as he fired at the now...retreating  Nivarians

 There was an explosion in the  air as Flores  netted another  Kill, Metal  parts  were raining down...

 Stoly was  shouting into the COMs,...let's GO!!!...Tucker..  when we  take off... get out of that Bubble  and  dog the Hatch.. its  comprimized...

 Left Bubble Gunner  shouted...i'm Out!

 Rven's  fighters   torched  two  more Nivarians.. , the last couple broke  and headed back  north.

  Looking  down the beach...Jesse saw  a spidergator grabbing    a wounded  Niavrains  and  tossing  it back..into its  Jaw pouch...

 there was plenty of  wounded on the   beach...some were  even wounded by  careless  golden lazar fire..most were  torn from  50 Cals  and small arms  fire...

 as People began to  Pile into the shuttle, Hemsly  Grabbed another grenade and   tossed it  towards the Northern road... it  went off in the air... dropping   a pair of   Nivarians from frags

  Mila  was still closing in one  her  Nivarian.

Garrat grins "Lirg, your looking in good form "

Roy grunted at Shadow's quip.  "Yeah, they usually hit what they're pointed at, just like any other gun..."  His legs werestarting to burn with the effort...part of his regular training was running with extra weight...but not a whole extra person.  And not running across sand...

As he came up by the rifle, he stopped, and set Shadow down.  "I'll allow you the dignity of getting yourself aboard.  Besides, I need to grab this..."  He pushed Shadow toward the hatch as he bent down and grabbed his sniper rifle, then headed for the shuttle hatch, as well.

  Lirg  chuckles.  his  tongue licking the  Blod  around his Muzzle,..Nivarians... they always tasted sweet?... must be the fruits  they eat?

 Shadow    waited to hand  Spencer  his side arms  back, as he   Tucked the  odd  blade   into the back of his  belt  with the other one.

    as he waited  he  tried  one  more shot  with the  goldenbeam pistol..the beam over shot the  target..and hit  and  already  dead  banana. Then the  thought hit him as he looked up at the smoking   Ledge..some fires  still  smoked   where the  missile  had  went off...Man... lost my Grease gun.... My Helmet..dammit..that's  two helmets  in one action....   Holding his   Machete in one   tired arm... he  watched   Mila  ran towards  the Nivarian...

 Hemsly   smiled  at Shadow  giving  Him a clap on the shoulder.....'ere ya go LC... give 'em a toss ta   remember ya by...

  Shadow took the Grenade,

...oh... i think they'll remember....... then  he   took a  step  Back  charge d forward a few steps  and let fly... well  into the road  way.. it blew  before its  second  bounce... screams were heard, even if they didn't see  the  bodies hit...

 ..Bloody nice throw there....

  He   Gave  the Scot   a whack on the back,..Football, Hemsly...American...Football...

    Supe  had his grease Gun out... but there were no targets, of  worth... still he  grabbed the empty  container  and Belts, but  watched  down  range as he did..

 The others  waited  for   roy , Mila  and  Henry to pull  back to the    duce.

 She takes down the one trying to hit Spencer, trying to rip out his hamstring. Once he was down, she stands over him looking around for another enemy to take out!

 If she sees no other enemies closeby she heads for Henry and the ship.

  The  Nivarian went  down, rather  easy. the softer  skin, and  no armor  to speak of, made him an easy target, for the ' odd little Hyrian'.

  She can see no real threats.. there are Maimed  wounded  groaning of  crying out, all over the   beach... but none that seem  a danger.

Jesse continues looking through the scope for the Nivarians and taking them out as they tried to reach Shadow and Spencer.  Once they'd gotten close, she let the gun slide down to her side on a body sling and she helped Shadow heft into the shuttle.

She spoke into the COM.  Henry, Mila, return to LZ before we take off.  Objective returned safely.

She included a COM line to BETH so that she would hear that last part.

Slides towards the back of the shuttle clipping her carbine into place.  She turns back towards Shadow wielding her medical bag like a weapon.  "LC seat now, I need to look at your wounds. You know Stefi and Hawkeye will have my hide and yours if you don't." She says partial order, and partially to cover her own butt.

    kray sat  down... he looked at the Body of the   starboard  Gunner... Tucker  was  dogging the hatch and  bringing  a half used  belt to the  port side  gunner to  have.

   Shadow was  cut up a lot..he had a bit of a  gash on the left side of his head... bits of bark  in his hair , suggested  ,f rom the 'dine' the   spider-gator took with him.

   he  had a Blade  wound on his  left shoulder, that had  Cut through his  jacket... and  a Burn on his   right  ankle from a 'too close'  golden lazar.

 and the  sprain....

 he  nodded to the  woman's body,...what , did  this  cost us....?

 Stoly  fired  up the   shuttle, and Pivoted   about  5 feet off the   ground...heading   South before attempting to Climb.. The   ramps  was closing its  'jaws' slowly... the  beach looked a lot different, then when they  came.

  Supe  was    looking out  as it closed.....Man...that's alot  of dead Bananas....

Roy waited at the bottom of the ramp, making sure everyone was aboard before he stepped inside, walking up the ramp as the shuttle lifted into the air.  He secured his sniper rifle, then stepped over to where Shadow was getting checked over.  "Okay...we're square for Delta Prime, now," he said, grim-faced, before cracking a smile.

The smile faded as he contemplated Shadow's question.  "One from the shuttle crew...one fighter...and the Black Betty..."  He gave Shadow a measured look, and added, "Could very well have been more, but I insisted that everyone who came along had someone else in the fleet who could carry out any vital roles they might fill.  The whole damned Marine detachment was ready to come down...probably a bunch from the transport bases, as well, if they'd ever gotten wind of the fact we were coming."

"Mila, good girl, back to the shuttle... we have Shadow!" Henry yelled, and waited for the dog to turn and come bounding back before running that way himself, following Spencer and providing a few shots to the rear to protect him as he carried Shadow towards the shuttle.

     The  folks inside  could  feel the  Duce rise into the air. The jaws of the ramp way,  clamped  shut.. the bottom ramp first, the  top overhang locking itself in.

 Supe  turned  back   to find a  seat and   strap himself in...don't know what   those  globes were?... but i won't  feel safe until we  are in the Black again...

  Tucker  spoke up,... those lazars...  they..didn't seem  quite  right.... we have  red ones..  seen others  with  Red  ones... they  zip through bodies.. cut of limbs... these things?.. eat  stuff  away

 As Melia  worked on   Shadow,  and he heard  the cost, his eyes  shifted to  Spencer,..Delta Prime?... naw.. that was just some grass  cutting... i'm thinking  we are pretty square.... i'm tellign you this  though... the looks on thier  faces   when i was  running with them?... it was kinda  hard, not to laugh....

  Then he asked,who's  fighter  went  down?...and... did   the Betty of the Fighter Pod out?

  he  jerked  a bit  as Melia  cleaned out bark....Tucker?  i'm thinking they  figaured out a  way to combine  plasma and Lazars..or... how to focus plasma into a  beam-like  form....  if they big guns on Nivar , are like that?... we can't  risk  any ship being hit  by them....

  Kray stopped  Melia  for a second  with a gentle  hand  and he said,well... i want to thank you all  for  coming  down... and  those   who wante d to , but  weren't allowed.... i did not see, anything, that looked remotely, like  a base.... but the flow of COM  dots, shows  something North of the Mountain...but..not one  damn COM  dot, on that mountain, until they chased me up there....

  Doc  Henry?... I Sent  some Vids  and Pics of  creatures  i saw...and killed...  and..what looks to be an allie..of sorts... the  Spider-Gator...things....

 Hemsly  Shook  was laughing,...i was lookin' forward to climbin' that Mountain...but that Jungle...don't look like a Good place  fer  humans...


 Lirg snorted     he  was   almost finished  lapping the blood  from his snout,..Jungle... just a hot  forest... best thing?..kIll what you think will kill you..or that you can eat...after that... you should be safe...

   Shadow's eyes  looked at Lirg,  they darted to Spencer  with his  eyebrow raised.

  Flores  Voice   came  over the COMs,..how's the LC?

Henry was sitting huddled in a corner holding Mila and keeping out of the way, his mind running through the strange flora and fauna half-glimpsed. Then Shadow said his name. He looked up.

"Haven't had much time to look yet, but they're great, Shadow, thank you. Even better, you've come back and we can go through them together later and you can tell me all about them."

  He   grinned  slightly,well?...didn't   know if i was gonna make it off that herb garden. So i tried to send  what footage of  creatures  i could.... there were some Vines that moved? but  a ran past them pretty fast... i don't know if they were   looking to grab stuff to feed, or  whether there was something higher up in the trees....

  eyes  shifted to  Mila,..how did the doggie  like her  walk?

 Lirg   finally  Finished  with his  Muzzle..he   was  running a  claw , along  a furrow  that a beam must have  caused ...this? I do not understand? Our Pups  can talk..after  a month or so , out of the womb?... Your  little hyrians..are almost... pre-historic...

   Garrat was the last to back in and stayed just inside the ramp as Spencer came in.  "No worries Shadow.  Any one who came volunteered.  What we learned picking you  up will save lives down the line.  Those golden beams for instance...they are like the ESN plasma gun I have in the bag, only a lot better.  If we still had that AI scientist on the tech deck we'd be close to that technology right now.  It's a pity we couldn't grab a sample today, but the vids will tell us something."

   He sighs. "I wasn't watching when the Betty got hit but she came through and lit up that ridge like a midwinter celebration."

   To Lirg "Humans have very little in the way of a Genetic memory but a lot in the way of mental plasticity.  Our ability to adapt is more than our racial wisdom which is why we don't convince ourselves things cannot be done or the  information we are recieving from our leadership is always the truth.  We question and we find our way around problems rather than bottle ourselves up with them.  This does make us weak in the early stages of our development but allows us to develop to overcome more diverse challenges."  Garrat shrugs, "There is always a trade off Lirg, that said our children are a greater investment in our lives.  They are more sacred to us, and the fastest way to raise the most aggressive aspects of the human race against you is to threaten them.  That is one of the reasons I pushed for your people to have a colony.  You have strong family structures so You know more what is at stake in the black.  I wish you had sided with us sooner.  I'm glad you are with us now."

"Actually," Henry chipped in, stroking Mila's head as he spoke, "I think Lirg is more puzzled about Mila, here. She is a dog, an Earth animal, but augmented. Her intelligence is well above an ordinary dog and, yes, I'd call her sentient but, in some respects she is still an animal. Also one of a kind. I'm still exploring her capablities, and being surprised all the time about what she can do... and where her limitations lie. For example, she's wonderful at infiltration and information gathering, but our outing on the Black Moon was the first time she's been in combat. She did brilliantly placing charges, but was getting a bit spooked and had to take some quiet time back in the shuttle before she was ready to go back out again. But she adapts fast, there she was out biting Nivarians, snarling fit to burst at them!"

   Listening to the Others,  Kray  turned to look at Garrat,..... I  have  some..Souviers....

 He gives   a small golden pistol to  Spencer,  and one to   Jesse.

 Handing  a Blade to Garrat, and  another to Melia..he  Pokes around in his satchel ( and sees  it has been sliced a few times),and  he   Gives  Hemsly a Dagger, that is shaped , somewhat ,,like the  swords....

 ..now?...these?  i just grabbed....  didn't know if they were important..but they looked  kinda  cool...., you'll have to  fix  them a bit, cause  i   just  snatched them  as i searched...


 He tosses  Lirg, Tucker, and Supe  a  Medallion  They were , mostly the  same, except  for   some odd, markings that were different, ( though some were the same)

  Giving   two to Henry,...one  for Mila  too....

  ..i have  a few more... i guess. i nailed   a lot more on my trip then i thought?


 he sat back  down  so  Melia could  finish.... 200  miles?... not one  damn pizza  place....

In reply to shuttle (msg # 17):

Melia sets to work cleaning up scrapes, scratches and cuts foaming or plasting them as needed.  She's careful to check for contamination in each wound not wanting to leave an infection or anything that could become infected behind.  The burn is easily treated,  as are most of his injuries she pulls out her shears, "the jacket's coming off your choice of how but I need to look at that shoulder wound one way or another." She says trying to kept the perpetual motion pilot still.  "LC if you don't sit still I'm going to sedate you." She says pulling a saline bag out. Once the flight jacket iso off she cuts the sleeve off of his flight suit exposing his forearm "as it stands you're severely dehydratedamaged and suffering from heat exhaustion if not heat stroke. You'll need at least 2 of these to rehydrate." She says sticking him and setting up the saline drip. Next up is the shoulder, she works carefully on it cleaning it gingerly she puts a thin layer of foam and then a small done of topical anesthetics to numb the area.  She quickly sutures the wound closed to minimize scaring and then dermaplasts over the sutures to protect them from the elements.

As Shadow starts to hand out souvenirs Melia accepts the Nivarian sword tucking it into her belt before trying to get back to work grumbling about pilots who like to who can't sit still. "Yes yes we know how can they be sentient and not have pizza, now sit still LC before I have Garatt hold you down and strap you to a litter..." She sets to work binding the sprained ankle giving Shadow pain killers for his injuries. As she runs the scanner over him looking for anything she missed

  Shadow  fusses  a  bit.....That Jacket.. we have to take care of that...you see those  strands of webbing.... I used one of my Blue ampule to help this  big...mother... spidergator? and she  put that over  my Jacket, and tossed the   Camo  cloak i took from a Nivarian... then.. this  Big Male, grabbed me on the  ledge ?..he  he looked at it.. touched it  with a claw.. and he sorta  tossed me aside...and  went on to ambush and  fight a bunch of the bananas...... it hink its  some way to identify 'good guys'.... they also seemed more then happy , that i was  covered  with Nivarian blood?

  There was a frown about having  Garrat hold him  down,..tell ytou what?...  we send  troops  down there.. they have to wear helmets with Visors... maybe the ones they use  on the arid  worlds?... my helmet saved me a few times from  flying snakes. and  wierd stuff like that...

Roy took the pistol with a grin, and shook his head.  "Running for your life, and you stopped for souvenirs?" he asked, with a chuckle.  "I didn't get you anything...now I feel like a jerk..."  It was pretty apparent, from his tone, that he was not at all serious about it.

He looked at the pistol critically.  "Wonder how long it'd take for the techs to reverse-engineer this.  Those globes they were firing looked and behaved a lot like the Qarl plasma weapons...but more explosive, rather than corrosive.  I'd trust one of these a little more, I think...less concern that the whole squad might die if a stray round hits it."  He tucked it away, adding, "Not packing it around until they figure out how it works, though...even if they can't replicate it."

  he points to the rifle that survived, he had to  drop two others that were hit  by  Nivarian stray shots...I tried  the rifle.. and the pistols a few times... I was  real close to the target with the pistol..burned  right  through him,  into the next guy across from him.... they do have a range? and they seem less  powerful as the distance grows.... i can only guess, that's why they have pistols  and rifles?

 Stoly'[s Voice  came  Back...we're Breaking Atmo...make sure that  starboard bubble  hatch is shut and dogged... we got  a big escort..so... i'm thinking we're  safe.

    The Diamond  was  about 20 Miles  away as it  turned on its  thrusters.,    The   rest of the Hermes fighters     flew  with  Stoly's   shuttle, BAck towards the Hermes.