Oscillator watched their descent, packing, and so on.

He kept his HARP in-hand, using vibration to detect any anomalies.

He flew behind the heroes, considering a new method for using vibration to track parachute drops.

   Onyx, too, flew above the others, not shining his light, but instead trying to feel the magnetic pull of the metals around him; trying to sense if anything was moving out there...

Eddy walked with his fellows through the desert, towards yon tender goal.
He kept his eyes and ears open, too ... for any signs of danger.

Nightmare strides calmly along, except for the occasional snicker, "...catch up... I bet she can."
Although his eyes are open, he is neither peering through the darkness nor expecting an eminent attack.

Oscillator flies down towards Poco Tehuantl and asks him with a smile -- but also with a serious note,
"Do you smell anything strange?  You do possess super-oflactory capabilities, I assume?"

Eddy sniffed the wind.

The group makes their way in the direction of the town, Vosper zipping ahead and back with Oscillator and Onyx flying above the group. The terrain is predominantly foothills and scrub so there are many places where the group can see the town in the distance and others where they can't see very far ahead at all. Poco doesn't scent anything unusual on the varying winds at this point. There are definitely points along the way that seem perfect for an ambush but all the group sees or senses is desert life. After a time the group crests a final hill, the town probably about half a mile away and the day well into twilight. The lights from the town cast a glow in the sky. From what you can glean from this distance things look pretty quiet, nothing moving around. The sign for the general store can just be made out, looking to be about centrally located in the town.

OOC: No one sees or senses anything untoward, at least at this point.

"So I guess it's time decide how we're going in ... all tippy-toes and cat-like, hard and fast, or casual and cool" he smiled to his fellows.

In reply to Poco Tehuantl (msg #16):

   "Well, you know me jack!  I'm always casual and cool!"  Onyx cracked a wide grin.

   "But as far as this, I'm gon' say: defenses up, let's hit 'em hard, get it done.  Somebody hang back a little and make sure we don't get blindsided tho."

Nightmare is smiling, as he says, "I think we should walk in quietly, but I don't know that we need to sneak up on anything. In any case, we should walk in. I'm not sure what we should expect, and don't think we'll know any more than that until we get there."

"Seems quiet to me... too bloody quiet.  Safe bet they know we're here.  We should advance in overlapping fields of fire to cover one another," Vosper said, frowning.

"My main concern is our vulnerability to mental attackers.  From here on, I suggest we have a codeword -- Marshmallow, perhaps -- which we prompt from anyone who seems to be acting unlike themselves."

Pausing, "Then again, as we barely know eachother, so this might be premature.

But there could also be shapeshifters, illusion makers, and similar..."

Oscillator wanted to ask Poco to sniff the wind again, but didn't want to make any humorous quips before a battle.  Battles could be nasty -- people do better when they have their heads in it.

"Code words'll work for illusions and shapeshifters," Vosper replied evenly, as if she considered this kind of thing all the time.  "But mental powers... telepathy, mind control... they'd just get any password out of our noggin', I'd wager.  Best to step lively."

"Yeah, Marshmellows, that's fine" Eddy said, then turning to 'Mare, "I agree, just wander on in like a cowboy in those movies ... abandoned town, tumbleweeds, gunslingers," adjusting the gun at his hip as he said so, "that's the way to do this.
With style".

He seemed ready, right now, to do exactly this.

To Vosper, Oscillator replies, "Telepathy perhaps, if they spend the time digging for code words.  Mind control -- same thing, I believe.  Frankly, I don't know enough about mental powers, except that it's unlikely a quick attack will grant someone a password.  I theorize that would more likely require an involved mental probe, not quite as likely in the heat of ... well, you know.  Battle."

To Poco, Oscillator said nothing.  Oscillator had his own style, which he had been told was overly academic, and a few claimed it was the absence of style.

OOC: So there has been some discussion, has the group decided how they are planning to approach the town? Who is going where and doing what? Are you all advancing as a group or splitting up in some way?
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:56, Sat 12 May 2012.

"If I may, perhaps it would be best if Poco and Onyx approach stealthily at the sides while Oscillator flies overhead. As the three observe and prevent us from being surprised, Vosper and I will walk in boldly. If there's any trouble, she can run away while I do... what I do."
Nightmare proceeds to place this plan into affect, in other words, he keeps walking down the road towards the town.

  Onyx frowned a little.

   "I'm not very stealthy, man, but I can approach from above.  I can maybe hit 'em with a little light show for a distraction too, if we want." Bruce suggested.

Eddy frowned, he'd been proposing the walk in all along.
"Ok, but if I'm going to stealth in, I'll go on ahead".

With that, he bounded off into the ever-darkening shadows on all fours.


From there, he lopped and bounded off into the township, using the shadows and growing darkness to slip towards their destination.
He kept an eye on his fellows' approach. He let his senses take in the environs, ready to notice any hint of danger to the team.

"Roight," Vosper replied gamely. "Nothing I like better than walking in boldly. Except running in boldly.  We'll see how this pans out."

With that, she took pace with Nightmare, slowing down to a steady march.  Her eyes scanned the landscape, though, ready to react at super-speed.

"I know, this may seem like a bad idea in that we're not protecting ourselves from attack, but until we know what the problem is we don't know that we will be attacked. If we assume so, we close our minds to the other possibilities."
"A closed mind has one thing in common with a hole in the head, neither one allows you to think clearly."

"Not to worry," Vosper replied to Nightmare, looking straight ahead as she walked into the jaws of doom.  "If I thought your plan was rot, I'd not be walking in with you.  I actually think it's a bloody good idea, and if there's anyone suited to taking whatever they throw at us and getting the hell out of the way, I'd say it's me."

"Just hope you can hold up yourself, mate," she added, a touch of concern in her voice.

"I'm willing to observe from above, however my detection abilities might faire best were I to stay low with the rest of the group.  Thus, I will only venture as high as I can still keep you all in my sensory range."

Oscillator waits a beat to hear any responses, then zooms upwards and listens in with his radio earpiece.

"Oscillator here:  all clear so far", he says -- unless it isn't.

OOC:  GM, Oscillator stays at a vertical height to spot and continues Detect rolls (if needed).

OOC: Onyx and Oscillator please make Detect Danger rolls. (Oscillator at normal level not enhanced, you will see why)

   His adrenalin pumping as he approached, Onyx's senses were far more on edge than usual.

   The magnetic field he used as a defense was rippling the air around him as he flew, and his eyes darted from side to side, taking in everything.

OOC: 11:44, Today: Onyx rolled 4 using 1d100. Det. Dan. 14%.