Ken nodded in agreement as Lorain spoke and then stepped forward.  He was not a space hand but here on the ground Ken was in his element.  "Lika, thanks for agreeing to listen to us.  We want to keep the involvement of your people to the minimum so that if things go south it will be solely a group of independents pursuing a private vendetta."

He took a deep breath.  "We've been tracking down an artifact that Dumaer brought back from here that indicates that there is a major find here in the ruins.  It indicates that there may be some link between the Sky Raiders and the native civilization."  Ken displayed the information they had from the artifact.  "We also have a strong suspicion that Kalamanaru may have Dumaer here as well." 

Ken pulled out the map that they had from the Scout.  "We want to borrow one of your air rafts, enough to take a team into the Hegemony main camp, pull out Dumaer and go check the ruins."

After Honno signed for the cargo, Ollie starts moving it into the store. He was going to mine this Honno character for local scuttlebut, but Blake already has that covered.

Back me up here Ollie, maybe they need some of your mechanical skills or other knowledge.  I'm just a flyboy with sunglasses ...

Ollie finishes offloading and storing the cargo before heading over to Blake and Honno to catch up with the local gossip.

In reply to Blake Renfield (msg # 103):

Hanno answered they had spares and parts for air/rafts and grav vehicles. Nothing for ship or small craft repair!

"We can call for a shuttlecraft from the League base in the asteroid belt if you need spares and tools. It'll take about a half day."

There were about forty staff in the area, about a hundred on the planet in general.

"Maps are not a problem, ours are pretty good. Here, I'll download the information
 so you can make as many copies as you like."
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:04, Tue 06 Jan 2015.

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 106):

"Sure, take what you need.

"We have a military surplus G-Carrier. Unarmed, but it's armoured. Hanno is an ex-Scout, he'll be glad to pilot you."

In reply to Lika Olekskya (msg # 111):

"Yes of course! Dumaer's a mate of mine. Hate to hear Kalamanaru's got him.

"As for wildlife and predators, stay away from the ursinoids. They're like Terran Grizzlies."
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:28, Tue 06 Jan 2015.

Ken smiled.  "Thanks Lika, the use of the g-carrier would be perfect.  I've flown in more than my share of the armed and unarmed versions.  Let's hope the extra armor won't be necessary."  He looked over at Hanno and stuck out a hand.  "I'm Ken Jenkins, good to meet you.  We'd be glad to have you fly us Hanno.  Do you have any night vision gear?  A few of us lack it."

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 113):

The ex-scout shook hands.

"Hanno, Hanno Sakawa. Glad to help.

"Night vision? Yes, as a matter of fact we have a dozen pairs. Most are combination thermal imaging and low-light. We use them for air surveying to look for buried structures. They belong to the Institute, so they're yours. As long as Lorain signs for them!"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:01, Wed 07 Jan 2015.

In reply to Hanno Sakawa (msg # 114):

Walker hunted Ken down, and knocked on the door before entering.

"Sorry, Ken, I was finishing things up shipboard before I got off.  May I join you?"

"Thanks Hanno, it's good to be working with you.  We'll probably need a half dozen sets depending on how many we take with us on the mission."  He frowned and laid out the maps he had.  "Can we head out tonight?  What do you recommend for our approach, over the ocean or land based?"

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 116):

Hanno nodded at Thomas' request to join them.

"I would recommend a water approach, then complete the trip overland.

"The G-carrier is surplus. We use it to underwater exploration. Half the passenger bay has a modular airlock and pressurisation chamber, plus a towed Sonar array which we deploy out the back and drag along as we fly at 3m altitude."

He led the men to the garage.

The G-Carrier had seen better days. It had none of the sensors, weapons or stealthing it might have one possessed. It was a sand-colour but with multicoloured patches.

On the plus side, it was sealed and could seat 10 (the equipment in the rear bay took up some space; otherwise it would carry 14). There was sonar for underwater navigation and surveying, plus an airlock and decompression chamber fitted to the rear deck hatch. The rear ramp was blocked by a towed Sonar array that could be deployed out the back and towed along behind as the G-Carrier hovered. Speed was 100 kph cruise, 120 kph sprint and 75 kph NOE.

In reply to GM (msg # 118):

"Approach shore underwater, surface enough for us to get out, and then we hump it from there.  No problems.  A bit like poaching."

He grinned.

"Long as there's no game warden about, we're fine."

"Looks fun," said Linus coming back from his stroll.

"Who's going?"

In reply to Thomas Walker (msg # 119):

Hanno thought it over.

"Should work. Navigation underwater is via Sonar and the inertial nav system.

"We can approach the ruins from the large bay. But the command post is located on the upstream side, you'd need to circumnavigate the area. Call it a 20k hike both ways."

Once the formalities are over, Blake will start the refueling process.  He pays attention to their placement to avoid sucking up any muck & debris.  Once the process starts, he wanders back & forth checking both ends, eventually finding a chair or other convenient place to sit & watch the water & surroundings ...  He hums an old scout song, "A pilot's life for me ..."

Ken looked over the APC.  He'd traveled in a number of these in his time in the League Marines.  A careful look revealed that it had been thoroughly demilitarized but would still be serviceable.  "I'd rather not hump it 20 klicks overland.  If we need to evacuate injured prisoners, especially in a hurry we'll need the APC up close.  Can we approach up the river directly to the ruins?"

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 123):

The ex-Scout thought about it for a moment.

"I don't see why not. In theory they're not watching the river or have any reason to string nets or lines to prevent infiltration by submersible. But by the same token, we don't know if they're exploring the river or have deployed sensors or equipment. There may be rubble in the river at the ruins themselves.

"Short answer, we can probably approach up the river. But that still leaves you at the wrong end of the city."

Ken considers the advice.  "Let's go in via water to get close.  Then we can make an approach along the nape of the earth from the south east off of the bay.  They will not be likely to be looking for hostiles from that direction. It is behind them so to speak.  We'll stay really low and go slow.  That will get us within a few klicks of the command center.  Thomas and I can go in and scout.  If we can rig up some kind of cammo netting the rest of the crew can stay concealed in the APC."

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 125):

"OK, we can come in from the southeast. Then circle... west and then north?

"As well, we can remove the towed sonar gear from the back of the G-Carrier. That shouldn't take more than a couple hours. We don't want to wreck it!"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:42, Tue 13 Jan 2015.

In reply to Hanno Sakawa (msg # 126):

"Have you seen electronics emissions that would indicate some sort of sensors that would detect our NOE travel?  Because if they spot that, our trip is over quickly, I'm imagining."

In reply to Thomas Walker (msg # 127):

He shook his head.

"I have no idea if they have any Radar or not. I doubt they have Meson or Neutrino sensors deployed but anything is possible!

"If we fly NOE we should be safe."

Ken nodded.  "Yes, let's head underwater until the last minute.  We'll head around so that we come in from the southeast.  We'll hit land and head north and west at NOE.  We'll time things so that we are cross the beach at dark."  He considered.  "Yes, good idea.  Our crew can help take the sonar gear out."

In reply to Ken Jenkins (msg # 129):

After a couple hours effort, the sonar gear was removed from the rear of the G-Carrier.

Meanwhile, the ship's fuel tanks were filled with pure freshwater. It would still need to be refined, of course, but at least their drinking water would not be so stale.

Jaxxon and Marielle tried to keep up the ruse of an M-Drive malfunction by making repairs where they could be observed. Hanno, however, didn't appear to be buying it but said nothing. Instead, he helped get the G-Carrier prepped.

The G-Carrier also had a locker with a half-dozen drysuits plus SCUBA gear.

OOC: Anyone with Vacc Suit, Zero-G Combat or Hunting can familiarise themselves with the SCUBA gear on hand if they wish.