As he waited in his seat, Socket lost track of time.  He know preflight checks and what-not and what-ever occurred.  An unknown number of things could come up to delay them moving out.  That was ok.  He had a new gun in hand and had a side panel off and was examining the mechanism and power of the design.  He wanted to make some tweeks and test it, but figured the others might not take kindly to weapons fire in the cabin.  It would have to wait until they arrived at the temple.

Once he reassembled it, he made some notes on his datapad.

At the last minute, Ashina joins the shuttle, making it a bit cramped as there are only 6 seats and she has to sit in a 'jumpseat' placed in the aisle.

Then the shuttle takes off. It appears to be a fairly normal planet... no wild weather or giant flying creatures or unexpected bursts of radiation... so Revonoss can Take 10 to fly the ship down and land it.

It'd be a different story if he tried to land on the side of the mountain. There'd be no guarantee that it wouldn't slide down the mountain and it'd be rather awkward to exit the shuttle while it was parked at such an extreme angle. So, he lands at the base of the mountain on reasonably level ground.

There's a path leading up to the temple on the top, though only about half of it is stone steps set into the path. The rest of the time it is just a ramp up with several switchbacks.

There was no indication of any storm fronts moving in on the way down, and the local temperature is cool. There's no snow on the mountain but probably will be in another month.

Revonos puts the shuttle down with the practised ease of someone having done it almost routinely. When the shuttle is set down and he is sure its steady he starts the power down to park it as the others get off sending his dronw through the hatch to get a first look.

"I think we should select one in charge of his mission just to avoid getting stuck in endless discussions if we run into something we do not agree on. We have anyone experience as exploring to take the lead here?"

Saia takes a few steps out of the shuttle and looks up the mountain side.  Answering the question without taking her gaze off of what may very well be her first mountain on an alien world, let alone one nearly untouched by civilization and its clutter.

”I can climb up the side of a cliff with a rope for the rest of you to climb, so I don't mind going first, but I am nobody's leader.”

The flight down was pretty boring.  Socket spent the time staring at whomever sat next to him and wondering what kind of equipment they had on them and the interesting smells coming off of the person.

The landing was routine.  That was good.  Then the pilot got a drone out and that peeked his interest.  The ysoki walked around to where he could view what would be a hand controller if that is what Revonoss used.

Then the Lashunta started talking of a leader.  Socket stood up a little straighter and was humbled by the speech.  He hadn't even met the pilot and already he was nominating Socket to lead!  Obviously no one else here had as much experience crawling through access tunnels on ships or the bowels of the space station exploring.  Rather than being obnoxious about it, he waited for the formal announcement of the group.

"That's good to know, Saia," Sol responded, "but on the flight down, it looked like the path and stairs were intact all the way to the top."

"I believe the orbital scans tagged the mountain at just over 6,000 feet, but we're probably only going to be able to move at half speed... with several stops to rest. So, maybe an hour to reach the top? Two hours, tops."

He noticed Socket's change in stature... just short of him raising his hand and saying 'Pick me! Pick me!'

He didn't know anything about the newcomer that had come through the aiudara, other than what he could observe, but she didn't look particularly like a leader any more than he did.

"My expertise lies up in space, so if were up there exploring, I'd be willing to accept the leadership role. Down here, I think maybe the Ysoka would be better suited. Of course, it all depends on what we find inside."

"How about it, Socket? You willing to lead this ragtag group up the mountain?"

There was no controler for the drone but Revonosses eyes had the gleam of on retina projection.

"If you want i can drop a few people off near the top but the shuttle needs to land here and somehow i think traveling together on a strange world is the smartest move."

He chuckles when the stowaway stands attention when he suggests picking a leader but doesn't say anything as Solsan was already putting him forward and slowly he started to wonder if anyone here was a skilled ruins explorer.

Culhayn shrugged. He couldn't really say he had experience working under a leader when on the field, let alone being one, so he didn't imagine his opinion on the matter could help a lot. And, as far as he could tell, a leader chosen like that and without preparation probably wouldn't be able to really direct a team in a tense moment.

Observing the scouting drone getting out, he decided to occupy himself with what he could plan.
"Anyway... any interesting information on the planet's atmosphere at ground level, Revonoss? Breathable? Toxic?"

Perhaps to everyone's surprise, Sonaeu actually managed to catch a nap on the way down.   Having a hectic schedule meant that she'd long ago acquired the ability to catch a nap just about anywhere.   She wakes up just about the time the shuttle touches down, unstrapping herself then snagging her grenade launcher before heading to the door.

"What does the drone say?"   She asks, hopefully catching Saia before she  could open the pressure door and expose the craft to the outside atmosphere.   She'd live long enough to get the hatch closed again if something outside didn't agree with them.

The drone registers a somewhat standard atmosphere, a little bit low on pressure, but that's a bit consistent with the altitude.

There's nothing toxic in the atmosphere.

Having accompanied the drone out through the shuttle's airlock Saia clearly trusted her armor's environmental seal more than she wanted to stay in the tiny box.

”If you want to send someone up the mountain first it will be me, someone who is officially part of the mission will need to function as leader, and preferably not also be in the front.”

Solsantharis was definitely a great judge of character.  They hadn't known each other long, but he saw the inherent greatness of Socket.  The others were a little slower.

While he was ready to accept and give some grand speech about venturing into the unknown, the conversation went to mundane survival and then Saia pretty much vetoed the idea.  His face fell and he snorted.  Getting his own crack team to take over the universe would have to wait for another day.  His whiskers twitched.

The Ysoki couldn't believe he was going to toss this out, but this group needed to come together and get moving.  "She's bossy enough.  She should be the leader."  He pointed to Sonaeu and then crossed his arms and pouted.

Culhayn couldn't help but look amazed at the comment of the Ysoki.


"Well, I believe the reason a leader role was suggested was so that we shouldn't lose precious time debating endlessly when an impasse arrives, yet it is quickly turning itself in said impasse. Let's get this over and move on, shall we? The longer we linger here, the more time we give for problems to find us."

Revonoss relays the drones readings and also exits the shuttle and makes sure he is the last one cycling the locks and making sure only their team got access to it and then sends the drone ahead and also starts to head for the trail.

"I suggested we pick a leader based on relevant skills and indeed avoid a situation like this. Seems none have the exploration skills so the point is indeed moot. Lets go up and see what this temple has in store for us."

As he starts to follow the path the drone hovering overhead to keep an eye on the direct area he turns to Socket.

"So the rest of us sort of introduced ourselves and our skills. What do you bring to the away party?"

Sonaeu nods to Saia, placing herself right in front of Revonoss.   She slots Socket into the middle of the group, letting everyone else pick where they want to walk between the Ysoki and the point woman.   The grenade launcher might have been overkill, but then again....maybe not.

"Don't worry about it, Socket," Sol says to the Ysoki, patting him on the shoulder. "Really good generals lead from the rear, since if you lead from the front, you're usually the first one to get shot."

"Also, there's no reason you can't be the leader when it comes to making decisions. Saia is just filling the scout role."

Not expecting there to be any attacks from the back while going up the hill, Sol will bring up the rear.

Said throws one more comment over her shoulder before she starts climbing up the mountain path with the sort of familiarity one expects to find in natives to this kind of terrain, seemingly unhindered by the weight of her armor

”My role is better described as Vanguard than as Scout.”

Usually, Culhayn would have tried to position himself towards the back of everyone, but that was when he was working alone among the kind of danger he imagined he probably wouldn't be facing in this journey. This was a time to change tactics and be more adaptable - a bit of trust was in need, and he found his curiosity pulling him towards the front. He chose to be close to the Vanguard.

The ysoki chuckled as the group was getting themselves together.  "What do I bring?  Socket, Ysoki electrician 3rd class.  I was working a request on the ship and got a little side tracked.  I think the captain didn't want me on the ship and sent me here to get rid of me.  So, I bring talented edgy handsome rebel to the away party."

He took what Solsantharis mentioned and nodded at the thought.  He ended up near Sol and followed the others up the mountain.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:42, Fri 15 Mar 2019.

It takes about an hour to climb to the top of the mountain, and once you reach the top, you realize that the temple isn't quite as large as you thought. Perched atop the mountain, it appeared huge in comparison to the peak.

One of the reasons it stood out is that it is white. It appears to be about 50 feet tall, but is probably only one story.

The front has a type of veranda accessed through 3 high pointed-arched openings. Across the veranda, the outside wall has three doors that are meant to match the arches. No windows are visible.

Paused once again while she waits for the others to catch up as she has been doing the whole way up the mountain Saia stands just outside the center of the three entrances looking up at it.  As the others approach she asks them what is probably a question that has been on her mind for a while.

”Did they want everyone to think they were that big, or do we know if they actually are?”

The ysoki slowly dragged himself over the summit and collapsed in a heap breathing heavily.  "Sheesh..."  He wasn't in shape for a hour long climb up steps.

He raised a single finger and wanted to comment to Saia's question but was too busy trying to recover from the climb.  He gave up and simply waved off the opportunity.  He should have taken that opportunity to be dropped off at the top, he could have napped for the last hour instead of... exercised.

"Probably neither," Sol answers Saia's question, "but I wouldn't put it past them either."

"People tend to build big to impress other people. Cathedrals and galleries, for instance, are never meant to accommodate people 30 feet tall yet often have ceilings that high or higher."

"It's more about the aesthetics of the people who built it."

He studies the outside of the temple in more detail now that he's close enough to do so. Considering there didn't appear to be anyone living on this planet, that kind of meant that this temple was a destination unto itself, even if it was only a relay to the next destination.

Sonaeu doesn't respond when they reach the top but pauses long enough to pat Socket reassuringly on the shoulder before taking the opportunity to walk the perimeter.   Not only to get a feel for the place but to see how the terrain was.

OOC:  14:56, Today: Sonaeu rolled 30 using 1d20+11.  Stealth check.  14:56, Today: Sonaeu rolled 24 using 1d20+6.  Perception check.

Revonoss wasn't to tired from the climb though he noticed he was more used to the low gravity on board of a ship. As some of the others take a breather he sends the drone around the temple to see if there is any opening small enough for it to take a peek inside. He maybe should get manipulater arms for it so it could do more then look and repair stuff. But it was to late for that now.