Day 2 | Morning | Something Wicked This Way Comes

[Kannon]

"We, the Imperial Planetologists. My father dr Xard Vim, and I, Sinsei Vim, his assistant. I don't know why you insist on offending me, Pantazis. Do you feed on my subdual and humiliation?" She looked at Ambrose with bitter irony, straight in the eyes from up close. "Those degenerates you speak of with confidence as the cartel, you don't seem to know much how they operate, what actually makes you more believable. And yes, all things considered, meeting your commanding officer is the most sensible course of action for me. Until then, I'll keep my liberties similarly withheld."

Sinsei took note of the new arrival but didn't comment.

[Lydia Storm]

There was a roll of the eyes from the girl on guard. She liked the shot girl more than the rest of the group right now.

[Bernard Martikova]

"As is your righrt, ma'am." He let Ambrose work his magic, helping where he could as she was treated. "Yes ma'am, as you may soon learn our operation was less focused on those who would be specialized in this area and more focused on who was close by and available. That's about all I can say on it." He motioned to the obvious PMCs nearby for extra emphasis.

"Once you are put at ease, I know the Captain and myself would be eager and ready to listen to any information you have on the cartel or anything else you could offer to help us." He took a deep sigh and got off his knees to inspect his subordinates handiwork before nodding. Be a while before she would run freely thru the woods, but it at least she wasn't bleeding out.

[Kannon]

"Then I think you are hours from your whole mission being busted, regardless of what its purpose is. After all, you just let yourself parade along the very pathway they had made for people like you to find and walk along so they could get free intelligence with those Tleilaxu eyes in trees on who they need to round up. Those criminals are ruthlessly effective, and you are fooling around shooting at planetologists."

She tried to stand up, slowly, using the tree as support for her back. She stuffed the wince deep in her mouth for the sake of dignity.

[Lydia Storm]

"Why am I not surprised" Lydia commented with a small sigh, taking a look around the area briefly.

[Ambrose Pantazis]

After extracting the slug and ensuring there was no skeletal damage, Ambrose debated using a caustic clotting agent to seal off the wound and be done with it. But Bernard seemed a bit prickly about him being prickly, so best to give her some VIP treatment.

So, instead he made sure to irrigate the wound and dress it neatly. It didn't improve her condition, but it looked plenty professional.

-----
D2, Morning, Something Wicked, Medicine #2, Boost from Bernard: 3eP+1eB+1eD 0 successes, 3 advantage

0 Wounds healed
1 adv for my last Strain, 2 adv banked

[Bernard Martikova]

"Knew we should have stuck with the animal trails." He took a grunt and looked around. Going further down would only cause them more trouble. The gun was loud, and they stalled out long enough to give the Cartel a chance to organize. "Then it might be best if we get to that meetup faster and treat the rest of your wounds at our camp. With your permission, ma'am, I can help carry you along the path so we can get to a faster pace."

He gave a small smile at her to reassure her as Ambrose and him finished up what they could with her field dressing.

[Kannon]

"What an elegant solution for me not to dart. Alas, I can move better than you in the jungle, even with a litre of blood less. I could even show you a shortcut. But then, you'd have to trust me." Her own smile was not about reassuring. More like telling the pain and the vertigo to fuck off when she stood on two legs without support. She acknowledged Ambrose's work with a nod.

[Bernard Martikova]

"All right." That was all he said while watching her attempt to stabilize herself with a small look of concern, but simply sighed as she fought thru her pain. Bern didn't take the rejection personally; she was supposedly a Imperial after all.

Probably never saw someone offer a open hand to help her that wasn't also holding a knife in the other hand.

"Well, shortcut would be good if things are as you say; the gun shots have all but ensured we'll have eyes on us soon enough." This would be a good test for them together, at least. Let her show that we could trust one another and, should things prove otherwise, he had at least 2 people around who had zero problems making sure she'd be coming along for that final ride.

"When you're ready, ma'am."

[Cuyler Gray]

Cuyler had been thinking about the woman's claim. She had listened to a lot of small talk at a lot of dinners. Had Imperial Planetologists come up during any of those conversations?

- - -
Day 2 | Morning | Something Wicked This Way Comes, Recognizing Names, Average Education (Intellect): 3eP+2eD 2 successes, 2 advantage

[Kannon]

She looked at the knife she'd forgotten to grab, decided to try to toss it up with her boot and catch it, and it worked, to her relief. Getting embarrassed before these people was the last thing she wanted now. Sheathing it, she looked around for a walking stick and weighted her arm in the sling Ambrose had improvised.

"Guess it's first time for everything, including getting gunned by 'friendly' fire. I'm not going to get used to it, and I count on your cooperation, so please talk to your team to be less trigger-happy as we go on. So where exactly you need a shortcut to?"

Given Cuyler's personal discoveries on Arrakis her interest in planetology and planetologists was both grounded and justified. The name Vim had come up among authors of papers she'd browsed on heighliners lately, usually in relation to quantum botany.

[Adventure will continue here, but this thread is still actionable for talk as you go.]

[Bernard Martikova]

Bernard made a vague hand gesture towards where they came from, nodding at the friendly fire comment to acknowledge she said it. "I'm not much of a tracker, ma'am. Storm though is excellent in the art of survival and could give you more exact direction, but it's sort of that way. We tried to leave less than obvious marks to establish our way back to base, seeing as I found some more of those marks when we landed here."

[Lydia Storm]

"If I left them to do it alone they'd have fallen into mud and died by now" was Lydias only response as she motioned onwards. Already knowing the way back, but curious to see this so called shortcut.

[Kannon]

Sinsei 2.jpg (37.83 KiB) Viewed 1427 times

She gave Lydia a brief, reserved look but didn't challenge her in other ways.

"That makes me believe this is an Atreides endeavour even more. It's fortunate the Padishah Emperor rarely reads the reports of his planetologists." She laced it with a bit of sarcasm and a dose of disappointment. "Else he just might have deep second thoughts about Atreides stewardship over Caladan. Your Duke seems to be neglecting the jungles, apparently thinking that declaring something a reserve and doing nothing more about it does the trick. He supports no basic science, no furtherance of knowledge!" She pouted. "The closest to a genuine scientist in his retinue would be dr Wellington Yueh, but then he's a Richesian and a Suk. And the Duke still tasks him mostly with being a glorified physician, even though he's an acclaimed cyberneticist! We have read his quite insightful personal notes on Caladanan flora. It's hardly his fault they are so incomprehensive if the Duke leaves him no real time for any research, even one that serves his fief while being so far from Yueh's speciality."

She said all this while leading them on and paying attention to the surroundings.

"And this is even before we get into letting organised crime fester here due to non-existent..." She looked at Bernard. "...or underprepared law enfrocement. Unless... you're not here to do law enforcement, of course."

[Ambrose Pantazis]

"Or perhaps the law enforcement efforts was hindered by the indifference of witnesses.

How long did you say you and your father have been here? You seem to know a lot about cartel activity out here? First sign we've heard of was a batch bodies washing out to the sea.

Suppose you sent your observations of Muadh being rounded up, slaughtered, and discarded like cattle off in a report you figured wouldn't be read. How very conscionable of you.

Or maybe, you have a nice little arrangement with them. Seems odd our supposedly incompetent patrol so easily spotted you and almost ended you while the ruthlessly effective cartel has allowed you to prance around the jungle next to their operations with nary a worry."

[Kannon]

There was a moment of silence she needed to collect herself. Wiping a tear off, she replied in calm seething.

"If this was your yet another attempt to batter me with offences into spilling information, it has just failed, Mr Pantazis. I care not for your recriminations, nor do I feel compelled to explain anything to you. If it triggers you, do your worst and have at consequences."

[Lydia Storm]

"Maybe you should stop with the obvious line of questioning until she's back at camp. She already said she isn't answering questions" Lydia gave Ambrose an annoyed look "and stay on the track. I'm not coming back to help you if you get lost or fall into a trap."

[Ambrose Pantazis]

"Seems more likely you have no defense against the truth. You'd do well to remember where you stand. Regardless of any real or imagined connection or protections you may think you have off Caladan. Right now, you're here and the Duke's justice will prevail."

[Kannon]

"Being almost executed by an equivalent of a firing squad builds one's distance to death threats and other forms of 'Atreides justice'. Unless you contemplate torture?"

[Ambrose Pantazis]

Ambrose looked ponderous for a moment, "It's not off the table.

Refer to my preference remark about the very least the cartel deserve and include their accomplices in that statement.

Think on your own culpability before you impugn the honor of our Duke."