Joining the Rebellion

[GM Craig]

They kind of shrug. "Looks like they're ready to get help. Should we start?"

[Keshani]

She nodded.  "Yeah. Give me a few med packs. I want to help too."

[GM Craig]

You get to work. The medics establish a triage station, and put you to work managing the less serious cases. Some of these interactions are heartwarming. Others, much less so. There's more then a few of the older and very young natives who are too far gone for your relatively primitive medical facilities. Sounds of relief are mixed with sounds of grieving, and you are struck how some things transcend language and culture.

Over it all, you observe the large female observing everything closely, hairy arms crossed as she scowls down her nose.

Then, withput warning, the female leader gives out a roar, and rushes at one of the med techs. Before you can react, Hollar has raised his rifle, but before he can fire (if he was going to) the female has her hands on the medtech and has lifted him into the air.

[Actions?]

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[Keshani]

She froze for a second, watching the female and the med tech.

She wondered if this was all going to go to hell in just this one split second....

She moved a few steps toward the female, forcing herself to stay calm.

"Down." she said, gesturing to the female.

To the other medics she spoke without looking at them.

"Stop what you're doing and take a few steps back away from the Natives." she said, keeping her voice calm.

Without waiting to see if they followed her directions or not she spoke to the female again.

"Put him down or no more help."

She gestured at the medics, and then again to the female to put the tech down.

[GM Craig]

The big female does not seem to understand you, but she seems to get the gist of what you are saying.

Slowly, she lowers the medtech while the others take slow steps backwards. The female native then grunts angrily, and waves a fist off to the side of where the medtechs were working. You see a small specimen case there, partially filled with sealed and labelled sample tubes. They appear to be blood samples, but would not be required as part of the treatment process, unless the techs were planning on taking them back to the lab for more detailed analysis.

[Keshani]

"I, uh, don't think she likes the blood samples...", she said to the medtechs...

[GM Craig]

The recently assaulted tech says, "We were ordered to collect samples for genetic analysis and study."

[Keshani]

She felt a feeling of anger at the tech's answer and was just as quickly surprised by the reaction. Why was she angry?

But it seemed not right that these techs obviously had been given orders that she had not been told about, yet she was supposed to be in charge of this "mission"..

"You think you have enough and that you could maybe stop?", she asked, a bit of....something...tinged with a mix of sarcasm, anger and hurt creeping into her voice as she spoke.

[GM Craig]

The medtechs sorta look at each other. The one you were speaking with shrugs. "Sure, I guess. We just wanted to study them, learn more about them."

[Keshani]

She couldn't quite keep the glare out of her expression.

She had stolen things as a kid plenty of times. It had been a necessity for survival and frell, it had been fun.

But the people that she had stolen from deserved it. They were rich and arrogant and rude.

And, her time as a slave had changed her.

She had spent way too long having people take things without her permission and even against her will.

These people had definitely hit a nerve and the treatment by these medtechs......

She let out a slow breath, calming herself down.

"Look, can we just focus on trying to make them not sick first? And then go from there? One thing at a time....they are really suspicious of pretty much everyone...."

With good reason, she thought to herself....

[GM Craig]

The medtechs look at one another, then the one you had been speaking to nods. "Sure, Specialist. Sure." He looks at the big female. "Is she going to be OK with that?"

You look at the female, who is definitely not looking happy. She keeps glaring at the sample tubes, the medtech, and you.

[Keshani]

She shrugged, and grabbed another medpac and moved to try to help the next native who was around her. She kept one eye on the Female as she worked to make sure she wouldn't react again.

[GM Craig]

With you in the mix, the female seems to relax.

Hours pass as you and the medtechs triage and treat the injured. There's a lot of happy stories to come from that day. But it is not al happy. There are a few - three older adults, and two young children - where the damage is too great and they are suffering from multiple organ failure. The best you and your team can do is make them comfortable for the short time they have left.

It is late in the evening before the last of the tribe has been treated. It has been a long day, and there has been some sadness. But you accomplished some good here. Those you were able to treat should make a full recovery.

As your team relaxes on the outskirts of the village, Hollar walks up to you. He offers you a steaming mug of cafe, and sits down beside you.

"Good work, Snaps. I was worried there a couple of times, but you knew what you were doing."

You and Hollar watch as you see the villagers build a large fire. Meat is set to roasting, and large drums are dragged out. In short order, a loud, exuberant celebration breaks out. None of your team are invited to join, but you have the feeling that just being allowed to watch the proceedings is a significant honour.

Eventually, the celebration winds down, and the villagers make their way to their huts. You are about to head to the transport when the big female comes up to you. Hollar tenses a little, but the female kneels before you. She presses her forehead to the ground, holds there a moment, then gets back to her feet. She looks at you a moment before turning and walking away into the night, away from the village.

You hear her make a high pitched call, and a large shadow emerges from the nearby grass and follows along beside her. In moments she is gone.

[i'm good to warp if you are.]

[Keshani]

She was tired. Both physically and emotionally. Especially emotionally.

She felt good about the natives they had helped. She felt sickened by the images of those that they couldn't. Her heart hurt. It seemed so unfair.

She had been sitting by herself, off in the darkness where she wouldn't draw attention to herself, lost in thought, when Hollar walked up to her, a steaming mug of caf in his hand.

"Good work, Snaps. I was worried there a copule of times, but you knew what you were doing."

She smiled a small smile at his words. But they also brought fear and another tinge of anger to the surface, as well.

Fear, because it scared her to hell that other people would think she actually knew anything - that she had any business leading others, their lives in her hands. When the medtech earlier had been taken by the Female native she had been terrified. What if he had been killed?

The anger she felt was due to the fact that the whole situation might have been avoided if someone had told her that the medics were directed to collect samples. Maybe she could have suggested that that wouldn't be a good idea. Maybe she could have at least been prepared...

She didn't know if Hollar had known.

She didn't know if she wanted to know if he had known.

But it seemed to tell her that they, in fact, had NOT trusted her completely.....

She stared off into the distance at the fire that was being built, not saying anything.

The celebration that ensued couldn't help but raise her spirits a bit. It was so genuine, so....real.

"We did do some good today, didn't we?", she finally said, just as the celebration was winding down.

Before Hollar could answer, the female approached, and Kesh could feel Hollar tense beside her.

But the female just knelt in front of her, pressing her forehead to the ground, looking decidedly like a bow of some sort.

It felt....profound.

But she didn't know how to respond.

And then it was too late, the female headed back down the path to the village.

She watched for a moment longer before taking a slow breath.

"I'm not sure what exactly that meant, but I think we definitely made progress today."

She turned to Hollar.

"Thank you, for being here."

There was so much more that should have been said; that she wanted to say. But neither she nor Hollar were really great with words......

[I'm good.]

[GM Craig]

Hollar seems ... well, it's hard to categorize. Embarrassed? Touched? Uncomfortable? All three, or something else? He mumbles something that sounds like "doing my job," rises, and helps you up. Your team packs up the last of your gear into the transport, and you pile up for the dark drive back to the base.

[OOC: One clarification - the big female with the lizard pet did not walk back to the village, but instead walked off into the night away from the village, carrying her child with her on her back. You do not know enough about these people to have any idea what that means, if anything.]