Joining the Rebellion

[Keshani]

She thought about that for a minute.

She felt like the statement that she knew a lot about these people was more than a bit of an exaggeration.

But she supposed it was true in relation to the others.

She pictured the female native growling at her.

Would they be more threatened by men showing up with weapons? Would it seem like they were coming into THEIR home and then threatening them?

Or did they NEED to see that to know that they couldn't just try to capture them all again?

She didn't know the answer to that. But she couldn't help but remember that they hadn't actually seriously injured any of them before. They had had the opportunity, but they hadn't. Kicker was the worst hurt and he would be okay soon.

BUT. That didn't mean that she wanted to be stupid. They HAD knocked out the entire security team before and they WERE strong...

She shrugged.

"I guess hanging back a bit will be okay. I don't want to get anyone killed...."

[GM Craig]

Hollar nods. "Fair enough. We'll hang back, maybe thirty meters. Remember Kicker will be watching through her scope. Anything goes down, duck and cover so she has free shots. She'll keep an exit open for us if we need to bug out in a hurry. And keep your comlink open, so you can warn us if things might go pear-shaped." He thumps your shoulder, and you head out towards the village.

As you approach, things look different in the daylight, and somehow more pathetic. There was much you missed under cover of the darkness, like the pile of smouldering bodies about a hundred yards south of the village. There is a commotion when you approach, and several of the villagers appear brandishing spears that look more like trees. They seem bigger in the daylight, thumping their spears, bearing their teeth, and hollering at you as you come near.

Then there is a shout, and the natives grow quiet. The female you had interacted with last time emerges from the line of warriors, and you see the baby you healed looking out curiously from some sort of front-facing carrier.

A nervous-sounding Hollar is on your comlink. "You play Snaps, but this looks dicey to me. Maybe we shouldn't enter the village, but see if we can heal them one at a time outside?"

[Actions?]

[Keshani]

"Hang on." she said to Hollar, not taking her eyes off the female.

"We want to help.", she said slowly, pointing to the baby, then to herself and the medics.

"You understand help?"

She pointed back at the baby. "We can help the rest of you."

She stood where she was, waiting to see what the female would do.

[GM Craig]

The big female bares her teeth, and the rest of the village starts to hoot and holler in a rather threatening display, brandishing wooden spears and thumping their chests.

[Actions?]

[Keshani]

She continued to stand her ground, waiting for the female to make a move. She didn't do anything else to threaten the natives or speak, just stood and waited.

[GM Craig]

One of the males breaks from the rest, and charges forward, screaming.

"Snaps...," says Hollar in your ear. As he gets closer, Hollar becomes more insistent. "Snaps!"

The big male is bearing down on you. He looks to be charging in for an attack.

[Actions?]

[Keshani]

She ignored the voice in her ear, keeping her gaze locked on the big male that was now charging her.

She took no action to appear as a threat, nor any action that would show she was backing down; she just merely stood there, waiting.

She had spent enough time in the streets to know when someone was posturing and acting the part of a bully, and to know when someone was just trying to intimidate you and that's what it looked like this Being was doing right now.

She felt that it was important to show all of these people that she would not be intimidated.

[GM Craig]

The thundering charge gets closer and closer, until she can feel the breath as the native rushes towards her. Then, he rushes right past without doing anything. You hear a sigh of released breath in your ear. "Dammit Snaps, you're aging my by the minute here..."

You calm in the face of an aggressive male seems to calm the others down, and the rest of the village gets quieter, more relaxed. The atmosphere changes noticeably, and it feels much less like a confrontation.

The large female that captured you starts forward then. She stands towering before you, and even with your bulky armour you feel small. She reaches behind her left hip and swings a rough satchel to the front. She reached in an produces the helmet she forcibly ripped from your head at your first meeting. She looks at it for a moment, then offers it to you.

[Keshani]

Inwardly she breathed her own sign of relief, willing her heart to stop pounding quite so loud in her ears. She had a feeling Hollar might just be ready to kill her by the end of this mission if nothing else killed her first. But she had to try to do this, right?

She took the helmet from the female native, smiling a small smile.

"Thank you.", she said, watching the female.

[GM Craig]

The female then reaches into the satchel a second time, and produces more objects. What appears to be a folded lizard skin. On top of that is a wooden object that looks to be a beaded stick of some sort. And next to the stick is a small rawhide bag with a pungent aroma. The female squats and places these things on the ground, and from her crouch picks up the bag. You see it is on a rawhide thong, and tied tightly. She motions as if she wises to place it around your neck.

[Keshani]

She hesitated for a moment. But the female didn't seem like she wanted to harm her.... So she allowed her to put the object around her neck

[GM Craig]

The sealed bag is... pungent. It smells like spices and herbs, with overtones of rotten meat. You let her put it on you, and she seems pleased.

Next she takes the animal skin and unfolds it, and drapes it over your shoulders. It looks very much like the one she wears, and is held together by a rawhide thong tied at the throat. It smells much the same as the bag - fragrant herbs, exotic spices, with overtones of rotting meat. Finally, she large female picks up the beaded stick and holds it out to you.

The stick is not a stick at all, but appears to be a decorated bone of some sort, with crude carvings on the surface and rough bead-work woven around in a decorative pattern. She is handling the stick with great reverence, and there seems to be a great deal of import to this gesture.

[Keshani]

The girl fought to keep her expression neutral as the female native brought the objects near her. Their smell was.......different.

The herbs and spices weren't so bad, but the smell of rotten meat...

Her stomach fought to voice its discontent and she fought equally hard to prevent that from happening.

Then the female offered her a stick, although it was clear from the way she was handling it that to her it was much more than a "stick".

She let out a breath again.

Something felt......important.....about this moment.

It was the strangest feeling. She had never really been important in her life.

But something just felt.....she couldn't think of a word to describe it. Heavy? Special? Profound? None of those words were right. It just.....felt.

She took the proffered stick from the female, feeling, in the moment, that a bow of her head would be appropriate, and so she did.

Holding the stick in front of her with both hands she bowed her head.

"Thank you.", she said again, waiting to see what would happen next.

[GM Craig]

Whatever ceremony this was appears to be over. The large female withdraws past the line of the other natives. Then, in ones and twos, they start to come forward. They move with a crude respect, some carrying children, others coming themselves, still others helping those too sick to move themselves. They calmly surround you at a respectful distance, clearly expecting you to aid them.

[Keshani]

She let out a breath and turned to the medics.

"What do you think?", she asked them