> “We can set up camp by the river in that clearing.”
Sorry, but medieval inns don't have hermetic seals on the doors. And we're not a circus coming to town, either - Our stay will be indefinite.

okay, do NOT go in the woods without an invitation. put a note on the sign asking to talk.

the clearing is NOT in the woods right? if so then that seems good. after setting up should try to negotiate with the village.
if not then we should head towards the village and set up outside the place and start negotiations immediately.

> “The fishing town isn't too far a drive. Perhaps we can ask they quarter us.”
> “We can set up camp by the river in that clearing.”

“We'll set up the prefabs by the river in this clearing, here.” The Humvees were moved up. You, some members of the security team, Estelle, the Doctors, Mirt and Tall as well were huddled around the map. “We'll set up some ways away from the town. But I want to take a team to try and contact the indigenous. We're here to set up peaceful contact. Better we get it out of the way rather than skulk in the shadows.”

“Agreed,” says Estelle. “If we keep to ourselves for too long, the indigenous may assume a nefarious purpose to our visit. We're better off trying and failing to contact them now rather than not contact them at all and let them stumble on us.” She folds her arms. “I will defer to Staff Sergeant Espinoza on how much ordnance we bring.”

“If it's just a simple hello and goodbye, I think two of the Humvees, plus Doctor Brown and Doctor Schurz. In total, eight people and Tal to translate. I'll manage the construction of the prefabs and make sure they get up nice and safely. Hillenbrand will come with you. If you catch any trouble hit us on the radio.” You nod. Right, at least now everyone is talking business. Once the prefabs are set up, then you can consider relaxing and maybe getting to know the rest of the team.

“Wait.” Doctor Szczepanski steps up to you all. “Don't I get a say in this?” she asks. A say? “I mean, I'd love to meet the locals. It's clear that they have a very advanced culture just from the aerial photos alone.”

“Are you an anthropologist?” asks Estelle. Doctor Szczepanski shakes her head. “Then no.”

“Well, Doctor Brown isn't an anthropologist either!” says Doctor Szczepanski.

“Doctor Brown is the head of our expedition,” says Estelle. She steps up to Doctor Szczepanski, looking her dead in the eye. “Not just that, but as an ethologist, he has a better understanding of behavioral studies both for animals and for people. He'll have a better idea of how the indigenous live and how to treat them based on their environment and by the way they treat outsiders. I'm not going to insult your work, Doctor Szczepanski, but as our team's biologist, you're not qualified to handle diplomacy with the indigenous.”

Doctor Szczepanski frowns beneath her gas mask, angrily. “They're people just like us. Some concepts are universal. If you'd allow me at least to observe, I won't interfere.”

“Actually, I would have to agree with Doctor Schurz,” says Staff Sergeant Espinoza. “I'd rather the two most qualified people interact with the locals rather than a bleeding heart biologist who's watched Ferngully too many times.” You all glare at him. “What? I don't have time for this political bullshit. Doctor Brown, we should get going. We're wasting time.”

“Doctor Brown, please.” Doctor Szczepanski looks to you, pleading. “I promise, I won't be any trouble. I just want to see first contact with the indigenous.”

> “I'd rather the qualified do this. Stay with the prefabs, Doctor.”
> “Fine. But you better stay back and do what I say.”
> Other

A Tale of Two Worlds GermanSchteel 2017/04/15(Sat)12:50 No. 796121 ID: 6a074c
File 149228581733.png - (144.00KB , 1000x1000 , ITA Map1.png )

Updated map.

There probably would be a lot for a biologist to say. Structure of fish, livestock and inhabitants, and so on. I'm game.

Is Tal the best choice for a translator? Are Dwarves or Canids indigenous to the nearby islands?

> “Fine. But you better stay back and do what I say.”

Be calm and quiet. Observe, but do not initiate interaction without clearing it by me. This is a first contact. If something goes wrong, it will be very hard to have a pleasant second contact.

>>796127
Tal or Mirt are generally the only available translators. Ollin could do it but he has to help set up the prefabs with Helmut.

As for the Dwarves and Canids, they are not native to Farava. Most you'll see of them on the mainland are imported from other continents across the ocean.

she can come, but she has to stay in the car, and tell whoever else is in there to hold her down if she tries to get out, make it an order if you have to.

>>796120
> “Fine. But you better stay back and do what I say.”

> “I'd rather the qualified do this. Stay with the prefabs, Doctor.”
This is your job, not your vacation. You *will* get to interact. It will *not* be at our first impression on the locals.

> “Fine. But you better stay back and do what I say.”

“A biologist would be useful.” Estelle and Staff Sergeant Espinoza look to you with skepticism in their eyes. Doctor Szczepanski is clearly smiling beneath her gas mask, happy at your praise. “There might be a place. But Doctor, you follow my orders. You're not here to interact. You're here to observe. Got it? You stay in the Humvee.”

“Okay!” She nods violently. “I'll do everything you say, Doctor!” With that, she heads on over to one of the Humvees.

Estelle sighs, grimacing a little. “I just hope she doesn't muck things up for us.”

“She'll be fine,” you say. Estelle shrugs, leaving it at that.

Sergeant Hillenbrand walks on over to you all. “We're ready to load up the Humvees on your go.”

“Alright. Let's go then.”

-

-

The inside of the Humvee was as spacious as it seemed from the outside. Of course you couldn't say the same for the soldiers who were chafing under the mildly hot climate of Farava. Hillenbrand himself had already rolled up his sleeves before he started at driving the Humvee. Estelle was in the Humvee behind with Doctor Szczepanski. For now you were riding with Tal, Sergeant Hillenbrand, Kosminsky on the M2 .50, and Haskell as an extra gun. The second Humvee had Estelle, Doctor Szczepanski, Emerson, Cody (one of the two medics, the other being Fermi), and Song. A good strong force you suppose that can ward off bandits.

As you drive lazily down what appears to be a dirt trail along this riverbank, you make note of your surroundings. It's green everywhere, tall grass as well, very little in the way of standing trees though. You did note some stumps, which means they do harvest it. You also note the occasional hut or lodge along the road. But all of them seem unoccupied. The occasional bend in the river and a small hill here and there keeps you from getting full sight of the town on the water. “So Sergeant Hillenbrand. Tell me about yourself,” you ask.

He shrugs, the Canadian flag somewhat faded on his collar. “Served two tours over in Iraq. Had a family, had, Misses took the kids when she realized I was taking the second tour.”

“That's a shame,” you say.

Haskell grunts, sitting in the backseat with Tal. Tal leans out the window, catching the wind with her face. Haskell says, “Eh. Comes with being a soldier. It's worse for us troopers here on the Other Side. Mail goes through slowly. One day you leave, the next year you realize she divorced you several months ago.”

“You all sound like a bunch of pussies!” yells Kosminsky. “You don't need families anyway! All you need is a good fight! I thought you were a Marine, Haskell! Don't Marines like fighting!?”

“Fuck off you commie prick!” Haskell yells back.

Tal leans back in, grinning happily. “I like this Humvee!” The Humvee bounces as it goes over a dip in the trail. “Ha! Haha!” She almost bangs her head against the ceiling, her ears twitching and her tail wagging. Haskell has to wave the tail away from his face.

Hillenbrand shakes his head, then blinks. He leans in, looking ahead. He keys the radio on his chest. “Echo 2, Echo Actual. You got eyes on what's in front of us?” You turn to him, then look ahead. You do see the town in the distance, couldn't be more than ten miles away. The dirt trail was in fact starting to give way to a more dug out and well built stone road in fact.

“Yeah, we see it, Actual,” says Emerson.

What was more concerning was the huge mass of people in front of the wall, blocking the road. Behind that mass of people was the wall itself, holding even more people. “Stop, stop,” says Hillenbrand. You all park the cars on the side of the road. Good God. You dismount, then grab a set of binoculars from inside. You peer through.

They're wearing armor. By the dull look of it, perhaps leather as well. Not a lot of metal except for helmets. A lot of them were wearing helmets actually, with segmented tails on the back, sort of like a lobster's tail, and visors either turned up to reveal their eyes or turned down to protect them. A group lined up in front held spears and shields. A group in back held anything from swords, axes, and maces, and were more heavily armored with actual plates (but not complete covering, just chest plates and arm guards. The rest appeared to be padded armor.) Behind them, a huge mass of Wolf and Cat people like Tal, wearing rags and what appear to be scavenged equipment. Their weapons were much more primitive, from spears, to clubs, and what look to be small wooden shields.

And to the sides, mounted horsemen as well. In their hands they wielded plain wooden lances. They were clad in scaled metal from the looks of things, with helmets like their infantry. And to top it off, men and women in robes behind the mass of soldiers, wielding what appeared to be staves with rope slings on the top. Riding in front on a white horse is a man clad in a mail and plate set of armor, with a red cape flowing behind him. A hood was set over his head, shrouding his face from further identification.

Estelle and Hillenbrand walk up to you. “What do you make of it?” asks Estelle. She peeks through some binoculars as well.

“Gotta be at least 600 of them down there,” you say. “100 spears, 100 infantry, 200 of those Wolfs and Cats, 50 horses, and 50 of those robed ones. Can't count how many are on the walls though.”

“We have enough ammo for all of 'em,” says Hillenbrand. You and Estelle glare at Hillenbrand. “What, we do?”

Estelle sighs. “They wouldn't dare sacrifice the perceived safety of the walls. They're trying to intimidate us.” She looks ahead at the small army set before her. “It's actually kind of working. We've only got two Humvees and obviously we're now kind of at an armed stand-off.”

You look back. “Tal!” She hurries up, FN FAL under her arm. She stomps her foot, ready to serve. “Is there a universal signal in Farava for peace or parlay or surrender or anything?”

Tal says, “You could write rune for peace on something and present to them.”

“I have my whiteboard,” says Estelle. “We could hold it up and approach them. Hope they don't try and attack us.”

> Call for support from the island. If they want to intimidate you, perhaps you could intimidate them back.
> Go with Estelle and Tal's idea. It may work.
> “We'll wait here. Maybe they'll come to us if we don't do anything.”
> Other

>>796599
> “We'll wait here. Maybe they'll come to us if we don't do anything.”

> Go with Estelle and Tal's idea. It may work.

Calling for backup will start a war, which we don't want.

Waiting will just make everyone uncomfortable and nervous.

Walking away will end any chance of contact.

We should at least try, if they rebuff us, we have the other options.

This timetable doesn't make sense at all.

You landed hours ago. Even if you were sighted, how could they dredge up 600 fighters in that time?

It almost seems like you've happened upon a troop movement or a seige of some sort. Something to do with the elves?

But yes, display whiteboard, wait for a delegation.

most odd is this was supposed to just be a small village not a giant fortification.
anyway, go out with the rune and have tal stand next to you, seeing something they recognize may make you seem less intimidating.

> “We'll wait here. Maybe they'll come to us if we don't do anything.”
Play the waiting game. If they do try anything, Hillenbrand, you know to go for the mages first, right?

> Go with Estelle and Tal's idea. It may work.

You look through the guidebook for a second, then find the appropriate rune for the word “peace”.

Looking through it now, the High Elvish standard runic system isn't too different from the English alphabet. There are some things that don't seem to translate properly though. Runic sentence structure for instance runs right-to-left, and if continuing to the next line left to right, then back to right-left for the next line, sort of like a twisting snake. There is also no apparent indicator for breaks in sentences like semi-colons, commas, or anything similar either beyond a period.

You're sure you can learn more about the language though when you get time. You turn it over to Tal and Estelle. Estelle rights down the rune on her small whiteboard, then hands it to Tal. Tal slings her rifle, then holds the whiteboard over her head. She wags her tail a little, standing up stiff and straight.

Sergeant Hillenbrand takes a look through his binoculars. “See anything?” you ask.

“Yeah.” He motions ahead. “Look there.” You look forward to see the apparent leader chatting to some of the horsemen and a flagbearer. You keep a close eye on them, then they turn their heads over to all of you. One of them is handed a tube, through which the leader looks through. A telescope perhaps? He pulls it down, then hands it away. He motions two horsemen and a flagbearer to follow him. They start riding out towards you, out in the open.

“They want to talk,” you say. You motion to Hillenbrand. “Sergeant, Estelle, Tal. Come with me.”

Hillenbrand looks back. “Guns up! Anything looks funny, be ready!” The .50s are turned down on the approaching party. The rest of the soldiers take up crouching positions beside the Humvees. You turn around to see Doctor Szczepanski peeking out of a window from her Humvee.

This ought to be good.

You four walk out towards them. Their thundering hooves was matching your heart rate right now. The flag was a navy blue field, with the golden silhouette of a griffon rearing up. They start slowing to a canter as they come closer and closer, before finally the two of you stand apart only a few feet from each other. They stand next to each other, their horses whinnying idly.

The leader speaks something in a relatively harsh voice, pointing to Tal. Tal tilts her head, then looks to you. “He's saying you're trespassing on the Kingdom's territory.” The leader glares at Tal for a second under the shade of his hood, then looks at you three. He continues speaking. “He asks if you can speak the language.” You shake your head. Tal relays it back. The leader huffs, then says something else, leaning forwards towards you.

“What's he saying now?” asks Estelle.

Tal explains, “This is the Sheriff Klimand di Terenza, Disciple of the Mana. He patrols these lands with his army from encroachment from the Wood Elves to the east.” Sheriff Klimand continues speaking. “He is asking if you are lost, or perhaps part of some sort of scouting party.” He finishes speaking with a few more words in the High Elvish standard. “He also wants to know how many of you there are.”

> Be honest, explain who you are, how many of you there are, and why you're here.
> Dance around the topic. Best to let them in on it slowly. Just let them know who you are first and try to work your way in with them.
> Lie. Claim something or other. (Like what?)
> Other

> Dance around the topic. Best to let them in on it slowly. Just let them know who you are first and try to work your way in with them.
You're a scouting party alright. And there's about, oh, seven billion of you? Not all in one place of course.

>>796920
> Be honest, explain who you are, how many of you there are, and why you're here.

We're explorers, new to the land. We're here to establish relations with you on behalf of our world.

I assume that's the truth

you are from across the sea/ocean, you did not know of any claims of land before this meeting. you are a small group and you brought your own supplies and your people are willing to trade. if he gets.. excited when you mention small group be sure to inform them that your people have a long distance method of contacting eachother and those from your home will know if you... disappear.

>>796938
This, more or less. You're a small group, representing a larger contingent, of many hundreds. You came here to study and trade.

Where you're from, there's been a lot of warfare, but you're hoping for a peaceful visit. Not a direct threat, but he shouldn't miss the implication that we're ace at it.

> Other

Tal relays your message to the Sheriff. “We are a small group, representing a larger party of many. We have come to study the land and make trade with those who will.” The Sheriff stares at Tal for a few seconds. “We can contact our people from our lands very quickly if need be. If you wish to establish a relationship.”

One of the Sheriff's men says something to the Sheriff. “He says that they are aware that a large island outside of the Pillar Rocks was taken over by strangers from the ocean,” says Tal. The Sheriff nods, rubbing his chin. You look past them for a second, and still see the army standing there in formation. Please don't let this get ugly. You take a deep breath. Finally, the Sheriff speaks again. Tal translates it as, “The Sheriff is intrigued, both by our strange manner of dress and the items that we hold in our hands.”

“He must not think these are weapons,” says Hillenbrand, patting his FN FAL.

The Sheriff continues. “He states that he is simply a servant of Mana and to Royal Family, and thus he is not the one to be talking to. However, he also says that the Kingdom will not be interested in trade with outsiders at the moment. They have far more pressing issues hounding their lands at current, and they will not be distracted from them by the arrival of some lost outsiders overstepping their bounds.”

“Like what?” you ask. Tal asks this to him.

The Sheriff shakes his head, huffing. “He won't say.” The Sheriff points to you, then states something firmly as he points out towards the sea. “And he says that you outsiders must leave.” He states something again, much more firmly. “Or he will turn his army on you and make you all leave.”

Estelle steps forward, next to you. “Maybe there's something we can exchange to stay here. We won't cause trouble for any of them.”

Once Tal translates this, the Sheriff grunts. He speaks to Tal. Tal scowls a little, then turns to you all. “He will allow us to stay if we have slaves or scales for tribute.”

“Scales?” you ask.

Tal quickly asks this to the Sheriff. The Sheriff explains it back. “Scales are the currency here in Farava. They are stamped and cut out from dragon scales.”

Estelle folds her arms, then turns to you. “We obviously don't have any scales. Any dragons shot down by the SAMs or by the gunships are just left to sink into the sea or left for the island natives to have and any that we might have belong to the science team back at the Compound for examination. It'd take us hours to get them and it might not even be enough to satisfy him.”

> “We'll give our translator Tal if you will let us stay for a while.”
> “Our people do not dabble in slavery. Sorry.”
> Other

>>797447
> “Our people do not dabble in slavery. Sorry.”

We'll see what we can do about the scales

wow, okay. let's try

"we can fix it"
when they ask 'fix what?'
"any problem you have. foreign invaders? dead. crops failing? we make them healthy again. spies or assassins? enhanced security.
name your problem and we can make it go away, in exchange we can stay"
will probably ask for a demonstration of our power. "well then pick a target nearby for us to destroy, how about that tree?" is probably a nearby tree, if not then name any nearby inanimate object. then tell your machine gunner to destroy it.

Obviously, we need to fix our dragon-harvesting policy. Potentially letting an enormous bargaining chip go to waste.

Tal knows too much of of our operation to be surrendered.
We could intimate that while we don't have many scales, we could certainly find something fitting for most gracious hosts.

Of course, if he wants to chase us off, we can split, and call in an airstrike. His replacement should be more accommodating.

we can also try to contact the elves. stand just outside the woods holding the peace sign for a bit.

'Far more pressing issues'? One would think opening trade routes to bring in supplies at this crucial time would be valuable. A service worthy of royal recognition, even... Well, we'll just take our goods and go. Let them know where to find us if they change their mind.

I think offering mercenary services is a bit more interference than we're authorized to make.

Tal is too valuable - and too dangerous - to give up.

I suggest both carrot and stick: we ask him to wait while we get some scales, and offer him exclusive rights to those we collect in the future (home base can start collecting them from future dragons and sending them over occasionally).

Then we find an excuse to display a little firepower so he's less inclined to fight us and more inclined to take the carrot (I suppose we could offer him medicine or something else the indigenous have never heard of, but that's probably more interference than we're allowed).

If they attack us, make sure to capture this guy alive.

It occurs to me that we could spin this into a win-win. He'd rather not handle the negotiations, or maybe isn't authorized to. We didn't know what suitable tribute was and didn't prepare any.


Offer him a few weeks of non-confrontation in exchange for finding us someone to negotiate with. We don't require his food or hospitality.
And in that time we can harvest some scales.
After all, we are committed to peace, but not all our leaders are.

Before diving headfirst into Operation Print Money, it's probably a good idea to check if the coinage is of value because it's stamped from dragon scales, or if it's of value because it's backed by a nation-state.

> Other

“We don't have any scales. But give us some time, at least a few weeks. We'll be able to muster up some then. We won't try to trespass anywhere near your lands until we have the money. And hopefully in the meantime, perhaps you may muster someone who can negotiate with us, yes?” Tal relays this to the Sheriff. The Sheriff looks back at his companions, who nod in approval it seems.

Tal tells you that the Sheriff says, “We have a deal. I will have scouts follow you back to your camp. I warn you, do not go near the woods, at least not without weapons. The savages are fiercely protective of their territory and their animals. We try not to cross them. I will consult with the town governor, she is a member of the royal family. You will negotiate with her later perhaps. On your way.” They turn their horses around, turning away and galloping back to their army.

You finally breath out. Crisis averted. You swear, you will not be the man who starts a Wounded Knee in this world. “Come on, back to the Humvees.” You point to Hillenbrand. “When we get back, let me know when communications are up. We need to get into talks with the compound.” He nods.

Estelle walks alongside you as you come back to the Humvees. “All things considered, that went better than I expected.”

“What were you expecting?” you ask.

“Arrows being shot at us, the goon squad over here lighting them up.” She shrugs, rubbing her arm. The Security troopers glare a little at Estelle. “Just saying. First contact without a translator could've gone extremely poorly. We're lucky we're just being forced away for now with potential for future negotiation.”

Tal snarls a little, sniffing the air. “Posh fluffy or whatever you use to call him. He looked like a butt.” Tal needs some vocabulary lessons it seems.

“Come on, let's head back to camp.”

-

-

The base camp was mostly set up by the time you got there. The prefabs were set up in a triangular fashion. The Mobile Lab was set up against the river. The other Humvees were set up in a spread out half circle around the camp site, with the troopers placing down sandbags and setting up barbed wire as well. Once inside, you dismount and head into the Mobile Lab. There, a communications link was already set up by Staff Sergeant Espinoza. “You're on with the Director, Conrad.”

“Director.” You sit down across from the screen. The Mobile Lab already had Doctor Porter in it studying some live plant samples along with Mirt looking over his shoulder curiously. Estelle follows in after you as well, leaning into the picture.

The Director, along with General McDowell, and more executive officers sitting in the compound are your audience for today. “Espinoza told me. Apparently dragon scales are the currency in this world?”

“For the continent, yes,” you say. “The humans seem reasonable. We haven't had much tension aside from the issue of proper tribute. But I figure we've shot down enough dragons with those AA defenses that you have plenty of room to get us some currency, correct?”

The Director nods, smiling. “Correct. I suppose we can bribe our way into their hearts and minds. I've been told we've shot down at least fifteen dragons over the island that we can recover. Some dozen over the water where they just sink to the bottom unfortunately. But let's count our lucky stars. Do you know how much the tribute is?” he asks.

Oh, damn it. “No, I don't. I suppose I'll have to ask later.”

“Well, do so. How are the natives, hostile, friendly?”

Estelle says, “Reasonable. The man we spoke with turned us away but did not threaten us too much. I believe we can start firmly establishing relations with the human kingdom at this point.”

“Very good.” The Director nods slowly. “Alright. We'll try and get as many scales out to you. Could take time, but expect a shipment tomorrow on the coast.” Very good. “Keep up your mission. Director out.” The transmission cuts there.

Doctor Porter comes over, blinking. “So... what do we do then?”

Estelle says, “We can try to talk with the Elves. But the humans were quite blunt with stating they were savages. I think they may be exaggerating, trying to scare us. Otherwise, we could wait for the human diplomatic contact. It's up to you, Conrad.”

> Try to make contact with the Elves.
> Wait for the human delegation, if any comes at all.
> Other

>>800185
> Wait for the human delegation, if any comes at all.

One step at a time. Perhaps some sort of sign of welcome/peace can be displayed towards the woods.

the sign post is a good spot to attempt to communicate from, the sign was clearly placed there so people could see it. just hang a message it. other then that we should stay here.

If the elves make peaceful contact, we'll talk with them, and try to make an agreement.

If they come in force, we'll slaughter them to the best of our ability.

> Wait for the human delegation, if any comes at all.
The humans didn't put those severed heads on that sign...

>>800292
yeah, but they wrote the (supposed)crimes that the owners of said scalps committed. laws imply some kind of order, it may be weird or alien to us but it exists.

Maybe put up a sign in as many languages as the translator knows that we come in peace and want to talk trade (optional) around the same place we saw those warning signs

> Wait for the human delegation, if any comes at all.
> Other

“We'll wait for the delegation. They seem stand up. I won't try and risk it on the Elves for now. But uh... I guess we put up a sign with the peace rune on it, face it towards the woods, hope the Elves come out on their own?”

Estelle shrugs, squeezing past you in the tight confines of the Mobile Lab. “I suppose we can. I'll get Mirt on it.” Mirt looks over, reacting to his name being called quickly. “Mirt, come with me.” The two of them exit out of the Mobile Lab. Doctor Porter stands around, awkwardly before going back to his tests on the plants. The Mobile Lab was not exactly a place to socialize, it was a place to work. And it showed, the walls were covered with computers, servers, equipment, technology, the works. The rear trailer was storage for most of the lab material and some parts ammunition. And of course the electric countermeasure was ready to deploy with the big red button by the door, thankfully sealed by emergency glass so no one brushes against it accidentally.

Staff Sergeant Espinoza folds his arms, looking down at the floor. “You look deep in thought, Sergeant,” you say to him.

“Hillenbrand told me what happened,” he says. “You're lucky these people seem reasonable.”

“Perhaps you're overestimating the savagery of the environment we're in,” you respond. Maybe he is. So far, you've been on the mainland for about five or six hours, no attacks by wildlife yet. “And besides, you and I both know that if it ever came to blows, technological advantage will trump their numbers.”

He tilts his head, hooking his thumbs on his belt. “Doctor. Are you already advocating we start a war?”

“We don't start wars, Sergeant, not anymore.” You shrug. “These days, at least on our side, they're called police actions, no-fly zones, interventions, humanitarian efforts, but no. Never war, too brutal a word for people. I'm not advocating that.”

“Spoken like a true politician,” he mutters. Doctor Porter looks over, curious. Staff Sergeant Espinoza looks back at him, making him go back to his experiments. Then he looks back to you. “Doctor Brown. I do have to admit, I'm worried. If the indigenous know-”

“They know where we are,” you say. “Scouts trailed us for some time before they pealed off about a mile out from the camp.”

“Helicopter support is far away, as is reinforcements. We soldiers have limits. Try not to push them,” he says. “I'll get out of your hair. There's sandbags need filling.” He squeezes past you now, then steps out of the Mobile Lab, grabbing his FN FAL to boot. You take a deep breath, then sigh deeply. Things are going almost too smoothly you suppose.

Doctor Porter looks back at you again. “All these guns you know, Doctor Brown. They scare me.” You stare at him. “Just saying. I'll shoot but- I'm not exactly Deadshot or anything.” He points a finger gun at you, then mock fires it. “Pow, hehe... eh. Yeah.” He turns his head back to the laboratory, where he runs the plants through a scanning device.

Anyway, it'll be some time before the indigenous show up. What should you do?

> See to fortifying the camp more extensively, however you can.
> Go scout around the area. Maybe catalog some of the local fauna?
> Lounge around, the brilliant men are also lazy. See who's available to talk perhaps.
> Other

>>801011
> Go scout around the area. Maybe catalog some of the local fauna?

Spend some time doing our job and learning about the environment. Might save our life someday

The answer is make yourself useful.
If another hand will get the barricades built in a timely way, pitch in.
If you're clearly not wanted there, go socialize, see if there's any pet projects you can aid.

Talking to Estelle about her initial impressions might be useful.

>>801011
this
>>801016

we got some place better for negotiation then standing outside? a clean room with a clear wall so they can see you take off your mask would help simply because then they could see your face.

>>801091
With enough saws and hammers, we could get a log cabin going. But that'd take us into the forest, where things are still complicated.

> See to fortifying the camp more extensively, however you can.
It's not that you don't trust the locals, but you're going to be ridiculed by everyone back home if your camp is overrun by fantasy fauna. Unicorn horns are pointy!

> Other

“So, Doctor Porter.” He looks over to you, a light smile beneath his mask from the look of his eyes. “Have your experiments yielded any results?”

“None so far,” he says. “The botanical fauna here in Farava is actually quite similar to ours. Photosynthetic, feeds off of water and nutrients in soil, spreads through root systems.” He points down to a glass jar, where a flower grows in a dirt pot underneath artificial lighting. The flower is actually quite beautiful, with light blue petals spread around the center like a bright star. “Take this flower for example. Ran it through some tests at the compound, very hardy these plants. They can grow pretty much anywhere. And I assume that's because of the magical particles in the air. Perhaps another source of nutrition for the plants. They don't spread the magic though, but they do er... ingest much as they would cycle in CO2 and give out fresh air.”

“Right, right.” You fold your arms. “And the...” You point to the small open basin full of more dirt and some growing green plants.

“Hydroponics project,” he says. “This is a personal request from the Director. He wants me and other botanists back at the compound looking at potential ideas for possibly growing food in this environment, food we're familiar with such as corn. These happen to be tomato plants. I have potatoes as well, along with apples, oranges, corn seeds, the whole lot. I was waiting on seeing if this would be more a permanent outpost for us before I used those though. The Director wants to know as soon as possible if it is viable to grow food we're familiar with here so we don't have to rely on hydroponics back at the compound, shipping in food from our side, or having to trade with the locals for food. Saves us some logistics troubles.”

“I see.” You nod slowly. “The Director must really trust you then, Doctor Porter.”

He shrugs. “He and I go way back. He actually gave me private funding for my projects into climate change a few years back before the portal opened. He's quite generous if he sees potential use into something. I know he might come across as callous but...” He sighs, leaning on the counter. “Nah, he's actually kind of an asshole. But that's besides the point.”

“And he hired you then?”

“I was one of the first men into the portal,” he explains. “I think people really underestimate how important botany is to a potential colonization effort into a fertile world like this. I know we're here for mining adamantine and what not, but this could be a really good place to live in a couple of years. We just need to open some space for farming. Of course, we might have to move some of the locals onto reserves I guess, open some space up for us. But overall, it's a very big place. Lot of room to grow.”

“Need my help with anything then?” you ask.

“Do you know anything about botany?”

“Sure. I grew potato plants back home,” you say.

“Did they survive?”

“... no.” You never did have time to water them. Papers needed to be graded. Students were always in your office asking for help or for a boost to their grades. Madness.

“Haha!” He shakes his head, waving you away. “I appreciate it, Doctor Brown! But I'd prefer to work alone on this. You have some fun later though. Maybe Doctor Schurz and Mirt might want your help.” Fair enough. You pat Doctor Porter on the shoulder, then step out of the Mobile Lab.

-

-

Mirt has nailed a large placard on the warning post directed out towards the woods. The warning post isn't too far from camp, can't be more than a sixth of a mile away. Estelle watches him as he nails it in. And once it's nice and secure, Estelle produces a Twix bar from her vest pocket and tosses it to him. “Good boy.” Mirt catches it in his mouth, furiously munching on the treat. She sees you coming in. “The Teranaken love chocolate.” Mirt towers over Estelle, his tail wagging, clearly asking for more. “No more, Mirt.” He huffs, a bit miffed before going to sit down by the post.

“They like tobacco too?” you ask.

Estelle shrugs, standing around idly, looking at the woods. “The tobacco's for the dwarves. Cigarettes are pretty addictive. The Director considered trading marijuana at first before the UN put a stop to it.” She looks at you, quirking her brow. “So what are you doing here?”

“Figured I'd come by to get your opinion,” you say.

“This is because the troopers won't let you help them dig those trenches is it?” she asks bluntly.

“No. I'm a Professor, I'm not a soldier. I don't dig,” you say to her.

“Clearly if your potato garden is dead.”

“You- you said you'd take care of that garden,” you say back to her. She snickers, placing her hands on her hips. “Look, Estelle. Really, tell me. What's your opinion on this? The delegation will be coming. Then we got the Elves in the woods. We have the fauna out there too.”

Estelle is silent for a few seconds, then she shoves her hands in her pockets. “Way I see it. I'm never going to be satisfied with what we do here. You know, people should be left to their own devices, left to build their own nations and such. You've read history books. Nations that meddle in the development of other nations... doesn't end up well most of the time. There are exceptions of course. Japan for one thing. After we dropped the nuke. Before then, that was pretty standard stuff.”

“What. You think we're just going to steamroll them?” you say. “Stomp all over them, destroy their culture, wipe them out?”

“No. That's basically inevitable,” she says. “I'm more scared they'll -want- us to help them. Another nation wiping out another is evolution at work. But a nation destroying itself to rebuild itself in the image of others, that's... that's tragedy.”

The two of you are quiet for some time. Mirt has already fallen asleep, leaning against the warning post. Those scalps are still there, still rotting as well. After some time though, you finally say, “I think we've done enough philosophizing, Estelle.”

“Agreed. Sorry for rambling.” She sighs deeply. “I just-” Mirt wakes up, his ears twitching a little. The two of you look at him. He stands up, grabbing his rifle. “What, what is it, Mirt?”

He points to the east, his nose twitching. “I smell something. Hear something.” He sniffs again, then points further east, towards the woods. “Smells like wounded animal.”

> Go investigate. You won't venture too far anyways.
> Leave it. You're not going to risk stepping on Elven territory now.
> Send some troopers to go investigate, their job.
> Other

>>801688
> Leave it. You're not going to risk stepping on Elven territory now.

That's bait.
furyroad.jpg

they saw the sign and are testing you. can you resist going into their territory for a wounded animal? or maybe they were just hunting and the breeze is sending the smell of a fresh kill this way.
regardless, we have no reason to run off.

>>801688
> Go investigate. You won't venture too far anyways.

>>801688
The hunt is on. Got any remote drones that can investigate?

If we have a camera drone, okay, we can send it over that way, but we shouldn't risk sending a person into Elven territory.