#RuinsOfRakhana – August 25, 2016

Nathan has watched the environment as it passes by, a more somber mood now descended upon him. At one point during the journey, he muttered aloud about what a waste this all was as he gazed at the gutted remains of a skyscraper.

Jason has remained mostly silent during the ride. Simply watching the scenary unfold as he considers just how close his own planet may be from such a fate. Once they're in the thick of the city ruins, however, his gaze begins to turn upwards as he becomes more interested in scanning for possible ambushes than enjoying the sights. "How far are we from the site?" he asks aloud.

Renala has traded places with Ehanis as they started moving, giving the other asari something to do and Renala a good excuse to not lift her eyes up from her omni-tool much, something she definitely has taken advantage of.

Ehanis is sitting next to the opening of the truck, constantly watching the surroundings. "Are there any drell colonies?" she asks, out of the blue, not directed at anyone. "I mean, yeah, most still live on the hanar's homeward, but there's still a decent bunch scattered about the galaxy. Some must have found an unclaimed world on their own and set up some prefabs, right?"

Jessica has continued to take photos with her camera, but has otherwise been quiet. As they enter the city she quietly mutters: "How does an entire city of this size fall...?" Her voice full of awe as she scans the structures all around them.

Namira has studied what she can of the landscape from the back of the truck, a fascinated look on her face, but she's remained silent, seeming almost sorrowful. She grimaces as concrete dust flies up and she gets some of it in her eyes, causing her to blink repeatedly.

Steve has relaxed through most of their journey, though as the ruins of the city begins to close around them, it's clear that he's paying more attention to their surroundings.

Korio looks to Ehanis with a small bow of his head as she speaks up. "My people take the Compact quite seriously." he says, giving little insight into his own feelings on the subject, "There is little doubt that we owe our very survival to the hanar. The proof-..." he gestures about to the ruins on each side of them, "...is all around us. But you are correct, there are a number of drell who leave Kahje. Most, however, do not. I

Aron calls out from atop the truck: "We still have a fair distance to travel! We must cross the desert!"

Nathan pushes himself upright and quickly stretches himself out, balancing himself careful as the truck shudders and shakes. He glances at each of the mercenaries in turn idly before retaking his seat.

Jason furrows his brow, his focus resting on Nathan as Aron speaks up. "...The desert...? What have we been crossing all this time, then...?" he mutters to Nathan with a quick, sweeping gesture towards the massive sand dunes overtaking the structures.

Nathan taps the side of his helmet and shrugs, glancing off to a ruined building. "Sub-desert," he offers. "Just to get us all warmed up for the larger one." He keeps eyeing up the buildings, still half-expecting the crack of a sniper's retort and the flare of a shield. "...the one time I honestly wished we had some drones to just-" waves a hand toward the sky.

Jason gives a few short nods, eyes still upwards. "Would definitely be handy... Just stay focused and report anything that catches your eye." he instructs.

Ehanis takes her gaze off the surroundings long enough to listen to the drell. "I see," she says. "Still, I don't think your kind would fuck up like this again. Matriarchs don't know all their stuff because they did everything right in the past, after all."

Korio allows a small smile to show through. "Let us hope you are correct." he says simply, his gaze beginning to wander once again.

Jessica nearly loses her cap as a particularly uncomfortable bump shakes throughout the truck in perfect timing with a gust of wind, but she manages to catch it before it flies out of the side of the truck. "Is not the most comfortable of rides..." she complains as she puts her cap back into place.

Renala doesn't look up from her omni-tool. "I brought one, but it's not for recon," she says. "I won't mind looking into that when we get home, though, for future missions."

Nathan nods and resumes his scanning, though not before he mutters, "Wish Artullin was here with his drones...".

Jason leans forward slightly, placing some of his weight back onto his upright Revenant. "Though, to be honest, with a place like this I'm not even sure a drone would do the trick. Too many nooks and crannies. Best we can do is keep our heads low and hope for the best." he says as his gaze is pulled towards the massive sand dune. He gives a nod in its direction. "What do you think is under it?" he asks with a smirk, hoping to

Steve glances over his shoulder towards the dune, giving a brief whistle. "Galaxy's biggest titty joint." he says confidently before going back to his city-gazing.

Nathan blusters and looks to Steve. "Oi, that was my answer," he whines. He then looks back to it and shrugs, tapping the side of the truck in thought. "Hurrrrmmmm... prrrrooobbbabbblllyyyy... sports complex." He nods once and looks back to Jason. Then he looks to Korio, a curious question on his lips. "Do drell have any unique sports, actually?"

Korio brings his attention over to the dune and tilts his head curiously. "As one would expect, we do." he says. "Though the likely answer is another building." he adds, taking the boring route. "A large building."

Jason continues to study the dune. "With our luck?" he finally says, "My vote is on two-hundred angry drell ready to ambush us." he decides with a nod.

Jessica frowns upon hearing Jason's answer, crossing her arms over her chest as she looks it over, momentarily growing lost in thought. "Mmm. Is obviously a museum." she says, "Many pieces of art on the walls. Statues and carvings depicting your Gods. A collection of the culture of your people." she says, leaning forward to cast a glance on Korio. "I read about some of Earth's museums. All of that history and-..." she trails off,

Ehanis watches the sand dune, a small smile creeping up at the shade. "Why aren't all the buildings covered in sand like that, then?" she asks. "Maybe it's the dwelling of some huge Rakhana beast." She raises her brows, muttering, "Nevermind, it's not that... I hope."

Renala is too busy tapping away and reading on her omni-tool to provide a guess of her own.

Nathan looks somewhat surprised at Jessica, although his reaction is hidden by his helm. It looks more a blank stare, in that case. He leans back in his seat and folds his arms across his chest, nodding. "Museum seems like a good-" He then looks to Ehanis, chuckling. "A Thresher Maw. It's a big ol' cage for one!"

Korio's rare smile makes another appearance as Jessica speaks. "I like your answer." he decides with a nod. His gaze slowly moves over to Ehanis. "Yours... not so much." he admits with a short chuckle.

Ehanis smirks, turing her gaze back to watching around them. "Neither do I," she says. "So I'm not gonna take that personally. Even if we get eaten by a 'Rakhana Maw'."

Renala disables her omni-tool and snaps her attention towards the back at the drell's shout. Upon seeing the drell, she unholsters her Locust, but do not draw it as her position brings with it a risk of friendly fire should others get up.

Ehanis mutters, "Fuck," as she hears the shout and unholsters the Phalanx pistol, but she does not aim it at them without an order to do so.

Jason watches as the figures begin to slide through the sand. "Shit..." he sighs as he rises to his feet and hefts his Revenant up into his arms. "The fuck did they just say?" he calls out as they begin to spout their jibberish.

Jessica seems more confused than threatened, though she does unholster her borrowed Avenger as the others begin to draw their weapons.

Nathan whips out his M-55 and immediately rounds it on the raiders. Regardless of whether or not they can understand him, he flicks the barrel at the floor before them before raising back at them. "Down, weapons down!" He barks, even though they are the one who ambushed them. Still, modern vs old. He hinges that they have the advantage, in a way.

Korio gives a shake of his head, holding his hands up to the others, urging them to hold their fire. "I.... do not speak their language." he admits, "It is an old drell dialect. But allow me to attempt to communicate with them. Perhaps we can avoid bloodshed."

Steve hops to his feet, drawing his SMG, and immediately moves towards the back of the truck, preparing to depart and use the truck for cover. "Don't look like they could do much with that weaponry." he says, "We could prolly put 'em all down before they could do a lick of damage."

Aron shouts out from the top of the truck: "Put down your weapons, or we will shoot!", no doubt hoping he might be understood despite the language barrier.

Namira 's eyes go wide as the commotion starts, catching a glimpse of the unfamiliar drell before keeping herself hidden behind the mercenaries best she can. This wasn't her first expedition in unfriendly territory, and she knew to trust the security.

Jason shoulders his Revenant but doesn't point it at their would-be attackers yet. He gives a sigh as Korio speaks up, but gives a quick nod. "If it looks like Ara is in trouble, we put these jokers down quick, alright?" he announces, propping a boot up on the side of the truck as he stands atop his previous seat to get a sightline on the drell behind the truck.

Korio approaches the side of the truck, hands upwards towards their ambushers as he climbs out and hops to the ground. "We do not understand you." he announces, attempting to appear non-threatening with his palms towards them despite the army of armed mercenaries behind him. "We are not looking for a battle. We only seek to pass through. Please, it would be in your best interest to lower your weapons and continue on your way. As

Nathan keeps his weapon shouldered and aimed at the lead drell. He takes his hand from the grip of his barrel and points at the drell, then at the ground. "Down! Weapons down! This will end badly for you!" He grips his weapon again, not taking his eyes from them.

Ehanis keeps her weapon lowered, but she stares at the nearest drell. A shimmer of energy is starting to form around her. "Understood," she says. "Tell them how much warp fields hurt if they try anything."

Renala stands up and moves to stand in against the wall opposite the opening, next to the D'Ralis. She forms a small barrier dome that only surround her and the archeologist, not wanting to use it too much as her implementation of this technique is quite inefficient.

Aron , who is standing on the top of the cab, aims his weapon to cover Korio, observing in silence for the moment so as to not cause any aggression.

Korio gives a shake of his head. "We don't understand." he repeats, casting a glance at the truck full of mercenaries. "We do not speak your tongue. We wish only to continue on our way. Please, lower your weapons." he says, gesturing towards their guns and pointing to the ground before lifting his hands back up, palms outwards.

Jason glances between the drell ambushers and Korio. "Doesn't sound like this is working, Korio..." he mutters.

Nathan 's HUD highlights each of the drell, bar Korio, in a red outline. "Warning shot?" He hedges, shooting the briefest of glances at Jason.

Korio quickly shifts to the side, pressing himself against the side of the truck to obscure himself from the other attackers. His hand shoots down to his sidearm, pulling it free from its magnetic holster.

Steve instantly raises his SMG and opens fire on the one that fired on Korio as he hops out of the back of the truck.

Nathan immediately snaps his weapon to the Drell that fired. "Didn't mean you, arsehole!" He says before firing the M-55, the thudding retort of the weapon echoing as he aims for the shoulder, merely aiming to incapacitate... Although a kill wouldn't be exactly unwarranted.

Jason nods to Nathan, though the sound of gunfire cracking off causes him to wince and swivel back towards the attackers. He raises his Revenant and lets loose a line of fully-automatic gunfire across the sand in front of the ambushers, hoping to halt their attack with shock and awe.

Ehanis frowns. "Throw at first attacker," she calls before gathering the pent up energy into a biotic throw directed at the first of the two drell that opened fire.

Renala maintains the barrier, leaving the others to deal with the raiders.

Nathan drops out of the truck and immediately pushes towards the surrendering drell. As he closes, he would make to forcibly turn the man around, kick out his legs whilst twisting his arm behind his back, before finally kneeling on him to keep him pinned. He would raise his rifle single handed, keeping it pinned into his shoulder and aiming it at the two behind the

Ehanis keeps her weapon trained at the nearest rubble-cover while she gathers energy for another biotic attack. "I've got more where that came from, so fuck off if you want to live!" She knows they don't understand her, but she doesn't care.

Renala remains where she is, holding up her little barrier that has so far taken no fire from the enemy.

Steve fires his SMG into the sky. "Stop your runnin' and get the hell out from behind that cover!" he shouts, "Hands where we can see 'em!"

Jason moves to the back of the truck and hops out, keeping his weapon trained towards the rubble. "Toss your weapons out! Now!" he orders

Jessica moves to the rear of the truck, unsure of what she should be doing. She simply takes a knee and shoulders her Avenger as she waits to see how things play out.

Korio steps out from the side of the truck, sidearm in hand. His shields are still pretty much at full capacity given the relatively low power of the ancient firearms. "This does not need to end in more blood!" he calls out to the other retreating attackers.

Nathan growls in frustration but doesn't pursue. He's unarmed and they're sure as shit not going to linger around long enough for him to come back. He rounds his weapon on the ones hiding in cover, reaching around back for one of his grenades, his hand hovering above one. "I can flush them out with a flash," he says over comms.

Renala keeps her barrier up despite their retreat, worried that they might still might try anything.

Ehanis glances at Nathan. "I'd personally stay put if one of those went off next to me," she says. She doesn't do anything yet, keeping her biotics ready for any potential surprises.

Steve opens fire on the retreating man. "The fuck did we just say!?" he calls out.

Jason gives a shake of his head to Nathan before quickly snapping towards Steve and raising a hand. "Hold your fire! They're retreating. Let them go. We're not here to wipe out the locals and they're no real threat to us anyway." he instructs, "Load up and let's get the hell out of here. Whoever they are, they'll think twice before attacking us again..."

Nathan keeps his weapon trained on the locals, but backs up towards the truck. "You heard the man," he grunts, waiting for the others to load up before he hops back on.

Korio holsters his pistol and pulls the longrifle from his back, unfolding it and bringing it up to his face as he peers through the scope at the retreating drell. He opts to stay out of the chatter, a faint sigh his only addition to the discussion as he watches the drell limp away.

Steve bites down hard and sucks a deep breath through his nose as he lowers his SMG and climbs back into the truck. "Whatever you say, boss..." he says, though it's clear he doesn't agree with the order.

Ehanis holsters her weapon, but keeps her biotics prepared. "Let's hope their buddies don't have quick transports," she mutters.

Aron lowers his rifle once the drell are out of view. "Foolish savages..." he mutters before looking down at Korio. "Get in, and we will depart."

Jason remains in place, watching the enemy retreat. "If they do, we'll deal with it. But we're not just going to open fire on a bunch of barely-armed locals trying to retreat. They might as well have spears and slingshots..." he says with a brief glance towards Ehanis. "These are people. Not wild animals. We don't even speak their language. For all we know, they're just trying to defend their territory. Actions speak louder than

Renala keeps her barrier up, intending to wait for the truck to start moving before she considers it safe to let go of it.

Nathan hops onto the back of the truck, sitting on the edge and keeping his gun trained on the locals, though he holds onto the edge just so he doesn't go tipping out when the truck starts again.

Korio lowers his weapon after a few moments and takes a few steps forward. He takes a knee and picks up the drell's old weapon, looking it over briefly before returning to the truck and climbing back onboard.

Korio sets his own rifle down for a moment and studies the ancient drell weapon, turning it over in his hands. "This design is quite old." he says aloud, "If this is the worst they are armed with, I do not foresee much resistance should they attempt again..."

Namira seems to relax once the truck starts moving again. She's kept her head down and waited for the situation to be over, like many times before. This wasn't her field and she knew it. The glimpse of the downed drell bleeding out in the sand causes her gaze to stop for a moment regardless, a thoughtful expression on her face. Her gaze moves to Korio as he speaks, looking down at the weapon in his hands.

Renala 's barrier disintegrates as the vehicle starts moving, as keeping it together becomes more of an effort than it's worth. She reclaims her seat and brings her omni-tool back up.

Nathan hurms. "I'm more concerned about traps," he says. "Quicksand, false floors... even just a rudimentary explosive can set one of these toppling," he grunts, waving at the ruined and crumbling buildings. "And we're on their home-turf... just saying we should be careful, is all."

Jessica retakes her seat, glancing about at the others, unsure of how she should feel about all of this.

Jason sits back down, resting his hands atop the barrel of his Revenant once again. He gives Nathan a nod. "I'm not saying we underestimate them. I'm just saying we're not here to slaughter them. If we can avoid it, we do so. If they want to keep coming at us-..." he shrugs his shoulders, "...then they leave us no choice. But I don't think wasting our time chasing them through the ruins is the right idea."

Steve's attention is still in the direction their attackers ran. "Wouldn't have to worry 'bout them attackin' again if there was no 'them' left alive." he says with a shrug, "Just sayin'...."

Ehanis keeps her eyes peeled on the road behind them as the truck starts moving. The biotic shimmer around her persists. "If they had any of that, they wouldn't have sprung their ambush this soon," she says.

Korio gives a glance towards Namira. "It troubles me that thought was not put in to bringing someone along who speaks the local language..." he says, "...Surely that would be worth the investment."

Namira frowns, and goes to say something, but Aron answers before she has a chance to.

Aron has reseated himself on top of the cab of the truck. "We could not find one. Those of our people that found salvation with the hanar did not come from this part of Rakhana. Much was lost in the great wars of old... and it seems none of us brought this tongue with us. I had hoped our translators would do a sufficent job, but it seems we will have to rely on a more... universal language." he says, tapping the scoped

Korio sighs, giving a shake of his head as he returns his attention back in the direction of the drell. "That is unfortunate." he says plainly, lifting his rifle back up to scan the horizon through his scope.

Ehanis nods. "I know some pretty mean words in that language," she says while still keeping an eye on the top of the sand dune and other hiding spots in their surroundings.

Nathan remains silent as he merely observes the surrounds, still holding his rifle tightly in his grasp.

Jason's attention continues to scan about as they continue on their journey. "Sand, sand, sand and more sand..." he sighs, "...Better than more buildings, though, I suppose."

Jessica's gaze travels to the old drell weapon near Korio before returning to the horizon. "It looks like the sand just ate everything out here." she says through her breather. "How do those people who attacked us even survive out here, mmm?" she asks, "Is no food. Nothing. Just... sand."

Nathan has taken a moment to make sure that the sand hasn't done anything to affect his rebreather. Satisfied, he has resumed scanning the surroundings with his HUD, whistling a low tune. "Eh, people can be resourceful when pushed to the brink," he says. "Though, I can't help but agree... what the hell do they eat?"

Ehanis takes her gaze off the road now that there's few hiding spots for an ambush around them. "We're probably not the first transport they've attacked," she suggests.

Korio contemplates it for a moment. "Perhaps they are skilled hunters. There is still some wildlife left on Rakhana." he muses before looking to Ehanis. "Perhaps. But they would not be able to survive merely on the supplies taken from others. Even if they were successful in their attack on us, how long do you truly think the food we carry would last them?"

Steve gives a shrug. "Got somethin' right here they can chew on..." he says with a snicker, tapping a gauntleted hand against the SMG holstered at his side.

Nathan tisks and looks to Steve. "With your aim, I think they'd go hungry," he quips.

Jessica lets out a loud snort as Nathan speaks up.

Steve raises an eyebrow as he gives Nathan a sidelong glance. "That so?" he asks, "And what makes ya think that? Huh, big shot?"

Ehanis frowns. "If they got what they wanted and let us go? Not long," she says. "If not, well..." Her frown deepens. "A lot longer."

Nathan chuckles and makes to rap his knuckles against Steve's armour. "You missed someone running in a straight line, genius. Alright, you clipped him, but still."

Steve blinks a couple of times. "May wanna get your eyes checked, partner." he says as he settles back into his seat, "Don't seem to be doin' you much good if ya think I missed. I don't miss."

Ehanis stares at the skeleton. "Fuck, looks like 'Rakhana Maw' is definitely a thing," she says. "I couldn't wish I was more wrong."

Korio rises from his seat as the serpent bones come into view, trying to get a better look. He extends a finger towards it. "One of Rakhana's locals." he points out, looking amused at Ehanis' reaction.

Jason rolls his shoulders, feeling a sudden chill despite the harsh hot weather as the serpent comes into view. "That thing is long dead, right?" he asks with a glance to Namira. "Right?" he repeats, his gaze moving to one of the drell guards and then to Korio, "I mean.... that's something from, like, hundreds of years ago...? Those things aren't still out here, are they...?"

Nathan stares at the skeleton, making a small noise of disbelief. "...Never will I joke bout giant killer creatures again...". He shakes his head softly and looks back to the group. His HUD flashes up with a low-power warning and he grunts. "Damn it," he mutters aloud and tones down the systems. He can immediately feel the wash of head on him, but at least he can

Jessica lifts her arm as her omni-tool interface comes to life once again, taking a number of photos of the creature. "Is a big snake..." she says softly, staring at it in disbelief through her omni-tool's screen, "...Is a very big snake.... Fuuuuuck."

Renala looks up from her omni-tool, which displays diagrams and information about pre-exodus drell electronics. She is also most interested in the potential existence of large fauna. "I doubt there's enough food around for a species like that to thrive anyway," she says.

Jason blinks a couple of times. "....What does 'nope' mean?" he asks the guard. "Nope it it's not long dead...? Nope they're not still out here...? You can't just 'nope' me about a gigantic fucking snake. I need a little context here!" he says.

Namira nods in agreement with Renala. "It's... hardly my area of expertise, but it seems unlikely..." she says as she looks out at the skeleton in fascination.

Jessica turns up her suit's environment systems, having had the settings fairly low up until now. She resumes gawking at the giant snake as soon as she's finished.

Jason frowns at the guard, staring at him long and hard. "If we get attacked by a giant fucking snake, you're the first one we sacrifice to the giant-fucking-snake Gods." he says, stabbing a finger towards the guard.

Nathan stifles a snort poorly and resumes watching the surroundings.

Aron , who has taken a seat in the pack of the truck due to the extreme heat of the metal on the cab, looks to Jason. "I have not heard of any pilgrims encountering a live sand serpent. It is believed they were hunted to extinction during the food crises." he says before grabbing a tube of nutrient paste, pressing it into his mouth with a grimace.

Korio gives a light chuckle as he sits back down. "It is unlikely that something of that size would be able to survive, as Miss T'Iavay has said." he agrees, "However... If that is one that was unable to survive-..." he gestures towards the bones, "...imagine how a surviving sand serpent may look. It would have to be massive." he adds. His even tone makes it difficult to tell if he's being genuine or just trying to further get

Jason glances over at Korio, his frown deepening. "Not cool, man. Not cool." As Aron speaks up, he looks over to him. breathing a sigh of relief. "I'll take it." he says. His suit has been running environment systems pretty much since they set out. As much as he'd rather not, he tones them down to save a little bit of power. "How much daylight do we have left?" he asks, "This heat is starting to become an issue..."

Ehanis glances at Korio. "I think I'll take his word over yours," she says, gesturing to Aron. She does snap a picture off the skeleton with her omni-tool while she still has the chance to.

Nathan leans back with a sigh of boredom, glancing up at the sky. He observes the flying creatures for a moment before shrugging and tapping his visor. He goes for a quick zoom to try and pick out a few more details, if to just quench his boredom.

Aron smirks slightly as he glances at Ehanis, and then looks to Jason. "We expect to arrive at our destination before sundown. A few hours of travel remain."

Renala chuckles and glances up at the two birds with mild curiosity. She adjusts the suit's environmental systems a little higher, but it's still at slightly uncomfortable levels to conserve energy.

Korio gives Ehanis a quick shrug. "As you wish."

Jason settles back into his seat and nods to Aron. "We'll deal I guess..." he sighs as he begins to remove his helmet and gestures for someone to pass him some delicious nutrient paste.

Nathan immediately zooms out and shudders. Though, he can't help but wonder... do those taste of chicken?

Ehanis has been looking up at the birds since she first caught a glimpse of them. "What kind of birds are those?" she asks upon returning her gaze back to the others in the truck.

Aron looks up, unable to see much of the distant creatures. "I am not certain. Some kind of carrion feeders, perhaps..."

Jessica leans over and grabs a tube of nutrient paste, underhanding it over to Jason. "Hopefully they are not expecting a meal out of us..." she says with a quick glance upward.

Jason catches the tube, but his gaze moves skyward. With a frown, he reaches for his Revenant as he considers firing to scare the creatures off. A sudden flashback of a thrown rock and a horde of monkeys comes flooding back to him and he slowly pulls his hand away from his machine gun. "...Thanks." he offers Jessica as he tears his tube of paste open.

Korio follows their trajectory, resting his gaze on the corpse. "In a climate such as this, a corpse would not last long. It must be fairly recent..." he says.

Jason glances towards the corpse and makes a disgusted face. "Great... Makes this slimy goop seem so much more appetizing..." he groans, though he still begins to spooge the nasty nutrient goo into his mouth.

Nathan grunts and turns away from the scene, setting himself back into his seat and folding his arms across his chest. He decides to take a bit of quick shut-eye whilst they make their way to the objective.

Ehanis reaches for her pistol as the birds descend, but she does not draw it. She grimaces behind her helmet at seeing the corpse. "No way someone walked all the way out here on their own," she says. "My guess is: they were dumped from a vehicle that passed through."

Steve looks around for any sign of a vehicle's tracks upon hearing Ehanis.

Steve gives a shake of his head. "Don't look like anything has been through here recently." he says, "...But with the wind and the sand and-... Anybody's guess, ya know?"

Renala sighs and disables her omni-tool. "A dead body here means there might be hostiles waiting at the dig site," she says. "Or near enough to interrupt us while we work."

Jason forces down his paste, looking none too happy at the taste, and gives a shrug to Renala. "Or it could just mean that someone has worse luck than us, got lost out here and didn't make it." he says, "Either way, we just stay alert and we'll be fine."

Jason pours the remaining contents of a bottle of water into his mouth before capping the bottle and tossing it to the floor of the truck. "This our stop...?" he calls out with a nod towards the city in the distance. The past couple of hours he has mostly remained silent, taking in the sights and sounds of the eerie landscape and working to keep himself hydrated given the break he gave his suit's power supplies.

Nathan has only just woken up and is now peering at the dead city ahead. "Damn..." he mutters as he drinks in the sight. "Better be careful of another ambush...".

Korio stands from his seat as soon as the city comes into view and retrieves his rifle from his back once again. He moves up towards the cabin of the truck gracefully and steadies himself against it as he scans the skyline through his scope.

Ehanis looks hopefully at the city ahead, but Jason has already asked her question. "It better be," she mutters, sounding somewhat weary. She has been conservative with her suit's environmental systems after a notification it gave her five hours ago, which means it's been an uncomfortable journey since.

Jessica has mostly been watching their surroundings for the past couple of hours, taking the occasional poorly-framed picture. Despite their glum surroundings, she seems quite interested in it nearly the entire duration of their trip, which shows through even though she tries to hide it. Every time they come over a large sand dune, she rises slightly in her seat in an attempt to see over it. As the city comes into view, she's

Renala had resumed reading on her omni-tool shortly after things became uneventful again, and is only now looking up from it to look at the structures ahead of them.

Aron climbs up his seat to get a look at the ruins ahead, and nods to Jason. "Yes... we are getting close to our destination. We should soon-..." He's cut off by sudden, loud cracks of gunfire from somewhere in the distance, echoing loudly in a way that mass effect-based weapons do not. The sounds stop after only a few seconds, punctuated by a distant explosion.

Steve has remained awake, though one wouldn't know it by his silence. The gunfire rouses him back to life, however, and he's quickly looking around for the origin of the outburst. "The hell was that?"

Nathan immediately stands up to garner a better view, gripping onto the truck. "Probably two separate settlements going at each other," he wagers, trying to zoom in and locate the gunfire.

Jason jumps to his feet. "Sounds like we're on the clock, people. Eyes open."

Korio scouts around, trying to get a read on where the sounds came from through his scope.

Ehanis draws her Locust and keeps it ready while looking around for the source of the sound. "Anyone see anything?" A biotic shimmer is forming around her, as well.

Jessica inputs a few quick commands into her omni-tool to save her most recent photo before scrambling for her Avenger. "Shit." she mutters as she hurries to swap out her cap and rebreather for her helmet. "Was definitely an explosion..."

Korio adjusts his angle and continues to scout. "Nothing. Whoever it was, they do not appear to be in view from here." he announces.

Nathan shakes his head. "Negative," he replies, drawing his M-55. "If there's a skirmish going on and this is one the side's territory, we need to keep an eye out for IEDs...".

Renala disables her omni-tool and also readies her Locust. "I shouldn't have said anything," she says while joining the others in trying to spot the source of the sound.

Aron climbs back onto the cab, unholstering his rifle and joining the other two in looking up ahead, but like them he sees nothing. "It sounded distant... but we are heading in that direction."

Steve remains in his seat, merely looking out. "Well, shit. Ain't gonna be easy spottin' 'em if they're up in those buildings..." he says.

Jason fastens his helmet into place and joins Korio up near the truck's cabin holding his Revenant down at his side with one hand as he steadies himself against the cabin with his other. "It certainly didn't seem directed at us, so we might be walking into the middle of a conflict." he says, agreeing with Nathan's assessment. "Slow and steady up there."

Nathan steadies himself and waits as they head towards the sounds of conflict. He continues to scan with his HUD, looking for the tell-tale signs of flashes.

Korio simply continues to scan the buildings through his scope, looking for any sign of movement.

Jessica stays seated, as there's little point in here standing and crowding even more space.

Renala looks over the buildings with windows facing towards the truck. "Let's hope they're not fighting over the thing we're after."

Aron grunts. "Unlikely. These people have no grasp of the wisdom of the Enkindlers." he says, still looking through his scope. He soon lowers his rifle. "We have little choice but to press on." he says. The truck, of course, never stopped, and is still moving towards the city ruins.

Ehanis is looking around for anything to expend the gathered biotic energy on, even though she's probably going to be the last one to see it. "Maybe they want to trade it with off-worlders for supplies?" she says. "Even if they don't understand it, a piece of tech that old is bound to grab the attention of anyone poking through these ruins."

Korio nevertheless continues to scan the buildings, only pausing briefly as his gaze is temporarily pulled to Aron. "It matters little why they are fighting. Whoever they are, they are unlikely to react well to us inserting ourself into the middle of their warzone."

Nathan nods in agreement. "Let's just hope they aren't packing anything heavy... we may have the edge in tech, but an explosive will still take out this truck," he says.

Jason lifts his other arm up atop the cabin, resting his Revenant across it as he starts up his omni-tool and gives a quick once-over of his hardsuit's systems, ensuring his shield is active and everything is good to go. "Remember what I said. We're not here to disturb the locals. We only fire if they show open hostility." he says, although the gunfire and explosion does little to cause him to expect anything less than open

Jessica nods to Nathan, agreeing with him for the first time ever, possibly. "Mmmhmm. Is not hard to whip up an explosive. Is no telling what they may have."

Nathan cycles his HUD to accommodate for the dimming light. He keeps his gaze ahead and before the truck, watching for any sign of rudimentary explosive devices or for anything that seemingly stands out. He keeps his rifle shouldered, now bringing his environmental systems down to 2%.

Korio is still near the front of the truck, rifle perched against the cabin. "Perhaps we caught the tail end of a battle." he suggests, though continues to peer through his scope. "No signs of any combatants. No gunshots. The fighting may have died down just before our arrival."

Ehanis frowns. "Or they saw our truck and have been lying in wait," she says. "This place is perfect for an ambush."

Jason nods to himself. "Maybe." he says, not sounding particularly convinced, "Or maybe this is just a lull in the storm. Eyes open."

Jessica stares upward at the large buildings flanking them, Avenger laying across her lap. "Is verrrry good ambush spot." she agrees with Ehanis.

Steve taps his fingers impatiently against the side of the truck as he waits for the action to start. "How deep into this city is our objective?" he asks, casting a glance towards Namira.

Namira looks to Steve. "It shouldn't be much longer." she says before returning her gaze to the ruins, the constant talk of ambushes making her paranoid.

Renala enables her omni-tool and starts scanning for nearby radio signals. They might have heard ancient weaponry from where they were half an hour ago, but that doesn't have to mean everyone at that fight were equipped with such.

Jason furrows his brow as they pass through the city uncontested. "I thought this artifact of yours was in the city...?" he questions.

Korio has moved to the rear of the truck, taking a knee and perching his rifle against the tail end of the truck as he continues to watch the tall buildings. "Perhaps, at one time, this was a part of the city." he adds in.

Aron is about to answer when Korio speaks, and nods. "Indeed." he confirms.

Nathan keeps his gaze trained before the truck. They're not out of the woods yet.

Ehanis lets out a small smile. "I'm not going to complain," she says. "Less buildings around makes our job a lot easier." She continues to watch around her.

Jessica has eased up considerably now that they've escaped the canyon of buildings, though the cliffs ahead may offer the same difficulties. "Where did the city go...?" she asks, sounding more interested in the history of the planet than in the potential impeding attack, "It could not all have just, pewwww-..." she lifts one hand, palm outwards and then tips it over, like a building falling over, "...blown away in the wind,

Steve cocks his head to the side as he looks out into the open expanse around them. "Just more opportunities for them to see us comin'..." he sighs, "You ready to shield our friend here, Ren?" he asks with a nod towards Namira. "Wouldn't want her catchin' a stray."

Renala has set her omni-tool to scan twice a minute while the truck is moving, and alert her if a new signal is picked up. "Count on it," she says with a nod.

Jessica grins as she sees the paved road come into view. "You see? The city was under us." she says proudly, "Knew it."

Jason sighs as he glances over at Jessica. "You can write a paper on it later. For now?" he gestures towards the cliffs, "Eyes forward."

Nathan continues to scan, his weapon shouldered and ready. "I just can't wait to stretch my legs," he mutters quietly.

Jessica frowns and looks towards the cliffs.

Steve studies the cliffs from his seat. "Out of one prime ambush location and into another."