#RuinsOfRakhana – September 3, 2016

Nathan drops to his knees next to Jessica, examining the wound. He swears, placing his hands atop hers to apply more pressure. "Alright. Alright," he says softly, trying to calm her... Or himself. He tries to gauge how serious and deep the wound is, but without expert medical training, he's not expecting to do much.

Jessica opens her eyes as Nathan's hands press against her wound, another pained groan escaping her. "Don't just touch it! Pull this fucking thing out of me!" she orders before tilting her head back to stare up at the ceiling, teeth clenched tightly together. The sharp, jagged piece of plasting appears to have penetrated the side of her undersuit, right along her ribs. Seems it just found the perfect spot between her armor

Jason drops back onto his ass as Namira takes a breath, bringing a shaking hand up to his head, inadvertantly smearing some asari blood across his forehead and the front of his hair. "Whoo!" he howls, tilting his head towards Ehanis. "She's alive!"

Ehanis lets out a breath she didn't realise she was holding upon the asari showing signs of life, and she smiles. "Stay with us," she says,. "You're going to be fine."

Namira 's arm flails, and her eyes dart around frantically, continuing to take shallow, wheezing breaths which quickly turn to hyperventilating.

Jason reaches out, placing his good hand on Namira's shoulder firmly. "Calm down, Namira! You're gonna be alright. Just-... just take a breath and relax, okay?" he says, trying to calm her down. He himself still hasn't really grasped the group's situation.

Steve casts another glance back towards the now-destroyed Blood Pack vehicle and brings a hand up to his helmet which he then swings wildly at nothing. "So we've got no transportation!? How the fuck are we getting out of here!?" he asks, once again not directed at anyone specifically.

Nathan looks to Jessica, frowning. He looks back to the jagged piece and bites on his lower lip. Whilst the medigel should stem any further ruptures from pulling the piece out, it still could cause some serious damage to her body. He glances to the canister and the stabiliser, considering for a brief moment. Right, decision made. "Alright. I'll pull it out," he

Jessica winces the moment his hand comes into contact with the plastic. She sucks in a deep breath and looks back to Nathan, locking eyes with him. "Your throat if you don't. Get. This. Out. Of. Me." she says, a shudder of pain working its way through her body as each word leaves her mouth. "Just fucking doooo ittttt already!" she orders. Her hands move from her wound and ball into fists as she braces them against the ground.

Renala starts walking over to the tent. "A ship landing on the planet might pick us up if they know we're stranded." She enters the tent and starts looking over their supplies for any comunications gear that might help, at the very least an antenna.

Nathan looks straight into her eyes, nodding once. "On the count of three," he says, tightening his grip on it. "One, two... THREE!" He would make to yank it free and immediately apply the medigel directly into the wound to quickly seal up any further damage that tearing the plastic out would cause.

Ehanis grabs her flailing arm, and tries to keep it still. "Is something blocking your airway?" she asks.

Namira is clearly in no state to respond, starting to convulse violently, choking sounds from her throat as she fails to inhale as she goes into shock.

Jessica's eyes flutter and she looks as though she's holding her breath as the jagged chunk of plastic begins to slide free. It doesn't come without resistance, and it's quite obvious that the flesh around it is beginning to tear. It almost looks like Jessica may pass out for a moment as she lets out a weak whimper, but she holds out. The moment the piece of plastic comes free, blood begins to pour and spurt from the wound on the

Jason's gaze immediately locks onto Ehanis. "Fuck! I think she's going into shock!" he states the obvious as he climbs back to his knees and hovers over the asari. "Shit, shit, shit...."

Korio begins looking over the supplies by the door. "It appears it was a good thing we removed the supplies from their vehicle... We have a little bit to keep us going here."

Ehanis gives her a slight shake. "Cough," she says, beofre turning her attention towards the med-kit. "Anything in there that might help?"

Namira shows no sign of hearing Ehanis, any part of her body not held down convulsing repeatedly.

Nathan ignores Jessica as he applies the stablizer to her skin once the medigel is done. He has a firm grip on her shoulder to stop her from moving about anymore than needed. His face is splattered in her blood, as is parts of his undersuit at the spurt. But, for the moment, he pays it little mind. Focus on the fixing, then focus on having a mini-freakout that

Jason places each of his hands on Namira's shoulders, holding her in place as his eyes scan over her. "It's not her airways, Ehanis. She's just going into shock!" he repeats. "The stabilizer!" he says with a quick nod to the medkit. "I think-..." he doubts himself, though they're running out of time and limited on options at the moment, "...Use a stabilizer on her. I'll hold her down."

Ehanis picks up the stabilizer and lifts up the asari's arm. "Got it." She traces it with her finger before putting the stabilizer's business end against the skin on her underarm, and injects it.

Namira continues to convulse for several seconds as Jason holds her down, before suddenly stopping, her body going limp and her eyes closing.

Jason keeps his hands against Namira's shoulders for a few moments longer before leaning forward and examining her, checking to see if she's breathing.

Jessica remains right where she is, pained moaning all that she's able to manage at the moment. Finally, after several seconds of staying as completely still as she can, she tilts her head to look over at Nathan. "Like I tell you... Is fine...." she says weakly, though it's quite obvious she's in an immense amount of pain.

Ehanis puts down the injector next to the med-kit and looks over the asari. "Did it work?" she asks.

Namira is indeed, upon closer inspection, breathing, however faintly. Just unconcious, then.

Jason gives a faint shrug as he looks to Ehanis. "I-... I don't know." he admits. "But she's breathing... And not bleeding all over the place, so-.... I think...?" He once again falls back into a sitting position and rests his forearms on his knees. "Shit... Well that went to hell pretty fucking quickly..." he sighs.

Nathan discards the spent medical supplies to the side, letting out a deep breath that he didn't realise he was holding. He looks down at Jessica and offers a weak smile. "You did good, darling..." He says softly, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. He glances back at the tent that survived, then back to her. "You think you're okay to be moved?"

Ehanis sits down, as well, and pats the archeologist's shoulder. "I don't know how we're getting out of this mess," she says. "The hanar only has to serve some bullshit to the council and we'll be written off as dead."

Jessica slaps weakly at Nathan's hand as it rests on her shoulder. "I am-..." she pauses, biting down hard as another pain shoots through her while she rolls to her side and onto her knees, "...I am fine.... Is-... Is fine..." she repeats with a quick nod, "And I am not your 'darling', mmm?" Once on her knees, she sits back onto her boots and tries to catch her breath for a moment, looking absolutely exhausted as her hands

Jason shakes his head, eyes still fixed on Namira. "We'll get out of here." he says confidently. "And Zelyner is gonna lose a whole lot more than some credits when we do. Never trust someone without opposable thumbs. I should've known..."

Nathan removes his hand and shuffles back. He looks a little bit deflated at her reaction. Though, he isn't surprised either. He stands up and walks back to his launcher, hefting it up and checking the ammo-count as she speaks. Three frags, one flash, two smoke. He sighs and looks back to her. "The jellyfish ran. Took one of his men with him." He starts walking

Jessica slowly climbs to her feet, both hands over her wound as she slowly drags her way back towards the tent, only taking a small detour to collect her hat which was knocked from her head. Numerous nearly-inhuman pained grunts escape her as she twists and slowly bends her knees to get low enough to pick her cap up. Certainly would've been a whole lot easier and less painful to just accept Nathan's help, but that wasn't an option

Nathan is midway through assembling his arm plates, locking them into place. He glances at Jessica and nods slowly, before moving onto his legs. "Don't mention it," he says in reply. Jessica's blood is still spattered across his face and he idly wipes away a few specks as he locks the leg-plates into place. "I put stabiliser into your system. You're out this fight,"

Ehanis frowns. "As much as I want to give him what he deserves, I don't think we can catch up without a working truck," she says. Her gaze is on the other asari, as well.

Renala enters the Redrock tent, as well, scoffing at the sight of red handprints. She doesn't say anything to the others before moving over to sit down beside her baggage.

Namira remains unconcious, her breathing steady but faint, a peaceful look on her face, unaware of the predicament they are all in. The medigel on her throat holds, preventing any further bleeding and hopefully preventing infection.

Jessica furrows her brow, giving a shake of her head. "I am not sure what fight you are referring to... But I am not just going to sit here if you are going after that asshole, mmm? I am coming." she states with a firm nod despite the fact that she was barely able to sit down without crumbling to pieces.

Jason shakes his head. "I don't think catching up is an option. Right now we just need to figure out how we're going to get off this planet. But we will. And when we do, I'm going to find that asshole and kick his teeth down his throat-..." he snaps his gaze over to Ehanis, "...Do hanar have teeth? Do hanar have throats?"

Korio remains near the door, watching the sandstorm.

Nathan finishes strapping his chest piece on and glowers at the woman. "What fig- the fight where a bunch of religious fucking zealots just tried to execute a woman in cold blood and then murder us too. That fucking fight, genius," he snaps, his nerves flayed by the incident. He rips off the rebreather and throws it to the side, snatching up his helmet and locking

Renala sighs. "Nobody is going anywhere anytime soon," she says. "We can't outrun a truck, even if the weather was clear."

Jessica stares blankly at Nathan for a few moments. Gradually a grin crosses her face and her shoulders begin to rise and fall in laughter as he continues to gear up, which it's quite obvious causes her no small amount of pain. "You are-... You are sooo stupid. They leave their supplies. They leave their defense. They drive away in a sandstorm. There is no fight. They are dead. Maybe they are not aware yet, but-..." she nods,

Ehanis tilts her head. "I... uh, never checked," she says. "They must have, right? Maybe it's under, near where the tentacles begin."

Jason gives a dismissive shrug. "Whatever. I'll kick something down something, that's for damn sure." he mutters. As he spots Nathan exiting, he begins climbing to his feet. "Everyone alright...?" he asks.

Renala shakes her head, not as 'optimistic'. "It'll be an uncomfortable journey no doubt," she says, looking at Jessica, "but they'll probably live if the truck doesn't break down."

Ehanis remains seated, and looks up at Jason. "I'll look after the archeologist," she says. "You've got leader-things to do."

Jessica shrugs her shoulders. "Maybe. Or maybe they are juuuuust outside of our view. Upside down and choking on a mouthful of sand, mmm?"

Nathan glances back to Jason. He walks over, turning his gaze to the asari as he approaches. He breathes a sigh of relief to see that she still lives. "Jessica got hit badly. Took a large shard of plastic into her side...". He pauses and adds, "S'not stopping her from running her mouth off, though. I got a few grazes and... as far as I can tell, everyone else is

Jason runs a hand through his hair as a frustrated sigh escapes him. "Yeah... Yeah, I heard..." His gaze moves towards the door and he watches the storm raging outside between the silhouettes of Korio and Steve. "Looks like most of the supplies went up with the explosion, too. As usual, I'm open to suggestions, but I don't think we're going to get very far in that storm and there's no telling if we'd even be able to find our way

Renala chuckles as she brings up her omni-tool to stop the recordings. "Now that would be great," she says. "That would be what they deserve after what they did."

Nathan grimaces, clearly ready to march into the desert and, instead of a boot, sticking a fusion grenade up it's ass. However, a small rational part of him acknowledges that their options right now are limited to sit here and recover, or go out and likely die. He sighs quietly and nods slowly, relenting to Jason. "Yeah. Good plan." He turns to look back at the

Jessica nods slowly. "Mmmm." she agrees, "In my experience, people rarely get what they deserve. So maybe you are right." She shifts a bit in place, her eye drawn back to her wound, "Still. Is bad out there. They are fools for trying to escape in this. Maybe they are lucky fools. But still fools..."

Renala nods before shutting off her omni-tool's projection. "I recorded everything," she says. "If we get out of here, we might be able to use that against him."

Jason gives a nod of his own as he glances back at the door. "We can stack the remaining supply crates in the doorway. We can just empty them into the tent first. I know it's not much, but at least maybe it will give us an early warning system. We'll keep a rotating guard shift to watch the door, too." he explains, trying to run through the ideas going through his head. "As much as I would love to believe their truck broke down

Nathan manages a chuckle, turning back to Jason with a pleased nod. Glad to see the pair of them are on a similar page. At least in terms of defending the place. "You know what? I can honestly believe that is something the Chief would do." He places his hands on his hips and examines the remaining crates. "I'll get to work on emptying these. Stick Steve or Korio on

Ehanis sighs. "Don't forget my sister," she says, glancing up at Jason. "Goddess, she's going to be so pissed. At the Chief, at you,... at me."

Jason nods once again. "Sounds like a plan. At any rate, we're going to need to find a way to make contact with someone. There's not a doubt in my mind that Linda will be here looking for us when we don't show with the hanar-..." he reaffirms, "...But she won't have any idea where to even look. So unless we plan on sitting tight for the next-... oh, thirty years or so while she checks every nook and cranny on this sandcastle,

Nathan is sat out the way, most of the team's weapons around him and organised neatly. At least, the weapons of those who won't immediately need them and whom parted with them. He has remained strangely quiet for the last hour and a half, only talking to Steve to direct construction and to the others to ask if he could run some quick maintenance over their weapons.

Korio is stood atop the crate, rifle in both hands as he peers out into the darkness. As usual, he has been mostly quiet and contemplative, leaving the planning to the others.

Jessica remains inside of the tent. She has since removed her armor plating, and she's slowly working her way through a tube of nutrient paste, seemingly doing her best to make it last. A large gash is visible in the side of her undersuit, closed only by the smeared medigel over it and her wound.

Jason slowly opens and closes his fist by way of moving his thumb. He gives a sigh, though nods to Renala. "It will have to do for now. I appreciate it." he says, though it's obvious he was hoping for more.

Steve sets his SMG down beside Nathan. He's still fully gered up, sans helmet which is tucked under his arm. "Guess we're all settled in for the night." he sighs as he takes a seat beside the man. "Situation is fucked, huh?"

Renala gives an understanding nod. "It's the best I could do right now," she says. "I'm sorry, I'd be unhappy if were stuck out here for who knows how long with a hand and a half, too."

Renala has taken off her gloves and has changed her helmet for a breather. She brought only two energy bars, and she's already consumed the roughly two pints of water she brought for the trip.

Jason gives Renala a nod. "We're all just doing the best we can." he says, moving the thumb around as much as he can, "This is good. Really. It's enough to get a good grip on my weapon." he says, offering her a genuine, if weak smile. "You mind getting Jessica out of the tent?" he asks with a nod in the general direction of it, "I think it's time we all sat down and had a little pow-wow about what we're going to do."

Nathan has just finished reassembling his rifle and sets it down. He glances across to Steve and shrugs lightly as he plucks up the man's weapon and starts inspecting it. "Fucked is about right," he agrees with an irritable sigh. "...Fucking hell... first mission back after recovering and it already seems like we're going to die. I hope we get hazard pay if we make

Ehanis is still seated beside the asari, occasionally glancing over to check on her. She has mostly watched the exit thoughtfully, and hasn't initiated conversation. She is still in her armor undersuit and breather.

Steve snorts humorlessly as he leans back, setting his helmet down and propping himself up with his hands. "I don't know about you but I certainly ain't plannin' on dyin' out in the middle of nowhere, that's for damn sure. Just gotta get our shit together and get the fuck out of this tomb." he says, giving a glance up at the ceiling.

Renala returns the smile, "Of course." she stands up and walks over to the human woman. She wordlessly offers her a hand to hold onto, and will move to support her if she accepts.

Jessica glances up at Renala as she enters the tent. She doesn't support the hand, instead placing her own against the floor in an attempt at pushing herself to her feet. "Mmmm? What is going on?" she asks as she stands up, a pained expression briefly crossing her face.

Nathan glances to Steve. "Hey, I didn't mean I'm giving up. Just stating how much this situation abides by 'Sod's Law'." He sets the SMG down, having lost the motivation to continue with an inspection. "Besides, I'm not allowed to die yet. My sister would kill me if I died," he says with a smirk and a slight chuckle.

Steve snickers, "Well, there's some motivation to kick ya in the ass." he says. He once again goes silent, his gaze moving briefly back towards the door out of the tunnel before settling back on the weaponry in front of Nathan, "So how are we lookin' on ammo? No tellin' what might be waitin' out there, would be nice to know we're in a good position to kill whatever might come after us."

Renala frowns. "Jason wants to hold a meeting," she says. "We need to figure out what to do about this mess." She crouches down. "Let me help you up," she says. "Putting unecessary pressure on your injury isn't going to help anything."

Jason stands up and continues to fiddle with his tumb for a few moments before looking towards Steve and Nathan. "Hey. Get over here. I think we all need to have a little talk about our options." he calls, waving them over as he starts towards Ehanis. "You too, Korio. I think we'll be alright to step away from the door for a few minutes."

Nathan waves idly to the stash of supplies... although stash might be too generous. "We have enough for maybe two... three engagements if we aim carefully. I'm still carrying enough 'nades to level a small hamlet, so that isn't an issue." He looks to Jason and nods. "Alright, one sec."

Jessica places a hand on Renala's shoulder reluctantly and uses it to push herself into a standing position, though she doesn't seem like she has any plans to further rely on Renala as she begins to exit the tent. "Is fine." she insists, though her hands shoot right back to her wound. "I am thinking it was just a small wound. Medi-gel fixed it all up. Doesn't even hurt anymore." she continues, though the limp in her step implies

Steve climbs back to his feet, scooping his helmet up and tucking it under his arm in the process. "Not too bad." he says with a nod, "Let's just hope we don't need it all." He starts to make his way over towards Jason, Ehanis and the unconscious asari, leaving his SMG behind.

Nathan stands up and follows Steve, holstering his M-55 as he does so.

Renala shrugs and follows behind her. "Medi-gel only blocks the pain," she says. "It'll come back just as bad in a few hours if you're not careful."

Ehanis glances over to Jason, but she decides to remain in place once she sees that he's moving towards her.

Jessica waves the asari off. "I have had worse." she says simply as she starts towards the group, "I will deal with it."

Korio gives one last sweep with his flashlight of the area just beyond their barricade before hopping off of the crate and holstering his rifle. "The storm does not seem to be dying down." he says as he joins the others.

Renala nods, and follows beside her towards the group without saying anything.

Jason sighs as everyone joins up. He's still in his armor, minus gauntlets and his helmet has been replaced by a breather. Large streaks of dried vorcha and asari blood paint his chestplate and arms. "So, you're all smart people. You all know the situation." he begins. "We have enough food for about a day. Which we could probably stretch into a few days if we had to. The bigger problem in that regard is water. That tank was

Renala frowns at the mention of car theft, worried that it could propagate by word of mouth. That's not her biggest worry right now, however, so she opts not to mention anything. "I was going to suggest searching this facility, actually," she says. "All I need is a large enough antenna and some power, and the things I brought with me can do the rest of the work."

Nathan folds his arms across his chest and listens. Eventually, he nods. "Scouring the bunker seems like our best bet for the moment. As you said, we have no means of transport and thus no means of recon. If we can at least get communications up and running, that would be a start...". He then rubs his helmet's chin in thought.

Korio nods in agreement as Renala speaks. "It seems to be the best course of action." he says. As Nathan continues, he speaks up once again, "You are probably correct. Though they may aquire food through hunting. While we are not unable to do the same, it might be more difficult given our lack of knowledge on the area and the animals around. As for water? The natives may have access to a natural water supply, such as a lake.

Jessica shrugs her shoulders. "We could just find these natives and take their water, yes?" she asks. Though her gaze quickly drifts to Korio and she speaks up again, "Or... Or... Ask them nicely, mmm? Maybe... trade?" she corrects, quickly changing her stance as she realizes it's probably not going to go over too well to suggest killing the natives.

Ehanis stands up after casting another glance at the asari, but she doesn't have any input.

Steve points a finger towards Jessica. "Eh, maybe she has a point." he says. "Now I ain't exactly fond of the idea of huntin' down a bunch of drell and takin' their shit. But, hell, they didn't seem to have a problem tryin' to do it to us back there, right? This is life and death, and if the choice is between me and them? I say we give it a shot. I can go take a look at 'em and see if there's any info on 'em about where they

Jason rolls his eyes. "We are not robbing the locals. Nevermind the fact that we have no idea where they even are, that's just not who we are. So knock that shit off right now." he says, looking pointedly between Steve and Jessica. With a sigh, he looks to Nathan and nods. "We've got enough people to do both. Once the storm dies down, a few of us can head out and try and get a lay of the land. See what we can find. A second

Jessica scowls, casting a glare in Steve's direction. "He said it, not me..." she mutters.

Korio doesn't show much reaction when Steve and Jessica speak, though he does look visibly relieved as Jason rejects their ideas.

Nathan nods to Jason. "Alright, sounds good," he says. "I'll divvy out the ammo we have left between everyone. I'll also spread out what grenades I have left too. Just in case the bunker team encounter anymore turrets."

Ehanis folds her arms, not showing any reaction to the locals-robbing plan nor its rejection. "My injury won't be a problem," she says, "so I can go with whichever team needs another gun."

Jason folds his arms across his chest and gives Nathan a nod. "Probably a good idea. Jessica, you'll be staying here to watch over Namira, so hand out a few of those charges of yours and give a quick rundown on how to use them in case the scavenging team needs to take down any doors." As Ehanis speaks up, his nods towards Nathan, "You can come with me and Ten. Part of the 'away' team." he decides.

Jessica's frown deepens, but she nods silently. It's quite clear she doesn't want to be left behind.

Renala nods. "I don't expect any resistance down there," she says, "so it's probably best if the away team takes most of the ammunition."

Nathan glances between Jason and Ehanis. Well, at least they are only lightly wounded. He then glances to Renala, though he remains silent for the moment.

Jason looks to Steve. "You stick with Renala. Korio can remain on guard duty." he says, "But for now, I think we all just need to take a breather until that storm dies down, alright? I don't think anyone is going to be running through a sandstorm to ambush us. So do we have any more questions...?" he asks, looking between his team, "Suggestions? Anything that needs to be taken care of?"

Renala shakes her head. "The sooner we can start our search, the better," she says.

Ehanis gives a small, brief smile, happy to be able to help do something about the situation.