#RuinsOfRakhana – September 7, 2016

Ehanis moves over to pick her weapons off the ground. "Thanks for the ride back, at least," she says half-heartedly to the nearest drell before walking inside, immediately heading for the Redrock tent.

Nathan greedily snatches up his weapons, turning away from the drell and sighing. "Did they hurt you?" He coos to his M-100 as he loads the ammunition back into it. He stows it away and repeats the process for his other two before turning and clearing his throat. "Right so... what?!"

Jason furrows his brow, staring at the drell in silence for a moment before finally speaking up. "Wha-... what do you mean they're useless!? These weapons are in full working order and we're offering to provide you with more than enough thermal clips to get use out of them! They're more powerful than anything you have on hand and-.... and-..." he clenches his hand into a fist and slams it against the top of the crate in

Renala folds her arms, but she defers to Jason to do the talking. She is standing next to him behind the crate where their offer is.

Ehanis enters the tent and sits down at the same spot as before this whole shitstorm. She casts a glance towards Namira before sitting down, but she doesn't say anything.

Nathan clenches his hands into fists and takes a step towards the drell. "Oi! Don't you fucking dare abandon us on this planet!" He barks at them. "What, you think you're the only people with family? Loved ones to return to?"

Jason sighs loudly. "Just... Just talk to Kell about it? Tell him what I said, okay? At least consider it! We have a lot to offer you. We just-... we just need to get a message out to our people." He brings a hand up to his forehead in frustration before reaching out to grab the cannister of medigel from atop the crate. "Please... Just consider it." he repeats, extending the cannister outwards. "I know this isn't much, but

Ehanis did of course bring the box in and left it near the tent.

Nathan blinks and rounds on Jason, his frustration evident. He looks ready to rip into him as their ride rumbles away, but sensibility returns to him at the last second. He sighs in frustration and slumps against their make-shift barricade, resting his hands on his helmet. "Shit...".

Renala sighs. "Maybe they have to be this stubborn to survive out here," she muses, reaching over to take back the water purifier.

Jason places his gauntleted hands against the crate and leans forward, a loud, frustrated grunt escaping him. "So day one was a failure and a half." he mutters, "...But at least we bought ourselves a little bit more time with that food and water. With any luck, Kell will consider the offer. From what I saw of him, he seemed like a good man-... lizard-.... manlizard. He has to know that we can offer his colony things from

Renala nods, and moves over to open the other crate. "We didn't have any better luck," she says. "Progress was slow on the floor below the lab, due to every door being rusted up, and we didn't find anything."

Nathan looks up from his position on the floor, seemingly quite dejected. "Yeah... yeah, no problem, Jase," he mutters. He pulls out his Predator and checks it over with a critical eye, trying to keep himself busy.

Steve frowns as his medigel is taken. "We're just gonna let 'em take our shit and ride away!?" he asks in disbelief, "Wolfe... We could just take the damn thing. We wouldn't even break a sweat!"

Jason lifts the top of the crate off, shaking his head to himself. "We're not taking anything. Not unless we have absolutely no other choice. Those people had families. They're just trying to survive. Just like us." he explains, "We're going to get out of here. And when we do? I'd prefer to do so with my conscience intact. You know, knowing I didn't just slaughter someone's mother or father? Let it go and get some rest

Renala picks up the water tank from the crate. "I think this will last us two days if we ration it carefully," she says, "which might be enough time to complete our search underground."

Steve scoffs loudly and stomps off towards the tent, kicking a crate out of frustration on his way.

Jason ignores Steve's temper tantrum and grimaces as he spots what constitutes as 'food' on this planet. "Greeeat..." he mutters. "Well, save the nutrient paste as a backup." he says as he stands up straight, looking towards the others, "We got plenty of bug meat here. Should last us a few days." He nods to Renala, "That's good, because water is going to be an issue, but if we're careful we can probably get another couple days

Korio bows his head in appreciation. "Thank you."

Renala tilts her head. "You've been outside in the heat all day, Wolfe," she says. "Are you sure you won't be able to sleep?" She balances the water purifier ontop of the tank as she starts to move it over to the rest of their supplies.

Jason waves Renala off as he pulls the crate Korio was standing atop over beside the opening in the barricade and takes a seat atop it. "Not right now. I need a little time to think." he says, "I'll take the first shift tonight. The rest of you can get a little sleep, I'll wake you up to take over when I'm ready to close my eyes for a few, alright?"

Nathan holsters his pistol and stares upwards at the ceiling. Trundling through the desert, finding nothing of worth, getting paralysed and now only getting bug meat to eat for a few days before they burn up and starve... well, got to count their blessings. At least they have food now. He syncs his omni-tool with his HUD and brings up his photos, cycling through

Ehanis takes her helmet off and puts it beside her. She takes out her canteen and sips up the last few drops of water left in it, but she doesn't reach for a breather right away once she's capped it again.

Renala raises an eyebrow. "What the hell did you encounter out there?" she asks.

Jason brings his boot up onto his crate, allowing a small snicker to escape him at Nathan's comment. "You-.... don't want to know." he says as he cocks his head towards Renala. "Turns out that stomping across the desert on a planet you know nothing about can occasionally be dangerous... Who would've thought?" He nods towards the crate outside of the tent left by Ehanis, "We found some shit out there that you might get some use

Renala nods. "I'll take a look at it," she says. "What about the food? I haven't had anything to eat since morning, and I assume it's the same for the rest of you. Why don't we cook some of it and have a decent meal before we get some rest?"

Jason gives Renala a nod. "That sounds like a good plan." he agrees, "I know I could go for a bite." He slides a gauntleted hand across his stomach, "Been so frustrated and tired and-... and worried..." he sighs, "...Guess I hadn't realized how hungry I was."

Nathan throws his hands up in the air. "Cook out!" He exlaims. "Now, where's my 'Kiss the chef' apron?" He says as he pulls out a chunk of meat, examining it and hesitantly sniffing at it. "...I hope this isn't poisoned. You know, give us free food and then come in afterwards to nick our shit whilst we're foaming at the mouth."

Jason furrows his brow and gives a shake of his head. "Uhhh, you're not serious, right?" he asks, as if it's the most ridiculous suggestion ever. "Why would they poison us? That makes no sense. Everyone knows that would taint the meat. Come on, Ten. Get with it. If anything they're trying to fatten us up. Which, right now?" he shrugs, "I'm okay with."

Ehanis begins removing the armor pieces, though it's a quite slow process.

Renala steps over to the food, picking up one of the first sized pieces and weighing it in her hand. "At least we'll get the symptoms here, and not while we're in the middle of the desert," she says. "Do we have the equipment we need?"

Nathan glances up at Jason, chuckling and shaking his head. "Dunno about that, Jase. You're looking a little tight around the edge," he quips in return. He then turns to Renala. "Eh, we'll improvise," he says nonchalantly.

Jason gives Nathan a roll of his eyes. "Really? I just carried your ass across a desert! If either of us need to skip this meal, it's you. Make it easier on me the next time you decide to wrestle with a bug and go all useless on us."

Renala chuckles. "The spiders don't sound all that bad," she says. "I think I'll stick with the underground." She puts the piece of bugmeat back where it belongs. "You might want to clean it first, there could be traces of drell skin venom on it from their handling of it. It's not dangerous, of course, just... inconvenient." She starts walking over to the crate by the tent.

Nathan glares at Jason and reaches around behind his back. With a grunt, he yanks out another bullet from his armour and throws it at Jason's face. How many of these things did he absorb in his armour?

Nathan has stripped his armour, now just in his undersuit and his boots. A rebreather on his face with a half-smile as he wafts his hand up toward his face. "Ahhhhhhhh... smells like... victory!" he announces as he hands a piece of cooked meat to Jason.

Jason accepts the meat with a nod. "Looks-.... Well, thanks." he decides as he turns the mystery meat over in his hand. He has also stripped down to his undersuit and boots. He retakes his seat atop the crate near the door, staring out towards the stars. "Not a bad night..." he says, a small smile crossing his lips, "Better than a sandstorm at any rate." He sets his canteen and Phalanx down on the crate as he sniffs the meat.

Ehanis reaches out to carefully grab a piece of meat off the 'pan', not being patient enough to wait for it to be handed to her. She has sat by the cooking fire ever since she got out of her armor, and is now sitting in her purple undersuit -- the color does not mask the blood stains from the grenade incident. She is still not very talkative.

Steve takes a piece of meat for himself and juggles it from hand to hand for a moment to let it cool down before immediately taking a bite out of it, not putting much focus on what it actually is. He's seated on the floor near the fire in his undersuit.

Jessica limps towards the fire, rubbing her hands together. "Mmmm. Finally some real food." she says, reaching out for a chunk of delicious, nutty bug meat. Her undersuit has a large rip in the side where the plastic shredded it, which is sealed only by the medigel administered. Her battered, worn cap is still atop her head. "Stomach has been going-..." she makes a guttural growl.

Korio looks the meat over with a small smile as he finds himself wondering if this is the sort of thing his people had eaten before their forced exodus.

Nathan takes a piece of the meat and nods to the others. "Enjoy. Bon appetit!" he says as he shimmies on over to take a seat on the barricade. He sits with one foot on the crate, resting his arm on his bent knee as he pulls off his rebreather and stares up at the sky. He hums a smile and quickly snaps a picture with his omni-tool. "It is pretty cool."

Ehanis tosses the piece between her hands, slowing down while it cools to a managable temperature. "Thanks," she mutters before taking a bite out of the meat, too hungry to wait for it to cool down.

Renala puts down the water purifier and walks over to join the others around the fire. "I appreciate it," she nods to Nathan before taking a piece.

Jason presses his tongue against it to test the waters before taking a bite out of it. "Yeah... Yeah, it's not too bad out here. If it wasn't for the blinding sun during the day, the scorching heat, the giant bugs trying to eat us, the giant bugs we're eating, the acid rain, the lack of drinkable water, the miles and miles of destroyed buildings we have to climb through, the unfriendly drell who tried to rob us, the unfriendly

Steve continues to tear into his food. "Yeah, not bad, Ten." he says, more focused on getting some food into his belly than talking at the moment.

Jessica takes her meat and simply offers Nathan a nod before hobbling back to her spot just inside the tent. It takes her a moment, but she eventually sits back down. After looking over the suspicious meat, she tears a piece off and waves it just in front of Namira's face. "You are going to have to eat eventually, mmm? Come on. One bite." she says, prodding the meat against the unconscious asari's lips, "Is good.... Probably."

Nathan rips a chunk of the meat off and chews on it slowly, a light frown on his features. He offers Steve a nod before turning back to glance at Jason. He swallows his mouthful and sighs. "What're we going to do, Jase? We have fuck all to offer those guys," he says as he jabs a thumb in the rough direction of the factory, "and this stuff ain't going to last for

Ehanis is too busy rapidly eating it to speak, the taste not bothering her at all in her current situation.

Jason sighs and gives a shake of his head. "I don't know, Ten. Kell and his people are a dead end, I think. We need to take care of ourselves. Maybe if we can find something that Renala can fix up, they'd be willing to trade. But we can't rely on that possibility. It might just be time to accept that we're not going to find transportation. If we're getting home, we either need to come up with a way for Renala to get a message

Steve licks at his fingers, eager to get as much out of this meal as he can. "So what about that shit they brought back, Ren?" he asks with a mouthful of bugmeat, "Any of it gonna be useful?"

Jessica sighs and pops the food into her mouth. "Is good, you see?" she asks her unconscious company, "You are missing out."

Nathan grimaces and lowers the piece of meat, his appetite suddenly vanishing. He keeps his gaze low on the ground, his free hand clenched into a fist. "I know," he mumbles... no, hisses. "There's got to be... something we can do... anything...?" He asks desperately, the prospect of the woman dying on their watch seemingly ripping him apart from the inside.

Namira agrees unconciously.

Renala shakes her head. "No, it looks like old computer parts," she says. She looks down as she suddenly realizes something. "Fuck," she mutters. "I should have asked the drell if they had any antennas." She takes a large bite of the meat.

Jason slowly shakes his head. "There's not, Ten. We both know there's not... Like I said, it's a miracle she's still alive. Tough sonovabitch. I mean, she took a shot to the throat..." He looks over the piece of meat in his hand, turning it over as he considers another bite. "The best we can do is keep her comfortable until she passes and hope for a fucking miracle. Hell, I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a tiny part of me

Steve frowns, though it's clear his focus is firmly on his dinner right now. "Well ain't that a shame... Maybe if they ain't too far we can make another trip out that way? Might be worth bringin' up to Jason. At the very least, it's a fallback plan, right? Always good to have more shit to do so we ain't just sittin' around with our thumbs up our asses all day."

Renala shrugs. "Maybe, but we have more than one day left," she says. "And if we're lucky, this Kell might reconsider our trade."

Nathan stares at Jason, his gaze slowly falling as each sentence is said. Eventually, he turns away to stare off up into the sky, watching the stars shine bright in the darkness. "My kill-count in the peacekeepers was near enough non-existent," he says softly, still keeping his gaze to the heavens. "I was EOD. I disposed of the explosives, I rarely ever used them

Jason remains silent as Nathan tells his story, nodding along at a few points. It brings memories flooding back from his first few tours out in the Traverse. The nerves and anxiety. The first time he had to squeeze the trigger in the field. The emotions afterwards. The mixed feelings that came along with the accolades he received for taking lives. And the sad truth that it's the only life he knows at this point. Mina, and how

Steve nods to himself. "Ain't too fond of leavin' our survival to chance, though. Especially after the way them drell have treated us so far... You think they were the same ones who ambushed us on the way here?"

Korio chimes in as he overhears Renala and Steve's conversation. "Perhaps it is worth asking, but I am unsure of how valuable an antennae would be to the people out here. With such a sparse population, it is just as likely that they don't have one."

Nathan smiles sadly, but nods towards Jason. "Any chance is still a chance, Jase. I'll take it to stop an innocent woman from dying." He takes a bite of the meat, chewing as he gazes up at the sky once again. "I'll take it," he reiterates after swallowing the mouthful.

Renala shakes her head. "They're located too far apart for that, I think," she says. She looks over at Korio. "They could have one collecting dust somewhere," she says, "even if they have no use for it."

Korio returns his focus to his food. "Perhaps you are right. Either way, I believe it to be worth the effort, even if just for the sake of keeping us busy so we are not, 'sitting around with our thumbs up our asses'-..." he glances over to Steve with the slightest of smiles, "...As it was put. Inactivity in situations such as this can be a downward spiral."