Anomalous Trip (Part II)

[Dragnoxz]

There is no response.

2nd Lt. Bardlaw: “Captain ?”

Still, no response.Your wrist device has a file message.

You see from the captains perspective. He’s running. He looks back. A herd of black dogs are chasing him. “Find rivers. Cross em !” He says. “I’m compromised. Luring them away.” You hear the snap of the electric whip of his perusers, accompanied to a hound yelp.

[slicsinatra]

“s***. Let’s go guys. I hope everyone else is okay.” I start running toward the rivers with the others.

[Dragnoxz]

2nd Lt. Hyla: “Shouldn't we recon where a river is with a drone first ?” Bardlaw looks at her, with a lightbulb just went on look, before looking at you with the expression that she has a good idea. She pulls her drone out and flys it up, and finds the nearest river. She locks in the closest crossing point and shares the waypoint to loc team. “Thought y’all as trained on this ?”

2nd Lt. Bardlaw: Thought us guys were suppose to be dumb ?” He smiles like a kid.

2nd Lt. Hyla: “Boy, get-the-f**k movin.” She raises her hand like she’d about to slap him, but also has a smile  as she does. “That way.” She points. 

[slicsinatra]

“Roger following you then.”

[Dragnoxz]

After about 93 minutes, you reach the river. The river is about 125 meters wide and it winds. It moves steadily but slowly. You can judge the speed by the debris moving by, which is about 1.5 MPH. It’s similar to a common southern river of Tennessee or north Alabama or
Mississippi.

2nd Lt. Hyla: “Our gear will slow us down. I can swim across without my gear, n-tie a rope so y’all can just pull-across, sir ?” She asks. “Y’all cover ?”

[slicsinatra]

“I got your back.” I take up defensive posture. “For some reason I feel like we are being watched.”

[Dragnoxz]

2nd Lt. Bardlaw: “Well, if we are, they aren’t dumb enough to f**k with us.”

2nd Lt. Hyla: “Please don’t be sea monsters, please don’t be sea monsters-.” She says as she swims across.

2nd Lt. Bardlaw: “We can hear you, Hyla.”

2nd Lt. Hyla: “Good. Better shoot a sea monster if it here.” 

[slicsinatra]

I check through my thermals and FLIR to make sure there aren’t any hostile fish. I also check the surrounding area for anyone who may be watching.

[Dragnoxz]

The thermals don’t penetrate through the water well. You are receiving the temperature of the water surface. The surrounding area is clear, aside from the wildlife. It is still light out, and has been getting darker for quite a while.

2nd Lt. Bardlaw: “It’s been getting dark for nearly an hour. Celestially I think this place is more different than earth than we think.” You can still see across the river. Hyla reaches it safely, and goes the rope to a tree root.

2nd Lt. Hyla: “Ready. Covering.”

[slicsinatra]

I begin to swim over to the other side and cover my other teammate as they come.

[Dragnoxz]

You and the others make it across without issues. Hyla puts the rope away.

2nd Lt. Bardlaw: “Ready.” Hyla looks up and pauses momentarily before she says it.

2nd Lt. Hyla: “Ready.” She closes her pack after putting the rope away.

Roll Perception.

[slicsinatra]

Perception 13.

[Dragnoxz]

High up, you notice a flock of birds, or at least that’s what it looks like, flying near the cloud level altitude. They remind you of migrating geese. You can’t make out what they look like really well, but their presence is easily noticeable on the thermals. They sky grows darker, though that doesn’t matter visually with thermal and FLIR style vision.

[slicsinatra]

“Migrating birds. Huh. If the days don’t work the same here I wonder what about the seasons. Wait.” I look the opposite direction of the birds. I remember clouds from earlier, is there a storm coming?

[Dragnoxz]

The thunder head missed your position. It appears to still be producing lightning at high altitude. You are starting to see stars high up.