Log Date: 1/20/98, 1/22/98 Log Cast: Paul Nighman, Dane Noth, Urio'kosh, Kairne, Shenneret Veery Log Intro: The Mandalore expedition, for better or for worse, has gotten rather unceremoniously underway. Its party numbers an unexpected five, including Dr. Paul Nighman, Shenneret Veery, the Mandalorians Dane Noth and Kairne... and Urio'kosh, who has for his own reasons strong-armed his way into the group. By way of working together to heave an engine core out of their way in a debris-strewn cavern, the five have succeeded in finding a hidden tunnel, and are making their escape from the military complex in which they'd been quartered, via this unseen route. On the way they've found a branch tunnel, only to discover that it has been blocked off by a cave-in.... ---------- Glancing at the cave-in, and then at the walls uncertainly, Paul merely nods, his lips forming a grim and unhappy line. "I'd suggest seeing if we could tunnel through ... but this whole tunnel looks like it could go at any moment," he notes, his voice laced with distrust at their surroundings. Dane nods in agreement, "All right then.." his voice is low, "Everyone back..one at a time." Looking disgusted, but without arguement at the decision between the warrior and the scientist, Urio'kosh breathes a sigh of annoyance, turning about to head back from whence they all came. Kairne turns to Urio, "Why do you wear such a look on your face? Do you have a different opinion on things?" Glancing at Kairne, Urio's expression is neutral as he replies loftily, "Just because I see the logic in something doesn't mean that I -like- it." Without another word, Urio glances back at the small mismatched group, shaking his head a touch derisively before fording his way back through the tunnel Urio'kosh turns back. Shenner scowls, much, but edges her way out into the tunnel they'd just vacated. _Karkin' great... back to the ladder..._ Blocked by the cave-in, you turn back. Passageway A long tunnel stretches forth before you, the walls turning before the end is in sight ... if there -is- an end. The tunnel is clearly quite old and looks none too stable. The walls seem to be very crudely dug out, as if done with very primitive instruments, the supports clearly scrap pieces of metal. It is only wide enough to walk in pairs. Contents: Obvious exits: Right Back Paul Nighman re-emerges from around the bend. Dane re-emerges from around the bend. Not paying attention to whether anyone follows him or not, Urio steps back onto the ladder and disappears from sight, heading down once again. Shenner casts a green-eyed, wary glance back at the others, slightly more concerned with making sure they track her. Shifting her slender shoulders under the straps of her pack, she makes her way into the ladder tunnel. You turn back and re-enter the tunnel, taking hold of the ladder rungs. Tunnel The tunnel is a long thin shaft, with a ladder that runs set along one side. There is no visible bottom when you first look down. It is a tight space, not even enough room to look down to where you going. Contents: Obvious exits: Cavern Paul Nighman emerges from seemingly nowhere. Dane emerges from seemingly nowhere. Shen didn't like that ladder before, and she's not too crazy about it now. But she'll be damned if she's going to tell anyone. She hisses out, "I'm goin' down," as she hears noises above her, and as she'd done the last time, begins to make a cautious trek down the slippery rungs. Dane whispers, "Wait Shenner..let me go first.." Urio'kosh can be seen some distance below, climbing down the ladder steadily. He makes no comment and indeed does not even look up to see if anyone is following him. Dane looks down and shakes his head, "Okay..you go first Urio.." he then murmurs, "It's your funeral boy.." Shenner blinks up above her, and whispers back, "Ain't no room to trade!" The others are already up above on the ladder anyway, and time's a'wastin'. "I'll sing out if somethin' happens...!" She pauses, frowning darkly at Dane's murmured words, especially 'funeral'... but goes anyway, climbing down in Urio's wake. Kairne stumbles along in the dark, "Damnit, I pulled the feed cord my helmet and my optics went out. Can you help me out here dane?" If the younger Mandalorian hears Dane's comment, he makes no sign of it, but with the delays above him, he is soon just a glowing blob far below the rest. Dane nods and assists Kairne with the cord, "You know most of us have modified this configuration to where the cord isn't necessary..all self contained in the helmet. I can help you fix it when we get outta here." Paul sighs deeply, unable to go any further until Shen moves along, and then as she does so, he follows close behind. "Take your time," he warns. "Don't try to keep up with him," he adds, as if he had any fears of Shen giving a damn about whether or not she was right behind Urio. He half hopes himself that the Mandalorian will prove himself useful and set off a trap, thus saving them the trouble of doing so themselves. Kairne says "Oh I've modified it already, just that after my trip back home, and run-in with the local guards, I managed to short the circuits out somewhere, and had to wire up this 'patch' feed for now. I'll be fine for now with this until we have the time to sit down and rest, tho I do hope you have some of the parts I need on you. But let's worry about this later, I do believe it's your turn to venture down this tunnel." Dane nods, "The parts can be made from almost anything." he follows along, "I managed to get a stock when we got here." Kairne walks to the edge and peers over into the darkness, his optics adjusting slowly to the light, "How are we doing down there?", he yells down to the other party members. The group climbs down, hindered by the fact that Shen is in the lead, and her pace is slow and careful. There is no sign of Urio now. He has gone so far down that there is no longer even the reassuring glow of light to indicate his presence. For all that Paul didn't like the man, he at least felt a little better knowing that there was someone below. Now he begins to fear that this tunnel will -never- end. Slow and careful is better than fast and dead. Trying to resist bursting into singing 'Down, down, down, down, gra-vi-te-e-e-eeeee,' Shen tests the rungs as she goes, and looks for some sign of a floor or another side tunnel, anything to distract from the growing tedium of tunnel, ladder, tunnel, ladder, tunnel, ladder... Pausing briefly, Paul glances at his chrono, frowning, before yelling back up. "By my account it's been fifteen minutes .... and no sign of Urio or the bottom. I don't like it." Dane says "Well let's keep going...it could be a lot further if they want to discourage visitors.." Shen does, indeed, keep going. "Where the kark else could he have gone but down?" she calls up, hoarsely, glancing for a moment away from the rungs immediately beneath her hands. Hidden by the shadows, Paul stops for a moment, telling himself that it is only to catch his breath ... that's all. There is a wild churning in his stomach, and at Shen's words he feels an alarming dart of panic snap through his nervous system. Clenching his teeth, he continues to move his hands and feet, thinking to himself, _Almost outta here ... almost outta here ...._ It's a lie, but it seems to help. Those fifteen minutes are nothing, as one hour, two hours, three hours go by, with nothing but climbing down down down. On more than one occasion, the group stops, leaning back against the wall of the tunnel to give their arms a rest. This is mostly done for Shen's benefit, after a few nerve wracking slips. By this point, the entire group is beginning to feel the strain of the descent, some more than others, and for some, not just physically. Dane glances down at Paul, his voice barely a whisper, "We better try and rest for a bit..I have a small length of rope we can use to tie Shenner off." The Corellian refuses to let Dane know that there is anything wrong. He merely nods brusquely ... then realizes that the Mandalorian probably can't see him. "Right," he barks, "pass me the rope." Kairne takes Dane's suggestion, and slides his legs through the rungs until the backs of his knees are resting on the rung, then clips himself to the 2 railings of the ladder with caribiners, slowly leaning backwards so that he is inverted and facing down at the party, his legs securely locked on the ladder. Yelling down to Dane, "You know Dane, if it weren't for the fact that you 3 are beneath me, and that I don't know if it'll be needed later, I'd be tempted to use my jet pack. This ladder is growing tiresome. This tunnel can't go on forever. I don't remember many of our installations being this far down, but then again, I never asked many questions for answers I didn't need to know. Whatever this leads to, must be important." And here she'd thought moving the sheet of metal had put strain on her arms -- now, every nerve in Shenner's limbs is screaming, and the girl's face is bathed in sweat and streaked in dirt she's managed to pick up from her close calls on the slippery rungs. At the last halt she'd had barely enough strength to call for the rest she desperately needed, and now, her awareness beginning to blur, focusing desperatey on the need to keep moving, she croaks upward, "I'm here... I'm here." Dane digs in his leg pouch and produces a synthrope dispenser, "Here Paul.." he closes the flap and hands it down, "This should do the trick." Shen can hear the men's voices above, and as long as she doesn't have to move, she clings tenaciously to the ladder, muzzily pondering that her filthy fingers have, at any rate, given her a somewhat better grip -- or would, if they didn't ache so fiercely. Hanging there, she leans her head forward and realizes in dismay that she is trembling, tears of exhaustion pricking at her eyes. _Dammit..._ Catching the end of it with a trembling hand, Paul mutters, "Right," and stuffs it into a pocket. Locking legs and one arm about the rungs, he carefully removes his pack and taking a section of cord, ties it securely to the ladder. He finds that he has to focus intently on what he's doing, but that he can at least do so. Climbing down closer to Shen, Paul loops his legs into the ladder and taking a deep breath, turns himself over and backward, reaching down toward Shenner. "Okay Shen," he calls out, his voice a touch sharp. "I'm gonna ease your pack off and tie it to the ladder .... then I'm gonna come down and secure you so you can rest .... there's not enough room for me and you and the packs ... so that's why that's coming off first." His words are hurried and rough, and with shaking hands he reaches down, carefully undoing the cinches on the pack so he can remove it without Shen releasing her grip. His entire body is one clenched muscle. "Relax Shen," he rasps, "Just hold on for a bit longer." Dane switches over to his helmet's com system and kills the external mic, <> His gaze still rests on Paul and the young woman below but to Kairne his voice carries a note of concern. "Here... 'kay," Shenner gasps out to Paul. Hold on to the ladder. She can do that. Yep. Hold on to the ladder. Shen can't see Paul's hands shaking, nor tell how tense he is; the girl barely has enough attention to register when the pack is lifted free from her back. She trembles violently in reaction, tensed shoulder muscles that had been shrieking under the weight dragging at them screaming again as the weight is suddenly gone. The girl says nothing, though, biting her lip against any noise of protest, enough to draw blood. The pack is secured and Paul lets out a shuddering breath before climbing back up, an idea in his head. "Shen, press your self as close as you can to the ladder ... I'm going to lower my pack past you ... and just let it hang below." He stops, swallowing hard as his breath seems abormally short and labored to him. "Then I'm gonna come down behind you and tie you in place, okay?" He starts, gingerly, to lower the pack, sweat pouring from his brow. Kairne receives Dane's com message, and follows suit, replying, "Yes, I agree Dane. I have no problem with our current situation, but these two must be hurting bad. I'd be dehydrated and mineral deficient by now if I wasn't trained for this. They've been keeping up well, but this is pushing them too hard." Kairne shifts his weight about, the rungs crying out ever so slightly from his movements, "And as comfortable as this may be, I'd rather not hang upside down here, but I''m trying to keep a lookout upwards. What are our choices? There's not enough room to strap them to our backs and carry them down." "'Kay," Shen croaks, trying to obey Paul as best she can, though her limbs protest again as she attempts to press herself closer to rock, earth, and ladder rungs. Dane continues the quiet com message, "I doubt we could carry them far on our backs anyways...I dunno." he gazes up and down the shaft, "Let's all rest for an hour or two and then see if they can continue. I don't like being this vulnerable but it's better than losing members of our group." Slipping down carefully, Paul tries to get behind Shenner while not knocking her free from her perch. Of course that means that -he- doesn't have much to hold on to, and cursing suddenly, he kicks himself for not thinking to secure himself with a rope as he did his pack. _Too late now ... just get it over and done with_ Hands shaking he passes the rope about Shenner several times, lashing her in securely, in fact perhaps over doing it really. But with this inexplicable panic trickling through his system, he is determined to get her well and firmly anchored into place. His legs and back scream as he uses the walls of the tunnel to stay in place himself, but they are slick and more than once he has had to stop and readjust. He pulls the last knot with a breath of relief, yelling up, "She's secured!" and then more softly, "Let go Shen ... you're tied on, you won't fall." Let go, he says. Shenner groggily issues this command to her fingers, but her hands do not immediately respond; it takes her a few seconds before she sags against her rope support, and when she finally does, she issues a sharp, short little gasp, as if she expected to fall. Kairne radios back to Dane, "Agreed, let's rest here. See if they need any nourishment, and what ideas they have on continuing." Kairne readjusts himself, pulling himself so that he is sitting on the rung, and not hanging downwards, but in doing so, loosens up the pouch that contains some of his glowsticks are in, and one falls out, tumbling down towards his companions. Noticing the slight change, Kairne yells down, "watch out below, glowstick falling." Dane unspools a small cable from one of his belts and attactches the grappling end to one of the rungs, turning slightly he wedges the spikes of his boots into the wall and leans back to rest his old bones. Carefully trying to clamber around Shenner, the sudden call makes Paul glance up sharply in alarm, and in doing so, his grip slips unexpectedly. He slides scrabbling at the slick walls in panic as well as the ladder as the glowstick bounces against him and down, and with a short yelp he falls. There is the unpleasant sound of cracks and thuds as he must hit the walls on the way down ... and then there is a very loud thud after a few seconds. Shenner looks up sharply, roused, and she shrieks, "Paul?!" Dane looks down with his enhanced vision, cursing under his breath, "K'athre and V'alya!" as he helplessly watches Paul fall. Shen's immediate impulse is to scramble down in Paul's wake -- but now, of course, she's rope-lashed to the ladder. Shoving her exhaustion as best she can into the back of her mind, the girl begins fumbling at the ropes securing her, and shrieks out Paul's name again. "Paul?! Paul, a-answer me, can you hear me?!" For a moment there is silence, as the wind as been knocked out of the Corellian, making speech impossible. His head rings from glancing off the tunnel wall, and there are a few other sharp pains and aches, but as far as he can tell, gasping like a fish out of water, nothing seems to be actively broken. Taking short little gasping breaths, Paul barely is able to wheeze out. "I'm ..... o .....kay." Dane lets out a sigh of relief, "I can see ground below..about ten meters.." he activates his motion detector to see if Paul is actually moving still as he starts after the girl. releasing his grapple and climbing down the ladder. Kairne yells down at Shenner, "Calm down Shen, don't undo your ropes, we don't need anyone else falling down there, and we don't know how injured Paul is.. anymore falling bodies could make things worse for him." Kairne quickly organizes himself, and pulls himself out of the rungs, his body still attached to the ladder railing through the cables and caribiners. Over the internal com system he calls to Dane, "Now what do we do? The unfortunate fool didn't tie off, we should have seen this coming, damnit." Shen seizes on Paul's hoarse reply, and feels an acute flare of relief in her chest. _K'chaiya..._ "O-okay, Paul..." As Kairne calls down to her, the girl pauses, torn, desperate to scramble down to the Corellian, but just as desperate not to do something tremendously stupid. "We gotta go down!" she calls up. Dane says "Shenner let me get down to you..I'll give you a hand." he calls, "We don't want you falling too." "R.... right," Shen calls back to Dane, trying to maintain enough breath to speak around the lump that's swelled up in her throat. "Hurry. Please." Kairne quickly unhooks himself and secures his gear to himself, "We're going Shen, but it's now a wise idea to be more careful now than ever. Let Dane help you down, and we'll get to Paul as quickly as safely possible." "Ready when you are Dane." Dane replies to Kairne and starts on down, "On my way." he doesn't waste much time ingetting to the girl, lowering his hand down to grasp the back of her clothing, "Easy now Shenner." he says rather calmly considering the situation. Sitting upright slowly, Paul hunkers down on all fours, arching his back to try to ease the flow of air into his lungs. Picking up the glowstick that caused this whole mess, Paul raises it slightly, his eyes perking up with hope at what he sees before him. His voice is still raspy, but he manages to call up audibly, "There's another tunnel ... a crevice ..." The conversation above his head begins to make an impression, and he calls up, Dane .... just cut my pack free and let it fall .... it's hanging beyond Shen, so it won't be in her way, but it will make getting down harder if you don't move it." Hearing Paul's voice steadies Shen, and she mentally seizes upon it, dredging up a few more shreds of strength. "Hangin'," she croaks out. "Gimme the word..." Kairne calls down to Shen, trying to calm her, "He'll be fine once we get to him. Take it slow and careful, and we'll access his situation." Calling out to Paul, "Try not to move too much Paul, don't need anything popping up on you down there." Kairne mutters to himself about all this mess, feeling somewhat responsible for it all, as he's supposed to be looking out for these two, not causing their danger. Dane maintains his grip on Shenner and calls up to Kairne, "Grab Paul's pack..I've got a handful now." he continues to ease the girl down carefully, "Just lower it with us." Now throughly embarrassed by his situation, Paul checks once again to make sure that nothing is damaged before calling up, "I'm fine Kairne ... just some bruises I'm sure." Glancing around he cases the area, adding, "There's nothing down here ... no triggers or anything out of the ordinary." "Right," Shen croaks up in acknowledgement to Kairne. The girl might be paying attention, but she's not wasting any more breath than she has to on speaking. As Dane reaches her and begins helping her down the tunnel, she starts, but focuses on moving down the ladder with the old warrior's aid. Kairne moves down the ladder, coming upon Shen's pack, and unties it from it's current resting place, and attaches it securely to his utility belt. Kairne thinks to himself, "No need for this to be falling also, and taking those 2 with it too." Kairne resumes his journey further down the latter, making sure to give Dane enough room to work with Shenner. Glancing up, this time raising the glowtube, Paul is even more chargrined by the fact that his pack is hanging a mere foot above his head. "Never mind, I'm getting my pack now ... and I'm stepping into the fissure ... there ain't enough room for all of us." And he does so. Paul Nighman climbs down and off the ladder, disappearing into a dangerous looking fissure. Dane eases Shenner down, "I'll cut the pack if need be biut I don't want to drop it on Paul's head.." "He got it," Shen gasps. "There's a crevice down here... come on..." As her feet touch stone, the redhead desperately orders her knees to keep from bailing, "Send my pack down and I'll go after..." Dane sends the pack down to Shenner and then lowers himself down, "There you go." The weight drags at the girl's arms, but she bites her lip again, and slings the thing up as best as she can manage, croaking out a thank-you, then clambering off in Paul's wake, hissing out his name as she goes. Your muscles ache from the strain of what feels like almost an hour of climbing down down down. You step off the ladder and into a dangerous looking fissure. Tunnel The tunnel here is jagged and dangerous looking, with no visible supports holding anything up. For all you know, it could collapse on your heads at any moment. The cramped space yawns ahead of you, narrow and dark. Contents: Paul Nighman Obvious exits: Forward Back Shenner climbs down into view, once more with her pack, and hissing out as she draws near, "Paul...?" Dane enters into this new tunnel, looking about it's "walls" suspiciously. Glancing up as Shen enters and then Dane, Paul waves from where he is huddled close to a wall. The glowstick in his hand illuminates his features from below, which looks creepy enough without the blood streaming down the side of his head. Dane walks over to Paul and kneels down, "Let me check you out Paul.." he says in a low voice while searching his belt pouches for something. Staring at Dane, somewhat mystified, Paul murmurs, "What? I'm fine ... what are you talking about?" His gaze shifts from Dane's impassive mask to Shen's, trying to get a sense of what is going on here. "Paul," Shen barks out, aghast. She'd be louder, but she doesn't have much energy to spare for it. Nor does she quite have the strength to practically teleport, as she desires, to the Corellian's side. But she stumbles after Dane, and she finishes, "You're bleedin'..." _Bleeding?_ Paul reaches up to his head, checking the wrong side first and looking at his hand blankly, then the right side, his hand coming away with blood on it. "I thought it was just sweat ..." he murmurs. With a small curse he opens his pack. "Never mind ... head wounds always bleed worse than they should ...." He removes a piece of cloth and after tentatively finding the source of the blood, wraps his head turban style. Glancing up at Dane he mutters, "Let's get out of here first ... this tunnel looks even worse than the first one ... and I don't want to be here if it's gonna give way." Dane nods, "We wait for Kairne though.." he says quite empahticaly but in a low tone.. Kairne enters into this new tunnel, looking about it's "walls" suspiciously. Shenner glances dully over her shoulder, then blows out a breath of relief as Kairne finally comes down to join them. "Move," she mumbles huskily. "Move...." The way the word escapes her, it's sounding like a less than palatable concept, but she says anyway, "Do it." Glancing back toward the tunnel, Paul sighs as Kairne joins them, tucking the cloth about his head securely and nodding carefully ... just in case it -is- serious. "Let's go then ... no Urio," he notes, as he rises up heading gingerly forward. Paul Nighman moves down the passageway, despite it's obstructions and unstable appearance. Despite the fact that this place could come crashing down around your ears, you move on ahead down the passage. Tunnel opening You continue to walk on and on, dodging gingerly about obstructions and looking up at the "ceiling" furtively. Finally, however, the passageway begins to lighten and after you turn another corner, you finally see light coming in from up ahead. Contents: Paul Nighman Obvious exits: Back Outside Dane emerges from around a corner, following you down the tunnel. Light...?! If Shen knew of a deity to thank, she'd be thanking one right now. Or perhaps several. As it happens, when the illumination reaches her, she smiles hugely, giddy with exhaustion and relief, and she croaks out, "Look..." The tunnel winds on and on, and while it isn't as endless as the climb down, it does seem frighteningly long. As light finally begins to beckon, Paul let's out a sigh of relief, echoing Shen's reaction. Dane gazes at the lightening corridor and raises a hand, "I think I should go first again.." Kairne comes trailing in, Shen's backpack dangling at his side, "Had I not been in such a rush to catch up with you, I'd taken this thing off before I tried to get through the crevice. Remind me to do so in similar situations. But I'll hold onto it for now, no need to let you carry it if I can burden the weight for now." Despite Kairne having her pack, Shen's exhausted body is now protesting her halts as loudly as her progress, and informing her in no uncertain terms that she should be prone, Right Now, for about six or seven years. The redhead flings out a grimy hand to support herself against the tunnel wall and barely manages to nod to Dane, as she fixes liquid, hopeful eyes on the glow ahead, blinking to adjust her tearing vision. Paul stares ahead to the light like a man dying of thirst, but nods at Dane's request, waiting for him to pass. Dane starts ahead of the group, this time a small but temporary whine can be heard from his armor.. Kairne says, "Let's make it to the light friends, and get a fix on our position, and see if we don't find our missing companion Urio." Kairne slowly moves forward, his breathing somewhat labored after this long ordeal, but nothing to be worried about, just too much time in close quarters, something he's never quite liked. Dane heads toward the light and disappears outside the opening. You head toward the light gratefully, emerging outside at last. Valley Base You look about you and realize that you are at the base of a valley. Clearly the underground caverns have brought you to beyond the city and spaceport limits. As you look up the steep incline, you see that the landscape around you is rough and mostly barren save for a few straggling trees. Clearly this might have once been a lovely valley, but something has torn through here, leaving devastation in it's trail. What once must have been a raging river is now a barely recovered stream trickling several meters ahead of you. Gently sloping hillside has been ravaged into rocky, steep, torn earth. High above your heads you can just barely see an opening in the valley's side. Contents: Obvious exits: Forward Back Paul Nighman emerges from the tunnel to join you. Kairne emerges from the tunnel to join you. Dane stands quietly looking out over the devistated valley, his head shaking ever so slightly. _I -will not- fall down, I -will not- fall down, I -will not- fall down...- Mentally chanting this litany over and over, Shenner staggers up out of the tunnel, lifting her face almost prayerfully to the light and the air. As she emerges, nevertheless, she _does_ trip, one foot skidding out from beneath her. Glancing up from his perch on a tall boulder, Urio arches a curious brow. He looks virtually untouched by the experience which has clearly marked the rest of the troupe. "Well, you finally made it," he murmurs obliquely. Dane looks up at Urio, "Hoping we wouldn't?" he says quite seriously. Kairne manages to come out of the tunnel as Urio finishes his remark to the group, and mutters, "I'm sure we all appreciate your enthusiasm in this endeavour, but it would be best for all of us to stick together, so that we don't end up in 'hairy' circumstances." Paul pauses, the light making him realize that it must be dawn ... which means that they've been up for most of the night. He spares no more than a withering glare toward Urio before turning toward Kairne, murmuring, "What are you talking about Kairne ... I'm the idiot who fell." Clearly the Corellian hasn't a clue as to why the Mandalorian would be blaming himself for Paul's stupidity. Slipping easily from the stone, Urio glances at each member of the group before turning to Dane and Kairne. "My apologies Lord General, Major," he offers with a slight bow. "I have an extreme dislike for small spaces, and the rest of you were so far behind, it seemed more prudent to keep going." His manner and tone are perfectly proper, but there is still an air of superiority about the younger Mandalorian. Shenner manages to turn her fall into a harder-than-normal kneel, and she remains there for a moment, her hands pressed against the earth, tremblingly supporting her weight. _I -will not- fall... I -will not- fall... Urio, you can frekkin' bite me... I -will not- fall..._ Once she manages to rally enough attention, she looks up, expression tense, her features streaked with dirt, sweat, and a little blood. Kairne listens to Urio again, "Aye Urio, I dislike them also," but then focuses on Paul, "Yes friend, you fell, but it was I who dropped the glowstick and excited you when I yelled out. You are under my protection here, I wish to see no serious harm come to you. Now let's find a place to take a look at what did happen to you, and then I suggest we eat a little, and take a morning nap, so that we can regain some of our strength." Kairne slowly removes his helmet, his orange side-locks of hair falling about his shoulders, and his pony-tail flopping onto his back. He slowly breathes in the air, and then breathes out as he looks about, his green eyes taking in all the sadness he can of his once beautiful homeworld. With helmet under-arm, he places himself beside Dane. Nodding, Paul sits down heavily, his arms and legs throbbing with the unusual amount of exertion that they had been put through. Slowly he reaches up and begins to unwind the turban about his head, the final few passes shifting from white to pink to red. Dane nods in agreement with Kairne and unlocks his helmet, slowly slipping it from his head and inhaling the air, "I think we all.." he eyes Urio, "Could use a rest.." he then looks to the others, "and some food and water." Urio smiles graciously at the exhausted troops, looking as cool as a ocean breeze. "Please," he replies, "allow me to prepare something while you ... recover." He moves efficiently to his packs, pulling out water and rations. With a jolt, Shenner recollects that Paul is wounded, and she scrambles unsteadily to his side, managing only to reach him, rather than reach for him. But she stares at him worriedly and mutters at him, "Want my medpack?" Glancing up at Shenner, Paul frowns at the streak of blood on her face, not knowing if it's her's or his .... Glancing at Kairne, he mutters, "Let's see if it deserves any special attention. Could just be a big bleeder ... don't want to waste any medical supplies on little stuff. Better to save it for any emergencies that might come up." Shen at any other time might insist on Paul getting proper attention; indeed, the girl does stare long and liquidly at him, but all she says is a husky, "'Kay, Paul..." The cloth now completely unwound, Paul takes one end of it, pouring a little of the water from his canteen onto it, and then gingerly washing away at where he can feel the wound now. Still, he can't see it or what he's doing really, and with a sigh, he turns to Kairne. "Can you take a look and see if it's deep or anything? If I can just keep it wrapped up, that would probably be easiest." Dane stands quietly letting the young woman tend to Paul for the most, taking time to eat a ration bar or two. Urio sets out rations for everyone, looking about the disarrayed camp with a touch of ironic resignation, then starts to set up his own tent, planning on at least getting a little bit of sleep. After supplying the food, he has done his duty, and disregards the rest of the party. Shen is still sort of half-crouching, half-kneeling next to the Corellian, but as Paul turns to call for Kairne, she says nothing, only moving back slightly to get out of the way. _Pack's over there anyway,_ she thinks, wobbling to her feet. Seeing Urio'kosh working to set up his tent, she is reminded of her and Paul's own. _If Paul wants Kairne to patch him up... I could set up the tent or something..._ Kairne makes his way over to Paul, reaching into one of his leg pouches and begins to fish around for something..."How's it look to you Shen? We should prolly clean it with some sort of antiseptic as to avoid any infection. Tho I am afraid what I have to offer, will sting slightly more than what you two are prolly used to." "I've got something for that," Paul informs Kairne patiently, wondering if he was mistaken in his assumption that the Mandalorian would be more proficient at first aid than Shenner. "I just need to know what it looks like," he notes, leaning forward and trying to point out the source of the blood to the Lord General. Dane says "I'm sure he can take it Kairne.." a smile crosses Dane's features as he looks for a comfortable place to crash, "I don't have a mirror with me sorry.." he looks to Shen, "Do you Shenner?" Shenner blinkblinks, startled at Kairne's hailing of her. Her opinion is wanted? _Oh, well..._ Her thoughts are starting to fuzz around the edges, but the girl blinks rapidly, determined to remain coherent. "Uh, well," she begins gruffly, then trails off, peering down at Paul's bloodied head from where she stands. Carefully, taking note of the disturbingly insubstantial feel of her legs, she kneels by Paul again, to get a better look. She starts again, then, glancing at Dane, and asks blankly, "Mirror? Nah..." A light smirk curls across Kairne's lips as he hears Paul's statement, "If memory serves me right, there are some rather dangerous things on Mandalore that an unaccustomed body would not be able to ward against. I'd feel better if we used our techniques instead, with all due respect." Kairne says, "Who knows what's bred itself in all this mess," as he motions about with his free hand. Shrugging tiredly, Paul leans his head toward Shen instead, and as she parts the reddish hair back, she finally exposes a long thin gash along the right side of his head. It's well buried past the hairline, and while it seems to be still bleeding slightly, it doesn't look particularly deep. Dane says "Very true.." he glances about, "Although the lack of foliage has probably reduced the chances of something truely nasty." Kairne turns to where Urio is setting up his tent, "What say you Urio?" Shenner just grimaces, fixing her attention back on Paul, to whom she mutters as she pokes gingerly at his hair, "Looks like it just clipped yah, but mostly okay... prob'ly just slap some synthflesh on there, or if you wanna save the supplies, hold it for a while..." Her voice gets softer as she speaks, towards her latter words, with a few odd pauses as she forces herself to keep talking, keep focused. Although content to ignore the rest, Urio glances up at Kairne's question and loftily replies, "What say I regarding which topic, Lord General?" Kairne says "About what exists here on homeworld now..." Folding his arms together, Urio's mouth draws into a thin line, his strangely pale green eyes scanning the landscape. "Beyond the perimeter's of the cities, there is little known," he replies. "We have had our fair share of problems with mutated diseases, and of course there were many Mandalorians who were born damaged or mutated afterward. Some were spared ... some were killed ... and some chose to remove themselves from society when they reached the age of consent." While he still looks upon the landscape with impassive eyes, his voice grows darkly ominous. "There are stories of what lays beyond the rim ... and few that have ventured out have ever returned." As Urio speaks, there is a strange intensity about him, ever growing and prickling at your nerves. Kairne turns his attention back to Paul, "Urio's description only furthers my concern Paul." Dane nods in agreement, "Mine too..we better use some of the medical supplies on you Paul." His eyes rise to Kairne and sighing, Paul waves his hand. "Well, we've been here for a few days, eaten the local food, hand we haven't been sick. I have a medical kit, and let me assure you, it is designed for a broad base of planetary types." Raising his hand up toward the injury, he casts a questioning gaze at Shen, adding, "However, I have no issue with using your anitbiotic versus my own. I simply do not with to use any supplies unnecessarily." Shen seems to miss Paul's glance, while Urio'kosh speaks. Her brows wing down into an unsettled frown, and she casts a look over her shoulder at the Mandalorian, fretfully. Then she scrubs a hand across her eyes, thinking, _Tired..._ Kairne says "Mandalore never was a typical planet... And while you've eaten the local food, we are here in the 'outlands' were things are different... vastly. Perhaps at a later date, I will tell you the story of my clan, and how it relates.. but... let me look at your wound. Our supplies don't need to be used in excess to perform well." Dane nods, "I remember the rock vipers in the area I grew up in..they like this sort of area and carry a lot of bacteria in their bites." Dane he looks to Paul, "That's not to mention the various types of sicknesses that can hit a person that has an open wound and we really don't want to carry you back up that ladder." he smiles reassuringly at Paul, "We can spare the supplies I think." Waving a weary hand at the mothering pair, Paul's mouth cracks into the slightest of smiles. "Alright then .... attend me gentlemen, I am your willing and patient patient." Dane nods and motions to Kairne, "He's better at healing than I am." Shenner blinkblinks muzzily, frowns, but gets to her feet again, to stumble towards her pack. As long as Dane and Kairne want to make sure Paul isn't going to keel over -- a noble goal, as far as Shen is concerned, though she squelches her brief flare of jealousy at their task -- the tent can be her job. She makes it to her pack, and starts undoing the fasteners, slowly and deliberately. Never mind that some of those buckles are starting to look a little blurry. Kairne nods in recognition to Dane's comment, "Saa'Thuls have been that way for centuries. I am no different, Dane's right, I can survive better than most clans, tho I know I am not immortal..." Kairne takes a black rectangular case from his leg pouch, and opens it up, searching for a small vial of flourescing blue liquid, his eyes showing his small exhiliration at finding it. Taking it out he lifts his head up to Paul, "Don't pay attention to the color, it will hurt worse than it looks," he lightly laughs. Paul glances up at the container, resigned to his fate and remembering to never let himself be doctored by a Mandalorian in the future. They have no understanding of the concept of having a "bedside manner". The Corellian, however, is no child and has been through some excruciating experiences in his short life so far. As Dane said, he is more than assured that he can handle this. Dane rolls his eyes a bit and smirks, "Clan D'ael'mor has just as hearty warriors Kairne..we have several rites that forge the spirit, mind and body." _C'mon, street rat, been over this, How to Get Out Your Gear 101, and while we're at it, let's review How to Set Up Your Tent..._ Shenner, while Dane and Kairne attend to Paul, finds her hands beginning to shake as she ferrets into her pack to find the tent poles and canvas. It takes her several moments to find the pieces of the poles, and a few moments more to find the catch that extends them out to full length. Urio stares at the human girl for a moment before approaching her slowly, silently. He crouches down beside her, reaching out with one hand to correct one of the connections, lifting cloth as well as one brow, waiting for her to spit at his quiet offer of help. Shen doesn't spit; she does, however, start, her head lifting with a jerk as she finds the Mandalorian beside her. "Thanks," she mutters. Eyeing her strangely, Urio'kosh merely nods gracefully, his long fingered hands working on the construction of her tent calmly. Those silver green eyes, however, raise frequently to rest on her face, questioning without speaking. Kairne, while facing Paul talks to Dane, "I never said that your clan were less warriors old friend, I know your rituals, they serve the same purpose as mine. But let's relive old times later." Kairne proceeds to unscrew the cap of the vial, and takes a strip out of his kit, dipping only a small piece of the end into the vial. The entire strip quickly begins to flouresce blue just like the liquid itself, strangely enough as it has only absorbed so much of the liquid. "This is a 'mixed' antibiotic, the strip's fibers are impregnated with certain chemicals that react with this liquid Paul. Once I apply it, it will only take a few moments before the reaction catalyzes." Shen, however, is completely focused now on the construction of the small tent. _She_ is expecting some sort of snide remark about how the inferior helpless human must need the mighty Mandalorian's assistance to build her own tent; determined not to give him the satisfaction of any more acknowledgement than necessary, she slips pole through cloth, joins connections, and presses the buttons on the corner spikes that will release _them_ and drive them securely into the ground. Kairne caps the vial, and kneels down in front of Paul, strip in hand. "Ok Paul, when I apply this, it will slowly begin to burn and sting. For the un-accustomed, it will be painful at first, but I'm sure you can master the sensations within a few moments. You'll know once you feel it beginning to icy-cool, and any pain you had should go away as the anaesthetic begins to work. We've found the process to work better if meditation (conscious breathing) is done to concentrate your energies in a productive manner. Ready?" "Alright," Paul responds to Kairne's explanation and instructions, bracing himself for the pain to come and wondering if the cure is going to be more unpleasant than the cold, so to speak. He reverts his mind to training he received from the Kubazian Tre'lan, his mind and breath becoming one flowing entity before he nods in readiness. Shenner's tent is a miniscule little thing, seemingly barely big enough to hold a child, much less her. But it's a tent, and it's there, and the fact that it's now there and looks stable enough eases her mind somewhat. One down, one to go. Hauling herself laboriously back to her feet, she refocuses her attention on Paul's pack now, intending to put up his tent, too. Kairne nods, and proceeds to fold back Paul's hair away from his wound, not really having to hold down the blood matted hair with much effort. "Here we go Paul..." Kairne places the strip over the wound, first pressing lightly as he lines up the strip, then forcefully to make sure the strip gains contact with Paul's scalp and 'attaches' itself. He then lets go, and moves back a little to watch Paul. Dane watches Paul quietly and munches on his rations but everyonce in a while his gaze drifts to keep an eye on Urio. There is perhaps a somewhat sharper intake of breath, Paul's features tightening briefly in response to the chemical reaction before he relaxes once again. After a minute he opens his eyes, peering up from beneath long bangs to Kairne. "So, now what? Is it it's own dressing, or do I wrap up again?" Urio'kosh is either oblivious to Dane's observations or ignoring his fellow Mandalorian. He rises again after a moment, crouching down by the girl once again, but not raising his hands in help this time. You sense Urio'kosh 's pale eyes pinion Shen, forcing her to look up and acknowledge him before he softly whispers, "You're not going to make it." Shenner, crouched there by Paul's pack, pieces of his tent poles in her hands, looks up at Urio'kosh. Her eyes narrow, and a flush darkens her dirty cheeks. "Says you," she mutters, jerking her gaze away, to begin once more the joining of pole and cloth. The younger Mandalorian is unfazed by her sharp remark, merely watching her struggle with this second tent. Before he murmurs to her softly, his voice not passing beyond the hearing of her ears. You sense Urio'kosh sighs, those eyes patient and somber. "You're already exhausted ... and this was probably the easiest part of the journey. Why are you here? What is your purpose in this "expedition"?" he questions, the word spoken with soft disdain, as if despite the fact that he was a member of it, he still believed the entire venture to be nothing more than folly. Kairne says "Yes, you are correct, it's it's own dressing. Over the next few days, it will semi-graft itself into your scalp to help seal your wound. It will become part of your scalp as it dissolves, as it helps accelerates your natural healing process by providing it with nutrients and other assorted medical things to which I have not a full understanding. It's a far cry from synthskin, but it's more natural, and nothing overly technologically fancy like the nano-technology we used to have in our medical facilities, but in the field, it worked well." Nodding, impressed with that explanation, Paul carefully pours some more water on the cloth laying across his thighs, wiping at his hair carefully as he tries to clean away some of the blood there. Sighing at the futility of such an attempt he finally turns, picking up the rations placed near to him by Urio'kosh, only to scowl as he sees the Mandalorian in question next to Shenner, the girl's expression less than amiable. Same song, second verse, Shen is tired, it's getting worse. Her vision fuzzing again as she joins the pieces of the tent's upper pole, and she pauses there for a moment; her hands clench around the pole, but she doesn't dare close her eyes, lest she fall asleep right then and there. She's silent for one beat, two beats, then three. Then, her expression frigid, she looks up to Urio'kosh and tells him, "I am _here_ to assist Dr. Nighman in whatever capacity he needs me." She doesn't bother to whisper. Kairne says "Do be careful not to touch or agitate the strip, as it has just been freshly applied. It will take a few hours for it to set itself entirely. After that though, you can cease to worry about it. I've seen blaster scorch marks come off more easily than that." Smirking, Paul tosses the cloth down, abandoning his efforts and nodding at Kairne. "Duly noted ... and thanks." Shen's words reach his ears, causing Paul to turn once again and scowl. However, he makes no move toward her and Urio'kosh, merely keeps a watchful gaze on the pair. Dane stands quietly and slips his helmet under his arm, he walks over to Shen and smiles a bit, "Why don't you sit and rest for a bit." he rests his free hand on her shoulder lightly. It's as if she didn't say anything to him at all. Urio'kosh raises his gaze, meeting Paul's and holding it as if in challenge. He finally looks away, not backing down, but losing interest. He raises up, nodding cordially at Dan'es approach before turning to his own tent and settling himself inside. Kairne quietly gathers what pieces of his medkit are lying about, and puts them into the medkit, and then back into leg pouch. He stands, and heads over to where his companions are all gathered. "Forgive my 'bedside' manner, as I've always been the sort of person who's thought it better to expect the worse, and be prepared, and then be able to freely relax when it's discovered that it's not half-as-bad as was anticipated. Optimistic pessimisism I guess you could call it." Irritated -- _the others're tired, too, why the hell're they raggin' on me?!_ -- Shen begins to brush off Dane's suggestion, but thinks better of it in time. Still staring coldly at Urio'kosh until he chooses to leave, she stays like that, and only when the young Mandalorian has turned away does Shen flick a glance towards Paul. "You wanna take over here?" she rasps at him, doing her best to make it sound casual. Dane raises his voice slightly, "I can take care of it Shenner...let Paul rest. " he glances in the doctor's direction, "You both need it." Staring at Shen for a moment and then Dane, Paul shakes his head and rises up. "I'm fine," he assures the pair, moreso Dane, as he approaches. "You have your own tent to set up ... but I don't suggest we camp for long - just rest for a bit and move on while there's still light to do so. I don't think traveling by night is a good idea from here on out." Dane shakes his head, "I didn't bring one." he offers, "don't really need it. " he then stands back from the tent underconstruction and Shenner, "I'll let you finish yours though." he smiles. Kairne says "One last thing Paul. Since this is your first time with this treatment, do resist the urge to scratch the intermittent itches you may experience. It's only your skin reacting to the chemicals, and growing back and healing. If you scractch, you'll upset the process, and end up with a possibly large and interesting scar. Don't touch it, and it will heal perfectly, and you'll never know you fell off a ladder and sliced yourself open." She _cannot_, _must not_, _will not_ keel over. As Paul makes his call, the girl gets slowly up, and turns to flick Dane a smile that's little more than a brief upward twitch of one end of her mouth. "His tent, his call. I'm snoozin', then, if y'all don't need me." And she turns towards her tent, doing a fairly good impression of walking normally until she reaches it. "Y'all wake me when it's my watch or time to move." With that, the redhead crawls into her microscopic shelter, tugging her pack in behind her and remembering to close the flap. Mercifully, she is inside and out of sight before unconsciousness rises up to clobber her over the head. Snorting slightly at Kairne's warning, Paul glances over his shoulder and he lowers himself to his tent. "Right," he replies, "No scratching ... got it." His hands start to assemble the tent quickly, as certain aches and pains worry the Corellian enough that he wants to strip down and check them for himself, but not wanting anyone else's attention to that fact. Dane glances in Kairne's direction, "Mind if I take first watch?" His tent finished, Paul turns to the two Mandalorians, grinning in amusement at their relationship and informing the pair, "I'll let you guys duel for the honor ... come kick me in three or four hours? Don't think we should wait much longer than that." Kairne says "Whatever you decide old friend, I'm not in the mood for a long debate." Dane nods and dons his helmet, "First watch for me then.." he looks for some high ground to watch from and unslings his rifle, "Get some rest I'll wake you up in four hours." Nodding, Paul disappears into his tent, to check the rest of his injuries and rest. He trusts Dane and Kairne implicitly, a trust that allows the Corellian to finally lie down and close his eyes with security. Kairne nods, and reaches behind his back, and takes out a small folded up 'device' that he slowly unfolds and places on the groung before it begins to inflate itself. He quickly and easily removes his jetpack, and places it alongside the inflating pad before kneeling down and placing himself on the pad. Kairne says "Wake me at the first sign of danger Dane. But for now, I'll dream of days long past." Dane chuckles and heads for high ground, "Will do..try not to have too much fun.." [To be continued...]