The Long Walk Home

[bravesirrobin]

[It's better than it was, you and Jarakel will be ok. The two Twi'leks are evolved for a much warmer atmosphere, and their Lekku may become a little painful. But there's not much that can be done.]

[shrubbery]

Raffie is woken too early by the cold. He tucks his Lekku, already turning numb, inside his long coat. This arrangement is not especially comfortable and lets a cold draught down the back of his neck until he stuffs the gap with leaves and scrub. He grumbles and looks balefully and a little enviously at the furrier members of the group as everyone wakes and readies themselves for the day ahead. Raffie is NOT the outdoor type.

[Blackrat]

Lu-Tsen misses her ship

[Learned Hand]

Y'Lemon, noticing that he is significantly more comfortable than either of the Twi'Leks, tears some strips off the thick, diplomatic robes he's wearing, and offers them up as a way of keeping their lekku warm [unless this is a huge faux pas, in which case he won't, because he knows about alien cultures]

'It's no good turning me down, folks. I've already ripped them off; they can do no good to me now' he says in reply to their token rejections of his offer [if there are any], successfully hiding his pangs of regret as the cold rushes into his exposed calves and forearms.

With his companions slightly warmer Y'Lemon stretches. 'The sun will be coming up now. The quicker we get going, the quicker we'll be in your nice warm spaceship. Let's get moving'

[is now a good time to make the first of our survival rolls? Or did we make that to get through the night?]

[Blackrat]

Lu offers no token rejection. She smiles sheepishly and offers instead a meek, "Thank you".

[bravesirrobin]

admin said:

[is now a good time to make the first of our survival rolls? Or did we make that to get through the night?]

[You made them at the end of the session remember]

Jarakel converses with the pilot briefly and after a very brief scout of the surrounding are determines that the best way to proceed is directly north. I the pass between the moutains to either side. He says if he has the lay of the land correct it will be about a day's journey.

[Learned Hand]

[which roll is this? Is Y'Lemon is about to make his?]

Y'Lemon and Pong keep a strict look out for possible sources of food, fire and shelter, with Pong sometimes zipping off to scout over anything that obstructs visibilty.

[shrubbery]

Raffie is too cold and grumpy to do much other than take the strips of robe that Y'lemon offers with what little grace he can muster and wrap them around the bits of his lekku which look even more blue than usual (interesting point, what colour does a blue alien turn when he's cold?).
He feels very out of his element and takes it out by snapping at people throughout the morning. As the sun rises and everyone warms up from walking, however, he regains a little of his usual poise. He checks the battery supply on the commlink. The Hidden Sun is his mode of transport, means of income, source of power and authority and is also his home. He is desperate to get back to it, or at least to grill Siaz over the radio as to the condition of every dented panel and fraying wire.

[bravesirrobin]

admin said:

[which roll is this? Is Y'Lemon is about to make his?]

Remembering the fiasco in the mines Y'Lemon remains silent about his reservations about the direction they're travelling in, as morning turns into afternoon.

[Actually, for now the direction looks fine. I'll tell you when you start to disagree and take over.]

[bravesirrobin]

Siaz won't tell you much about the condition of the Sun. A clear sign that it is not in a good way. He also points out that you shouldn't use the comlink too much because it could alert the imperials to your presence and location.

[Learned Hand]

[can I see any things that might be useful for food/shelter or fire i.e. something other than scrubs and tundra, and what will we make it there before sundown at the rate we're going?]

[bravesirrobin]

[The landscape is pretty monotonous. We're talking Siberia/Alaska/Greenland type places. In fact the path you are walking is rising slightly and the scrub density appears to be dropping off slowly if anything.]

*Spot Checks*

Almost simultaneously Jarakel and Y'lemon notice that there are cave entrances in the higher portions of the hills. Some way off still, but if you head for higher ground you should be able to find shelter tonight if you haven't reached the ship.

Jarakel has another brief conversation with Siaz and strikes off eastward, meaning the walk is becoming more uphill.

[Y'lemon is not convinced by the change of direction, but Jarakel is utterly convinced]

[shrubbery]

Raffie ends his conversation with Siaz by calling him a moody, reticent bastard of a Sullustan (their working relationship is largely based on mutual insults) and tells him not to make anything worse before they get back.
He then settles into a steady walking pace and starts thinking about their situation in broader terms (does he know anything about the Imperial forces that were stationed in this sector of the galaxy before this attack, who the leading generals left to the empire are, etc). In the mean time he uses the spare commlink to passively monitor any Imperial communication he can pick up.

[bravesirrobin]

Imperial communication is encrypted. All you can tell is that there is some.

As for the empire, they've actually been very quiet. Warlord's have been doing most of the sabre-rattling. Zsinj wasn't to far from this sector, but he's long gone. There haven't been any major offensives since then, and it was 6 months ago.

[Learned Hand]

As the sun begins to get lower in the sky, Y'Lemon considers his options. He's now almost certain they've been heading in the wrong direction for most of the afternoon. It is however, too late to turn back and make it to the ship before nightfall. He's also wary about forcing the issue after the fiasco in the mine, which made him very conscious of his non-crew status. That's quite aside from the inevitable damage to Jarakel's pride.

At least there're some caves in the area they're now walking, but that's of little consolation when by rights they should be in the ship tonight.

His throught wander back to where they've been all afternoon. How could Jarakel have got it so wrong? Y'Lemon scans his near-perfect memory: he was talking to Siaz about directions and then it all went wrong. Something about the sun is nagging at Y'Lemon, aside from the glare in his eyes, and then it hits him.

He walks up to Raffie, who happens to be closest to Jarakel and and after some token small talk remarks loudly enough for the latter to hear 'Changing planets always messes up my sense of direction. I mean, the sun has no business setting in the south as it does on this planet.' It's not the most interesting comment he's ever made but it might just do the trick and be subtle enough not to offend anyone or make it look like he's interfering.