Andreas Theriot ST 10 | DX 14 | IQ 16 | HT 11 | Will 16 | Perception 16 FP 11/11 | HP 10/10 | DR xx | Base Speed 6.25 | Base Move 6 Andreas looks to Manny, not knowing which way to choose.

ST 13 | DX 14 | IQ 15 | HT 13 | Will 15 | Perception 17 FP 13/13 | HP 13/13 | DR xx | Base Speed 6 | Base Move 6 Jack looks to Manny and Andreas. "I think it'd be best if we don't all go on in. We'll keep Eukleides back for sure as cavalry. Who would you like with you? At least one of the engineers, I imagine?"

After some discussion the team heads north east towards the potential meeting spot. They pass the by now familiar expanse of buildings for another two days before arriving at what seems like an obvious landmark. It's a park stretching for several miles and filled with a some nicely contoured hills and small groves of trees. Like the rest of the city it appears to be kept in good condition by the robots. There are several pavilions and small sheds scattered around the park, and after exploring for a bit the scouts find one that appears occupied. A low build that might be the park offices, or might just be an event center. Now however it is a meeting point. They can see a sentry at one of the doors watching the surroundings, though they haven't spotted the scouts yet. Probably because they are on alert for large multistory robots instead of a few random humans.

Affirmative. Jack's heeding Manny's suggestion as well-reasoned and saying "Go ahead!"

So you are all heading to the north eastern meeting site?

ST 12 | DX 14 | IQ 15 | HT 13 | Will 15 | Perception 17 FP 13/13 | HP 12/12 | DR xx | Base Speed 7 | Base Move 7 Jordan looked up from the algorithm she and Tamzin were compiling to flash a smile at Manny. "Do I get to be a rich Amercian socialite again?" She multi-tasked as the team pressed on, continuing to scan the garbled transmissions she was receiving. The algorithm should continue to adjust frequency and bandwidth as the group moved, and with some luck eventually those signals would be clear and comprehendible. At least for now, it gave them a vector.

ST 13 | DX 14 | IQ 15 | HT 13 | Will 15 | Perception 17 FP 13/13 | HP 13/13 | DR xx | Base Speed 6 | Base Move 6 Jack strokes his mustache, and, if Manny had to guess, was doing it to hide a smile. "I like your logic, Puno. I was thinking that the smaller group would be easier to handle if things went south, but your way sounds a lot friendlier." "As for our 'story,' I'll leave that to you talky folk. Come up with something and I'll back your play."

Emmanuel “Manny” Puno ST 12 | DX 13 | IQ 16 | HT 13 | Will 16 | Perception 17 FP 13/13 | HP 12/12 | DR xx | Base Speed 6.5 | Base Move 6 Manny encourages Andreas to take point on the initial inquiries into the sign system, both because he wants to get the measure of their new teammate's skills and because he himself is much more interested in anthropological documentation and having the extra manpower lets him satisfy his academic curiosity without leaving the important practical work undone. As Andreas reports his findings, he smiles and claps him on the shoulder in a collegial way. “Nice work, Andreas," he compliments. "For my part, I think we should first get our story straight - who we are and what we're doing here - and then make contact with the smaller group at the camp to learn the norms and communication styles of the locals. Once we've done that, we might even be able to accompany them to the market, and showing up at the market with known trusted people will lend us some extra credibility by association. That sound okay?" he asks everyone, but mostly Jack.

Andreas Theriot ST 10 | DX 14 | IQ 16 | HT 11 | Will 16 | Perception 16 FP 11/11 | HP 10/10 | DR xx | Base Speed 6.25 | Base Move 6 Andreas performs a careful scrutiny of the various markings around the campsite. When complete, he will think for a moment, then report to leadership. "I believe these symbols indicate two areas of interest. There is a meeting place, I think, that way {he indicates North East}, not too far. In addition, I believe they indicate one of the 'markets' that we were looking for, to the north {he points}, but further away." "I am not positive I am interpreting these symbols correctly, but this is my best guess." "Do we want to potentially encounter a smaller group, or head directly for the market and just see what happens?" He will look to Leadership for direction.

The team keeps walking and they keep finding more and more of the graffiti marking the walls. Eventually they find a camp that is obviously recent. There are still food wrappers with scraps of food in them, and the campsite seems to be in fairly good repair. Andreas's reading of the markings are still incomplete, but he thinks they are indicating a potential meeting site to the north east while the north indicates a larger more permanent market, but one farther away.

ST 13 | DX 14 | IQ 15 | HT 13 | Will 15 | Perception 17 FP 13/13 | HP 13/13 | DR xx | Base Speed 6 | Base Move 6 Jack grunts. "Interesting, Bounce. Let's head north and see if things get clearer as we go. See if you can extrapolate from the strength of signal what sort of range we're looking at. You'll need a decent delta, so we'll take the rest of the day on that heading to give you that."

The main thing Jordan's sensors pick up is the presence of a large communications network running beneath the streets. It's shielded and encrypted, but there's enough traffic that she can still pick it up. Unfortunately it seems to be everywhere so she's unable to get any reliable directions out of it. Though there might be an access point around here somewhere. Over the radio she occasionally gets faint transmissions from the north. They seem garbled. She isn't sure if there's interference or they're also encrypted. But it gives another confirmation of activity in that direction.

ST 12 | DX 14 | IQ 15 | HT 13 | Will 15 | Perception 17 FP 13/13 | HP 12/12 | DR xx | Base Speed 7 | Base Move 7 Jordan fell in step with the formation, mostly keeping close to Jack but occasionally drifting back to Tamzin to quietly discuss some puzzling aspect of Eukleides' battlesuit. When signs of human habitation began to appear, Jordan brought her tablet from her pack and linked it to her HUD and tactical comm, joining it with her custom hand sensor. As she and Manny had done early in the mission, Jordan sought out any wireless or radio communications that she might tap into. She also swept her scanners around whenever a particularly recent or interesting sign of human activity crossed their path. As before, she was watching for active comm traffic, unusual energy sources, and motion or heat signatures -- all of which might suggest a direction or the presence of the locals that the group searched for. Tabletop Basically, scanning communication and computer network channels for recent or current chatter. Also, doing periodic scans of the surroundings with her combi-sensor and PESA optics for energy or personal signatures.

Andreas studies the graffiti and quickly comes to the conclusion that its basically a sign system. There are clearly different symbols being used on different buildings. And what look like they might be some form of distance marker. However it's also clear that the signs were intended for an in group and not casual reading. Without some kind of guide he'll have to decipher them the hard way. Fortunately he is aided by the fact that they are referring to something physical which can identify. For instance he's seen enough symbols on office and apartment buildings that he's been able to identify the symbols for both. He also thinks he's identified the symbol for either a camp or a good place to camp given buildings marked with them have more signs of recent occupancy than others.

Andreas Theriot ST 10 | DX 14 | IQ 16 | HT 11 | Will 16 | Perception 16 FP 11/11 | HP 10/10 | DR xx | Base Speed 6.25 | Base Move 6 Andreas is clearly paying careful attention to the graffiti as the team passes. He stops briefly in front of each area, taking a slow and careful look, clearly memorizing not just the symbols but their positions and colors. He'll be thinking about as he follows the lead of the team. OOC: Intelligence Analysis (14) - 10 Linguistics (14) - 13 Sociology (14) - 9 Streetwise (16) - 8 Urban Survival (15) - 8

The scout team leaves the outpost and shortly afterward the massive rail yard. They exit through a large partly rusted gate that appears to have been used by cargo trucks once and begin to head north west. Around them the city looks dilapidated. There is debris in the streets and broken windows mar the faces of the buildings. It's a stark contrast with the nearly pristine city they found at their initial site. Most importantly there are signs of humans here. Some of the buildings have signs that people were living in them, and the team finds graffiti spray painted onto the buildings. A lot of it seems irrelevant, at least to anyone but an anthropologist, but there are series of repeating symbols that look like they might have a deeper meaning.

ST 13 | DX 14 | IQ 15 | HT 13 | Will 15 | Perception 17 FP 13/13 | HP 13/13 | DR xx | Base Speed 6 | Base Move 6 Jack nods to Manny and Pierce. "We haven't checked things out to the northwest yet. We'll head tthataway and see what we run into." He grins at Manny. "So keep your eyes peeled for any 'Market this way' signs, team. Or even just interesting graffiti. If you see such, let Manny and Andy figure them out."

Emmanuel “Manny” Puno ST 12 | DX 13 | IQ 16 | HT 13 | Will 16 | Perception 17 FP 13/13 | HP 12/12 | DR xx | Base Speed 6.5 | Base Move 6 Manny takes the meal packs from Jack, flipping through to see what flavors are available and sorting them in his preferred order for the next several days. As he packs them into his backpack, he glances over at Jordan. “Heading for the markets would be tricky since we still don't have a confirmed time and location for one,” he says. "But I theorize we might be able to find that out if we just keep our eyes open for the right signs. We haven't seen any non-us network traffic since we've been here, right? So if the scavengers aren't arranging markets that way, they must be using some other method to let each other know where and when the next swap meet is going to be. I theorize it's graffiti or something similar, maybe a dead drop system that people would know to check. Private Theriot and I will be watching for stuff like that while we go check out our next possible resource cache."

Jack's Loadout Total: 66.2 Backpack 3 Holds 40 lbs Super Fine Large Knife 1 ($800) 1 lb (sw+1 cut/thr+3 imp) Nightshades ($250) 0.1 (Night Vision 8 and 2x Magnification) Nanoweave Army Fatigues 5.8 Nanoweave Jacket & Trousers (DR 18/6), and Gloves (DR 9/3) Chameleon Cloak/TL9 2 ($2,000) 2 lbs Gauss Pistol, 4mm 2 ($1,700) 2/0.5 lbs Grip Boots/TL 9 2 ($500), 2 lbs Survival Watch/TL 10 0.5 ($300), 0.5 lbs Vapor Canteen 4 ($450) 2 lbs Pocket Pack 0.5 ($20) .5 lbs (penlight, multitool, sticky tape, sharpie, 1 meal worth of food tablets, and a candy bar) Short Range Communicator 0.125 ($50) .125 lbs Electronic Lockpick 0.2 ($1500) 0.2 lbs, A/2 hr Lockpicks (Fine) 0 +1 to Lockpicking Skill Variable Lockpick 0 A/12 hr, +4 to Lockpicking Skill Mini-toolkit(Electronics) 2 ) ($400) 2 lbs Mini-laser torch 0.25 UT80 Mini Flashlight 0.25 ($10) 0.25 lbs Dino Laser Rifle/TL10 19 8d(2) burn 12 1,300/3,900 19/Dp 1 35(5) 10† -5 1 $19,000 1 D packs for Dino 5 1 DPack Rope, 3/16", 20 yds 0.5 UT81 Survival Ration x12 6 UT73 Pocket Medic 2 B/10hr UT200 Morph Axe 2 UT83 Pocket Analyzer 0.6 2B/5hr UT67 Personal Basics 1 Includes utensils, matches, towel, etc. Envirobag 3 This is an insulated, heated sleeping bag designed for extremes of temperature Needler, 3mm 1 Non-metallic, 1.5x cost, ammo weighs 0.3, 1d+2 pi-, Acc 1, Rng 50/150, RoF 3, 100(3) Shots Morphazine - 10 doses for the above needler Space Biosuit 5 4oz cannisters of spices x8 2 Cayenne, chili x2, cinnamon, mustard, coriander, paprika, ginger Morphwear Cowby Hat 0.5 Heavy Flashlight 1 Small Knife (fine) x4 2 Fishhooks and Line 0 A Power Cells (4) 0.08 B Power Cells (2) 0.2 C Power Cells (1) 0.5

ST 12 | DX 14 | IQ 15 | HT 13 | Will 15 | Perception 17 FP 13/13 | HP 12/12 | DR xx | Base Speed 7 | Base Move 7 Jordan knelt to store the food packets into her backpack, with a couple tucked into her web harness just in case. Part of her thoughts were still running through the schematics and code she had scanned, considering modifications and access points. She had informed Jack of her plan to use root access to the Epicurus AI's control protocols as an initial safety feature, piggybacking on a function that already existed. That was the quick-and-dirty fast solution. The other was a remote trigger that disabled power to the cybersuit's weapons and integrated servos. But because of her unfamiliarity with the advanced technology, she knew she couldn't do it in a short amount of time, even with Eukleides and Wolfe's assistance. If she rushed things, she was just as likely to damage the suit's basic operations, necessitating a full maintenance effort - or worse, she could accidentally set off one of those unknown weapons or power sources. For now, Jordan would continue to work on the effort during rest points on the mission, as Eukleides helped her and Wolfe understand the science behind the tech more fully. "Ready to roll when you are, sir. We headed for one of these 'markets' or toward a Warden-guarded port?"

You all have communicators.

I would imagine that Epicurus could communicate over comms if he so chose?

Tamzin Belle Wolfe Gender: Female | Age: 33 ST: 12 | DX: 13 | IQ: 15 | HT: 13 | HP: 12/12 | Per: 15 | Will: 15 | FP: 15 Basic Speed: 6.5 (7.5) | Move: 6(7) | Thr: 1d-1 (1d) | Sw: 1d+2 (2d) | Dodge: 9(11) | Parry: 10 | Block: 8 Tamzin's thoguhts whirl in her mind as she attempts to catalogue the anomalous entities she has been partnered with for the mission. Voiceless, or nearly so, Gerald, with his ability to communicate through pure thought. And also apparently an android of a most advanced and intelligent nature. I am glad to offer any help I can. She thought responds to Gerald when he mentions his prototype voice unit. But you're certainly correct that conducting experimental repairs during the mission would be reckless and probably not go down well with the commander. Then her datapad begins scrolling again and her attention turns back to the hoplite and the advanced artificial intelligence embedded his armor. The quasi religious programming and technical structure well beyond anything she has seen before. Gathering her food packets she asks Eukleides a question. "Is there another way for us to communicate with Epicurus besides through my datapad? Can he vocalize independently in the event you are unconscious or incapable of speech?" She looks at the datapad, clearly ready to disconnect the unit since it appears they are getting ready to move out.

ST 13 | DX 14 | IQ 15 | HT 13 | Will 15 | Perception 17 FP 13/13 | HP 13/13 | DR xx | Base Speed 6 | Base Move 6 Jack returns pushing a cart with meal packets. "Okay, I said we're heading out for two to three days. Since things can go wrong," and he starts handing out packets, "we're gonna be smart and prepared. Here are meals for a week. Load 'em up and I think we're ready to go." "I'll take point. Engineers next, then talky folk. Then Eukleides, and Gerald takes Charlie." He looks around the room. "Any questions?" Jack has given everyone 10.5 lbs of meal packets. Please add them to your gear list and encumbrance.

Eukleides of Athens ST 14 | DX 13 | IQ 13 | HT 14 | Will 15 | Perception 13 FP 14/14 | HP 14/14 | DR 80 (Force Aspis DR 100) | Base Speed 6.75 | Base Move 6 "<There is little to practically differentiate me from this hoplon, at least this far from the forges of Hephaestus, crafty and cunning. Suffice to say, entrusting the task to me will result in it's resolution in one way or another.>" Epicurus replied on Tamzin's datapad. Eukleides chuckled: a deep, resonant sound. "What Epicurus means is that any damage to my hoplon, and myself by extension, sufficient to render him incapable of restraining me would more than likely have already killed us both. Is this an acceptable accord for now? Between Epicurus and myself, we should be able to show you in more detail Hephaestus's craft and find a more permanent method of melding our magics."