Setting Up Security

8.3.5 SW
Evening
East Wombwood > Mobile Research Camp

Devereaux thought it best they stay, so he didn’t put in any resistance to the idea. He put on his head lamp, useful when digging around the forest at night while keeping one’s hands free. He nodded to Vail. “Lights, camera and hopefully no action.” He jested, speaking like someone that was not a xenobiologist.

"Got another message from Admin. Power got knocked out by Storm Flies. They're on emergency power but the Sutter-Lynk is still working. I let them know we have an unidentified predator heading our way..." Grace started to bite her nails nervously. "God, you really think this is the 'local fauna' they were talking about? A lockdown. Cuz of ONE animal? It didn't look that big on the map."

Barden replied, "Nah. Was about as big as a man. Doesn't take a team of twenty odd colonial security officers to stop ONE animal. A man maybe, but not somethin' like a bear. They must be dealin' with those Storm Flies."

Before exiting the trailer, Devereaux caught Grace’s update and smiled on his way past her with tranquilizer rifle in hand. “Thanks Grace.” He missed the latter half of her anxious interchange because he was trying to keep up with Vail exiting the research trailer.

Another reason he missed it, was because on his way out he called to Montana. “I sure hope the plant guy isn’t the only one out there for protection. Would be a shame not to put our best player in the game… non?” He was joking and not joking at the same time. Montana hadn’t been taking charge the way he would have expected from how much the man talked about his abilities.

Montana grinned, "Ha! Wouldn't miss it." The man was already loading his crossbow with a bolt."

In the curtain of the evening and now sheets of rain, the three stepped out of the trailer and began to set up the security.

Devereaux climbed up to the top of the trailer. The higher vantage point gave him greater unobstructed view and better angles. He loaded the rifle and took off the safety. He remained vigilant and focused, things were serious now. He hoped he wouldn’t have to fire at anything, but if he did he was praying he hit it instead of hitting Vail.

Vail stood in the pouring rain, the blobs of liquid first caught the lip of her hood and then crawled down her face. She was used to the Sutter's World climate by now, it wasn't too far from what she was used to on previous research trips. She gripped the hood and shook more rain off her coat. 'I'm still not sure about this,' she thought. It wasn't the first time she had seen similar images on a scanner before, but there was something different about this. Something that rubbed her the wrong way. When it came to xenobiology Vail could have sworn she had a type of sixth sense, an ability to understand the emotions of alien creatures. It was all nonsense of course, but Vail was just enough of a 22nd century era neo-hippy that the thought felt real enough.

Vail arranged the lights, pointing two of them in the direction of the incoming signal, which at this point was a glitchy tittering sound due to the disturbance of the rain.

Montana ensured his preexisting snares had remained intact and added another one on that side of the encampment. Vail had a little trouble getting the generator started, they could never be easy, so Montana assisted. Once the motor was up and running, they tested that the perimeter lasers would trip the security lights.

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Montana and Vail moved into a static position with Devereaux on the top of the trailer and anxiously watched and listened to the motion detector. They waited... hoping for a trap to be triggered as the glitchy blip on the map loomed ever closer to the edge of their camp on the same trajectory.

The camp remained shrouded in dark a few moments longer than the group would have liked and the creature remained elusive beyond their sight, somehow avoiding ALL of the traps set in its path.

From his crouched position? Montana pounded twice on the roof loudly over the sound of the pouring rain, to signal Barden to trigger the lights manually. The lights on the interior of the trailer were turned off to avoid unwanted attention.

Standing just inside the door, Barden obeyed the non verbal command and two bright utility lights illuminated the forested area and the gaps between them.

Through the movement of ferns and slices of rain, the team briefly glimpsed a slick dark figure pass between the lights, lurking in the darkness behind the trees.

Vail shivered as she held the motion detector in one hand and the stun pistol in the other.