View source for Sunny Day at the Solar Farm - RPLOG

=Participants=
* [[Arris]]
* [[Firecracker]]
* [[Kip]]
* [[Otto]]
* [[Raika]]
* [[Zophah]]
=Date=
11/2/2017
=Log=
<div></div><br> <br>Camped at the entrance to the highway is a human male dressed in overalls, the telltale Promethian illuminated helmet on his head. He leans against the cab of what looks like a salvaged pickup truck and trailer, quite a few panels of it looking like they were eaten through by nanites. &quot;I&#39;m Smithson, and I&#39;m here to drive you to a solar farm far outside the Fairhaven bubble, where you can dismantle some of the solar panels and bring them back with this.&quot; He motions to the trailer. &quot;I couldn&#39;t get a heli for you but this truck is fueled up and shouldn&#39;t break down. I want to get back by dinner so we should start as soon as possible. any questions?&quot;<br> <br>Firecracker,the pint-size pale pink pegasus hovering at about normal head height, quickly raises a forehoof into the air.  &quot;Oh!  Me!  Me!&quot; she says, continuing without waiting to be called on, &quot;What if we don&#39;t make it back before dinner?  Didja bring any snacks?  Didja bring enough to share?!&quot;  She looks around the area quickly, scanning for snacky goodness in the event of the mission lasting too long and running passed dinner time!<br> <br>      Standing over upon the far left of the mass of people, Kip simply glanced back to the apparent hirer and shook his head. The only question he had was for himself. Why on earth had he agreed for this? Being bored is bad, sure. Being dead is obviously worse. So, shifting from foot to foot, he simply sighed and resigned himself. Already this far...<br> <br>Arris nods, leaning a little to peek into the trailer. &quot;Sounds straightforward enough. Are there any kind of obstacles we can expect to see at the solar panel area place?&quot; Sie adjusts a Triage Kit attatched to hir back waist via the belt, having ditched any nanite-reliant equipment save for hir healing pistol.<br> <br>Garbed in his basic combat attire and toting his usual array of armaments, submachine gun, blades and mastercrafted bow at the ready, Otto was more than ready, willing and able. He was excited! A trip outside with several other brave souls for the betterment of their lives in Fairhaven, potentially facing armed resistance along the way? Nothing like the threat of death looming over one&#39;s head to stir the blood and get one&#39;s heart racing! He listens to the human attentively and feels for his toolset, tucked away in the small pouch at his side. No doubt hose panels would need dismantling, and Otto wanted to be ready for that. 

The coyote had been beyong the bubble before, and wasn&#39;t particularly looking forward to having that obsesive compulsion to want to immediately turn tail and return to the bubble, but he had dealt with it once before and he would do it again. He did have a question though, and once the others had finished asking theirs, he raises one hand and politely asks &quot;Now, I am very much loking forward to this, and am all for the betterment of our society, but come now... what&#39;s the payout gonna be, eh?&quot; he rubs his index and thumb together &quot;A coyote&#39;s gotta make a living after all...&quot;<br> <br>Raika has been idle for a bit too long lately, so when a mission to gather some solar panels from outside the bubble comes up, she&#39;s quick to sign on for a chance to do something useful again. She&#39;s near the back of the group, largely just being quiet and letting the others ask questions while she does gear checks to make sure she&#39;s got everything she&#39;ll need.<br> <br>Smithson aswers Otto, ignoring Firecracker: &quot;I suppose you can get anything else we find at the instalation, maybe even scrap from broken solar panels.&quot; He then gets in his truck. It roars to life, almost in defiance of it&#39;s delapidated appearance. &quot;Well get on then!&quot;<br> <br>Firecracker gets on then!  And as she gets on, she continues to roam around a bit in the back of the truck, sniffing for snacks.  When she doesn&#39;t find any and it becomes apparent none are to be found, she plops down on her rump and starts digging around in her mane with a forehoof.  &quot;Well that&#39;s okay, I got some snacks in here somewhere!&quot; she says aloud as she searches for tasty treats.<br> <br>      Kip shuffled his feet forward, almost pausing as he looked back to the assembled group. Most looked... armed. Dangerous. Vicious, dare he say. Well.... /most/. Rearing briefly before hopping on upward into the truck, a mute sigh fell from his lips, an almost silent pleading hope. &quot;Please let this go smoothly... They&#39;d kill me if I wound up dead...&quot;<br> <br>Smithson then realizes he missed Arris&#39;s question, and turns to reply: &quot;I don&#39;t know what we&#39;ll find out there. I only know where the solar farm is.&quot;<br> <br>Arris nods. &quot;Well, we&#39;re going to find out then.&quot; The gator hops into the back of the truck, bringing hir equipment with hir. Sitting down near the back, sie pulls out a package of saltine crackers, a plastic container of herb and cheese spread, and a butterknife. &quot;Heads up, Fire.&quot; Sie breaks a corner off a cracker before tossing it to the pegasus. <br> <br>Alas, no time to socialise,  it would seem. Duty called and Otto answered. Hand resting lazily on his submachine gun, he steps after the others and hops in through to the back seats swhere Firecracker was seemingly spazzing out. Snickering quietly to himself, Otto settles into his seat and starts to double-check and tripple-check his inventory. Everything SEEMED to be in order, and he was prepared to tackle any enemy at either short, medium or long range, though he did seem to be missing medical supplies...but oh well. The coyote was as much a doctor as he was a ballerina. &quot;Say, chaps... I don&#39;t suppose anyone here has formal medical training, eh? Would be a right mess if someone got shot and we don&#39;t have the means to patch up the wounded, right? Not saying you should get shot or whatever, I&#39;m just saying, a medic would be right useful, they would!&quot; he addresses everyone within earshot, his tail wagging excitedly behind him as he speaks.<br> <br>Raika falls into that group of &#39;armed and dangerous&#39;. Vicious... maybe, maybe not. She&#39;s got her halberd and her pistols, at the very least, and some light armor, among other various devices. Hopping up onto the truck with a little help from her halberd as a pole-vaulting thing (because why not), she scoots into whatever seat is left for the duration of the ride. Otto&#39;s question gets a raised hand that turns into a handwobble in response.<br> <br>Once everyone gets into and onto the truck, Smithson makes his way across the highway, following a rugged map on his steering wheel. A few hours out from Fairhaven  with no problems and the truck crests a hill, the solar farm just a minute away. Suddenly Smithson stops. &quot;Um, you better take a look at this.&quot; Just a few feet ahead of the truck is a large scorch mark... and another, and a few more... There are searing holes all over the landscape, between everyone and the solar farm.<br>  <br>&quot;Seventeen bottles of rootbeer on the wall!  Seventeen bottles of rootbeeeeer! Take one down, pass it around, Sixt- Look at what who where now?&quot; Firecracker asks, suddenly pulled out of her rendition of a timeless classic to flit up on top of the truck, looking out at the scortchmarks in the ground ahead.  &quot;Well that&#39;s a weird way to paint the ground,&quot; she says, munching away the last bit of the saltine graciously gifted to her.<br> <br>      Kip shivered for the last few minuets, a strange sinking feeling having rested in the pit of his stomach. That familiar almost dull humming that sounded in his mind was... empty. Perhaps it was just being droned out by that blasted pegasus next to him. Or... perhaps that is what outside the bubble was like... What a terrifying thought. Idly rubbing along the length of greyish steel of his &#39;rang, he desperatly tried to avoid glancing back at Otto after their question. Healing was not in their arts in the least. Glancing over up to the road ahead, he let a small smile rise to his face. &quot;Oh, joy... Blastmarks. Hopefully not mines... That... huh. That would be unpleasant.&quot;<br> <br>Arris hops out from the vehicle, looking over at the at the scorch mark. &quot;Wow. That&#39;s... I&#39;m not sure what to make of that.&quot; Sie readies hir bolt action rifle. &quot;What do you guys think happened here?&quot; Peering through the scope, sie begins surveying the area between the truck and the solar farm while keeping hir distance from the scorch mark. <br> <br>Ah that familiar feeling of utter gut-wrenching despair as the nanites freak out in the absence of their connection to the main server. Otto felt compelled to just jump out and go home, but he knew better than to act upon that desire. THERE WAS LOOTING TO BE DONE! It was a fine day for a mission, not a sigh of any rain and once he&#39;d dealt with the crippling anxiety of being away from the comfort of the bubble, he was back to his old self. &quot;Never gonna get used to that feeling, tell ya what...&quot; he shares with the others, and flashes a smile at Raika, nodding once he sees her hand raised. Fantastic, they had a medic! 

The remainder of the ride was quiet and uneventful, and while the coyote was eager to start up a chat with the others, he felt it best to just let the bubbling with energy Firecracker sing her merry shanty. Eventually though, they reached the scorch marks, and Otto was not so happy to see them. He hops out of the car with the others and moves over beside one of them, crouching down before it to have a good look. &quot;They might be mines that went off, but you&#39;d expect to see the wreckage of what made them.&quot; he ponders out loud and drags one finger over the outer rim of one to sense if it was still any warmer than the rest of the terrain. &quot;Think someone just chucked some nades over here? But... why?&quot;<br> <br>Raika actually hasn&#39;t been out of the bubble before, so this is... new. She&#39;s heard about why it might be bad for her, but feeling it for the first time is something else. It&#39;s gonna take some getting used to. When the driver mentions something that should be looked at, she stands up from her seat to try and get a better view... though she&#39;s slightly shaky in the process of doing so. &quot;If it&#39;s not an explosive, I&#39;d guess an energy weapon... but aren&#39;t those supposed to be incredibly inefficient outside of a bubble?&quot;<br> <br>In the distance a few small buildings can be seen in the middle of the solar farm, one quite a bit taller than the others. Suddenly a bright flash comes from the center building, and an instant later another scorch mark appears right where Otto&#39;s hand used to be.<br> <br>Firecracker blinks a few times, as if just noticing the feeling of being out of the bubble, possibly distracted by her own singing.  &quot;Oh yeah!  It does feel weird!&quot; she says, then a few moments later, it stops feeling so weird as she activates her Regulation Nanomagic, creating a bubble in an 80 foot radius around her.  &quot;And now it doesn&#39;t!&quot; she says as a flash of light appears in the distance, followed closely by a new scorch mark in the ground by Otto.  The little pegasus directs her gaze to the building in an attempt to spot what it is that flash came from.<br> <br>Kip widened his eyes, the flash if nothing else catching his attention. Leaping, err... tumbling out of the vehicle, he gazed back over the brief moment of activity and began to try and hash together thoughts, the scorch mark looking startlingly fresh upon the ground. &quot;Okay... Don&#39;t touch the scorch marks!&quot; Idly unlooping his &#39;rang from his belt, he began thinking aloud. &quot;Okay, scorch marks are violent. How violent, doesn&#39;t matter. Don&#39;t touch em. Why? Things hurt there. Why only there? Dunno, maybe projectile? Had it been physical would be a tiny blast spot though. Lasers? Maybe, but that wouldn&#39;t explain delayed flash and then bang. Wait... there are several of them...&quot; Sweeping his gaze around, idly glancing behind and around them. &quot;If they can shoot the ground there, why can&#39;t they shoot us now? People would shoot us. Or at least, I would try and shoot armed people approaching... So if not people... Systems? But why these random spots... And why only so far out? And why everywhere? Maybe a sweeping scanner-thing...&quot;<br> <br>Arris glances up from hir scope just before the bright flash comes from the building. &quot;Wow. That&#39;s some Sigmund Freud stuff right there. Burning down the Roman fleet with his giant mirror things.&quot; Sie squints a little at the building. &quot;Hey, guys, can you not cause any more light beams for a moment? I want to get a closer look at this without being blinded.&quot; Sie peers into the scope again, focusing on the centre building.<br> <br>&quot;B&#39;lyad!&quot; Otto screams out as he jolts backwards in the nick of time to save the entirety of his arm. &quot;Eto piz&#39;dets!&quot; he adds in that same foreign language as he looks over his paw, as if still believing he&#39;d lost it. &quot;OKAY, this might be a problem.&quot; he gulps down dryly and looks over towards where the attack had arrived. &quot;We cross this line we get fried, then? If I could reach the bloody thing I could probably have it offline in seconds, but...&quot; he exhales deeply and motions towards the scorch marks &quot;That!&quot; looking over at Kip, Otto nods and holds his thoughts to himself... for now.<br> <br>Raika stops having the shakes when Firecracker&#39;s bubble goes up again. It was a weird experience and not one she particularly wants to experience again any time soon. Looking around a little as she gets out of the truck, she examines the scorch mark pattern. &quot;I&#39;d assume its maximum detection range is somewhere around here.&quot; Using her halberd, she traces a line maybe a meter behind where the scorch mark arc indicates its firing limit likely is. She could trace closer but it&#39;s good to be safe. &quot;...anyone got something that could match that kind of range?&quot;<br> <br>Smithson is in his truck, his fingers tight to the steering wheel. &quot;I... I&#39;m just going to stay in here. Singal me when it&#39;s safe to drive up.&quot; He then turns the truck off to conserve fuel.<br> <br>Firecracker spots the little buggers on the roof making shooty blasts at the group.  She gets a wild grin on her face as her demeanor completely shifts from the bubbly little pegasus a moment earlier.  &quot;Alright then!  Mirrors on the roof?  We&#39;ll fight mirrors with mirrors!&quot;  She looks to the sides of the truck before spotting the driver&#39;s side mirror.  &quot;Hey, one of you guys take this mirror, aim it at the top of the roof up there, and reflect the shot back!  There&#39;s a bunch of rotating mirrors up there just waiting to get a taste of their own medicine!&quot;<br> <br>      Kip turned back to the truck at large, quickly trying to hash through possibilities. Alright... Seems the pegasus saw some mirrors on the roof! Great. Still doesn&#39;t explain what the heck is going on or what is shooting. Though, lasers would make sense. Mirrors bounce... But wait. Rotating? &quot;You certain it was rotating? Because... That wouldn&#39;t make sense. It shot Otto at the same spot as the mark before... If it was rotating it would automatically target different spots every moment. Sure, it could pick that spot again, but the odds are bad...&quot; Humming briefly, he frowned and looked further into the field, noticing a few marks further yet in. &quot;And as there are marks further... Things got through the outer bit. So it can&#39;t really be targeting a different area each moment. If that was true, there would be exceptional grouping on the outer edge simply due to wandering things...&quot; Glancing back to the group, he snapped his fingers towards Raika. &quot;Ah! A halebard. Could you attach the mirror to the end of that and try the spot and other not hit spots? Want to check something....&quot;<br> <br>Arris lowers hir rifle, still looking over at the buildings. &quot;Well, the light beams are coming from the top of the tower. Can&#39;t see where exactly, but it&#39;s up there for sure.&quot; Sie looks down at the scorch marks. &quot;If anyone thinks they can see and shoot the laser emitter at the top of the building, come up and test your luck.&quot; Arris stands up again, resting the butt of hir rifle on the ground.<br> <br>Otto nods and clasps his paws. &quot;I&#39;ll take a shot at that, but my eyes aren&#39;t the keenest here.&quot; he moves over to where the rifle was and picks it up, pausing to thank Arris for lending it before turning to Firecracker &quot;See if you can spot for me, I am gonna take a shot, but a steady hand isn&#39;t all that&#39;s needed. I&#39;ll have to know what I hit... if I hit at all.&quot; he explains, before falling to one knee on the ground and assuming a firing stance. His breathing goes slow and deep as the rifle goes perfectly steady in his hands, the coyote biding his time, finger gently sliding over the trigger as he takes aim and tries his best to land his crosshairs just right. One... two... three... and *BANG* The rifle recoils lightly in Otto&#39;s arms as the coyote lowers it and grumbles. &quot;Fucking hell... I think it made contact but the glare, uuuurgh. Fire, what do you see?&quot; he asks, curious as tomwhat he&#39;d managed to hit.<br> <br>Raika gives Kip a bit of an odd look, clinging to her halberd protectively, but she does answer hesitantly. &quot;I can... try?&quot; She tries to see if she can remove the mirror from the car in a manner that it can be put back in later hopefully rather than having to just rip the mirror&#39;s holding thing off the car entirely. If she can manage that (or if she can&#39;t but can get the driver&#39;s permission to be a little more violent about extraction), then the mirror gets attached to the halberd&#39;s blade for a bit of testing. Repairing it is going to suck if they&#39;re wrong about the nature of these laser things, though...<br> <br>The truck&#39;s sole mirror comes off with little effort, but without some way of attaching it, it won&#39;t stick to the haliberd. Smithson doesn&#39;t seem to mind too much about missing that mirror, but does add: &quot;Don&#39;t take too much off the truck. We need this to get back home.&quot;<br> <br>Firecracker watches with a grin as Raika prepares to put her action into plan, even without the possible loss of a hand!  Probably a bit safer anyway.  After the crack of the rifle goes off below and the coyote asks for her vision, the pegasus looks up at the building once more.  &quot;That&#39;s one down, half a dozen to go!&quot; she confirms.  &quot;Less fun, but I guess that works too,&quot; she finishes with a shrug as she stands up on her hindlegs, shading her eyes with a foreleg.<br> <br>      Kip offers a wane smile in return towards Raika as they clung to their weapon of choice. &quot;Pardon, tis just-&quot; he cut&#39;s off, wincing at the sound of the shot going wide echoing. &quot;...ow... Ah... Tis just that if this is correct, then we simply can walk between the marks, probably putting forth something in front of us to check to make certain that there aren&#39;t un-procced marks. Then we can disable, or even take it apart from the inside. Who knows what RSX would be willing to by that tech for?&quot; Looking at the unattached mirror... a faint smirk rises to his maw. &quot;And... you don&#39;t even actually have to attach it. Just sorta... push it into the spot. If it fires, success! If not... Well, we keep firing.&quot;<br> <br>Arris sits down on the ground, looking over to Raika. &quot;Hey, if you need to attatch the mirror, I think this triage kit should have some tape in it. Could use that.&quot; Sie slings the kit from hir back onto hir lap, opening it and fishing out some medical tape. &quot;Still need it there? I&#39;d reccomend we not lay the mirror&#39;s surface parallel to the ground, else it reflects into our face. Would be safer to keep it perpendicular and adjust after that.<br> <br>&quot;Half a dozen...&quot; Otto growls and sqjeezes the rifle. &quot;Great...&quot; he mutters and assumes a firing stance once more, though moments before actually letting loose another round, he does have a thought... &quot;Hold on now.&quot; he lowers the rifle and turns to his allies, &quot;Maybe one was enough, we should test it... like...&quot; he looks around and manages to find a fist sized rock near his feet. Tossing and catching it again, Otto says &quot;Let&#39;s see if these things still work. If we can sneak in there without damaging the rest, more for us to salvage!&quot; he exclaims and wags his tail excitedly at the notion of more profit. Moving over just behind the safety line, Otto tosses the rock right onto the very same scorchmark that he&#39;d nearly had his arm taken off in earlier.<br> <br>Raika accepts the tape from Arris, attaching the mirror to the flat of the halberd&#39;s blade with it. She then angles the halberd so that it&#39;s perpendicular with the ground... so in theory the &#39;laser&#39; should just make a scorch mark a little closer to the origin point if this absurd theory is correct.<br> <br>With the rock and the haliberd enter the firing range of the weapon, nothing happens. Just a soft thud as the rock hits the ground.<br> <br>Firecracker frowns a bit at the sight she sees.  &quot;Well you got its attention anyway, looks like it only shoots at people.&quot;  She shakes her head in disappointment, no awesome light show explosions today, what a pain.  Guess it&#39;s back to shooting.  See if ya can hit the one pointed this way, third from the left!&quot;  She says, pointing a foreleg towards the building, not like anyone can tell which mirror she&#39;s pointing at exactly.  She also reaches up into her mane, pulling out a pair of red, triangular shades to place on the bridge of her snout.  &quot;There, much better!&quot; she says with a grin, crossing her forelegs over her chest as she waits for the next shot.<br> <br>      Kip slowly lowered his hands from his ears, having grabbed them almost autonomically. At the lack of a sound, he frowned, peering up at the roof for a moment. &quot;That is... either highly unfortunate, or proves they were using an array of them to target points. Or that individual ones were targeting certain spots. Or Fire is right... Regardless, this is new. Good, and possibly bad, if this is the proof that they are rotating.&quot; A small frown fell upon his muzzle as he sat upon his hindlegs. &quot;How... unpleasant.&quot; Idly waving his hand, he sighed. &quot;Just, continue shooting I suppose? Or toss another rock at another spot. If it fires then? Well, each one targets certain spots. If not? Still no idea.&quot;<br> <br>Arris munches on a saltine as sie stands up again. &quot;Alright, looks like the cannon has been disabled. Or, maybe we just reduced the range slightly, or maybe it needs to recharge after firing that first shot.&quot; The gator nods at Firecracker. &quot;Or that, it could only fire at people.&quot; Sie squints at the top of the central building. &quot;I&#39;d say we should play it safe and wait a bit, or if we really need to be heading in now, spread out so that thing can&#39;t obliterate all of us simultaneously.&quot;<br> <br>Otto raises the rifle once more, adjusting a little to the left as he struggles against the glare. He grumbles and squints as he calculates in the back of his head, where oh where shall his crosshairs land? Taking another few moments, he makes sure that his aim was true, despite the fact he could barely see past the blinding light, and fires another round! Lowering the rifle he sighs and turns to Firecracker. &quot;One less?&quot;<br> <br>Raika gives a look at her halberd somewhere between disappointed and relieved when nothing fires at it. &quot;Probably just fires at people, yeah... I&#39;m a little impressed by the complexity of its targeting systems.&quot; With that not working, she removes the mirror from the halberd, trying to put it back in the truck properly before going to see what Otto&#39;s up to. &quot;Any luck?&quot;<br> <br>As time goes on, the sun is starting to set. The glare from the top of the center building is much more apparent now, contrasting the darkening landscape around it. Smithson mumbles under his breath that dinner will be cold.<br> <br>&quot;Only if you count hitting the same one as one less than we started with,&quot; comes Firecracker&#39;s response as she flies over to land on the butt of the rifle, looking down the scope.  &quot;Here, I&#39;ll aim for ya,&quot; she says as she directs the rifle for Otto&#39;s steady hand.  Hearing Smithson, she comments, &quot;Yeah but if the sun goes down the mirrors won&#39;t have any sun to reflect and we won&#39;t have a reason to shoot them, and that&#39;s no fun.&quot;<br> <br>      Kip sighed briefly, shaking his head as a dozen different options ran through his mind. Too many possibilities even with what is known. Too much variation with what is given, and not enough time to figure it all out. Flicking his eyes back to the sky, he sighed and slowly began to pace beside the truck&#39;s trailor, a sharp comment given at Fire&#39;s words. &quot;Perhaps not, but that just means we will be facing people in the dark. Fun.&quot;<br> <br>Arris crosses hir arms as the light of the sun begins to reflect off of the side of the building. &quot;Well, it&#39;s pretty difficult to see now. And, after sunset, we probably won&#39;t be able to see at all, unless one of you has some sort of night vision ability.&quot; Sie gets up, walking around and opening the door to the trailer to see if there&#39;s anything of possible use or other interest inside.<br> <br>&quot;He&#39;s right though... this is B-O-R-I-N-G.&quot; Otto huffs and rubs his eyes. It was childish of him to complain about something like that, but needless to say he was expecting more than to just sit there and snipe mirrors. &quot;Sure, let&#39;s try that.&quot; The coyote agrees and steadies his hand, adjusting for the added weight of the small pony. &quot;And I&#39;ve no issues with facing folks in the dark. Ever been out playing hide and seek with Night Stalkers? Good fun. ...course that was in the bubble, and they didn&#39;t have guns... so... yeah. Actuully I take that back. Nevermind.&quot; Otto sighs and starts to direct the gun according to Firecracker&#39;s instruction. &quot;One down, Raika... just one out of seven, I think? This fucking glare though!&quot; he growls, then re-focuses on the task at hand. &quot;Fuck the mirrors, let&#39;s just pop em all in a row and get on with it I say. Ya with me Fire?&quot; Otto asks, not sure if her being on the gun would be so favourable or not...but he is willing to try, and if that doesn&#39;t work, they had their old system to bank on. One thing was certain, those mirrors were about to have a very bad day.<br> <br>Raika shades her eyes, looking over at the mirrors to see if she can get at least an understanding of the rough distance from here to wherever they are. She&#39;ll let Otto take a few more shots for the time being, but... &quot;...I&#39;d be willing to, pardon the pun, give it a shot, if you like.&quot;<br> <br>the night comes in, leaving everything darker besides the middle tower of the solar farm.<br> <br>&quot;The one pointed at us started spinning again since nothing was moving,&quot; Firecracker says before grinning again, &quot;Until we broke its spinner anyway!  On to the next one!&quot;  She directs Otto to the next mirror, aiming in the same area, if not slightly higher, in order to hit the swivel or the mirror directly.  &quot;Good news is they&#39;re still spinning, that&#39;s good enough reason to keep shooting for me!&quot;<br> <br>      Kip grumbled slowly, shaking his head as he raised a hand, shading his eyes as he looked back at the tower, the deepening evening helping to accent at the very least the place he couldn&#39;t see. Alas, aside from the nimbus of glare, he could find... well... Nothing. Taking a half-hearted toss of a rock at one of the scorch marks, he grumbled indistinctly.<br> <br>Arris leaves the trailer with a sigh, shutting the door behind hir. &quot;Well, at least it seems that the middle tower is at least easier to see now.&quot; Sie looks up at the tower, squinting at the device on top, before something clicks inside of hir head. &quot;Firecracker, you said that you started a small nanite bubble or something, right?&quot; Sie attempts to use hir tentacle nanomagic.<br> <br>Otto takes his few shots, some landing, others missing. He ended up getting more and more frustrated as the time went by, and with that frustration came a lowered accuracy and precision with gunfire. Before taking his final shot, he peers through the scope and finally, FINALLY makes sense of what he was seeing. &quot;AHA!&quot; he exclaims and takes steady aim once more. &quot;I got you motherfucker, I got you this time!&quot; he yips giddily and lands his crosshairs over his target, a thermal camera aimsd directly at them, the reason that infernal ray could aim at them, in his sights in his crosshairs for those few fleeting moments of success! Feeling like he would not achieve such clarity again any time soon, Otto took a deep breath, steadied his rifle and aimed true. The round left the barrel with a loud *BANG* and the coyote watched with glee as it impacts the camera, hopefully disabling the weapon entirely. &quot;Nailed it. There was a thermal camera on that fuckin ray, I just sent it to hell. I THINK... we are good to go.&quot; he sighs a sigh of great relief. &quot;Finally...&quot;<br> <br>Raika had her breath held while Otto made that shot. It&#39;s just good sense, right? Steady your breathing when you&#39;re sniping... or trying to avoid disturbing a sniper. With a soft exhale, she looks over at the building. &quot;That would explain why it wouldn&#39;t shoot the mirror.&quot; A pause as she looks down at herself and fiddles with a device over her chest, then, &quot;I&#39;ll go first to test it, just in case?&quot; There&#39;s the slightest sound as a barrier field hums to life around her... it&#39;s unlikely to last outside Firecracker&#39;s bubble, but if the mirrors aren&#39;t actually disabled, it should help keep her from losing a limb... and if they are disabled, she has nothing to worry about when the field goes down, right? In any case, she cautiously crosses the scorch mark arc line, keeping her wits about her in case it&#39;s not actually disabled.<br> <br>Arris&#39;s tentacles work, if a bit shorter then expected. They have no mass to draw from other than hir own. As Raika takes a step past the line in the sand, nothing happens. Another step, nothing. A few more steps and it&#39;s clear that the weapon isn&#39;t firing.<br> <br>&quot;Good enough for me!&quot;  Firecracker cheers, leaping off the gun and into the air as she starts flying towards the building several feet above the ground.  &quot;Let&#39;s get us some solar panels!&quot;<br> <br>      Kip blinked over at Otto as that last shot cracked out in the dying light. At their words though, a faint smile rose to his face, slowly walking back up to the truck. &quot;Well then... shall we head off then?&quot;<br> <br>Arris watches as Otto celebrates his shot. &quot;Nice shot. Not that I can see it, but nonetheless. Before we head out though...&quot; Sie extends a tentacle, waving it over the nearest scorch mark. &quot;I wonder who set that defense system up? Whoever it is, they might still be there. Probabky won&#39;t take kindly to visitors.&quot; <br> <br>&quot;That&#39;s a really good idea...&quot; Otto nods at Raika and activates his own nanite shield. Maybe the weapon was offline,  but that doesn&#39;t mean the extra protection was unwelcome. He moves over to arris and gives her the gun back. &quot;Thank you for letting me use this. It&#39;s a fine firearm, I&#39;m glad you brought it.&quot; he says with a smile, leans in to hug her real quick before parting and following after Raika and Firecracker.<br> <br>As Firecracker flies off ahead, the rest of the group quickly drops out of range from her Regulation nanomagic, Arris&#39;s tentacles falling limp and both nanite barriers fail. As Firecracker reaches the main building, the light from the tower is enough to flood the surrounding area with light.<br> <br>Raika beckons for the others to follow as she walks on over toward the facility, though she&#39;s maybe still a little paranoid as she doesn&#39;t turn around when doing so. Her halberd&#39;s in her hands, and she&#39;s ready for whatever might be coming.<br> <br>Firecracker flies ahead, as usual, to get to the building ahead of the others who will catch up in a few seconds.  &quot;Hey!  Anyone in there?!&quot; she shouts out to the building.  &quot;Not here to fight, but you kinda started it!&quot;  She hovers in the air a short distance away from the building and several feet in the air, waiting for a response as she surveys the area.  &quot;Oh hang on!  I forgot my cape, it&#39;ll make me look cooler!&quot;  She quickly pulls out her cape, strapping it around her neck before crossing her forelegs over her chest as she waits again.<br> <br>      Kip slowly begins stepping forward, nerves not quite shot (yet) from the ordeal. Less panic now, and more residual dread creeping in. Perhaps half a dozen meters out though, he turns, heading back towards the truck, and more importantly, Smithson. &quot;Pardon, seems it is... safe to go ahead. At least up to the building it seems. The less we drag the panels, and the sooner we could leave, the better you know?&quot; Offering a wane smile, he turned back, cantering towards the others ahead.<br> <br>Arris sighs as Firecracker darts off, hir tentacles drooping limply. &quot;That Firecracker...&quot; Sie nods as Otto gives hir the rifle back, walking up to the passenger seat window and looking through it. &quot;I think we&#39;ll head forward. Just drive the truck next to a door or something.&quot; <br> <br>Otto meanwhile, much to his disappointment, resumes his trek alongside Raika. He was now holding his submachine gun in one paw, and was resting his other paw on his combat knife, holstered at the left side of his waist upon his belt. He wasn&#39;t afraid, quite the contrary! The coyote was relieved to finally be making some progress. &quot;Think we&#39;ll run into goons in there?&quot; he asks Raika as they walked.<br> <br>Raika hears the quiet hum of her barrier field cease, and she looks disappointed much as Otto does. It&#39;s not long before the shakes return too and she&#39;s cursing the impulsive little critter under her breath. Luckily Otto&#39;s question distracts her a bit. &quot;Who knows. I&#39;m betting on yes, but that&#39;s me being pessimistic.&quot; <br> <br>Smithson turns the truck on, roaring to life once more. &quot;I&#39;ll park it near the solar panels. Don&#39;t get yourselves killed, I&#39;ll need help dismantling the panels and putting them on the trailer.&quot; 
At the building, Firecracker finds the front doors wide open, the faint smell of rot coming from inside.<br> <br>After waiting for a few seconds for a response, and not getting one, Firecracker starts tapping her hindleg in the air, giving the others time to catch up.  When Otto and Raika get there, she points a foreleg towards the open door and says, &quot;They were nice enough to leave the door open, so let&#39;s take the invitation!&quot;  Before getting a response, she heads in as she looks around.<br> <br>      Kip idly flipped his heavy handed &#39;rang, slowing his pace as he neared the others. Instinct began to speak to him though, the scent something fowl and broken. His footfalls slowed as the doorway loomed, wide and ominous. At the very least, Fire was right. Twas open... Gently padding forward towards the edge of the dark enterance, he peered within, taking a scant few steps within.<br> <br>Arris walks over to the solar panels, looking them over before heading over to the main doors of the building. Sie pulls out another saltine and starts munching on it.<br> <br>Raika peeks in through the doorway cautiously, fiddling with the device at her chest now that she&#39;s close-ish again to Firecracker. Straying too far from the bubble the little fella&#39;s putting out is... uncomfortable, to put it lightly.<br> <br>The entire building is empty of living things, only corpses of Pre-Pday workers and years of dust. Only once the group makes its way to the base of the tower can any activity be found: capacitors line the walls, thick wires leading into them and out to the top of the tower. An active computer is in the middle, coming to life as everyone enters the room. Off to the side is a breaker box, open.<br> <br>&quot;Good news is everything&#39;s still working,&quot; Firecracker says as she flies into the room, looking around at the various death, debris, and electrical equipment, &quot;bad news is I don&#39;t know anything about any of this stuff.&quot;  She flies up close to the computer in the center of the room, lifting her glasses up to her forehead as she wipes away years of dust from the screen in order to look over it more clearly.<br> <br>      Peering about the dark and dismal area, Kip frowned, eyeing the lot of it with a good deal of... distrust would perhaps be the most apt word. Working his jaw for a moment longer that he might have needed to, he shook his head. &quot;I... Know not much more about it than the average one. But... Anyone know how to shut the power down? That way we can take the solarpannels and get the heck out of here... It gives me the shakes.&quot;<br> <br>Arris looks up at the computer in the middle of the room. &quot;That... looks very, very ominous.&quot; Sie takes a step back, raising hir rifle once more. &quot;As if the dead employees and the photon ray didn&#39;t make things uncomfortable already.&quot; Sie begins shuffling over to the breaker box on hir right, keeping hir eyes on the computer as sie does so.<br> <br>Otto examines the surrounding equipment, his methodical mjnd quickly assessing the best way to domaway with the riches. He hands out someorders and a few tools, clasps his paws and urges the others to start work while he hacks knto the computer in the room. It was simple enough, thouh he learned very little from it. The device was resoonsible for the weapon array protecting the place, and now it&#39;s function was forfeit thanks to the downed camera.  &quot;We sjould rake this too.&quot; he declares happkly and pats the monitor. &quot;But let&#39;s get busy sith the solar panels first.&quot;<br> <br>Raika looks the place over for a bit... still cautious, even though the place seems empty. She tries to stay at least somewhat close to Firecracker, if only because being outside the minibubble is very uncomfortable. She does glance over at Otto when he&#39;s poking the control panels, though. &quot;Anything of interest?&quot;<br> <br>with the weapon disabled, there is no problems dismantling all of the working solar panels. Otto&#39;s the biggest help, not only knowing how to remove the panels but being able to carry them to the truck. The computer is a much bigger problem taking apart, as the numerous heavy connections take a long time. With the truck and trailer loaded up with cargo and people, everyone heads home to Fairhaven, safe and uninjured.[[Category:RPLogs]][[Category:Zophah's Tahoe Chronicles]]