Log:Fowl O'Clock High
Fowl O'Clock High!
OOC Date: February 9, 2021
Location: Sandy Beach, Rishi
Participants: Zyrette as herself and GM, Khalim, Katya, Rale
< Sandy Beach - Horizon Island, Rishi >
This is a stretch of sandy beach that sits off to the east of Raider's Cove on Horizon Island. Here there are crystal blue ocean waves colliding with the golden sands of the tropical island. There are distant peaks of outer-lying islands off on the horizon to the north and south, and even the visible reamins of large ships sticking up out of the waters.
Many tourists come here to enjoy the peaceful and relaxing enviroment, there is even a nearby boardwalk where stores and restaurants help provide a more entertaining experience. Jungle trees line the back of the beach, their giant leaves waving in the winds and creating a lovely bit of nature's song to help sooth those who wish to linger here on Rishi.
The group had met on Rishi. Zee sent a little comm stating she and Khalim were looking at prospective properties and wouldn't mind the opinion of others. So, including whatever convincing or bribing was required, they met on Rishi. Included on the earlier comm was the note some hiking might be required so dress accordingly.
And some hiking was involved. Not a great deal. Just off the main beach, away from the vacationing hoards. The jungle started to reclaim the beach here, encroaching on the rocky sands. The waters to, while as crystal clear as anywhere else on Rishi, had obviously not been groomed and combed over as the more popular spots where. No, this place remained quietly wild.
"I wouldn't want too much land scaping to be done. I love it as is. Just something that would fit into the environment without overly disturbing the Eco system in place." Zee explained as she lead them up what could barely be called a path, and to the edge where jungle met sands and rocky out croppings.
Katya has a whiskey or two in her - enough to help her get over the jitters of flying, to a degree. It was better than the level of chemical assistance she'd //used// to use before being willing to get on a ship. Still, she was glad to be on solid ground - her barefeet treading easily along the path. It was good feeling honest dirt and stones and sticks under her feet again - instead of duracrete and metal plating. "I like that notion," she agrees. "Leave things the way they oughtta be, anyways," she agrees.
Having hiked this stretch before, Khalim had expected exactly what greeted them. That intermingling of wildland further down the beach, where the short bended around a rocky bend, with the developed portion of beach behind them. One of the wonders of this tropical world was the fact that despite it being home to over two billion inhabitants, there were still many stretches of coastline just like this.
The Mirialan points back down the beach, from the direction they'd just come. "And civilization, just out of sight." The boardwalk. Restaurants, the handful of clubs that lined the commercialized beachfront east of Raider's Cove.
Khalim stands, feet planted in the sand, thumbs looped over his utility belt, surveying the land and sea. "Maybe a little launch. For a boat."
At the edges of the jungle, there appears...A bird! That wouldn't be odd, right? There are actual bird-people here. But wait...No. No, it's too squat and squared-out, and a bit foolhardy to be a bird. No, it's RALE, ROCKETEER FROM THE STARS!! He appears on a plume of smoke, because screw hiking and screw proper, sane behavior. No, he makes to alight upon a nearby tree, and in the process sees a large bird.
Wait. Wait, is that...
It is. The bird's nest even has little flecks of his pastry still in it. He makes to land //THERE// instead, a short squawk interrupted by a little SQUELCH as he lands upon the avian and crushes it instantly under his armored bulk. His grin is noteworthy. "It looks great! Short hike to the beach, some nice trails around here, and the cove is a good spot for a little privacy if you go a bit that way." He points, a bit of ariel recon never going to waste.
Zee turns to encompass the jungle with a broad sweep of olive hand. She's about to say something profound, no doubt. However, before she had the chance to speak, lo, there is a bird, or plane.. NO, it's Bat Man! Her arm lowers as she looks up into the branches as Rale lands. "Rale..." She starts, but again, an interruption.
Deep from within the jungle. Well, really not that deep, comes a terrible Squak. A squak that trembles the SOUL! Or reminds the hikers they haven't hand the promised dinner yet. Either way, the several other avian war cries soon follow.
"Rale!" Katya calls with some surprise as the bat rockets into view. "If he gets a concussion, I am //not// treating him for it //again//," she remarks - a statement that no one would believe.
Her attention is pulled away by the sound of the birds, however, as well the rustling foliage nearby. "There's something coming - from just there," Katya remarks - pointing to where her trained, hunter's eyes can spot the brush moving. Her expression looks curious more than anything else - after all, she's //Kirosi// born, and few things on her homeplanet try to eat her. "Is there any fauna on this world we need to be concerned about?" she asks.
Rale's impromptu arrival on a column of fire draws a cheer from Khalim. Pilots, they love what they love. Looking up at the little Chadra-Fan, perched in the tree with a look something like /victory/, the Mirialan is raising a hand and about to give some call out when, of a sudden, that terrible DEATH SQUAWK!
Katya's question brings an immediately response. Khalim had done a little bit of due diligence in researching Rishi when it became clear it may be a suitable off-Nar homestead. "Well, jungle wampas, jungle dragons, mosquitos..." JUNGLE WAMPAS. KELL DRAGONS. "Uh... some big jungle cats. Crocodolian things. Things like that." His eyes dart in the direction the Togrutan had indicated, and he draws his pistol. "They tend to stay away from the area surrounding Raider's Cove, at least that's what the holonet said."
"Right? Finally got the bugger after all! Hmm?" Rale is blissfully only aware of generally screaming from nearby, turning on the spot to peer into the jungle curiously.
While standing on top of the carcass of the avian. Like, right on top of it. Foot still in it's chicken-like personage. He scratches his head and declares out into the forest "Well, what are //you// gonna do about it?"
He is so wise.
And from the jungle, with with a cacophonous furry, arrives a small mob os Wild space chickens. These are no small, domesticated. stupid things. No, these are the wild ancestors. The ones that still remember they, are the descendants of the dinosaur! The largest one heads the charge. It stands a little higher than knee height on Khalim, with a viscous blood thirsty beak, and razor sharp talons! A smaller runs just to its right, It is perhaps just below the height of Khalim's knee. with equally sharp beak and talons. Two smaller ones run behind, about half size of the largest. They are there to Avenge the death of their cousin!
Zee Takes a sleight step back, fumbling into her pack to pull a weapon, not even sure if she's brought anything.
...why is dinner coming to //them//? This is not the way things usually work. That is the foremost thought in Katya's mind as the avians burst from the foliage. Not seeing the creatures as any real threat, she reaches out towards one of them - attempting to grab it by the neck to snap its neck. That is, after all, typically how one dispatches an avian. She looks mildly surprised as it pulls quickly and deftly out of her reach, however. "He- hey!" she shouts at the creature - as if offended that it would dare avoid becoming their supper.
The on-rush of this DINOSAUR HORDE startles Khalim for a moment, but he squares himself, feet in the sand, that sleek SoroSuub pistol in his hand. As the Big Daddy chicken-raptor charges, blade-beek waving with a furious /SQUAAAAWK!/, Khalim raises the pistol, sights down, and squeezes off two shots, which blast wide creating little fountaining divots in the sand. Big Daddy continues to charge with FURIOUS CHICKEN ANGER, and Khalim instinctively slaps it upside the head when it's close enough. THWAP! CHICKEN SLAP.
Rale spies the chickens and, knowing from brutal past experience that they can fly, takes to the skies! "You come to avenge family? Come then, one of us will be dinner then!" Rale is in a spunky mood, having been really, really having a bad week so far, and the prospect of a chicken deathmatch has him all excited. He hovers on a plume of smoke and fury, pulling forth his carbine from its holster, because he's not crazy enough to slap one. He's got the strength of an advanced toddler.
"SKRREEEEEEEEE!!" Comes his bellowing war cry to the horde.
And so the swarm attacks. the attempts by the defenders are easily dodged by these wily avians. the large one, Big Daddy, screams with Rage, and jumps at Khalim, and leaps! kicking out with his razor tipped feet. But he jumps wide, and harmlylessly leaps past Khalim. At the Same time Big Momma charges Kit and tries to peck her with the death beak! But she too misses. The little ones jump into the air and take flight after Rale. None are gracefully flighted creatures, but being smaller, they have an easier time. Still, they miss
"What-" Katya says with shock as the avians attack them. She stumbles back in surprise, her eyes widening. "Are they supposed to behave this way?!" she asks in disbelief. Her shock doesn't stop her from taking another swipe at the bird in front of her, but the creature is fast, flapping and dipping its neck to avoid her swift grasp.
Big Daddy wants some of Khalim, and charges with that dino-descendent beak, fluttering right past due to a little deft footwork by the Mirialan. "Nice try, FREE RANGE LUNCH!" he spouts after the bird, and raises his DeathHammer for a quick sight-and-squeeze. With a loud report the tibana-assisted particle bolt impact the squawking miniature dinosaur, blowing a significant hole in it's meaty chest. Seeing Big Momma rush past Katya in a failed talon swipe Khalim quick-aims and sends a second bolt into Big Daddy's mate. Two down!
"HAVE AT THEE!!" Rale rushes forward to intercept the twin smaller birds, blaster spitting death, only for tita to perform a barrel roll straight out of Top Gun and evade. Clever Girl. In a blur of feathers and hard, power-armored carapace, the three tussle, Rale swatting and smacking the birds away as they peck fruitlessly at the durasteel. Poor birds can't find a weak spot, and he's protecting his head. "Aahhh blast you, worthy foes!" And Rale slowly spirals downwards, zipping two and fro as the birds and he duel to the death. Tita rests atop his shoulders, brandishing her beak of death, ready to strike!
Khalim takes out the mighty parents. They'd put of a fight, and proven difficult to hit, but once shot... Chicken, it's what's for dinner. As Brudder sees his parents shot in a puff of feathers, he squaks with rage, and charges from Rale, to Khalim, as the Chadra-fan spirals downwards. Tita, is locked into mortal combat however, fiercely pecking at the the little bat pan from her perch.
Zee who, had retreated to a safe distance, can only look on in horror... and amusement. She shakes her head at Katya. "We come here -all- the time, I have never seen anything like this."
"Well. ... it's exhilirating at the very least!" And for once, it's a fight that Katya seems to show no qualms about. "Rale! Don't crash! I'm not treating your for concussion again!" she calls - repeating her empty threat from before as she sees the wild way he wheels in the air while being harried by the two flying birds. One of them dives towards Khalim, and with its attention focused on the Mirialan, it doesn't seem to see Katya as she comes from behind, grabbing the creature's neck and giving a sharp twist. The creature goes limp in her hand, and dangles from her grasp. "Got one," she says simply.
As Big Daddy and Big Momma tumble the ground, an excellent barbecue smell wafting from the charred holes... OK, not really, it smells of chicken offal... Brudda begins his death dive of VENGEANCE. SWIFT FEATHERY VENGEANCE is in a flat-tailed attack vector. Closing. Closing. Khalim sights on the dive bomber, barrel lowering by the moment as the DEATH CHICKEN descends. Is that an air horn Khalim hears from the sky, heralding doom? No, it's squawked chicken curses. The pistol sight tracks lower, and just as Khalim is about to squeeze the trigger /WHAM!/ a Togrutan fist punches that chicken in the FACE! WE A BUNCH OF CHICKEN KILLERS UP IN HERE!
Khalim looks to the sky but doesn't think to toss blaster bolts in Rale's direction.
Ah, the death duel in the sky! As Rale, Deathracer of Mandalore, Ghost of Hapes, Gunslinger, Daredevil Pilot and Smuggler, and the Chittering Menace of Shadowport...Fights a chicken to the death. Tita, balances upon his head, lifts a razored claw high, poised to bring it down on Rale's face, as they tumble toward the ground. Then, it's staring down the barrel of a carbine, the hole about the size of its head. "For what it's worth? I get it, eh?" And then BLAM! Its head goes bye-bye in a puff of ruby red, the body tumbling away just as Rale thumps down to the ground, rolling and coming to his feet in a smooth motion, grinning in triumph. "Glorious battle! And glorious dinner. I love this spot."
Zee moves to the tree line. She gathered some fire wood and begins to builds a fire on the sands. She glances at all the felled, feathery foes. "I'll get the fire hot, and a pit dug. Can someone get them plucked and cleaned? We'll have a fine dinner." She looks at the others, smile brief but sincere. "Well done all, Rale, I'm glad you approve."
