Cleaning Up

(Picking up from the last comment thread...)

Mon'Fargret and Betham check out the nearly-dead female guard while Zeton sorts through the gear on the toasted male one.

The female guard is a Sark-type humanoid, meaning she could be Besteeng, but removing her helmet reveals round facial features that hint more toward Sarkon. Her wrister also appears to be in Sarkish script (but with a Yangae-language window open). Her main weapon is clearly the sophisticated baffler turret on top of her helmet, but the rest of her gear looks a bit primitive, even antique. There's the semi-automatic, small-caliber shotgun she was using (which has a laser designator/ range finder, possibly for use with time-detonating shells). She also has a well-used hellrager carbine and a large revolver that looks positively ancient. A large and attractively-styled (but now partly burnt) bandoleer holds, in addition to extra ammo for her firearms, a collection of shuriken and a handsome-looking dagger. Her utility belt holds still more ammo plus what appears to be a belt-mounted power generator and an accumulator array, obviously to power the helmet turret.

The male guard is even more intriguing. His size and build also suggest a Sark-type humanoid. The rigid parts of his armor actually held up surprisingly well considering the type of firepower that hit it, but the lighter, flex-jointed area of the lower torso is burst open, and there is little more than smoldering charcoal underneath. Zeton decides not to bother removing the guard's helmet, and instead focuses on his kit. In addition to the rapid-firing gauss assault rifle that he used (briefly) during the fight, the guard has what appears to be a grenade launcher. (Luckily, none of the shells tucked into his thermal-resistant bandoleer went off.) He also has a gauss pistol with a laser designator and an impressive but awkward-looking sword. His various (surviving) belts and pockets include extra clips for his firearms plus a Foldorian-made first aid kit, a hand-held multi-spectral flashlight (to supplement his helmet lights), a pocket welding torch, and what is most likely a small robot servant. His wrister is in a script similar to Sarkish, but not one Zeton recognizes. It also has a window open that is in Yangae script. Finally, the guard's helmet has a strange, antenna-like attachment whose purpose is uncertain, but it reminds Zeton of enhanced psy transponders he has seen used by Ehrlathagi spacers.

"Can someone use any of this equipment?" asks Zeton. "I don't think he'll be needing it anymore. I don't think I can manage the grenade launcher, but if no one else wants the assault rifle, I might take that for added firepower." Removing the guard's wrister and holding it toward Nekshi, he adds, "Do you think we can use this to listen in to the folks at the Eye of Tann?"

Over by the north entrance, Bina succeeds in convincing Lirassa to stop fussing over Ham and allow herself to be helped. The fallen priestess then leads the Besteeng over to the survival pod, which apparently has a medical station. Now that Lirassa is in full view with her helmet removed, it can be seen that her neck is injured, and her shoulder is awash with gore. Bina, who is about a head and a half shorter, is struggling to keep something pressed against the wound.

"It's just a flesh wound," Lirassa can be heard to say in a voice that is somewhat slurred.

Muttering darkly to himself, Ham sets to work on his own injury.

Pru comes down off the rack, eases herself onto her feet, and limps a step or two.

Betham grimaces and then glares at the Yangae. "You're gonna need to do something about that," he says. He nods toward Bina, who appears to be singing to the med station.

Pru only just fails to suppress a grimace of her own. "I'll deal with it," she retorts hoarsely.