faderift | [Closed] [Playing Offensive]

Entry tags:

[Closed] [Playing Offensive]

WHO: First Team: Katniss Everdeen, James T. Kirk; Second Team: Twisted Fate, Beleth Ashara, Lena, and Korrin
WHAT: The Inquisition goes hunting for a Venatori
WHEN: Backdated to the second week of Bloomingtide
WHERE: The edge of the Western Approach
NOTES: Warnings for violence, talk of physical abuse and death. Link to Thread here..

On The Move

Katniss wastes no time, gathering supplies and as many arrows as she can pack into her quiver. She saddles up a horse, climbs astride, then puts down her arm to pull Jim up. As soon as he is settled, she clicks her heels against the horse's side, and they are off. They stop on the trail, for Katniss to find where they are off to, and to message the team behind them.

It is dusk, by the time that Katniss and Jim finally catch up with Servis and his men, and Katniss pulls the horse to a stop, well out of their view. They're in a small valley, just north of them, stopping for a night because one of their animals is pulling it's leg, and cannot pull the wagons any further.

It's then she pulls out her message crystal, and informs the rest of the team where they are, and what to follow.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Once Katniss had finished sending their position to those following behind, she tapped Jim silently on the shoulder, gesturing towards the campfires that were just starting to go up, about a half a mile ahead of them. Sound carried far in the desert, so she did not speak, merely gestured that they should sneak ahead, and better figure out what they were dealing with, before the rest of the team got here.

His pelvis protested movement - riding pillion was not the most comfortable position as he had found out, but what could he do? Now had not been the time for an impromptu riding lesson. But, thankfully, this was not his first 'scouting' mission. Well, all right, he had not precisely been scouting before, but he had been in situations that required the quiet.

He nodded when she touched him, backing away from their current point to follow her towards the flickering lights. Sand and rock hissed beneath his boots, and even that made him wince slightly. He drew up beside Katniss, tapping her shoulder and mouthing the words -

'Magic barriers'?

You know, because those were things, right? Should they be worried about them?

Katniss kept to the shadows of the dunes, careful to keep them both out of sight and out of the shimmer of the lights themselves. She herself melted into the shadows as easily as if she was born to them.

Kirk's tap made her turn her head, and she frowned as she noted his question. She shook her head in turn, then mouthed, 'Too much power.'

Mages couldn't keep up those kind of shields for long - it drained their energy too quickly. She pointed to the soldiers making their patrols - those were the ones they would have to keep an eye on.

Kirk envied her that ability. He had never been trained to blend in quite so well - Star Fleet officers were not really meant to, after all. He watched her mouth carefully to make out the words and nodded, glad that one worry could be crossed off the list, though that most likely meant more sentries to make up for it.

He nodded to show his understanding, then made two motions with his hands - stay together or split?

She turned back to the area, then back to him, shaking her head slightly as she put her fingers against one another. Stay together - he wasn't as skilled as she in sneaking around, and with his military background he might see something on the warriors they could use later on. She gestured that they would do a circuit, pause, observe, then move on again.

Give them an idea of numbers, and patterns, before they attacked.

He nodded to show he understood, and was secretly glad that was what she wanted. Not that he wasn't confident in his own skills, mind, but this was something new for him, especially in the dark. So sticking together it was. He moved with her around the edges, pausing to observe a pair of sentries, who... didn't seem to be moving precisely. It made him think that was either the "direct" entrance into the camp, or they were lazy.

Katniss paused herself, peering at the two sentries who were not moving. She scanned the immediate area around them, and then froze when she saw the covered wagon. She gestured to it, mouthing, 'Slaves or merchandise.'

There were a few carts, but that one looked like a cage, just like she had seen in the Western Approach, and in Emprise du Lion.

His blood boiled when she said those words and he looked to the wagon again, his fists clenching. He wanted to do something right then if it were true, but doing anything right now would only endanger this whole enterprise. They were probably safer where they were anyways, once everything got underway.

"Help later" he mouthed back at her, though the hard glint in his eyes showed how much he disliked leaving them a moment longer in their confinement. He shifted to move on, keeping a mental note of the sentries and the cart along the imaginary circle he'd drawn to outline the camp itself.

Her own expression was tight, and anguish flashed across her gaze -- but she knew that it would be a damned fool move to try and free them now without back-up and support. So she nodded, her own grey eyes hard ... then pensive.

She tapped the ground, then mouthed, 'Frontal assault on other side. Move around to free slaves - have those who can jump in.' It would be an easier rout, to be sure, and give the slaves some of their own back. They could also get the injured out of range instead of being used as flesh shields by the Venatori.

He nodded thoughtfully. It could potentially work, but he wanted a better idea of the other sentries and what else they were working against in the camp. That would be his plan, at least, but he had agreed to follow Katniss' lead. Still, he could make suggestions.

"It's good. Maybe we should see what else we're working with," he mouthed back. "Just to be sure we're not walking into surprises." He assumed she meant that the others coming would handle the assault while he and Katniss freed the slaves.

She nodded her head in silent agreement - tactically it was sound. Make sure they weren't going to get dropped on by at least a dozen more troops than they thought. She looked pensive, before tilting her head for him to keep following her.

'Look at food stores. See how well prepared they are.' The more food, the larger the party, the longer the journey as well.

He hadn't thought of that, but he nodded to show he understood. That would make sense - but of course, that assumed that Servis and his group had time to pack the necessary supplies before leaving. But if they were running low, that would mean they might need to stop at a town or somewhere else to get the rest too. It meant this might not be their only change, not that he wanted to prolong this.

"How many mages do you think?" he asked as they paused to consider the next pair, these two at least seeming more awake than the others they had seen, walking back and forth along a route, though it was rather short to his eyes.

There was a great deal of 'ifs' there, and while Katniss could appreciate they could end up with another chance - she preferred to take them out in the open, and not where they might get their hands on more innocent bystanders.

She frowned, as she looked at the tents, keeping herself low, 'Three or four, at least. Not including Servis.' Venatori rarely traveled with so few alone. Camping they might linger with one or two, but not in a larger group like this.

Oh, absolutely, he would love to get him now, to stop this before it went any further. But, things to consider.

He disliked the idea of having to deal with more than one mage, but it was what it was. As far as he knew, they were bringing in a few of their own, but it still made for uncomfortable odds.

"We should take them first. They'll cause the most trouble," he advised.

She nodded her head once more, before gesturing to the field - surround the mages, hammer them hard, take whatever hits they could from the warriors until they could take out the mages. Then re-focus their attention. Putting it around where there seemed to be the most guards, ergo the most precious cargo, would be the wisest choice. It would keep the mages from trying anything really dangerous.

You could do a lot of explaining with a stick and sand.

It helped when someone was familiar with tactical planning. That, and there just weren't many good options for them either. They were at the disadvantage from the beginning, and working on a time crunch. They didn't have the time to wait a few days and find a better opening. He nodded to the plan and made to head back to meet the rest of their company.

She led the way back - and then once they were far enough away that they could not be heard - she spoke but only in a soft whisper. "We should keep watch on them from a distance, and trade off every hour. I'll go inform the others what we're dealing with."

"Good idea," he said, looking around for a good spot to take up that would let him watching without being to exposed to their quarry. "What I wouldn't give for binoculars though," he grunted beneath his breath as he moved to a spot.

"I'll come back if I see anything drastic change," he told her.

She gave him an odd look - what the hell were binoculars? - before she nodded once.

"I'll come running if I see fire." She stated, heading further out into the desert. She ... may or may not have been kidding.

He pursed his lips at that comment, because - yeah, he wasn't sure if she was kidding and how to take precisely. But he shoved it away, shaking his head and taking up his position to watch and wait.

Katniss is waiting by their own horse, at least a half a mile out from the Venatori camp, for the other team. She puts her finger to her lips, letting them know not to speak outloud, then gestures for them to follow her to where Jim is waiting.

While Korrin is no master of stealth, she can be relatively quiet when need be. As this seems to be one of those times, the Vashoth mage simply nods and follows along, staff ready in one hand and spirit blade hilt in another. Whatever happens, she doubts they'll be idle for long.

The signal to be quiet is all Lena needs to get into her role here as a rogue. Her steps are light across the sand as she follows Katniss, and no part of her makes a sound. As they get closer, she can see the campfires in the distance. Hopefully they'll reach a position where they can get a good look at numbers and can coordinate through gestures about how to position themselves to ambush the enemy.

Kirk nods to the two women who approach, knowing one more than the other, but there would be time for proper introductions later. Luckily they had a good amount of natural light with them and he rolled out a piece of parchment he had brought, a basic diagram of the camp drawn in thick, bold lines to be better be seen in the only light available. He had marked out where sentries were mostly stationed and tried to not their patterns, if any, and the tent they were fairly sure was Servis'.

He tapped a point where he thought the security was most lax, looking between them all for agreement, but mostly to Katniss, whom he was treating as the defacto leader.

((Feel free to start your own threads here, finding what Servis has taken or glowering at the captured Venatori.))

Kirk is one of those who has chosen to search the camp for more evidence. He wasn't to sure of the legal system in this world, and hoped not to become to acquainted with it, but he figured having as much evidence as possible of Servis' depravity and foul deeds could only help things. Perhaps there was even something to help them discover more about Corpheus.

He went to what looked like the key tent, opening the flap and rummaging through the packs and trunks by light of the fires and small lamps inside - not making attempts to be quiet now that they had their quarry.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Closed] [Playing Offensive]

Katniss and Jim - Scouting

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Taking Down Servis - The Team Moves In

no subject

no subject

no subject

Aftermath - Searching the Camp

no subject