Once Upon a Joe in the West Part 1

Log Title: Once Upon a Joe in the West, Part 1

Characters: Artemis, Baroness, Chatterbox, General Hawk, Jinx, Lifeline, Major Bludd, Tele-Viper 742, Temera, Vypra

Location:Cape Canaveral, Florida

Year: 10 August, 2007

TP: Gold Rush TP

Cape Canaveral, Florida
Down the highway rolls an unusual vehicle: standing out from the sportscars and SUVs a small tank, bristling with weaponry, bullies its way down the shoulder and turns sharply into Cape Canaveral's entrance road. It smashes through the security gates and makes its way toward the launching platforms.

Outside, Rage #747 follows along behind the Tank. The machine guns hosing down the security shacks just for good measure.

Outside, Snake-Eyes touches his ear sharply then signs, ~Sir, we have an unauthorised vehicle run a checkpoint wait...~ he listens a little more, ~2 vehicles...~ blinks and looks up, ~The feed cut out. Sounded like gunfire.~

Outside, Jinx stands up, turning serious, and pulls her Naginta around from it's place strapped to her back. Although, it won't do much good against vehicles, an armored assault normally has infantry support, eventually.

Outside, General Hawk snaps his heaed towards Snake-Eyes. "Damn..." he grabs up the radio. "Allright Joes, this is what we're here for. All tank units roll out, air units proceed to intercept. YO JOE!" he shouts as the radio comes alive with mission control. "Security Base 1, this is Mission Control, we are down to T minus 10 minutes and counting." He looks towards the gathered Joes. "Time for us to earn our combat pay." he says as slings his rifle from his shoulder, cocking it. Swinging his helmet mike into position, he sends, "Protect the satellite at all costs, it must launch un-hindered."

Outside, Lifeline looks over at Snake-Eyes as he reports, and as he reads the signing, his eyes grow wide with alarm, coupled with readiness.

Within the Thunderhead, Pennington the Tele-Viper monitors the airwave chatter, and smiles. "Complete surprise," she announces. "They're in a dither."

Outside, Chatterbox flies up from his hiding area and moves into attack formation

Outside, Temera blinks a little at the security breach, swearing slightly and gettnig her weapon up and ready. "There they are, hmm..." She peers at the incomings, starting to sight for targets.

Outside, Nightraven #745 soars down from above as the Thunderhead envades Canaveral and breaches the gates. It starts sighting quickly for Joes as soon as the Thunderhead is through warming up the weapons to chase the Joes away from the satellite.

Outside, Chatterbox tires to intercept and block the Nightraven's attack

Outside, General Hawk nods to Snake-Eyes. "He is free and clear to open fire, but tell him to use discretion. These aren't Decepticons. We want to stop them, capture them, put them on trial, NOT kill them."

Outside, Snake-Eyes nods and flicks his fingers over his virtual keyboard, ~And for the rest of us?~ he asks, pausing for a moment.

Outside, Jinx prefers death to the Cobra Agents herself, Cobra has some damned good Lawyers. Of course, she would never argue with the General, aloud.

Outside, Chatterbox turns to face the vehicles at hand and moves into attack

Outside, A cordon of 20 tanks crank up and form a semi-circle around the gantry, forming a shield blocking the Cobra's approach. Hawk looks to Snake-Eyes. "Whatever it takes. I'm just concerned the Autobot won't know his own strength."

The interior of the Thunderhead is cramped, with just enough room for driver, gunnery crew, and ... Pennington. "Remember to sit back tight, Pennington," Bludd advises. "When the cannon fires that hunk o' metal next to you is gonna come flying back with some force." He smiles at her report, nodding. "Good. Let's use that to our advantage, shall we?"

Bludd checks his displays, noticing the Sikorsky in the vicinity. "We'll let the Baroness handle that," he remarks. "I think I'll start with that wall o' tanks." He adjusts the angle of the tank's main gun and shouts a warning that he's about to fire. "Let's see what they think of this." He clicks the firing control, sending a round toward the tanks protecting the gantry entrance.

Outside, Chatterbox flies towards the Nightraven. As he does a passby he starts to warm up his 20mm Machineguns and unloads into the Nightraven

Outside, Snake-Eyes signs to the General, ~They've opened fire. Orders for us?~ He gestures to Jinx and himself.

Outside, Rage #747> Artemis flips a switch, activating her radio, "I'll put a rocket barrage on the Joe Command Post..." She steers the Rage around from behind the big tank, and accelerates, heading for position to fire the rocket pods into the Joes Command Point. As soon as the Rage gets into range, she fires off a barrage of 5 rockets in quick succession

Outside, Jinx grabs Snake-Eyes' Arm, and the General's, and pushes them both towards the railing, and yells, "Incoming Rockets! Over the side, Sirs!"

Outside, General Hawk looks to Snake-Eyes and Jinx. "See if there is some way you can slow those tanks down." he says, as the round from Bludd's tank sails towards the tanks and explodes in front of them. They maintain position. Meanwhile, as Artemis opens fire with her rockets, he dives for cover. "DOWN!"

Outside, Within the Thunderhead, Pennington nods in acknowledgement, and she scoots back against her seat as much as possible, continuing to listen to the radio chatter.

Back in the observation area, Lifeline disappears over the railing and dives for cover, keeping ultra-alert to see if anyone is in a particularly tight spot or needs rescuing. Outside, Snake-Eyes has the presence of mind to grab the jet pack near his feet as Jinx bowls him over the side. He lands and rolls, staying prone and covering his head with an arm to protect fromt he blast.

Outside, As the battle rages around the launch gantry, one of the rockets goes out of control and slams into the satellite, smashing its supports and breaking it loose from its booster. After a couple of wobbles, it breaks loose, bouncing several times off the gantry before hitting the ground. Within moments, it erupts in a blinding flash of energy.

The effects are immediate. The combatants are enveloped in a shimmering field of energy. Planes stop in mid air, tanks stop rolling, Transformers are frozen, unable to move a single servo. Then, the scene outside the field begins to shimmer and change, and then the spaceport is gone, replaced with urban sprawl. However, all is not peaceful. The homes, and vehicles, appearing to be late 80's models, are showing signs of decay. The land is barren, no sign of grass, and the trees are twisted skeletons swaying in the wind. Atop a rusty flag pole, the US flag flies, but torn and ripped, showing significantly fewer than 50 stars. No signs of life remain in the scene, but just as quickly as it appeared, it vanishes.

Complete darkness encompasses everyone. Vehicles vanish around you, the ground falls away. You feel like you are falling through an eternal abyss, with no beginning, and no end. For what seems like an eternity you fall, then suddenly, the light returns, and you fall to the ground. The air is cold, the remains of a late night snow sprinkled on the ground. The terrain is now hilly, covered in light woods, a valley with a river winding through it below. Wisps of smoke rise into the air from some spots in the woods and the valley below. The air smells rather fresh, with the slightest hint of hardwood smoke, likely from the chimneys below.

Something tells you that you aren't in Kansas any more...

Outside, General Hawk emerges from the darkness, landing on the ground with a loud oof that knocks the wind out of him. Coughing wildly for several minutes, he catches his breath, and looks around. "What in the hell...." he rasps.

Jinx lands ontop of Hawk, with a soft squeal. "Ok, who the hell invited the long fall?" She hasn't looked around yet, still checking herself for injuries, because that fall sure seemed like it was a heck of a lot farther than 10 feet.... be she had her eyes closed, to avoid the blast.

Chatterbox will find that he has perhaps gone through the stranger journey, for now he has assumed human form, dressed in clothing much like a flight suit.

Chatterbox looks at himself and screams like a 10 year old girl "IM PASTEY!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Lifeline hears the sounds of explosions all around, and is about to spring into action, when the world suddenly drops out from under him, in a very disorienting way...and all goes blank...

Meanwhile, Pennington awakens groggily, shivering as she awakens in something that isn't supposed to be in Florida at all. "Huh...did we die? Because this is impossible," she says as she sits up and looks around worriedly.

Snake-Eyes slams into the ground, the suit absorbing most of the hit, but not all of it. He rests there for a few moments, waiting for the explosion... waiting... waiting... Odd. He glances around without sitting up, noticing Chatterbox. He feels around for jet pack.

Temera blinks up and around, feeling for her radio, her weapon, or anything else. She frowns just a little as she looks around for people then, and the change of surroundings. "The heck...."

The jet pack, like much of the smaller equipment that travelled on the persons of those who came through the... portal being the best word, is utterly destroyed, a twisted hunk of scorched metal. Guns are fused together, their actions solid metal. Useless.

Artemis was just sitting in her Rage, when all of the sudden... Something odd happened. She sorta hits the ground, almost like she is still strapped in to the seat of her Rage. She immediately looks pale, and reaches for the rifle strapped to her back. She levels it at the closest Joe and tries to fire. Tries, because it really just doesn't do anything. NOW she panics, "What the bloody blue hell is going on?"

Major Bludd drops the short distance from his control seat to the snow-covered ground, sprawling from the unexpected fall. He gazes around him in astonishment, his breath fogging on the chill air. "What in the name of --" He scrambles to his feet, automatically pulling his sidearms. He looks over his shoulders toward Pennington. "Alright?" he asks, scanning his surroundings warily.

Chatterbox runs over to Jinx and Snake-Eyes and General Hawk and makes sure they are ok. For some reeeeeeaaaalllly odd reason The fact Chatterbox is Human now really isnt affecting him...he just seems upset that he isnt tanned...

Baroness glares around just a little, frowning. "Vhat..." She frowns just a little bit.

Temera certainly becomes aware of the snow soon enough. She trembles from the cold, curling into a little ball and trying to get away from it. "Ooooooh...." She shivers and squirms towards the first warm thing she can sense.

Snake-Eyes stands slowly, noting that his HUD and electronic workup of his suit is disabled. He pops his neck, more used to not having the electronics then having them. He checks his weapons, useless, and drops his guns and checks his grenades. He re-connects those to his suit, probably still usefull, and, if not, the chemicals could be useful eventually. He looks over to Jinx and the General, ~Everyone alright?~

General Hawk manages to finally catch his breath, and roughly gets to his feet. "What in the /hell/ was that?" he says as he looks around, nodding towards Snake-Eyes. "I will be when I catch my breath. Where are we?"

Catching sight of the Major, Pennington sighs in relief, then gets up slowly. "Yes, how about you?" Suddenly, she comes to the startling realization that her Tele-Viper suit is rendered into useless scrap. She's wearing her civilian attire. "...How the heck..." Shaking her head in confusion, she heads over to the Major, her brow knit in confusion and worry. "My comm equipment is destroyed," she reports.

Lifeline, in the meantime, is doing something he never expected he'd have to do in Florida: namely, locate his glasses in the snow.

Jinx rolls, when Hawk scrambles up, and looks around, feeling the cold, "And me without my Flannel underwear..." She says simply, "I'll survive... Wait, are the Snake's still around?" She quickly peers around for a sign of the Cobra Troops, or Tanks, or anything.

Baroness just shakes her head, glaring around at things, and moving towards the Major quickly. She zips up her leather outfit more fully, to keep warm.

Artemis is definately around... Not happy, but around. She stands up, and looks around again. She spots Jinx, Hawk, and Snake-Eyes, at the very least. "Oh shit..." She looks at her other weapons, and sees that her only real weapon is her brains, which lately, don't seem great, her hands, and a knife. Yes, one lone knife. She hopes her radio works... "Artemis to... Anyone. Do you copy?" Hell, not even any static. She's screwed.

Chatterbox feels around in his pockets for any weapons

Snake-Eyes glances over to Artemis and touches the blade of the sword over his right shoulder, then signs, ~Right now, we worry about our own, then the enemy. Someone take care of temera, then we need to find shelter... and where the hell we are,~ that's somethign new. The snake's never sworn in a sign before, he must be worried.

"Destroyed?" Bludd says, frowning. He holsters one of his M9s and keys his radio. "All units, report!" The radio fails to emit its usual staticy sound when he releases the key. "Shit," he mutters. He takes the other M9 and opens the slide, starting when he sees the mangled, fused parts inside the weapon. "Christ," he whispers, releasing the slide and jamming the gun back into its holster.

Bludd sees the Baroness approaching from a distance and walks toward her, watching his surroundings in case anything threatening pops up. "C'mon, Pennington," he calls, motioning her to follow.

Chatterbox looks around.

General Hawk looks around, towards where the Cobras have landed about 30 yards away. He frowns slightly. "We're not alone..." He draws his pistols, but in trying to cock them, notices the slides are fused together. "The hell?" He tries seconds to break them loose, without much success. Sighing, he puts them back in his holsters. "I don't know what that was, but wherever it put us, we have to find out where that is." he says, nodding as Snake-Eyes suggests the same thing. Zipping up his jacket a bit tighter, he looks at a likely path through the woods. "There's smoke rising from the trees beyond... maybe we'll find something."

Jinx nods slightly, and moves over towards Temera, "Come on little one, let's get you warmed up."

Artemis watches the Joes move away from her, and she relaxes. She draws her knife, but only because she needs *something* in her hands, that makes her feel like she has some chance of survival. She looks in the direction of where she thought the Tank Bllud and Pennington were in, was, and see's figures moving, but they are not too visible. She starts out at a dead run towards the figures. The cold doesn't bother her, but than, little in the way of weather ever has.

Lifeline finally locates his glasses, and puts them on. Looking around, he's stunned to find nothing at all looks like Cape Canaveral. Hurriedly, he runs over to join his teammates. "Is anyone hurt??" he asks, looking around in alarm.

Meanwhile, Pennington nods in acknowledgement to the Major, and follows him to meet up with the Baronness. She's annoyed that *all* of her equipment was somehow destroyed, but that's diminished by the terror and disorientation she's feeling inside, which she keeps hidden beneath a cool expression of indifference.

Temera nods quickly to Jinx, shivering softly. "That... might help, yeah..." She bites her lip slightly, tries to force herself awake. She fumbles for some way to get the clothes back together. "didn't realize itd suddenly get /that/ cold...."

Chatterbox begins shivering and it is affecting him - however he has no clue why he is or what is up with this body

Baroness glances to the Major, sighing and nodding. "Vherever ve are, everything is destroyed..." She frowns and looks around. "This is /not/ Florida."

Jinx wraps her arms around Temera, and leads her over to Snake-Eyes and Hawk.

Snake-Eyes looks over to the smoke, then notioces Chatterboxes shivering. He signs to Lifeline, ~Help him, he's never been cold before,~ putting the pieces together, ~I'm going to go scout over that way, toward the smoke,~ and where ther'es smoke, there's fire. He nods to the general and starts off in a loping run toward the smoke.

Lifeline nods to Snake-Eyes, and he opens his med-pack, only to find with considerable shock that his high-tech medical equipment is gone. He does still have a blanket in there, however, which should be good in heating up Chatterbox -- whom Lifeline doesn't recognize at all, he thinks the man is a greenshirt Joe.

Artemis continues to flat out run, and as the figures grow, she slows... It was her rockets that might have possibly caused this problem, and there is Major Bludd, and the Baroness, and they don't look Happy.

Major Bludd nods to the Baroness, finally noticing the figures moving in the distance. "Looks like our friends have seen something interesting," he observes, motioning toward the running figure with a jerk of his head. "Let's see what it is."

Chatterbox nods at Lifeline and takes it. He pretty much puts 2 and 2 together and wraps it around himself like a Nomad would

Chatterbox then walks over to Jinx and Temera. "Are you 2 ok..and what can i do to help?" Vypra was on the edge of the effect, observing out of uniform and ready to move in if necessary. Now, she's separated a bit from both groups, and looks around, disoriented.

Pennington holds a hand up to her eyes, trying to focus on the Joes across the snowy field...and the running figure. She follows the Major and the Baroness as best she can in her non-snowshoes.

Jinx says simply to Chatterbox, "We have to keep her warm, nothing major." Sure, nothing major.

"Hang on, I have more blankets," Lifeline tells Jinx and Temera. "Somehow, my defibrillator machine was replaced by...a quilt." He smirks.

Chatterbox thinks for a moment and looks around "oh right ...cold...the snow ...right....cold...shivering... got it. Cool. Right....Got it!!"

Snake-Eyes keeps running through the snow, which is suprisingly fast considering how much snow there is. He nears the smoke, lowering himself to a loping run that's almost wolf-like as he tries to keep a minimal profile.

Artemis continues to move towards her 'friends', and stops within a few feet of them. She looks at Bludd, and says simply, "I'm still alive...." *that* ought to cheer him up a bit.

Vypra looks around, seeming impervious to the cold (although her thin shirt shows her body is reacting, at least). "The hell --?" she asks, looking around.

The smoke appears to be a good distance away, down in the valley. However, something appears in a small clearing ahead... as the group approaches, it appears to be an old Conestoga wagon, although 'old' is a relative term. It is in fairly good condition, but appears abandoned. The reason becomes clear, as one of the axles is snapped clean in half, and a wheel is sunk in mud.

Jinx nods her thanks to Lifeline. "Hear that... More blankets, Temera" She is not sure why Temera is so reactive to the cold, yet, but eventually, she will learn.

Temera nods just a little to Lifeline, curling into the blanket and considering. "Might help... Just not good in cold environments. Not without something more insulated..." She frowns just a little bit, thinking.

"You know," Lifeline says as he walks along with the other Joes, "We may be having a shared mass hallucination. But if we are, it's extremely vivid."

Pennington smiles in relief as Artemis joins their group. "I'm glad you made it," she says. "...Hey, what are the Joes looking at? It's hard to see from here..."

Major Bludd glances over his shoulder at Artemis as she approaches. He nods to the sniper. "Come along, then." He picks up speed, moving into a jog. "C'mon, we don't want to lose them."

General Hawk raises an eyebrow as he sees the wagon ahead. "What in the hell is that doing here?" he says, looking at the group. "Let's see what we have here." Striding towards it, he lifts up one of the flaps to look inside.

Snake-Eyes stops and looks at the cart, examining it. Could be used for firewood. He nods to himself and looks back, freezing for a moment as he notices the second group of black dots approching him. Crap. He looks back to his own group of Joes. This might not end well. He grabs a bit of broken wood and, as hard as he can, throws it end over end at his group of Joes, hoping to get their attention (not like he can wistle).

Artemis mutters, softly, "Sure... Follow the Joes, with two ninjas, and my guns a bunch of scrap..." She holds her knife tighter, and than smiles at Heather briefly, than turns serious. She whips off her Skimask, and offers it to Heather, not sure if Heather can handle the cold well or not.

Baroness nods quietly to the Major, watching as she heads along, considering it. "Right...." She glances to Artemios. "And you being alive... well..." She shrugs.

Chatterbox follows the others as quickly as he can...you can see him wobbling...he is walking oddly

Vypra spots people in the distance, and moves to investigate, finally noticing it's a bit nippy out.

General Hawk watches as Snake-Eyes tosses the wood, pulling his eyes off of the wagon's contents to see the approaching Cobras. He nods in understanding. "At this point, let's try to keep this on a diplomatic level. We have no idea what happened, we have no clue where we are, and stirring them up isn't a good idea. Let them make the first move, but watch them carefully."

Lifeline takes a good long look at the wagon. "...Now that's something you don't see every day," he reckons. "But it looks freshly used...are we in Amish country??" As Hawk moves to take a closer look, so does he. "...How strange is this," he muses in a whisper.

Pennington graciously takes the ski mask from Artemis, and pulls it on her chilly face. She tries to keep up in a jog. Ends up falling on her face a few times, but finally gets the hang of it. Where are plow trucks when you need them?

Chatterbox catches up and watches like the others. He speaks softly "whooooa a wagon train..."

Artemis' knuckles whiten at the Baroness' comment, but she bites her lip, and helps Heather along. "Major... Joe Agents ahead."

Temera keeps herself from the cold with the quilt, frowning at the wagon and looking around it just a little bit. "Hmm..." She peers up and down at it. "Interesting..." She looks to Lifeline.

Temera shakes her head. "Even if we were, Amish country would still be in summer right now. And would not have snow on the ground."

Chatterbox thinks for a moment

Snake-Eyes nods and and points to the group of cobra, "Sir, we..." he coughs, then blinks. Looks around as if there were someone behind him, then frows, signing, ~Sir, we should keep moving.~

Baroness keeps following for the Joes for now, trying to see whjat they've found, frowning at the whole situation. "Vhatever is going on, it certainly isn't good."

Chatterbox continues to speak low to the Joes and seems to be thinking deeply and trying to put all the pieces together (OOC i passed an INT roll of 10) "ummmmm im going to speak crazy talk here...but did anyone see an American Flag before we ended up here...a flag with ALOT less stars on it? And now we are seeing A wagon and woods and no roads or anything that shows technology of any sort?? Im going to not ask where...but when we are...."

"Yes, Artemis," Bludd says, "I see them." He slows his pace back to a fast walk as the group approaches the wagon. "Be ready for a fight, but make no aggressive moves unless they initiate. Let's see what they've found."

Vypra lost track of the groups during the transport, and now just moves towards the closest knot of people.

Pennington is very grateful for the Range-Viper's assistance. While she isn't unfamiliar with moving in snow, she's not particularly good at it in her Nine West dress shoes. And she's very grateful for the ski mask as well. "...Are we going to try and overpower them by hand?" she asks.

Artemis mutters softly, "It's not my fault..." She shakes her head and readies her knife, but against a ninja and swords, and they are out numbered... Yup, this won't be pretty if there is a fight. She looks around for a few rocks to throw too.

Vypra crunches through the snow in her big stompy boots, heading towards the group of Joes. She hugs herself a bit in the cold, but doesn't seem to be notice it as much as most everyone else.

General Hawk looks to Snake-Eyes and nods, but before he goes, he spots something in the debris inside the wagon. Taking it and brushing off the snow, it turns out to be a diary. This shock though fades when he realizes what came out of Snake-Eye's mouth, and turns towards him. "What the...?"

Vypra emerges from the woods and approaches the wagon, alone.

Jinx, from her spot near Temera stares at Snake-Eyes, just stares!

Lifeline nods to Temera. "That's a very good point, about the Amish," he decides. Hawk's sudden shock makes him do a double-take as well, trying to figure out what just happened. When he does, he's completely stunned.

Vypra still looks a bit dazed from the transport.

Temera even stares at Snake-Eyes then, as he speaks. She just... blinks.

Chatterbox Has no clue about the revelance of Snake-Eyes speaking. He keeps watching the area...After all he is "Recon"..."ummm...there is going to be interaction with the Wagon"

Snake-Eyes would looked shock too, if his mask wasn't over his face. His hand slowly moves to his throat as he softly clears it, then, softly, just above a wisper, "I... i can talk," he says. The voice is reedy, wispy, as though he hasn't used it for a while (duh). He glances up at the group, then focuses, "This can wait. We should keep moving," the voice, though weak, is deep and has a tone of strength behind it.

Major Bludd didn't hear the mute ninja/commando speak, but he's glad to take advantage of the stunned Joes. He approaches the group and the wagon. "I hope we're not late to the party," he says, grinning.

Vypra glances over as the Cobras approach, and pauses in her approach.

General Hawk smiles weakly as Snake-Eyes talks.. "Nice to hear your voice again, old friend." he says, before Bludd walks up to the group. "Late? The party's just getting started." he says with a bit of a smirk. "Crashing? That's your style, after all."

Pennington puts on her best 'mean girl' face, folding her arms across her chest. Well, without any guns, what more can she do but posture and try to look badass? Sometimes, that's enough.

Lifeline realizes with a sinking feeling that they aren't alone. In this forbidding climate, they might be stuck for a while without the wagon. Broken or not, it seems to be in repairable condition, and that's what counts. He backs up against the wagon protectively.

Vypra stops in the cold, crossing her arms across her chest, and waits to see how things play out before she joins either group.

Snake-Eyes hand moves swiftly to the knife on his hip which he draws and holds in an underhanded grasp, putting himself between the doctor and the ex-transformer. He makes no other movement, nor sound actually, and keeps his eyes locked on the Cobras.

Artemis slips her knife to Heather, she probably is better equipped to try and fight hand to hand

Temera sniffs at the air, after listening to what's said, nodding just a little bit. "Not alone in the least...." She sighs just a little bit. "Someone or something approaching..." she looks over, trying to see the heat signature of the Cobras, frowning.

Jinx has he Naginta out, and is leaning againstit, with one arm around Temera, helping her keep warm.

Chatterbox hides behind Snake-Eyes "oh right...knives....they hurt..."

Vypra is away from either group, and didn't approach from the same direction as Bludd.

Baroness is simply following behind Major Bludd, peering at the wagon and shaking her head. "A covered vagon? That is ridiculous... Vhat next, are ve going to see people on horses or something?"

Vypra is just a lot girl in pigtails and a tank top! /^_^

Vypra glances at the Baroness, watching her a moment.

Major Bludd glances to the wagon. "What's with the museum piece?" he asks, taking in the gathered Joes with a sweeping gaze, finally looking directly to Hawk.

Chatterbox says, "actually i am awaiting the flying monkeys...not horses..."

Lifeline smirks. "Just an old piece of junk...nothing that should concern you," he remarks, wishing the neighborhood bullies would just lose interest, already, so they could fix the wagon up and be on their way. Snake-Eyes' proximity makes him feel a little bit better. How was it that he could suddenly talk? This was hardly a mass hallucination.

Pennington grins wickedly as Artemis hands her the knife, and she nods secretly.

"That's a question I'm asking myself." Hawk says as he looks at Bludd. "Although I could ask you what it's all about, as it was one of your rockets that got us here." he says, cocking his head to the side slightly. "We can be against each other if necessary, but I would say that until we figure out what this is, and where we are, we need to call a temporary truce. The last thing we need is to go to the stone age and pummel each other to death like cavemen."

Snake-Eyes looks over to Hawk and signs, keeping up the old disquise, ~I don't pummel,~ before turning his head back to the Cobras, waggling the edge of the knife.

Artemis blushes, Sure, now *both* sides blame her. She mutters softly, probably barely audible, "It was your frockin' satellite that tipped over and did this, not my rocket." Pissed off Sniper at 6 O'Clock... She shakes her head.

Chatterbox looks at the wagon "this old piece of junk is our only means of travel...respect the gifts we are given....it seems we wernt given much"

Major Bludd turns to glance over his shoulder at his comrades, scanning each of their faces in turn, except for Pennington, who was in the tank with him. "Whatever it was put us here," he says, narrowing his eyes at Artemis, "it was *not* planned." He returns his gaze to Hawk. "Not by me, anyway." He smiles. "One thing is clear, though: we're not where we are supposed to be. And while the prospect of cleaning your clock the old-fashioned way has a certain appeal to it," his smile broadens to a grin, "I agree that we ought to put our 'eads together and work this thing out." He turns his head to regard Chatterbox. "Gifts?" he says, incredulously. "Travel? Who's gonna pull the thing? You?" He snorts, folding his arms across his chest. "Looks to me like we're all hoofin' it."

Vypra calls out to the assembled group, "Uh, hi, y'all. Can anyone explain what's goin' on here?"

Baroness considers the wagon, frowning just a little and considering the possibilities of what can be glaned from it, poking her hed into it some to check it over.

Chatterbox starts to search the abandoned Wagon looking for anything useful and speaks while he is rummaginging through it "did you ever take into consideration that this is a piece of wood...therefore we have warmth for the evening if we need it?

Vypra points back the way she came. "Uh, I was fixin' ta watch th' shuttle launch, and then there were all these 'splosions, an' now I'm here. Who are all y'all?"

Major Bludd says, "You wanna ride in it or bust it up for firewood? Can't do both."

Pennington pouts beneath the ski mask. Her dress shoes are *so* ruined. Vypra's call for attention makes her look over, and she blinks in surprise. (Either she came with us, or there must be a trailer park on the other side of that wooded area,) she thinks.

General Hawk looks to the wagon, to Chatterbox, and to Bludd. "This wagon isn't going anywhere without a lot of work, and I don't think that's time we can spare. Taking another look at the diary he pulled from the wagon, he opens it, taking a few moments to browse through it. "Dear God..." he mutters, looking at the relative 'newness' of the pages within. He then looks at the cover: Jeb Carpenter. A year is written below the name: 1848.

Chatterbox says, "also did anyone take into considereating tha t"when in rome" meaning that we need to look the part...wherever "the part" is"

Temera shakes her head just a little bit and frowns slightly, peering at Chatterbox. "For one evening, if it isn't soaked through frmo the snow." She peers around more. "Unless someone can fix the axle and has a horse, we aren't going anywhere in it." She blinks a little at Hawk's reading the diary. "Sir?"

Snake-Eyes jerks a thumb to Jinx and signs, ~Check the wagon for warm clothes, blankets, anything,~ he nods and turns back to the cobras, slowly putting hte knife away.

Jinx nods to Snake-Eyes, "Sure thing.." She hops up into the Wagon, and quickly starts going through it, methodically. He staff left in Temera's hand. Who knows if Temera can use it, but it'll give her something with Blades to poke at Cobra should they do something stupi... normal.

Major Bludd frowns at Hawk. "What? What is it?" He takes a few steps toward Hawk, glancing at the assembled Joes in case they decide he's acting in a threatening manner.

Chatterbox starts to search through the toolbox looking for anything useful

Lifeline, who's standing near Hawk, notices the date on the diary. Being a bit of a pragmatist (a trait that always infuriated his minister father), he suddenly asks, "How can we take that as proof of our situation? How can we be certain this isn't some sort of trick?"

Chatterbox stops and looks around "what are you talking about?"

Vypra frowns that no one seems to be paying attention to her. She crosses her arms more closely, and hurumphs and pouts.

Said pissed off Sniper, who gets glared at alot, recently, just sighs. She turns to Heather and asks, "Any idea, in that smart brain of yours, what in hell is going on? I mean, one second a Satelitte tips over, the next, we are in the snow?"

Snake-Eyes looks over at Artemis, a low growl emitting from his throat as his hand slides to his blade again.

Vypra wanders over to the wagon, and joins the poking about.

Chatterbox smirks at Artemis "answer: were not in Kansas and the meaning od life is 42."

Baroness peers at Artemis, cocking her head slightly and peering.

Chatterbox he goes back to searching

Baroness also shakes her head.

Vypra, "Did someone say somethin' about buildin' a fire? It is a bit cool out, an' I don't see any other shelter."

"I wish I knew, one minute everything's fine, and the next..." Pennington admits to Artemis. "Say, is she one of the Range-Vipers?" she asks, gesturing toward Vypra. Hearing a growl, she glances around, and knowing it couldn't possibly have been the mute ninja, she looks toward Vypra. "...I think she just growled at us..."

Vypra looks around the area, taking note of camping resources.

Snake-Eyes points toward the smoke, the previously reedy voice gaining some strength as unused muscles are lubricated, "Where there's smoke, there's fire," the Ninja says, ignoring the rest of the conversation, "I'm going to go scout ahead."

General Hawk looks to Lifeline, and raises an eyebrow. "A big shimmering field, strange visions beyond it, blackness, messed up weapons, and a complete change of environment?" he asks incredulously. "This wagon is in relatively new condition, certainly not over 150 years old, and this diary looks to have been written in last only a couple of months ago. If it's any indication, then we may have travelled through time. 1848 may be the year." he says, frowning slightly. "If that is the case, then all of us must be extremely careful." As he says this, he glances towards Bludd and the Cobras.

Chatterbox says, "ummm who knows anything about the 1840's?"

Major Bludd looks at the diary in Hawk's hand. He extends a hand, palm up, toward the opposing leader. "May I?"

Vypra looks over at Hawk increduously. "Time-travel? What are you -- nuts?"

Vypra says, "Maybe th' explosion knocked us into a new Disney exhibit?"

Temera glances around a little bit and blinks, frowning slightly. "1848? Hmm... great." She shakes her head a little bit. "Certainly going to be interesting trying to fit into that." She peers around slightly. "Anything in the diary about where he may have just passed, or anything, that might give a clue where?"

Vypra offers to no one in particular, "I'm pretty sure they didn't have wagon trails in Florida! Or snow, for that matter..."

Chatterbox, " comes out of the Wagon "ok lets all calm down here....instead of attacking eachother...which is obviously common lets try to work together...no mory yelly and calling people nuts.."

Vypra points to Chatty. "I'm with the pilot!"

Artemis looks at where Heather indicates, and shakes her head, "I don't recognize her, she is not one of my squads...." She pauses, 1840's??? Well, it is three years After the War with Mexico, and 12 years before the Civil War. She shakes her head, more likely the arrived somewhere else, not somewhen else. She sighs softly at Heather and says, "I would imagine that woman is part of the Nasa staff... although, the clothing tends to make me thing she is... related to the dreadnoks..."

Artemis calls out, "Late 1848, early 1849... Gold Rush in Caliornia. That's about it." She makes sure people know she might be able to contribute to the real problem.

Vypra does appear rather Dreadnok-like, tho she's acting more like a lost spectator

General Hawk looks to Vypra... "I'd like to believe that, I really do." Hawk looks to Bludd, pauses for a few moments, then offers the diary for him to look at. "Until we know otherwise, let's act as if we are here, until we have proof otherwise. The last thing we need is to upset the flow of history, and we all poof out of existence like a soap bubble."

Snake-Eyes moves swiftly through the snow toward the smoke in the valley, in his crouching run, hand resting on the blade of his sword over his right shoulder.

Vypra looks over as she realizes that Artemis might be talking about her, but then gets distracted as Hawk addresses her directly

Chatterbox looks at evetyone...Well I have seen The Good The Bad And The Ugly...Unforgiven and any other movie Clint Eastwood is in. Hell I have seen Back to the Future Parts 2 and 3 - and were nowhere close to the attire

Lifeline nods. "Just playing Devil's Advocate, sir, because it wouldn't be completely out of the question to be duped." He nods affirmatively. Messing up the flow of history would be a very bad thing.

Pennington can hardly believe what she's hearing. Have they somehow been blown back in time? Are they trapped?? Her anxiety of the situation mounts. No wonder their tech equipment was no good -- it was a paradox! She stares down at the ground, feeling sick to her stomach.

While she is going through the Wagon, Jinx rolls her eyes at Chatterbox, "I highly doubt that the truth is anything like the movies..." She mutters to herself, "Sometimes I wonder about people's sanity... I really do."

Baroness peers over at Chatterbox and frowns just a little bit. "That is not a *valid* source for /anything/." She shakes her head. "Ve vill need to find and observe locals, to see vhat is being worn."

Vypra approaches Hawk. "You seem to know what's going on. How can we avoid messin' with time? I don't want to wind up my own gramma or nothin'!"

Major Bludd accepts the diary from Hawk, nodding his thanks, handling the book gently. He tucks his right hand under his arm to pull his glove off, then opens the book to a random page. He runs his fingers along the page, feels the texture and weight of the paper. "This paper is pretty new, I'd say," he remarks distantly. "Not sized very well, though. The ink is spidering a bit, see?" He tips it toward Hawk to show him what he's looking at. "And--" he brings the book close to his face and sniffs at the page. "I think this is India ink. Written with a dip pen, not a ballpoint." He looks up. "Ballpoints're a modern invention." He turns the page gently, smiling. "And look at the handwriting," he says, grinning. "They don't teach the kids to write like this anymore." Bludd looks up from the diary. "This isn't *really* happening, is it?" he asks. "Tell me we haven't fallen into an episode of the Twilight Zone."

Chatterbox looks at Baroness "but my point is vaild...reguarldess of the attire...what we have on /isn't/ it

Vypra suggests again, "Should we build a camp and start a fire? Some of y'all look cold."

General Hawk nods to Bludd. "To be honest, I certainly hope so. Still, although this is small scale evidence, it's still evidence, and pretty convincing that that. I suggest we make camp here, and if Snake-Eyes manages to find something of interest, we'll be well rested to meet it. We may be able to tear this wagon apart and make shelter out of it for the night."

Artemis shrugs, her comment ignored. SHe moves to the wooded area, and collects small branches, twigs, and whatever else can be found. Seems she and Vypra had the same idea.

Chatterbox looks at Vypra "and you being your own Grandma....should I call you Fry??" And a fire is a good idea

Vypra looks at Chatter and blinks in confusion. "Huh?" she asks, intelligently.

Chatterbox says, "im the only one here that knows TV...im doomed...."

Vypra makes a face. "I never watch TV. I don't get it. Except maybe Animal Cops..."

Pennington, who had been worrying internally and trying not to show it outwardly, suddenly realizes Artemis was talking to her, and she trudges through the snow after her. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Vypra drawls, "I like watchin' dog shows..."

Chatterbox says, "im sure you do . . ."

Vypra frowns. "What da ya mean by that?"

Artemis chuckles at Heahter, "Not really..." She returns shortly, with a handful of wood, and she quickly stacks it into a pyramid shaped camp fire. She reaches into her pocket, to bring out her lighter, and frowns, "Wonder if *this* will work?"

Chatterbox says, "absolutely nothing Ma'am."

Major Bludd nods in return. He sighs. "Sounds like a good plan." He turns to address his Cobra comrades. "C'mon, ladies," he says with a chuckle - he's only just noticed all his fellows are actually women tonight - "we'll be camping here tonight. Help the Joes break up the wagon and make camp."

Vypra looks to Bludd, pretending not to know him. "Need me to help y'all? I'm a whiz at campin'!

Temera settles into the 'camp', and nestles in, trying to keep herself warm still, glancing over towards Jinx and the others.

Chatterbox walks over and sits down. Since he is new to this whole "human" think he kinda sits up....all night....because he didnt know any better....

Artemis flicks her bic, and not even a spark. She slips it back into her pocket, and says simply, "Very well, old fashioned way... WHo wants to go looking for rocks to bang together?" She however, has taken up two sticks, that look the dryiest, and starts making something odd, almost like she is string a bow, with a roll of twine from her back pocket. Once done, she wraps one part of the twine around the other strick, and begins to move the 'bow' back and forth across the other stick.

Major Bludd looks at Vypra, frowning. "We can use all the help we can get, er..." he raises an eyebrow as if asking her something.

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry, this whole situation just has me really..." Pennington sighs uneasily. She nods to Bludd, then hops through the snow as best she can to start breaking pieces off the wagon. She can't think of worse things than being reverted to the days before technology. This could be the days of the cavemen, for all she thinks. "I'll help break down the wagon," she says softly.

Vypra ohs! "Name's Annabelle, but you can call me Anna."

Baroness starts trying to think of what she knows of making camps, peering around at the supplies anad frowning. "At least I m dressed varmly enough for the situation." She gives a dirty look in Temera's direction, and t owards anyone else not warm enough.

Chatterbox says, "you know an interesting question comes to mind...what the hell was in that probe?"

Vypra says, "I can break up firewood as well!"

Chatterbox says, "i mean think about it...if it did this..what could it have done in space if something happened it it?"

Vypra starts tearing up the wagon, showing a lot of strength for her small, slight size.

Lifeline admits to Chatterbox, "That is an *excellent* question...but we can't know, can we...because it isn't here."

Chatterbox says, "how do we know that?"

Artemis sighs softly, as she realizes she probably hurt Heather's feelings. She decides to make it up toher somehow, but first, she has to keep people warm. Ooh, smoke is starting to rise from her sticks, and soon thereafter, she is nursing a small flame. She slowly feeds twigs and some dried pine needles to the growing fire, and moves it under the Pryamid of branches. Soon, there is a warm spot, close to the fire.

"Well, that's confusing," Bludd mutters. "Yes, that'll be appreciated, er, Annabelle." He frowns again. He can't shake the feeling he's seen her face somewhere before. He hates that feeling.

Chatterbox says, "im not entirely convinced it /isn't/ here. Were just missing it"

Vypra breaks up one side of the wagon with gusto. She seems to like breaking things. She brings several slats of wood over to Artemis, and seems pleased at the smoke. "Wow! Yer'n good at this!"

Major Bludd moves around the wagon toward Pennington and helps break the wagon down as well. "How ya holdin' up?" he says softly.

Chatterbox looks at Temera and smiles a hopeful smile like everything is cool "can I get you anything?"

Baroness peers at Anna, nodding just a little bit. " Vell, at least ve have competence for that." She peers over at the Joes, considering them.

Artemis replies simply, to the trailer park reject, "All part of my training. Stay close to the fire, or you will freeze..." She stands up, "The same goes for anyone not wearing Warmer clothing." She looks thoughtful, and asks, "Anyone hungry? I thought I saw some squirrels in the woods over there... I could catch them, if someone wants to rig a way to cook them."

Pennington's feelings aren't hurt, but she is frightened, like someone on a bad drug trip. Her entire young life has revolved around technology, and suddenly nothing works like it should. Suddenly, they're alone with Joes, with no weapons, forced to fend in the freezing cold with a broken covered wagon. As the Major approaches her, she tries very hard not to break down crying, and she succeeds for now, but she feels she may just need to go off and have a good cry later. "...I don't know yet," she admits to him, her voice wavering.

Vypra brightens. "I love squirrel huntin'! Can I help?"

Major Bludd looks up at Artemis and Vypra's voices. "Go ahead. Field rations won't last forever."

Artemis asks Vypra, "Do you need a gun to go hunting? All I have is a knife, my barehands, and maybe a rock or two... If you don't think you can do it with no guns, I'd be better of alone... it's what I am trained for."

Chatterbox looks around "oh...ummm sleep...right....ummm lets see...ummmm....righhht....

Temera shakes her head and sighs. "I'm glad I ate at the launch pad. Too cold for me to be hunting quite yet..."

Vypra frowns at being left behind. "I wish had my gun..."

Major Bludd directs a meaningful look at the young Tele-Viper. "Hold it together, now," he says softly, leaning on a bit of wood he's just pulled from the side of the wagon. "Focus on getting our camp set up for now." He drops the plank and holds his hands up beside his face in an imitation of horse blinders. "Focus on what's in front of you. Okay?"

Jinx steps out of the wagon, having found little of use. She moves over to Temera, and asks her softly, "Anything you need? I have a couple candy bars, or MRE's in my pack..."

Vypra carefully avoids the Baroness's gaze as she returns to the fire, feeding it carefully and preparing the excess firewood to keep it going. Firetending she can do, and do well.

Chatterbox stands up and walks away from everyone

Temera shakes her head to Jinx, settling into the blanket. "No... I'll be okay. We need to be conserving rations anyway." She opens the blanket up. "Coyuld maybe use a warm body in this with me, but..." She shrugs very slightly. "I just get cold too easily for myown good."

Vypra looks over as Temera complains of the cold. "I can build up the fire a bit more. We've got plenty of firewood..."

Chatterbox goes over to a tree where he has a really good sight of the area. He sits down away from everyone. He is being odd...because he is /silent/

Jinx nods, and steps forward, into the blanket, and holds Temera, "I could use a little of the blanket myself..." She steers Temera towards the Fire, "And getting you closer to the fire will help...." She looks around thoughtfully, "If only we had someway of keeping the heat from disappating into thin air.. things would be better. But it seems I left my portable base builder in my other backpack."

Vypra looks over at Jinx. "Base builder? There's plenty of material here to build whatever we need.

Pennington nods. "Mmkay," she nods, focusing on the Major as if her life depended on it. And some part of her finds the logic in what he's saying, realizes that it's essential to all of their continued survival to keep it together. "Focusing," she promises quietly, tearing at one of the wagon boards.

"You know, there's a number of edible plants around here...no one has to kill any animals," Lifeline points out helpfully, to no one in particular.

Vypra continues breaking up the wagon, and builds the fire to a roaring source of heat. Using the rest of the materials from the wagon, she starts to build a little makeshift camp.

The short Sniper, without a gun, is still off in the woods... no sounds can be heard from that direction, which is probably a good thing, since she is hunting squirrels, or rabbits, or any rodents since they are always edible. Plus, the hides, with the fur left on, can be converted to gloves, or moccasions for anyone that needs something a tad warmer than they have.

Baroness frowns just a little bit at the fire work, and glancing around at things, moving somewhere towards a spot where she can be solitary for a bit.

Vypra isn't quite the campter Arte is, but she still knows her way around a fire.

Chatterbox starts to rub his chin and sighs and looks at the stars.

Chatterbox stands up and walks over to Jinx and Temera "permission to go scout. I want to look again at the area where we first arrived."

Major Bludd lays a hand on Pennington's arm, gazing at her briefly before collecting the planks of wood and carrying them over to the side of the fire. He lays them down, turns to look at the rapidly diminishing wagon. "Shouldn't take too long to get that done," he comments, shivering slightly as the heat from the nearby fire makes him aware of just how cold he is.

A Voice can be heard from the wooded area, calling out, "Can someone come help me carry... I have enough to feed everyone... Plus a rather nice surprise for someone who needs clothing..."

Vypra hops up enthusiastically. "I can!"

Vypra hurries into the wooded area

Temera stays quiet, looking to Jinx and biting her lip.

Vypra tries to follow Art's voice.

Artemis smiles as Vypra appears in the woods, "Grab hind section, I'll take the head section." Shortly, Vypra and Artemis reappear carrying Bambi's Mom. This really ought to make Lifeline happy. But at least venison steaks might be up to the Baroness' high standards. Vypra brightens as she sees the dead doe.

Vypra drawls, "All right! Can I help clean it?"

Vypra helps carry the dead deer back to camp

Pennington has become very silent, simply focusing on the wagon and breaking it down into firewood and useable parts. She just keeps working, silently and methodically.

Lifeline sighs as Artemis and Vypra emerge from the woods with a deer. "Well, if it's for survival...I suppose there's nothing wrong with it...but I'm sure that's what the Turner family said before they resorted to cannibalism."

Temera glances over towards Lifeline and makes a distinct face. "Please don't even /think/ about that, when we're out here not even knowing where we are."

Chatterbox just turns around and walks off "with all due respect i dont even need to ask. Its a loophole in command. I'm not "technically" a soldier with a rank like you guys...." He shrugs "i need time to think...and unfortunately no one would understand"

Vypra asks Artemis, "Where do you want to put this?"

Major Bludd returns to the side of the wagon to finish removing the wood planks from it. He pauses as he sees the two women coming back with the doe. "Damn," he mutters, grinning, "at least we won't go hungry." He returns to Pennington's side and continues his work, occasionally glancing to the young woman with concern.

Artemis nods slightly, as she and Vypra carry the doe and drop it near the fire, "Sure. Got a knife?" She glances around, "I field cleaned it out in the woods... I'd recommend not going back out there tonight. The entrails will attract scavengers, and possibly hungry wolves." She glances at Vypra, "Be careful to cut the skin as little as possible. The girl over there..." She motions with her chin at Temera, "...will need the Clothing we can make out of it."

Vypra nods, and pulls out her own rather impressive knife. "Got it!"

Vypra gets her own white tanktop soaked with blood, but doesn't seem to notice.

Artemis glances at Lifeline, and asks, "You a damned Vegan?" She rolls her eyes, and than asks, "Anyone else hate the idea of eating meat, or killing animals, to provide for our own survival and comfort?"

Vypra glances up as she gleefully hacks the skin off the deer, being careful to leave it in as big a piece as possible. "Not me!"

Major Bludd looks up from his work at Artemis on the other side of the wagon, rolls his eyes, and goes back to work.

Vypra assists Artemis, taking her lead. Soon she's covered in blood, but looks very happy about it. She pauses to look in the wagon remains for cooking pans and pots.

Chatterbox heads back to the area in which they first arrived. He starts to look the area over with a fine tooth comb

"Nooo, I'm not what you would call a 'damned Vegan'," Lifeline scoffs, "But there's other ways of sustaining one's nourishment than by killing animals. So long as there's another way, I'll go that route instead," he insists stubbornly.

Pennington offers a faint smile to the Major. "You're hungry? I could help cook, maybe..." She notices Vypra checking out the former wagon's inventory. "...Maybe I can help you cook," she says, perking slightly from her former funk.

Chatterbox continues to search the area all night

Baroness keeps off to herself, peering around at the camping.

Temera blinks a little at ARtemis' comments, biting her lip. "The blanket can be worked into something if it has to be. Or if it warms up any, I can just find something to cinch the skirt shut over the boots, and only need something in the middle."

Artemis nods to Lifeline, "Fine, whatever. More meat for the rest of us..." She shrugs, knowing Lifeline to be a medic, or a doctor, or somesuch, "Think if I make you a pattern, you can turn this hide into a pair of pants, sized for your friend over there? All you have to do, is make sure you keep the fur to the inside, and with her size, one doe hide will do just fine." She glances at Vypra, "If we can't find any pans, or pots, or anything, just get a few long boards, lay them next to the fire, and set the meat out on it. It'll take a bit, but the fire's heat will cook the meat."

Vypra nods to Artemis, catching the gist of her suggestion.

Major Bludd carries another load of wood over to set down near the fire. "Reckon that'll do it, ladies," he says, brushing down his fatigues with his hands. He looks back at the former wagon. "Not much left of the thing." He scuffs a spot clear of snow with his boot and sits down, drawing his legs up and resting his arms on them.

Vypra fails to find any pots for stew, but does find a dented rudimentary pan.

Artemis moves off a bit, "I'll take first watch." What could possibly come after them. Well, Natives, animals...

Vypra says, "Well, I found something. Ain't large, and ain't much, but we can cook a little on it at a time. Can't find any pots for heatin' water, tho. I was hopin' to find somethin' to melt snow in. Did you come across a stream or anything while you were huntin'?" Lifeline ponders, looking to Artemis. "...Actually, yes, I think I could," he says. "It wouldn't exactly be a tailored work of art, but medical stitches *would* hold the hide together." He begins rummaging through the med-pack to locate the stitching thread.

Pennington points toward Vypra's located pan. "I can use that," she says. "Definitely. But you're right, we need more than that for heating water."

Vypra shrugs, and hands over the pan to Pennington. "I'll cut up the meat -- you cook it."

Major Bludd's helmeted head droops, his eye closing. A full day of dealing with his command responsibilities, starting at 0530 after an evening spent with perhaps a bit too much brandy, coupled with the stress of the battle, not to mention the apparent time travel, have combined to take a toll on him. The warmth of the nearby fire seals the deal as fatigue drops a heavy blanket over him.

"Deal," Pennington says. She's not as completely downtrodden now as she was earlier, but the situation is still pretty bizarre. Cooking, she knows cooking. That will be helpful.

Vypra grins. "Great!" she says enthusiastically

As Pennington's waiting, she notices the Major has dropped off to sleep near the fire. "Excuse me, I'll be right back," she tells Vypra, and she heads over to get a blanket from the former wagon's supplies. She shakes it out, then walks over to him and gently drapes it over him. That done, she heads back to cook.

Vypra watches Pennington take care of the Major, and smiles.

Vypra says, "He's very lucky to have you."

Pennington notices Vypra's smile, and she clears her throat awkwardly. "Well. We can't all be...pioneers...out here," she insists. "He'd catch his death if he wasn't covered up."

Vypra nods. "Women should definitely take care of their men."

Major Bludd sleeps on, unaware of Pennington's actions or of the fact he's unintentionally and embarrassingly fallen asleep.

Pennington sighs and blushes. "It's very true," she says, not determining whether she means the rumor is true or if Vypra's general observation about women taking care of men is true.

Lifeline is quietly stitching together a deerhide coat for Temera. It's nothing fancy, but one thing's for certain -- that coat isn't coming apart anytime soon.

Temera listens quietly to that, raising her eyebrows slightly. "Hmm... Maybe." she adjusts her blanket some, and lays it partly on the ground so she can rest. "If I can adjust to the temperature better..." she ponders just a little.

Vypra nods, smiling, and continues cutting up venison steaks for Pennington to cook

"He's going to be annoyed I let him sleep," Pennington guesses with a grin. "He'll be like, 'Pennington. Why did you let me sleep? That's not acceptable.' She giggles. Her impression of him is not entirely off. Lovingly mimicked, of course.

"Ohhhh kay, I think we have some progress here..." Lifeline shows Temera the product of his hard work. "Check it out." He shows her the coat. It's hideous, but it's probably really warm.

Vypra smiles, and spends the evening building up a camp for everyone, then finds a place by the fire to sleep, herself.