Battle in the Neutral Territories

Log Title: Battle in the Neutral Territories Characters: Takedown, Blitzkrieg, and Encore

Location: Neutral Territories - Eastern Equatorial Cybertron

Date: February 17, 2018

TP: Dominicons TP

Summary: In the Neutral Territories, Takedown encounters Blitzkrieg and Encore.

As logged by Takedown - Saturday, February 17, 2018, 1:19 PM

Neutral Territories - Eastern Equatorial Cybertron

 * With war being the most secure factor in Cybertron's long history, one would almost forget "neutral" doesn't have to refer to the absence of an insignia. The Neutral Territories are called as they are because the domain serves as a free settlement zone and trading quadrant to the Cybertronian population. The area is bordered by Uraya, Altihex, Protihex, Praxus and the Sea of Rust.

A tank, black and white.
 * Takedown

Blitzkrieg soars through the skys above the neutral zone, his radar keeping watch for anything interesting, and perhaps something he can pump a little lead into if it fits his fancy.

Encore is... well, there's no real reason why he's out here, officially. But, unofficially, here's where he gets a lot of ingredients for his energon moonshine, and usually out in neutral turf few people have a problem with the Autobot brewmaster, respecting the fact that he's made his bar neutral turf, and enforces that rule with an iron bar.

Right now he's cruising at around 300ft or so off the ground, blasting out some Carpenter Brut from his internal sound-system as he examines the ground below for particular plants and energon springs.

Rumor has it that the Dominicons have also been seen in the Neutral Territories, although their actions and goals have not been determined. At this moment, a black and white riot tank speeds between two of the smaller settlements in the unclaimed areas. With the slow restoration of Cybertron, trade has picked up in these areas, and as the tank bumps along the broken road, it quickly approaches a slow-moving merchant caravan.

Encore spots the Dominicon tank approaching the convoy and cuts his music, circling from a reasonable distance to watch and, if Takedown's intentions are less than honourable towards the convoy, intervene himself. He also gains height, feathering his props and slowing his engines down in order to make himself quieter.

Of course, he's an Autobot renowned for his loudness and huge size, so his attempts to hide may be kiiind of useless. His best hope is to blend in with other air traffic.

Blitzkrieg meanwhile performs a similar maneuver, although if the intention is ill will against the convoy, that just might be fun, and he also prepares to intervene, and not in a good way.

A Messerschmitt ME-262 jet fighter. It consists of a long, bulbous fuselage that is flat on the bottom, ending in a high tail, with a canopy in the middle. Attached to the bottom of the fuselage below the canopy is a pair of swept back wings, each carrying a jet engine close to the fuselage. It is painted in an olive drab base scheme, with the top of the fuselage, wings, and engines painted in that color. The rest, including the tail, is painted in a green-gray color with olive drab spots along it. Instead of the Luftwaffe markings, however, this one sports a Decepticon symbol on the tail section where such markings would usually be.
 * Blitzkrieg

The black and white riot tank slows, although it's unclear if it's because it's approaching the convoy (no, not THAT Convoy) or because it's spotted its aerial shadow. As Blitzkrieg moves in, however, the riot tank speed up again. A hatch opens on its roof, and a large double-barrelled sonic stun gun emerges in a turret. The tank locks its sights on the olive drab ME-262, but holds its fire, closing the distance rapidly.

Encore hadn't even noticed Blitzkrieg; it's not until Takedown locks onto Blitzkrieg that the big Autobot even realises he's there - he follows her aim. The growl of his engines gets louder as he adjusts his heading to make sure both are on his port wing. He arms his weapons systems, but doesn't fire yet, wanting to watch what happens.

As Blitzkrieg picks up the weapons lock, he happens to also get a good look at the tank that is doing so, and after a brief moment, recognizes it. Suddenly he is filled with rage. "VERRATER!" he shouts, his own weapons coming online and acquiring a lock on the tank. "You are traitors to ze Reich, and vill be exterminated like ze whermin you are!" Suddenly his cannons come to live, sending streams of 30mm rounds sailing towards Takedown. "For ze Fuehrer!"

>> Blitzkrieg strikes Takedown with Mk 108 30 Mm Cannon . <<

Encore blinks as he hears Blitzkrieg's words. Traitor..... huh? He zooms in on the jet "Och!" He mutters to himself. "Bastard's a con!"

Well, anyone who the Decepticons consider a traitor can't be that bad, right? And wasn't there a Con-like lass who helped out when the other Luftwaffecon attacked Autobot City? Well, time to repay a favour. And he's got just the gun to do it; one of a similar vintage to the decepticon.

He banks sharply to put Blitzkrieg off his wing, before opening up with a full five-round string, set to proximity detonation!

<>

>> Encore strikes Blitzkrieg with Bofors Cannon . <<

Well, that escalated quickly. The riot tank swerves to try to avoid the 30mm fire, cutting hard to the right and heading away from the caravan, over the uneven metal terrain. << Your 'Fuehrer' is weak, Decepticon, >> she radios. << And you are weak to follow him. >> Letting her reactive armor deal wih the incoming rounds, Takedown focuses on return fire. Racing away from the flying vehicle (not that she'll get far), she turns the turret behind her and fires up into the air at her pursuer. << Back off, Autobot, >> she radios as Encore joins the battle. << This is not your fight. >>

>> Takedown strikes Blitzkrieg with Sonic-Gun . <<

[Broadband] Dominicon Takedown says, "What is it, Autobot?"

[Broadband] 55.5 Suicide Jockey FM DJ Encore says, "You weren't gonna hurt tha' convoy, right?"

[Broadband] Dominicon Takedown says, "No, I'm protecting it from the likes of you and that Decepticon. Neither of you are wanted here. Go home and let me take care of this trash."

Blitzkrieg is riddled by Encores cannon before his is rattled by Takedown's sonic cannon. He remains locked on Takedown. "Zis is not your fight, Autobot, as ze fraulein says. Traitors to ze Reich vill be dealt vith!" He arms his rockets, and sends a pair sailing towards Takedown.

>> Blitzkrieg strikes Takedown with R4m Rocket . <<

[Broadband] 55.5 Suicide Jockey FM DJ Encore says, "Th' local people say I'm wanted. My drinks are wanted. I'm nae here as an Autobot, lass. Long time ago I used tae be in the running fer the best brewmaster on Cybertron. I need ingredients. Now, yer here tae protect people, aye? These are my customers. I'm gonnae look after anyone who looks after them, whether y' like it or not, y'ken?"

[Broadband] 55.5 Suicide Jockey FM DJ Encore says, "Besides. We owe you Decepticon turncoats."

Encore hears Takedown warn him off. His crew holograms exchange looks and he laughs. <>

He laughs. Blitzkrieg's fast strafing run with the rockets puts him off-angle for Encore's guns so the big Autobot begins to turn to put Blitzkrieg back on his left side.


 * BOOM** Takedown's radio chatter is cut off briefly as rockets slam into her, battering her armor and halting her progress. She quickly transforms, smoke pouring off of her as she whips out her laser sidearm and calmly aims at the rampaging Decepticon. << I'll let Knightmare decide if you're welcome or not, Autobot, >> she radios. << In the meantime, if you get in my way, I'll down you myself. >> She opens fire on Blitzkrieg.

>> Takedown misses Blitzkrieg with Laser . <<

[Broadband] 55.5 Suicide Jockey FM DJ Encore says, "You do tha', lass, and the neutrals of Cybertron will curse yer name."

Blitzkrieg barrelrolls to avoid the incoming lasers. "I zink not, Fraulein. It is you are are veak, veak and foolish for zinkink zat ze leadership of ze Fuehrer is flawed!" A pair of incendiary bombs drops from his wings as he makes a fast pass.

>> Blitzkrieg misses Takedown with Incendiary Bomb . <<

[Broadband] 55.5 Suicide Jockey FM DJ Encore says, "'sides, looks like he's handin' yer arse to yez. You need the help."

Encore chuckles and rolls his eyes at the Dominicon's reply. He manges to bank around as Blitzkrieg lets loose the incendiary bombs. His 25mm Equalizer gun spins up to speed and peppers Blitzkrieg with a hail of gatling fire with a rude, flatulent blurt of sound. At the same time, his external speakers begin blasting Scotland the Brave at full volume.

>> Encore strikes Blitzkrieg with Avenger . <<

As incendiary bombs explode around her, Takedown calmly deploys a version of her tank-mounted sonic stun gun onto a shoulder rig. Aiming through the fire, she tracks Blitzkrieg's movement through the sky, adjusts for his speed, lowers dampeners over her own audials, and opens fire. Below the awesome cacophony of her sound cannon, she radios Encore, << I'm hardly getting my 'arse' handed to me. I've taken down tougher targets than this coming out of Maccadam's overenergized. >> She rolls her own optics at Encore's continued interference and choice of battlesong.

>> Takedown misses Blitzkrieg with Sonic-Gun . <<

<> Encore replies, cackling. <>


 * Takedown


 * Standing at the normal height for most seekers, this femme would almost appear to be one of their number, except she would be the stripped down version, weren't it for all the extra armor. A heavy combat helmet covers her small face, with rounded cheeks, and light purple optics, set in dove grey tones. Her chestplate looks kind of seekerish in design, caving into flat armor where her cockpit used to be. Sets firmly on her left chestplate is a white Decepticon symbol against her black armor. Large gauntlets cover her arms, leading to the massive shield she carries attached to her left arm. Her hips carry various security tools, such as retraints, datapads, and of course, her pistol and blackjack. She may look small, after all, but something about that armor belies her true power.

Blitzkrieg is once again riddled by rounds from Encore, his fuselage filled with holes, but his armor plating still holds. "I vill deal vith you after I remofe zis whermin from ze surface of ze planet, Autobot." he says coldly, before firing his more modern weaponry, sending beams of purple energy sailing towards Takedown.

>> Blitzkrieg misses Takedown with Heavy Laser . <<

Encore rolls his eyes. "Evidently I've no' pissed him off enough yet. Och this'll shit in yer cornflakes!" he cackles to himself as servomechanisms load a flat, unpointed shell into his 105mm gun.


 * The noise of the round being fired equals that of some classes of bomb, blowing an almost perfect smoke ring in the air as it spits the shell. It's not aimed to hit Blitzkrieg, however - it's aimed to perhaps ten or fifteen feet off his nose.

When the flashbang detonates, it throws a significant part of the plain into sharp, black-and-white relief. The camera cuts briefly to a view from one of the satelites orbiting Cybertron to show a tiny blink of light on the surface.

The bang part isn't so much heard as felt and seen; an expanding shockwave that leaves tinitus in its wake.

>> Encore strikes Blitzkrieg with 105mm Starburst . <<

>> Blitzkrieg temporarily loses motor functions from the attack! <<

<>

Takedown's light purple optics narrow as she seems to be more annoyed by Encore's taunting than Blitzkrieg's actual assault. She calmly raises her riot shield to protect herself from Blitzkrieg's laser attack. She then crouches down before leaping into the air, shield-first, directly through the shockwave towards Blitzkrieg as he makes his attack. Takedown shuts down her optics as the shell explodes, counting on the audial protection from her own sonic gun to protect her hearing. At the last moment she pulls her shield aside and tries to simply kick the jet out of midair before Blitzkrieg can recover from Encore's attack. << I'm fine, >> she growls over the radio at Encore. << Stop asking! >> Brave and cool, or foolhardy and stupid? Depends on who win the fight and tells the tale.

>> Takedown strikes Blitzkrieg with Kick. <<

Blitzkrieg is overwhelmed by the explosion of the shell, his engines sputtering to a halt and his control systems seizing. Injury is then added to insult as Takedown sends him flying head over heels through the air before gravity finally re-asserts itself, and he comes crashing to the ground with a tremendous boom.

Although she might be an ex-Con, she's a Cybertronian after his own heart, whether it be bravery or foolhardiness that drives her. Encore's not a member of the Suicide Jockeys for nothing after all.

<> He laughs, performing a very neat sideslip to keep the plummeting Me-262 in his sights. He doesn't fire again, although he does frown.

<<Hey, Fritz, yae had'nuff yet? Go back to yer overlord, tell him this area's neutral turf. It belongs tae th' people who live here, nae us, nae them.>>

Takedown uses a combination of her agility, anti-gravs, and toughness to stick the landing, and then rises up slowly, lowering her shield to her side. She narrows her optics again, but doesn't take them off Blitzkrieg long enough to glare at Encore - she's not one to count any opponent, Autobot or Decepticon, down until she's TAKEN them down. She starts walking slowly across the shattered plain towards the shattered plane.

The stun wearing off, Blitzkrieg resolves to himself that he is not done yet. If the caravan is so precious, then time to remove it from the equation. Acting like he is still out for a few moments, he then quickly transforms, lifting a large launcher, and firing an incendiary bomb at the middle convoy vehicle. "If zis confoy is so precious, zen I vill send it to oblifion!"


 * The ME-262 begins to break apart as the tail section splits to become a pair of legs. The wings split apart as the engines fold backwards, the wings themselves becoming arms. The front of the fuselage folds down and snaps in place revealing his head, and Blitzkrieg stands before all.

Encore growls a little, transforming and dropping like a -brick-, his wings tucked in tight as he attempts to -intercept- the bomb, hand outstretched ready to catch and - in theory at least - throw it back towards its owner before it detonates.

He's not really thought about the landing, and from the way he's outstretched, it's going to be an ugly one.

"I did not think this throoouuuugh...."

Unfolding with the whir of a transformation cog, Encore assumes his robot mode.

"Noo!" Takedown yells, and fires her anti-gravs again, raising her shield and flying pell-mell towards the caravan, trying desperately to outrace the bomb and stop it from destroying the caravan full of innocent merchants... well, not exactly innocent, since they're transporting untaxed enershine across neutral community borders, but you get the point. Sliding under Encore as he misses the catch, she tries to simply block it with her shield and take the hit - also not considering that even if she stops it, she is still under an Autobot who's dropping like an anvil...

GAME: Takedown FAILS an AGILITY roll of Extreme difficulty.

"KEEP MOVIN' LASS!" Encore shouts downwards.

Blitzkrieg lets out a cackle of glee as the bomb sails through the attempts to catch it, and it impacts the vehicle, and the moonshine it is carrying. A thermite and magnesium explosion ignites, and the resulting fireball is enough to light the area for miles. "It shall burn! Feel zee whrath of zee Decepticons!" he hollers as he fires yet another towards the lead vehicle.

GAME: Encore FAILS an AGILITY roll of Above Average difficulty.

Takedown does, in fact, keep moving. Letting out a scream of pure rage, she banks around in midair, raising her shield and charging full-speed towards Blitzkrieg. "This land is under our protection, and you will pay for that assault, Decepticon!" she cries, and attempts to simply slam into Blitzkrieg at speed, in an ideal world both killing him and stopping his attack. ;D "Save the civilians!" she yells back at Encore.

>> Takedown misses Blitzkrieg with Slam. <<

Encore attempts to divert himself from landing on Takedown, but he has very little effect on his direction. "MOVE IT!" Encore shouts, by way of warning that he's coming in hot.

He lands like an anvil, with very little lateral momentum. He hits so hard he bounces, a jumble of wings and limbs.

"...ow." He mutters, quietly, spitting energon before a hand emerges from the little crater he dug himself on impact. He hauls himself to his feet.

"Lass, quit thinkin' with yer anger and think with yer brain." He calls. "You go help the civs, you're the fast, agile one. I'm a fatarse. And I'm the one who's better suited tae educating this wee shit."

It's true. Standing on his own feet now, he's taller then Optimus Prime - perhaps taller than Megatron, even. He looks over at Blitzkrieg. "Typical /weak/ Decepticon." He growls. "Look at you. Going after the defenseless when there's a perfectly valid target standing here in front of you. You coward. You disgust me."

GAME: Takedown PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of Very Little difficulty.

"You dare to call me veak!?" Blitzkrieg yells as he stands, his weapon coming into his hands. "Veak are zose who protect zee sheep instead of eatink zem! Veak are zose who do not take zat vhich is zere for ze takink, turnink zere backs on zere vealth of zee uniferse! But I am not. And I shall profe it to you." he says, his optics narrowing as he pulls the trigger, sending a stream of hot lead towards Encore. If his intention was to get Blitzkrieg mad enough to turn away from the civvies, he's accomplished it!

>> Blitzkrieg misses Encore with Mk 108 30 Mm Cannon <Medium>. <<

Takedown curses as Blitzkrieg gets out of the way. She lands hard, rolls, and comes up onto one knee, flicking her wrist to deploy her stun-stick, ready to continue the fight. Encore's words seem to penetrate her thick helmet, however, and she pauses, briefly overwhelmed by cognitive dissonance. But... Autobots are for saving civilians, not Decepticons. Planebots are fast, not tankcons. But after the briefest of hesitations, she frowns and transforms again, leaving Blitzkrieg to Encore's tender mercies and putting her own police training into action, racing across the ragged plains to rescue as many merchants as she can.

Encore grins. Mission accomplished, now what? Oh! Now's when he gets shot at, that's right. He ducks and rolls to one side, coming up in a neat three-point crouch. It's a three-point crouch because he's got one of his 105mm shells Cradled in his right arm, tight up against his chest and further guarded on that side by one of his wings. "I wish Fanfare was 'ere." He mutters quietly, looking to his left.

"Ten-thirty-one, HUT!" And the big autobot begins to charge towards Blitzkrieg, shoulders ducked with murder in his eyes. As he gets close, Encore leaps into the air, raising the shell high above his head in both hands before attempting to make a touchdown on top of the Nazicon's head. With a live artiller round.

Yeah he's not exactly the sharpest tool in the drawer.

>> Encore strikes Blitzkrieg with 105mm Shell <Medium>. <<

>> Encore misses Encore with 105mm Shell <Medium>. <<

This wasn't what Blitzkrieg was expecting, and before he can even react, he's got a live artillery round exploding right on his cranial unit. The blast sends him flying backwards to slam into the ground... again. His audio sensors ringing, he shakes his head and looks at Encore with optics that are showing cracks. Energon begins to leak from his joints, but this Decepticon isn't done yet. "So zat is how you vant to play it zen." he says. "Whery vell... zen ve vill play zis game." He pulls a large rocket from his inventory, and cocks his arm back. "I beliefe zey flesh creatures call zis ze long bomb!" He fires his arm forward, sending the missile flying towards Encore.

>> Blitzkrieg strikes Encore with R4m Rocket <Medium>. <<

Out of the corner of her optic, Takedown witnesses Encore's near-suicidal attack as she's pulling bodies from the caravan. She shakes her head - and she thought the Wreckers were crazy. Encore was right, though - she has the training for this, and if she'd stayed to fight, these people would have died. Instead she barely pulls them from the wreckage in time, administering first aid and keeping them alive in time for trained medical staff to arrive. The cargo may be lost, but the merchants were saved - a rare turnaround for the former Decepticon.

Takedown winces as Blitzkrieg returns the favor. She doesn't care about what happens to the Autobot, right? They are temporary allies, no more than that.

Encore has just enough time to look up at the missile with a look of 'well, shit' before it detonates on his chest, blasting the Autobot back. He rolls over and hauls himself back to his feet, shaking his head. "Och aye, I know tha' one myself. Fans an I dae it better, though. I'd show yez, but he's nae aroon'." He spits out a few broken dental-plates, giving Blitzkrieg a grudging nod.

"Yer gonna wish we had a referee by th' time I'm done wit' you, laddie." He growls, reaching into his sporran and pulling out a pair of titanium knuckles. He slips them on, and then charges in to continue the melee, bellowing something incoherent and Scottish. He's moved beyond words now, putting raw emotion into sound. And this sound is: Anger.

>> Encore strikes Blitzkrieg with Sucker Punch. <<

The German-Decepticion may now realise why the Scottish have always been England's shock-troopers.

Blitzkrieg winces as the fist hits its mark, energon flying from his mouth as he staggers backwards. "So, fist to fist, foot to foot zen. I vill crush you vith my bare hands!" He lurches forward, arms out as he looks to tackle Encore to the ground. "Zere vill be no vhistle to zis fight!"

>> Blitzkrieg misses Encore with Slam. <<

Encore leans out of the way of Blitzkrieg's tackle. He... actually makes it look a bit graceful, leaning way back and using the tips of his wings as skids to allow the tackling Decepticon to pass by him. He powers his engines and lifts himself into the air slightly, trying to elbow-drop onto the centre-middle of the passing Con's back!

"Laddie! I've been fighten' in bars since before th' War. Prepare fae an education."

>> Encore strikes Blitzkrieg with Stomp. <<

Blitzkrieg is sent flying forward as he lets out a grunt, slamming into the ground with an 'OOF!'. Sparks fly from cracks in his armor. In short, he now looks like he's been through a dozen firefights at once. He may be tough, but he's not stupid. "Whery vell, Autobot.." he says weakly. Getting to his feet. "You vin zis von.. but I vill not forget it. We vill meet again." He transforms, his engines flaring as he takes to the sky, drops of fuel leaking a trail behind him.


 * Blitzkrieg's legs fold together to form his tail section as his arms unfold into a pair of wings, his engines folding down and locking into place. His chest folds up to cover his head and his transformation into an ME-262 is complete.

>> Blitzkrieg retreats from the area, escaping all attackers. <<

Encore watches Blitzkrieg go with a growl. Just before he vanishes over the horizon, Encore raises a hand displaying a single finger in his wake, before returning to check on the convoy, and the Dominicon. He's bleeding a little, and dented, but somehow it only adds to the rough Glasgow brawler-brewer look he's got. He pulls a cobalt-lithium-copper cigar from somewhere, shaking it out of his tube and lighting up.

"Bastard." He mutters, sourly.

Takedown gets the wounded medivacked to the nearest settlements, and then starts to walk back across the broken plain towards where Encore stands dramatically in victory, smoking his cigar. She's quiet as she approaches, optics narrowed and a slight frown touching her dove-grey face. She stops just a little ways from Encore, and boldly surveys him up and down, taking in his form and condition.

Encore is more looking sourly after the Decepticon. "Bastard." He repeats, before looking around. He pauses as he sees Takedown and gives her a slight wave. "Everybody make it?"

Takedown nods slightly. "Yeah," she reports. After a long pause, she adds, "You were right. You handled him pretty well - it was better that I do the smart thing, rather than let pride blind me to what was needed." She pauses again. "I'm not sure what Knightmare will say about you gathering supplies here, but I'll tell her what you did and what your reason is for being here, and we'll see what she says." Takedown looks towards the horizon in the direction in which Blitzkrieg retreated.

Encore looks over, then reaches into his pockets and offers her a cigar too. "Good. It's... wha' I dae. I'm a Suicide Jockey... you've heard of the Wreckers, aye? Who d'ya think's crazy enough tae transport 'em." He chuckles. "Name's Encore. I'm here tae get brewing materials, tha's all. If she wants tae talk to' me, I run a bar out on Toraxxis. Everyone's welcome."

Takedown accepts the cigar, lights it, and puffs slowly, thinking carefully before answering. "I'm Takedown. Dominicon. Ex-Decepticon. We're expanding our territory. Megatron has become weak - he can no longer protect the planet of Cybertron. Frankly, the Autobots haven't done a great job either." She uses the cigar to gesture at the accumulated destruction around her. "You don't cause any trouble, though - I won't get in your way unless ordered to by Knightmare herself," she promises. A slight smile touches her face. "And maybe I'll check out that bar. The Rollout, right?"

Encore nods "Aye, we've nae done tha' good a job but we dinnae 'zactly have th' resources the Cons have." He admits. "We're a rag-tag rebellion, th' fact we can protect anything at all is frankly a testament tae all th' good folks we've got." He takes a pull of his cigar. "Aye, the Rollout. Neutral turf, everyone's welcome. Nothing flies but insults an' punches. Like the bars used to be, in th' old days."

Takedown chuckles, puffing the cigar. "I remember those old places. Used to dance in a few, as a matter of fact." She smiles at the memory of her checkered past. She seems to come to a decision. "Yep. I'll definitely check it out. Have to keep an optic on the movements of our enemies, right?" she smirks. "Besides," she says, glancing at the burning caravan. "I won't be able to get a decent drink around here for a while..."

Encore looks over at the burning caravan, frowning. "Tha's what it was?" He frowns deeper, stomping over and picking up a piece of a keg. "...this is one o' mah kegs." He sounds surprised. He looks back at her. "Leave it wit' me, aye? I probably have a wee bit I can spare."

Takedown shakes her head. "It's a damned shame." She finishes the cygar, and flicks the butt into the fire. "Well, I'd better report this to Knightmare. Stay out of trouble, Encore. And..." she sighs, as if this is painful to say. "Thanks for the help."

Encore smiles "It's neutral turf. Any aggressors gotta be seen off, aye?" He smiles. "If yae catch me droppin' something on radar tomorrow... check it oot, aye? Might be a pallet or two of booze."

Takedown chuckles. "I will. Thank you." With a smile and a shake of her head, Takedown departs.

Encore resumes gathering ingredients, on foot for now.