PHD #292: EVENT - Worse Than Its Bite
Worse Than Its Bite
Summary: Search and rescue mission to the ghost town of Ganymede. Pets suck.
Date: 15 Dec 2041 AE
Related Logs: Tauron stuff in general, none in particular
Players:
Cameron Corrath Leyla Ryder NPC Hydra 
Tauron
Given in set.
Post-Holocaust Day: #292

Dateline Ganymede. Even in its day, the small mining settlement in the hills of Mycenaedd Province town wasn't much to speak of. And it's day passed by decades before the bombs fell. The ore in the mines dried up and the investors moved on to richer pastures, leaving the place to slowly but surely decay into a ghost town as its residents one by one left to make their lives elsewhere. It had little left to interest of anyone when the bombs fell. Which meant it was spared the worst of the nuclear payload that rained down on Taurons cities and great factories that day.

Faint signs picked up by Raptor fly-overs, strengthened by what other survivors on the planet have heard, hint that some might have taken refuge here after the blast. Though if they did, they've been a long time in the hills removed from even former civilization, cut-off and alone. So it's with a mixture of hope and trepidation the search party from Cerberus unloads from the Raptor, which has just touched down on the outskirts of little Ganymede. Preliminary readings from the Raptor's scans did show signs of…something. Heat signatures, suggestive of faint signs of life stirring somewhere in the ghost town. But precisely where, and whether they are actual humans or just a cluster of rodents of *very* unusual size remains to be seen.

Dressed in the typical marine combat garb, Corrath's pulling the goggles down over his eyes once the raptor's ouched down and when the hatch open's, he's simply moving to the door and then hopping down to the wing before moving to the ground. The rifle he carries is craddled almost casually in his arms as eyes shift about to scan the area before drifting back to the Raptor and those inside, "Alright folks, standard SAR protocols apply. Let's get the buildings and surrounding area's checked and see what we can find. Do -not- fire on anything unless fired upon or given the command."

Capt. Joe Ryder, only recently reinstated as a medical officer, frowns as he looks around the ghost town. "We heard people were heading this way, said it was safe." He grunts. "Safe. No tillable earth, even when the town survived it had all the food trucked in. You could only live on what you foraged." He hefts his medical bag over a shoulder. "Nothing much to forage, here. Bad way to die." Still, he double checks his pistol in his holster. Old marine instincts die hard.

Cameron's been busy lately over on the civilian ship, Elpis, getting himself and, ironically his adopted daughter 'Elpis' settled in, as well as helping out in the new Sickbay. As such, he hasn't been spending as much time aboard the Cerberus lately and has missed much of the hubbaballo there… like the arrival of one Dr. Ryder. Or Captain Ryder. Cameron's really not sure which title takes precedence. As such, Cameron has been studying the grizzled and unfamiliar man somewhat curiously, his own medkit strapped to his back as he moves out along with the rest of the search party into Ganymede. His weapon is free of its holster, but pointed at the ground with the safety on for now. Generally he lets the Marine's do the shooting, but it seems that someone decided that maybe the doc should have a weapon this time.

Leyla's kept mostly to herself, as she's sat in the back of the raptor, mumbling to herself, mostly, though anyone who might be familiar with Taurian, or with languages in general might be able to gather that she's going through phrases in her native tongue in a series of separate dialects. Hey, it keeps her occupied on the trip over, but she does at least pipe down once the arrival is announced. Once the rapor is skids down, she's on her feet, checking over the combat dress she's been kitted out in, adjusting her sidearm, before she follows the man in charge out of the ship. She does offer a glance to Cameron, whom she knows, and Ryder, whom she doesn't, "You two alright?" There is a nod, for Corrath, "Yes, Lieutenant."

There is no immediate sign of human presence on the fringes of Ganymede. Just old houses and the odd shop, windows broken and stone tile roofs caved in by nature and time long before a Cylon ever set metal foot on Tauron. The paving in what were the streets in cracked and broken away in most places, more dirt than concrete left, weeds sprouted up through the remnants of Main Street. The air is cold and there's a faint breeze off the mountains, which makes a soft whistling sound as it blows through the broken windows.

Once everyone off's the craft, Corrath's looking to Leyla, giving her a quick nod of his head, "Lieutenant, if we run into anyone, you're going to be up, though I'll want you to stay behind me somewhat in case they prove to be hostile." Eyes flit to Cameron, to whom he gives a quick smile, "You can holster that for now, Doctor. Hopefully, you won't need to make use of it." It's over to Ryder, then, "Captain, you ever been up in this area before?" Turning back, he's beginning to make his way over towards the ramshackled houses, eyes playing out in front and across the ground, "Can't see anyone being holed up here. Take a miracle to stay alive in this place."

Looking around at Leyla, Ryder smiles. "Doin' fine, eltee." He is opening his mouth to answer Corrath when his head jerks. He holds up a hand, and getting Corrath's attention nods a bit ahead, towards the General Store. "Something in the alleyway, I think. Only just saw it, though."

After the insanity of his last mission it feels good to be on a far more rational and practical sort of mission, looking for survivors rather than eagles and sparrows and nonsense. Blue eyes flicker over to Leyla as the doctor nods with a quick smile and assures her, "I'm good." Taking some leave and downtime to be with Elpis and work on the new ship was a good move on his part. Cameron feels quite a bit more himself. He gives Corrath a nod and holsters the weapon. His attention shifts once more to their surroundings as he moves along, eyes narrowing in concentration. "Don't see any signs of human life," he muses aloud, studying the ground along with the buildings. "Tracks, but animals only and… whoa, hey, yeah," he offers in confirmation to Ryder's words, his head tilting in that direction. "What he said… just saw a shadow move, like it was ducking into the alley…"

"Not a miracle, really," Leyla offers, as she indicates the traces of what might or might not be paw marks on the ground. "Just a strong stomach." But she does stay somewhat behind Corrath, as instructed, waiting for his leave to engage the locals, if such even exist in any way. "A body can live on anything, if it has to." She's just saying. Also keeping her eyes peeled, and ears as well.

Before he has a chance to say anything further, Corrath's attention is caught by Ryder and Cameron's observation and when it's drawn in the direction of that alley, there's a faint cluck of his tongue. Lifting a hand, he's motioning to the wall directly adjacent to the alley, "Alright, move out to the wall adjacent to the alley. Captain, keep on eye on our rear, please. I don't want people sneaking up." That said, the Marine El-Tee begins to jog over to press himself against the wall, no doubt so that he can end up looking around the corner and into the alley.

"Aye, eltee…" Ryder says with a grin, allowing the others to pass him as he starts to keep an eye out behind them. His hand rests on the holster of his weapon but he doesn't pull it, just calmly keeps his eye open. Sure, he'd rather have been on point, but back in the Fleet, back with the regs. He grins at Leyla as he walks by. "And you, eltee? How are you?"

"I'm always alright," comes Leyla's answer, as she moves into line with the rest of the troop, such as it is. Behind Corrath, but ahead of Cameron. Not that she'd be much good at blocking a head or upper body shot aimed at the much taller man now behind her, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right? But she's silent again, still trying to see if she can see or hear anything, besides the traces of animal life.

"We've been seeing a lot of proof of that lately," Cameron concurs with both Leyla and Ryder. "I'm just grateful that the stock available on Aerilon was a mite bit tastier and likely healthier than what's here on Tauron…" Cameron is more than willing to stay toward the back where he belongs. Sure, he knows how to shoot a gun, but he wouldn't want anyone's life depending upon it.

Suddenly, a very different noise than the faint whistling wind sounds through the decaying streets of Ganymede. It's not howling, precisely. At least, not the full-bodied, deep-voiced howl of a wolf. It's more a high-pitched, yipping baying. And it has a desperate, frenzied edge to it.

Looking around the corner of the alley, Corrath was half-expecting to find a human and what he see's draws a muffled curse, "Oh, frak. That doesn't look tasty." Stepping away from the wall, a hand lifts to motion -past- the alley, something that he's verbalizing, "Wild dogs, folks. Gnawing on bones. Just move on past the alley and try not to attract their attention." Hands tighten around the rifle, bringing the butt of it up to his shoulder now.

"What the frak…" Ryder glances around back at the alley, and smiles when he hears about the dogs. "Great feral beasts were a real problem everywhere. Kill 'em if they move to attack you… they're not pets anymore." He chuckles to himself. "Old man scared of ghosts. Next thing I'll be on a wooden porch tellin' stories…"

"The foot bone is no longer connected to the shin bone." Completely deadpan, as Leyla manages to peek around Corrath far enough to catch sight of the two dogs bedding down to their dinner. She draws her weapon, slowly, and carefully, blatantly using Corrath's body as cover, to hide her movements from the dogs looking in their direction, before she attempts to pass the gap of the alleyway.

The yelping causes Cameron to shiver slightly, or perhaps it's just the chill of the air. "We had more trouble with wolves than dogs, but aye," he agrees, a little more of his native accent creeping into his normally Caprican tonality, "they can be just as much trouble and won't hesitate to attack if they think we're fair game." He keeps moving along, but he's flipped the safety off on his gun now, even if he keeps it holstered.

The attention of the wild dogs is already attracted by the warm-blooded, meaty search party, however. With a growl, the pair in the alley lunge toward Leyla and Corrath. They're wild-eyed and emaciated creatures, nearly starved, fur matted and patched. They'd be rather sad, were they not slavering and lunging. And they aren't alone. Around the party, more sounds of yelping answer the call of those dogs in the alley. The pack is coming.

Leyla's comment draws a soft chuckle from Corrath, though it's quickly cut off as the dogs begin to lunge, "Whoa! Good doggies! Sit! Roll over!" With the weapon already lifted to his shoulder, it's a fraction of a second before the barrel of the weapon is lifting towards the rabid dog that's rushing towards him and with only the briefest of moments to aim, his finger is pulling back on the trigger. At least he does mention, "Weapons free!"

He just had to open his big mouth, didn't he? "Nice shooting!" He calls out, turning his attention to the second. His pistol had been in his hand, and firing, before he'd even thought about it. Old instincts, he supposed. "Drop 'em all, and make it quick. Nothing should have to suffer like this."

He just had to open his big mouth, didn't he? "Nice shooting!" Ryder calls out, turning his attention to the second. His pistol had been in his hand, and firing, before he'd even thought about it. Old instincts, he supposed. "Drop 'em all, and make it quick. Nothing should have to suffer like this."

Since everybody is pretty much in front of them, and Cameron is by no means the best shooter here, the doctor wisely does not enter the fray with the rest but instead draws his weapon and turns about as he hears the howls and cries of the rest of the pack drawing in for what must seem like an easy meal. Surprise! He hears the shots fired behind him, the cries and yelps of the wounded animal or animals. But for himself, Cameron keeps his eyes on their back and flank, making sure that he's positioned such that no humans are in his line of fire. Just to be safe. Arms extended, Cameron holds his place and waits, glancing over his shoulders on occasion to see how everyone else is doing.

Leyla is already drawing her weapon, as Corrath gives the weapons free, but being that she's still mostly behind him, and he's more focused on the dogs incoming, perhaps he won't notice. And just to make things safer, she moves slightly out from behind him. Sure she got trained up at the Academy, and she's kept up practice since then, but she's no Marine. And nobody wants to see the S2 sporting a few new bullet holes. So out into the line of fire, as it were, as she takes aims and fires at the first dog incoming.

The dog jumping toward Corrath goes down in a hail of bullets, falling in mid-lunge. The other does Leyla no harm, but continues to snap and growl at her visciously. Meanwhile, the yipping grows closer and closer. The pack is converging.

As the first dog leaps at Corrath and goes down in a hail of bullets, there's barely a flinch from the man, though he does wrinkle his nose a little bit. "Gods damn mutts. Go away!" Unfortunately, there's more to deal with and with a slight adjustment of his body, the barrel of his rifle is being swing towards the second dog just as his finger depresses the trigger, sending a trio of bullets at the creature.

One down and one practically right in her face. A few inches more and it might have actually managed to bite her face off, instead of just hitting her chest. Leyla, however, isn't the forgiving sort. She is not for dinner, and she takes aim, trying to put down the dog still attacking her, all the while trying to avoid getting her limbs in biting range. Pets suck.

Turning to face the new arrivals, Ryder squeezes off another shot, and grins as the beast goes down when Cameron hits it in the neck. "Nice shot, Doctor! Keep it up, and these poor beasts will be out of their misery soon enough." Another target, another pull of the trigger.

Cameron remembers what Vandenberg showed him, as sure enough as soon as the dogs come into sight, Cameron picks one, aims, and fires. In all honesty? He expected to miss the thing. After all, shooting a paper target is quite a bit different than shooting a fast moving target. So when his bullet pierces the lead dog through the throat, killing him dead instantly, Cameron actually blinks and whispers to himself, "No frakkin' way….." He glances over his shoulder to realize that Ryder has turned around to join him, the sudden veer of the dog he had been targeting suddenly making sense to him. But the others are easily holding their own it would seem, so his attention veers back to the remaining pack coming from behind.

Cameron remembers what Vandenberg showed him, as sure enough as soon as the dogs come into sight, Cameron picks one, aims, and fires. In all honesty? He expected to miss the thing. After all, shooting a paper target is quite a bit different than shooting a fast moving target. So when his bullet pierces the lead dog through the throat, killing him dead instantly, Cameron actually blinks and whispers to himself, "No frakkin' way….." He glances over his shoulder to realize that Ryder has turned around to join him, the sudden veer of the dog he had been targeting suddenly making sense to him. But the others are easily holding their own it would seem, so his attention veers back to the remaining pack coming from behind. He gives Ryder a crooked smile and offers a surprisingly chirpy, "Thanks!"

Indeed, the viscious snap and lunge the wild creature aims at Leyla's chest is stopped cold by her vest. The creature seems barely to notice. The Colonials are probably the first things even resembling a decent meal they've seen in months, and they're nearly frenzied with the prospect of something with meat on its bones. The rest of the pack has arrived, snarling and making that high-pitched, increasingly desperate yipping noise.

Another shot, another hit, but this time… "Godsfrakkit, get off me!" There is a Dog attached to Ryder's leg, and he's not at all happy about it, forced to be a bit less aggressive with his shooting.

One more down, and now one on their side as well, as Leyla catches sight of one of the new arrivals taking a rather nasty bite out of Cameron's arm. Leyla doesn't even stop to think about it, as she turns to try to get the dog off of the doctor, before they lose the man and Boots kills her for letting the biomech guy go before he got shanghaied into service.

Cameron take a breath, takes aim, and shoots. The yelp of the dog and the sight of blood on his chest gives the doctor a false moment of elation that is quickly doused when the animal just keeps on charging him. What the frak? What are these, super dogs? He tries to take aim but it's too late, the animal on him again. Throwing out his left arm defensively, Cameron shouts in pain as the dog's teeth bite down onto his flesh, the slight weight and speed of the animal enough to knock him off his feet. He lifts the weapon toward the dog and fires once more.

That second dog seems to be just a little more sturdier then it's counterpart and just as Corrath puts another three rounds into it, he's feeling the sudden pressure of something hitting him as one of the other dogs lunges at him. Thankfully, his armor absorbs the blow, though it does take him to take a side step. Eyes play out to the others and seeing both Ryder and Cameron being munched on, the S2 is forced to ignore his own .. assailant for the moment. The weapon is shifted in the direction of the forth dog before he's calling out, "Stay still, Captain!"

There's a surprising amount of force behind the teeth of the creatures, starved though they are. The gunshots really should have frightened them off by now but, though they yelp in pain, they don't flee. Maddened by months living off rats and gods knows what else in this dead town. They do not scatter easily.

"I'll be damned if I'm going to stand still!" Ryder barks as his shot misses… likely something to do with the large animal hanging from his arm. "Just kill it, already!"

Leyla barely has a moment to aim, drawing down on the dog lunging at Cameron, when it loses its balance, likely from Cameron tumbling back onto the ground. The shock manages to knock the animal free of the good doctor, but rather than try to get a good grip on him again, it instead lunges at the next closest standing target, which would be Corrath. And away we go, as Leyla attempts to retarget and get a shot in.

It doesn't make sense. One minute he's on the ground with a dog on top of him, gnawing on his arm…. the dog, that is, the next minute the dog has abandonned his apparently downed prey to go for an upright, unwounded one? Humminawha?? But realization dawns on Cameron as he's twisting to aim his weapon at the frenzied animal. The fall threw them both for a loop, as it were. His shot once again rings true, fired only seconds after Leyla's, both bullets piercing the dogs chest with painful tragic yelps before the animal collapses in a bloody pathetic heap.

"I'm trying! But with you dancing about like that, I can't exactly get a clear shot!" That's Corrath's reply to Ryder and thankfully, his bullet doesn't strike the Doctor. A second dog joins the first in the assault on his armor, causing the S2 to grunt, "Thank gods for stupidity amongst animals." Keep aim on the dog that seems to want to devour Ryder, the Marine simply lines up another shot.

There's a whine as the wild creature falls under Leyla and Cameron's combined fire. His packmate continues to (rather uselessly) try to devour Corrath through his armor. Stupidity amongst animals indeed. The beast on Ryder has had more luck finding blood, however, which has only made is slaver more. It snaps, revealing rows of large, pointed and bloody teeth.

Amazingly, the pilot has not shot 1: herself, 2: any of her team, 3: herself, yes twice, as she aims at the dog going for the newly arrived doctor. He's rather spry for an old man, but hey, she knows better than most that old doesn't mean slow. Ahem. The next dog goes down, before the last, or so she would hope gets her full attention.

Since everyone else is occupied either shooting dogs or being eaten by them, Camerons takes this moment to scuttle away, not trusting his aim in close quarters and needing to take care of his arm just as quickly as possible. Opening his pack, he pulls out razor sharp scissors, cutting through his sleeve and pouring Bloodstopper over the bleeding bite before quickly wrapping it up in some gauze. He keeps all of these things at the ready, waiting till the dog attacking Ryder is taken out before he moves in to try to patch him up in turn.

Ryder jumps back as the Dog that had been having a Ryder snack finally falls to all those irritating bits of metal in its flesh. "New scars…" he mutters to himself. "Lovely." Seeing the last of the beasts moving for Corrath, he lifts his good arm to take a shot at it. "What… uh… thanks, Doctor." Good battlefield medic, this guy…

Thankfully, under the combined fire, the dog that's munching on Ryder manages to finally go down, though this does have Corrath snorting as he looks down to his rifle. "What the frak am I shooting? Rubber-frakking-bullets?" Mental note: Replace rubber bullets with real ones. There's still the issue of the leaping and lunging dog that's trying to gnaw on him through his chest armor and it's only now that he's turning his weapon towards the dog, "Just … die, damnit!"

Hooray! Leyla has not just shot the poor S2 in the face. She has, however, manages to get a good shot in on its chest. Bionic dog just won't go down. Mayhaps not all cylons are humanoid. But what they hey, she takes a moment to line up another shot at it's chest. Always aim for center mass, when you don't want to royally frak up what you're not shooting at.

It isn't easy, shooting while being bandaged. Ryder knew that from experience, though he really could have done without relearning that particular lesson again. "Thank you," he says to Cameron, as he sights on the Dog. Corrath has a friend, though it seems too stupid to go for the soft, juicy bits.

It only takes a moment for Cameron to realize that the bite to the leg is the more serious of the two injuries, cutting the pants open before liberally sprinkling the wound with Bloodstopper. He places the scissors and pouch within easy reach, giving Ryder a crooked pained sort of smile as he notes, "Thanks, Doctor…. go ahead and heal thyself up a bit if you like. I'll get this bandaged, but I'm sure you'd like to stop that from bleeding all over you as well…" Cameron is a bit hampered, so his movements are not as fast as normal as he uses his left arm as little as possible. But it doesn't take long before he's got that leg nicely wrapped up, eyes lifting up as he offers, "You're welcome. Hell of an introduction, eh? I'm Cameron. Cameron Adair." Seeing as how the man is shooting rather than fixing himself up, Cameron does his best to stay out of his aim and then quickly cuts the sleeve away and pours on the Bloodstopper.

Only one of the emaciated creatures remain. Still trying to make a meal out of Corrath's armor. It's like MP canine training. Only with a slightly higher chance of rabies.

With a lunging dog leaping at various parts of his body, Corrath has decided that firing down at it isn't the wisest of moves. He's come to value his feet, after all. So, the rifle is simply turned in his arms, allowing him to use the butt of the rifle as his new weapon. "If either of you hit me, I'm expecting a bottle of booze as payment. Just for the record." It's then that he tries to simply bludgeon the poor creature to death.

As the last beast falls, Ryder checks his ammo and then reholsters the gun. He glances down at his wounds and shakes his head. "Bloody stupid of me. Should have brought my rifle, frak the regs say doctors carry pistols." He examines the bandaging and grins. "Hell of an introduction, indeed. Joe Ryder, and a very good pleasure to meet you." He looks over at the others. "Anyone else need any medical attention?"

Sitting back and wiping his brow with his uninjured arm, Cameron shakes his head and notes, "I'm just grateful I got to carry a weapon at all this time. Damn good thing too. Damn good thing I've been practicing to boot." He glances about at the others before turning his head back to Ryder and laughing roughly, the adrenaline fizzing in his veins like seltzer water. "Just us it seems. Figures right? The doctors are the wounded?"

"I think I need a seamstress," offers Leyla, as she looks down at her savaged vest. "But the rest of me seems to be alright. I don't think I'd be able to do better than the both of you on each other, though, but I'll help if I can." Her weapon is holstered, before she moves closer to the two medical men, "What's the move, Lieutenant?"

The last dog does go down, though it's probably not from Corrath's clubbing and more from the barrage of bullets that had hit it before. But that doesn't seem to stop the S2, for even as the dog slumps to the ground, he's continuing to pound the butt of his rifle into the creatures head for a good minute or so longer. When he finally straightens up and turns his rifle back around, he's grunting softly before mutter something about 'Good dog' and 'Play dead'. Eyes flit to the other three now, playing over the two doctors before offering, "Good here, aside from needing to wash up." Looking over to Leyla, there's a simple shake of his head, "Mission is FUBAR with the Doctor's injured, so we're going to head back to the Raptor soon as they're both patched up."

"It was FUBAR to start with, but its still worth a look about." Ryder grimaces as he adjusts the bandage. "The place isn't that big. We'll take a look around, see if anyone made it here. They're most likely in the mines, anyway. Best protection from fallout they had available, assuming anyone made it. Come on, eltee."

Rising up to his feet, Cameron slips the pack onto his back once more, wincing slightly. "I'm still good to go, if we think there might be some survivors here. I would hate to leave if there was anyone in need around…" Though honestly, considering the thin yet determined dogs, Cameron has a hard time believing that anyone not well armed and defended would still be alive and kicking. Squinting as he glances at his arm and then at Ryder's wounds, Cameron mutters, "Just hope they weren't rabid or diseased…. they sure were tough to kill…."

As the impromptu hunters discuss the state of the town, and the possibility of rabies, another noise can be heard. No yipping this time. Footsteps on the broken pavement. They have the rhythm of human ones, if rather stumbling. If anyone turns to look up what was the town's main drag, they'd see a figure approaching them. A human. Or, at least, not an emaciated wild dog. A woman, though she's not close enough to make out much more than that at present. Skinny and ragged and carrying a walking stick that could double as a cudgel. She raises her voice, to call out something in Tauron. Her voice sounds dry and tentative, perhaps from unuse.

"I understand, Doctors, but my concern is for -your- safety. You're no good to anyone injured, especially if we get into another fight. Plus, gods know what diseases those dogs .." The sound of approaching footfalls draws Corrath's words short and he's spinning in their direction, rifle lifting upwards to be settled against his shoulder. The language that is spoken is unfamiliar and so his eyes flit in the direction of Leyla for a moment, "Lieutenant. You understand what's being said?"

Leyla lifts a hand, to forestall the rest of the argument between the menfolk. It's the sound of movement that gets her first, and then the sight of the woman approaching. She doesn't move forward, well, not enough to get in position to run to the arriving woman, far from it, but she does, once again, put herself between the two injured men and the possibility of danger. Her answer comes in the same, well, very close to the same language, or perhaps, more to say, her accent is quite different from the other woman's, "She's asking if we're real. Flesh or ghosts." And then Leyla answers, trusting that she doesn't need to translate her reply, but then, after a moment, she does anyway. Taurian first, and then Colonial standard. "We are real."

Ryder turns and quiets as the woman speaks, and as Leyla responds. He smiles at Corrath and Cameron, and adopts a posture as not threatening as he can.

The look on Cameron's face clearly states, 'SEE?!', with regard toward his insistence that there might in fact be people here who need their help. "Doctor Ryder might have a hard time getting about with that leg, but I'm still capable of walking and treating people and, should it come down to it, capable of shooting as well." Taking a step closer to Leyla, Cameron offers tentatively, "Ask her if there are any other survivors? If anyone is in need of medical assistance?" Yeah, his left arm hurts like a mo-fa, but that isn't going to stop Cameron from doing his job it would seem.

At first the woman answers Leyla in croaking Taurian. Then she adds, in more halting Colonial Standard, "I am…real." She sounds a touch unbelieving as she says it. She limps toward them, favoring her left leg. The walking stick isn't merely for anti-dog protection. The dead dogs are eyed. She swallows. If the dogs have taken to trying to hunt armored humans, gods knows what she's been living on all this time. It doesn't look like it's been much. "What are…I heard shooting…I thought you were…but you are human?" There's half a question in the way she says it.

There's a simple nod to Leyla, though Corrath doesn't bother commenting. To her, or to the Doctors. Rather, he remains quiet, his weapon still trained on the woman as she approaches. It's clear that he's not about to let his guard down, not after the rabid dogs tried to eat the entirity of the squad for their lunch.

Leyla nods to Cameron, though she waits for the older woman to approach her, before she speaks again, "Then we are well met, old mother." Since she's rather supposed to be the envoy, Leyla does not draw her weapon, which would simply be bad manners in a peaceful proceeding, "Yes, we are human." She knows quite well the reason for the question, "It has been many months in coming, I know," since Warday and all, "But we are here to help. You and any who are with you. We can provide medical assistance, safety, shelter and food." Colonial first, and then again in taurian.

Ryder nods. "We can help you. We are both doctors, and I was just saved from the town of Agathos, not to far to the southwest." He steps forward, easily. "These are good people, and they can help."

For the moment Cameron remains quiet, letting the others speak, waiting to see if this woman is alone or the representative of a small community of survivors. It would be easier to believe that a small group could hold their own against the roving pack than a lone woman.

«Long and hard time coming, Little Daughter. Hard and dark times, these are.» Spoken in Taurian to Leyla, and the words intended only for Leyla. She stops as Corrath continues to point his gun at her, leaning heavily on her stick. "Do you fear me? Ha! Well. We all should fear." She's looking a little wild-eyed as well. If not so much as the dogs. "Help?" She nods, shakily. "Help. My husband cannot walk. He is in the caves. There is water there. Little food. Some water. The dogs are afraid of fire, but it is not safe. Nowhere is safe anymore. There are…four of us now. Will you help us?"

There's a curve of Corrath's lips into the faintest of smiles as he gives a shake of his head to the woman, "Not fear, no, but I am tasked with protecting those in my charge. I am certain you can understand this." The mention of others has him casting a look over towards Ryder, "Captain, head back to the Raptor. Tell them we're heading to the caves and see if you can't get them to land their bird a little closer." It's only then that he looks back to the woman, his rifle lowering just a -touch-.

«But perhaps not without the light of hope.» A soft reply, before she continues in Colonial, "Yes, we will help you. And the others that are with you." Leyla does not translate the taurian words, but instead steps forward, to approach the woman, unless Corrath stops her short, "If you show us the way back, we will bring what supplies we have with us to treat your husband and those with you, and take you to safety." She does look back to Ryder, "The crew will show you where all of the medical supplies are." The raptor should have been kitted out with the standard medical supplies, stretchers, food, water and such a SAR mission would require." She takes a moment, and then, "I am Leyla, born a daughter of the Aydins in Derry." She lifts a hand, indicating each man with her in turn, "Corrath, Adair, and Ryder."

Ryder nods to Corrath and turns to get the Raptor and the requested supplies. It is a point of pride for him that he doesn't limp. Well, much, anyway. When he hears his name, he turns and waves. "A pleasure, ma'am."

"I am Idrys, daughter of the Quintiros in Knossos," the woman replies in kind to Leyla. A half-pleading look to Corrath. "How fare things in Knossos? The Cylons had overrun it when we ran. Raiders in the sky and Centurions in the streets…smashing the temples…" She shudders. "This way. Please. And I thank you." The cave she, a man of the same age, and another pair of women in their thirties, are living is not far from here. Near the old mine. All are in quite bad shape, but all shall be extremely happy to leave this dead, feral dog-infested place.

"Come, let me help you now." Which Leyla will do, offering herself as an aid, rather than the walking stick, supporting the much older woman to ease her movement, as they journey to the caves and the people waiting for them there. The medicine she will leave to the doctors. But clean water, fresh food, and help to get them safely onto the raptor, along with what possessions they wish to carry with them, that she can do.

Cameron leaves it to the others to tell Idrys of the sad fate of Knossos, though quietly he cannot help but wonder what she might know about the museum there and the secrets held therein. So many questions, but duty comes first. Stepping forward, Cameron offers, "I have a medical kit with me, and whatever I don't have available to help you and the others out, we'll have aboard the Raptor or up on the Cerebus." And he follows in their wake, ready to help and heal and serve as best he can.

It's now that Corrath is simply lowering the weapon, moving to attach it back to the tactical clip on his vest as he simply moves to follow after Leyla and the old woman. One hand does drop to the sidearm, though, just in case there is a Return of Rabid Dogs.

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