14698/Roots And Berries And Flesh-Eating Beasts

Roots And Berries And Flesh-Eating Beasts
Date of Scene:	16 April 2023
Location:	Survival Training - Triskelion
Synopsis:	The price of snooping on alien survival class is being Shanghaiied into being alien commandoes.
Cast of Characters:	Michael Erickson, Mary Jane Watson

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Michael Erickson has posed:
    It's a Saturday evening, which means thet activity around this area of the Triskelion is fairly quiet - but in the classroom, not so much. Seven people are in there clustered around a whiteboard set into one wall, where a grave-faced Erickson is busy sketching out the appearance of a lumpy creature like an eyeless, segmented work but whose surface bristles with a variety of barbed appendaces. Notation has been taken down, in hastily scribbled English and runic Shi'ar alike - but the 'title' is clear: VASAA'QUIR.

    "...and you will find that while the surface is supposed to be bereft of life thanks to the extreme heat of the upper layers, there are wide bands of the planet that are not nearly so uninhabitable as human science suggests. Food-creatures are, in fact, in many locations, though they are not easy kills." Michael holds a collapsible pointer in hand, which he gestures to the creature with like a martial baton. "We've already covered the equatorial bands. This is the vasaa'quir, which translates to 'angry mountain-bug' in the native Lavorite tongue. They are probably the most nutritious creature humans can find on Venus, but again..." A gesture to the barbed appendages sprouding in a forest from the back of the sketched image. "Not an easy kill."

    Wait, what? Venus? What?

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
NEvermind that there's life on Venus. Of course there is. The fact that there's sufficient expeirence and expeditions there to have made a risk assessment of the natural life there is not either. Mary Jane is there over while she's fiddling with a datpadd, scrolling over and moving to scan through it. "So are these primarily for survival purposes if we're isolated or ona ssignment there? To evaluate threats or what things are effective to feed upon?" Of course also they've resolved teh 'not die in atmosphere/gravity' point as well.
    Mary Janeg oes to scan along. "So do they have a roughly equivalent technological or cultural base we can use as a frame of reference? I'm aware that t hings will not have exact crossover. Tribal nomads? Large settled regions? Bronze age? Do they have large outposts of civilization or cultural allegiances?"

Michael Erickson has posed:
    Venera? Never heard of 'er! Soviet probes don't mean nothin'. Michael squints at Mary Jane as she speaks up - after all, the rest of the people here are part of some team of his, and she's sort of the odd lady out. "I assumed you were here for your own interests, Agent," he says, brows lifting faintly. "The others here are part of my space action unit. Are you volunteering?"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would shrug, "Even if not, given the often instances of attrition and scramble response teams having to be assembled fromw hatever personnel that are available or on site, protocol dictates at least some level of cross-training familiarity to be able to be of aid in an emergency situationw here there is not sufficient itme to assemble a full squad."
    Of course she had not been wandering, curious what was going on, and sat in on things.. No, not at all.

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "Mmmm." There's a few looks between the other agents. One of them chuckles. Michael simply shrugs, moving on. "...to answer your question, Agent Watson, sentient races known historically to live on Venus have not proven themselves to be terribly friendly, so we are focusing on survival here. Now as I said, the vasaa'quir is essentially a roving mound of protein - even the pincer arms are full of meat. It's like a very angry roast beef and crab buffet, all in one creature. The problem is, of course, that the creature's shell is strong enough to deflect small-arms, so I'm afraid that hunting is an up-close affair."

    Michael goes on to sketch out a close-up of the joins between two plates along its segmented body. "Essentially, you'll have to get a spear or some other sharp object between the creature's body segments, along this meridianal line. Any higher or lower, you'll just pierce meat and do little damage. Its hearts, however, run along the center."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would listen over to that and grin, "Good, that sounds fun." Yes, the psychotic barbarianconsiders fighting something that's covered in claws and stabby bits all over with a sword to eat from to be 'fun'. "So you'll probbly want whatever most effective version of pikes and spears are. Those will hold it off effectively to let you go for dismembering strikes. Polearms probably just as well." She would muse.
    "I mean, firs tyou crack the shells, then you get the nuts inside."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "Essentially." Ah, yes, of course the lady warrior would be in 'charge' of the body right now - Michael shifts his weight, putting a fist on one hip as he regards the woman. "I would recommend anyone going to the planet carry a hunting spear of some sort, being it breakdown or telescopic or the like. But it needs to be able to support a good amount of leverage force, since simply piercing the vascular tunnel isn't the only step. One must keep the plates open to allow it to actually bleed, else the blood simply coagulates and seals up the wound and you've lost a perfectly good lance in the bargain as it flees - or turns around and smashes you."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would nod, "Got it. SO maybe something with separate spikes along it? Long polearm, can break into sections, deployable spikes at various portrusions of it. Means that it's likelier to get impaled or stuck on one of them, and gives you more leverage agaisnt it and it's less prone to break past your guard."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    He shrugs. "You're perfectly welcome to submit a design." With that, Michael goes on - discussing the dynamics of this thing, then a few others, monstrous creatures that live in a variety of climates. Venus, it appears, has more than just horrible greenhouse-baked wastes indeed. And then he's dismissing his team; the agents rise and start filing out, but he clears his throat as they're leaving.

    "Agent Watson," he calls, "If you could stay, please."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would nod and givea wave, "Sure. I mean, it's just an extendable staff with popout monofilament blades at various protrusions. I can at least present something to engineering to see if it's something feasible or if it's too hard to produce in any numbers.. What's up, Sir?" She would inquire while approaching him.

Michael Erickson has posed:
    He waits until the classroom is empty, keeping his gaze fixed on her. "Do you want to go to space, Mary Jane?"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would shrug, "I mean sure, why not. So long as we're not teleported up to the moon by some sort of crazed necromancer wanting to open a portal to an unspeakable evil from a parallel dimension to consume all of existence." There was no level of actual jest in her voice.

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "Well, I can't promise anything." Michael perches on the edge of a desk, arms folding over his chest as he squints at her further. "What about your roommate? I have no doubt she'd relish what's out there, violence and all, but can she work with a team? Can she take direction?"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would shrug, "Oh, she's fine with it. Just at that point you're gettingi tno a lot of entities that are on WAND's Watchlist which you really, relaly are going to need some pretty high end folks but that's Sonja's real frame of reference to space."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "It would require a lot of additional training," he points out. "Combat, survival. Not necessarily a lot of room out there on the regular for entertainers, though spycraft is all about acting - I have a team, Agent. I call it SCAR. Space commandoes, essentially. You willing to get down and dirty for the home team? See interesting places, meet interesting aliens, and possibly kill them?"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would nod over at Michael, "OF course, Sir. We're both definitely interested. Sonja's always happy to find new places to get skilleda t killing things in and new ways to eviscerate pepole. What's one more realm to do it in?"

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "I'm not talking about Sonja." He looks the young woman over, lips pursed. "When I was your age, I had already finished my initial tutelage at the Imperial Military Academy /and/ the Intelligence Cadres, and was leading a scout unit on Jatuur. I did a lot of very violent things, Agent. Have you ever killed anyone before? Or otherwise done serious violence against them?"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would glance over at Michael, "Murder, Sir? You mean a premediated act of killing against someone that does not deserve it? An act ov passion over? Murder requires premeditation otherwise the charge is manslaughter. I have seen plenty of things trying and too often s ucceeding to kill people. Innocent ones or soldiers."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "Did I say murder, Agent?" His brows arch faintly. "I asked, have you killed anyone. Or done violence yourself. Please answer the question."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would glance at Michael, "Yes, sir, I have. I've committed violence against more people than I would like. I've attacked someone with intent of killing them before that was trying to kill one of my friends. I failed in that respect."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    He nods once. "I see," Michael replies. "And if you had to, would you be able to do it again?"

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would shrug, "Yes, sir. The fortune of training is that I'm able to move effectively to disable someone or neutralize them as a first option most of the time and can escalate from there." Sonja's fighting style emphasized close quarters combat, and a lot of things SHIELD dealt with were relatively resistant if not immune to high caliber weaponry..

Michael Erickson has posed:
    Michael regards the younger agent for a long moment, wheels turning in his head. Finally he nods, sliding off the desk to stand. "All right," he replies, nonchalance returning to his tone. "We'll see what we can do with you then. I'll expect to see you here tomorrow. Dismissed."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would nod over at Michael, "Yes, Sir. What time do you want for me to report in? Is there any specific thing I should prepare for in advance? Any equipment that you would prefer for me to ring with me or research I should perform? I just want to ensure that I have what's needed to be done for preparation."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    He rattles off a timetable, but waves his hand at mention of anything else. "Just show up, Watson. You'll see soon enough."

    Well. That's not, you know, ominous or anything.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would smile, "Sure, I'll be seeing my Aunt Anna's neighbor before then. She makes the best Wheatcakes. She always makes a lot extra so I'll keep a fwe for you if you'd like."