We began this section on 10/03/01, and it wasn't a very auspicious start. Two of my group couldn't make it, my bike wouldn't start so Paul walked before we had the conformation. We decided to begin play with the two players available, Avril and Liam.

MUD PUDDLES
None of the characters made their temporal sleep SR so the first couple of hours of play were taken up with the 'Where am I's' and the 'What happeneds'. The party had Blue Back still with them, and he was the only one to have made his SR, but he wasn't talking about what he had seen.

Weird plants, big bugs, all very disturbing for a bunch of confirmed city-philes.

With Blue Backs' help, Liam and Avril get together to pull the jeep out of the swamp. With a combined PS of over 80, they didn't have too much trouble. They then spent some time searching the vehicle for any clue as to where they were and discussing what to do about it. The vehicle looks as though it has come straight off the production line, and this causes some confusion as to why a component in the device in the back has burnt out.

LIFES A BEACH
They go for a drive to discover the lie of the land while they mull it all over. This is the first time they encounter some of the dinosaurs, and they take long routes around anything they see. Finally arriving at the beach, they decide to make camp. They talk about the damaged machine and decide that they are going to test it tomorrow.

In the morning, while Avril goes hunting for an insect breakfast, Liam goes down to have a look at the beach. A splashing in the surf attracts his attention and the first fight with a cretaecous monster leaves Liam alive, with minor injuries, and wet up to the armpits. Everyone dines on sea scorpion later.

50MPH
Its about a day and a half since they first crash landed in the Cretaeceous Period and they decide to test the vehicle, try to recreate the same situation they were in before they went unconcious. Both Liam and Avril have mechanical and electrical skills but they quickly decide that the mechanics/electrics in the device are beyond their comprehension so, how DO they get a replacement. All that remains to do is drive the vehicle and see what happens.

There are lots of dials and gauges which seem inactive but, they reason, maybe they change if the vehicle is at the right speed. Avril jumps in the driving seat, Liam sets up a video camera to monitor some dials and they speed off. Avril makes it to 80mph before she looses control on the wet grassland and gently crashes into a ditch. They learnt nothing and now they have to spend 12 hours repairiing the vehicle.

Once the repairs are complete they try it all again, this time taking it slowly. Avril gets to 30mph and holds it there, while Liam scrutinises the dials, nothing. Avril gets up to 45mph, nothing. The vehicle tips 50mph and Liam, with his advanced senses, can hear the machine in the back power up. They listen and watch intently as nothing happens. They go back to arguing about how to get/make a replacement part.

A WELCOME VISTA
Lacking any information, they go back to the crash site, to have a thorough search, 'Maybe something fell off?'. The search is disapointingly barren. The skid marks made by the vehicle on entering the Cretaeceous period, begin at the edge of the forest and slide over the low cliff into the swamp. There is nothing else to be learnt here.

Liam and Avril climb trees to get a big picture of the surrounding countryside. Some of the larger trees offer superior views and it is while Liam is up one of these that he notices a metal or glass glint to the North. Any technology in this era has to have come from 'outside' they reason, so off they head.

A long day driving slowly, a brief moment when a Stegoceras tries to ram them, and they stop at the river to make camp. In the morning Liam and Avril proceed on foot, leaving Blue Back to watch over the unconcious members of the group.

MEET THE LOCALS
They skirt the jungle and walk along the cliff edge, spotting and being spotted by some Rhamphorynchus. They manage to avoid the inevitable trouble with the flying things and eventually sneak up on the Xenoco compound. They spend the night observing the goings on and try to evalaute the strength of the base.

In the morning they head back to the vehicle and Blue Back. On the way back the Rhamphorynchus decide that they are small enough to be a good meal and six of the flying monsters swoop in, only to be thoroughly butchered. Liam and Avril hurry back to Blue Back with their information, and to a relative safety.

CROCODILE CONVENTION
Felicity and Patch wake up! While Felicity is being brought up to speed about their situation, Patch goes looking for breakfast, unaware that he is several million years in the past. Patch picks up the scent of crocodile and decides that crocodile steak is just what he needs for breakfast. He follows some suspiciously large tracks to the river bank and stalks up on a basking croc. Patch surges out of his cover and attacks the poor unsuspecting crocodile, but that's as good as it gets. Pandemonium breaks out on the river bank as Patch notices for the first time that there are more crocodiles in the river, and, he realises, they are BIG!

Patch decides that retreat is the beter part of valour and runs for his life, the crocs are faster. A tense moment for Patch is diverted when the rest of the party notice what he is up to and come in to help. Bows, sword and an assortment of guns come into play to dispatch the crocodiles. Patch gets his croc steak for breakfast as the party retreat to a safe distance from the river.

T-REX TROUBLER
Two Tyrannosaurs, attracted by the scent of carnage, lumber towards the party. Liam and Patch get out for a close look while Avril takes the vehicle to a safe distance. Liam butchers both T-Rexs' without taking a single bite! Everyone begins to realise just how good Liam is with his paired swords (including me!).

They move camp again, this time going a couple of miles south, just to get away from the smell of fresh spilt blood which they correctly assume will attract more carnosaurs. They park in the edge of the jungle, camouflage the vehicle and rest up for a few hours. Around midday they become aware of a family/herd of Triceratops approaching from the South West, they anxiuosly wait to see what will happen. The larger of the Triceratops family watch the party as the party watch the baby Tric's in amusement. The situation passes without violence.

RAPTOR RUMBLES
Evening approaches and the party decide to approach the Xenoco base. They walk up to the river crossing, skirting the jungle edge for cover. They are aware of stealthy movement deeper in the forest but can't quite make out what creature is doing it. They get to the river edge and begin to cross, when Avril and Felicity have crossed, the noises in the jungle can be heard on both sides of the river, they seem to be communicating, Patch halfway across the river, Liam and Blue Back are waiting. Suddenly six Veliciraptors, three on each side of the river, burst from the jungle. The party is taken by surprise but the raptors are still beaten back before Patch emerges from the river. They hurry on.

SKIZZ SCHISM
They are about to continue on towards the Xenoco base when Liam spots a blinding flash of light to the south. they continue but keep watch behind themselves. After a few minutes they can all hear the sounds of some kind of engine approaching from the south, they decide to stop and watch. A vehicle comes up to the river and stops, it is of a design they haven't seen before but rationalise it as a monocycle. A carapace rolls back and the driver is seen for the first time, it resembles a Veliciraptor but it carries guns and swords. This automatically worries the party, is it a Xenoco thing? They decide to avoid the issue by continuing their journey as the Raptor enters the forest near the river and disapears from sight.

BASE BLAST
The party sneak up on the Xenoco base around midnight, it is very well lighted. They observe it for a while, then Patch and Avril head off with the intention of climbing along the cliff and shooting a grapple in to the crane. Liam, Felicity and Blue Back wait. Patch is successful with his grapple and climbs up to the extremity of the crane arm, Avril gets on to the rope and (horror) rolls a 99 for her climb rope, as she starts to slip of the end of the rope Patch, quick thinking for once, secures his climbing harness and jumps off the crane, just catching Avril at the end of his tether. Dislocations and broken bones are sustained but no-one is smashed on the rocky floor.

Liam is worrying over how to break through the electric fence and shreds Felicity's shoes to produce a rubber grip for his swords. Patch and Avril are 'safely' perched on the crane tip and planning on taking the North East tower, which means Liam and Felicity have to circumnavigate the base. Felicity is the epitome of stealth as Liam is caught in a spot light beam bleating and stumbling, the guards in the West towers open fire and set off the alarms. Liam charges the main gates and slices it open in one strike. Felicity takes pot shots at the spot lights nocking them out, as Liam breaches the compound. Avril keeps watch from the crane with her pistol ready as Patch sneaks into the North East tower. Liam is gunned down in a hail of automatic plasma fire as three guards come out of the main building dressed and ready for heavy combat. Blue Back is nowhere to be seen...

WHAT, A HERO ?
Patch successfully takes out the guard in the North East tower and sneaks off to try the same trick in the South East tower. Felicity is seriously wounded by the compound guards who haven't got anything else to shoot at for the minute... Avril climbs down off the crane and takes a brief drive in the dino transport vehicle to try to stop the guards chasing Felicity in their buggies and gets a face full of plasma for her troubles, passing out as Patch is just about to take out his next target. He does quite well but fails to notice the two guards who have crept up behind him, they open fire in panic mode (full clip). One of the guards completely misses but the other gets a resounding hit and Patch is disintegrated.

Meanwhile, the guards at the front gate have made Avril safe and have moved the transport out of the way. They begin a search and capture mission for felicity. She manages to avoid them for a while but is inevitably hunted down. Liam and Avril come round sometime later, on medical benches. A few pointless hours pass before the scientist in charge decides he will have to use Sodium Pentathol to get a sensible answer from his new subjects. Liams final act of defiance consists of headbutting the scientist as he is trying to put him to sleep. Avril eventually spills the beans, and the Xenoco staff get their time machine back, briefly.

The vehicle reaches 50mph, Avril, the driver, blacks out immediately, and they careen through time. Liam watches the time stream replaying the last 66 million years, catching sight briefly of New York in flames. They crash back to reality in blasted scrub land. Liam assumes correctly that they have missed their drop off point. The New York skyline is just visible in the twilight, there are no lights, they have no equipment, and they are all badly injured...

SYNOPSIS 31/03/01
This was an interesting section for me, the dinosaurs were strangely ineffective, but the Xenoco guards were really deadly. I also used the psychology rules for Avril and Liams near death experiences, I guess I was being a bit of a git but it was fun.

Here endith chapter 2. Open Spaces begins next...