- OOC:
First Sergeant Luckystar
Scout
Level 1: Wilderness Training
Story 1: Wilderness and Survival
Lucky quickly put on a pair of hiking boots, a pair of warm cotton pants and a sweatshirt which she wore over a t-shirt. She had been told to not bring anything with her, everything she would need will be provided on the shuttle to the unknown destination they were sending her off to.
Seeing she was alone, she locked up the Condo and walked toward the hangar bay. A pilot was waiting for her in front of a small shuttle. “Are you Miss Nash?” He asked looking at a sheet, clipped to a clipboard. “Yes I am” she replied surprised they had used her maiden name. The pilot suddenly saluted crisply and invited her aboard. They boarded in silence and she saw a man who looked to be in his forties sitting in one of the few seats.
“Greetings, I see you’ve completed your Combat Engineer Specialty with flying colors congratulations on that. This Specialty won’t be as easy though, being a Scout is a very tough job, hope you’re ready for it.”
“I am, sir”
“Good, let’s get started then. Here’s your pack, in it you will find two water bottles, a rudimentary cooking kit and a blanket.”
While he had been talking, the shuttle had lifted off and they were now on their way to one of the vats forests of Tadath.
“Once we get there, we’ll open the bay door but we won’t be landing, as soon as your feet touch the ground, you start your trek through the forest. You have to travel forty miles to a rangers’ station. The limited amount of days we’re allowing you is two weeks. If we don’t hear from you after that, we’re sending in a search party, and it’s a fail. Understood?”
“Yes, sir”
“Good luck soldier”
Through one of the shuttle viewports, she could see large trees and lush vegetation.
This is going to be interesting, I’m sure... donning her pack, she got ready to jump down. Once she got the familiar pat on the back from a soldier behind her, bent her legs and propelled herself forward, free falling for a few seconds before landing in swamp water that went up a little more than waist deep. It was icy cold and the smell was pungent. A low but deep growl could be heard somewhere in the swamp.
I’ve got to get out of this water, quickly With her clothes heavy with water absorption, she swam as quickly as she could to shore, once there, she dragged herself as far away from the water as her tired muscles could carry her. Satisfied that she was well away from the water and the beings that lived in it, she sat up and took a minute to catch her breath and prepare mentally for the long journey ahead of her.
It was sometime after lunch, that much she knew, looking up she studied the sun for accurate time and position. Only glancing up briefly, she could tell that she was on the south-eastern shore of this stretch of wilderness and that it was approximately 1500 hours.
Quickening her pace, she clambered up rocks and a slick trail up a small mountain, once she reached the summit she surveyed the horizon, looking for any sign of a the rangers’ station. To the direct north, she squinted and smiled faintly as she spotted an antennae peeking up above the tree line.
Sliding down the other side, she started walking at a brisk pace until she had to stop for a short rest, three and a half hours later. Progress in this kind of terrain was slow which irritated her. After a few minutes, she continued walking through the brush but slowly afterward she started to shiver. The temperature was dropping quite quickly and her clothes were still damp, if she kept going on like this, she could suffer from hypothermia.
Thirty minutes later, she came across a fairly large clearing. The grass was green, the colors were vibrant which told her that food would not be hard to find here. Noting that she had made very little progress, she debated whether to keep going or to make camp for the night. Deciding on the latter, she gathered twigs, dry grass and dead branches took out a pocket knife she had decided to carry with her and dug around the small mass of wood, as a precautionary measure to not burn the forest. Before she started placing the dry grass in the fire pit, she ran to get some rocks, came back and got to work. The grass went at the very bottom of the pit, the twigs on top of those in a small mat and finally, the twigs were placed in a sort of square around it all, elevated off the ground so they could easily catch fire. Grabbing a rock she had brought as extra, she took out her knife once more and ran the two against each other quickly, creating sparks. After five minutes of hard work, the striking of the rock and steel payed off, as she saw a plume of smoke coming from underneath the top layer of branches.
She quickly got dry leaves and more twigs on the small fire and watched it catch. When she was satisfied with its intensity, she stripped herself of her clothing and hung them on a branch above the fire to dry. A half hour later, when she was satisfied with the dryness of her clothes she got dressed ad sat around the fire for a bit before putting it out and lying down to rest, leaning against a tree trunk.
When she woke, she was sore and her clothes were cold and damp from the morning dew. Standing up and stretching, she listened intently and was happy to hear the living wake and start doing their usual business. She could hear running water nearby, during the night she had become very dehydrated, the prospect of a long cool drink made her walk faster toward the sound. After five minutes, she came across a shallow stream, the water as clear as glass. Taking a long drink and splashing her face to wake herself up, she refilled her water bottles and set off to find food.
She didn’t have to look for long before she found plenty, something that could possibly be considered a feast. She had woken up late, it was near lunchtime which was convenient, and she had found everything she needed to make a wild salad so to speak. Some leaves were edible, she took a branch off a tree and put those in her pack, a few paces away was mint and some berries, thankfully she made them out to not be poisonous.
A short distance away was a small group of flowers that she had remembered seeing once or twice before, it was small, and its petals were thin, the top was pink and the bottom half was white. She picked off a few of those but left the stems, she wished she could find a few dandelions but she saw none in sight, shrugging she returned to camp, briefly stopping to put some water in her cooking pan. Starting a fire, she waited until there were only very small flames, set the pot to boil and patiently waited. When the water started to boil, she set the leaves and everything else in the pot and let it simmer for a few minutes. This would remove all bacteria and kill any insects living in the food, it would also let the flavours from the mint and berries sink into the rest of the food. A few minutes later, after the mix had cooled, she drained the water and ate the tasty mixture that was left before packing up and setting off once more.
She went up small rocky mountains, wooded hills and streams until she eventually came to a river. She wasn’t sure how deep the water was, but it was a good distance from shore to shore. Taking a deep breath she looked around and after a while found a fallen tree trunk that was of medium weight and that thankfully would not sink to the bottom of the river. Grabbing her courage in both hands, she held the tree trunk in a hug and jumped in the icy cold water. The current was somewhat fast but she willed her feet to paddle faster and made her way across, it took her a while and a lot of effort but in the end she reached her goal. The sun was shining; she would dry off in the sun and take a short nap to regain her strength.
An hour later, she awoke slightly burned but dry. She wondered suddenly if she would get a slight tan, but that didn’t matter at the moment. Taking one of the water bottles, she drained it thirstily, picked up her gear and moved off into the brush. She guessed she was more than halfway to her destination which lifted her spirits slightly. She made good speed as the sun set and kept trekking into the night. She could hear the howls of the creatures of the night as the sky changed color from pink to dark, the stars and moon shone brightly, lighting her way through the woods quite clearly.
As dawn arrived, she found herself exiting the brush and walking onto a path. She made her way to the side of this path, sat down with her back against a tree trunk and fell asleep soon after. A few hours later, she awoke to find it was mid-morning. Stretching, she willed her aching muscles to lead her onto the path she could now see clearly, her gut told her to follow it wherever it went. It went mostly straight but there were some twists and turns, it seemed to go on forever. Occasionally she would stop to drink or eat, otherwise she was walking on the well-marked path to nowhere. When it started to get dark, she found shelter under a tree and slept through the night.
When she awoke the next day, she walked a few kilometers and came upon the rangers’ station she had spotted days before. Smiling, she ran the rest of the way and banged on the door. A big man opened the door and invited her inside; he gave her food and drink before contacting the Corps for pickup.
When she heard the distant rumble of engines, she made her way outside and waited for it to land and the ramp to lower before getting quickly inside. Soon they were off again, this time for home. She couldn’t wait to see Alan and tell him of the adventures she had had but before that she was in serious need of a hot bath, some food and a pint of ale.
