I got everyone together and we organised into our search teams. One last equipment and radio check, and we head out into the jungle. The jungle canopy precludes effective ground mapping, but we had been able to build a map good enough for marking off search grids, roughly 100 meters square. Since radio contact would be difficult in the thick jungle, this kept us fairly close to each other at all times. It also would allow us to react faster if the other team found itself in some trouble.

We were searching for any signs of the missing Russians. Our psychics had told us thaty were dead, so we were looking to recover the bodies to bury them in Russia. Along with this mission, we needed to gather some informatino regarding the secuiryt on the island, which was previously grossly underestimated and inadequate for the initial build up phase. Our little island turned out to be far more dangerous than anyone imagined.

Towards the end ofthe day we began to head back to camp. Then a call came over the radio of a sighting of some locals, humanoids living on the island. Lyosha took Natasha with him to establish contact with them. As it turns out they speak one of the arcane languages that Natasha speaks. They immediately began telling us that we had to leave the island with much haste before the night demons cause us trouble.

Natasha had lifted her visor to talk to the humanoids while I plugged into the view Lyosha's camera was providing. With no intentions of leaving the island without the bodies, I had Natasha press them for any information regarding the missing Russians. They claimed not to have any information about them, except that the night demons that haunt the island probably took them. They kept repeating that we are not safe and we must go back to wherever it is we came from before any trouble finds us. I asked Ntasha to ask why they are safe from the ngith demons. They explained that they are a part of the jungle and do not get attacked as a result of that.

"They are hiding something," Lyosha chimed in over the radio.

Natasha asked the humanoids to describe the night demons, but they spoke in vague descriptions, explaining really nothing at all--no one lives to tell about seeing one is what it all boiled down to for them.

The sun was quickly ducking below the mountains and I decided that it was more important to return to camp than to stick around. So we made our way back to the camp where Bert had organised (and set up) an impressive perimeter defense. Amazing what that guy can do. Darkness shrouded our little corner of the island somewhere in our megaverse.

Just after midnight some alarms went off and some flares from the red sector shot up into the sky illuminating the beach. I ran into the command center to look at the video while gunfire began as well as some explosions. Chatter over the radio defined the nature of the threat.

"Red sector, five four-legged creatures. Use silver."

"Blue sector, I see two of them."

I scanned the video screens. I saw some vague shapes moving around but nothing certain.

More radio chatter intermingled with gun fire and explosions.

"Were-panthers!" I heard someone say, but I did not recognise the voice over the radio.

The fight ended fairly quickly. The perimeter defenses had softed them up while the teams finished them off. We cleared the battlefield, built a fire, and started chopping off the monsters' heads.

It was then crystal clear that the security in place for the island were utterly worthless. First light, I decided, we would find those humanoids and get to the bottom of it. Assuming we survived the night.

Which, obviously, we did.

I woke up early and had an MRE for breakfast. After tasting the food at the Russian Airbase I made sure to bring my own rations. After that I spent the first half of the day setting up perimeter defenses. I created several defensible firing positions from materials we had laying around, and removed some of the trees from around the base perimeter to open up the area and provide us with more room to shoot. My greatest achievement was the construction of a perch from which I could fire my Browning .50 Heavy Machinegun at the entire treeline surrouding the base. I loaded up the ammunition next to the gun and spied Natasha sitting on a log, so I went to go have a chat.

After that I joined Kolya's search party.

When we returned to Base, I moved my sleeping bag up to the perch with the gun and settled in for first watch of the night. I was dozing after my watch had ended, when the flares went up and a call came across the radio. I popped a piece of caffeinated gum and wiped the sleep from my eyes. I could see cat-creatures running at us from out of the Jungle. Several of the animals were already wounded in the legs, paws, and belly from the Punji Sticks I had setup around the perimeter, and I could spy one swinging from a tree in the distance, trying to claw its way loose. From my perch I provided much needed suppressing fire to my comrades at ground level. A belt of .50 Silver is expensive as hell, but you can't beat it. I tried to herd the creatures into a crossfire between my friends on the ground with some success. I even scored a kill, the silver death I rained from above ripping through flesh and shattering bone. The battle was, obviously ultimately decided in our favor.

Bump for thread necromancy, for Lost Moon

Wha the heck? Panthers don't attack people unless they are provoked. What did you do to trigger this?

It's make believe.
It doesn't have to make sense.

Jackass.