GESB: Operation Cocoa Puffs

[Hunter]

((lol... you got perth pretty spot on. now, if it were either queensland or victoria, i'd be a little more help, but, meh... also, in aussie, we have Coco Pops, not cocoa puffs))

Climbing out of the ship, he takes a quick look around, and he notices that he is on the roof of a shopping center. John could guess that from the dryness of the air, that they were in Western Australia. He knew a kid in his section that was from the Northern Territory.

Walking over to Myitt as she was sitting on the edge of the roof, he saw her suddenly fall from sight, then he heard her complain about a dumpster.

Laughing a bit, he said to her "What does the people from 2003 think about weapons? Should I leave my girl here, or take it with me?"

With that, he swung himself down from the roof, and he landed on his back in the pile of bubble-wrap that was placed just to the left of the bin. Standing up, he brushed himself off, and he flicked the safety switch to the 'on' position on the side of his gun.

[Chad32]

Temrash continued walking down a road with Ardiss, taking the occassional sip of water.

<Not like desert.> Jagill said.

<I know. Not sire why Myitt couldn't find a more temperate area, but it doesn't matter. We've been through worse.>

He noticed a few animals wandering around, as well as some interesting looking vehicles.

"Interesting transportation you Humans have." He said, trying to make conversation.

[Gaz]

Gaz and Fletcher walked around with the group.

"So this is what Earth used to look like," Fletcher said as he looked around.

"Been a while since we were here, eh?" Gaz commented.

[Breekan1]

Breekan smiles stiffly. "I appreciate your concern," he tells Mar. He follows Myitt out the ship, looking down from the roof. He removes his gloves, and shows, extending the claws from his hand and feet underneath the hologram. He tosses the gloves and shoes down to the ground, and climbs down gently, with grace appropriate for a flying alien cat monster. Of course, he lands on his feet. Into something wet.

"Yeeeelk!" he whispers. "I take off my boots for one moment..." He frowns, scraping the alley-sludge off his feet. "God, if this is hobo vomit..."

[Darth Revan]

Thordon walks past Gaz and Fletcher as they bicker back and forth. As he approaches Mar, but he changed state. Thordon could no longer see Mar's vessel, but he could see the residual energy that represented Mar's presence. He asked towards that energy, "Trying to find a suitable vessel?"

[Myitt]

((Haha nice Hunter...I kinda got this idea after Claire had said she had a fanfic set in a town near where I live.  When we actually drove through that town.  XD  Besides, I figure it'll just take the Yeerks a tiny bit longer to get all the way to Perth, bwahaha.))

"Will you guys keep quiet?" Myitt hisses, edging around to the corner of the building.  "We need to look inconspicuous."  She gapes at Cutter, holding his military rifle.  "Jesus, will you put that away?  People in 2003 don't walk into grocery stores packing heat!  At least everywhere except Texas.  We cannot, absolutely cannot, be arrested or otherwise attract attention."  She waves them along and walks to the front of the supermarket, stepping aside as a woman in short sleeves walks out, rolling a shopping cart. 

<Oh man,> Tara says, <I knew this was a bad idea.  Everyone's in summer clothes, and we look like goth kid Hot Topic rejects.  We look like the Halloween brigade, and I don't think Halloween's very popular in Australia--let alone in January!>

Myitt steps through the air conditioned sliding doors of the Cole's supermarket, and for a split second there's that wave of nostalgia.  Supermarkets meant the little beeps of the registers, the stacks of normal food...the normal life that her host used to know. 

But damnit, this was a mission, and she was going to get as much junk food as possible.  Nervously, she looks behind to see if the others have followed, then she pulls out a shopping cart and starts rolling it towards the aisles.  She idly tosses some Nutella and a couple glass containers of strawberry jam into the cart.  "Vegemite?" she says aloud, squinting.  <What the hell is Vegemite?> 

<Don't ask, just grab some for Nicky, it's like Marmite.  He'll appreciate a bit of Johannesburg,> Tara mutters. <God, does this place have any peanut butter?>

[Hunter]

Leaving his rifle under the pile of bubble wrap that he landed on, he hoped that no one would find it. Making sure that his uniform was looking crisp, he fixed up the collar and he rolled up his sleeves just to below the elbow.

Tucking in his dogtags, he followed everyone in to the supermarket, that hat Woolworths written above the door in huge neon letters. Looking around, he sees cars that looked completely alien to him. They looked completely different to the cars that he was used to.

Running his hand through his slightly blood stained back hair, he followed Myitt into the place to look for some food. "Well," he said to her "I take it that we'll be getting some strange looks, eh?"

[Myitt]

((It's a Cole's! XD  There really is one in Mundaring, because I am just that nerdy...x3))

"No, we won't be," says Myitt tersely, tossing some cereal into the cart.  "Coco Pops?  Oh well, close enough."  She tosses a couple of boxes in, then adds another two just in case.  "Oh, man, milk would be great...it's such a pain to use that powdered crap.  Nowhere near the same."  She pushes the cart down the aisle.  "Never thought I'd miss eggs, either."  She glances at Cutter.  "So what do you think of 2003?  I mean, I guess after riding in our vehicle it might not be too bad of a shock.  But you should see this thing called the internet.  Humans go crazy over it, it's like being able to write letters to a hundred people at a time, all on a tiny, personal computer.  Well.  Tiny by human standards."

[Chad32]

After a while, Temrash's group made it into the town. Christine was visibly tired, but no one except Ardiss could hear her complain.

<Oh man, when he said remote I didn't think he meat THAT remote! Jagill doesn't even look worn out. I am not a military person. A brisk jog for a soldier is a long trek for a civilian. does he not know that?> She said, among many other things.

"We'll take a short rest here while I pinpoint Myitt's ship's location." Temrash said in the shade of a building.

[Darth Revan]

Thordon lowered himself (floated) from the roof to the alleyway and followed Myitt and Cutter into the store.

"Wow, the similarities are astounding! The products are different, but the aesthetics are almost exact." He tried to keep his speech as quelled as possible.

[Gaz]

"It's too quiet here," Gaz commented as she followed the group through the isles.

Fletcher, meanwhile, had his own cart and was grabbing items to re-stock The Vagabond.

"Why are you two dressed like pirates?" asked a voice.

Gaz looked down to see a small child staring at them. Then she winked and said, "Because we are."

"Honey, they're not really pirates," said the child's mother.

"You got us, ma'am," said Fletcher. "We're members of a...um...performing troupe."

"Really?" asked the mother, a little skeptical.

Fletcher floundered for a moment and started singing "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me."

After the first verse, Gaz caught on and joined in, including harmony at the right moments.

At the end of the song there was a small crowd that had gathered to listen. They applauded, a few even gave the two pirates some coins. Then the crowd dispersed.

"What was that?" Gaz asked. "Now they think we're Ren Faire performers."

"But we got some cash," Fletcher pointed out, "and they bought it."

[Darth Revan]

Thordon watches the spectacle from the back. After the crowd moved away, he approached them and asked, "What just happened?"

[Gaz]

"Some kid came up to us," Gaz said. "The mom looked skeptical. So we had to put on a show for them so they would leave us alone."

[Chad32]

Once Temrash got to the proper place, he went inside and left Ardiss somewhere cool. He managed to see Myitt down an aisle, and called to Tara. There were some people around, so he tried his best to walk around. Of course what Tara would see was a very tall fat man calling her in a voice that didn't sound like Jagill's. Someone who would be very at home in a Big 'n Tall store.

[Myitt]

Myitt turns the cart along the dairy section and looks over at the sound of some kind of performance, a few aisles down.  

"Oh, by the Kandrona itself," she whispers.  "I told them not to attract attention!"

She sighs, exasperated, and throws a few packages of cheese singles into the cart.  She stares at the milk, biting her lip.  "Maybe I can freeze it," she says worriedly.  "Can you freeze milk?"

<Um, ice cream?> Tara replies.

"...Hmm," Myitt murmurs, and starts grabbing a couple of small cartons; she notices a particular brand of long-lasting milk, no refrigeration needed, and opts for those.  "Excellent."  She pauses and stares at the large man calling her name.  It takes a few seconds for her to register.  "Temrash, please tell me that's you."