Seishi - Monday, August 06, 2001, 9:07 PM

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Beacon Harbor Private Airport(#515RFJ)

        This airport is far less grand than the International Airport some miles away; compared with that bustling, sprawling locale, this smaller airstrip seems rather rural and peaceful. Smaller, private aircraft and cargo planes come in to land upon a flat stretch outlined with blue lights, amidst the rolling, grassy hills of the region. There is a long, one-story building that serves as the offices of the establishment, and a four-story control tower topped with a swiveling searchlight radios to the pilots to help guide them in.

        Off to one side of the landing strip are the aircraft hangars, set up to provide repairs and storage. A couple of Cessnas and Pipers are parked off to one side of these buildings.

You're directed into one of the plane hangars, where you see Kate making some final checks to her plane. She has the side cargo door open, and she looks up as she sees people arriving, waving you over.

        Parked in a corner of the hangar is a white Landry Sparhawk 463...a bit larger than a Cessna, but still an easily maneuverable propeller-engine craft. There's a side-loading door on the body of the plane, and two cockpit doors. It looks like it's seen some good use, but it's kept in excellent repair by its owner, Kate Walsh.

        On the pilot's side of the plane is a painting of a Vargas-styled brunette wearing black hotpants and a poet's blouse (dipping forward enough in front to give a hint of cleavage) smiles slyly from one side of the plane, laying upon her front with her shapely legs crossed behind her. She appears to be rolling a pair of dice. The scrollwork writing underneath her reads, "Lucky Lady".

Jack has a battered military issue rucksack over his shoulder, which presumably contains all his worldly goods. Not that there's all that terribly much of them. He wanders into the hangar at an easy lope.

Kate grins and waves to you all. "Okay, let's load 'er up! Welcome to the Lucky Lady. She wasn't built to be plush, but we'll get there in good time. Make sure to strap in all your stuff with some of the ropes or bungee cables, just in case we hit some turbulence."

Lara comes from around the plane, dressed in her traditional 'adventuring duds'. Tank top, cargo shorts, gloves, and oh-yes - double holstered 9 mms to go with the backpack and sunglasses. Never let it be said Lara doesn't know how to accessorize.

Trudging up the asphalt leading to the hangar, Dr. Henry Jones Jr. arrives on the scene in a brown suit and tie, his field gear shoved into a portly valise. The valise looks terribly worn, having likely seen every corner of the globe in it's remarkable journeys. Pausing to regard the modern aircraft, he tilts his fedora back slightly, smiling wanly. "As long as she's got it where it counts, sister," he says, grinning at Kate. "Indiana Jones," he says, extending a hand.

Seishi comes jogging in, a brand-new and satisfyingly sturdy leather backpack slung over one shoulder. That and the equally new and equally practical hiking boots she's wearing probably took up most of her first paycheck. "Sorry I'm late," she apologizes as soon as she's in earshot. "It just seemed like,

adventure or no, it'd be a shame to miss dinner." She flashes a bright grin and looks around. "Are we all here?"

Kate grins and slips off one of her fingerless flight gloves, shaking Dr. Jones' hand. "Good to meet you. Kate Walsh, at your service."

Kate glances around, starting to help Jack and Indiana with their luggage. Lara's gear is presumably already stowed.

Lara smiles. "You're right on time. Do we all need introductions? I don't know if any of you have met Dr. Jones."

Jack scrambles up and in, and sets to work securing his little pack. At Lara's question he pokes his head back out and notes amiably, "I think I was there when the good doctor arrived in Beacon Harbor, if I remember rightly,"

Moving over to the plane to get his junk aboard, Indy is noticeably distracted by the getup of Lady Croft. He shakes his head, chuckling to himself. As he hears his name mentioned he nods to Jack and Seishi. He's met them both, but feels obliged to raises his fedora briefly, grunting a hello.

Seishi's regard swings towards Indiana, and she bobs her head good-naturedly. "We've met, briefly. Hi, Indy." She makes to find a spot for her backpack inside the plane and be sure it's properly secured.

Lara grins. "Right, then." she climbs into the plane. "As far as I'm concerned, from here til Cancun, Kate's the boss, and whatever she says goes." She grins in anticipation, absolutely sparkling with it.

Kate glances over at Lara, murmuring, "Any notes? Otherwise I'll do the standard safety announcement." She coughs, and says, "Okay, for those of you who have flown before, pretty much common sense rules..."

Seishi quips, once her stuff is properly in order, "Tray tables in their upright and locked positions?"

Kate says "During takeoff and landing...and any other time I request it, wear the seatbelt harnesses. When we're smooth sailing, you can move around the cabin...though there's not a lot of places to go. We do have a privy, it's the closet looking thing in the back..."

Kate grins. "We don't need no steenking tray tables. However, I'd appreciate it if you try not to spill anything...we've got a long trip ahead of us. And above all..."

Lara grins. "In case of emergency, parachutes are located where?"

Kate cocks her head in amusement. "Why, under your seats of course. You can use the cushions as flotation devices, and I'm dead serious about that."

Indiana finds a seat, slouching into it. He rolls a shoulder and loosens his tie before setting about putting on his harness. Hands folded loosely over his chest, he silently hopes that...this once...a flight will pass uneventfully. His brow furrows noticeably at Lara's remark, unpleasant memories coming back en masse.

Kate says "But probably the most important thing I will say is..."

Kate says "Do not, repeat, DO NOT open the side cargo door at anytime. I've got a latch up front, though there is an emergency release. Don't even think of touching it. Unless, of course, depressurizing and being sucked out over the Gulf of Mexico is this group's idea of a good time. It's not mine, for the record."

Seishi grins lopsidedly, retrieving a slightly battered paperback from her backpack before settling into a seat. "Sounds reasonable," she opines.

Lara notes mildly, "I can think of better things to do."

Kate says "Then let's be off! Load in, and put on the safety harnesses. Lara, are you wanting to take the front seat in the cockpit? Passenger seat, of course."

Lara says "I'm not picky, Kate. If it'll help to keep you alert, I'll be glad to. I know it's a long flight."

Lara then adds slyly, "Or perhaps Jack would get more out of it. He hasn't gotten to fly very often."

Kate shakes her head. "No problem. I know what I need to do. Otherwise, someone else can ride up front...or you can all sit in the back. Let's head out."

The blonde lifts one shoulder, then drops it, in that half shrug. "It seems to have more legroom," he notes. Which would make a difference, considering his

height.

Kate grins, and gestures. "Then in we go. I'll wait for you guys to load in, then I'll close the door behind you."

Grinning a little at the others, Indiana lets himself slump further in his chair, palming the top of his fedora to dip over his eyes. Smacking his lips in a lazy fashion, he evidently intends to go to sleep.

Inside the plane, most of the area is flat and empty. But you do see about six seats bolted solidly into the walls and floor of the plane, each with a sturdy seatbelt harness upon them. Other areas look like they're intended for cargo storage, with ropes and stretching bungee cables hooked through various circular bolts coming from the walls. A small closet is in the back of the plane, and through an opening you see a crawl-way into the cockpit.

Seishi fastens herself into her chosen seat, fully prepared to settle down with her book once they've gotten airborne.

Lara opts to sit in the back, settling down easily and leaving the front seat to Jack. Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match...

<OOC> Jack thwaps Lara.

<OOC> Lara says "Lara Croft. The Original British Yenta."

<OOC> Seishi giggles.

Jack obediently settles into the seat beside Kate's. Like he's going to kick and scream about being forced to spend time with the pilot - don't you throw me in that briar patch, Br'er Fox.

Kate gives the cargo door a good shove, and it slides shut with a satisfying click of the latch. There's the follow up sound of a lock being set, and then Kate walks around to remove the parking blocks and climb up into the cockpit. She puts on a headset, tapping the microphone. "Testing, testing. Y'all hear me back there?"

Lara calls back in her smooth tones, "We hear you, Kate."

A single "Yeah," comes from under the tilted hat covering Dr. Jones face, muffling his voice slightly.

Kate gives a last-chance reminder to have your seatbelts on, then the engines rev and through the small round windows you see the propellers start to turn. The plane moves slowly out of the hangar and up the drive to the runway, and then up in the cockpit there's the exchange between Kate and the Tower for clearance to taxi onto the runway.

Kate speaks into the microphone, "We just got the go-ahead to fly. Hang on tight, people!" The engines' whine climbs to a higher pitch, and the body of the craft hums a bit...and then it starts to speed down the airstrip, lifting off smoothly into the air. Off to Cancun.

<OOC> Indiana cues the Red Line.

<OOC> Seishi says "And the theme music. :)"

Leaving New Orleans, Kate comes on the loudspeaker over the cabin. "Okay, we're on the home stretch now. We're going to be flying over the Gulf to the Yucatan Peninsula now...I got the word from the meteorologist at our last stop that there might be some storms in the Gulf, but our flight plan should keep us away from those. But I'll let you know if it looks like we're going to get bumpy."

Jack cracks an eye, awakening from his doze as she makes her announcement.

Lara sits with her legs crossed in a meditative position along the bench, hands placed in meditative posture. Strapped in, she sits very straight, her long braid trailing down her front. "Good flying, Kate." she calls in compliment.

And for the first part of the trip over the blue water, things go smoothly. Then comes a cloudbank, which Kate tries to climb a bit to avoid, but grumbles as she sees that the increased height isn't going to make much difference. You hear mumbling half-conversations from the cockpit about how she can't go up too much further, lest we cross into jetliner routes. And she's sure as hell not going to do /that/...

Jack asks, mildly, "What will happen then? What is a jetliner?" as he stretches a little in his seat.

Seishi finished her book within about two hours of takeoff, and presently she seems to be in meditation--several stages deeper than Lara's, by the looks of her. She sits in a comfortably erect, rather nontraditional posture, head slightly inclined and eyes very nearly closed.

Kate says "Well, it would be like driving a horse & buggy into City Center at rush hour unannounced. You know, all the car traffic might very well hit the horses, and the cars are higher powered than the buggy."

Sitting in his seat, a book with yellowed, dogeared pages held loosely in his hand, Indiana seems lost in research for the moment. As the cabin darkens slightly with the signs of inclement weather, he squints a little, then glances curiously at Seishi's posture. Noting her flexibility, he smiles inwardly, then glances back at his book. "I wouldn't worry about it. Gulfstream's always raising a ruckus of some kind or another." Never...NEVER...listen to Indiana Jones' advice about flying.

Kate says "And a jetliner is a very big plane. Carries over a hundred people, and we barely can carry eight. Much higher powered engines than we, and.../crap!/"

"Oh." Jack replies, eyes widening slightly. "I see." Wonderful. Maybe he'll faint on this trip too.

Kate stops her running commentary to switch on the radio, as the storm outside grows progressively worse. "Seatbelts, people!" She calls back to the cabin.

Lara's eyes flick open. She unfolds her legs, and while she's already strapped, she sits in a more appropriate position.

Snapping the book shut, eyes looking towards the cockpit, Indy purses his lips, then draws the harness back into place. "I knew it..." he mutters. "Knew it. Never fails."

Seishi unbends herself out of her seat and settles back in the generally accepted manner, strapping herself back in. And promptly sinks back into a meditative trance. It seems like the best option just now.

Jack is happily whiteknuckling it up in the cockpit, though he's managed to keep his face impassive.

Now you see the reason why the seats of this plane have full harnesses to keep the passengers strapped in, where a jet would just have lap belts. The storm winds buffet the plane, and after listening to the radio and sending some fairly incoherent messages out to the nearest air control tower, Kate switches on the com again. "We've just received word that the 'bank of storms' that we were supposed to be completely avoiding is actually now called Tropical Storm Clarisse, and she's made an unexpected veering right into our flight path. It's going to be rocky, I hope you have your gear all strapped down..."

Lara actually grins at Indiana's commentary, and waits patiently to see if Kate has any further instructions. "Check! I'm fine." she calls out, looking to her compatriots.

Seishi opens her eyes at /that/. "Anybody bring a Doors album?" she inquires dryly.

Kate mumbles to herself, "I hope no one's eaten anything in the last few hours..." as the winds pick up the little plane and toss it hither and thither. At least, that's what it feels like...turbulence from Hell. Kate calls out, "I'm going to have to veer from our course to try and get out of the storm!" But right after that, it feels like the plane actually rolls to the left and then a loooooooong drop...

Adjusting his hat so that it's tighter on his head, Indiana's teeth set on edge. As the plane rattles, he mutters "Every...godamn...time..." Feeling his stomach enter his throat with the sudden descent, he grips onto the back of the seat in front of him. "Hold on!"

Lara feels the inertia let go and lets out a breath. Her lips press together tightly. Without something to occupy her mind or hands, there's nothing to do but think, and thinking tends to lead to Tibet, and crash landing in Tibet, and being the only survivor - no, don't go there. Her chin juts out, and she braces for landing.

Seishi's fingers dig into the edge of her seat, bracing herself. Breathe. Air goes in, air comes out. Simple concept. Do it again.

Jack has his teeth clenched, hands tight on the sides of his seat. He's still staring straight ahead, out into the swirling cloudiness beyond the windshield.

Fortunately, Kate had the microphone off when she let out her piercing shriek of anger and frustration, though Jack certainly got the full volume in its top intensity. He, of course, gets the interesting sight of watching this small little woman wrestling with the controls, forcing the plane with sheer will and strength out of the dive. He also gets serenaded with a volley of blue language that would cause a sailor to lift his eyebrows. "The #$@#ing engines are cutting out! We're going to have to make an unscheduled landing!" Of course...all around you are trees, but that's better than the ocean?

Lara reasserts her grip, and waits for impact. "I hope this doesn't ruin Jack on planes forever!" she calls out above the sudden roar. Lightness, when one can.

Jack is more shocked by hearing those words come out of a lady than by the fact of the engines failing - he doesn't viscerally comprehend what that means the same way those who grew up with the reality of planes do. Kate gets gawked at, before Jack (ears burning) wrenches his attention back to the imminent situation. "What precisely do we do now?" he asks, somehow managing to sound offhanded.

While Indy's a lousy pilot, he makes up for it for his advanced knowledge in Crashing. "I'm getting positively used to this. Jack - brace yourself! Duck and cover!" He folds his arms over his chest, curling his body over in anticipation of the impact. Hitting water can be just as bad as hitting solid rock at this speed. He shuts his eyes, envisions the beaches of Cancun.

Seishi sisses her own advice through gritted teeth: "Close your eyes and think of England." When uncertain, sarcasm is the Way To Go.

Kate says over the microphone, "Brace yourselves! I think I see a clearing, so that's where we're landing! Hell if I know where we are, all my placement controls are shot..." This is said as the trees grow closer, and closer, until you can see leaves and branches momentarily as the small plane skims over them...and another volley of curses comes as the landing gear gets stuck on something, and you make a HARD, crashing, skidding landing...finally coming to a slow, quiet...stop.

Seishi opens her eyes slowly. We're not moving any more. Which means... we landed. Which means... we're not dead. "Are we there yet?" she chirps in the perkiest voice she can possibly manage.

Kate lets out a deep breath, looking over at Jack. "Welcome to the wonderful world of aviation. Statistically, it's still the safest way to travel."

Jack just turns to her, oddly composed. "I suppose jumping out with those sheet things might have been a better way to exit after all."

Once the plane comes to a thudding halt, Dr. Jones emits a short groan, which is muffled against the seat in front of him. He remains half bent over, fists unclenching. He cautiously opens an eye. Turning it around to gauge the situation, he speaks, still muffled "Nice landing," Lifting his head, then removing his slightly rumpled hat to feel his forehead, he glances around. "Everybody okay?"

The cargo hatch makes a popping noise, and opens slightly. Kate released the switch, it seems.

"Oh," Seishi replies, with only a little quiver in her voice, "dandy. The more pressing question is, how's the plane? Are we going to be able to make it back out of here?"

Kate opens her own cockpit door. "That's what I'm going to find out. I'm betting the landing gear is going to need some repairs..."

Lara nods. "I'm alright." she says, and slowly unbuckles her harness. She begins to carefully make her way through the plane. "Excellent flying, Kate." she says. She checks her thick-banded wrist-watch. "I'm going to check the storage area." And with that, she heads for the back.

Unsteadily moving his fingers to undo his harness, Indy slumps a little, adjusting to the new tilt of the craft. He pulls himself up, testing his legs, massaging his jaw. "Whatever we're paying you, lady, you just earned twice as much," he says, looking earnestly at Kate. He then tugs his hat back on.

Kate throws open the cargo door. "Lara, don't suppose you have a GPD?"

Seishi pops her seat harness loose and pries herself up onto her feet. "What can I do?" she asks. "Anything?"

Lara calls back, "I did. Unfortunately, it's not linked to a system in this universe." she grimaces. "My compass is working, though. I'm checking the maps....I think we're south of the city. We should be right near the border of the jungle."

Kneeling by his tied down valise, Indy undoes a cord wrapped around it, then hefts it in both hands. He moves somewhat unsteadily towards the privy, presumably to change.

Kate is now at the cabin in person. "I'm going to need to run some checks on the engines, and then survey the landing equipment. Right, I think we're about...here. Give or take some miles. Should we send up a flare, or are you close enough that you can do what you guys need to do?"

Lara looks over her shoulder. "Shouldn't be more then a few hours' hike. Do you want to stay and work on the plane, or should we wait for your assessment and see if you want to come along?"

Kate shakes her head. "I'm going to need all the daylight I can get, to work on this. Why don't you guys head out? I brought a portable radio, you can take that with you, if you decide not to come back here for camp tonight."

Lara nods. "Sounds like a plan." she doesn't ask if Kate has a weapon. She considers Kate smart enough. "Alright, everyone. If there are no injuries to tend to, grab what you need for the hike and let's get moving." She climbs out of plane, and stretches her legs briefly.

Jack looks dubious. "Are you sure we should leave Kate here alone?" he asks.

Kate arranges the box-like radio in Jack's pack. "I'll be okay. I bought a gun, I've got flares...hmmm, I'm going to send a few with you guys, just in case...and some good knives, too. Also snakebite and first aid kit. I knew I was flying near the jungle."

Stepping out of the back of the plane, now better clad for a tromp through the jungle, Indiana moves to his old seat, dropping the valise on it. He pauses to pull the Webley revolver from it, snapping it so that it seems to fold in half. Peering into the chambers, he removes six slugs and slides them into place before snapping the gun shut again. He then removes the whip, coiling it and placing it at his belt. He listens as the others discuss their options, then moves over to eye the maps as well. "Going to need to get outside to get a good read on our position and check the radio. If we're near the temple, I'd just as soon get a move on."

Lara looks at the revolver in faint amusement. How quaint. She spreads out the map, offering the view to all and sundry, as well as indicating her compass.

Seishi frees her backpack from its secured spot, and takes a moment to fish out the things not necessary for a hike--not all that much. She packed pretty light. Then she straightens once more, shrugging it over her shoulders. "I guess I'm as ready as I'm going to be."

Jack yields, holding up his hands a moment, before hoisting his pack up onto his back. "Very well, then," he accedes, turning slowly around to survey the surrounding jungle. The local wildlife has recovered from the shock of the plane's landing, and the raucous cries of jungle birds echo, though nothing it to be seen moving.

Lara points toward the jungle, seeming to have made up her mind. "Everyone ready? Indy?"

Indiana makes a somewhat florid gesture of 'lead on', like a servant bowing to his lady's will. "Your party, sweetheart. I'm just here for the sights." He grins like the bastard he is, then tromps out into the underbrush outside of the downed plane.

<OOC> Lara imagines Henry Sr suddenly bopping up, announcing, "Your mother and I were married!" and bashing Indy on the head with his umbrella.

Lara grins. "Right then. Let's go." And with that, she gives her backpack a shrug and heads off into the brush.

Kate is already throwing the hood up on the first engine, her toolbox at her feet and armed with a sturdy-looking spanner.

Seishi follows Lara's lead, looking around her with great interest. First time in a jungle.

Jack hefts the loaned shotgun in the crook of his arm, taking rearguard for the moment. He waits for the others to pass, then pads after, feet soundless.

<OOC> Jack says "Chewie! Hand me the hydrospanner!"

Kate waves farewell as the party disappears into the jungle...then turns back to her work.

The calls of the jungle surround the group as they trudge towards their objective, the Mexican wilderness not as lush or thick as the Amazon variety. Soon, though, they are enveloped by its dark, humid embrace.

The hike is a good couple of hours. Eventually though, the pyramid can be seen in the distance, and that's enough to encourage the party as they move forward. The sun hasn't set yet, but perhaps soon. Every now and then, a low growl and a flutter of brush is heard along with the squawks and coos and cries - animals galore in the jungle.

Slapping at his neck as an unidentified insect attempts to snack on him, Indy looks up at the shafts of light visible through the thick leaves. "So you really think this Gem's stayed in one place all these years, Your Ladyship?"

<OOC> Lara checks her head for big braid-buns.

<OOC> Indiana works the Ford schtick in its many incarnations.

Lara says conversationally, "If it has moved, we'll soon find out." She seems more and more animated as they get closer to the temple.

Jack marches along staunchly at the end of the little column, singing softly to himself, "Come you back, you British soldier, come you back to Mandalay," He breaks off suddenly, eyes narrowing suddenly. "Halt," he orders.

Off in the distance...is that the sound of an engine?

Seishi comments absently, "From what I can tell, stuff like this stays put for one of three reasons..." She trails off at Jack's command, and stops where she is, looking up curiously.

Indiana pauses. Twists his head slightly to glance back towards Jack. Voice lowered, he says "We expecting company?" His eyes search the underbrush, then what little can be made of the distant horizon through the ropey vines and gnarled tree trunks.

Or perhaps....there's the low, guttered noise of an animal growling. First one...then another...and another. And it's surrounding them. Lara's halted, and she's pulled her guns out, keeping them up. "I think we may have crashed a party." she says delicately.

"Something's not right here," Jack states, with utter assurance, glancing down to reassure himself that the weapon is loaded. He's poised lightly on his feet, eyes scanning the underbrush.

"Well, crap," is Seishi's muttered comment. She shifts her weight into not quite a guard posture. Yes, it has occurred to her she's the only one here not armed.

Not reaching for a weapon, Indy shakes his head, then reaches up to slowly rub his unusually clean-shaven chin. Blue eyes shifting under the shadow of his hat brim, he mutters "Everybody relax."

Jack is, oddly enough, grinning crookedly. Now for some real fun, perhaps. He jogs the shotgun tenderly, as if it were a fussing infant. "Here, kitty, kitty,"

There's the sound of rushing air, as suddenly in different spots all around them - five, six, seven figures suddenly land on the ground from the trees. Eight and nine feet tall, they are humanoid - and yet are covered in fur, with the heads of jaguars. Some have only their claws, others have daggers and spears. One of them growls something in what must have been the ancient Aztec tongue, and they all begin to advance, snarling and hissing on the group.

Seishi looks mildly toward Indy, shifting into a full-fledged guard. "You were saying something about 'relax'?"

Indiana looks askance at the thin Victorian, then turns on his heel to face one of the landing humanoids. His face screws up in patent disbelief, staring at the feline warriors. He mutters "Hadn't counted on -this-," he says, somewhat apologetically. He keeps his hands high, fingers loose, not wanting to make any move just yet. He listens to the voices, trying to place what is being said.

The shotgun still dangles loosely in his grip - Jack hasn't brought it up to bear on the approaching feline warriors. Relaxed - he certainly is, though there's a perturbingly manic glitter in the pale eyes. "What immortal hand or eye dared frame thy fearful symmetry?" he quotes, under his breath.

The roughest translation is something about 'pale-skin' and 'violate' and 'sacred ground'. Lara seems to catch a bit of it too. "Lovely." she says, and then suddenly the leader leaps, and the guns are out, and a pair of shots ring out. The leader falls back to the ground, quite dead. Well, at least they now know bullets will kill those things. "I suggest we start moving and shooting." says Lara, as spears and knives start flying and the jaguar men begin to lope forward on all fours.

Struggling a little to put textbook knowledge to conversational usage, Indy says "Niltze. Mopopolh..." Then the bullets and spears start flying. "I was..." He ducks as an obsidian knife hurtles through the air at him, sticking with a twang in the trunk of a tree behind him. "...was trying to TALK to them!" he grouses, pulling back behind the tree. His fingers fumble for his holster.

Jack turns to face the nearest, and begins to fire at regular intervals. He still keeps to the end of the line, walking backward - counting on the others to watch his back. "Something tells me they don't intend to ask us in for tea, Jones," he notes airily, then mutters, "If only I had time to get one of those skins. Replace that snow leopard Charlotte spilled her juice on." Yep, the great white hunter is peeved that there's no time for trophies.

Seishi quirks a very crooked, not entirely humorous grin, identifying quietly, "Blake. Very apt." And then, with two quick steps forward, Seishi leaps--some fifteen feet into the air, soaring in an arc that becomes a flying kick aimed for the throat of one of the warriors.

Lara grimaces. She said /run/, not attack. But she does admire Seishi's guts, so she moves back a couple of feet to stay near Jack, pair of guns turned and aimed at the next one as a spear lands next to her. "Seishi!" she calls out. Seishi's kick connects, knocking the warrior back a few feet, but he does not fall. He snarls in anger at the woman, tossing aside his dagger and revealing his claws.

Jack levels the shotgun at the warrior baring his claws at Seishi. "Down!" he barks at her, intending to fire over her, almost pointblank.

Watching Seishi's airborne attack with the face of a man trying to figure out where the wires are, Indy is distracted from drawing his gun long enough for a pair of knives to be added to the dagger already adorning his cover. He pops around, firing the revolver three times, more to buy time than connect with anything. He then ducks slightly and cuts off into the jungle, boots darting over thick brush and rocks.

Seishi hears Jack's shout, but doesn't go down--she goes up again, bouncing like a tennis ball even as she hits the ground from that kick and rocketing straight up to catch the nearest branch--some twenty feet off the ground. There she dangles, feet vaguely kicking the air.

One down, six to go. Bang! Make that five. Lara gets another one, even as she starts stepping backwards. "We can't be that far from the temple!" she calls out. "But it's three hundred and sixty five steps to the very top to find the entrance!"

Jack simply opens the attacking cat-warrior with a blast to the chest. "Well, we'd best hurry," he notes, still nonchalantly. "I'm running low, here."

Indy turns in mid-stride to shoot another randomly aimed bullet, then spins back around. He continues hoofing it, gait slowing at intervals to check on the progress of others or duck down another section of the jungle, trying to lose the Aztec jaguar-men. "Almost there," he mutters.

Seishi swings from the branch for a few moments, picking up some momentum, and then she lets go, tumbling through the air to land far too lightly on her feet just at Lara's left hand. "Great," she says with a bright-eyed grin, "no problem."

Lara grins. "Perhaps we can scare them off. Jack, I've got more bullets - I'll give you a reload for the shotgun when we get to the top. One three, whoever's going to, run, and I'll start shooting cover fire. One...two...three....go!" Her guns go off, one after the other - Lara's actually smiling, even as she's beginning to run herself. Oh, she's having a marvelous time.

Indy, meanwhile, has made it to the foot of the long series of steps.

Jack tucks the shotgun under his arm, and turns to sprint for the higher ground of the temple steps. It's quite a turn of speed, though perhaps one might expect it, with those long legs.

Just behind Jack, Seishi takes off at a sprint. And she doesn't stay behind Jack for long. It's an odd sight, the little Asian woman darting past the much taller Englishman, but she beats him to the foot of the temple steps with room to spare, and greets him with bright eyes and a faintly flushed face. "Hi."

Jack simply reaches out to start dragging her up the stairs as he reaches, then passes her. "No time to waste, miss," he notes, briskly. "Come along,"

As the sounds of his cohort engaged in combat with the locals echo over the clearing, he slows, jogs, then comes to a walking stop. He pauses to turn in place, checking the layout of the temple in relation to the vine-covered stone faces and broken pillars surrounding it. Smiling thinly to himself, he walks slowly through the ruin. At the base of the Teccalo to the Smoking Mirror, Tetzcatlipoca. He rests his hands on his hips, looking up the broad, nearly flat 'stairs' up.

Indiana holds out an arm to block Jack and Seishi. "Hold it."

There's more shots, and then Lara makes it up.

Indy speaks in slightly distracted voice, a lecture to a phantom audience. "This place has seen more blood in the past few hundred years than the Chicago dockyards. Up there," Indy points to the top of the pyramid. "They gave hearts of their enemies to the worship of the god of this place; Tetzcatlipoca. the dark brother of Quetzalcoatl. Then, the Conquistadors came through and enslaved their worshippers, slaughtered those who resisted." He kneels, regarding carvings, reveling the quality of them, the stories they can tell. "Dr Monteujez and his Cult of the Jaguar had their share of killing around here since then. AND..." He tests a heel on a step, gingerly. "There's probably the Gem of Amarra in there." He takes another step, grunts, then scratches his neck. "Stairs look okay."

Down in the forest, there's a sound of rustling in the distance. Whether it's animals or wind...?

Lara presses her lips together thinly. "I feel like I'm in a Nike commercial." she gives Indy an appreciative look - impressed perhaps, by the delivery of his speech. Then she shrugs. "Just do it, I suppose." And she starts to climb up the steps.

Jack notes, with just the barest tinge of tension in his voice, "We may well have company again, soon. Do we have any indication that the stairs are trapped?"

Seishi eyes Indy with distinct wariness. "Tetzcatlipoca. As in Smoking Mirror. As In Burning Water. As in people flayed alive and little kids painted with rubber-tree sap and drowned. May I just say: yaaaaaay." There's a distinctly sardonic tang to her voice, and she turns that wary regard toward the temple itself. "May as well forge in," she decides. A long, slow intake of breath, a bending of her knees, a rush of air and she's gone, sailing in another impossible leap that takes her some fifteen or twenty feet up the pyramid. Well, why hike the stairs if you can jump them? She waits there, turning to watch the

others climb.

Lara calls up, "You've got to teach me how to do that!"

Indiana watches Lara ascend, crooks a half-grin, then says "Looks like it. After you," in reply to Jack. He then looks back towards the jungle, lines forming in his brow, a look of vexation. "Those cat-people probably know what we're up to. C'mon." He then begins to trudge upwards after Jack, Lara, and the lighter-than-air Seishi, muttering "Show-off."

Jack notes, idly, "Drowning children was a sacrifice to Xipe-totec, not Smoking Mirror," as he trots sturdily up the steep steps.

Seishi calls back down with a grin, "Got seven or eight years to learn?"

Lara responds wryly, "I'm not going anywhere." Seishi's soon at the top - a simple structure, stone slabs marked with pictographs as walls and ceiling, and a stone table stained reddish in the center, open to the air.

There's another sound on the wind. Like gears shifting. Or perhaps rocks settling somewhere near the ruin. Hard to tell.

Seishi is therefore lounging comfortably at the top when the other three finally make it up. She hasn't moved from the spot where she landed, and has the grace not to ask what took them so long.

Lara starts to look around. "The entrance is supposed to be here..." she looks at the table, under it. "Hrmm."

Moving with sturdy if graceless steps up the long, long stairwell, Indiana stops near the top to remove his hat and wipe a sleeve of his jacket across his brow. "You familiar with Xipe Totec?" he asks Jack, looking curious. "Man of many talents." He then replaces his hat and stands by the altar, turning to regard the other carvings, moving close to get a good look.

Seishi turns to watch the others as they poke about; this is their field. A lot /she/ knows about finding hidden entrances to ancient temples of bloodthirsty gods.

Something again...in the distance. A chop*chop*chop noise, in the air. Why, that sounds just like a...

"Lemme know if you see 'Press Here To Open' anywhere, Lara," Dr. Jones says with a wry twist of his lips, heart strangely lightened by the sheer amount of history surrounding him, awaiting him within - even if it is, as he said, a bloody history. He looks impatiently at a pictogram, muttering uselessly about their quality.

The tall Brit doesn't bother to start poking about, or examining the carvings and figurework. He simply stands for a moment, utterly still - a very vague look appears on his face, the expression worn when deeply wrapped in opiate dreams. Then he moves confidently forward, to lay one hand on a boss at the center of the stone table. It's stone, encrusted with lichens - but as he twists, it grates to one side, as if the dial of an ancient safe. The table begins to slide aside with the grating of stone against stone: a set of steps is revealed, leading down into the depths of the pyramid.

Lara is reading the pictures on the table. "I'm working on it, Indy..." she says absently, when suddenly the table moves to reveal the steps. "Oh." she blinks, and then turns to Jack. "How did you do that?" she asks, trying to hide her surprise.

Seishi frowns faintly. "What is that.." she starts to wonder aloud, then trails off to peer at Jack. "Well."

Blinking and looking with a mixed perplexed-amused sort of expression at Jack and his discovery, Indiana says "Uh. Huh," rather vacuously. He kneels by the stairs, hand dangling over a knee as he peers down into the dark. He slaps the reedy Britisher on the shoulder with a lazy grin. "Get your flashlights ready." He reaches into a pocket, drags out a lighter, snapping it to life.

Chop*chop*chop*chop...cue 'Ride of the Valkyries,' Capt. Kilgore. That's a helicopter coming over the trees.

Jack simply brings out his flashlight, flicks it on, and steps sedately down into the pit. "On we go, ladies, gentlemen," he notes. Not a word of explanation as to how he picked that out.

Lara removes her glow stick from her pack, and looks up at the sky. "Funny," she says mildly, "I didn't order reinforcements." With that she frowns absently, and proceeds to head in, having no qualms about going first.

Seishi trails after Lara and Jack, fishing a light out of her pack and still looking a little bemused. It's certainly a long way down into the dark...

Holding his lighter and preparing to move down after the others, Indiana looks skywards. Noting the curious vehicle moving towards the temple, he says "The hell is that? Some kind of autogyro?" Not expecting an answer, he frowns tightly and moves into the temple.

Lara says "Helicopter, actually. Permits for vertical take-off and land. VTOL."

Jack looks back over his shoulder. "Even queerer than the airplanes," he notes. "It looks like a flying eggbeater,"

"Yeah, like I said," Indy replies, poker faced. "Autogyro. Unless the locals have access to an airfield, I'd say we've got a third party interested in this trinket of yours, Lara."

The helicopter passes out of sight, the sound of its swift-rotating blades fading into the sounds of the jungle once more.

Lara hrms. "Lovely." she says. "Be on the look out, then."

It is indeed a long way down into the dark, and the stone stairs are markedly steep. The dim hand-held lights make for cautious going. And the first few minutes of descent are, truthfully, uneventful. In point of fact, the whole of the trip down is pretty damn boring, right up until the point when the very last step shifts under Lara's foot with a gritty, grinding sound, and then drops right out from under her into depths unknown.

Lara's initial shock leaves the sound of her voice trailing after her, and then suddenly there's an echoed click, a whirr, and a spiked climbing tool latches onto the side of wall. Lara hangs, looking down to see how much further the drop is.

"Lara!" Indiana shouts, hand moving instinctively to his whip. Moving forward to the ledge of the pit after the click and whirr, he peers down. "Close one," he mutters, to no real benefit. He makes a motion with his hand back upwards, saying "You want us to come down there or you need a lift back up here?"

Jack slinks over, still gingerly holding his flashlight, to peer down into where she's fallen. "Lady Croft?"

Seishi skitters back a step in surprise, nearly thumps into Indy, and moves forward instead to keep from getting stepped on, peering down into the gap that's now replaced the end of the staircase. Oh lovely.

The usual scene in cases like this would be a floor of spikes, with the bones of the last unfortunate intruders still attached. However, the lights illuminate instead what would seem to be a fairly benign passageway. It stretches off to left and right, the walls carved elaborately from floor to ceiling. It looks a lot like the passage that the stairs end into, except no holes in the floor.

Lara calls back up, "I'm fine! It's not a long drop to the ground...perhaps ten feet. Once I've let go, follow. There's a passage." With that, she drops, and the thump is heard when she hits the ground, and picks up her light stick.

Jack ahs, then tucks his flashlight into his pocket, secures the shotgun carefully in the shoulder harness, and swings lightly down to follow her.

Indiana glances back at Seishi. "Easy," he mutters. "Nice and easy." He descends into the hole, dropping down after Jack and Lara, landing rather heavily. He pauses to adjust the satchel banging against his hip, then squints around. "Lower chamber. Speaking hall, probably."

Seishi rolls her eyes. Right. Easy. That's fine for /him/ to say. She's the last one down through the hole, by the simple expedient of stepping through it and landing all too lightly on her feet down below. "So," she asks after a moment, "which way? And let me just suggest right now that we all be a little more careful about where we put our feet."

Lara considers for a moment, then decides to yank the rope down. She coils it and refits it into its gun style release. "Down the hall. The treasure room is usually behind the throne of the high priest."

Edging close to a wall carving, Indy examines it for signs, portents, or warnings. He nods to Lara's assessment, then moves gingerly down the passage, seeming to pick the right-hand way at random.

Jack doesn't seem to be guided by his earlier certainty - he picks his way as tentatively as the others, for the moment.

These stone corridors pick up and echo everything, it seems...as you're making your way carefully down the corridor, you hear the distant sound of feet, and a shouted 'Vamos!" in a thick Mexican accent.

Gesturing back and left, Indiana says, somewhat distractedly, "Netlatiloyan." Whatever that means. He points back with a bobbing thumb. "Tzompantli." He seems to consider options. "Priest's chambers. Usually a side passage." He speaks mostly for his own benefit, regarding the walls as he moves, shadow cast in strange, flickering patches of light from the assorted sources wielded by the party.

Seishi trails a bit behind, setting each foot down with great care, lest the floor chose to fall out from under her at some point.

"Lead on, good doctor," Jack drawls, having returned his shotgun to its former position in his arms.

Lara grins. Oh, she likes Indiana. Too bad she can't keep him in her pocket. She looks over her shoulder. "Company. How lovely..." she steps forward again, continuing on, until she comes to a blank wall. She presses close to it, as if listening to something, and then slides along it. She then reaches into a grip. "I can hear wind whistling...." she pulls, and suddenly the wall shifts, revealing another hallway.

The portal slides open with a rumble of stone that echoes throughout the pyramid. The room revealed is smallish, barely large enough for the group to fit in. The far wall has a table-like structure jutting from it, with two ornamental skulls resting on the protruding corners. A figure clad in tattered robes and jeweled bracers and headdress stands, back turned to the doorway. The walls and floors bear marks of arcane origin.

Looking warily into the room from one side of the unveiled passage, Dr. Jones eyes the interior, not daring to step inside just yet. "Priest's chamber alright." He then looks to Lara. "Want me to handle this or...?"

Jack pauses at the thresh-hold, looking uninclined to go further for the moment.

Lara looks to him. "I suppose. You speak better Aztec then I do."

Seishi hangs back, eyes rather wide. "Hey," she murmurs, "go right ahead."

"Gee, thanks," Indy says, bemused. He kneels, goes nearly to a crawl, blowing dust from one of the tiles on the floor. He eyes it, runs a finger an inch above it, glances around. "Alright. Astrological chart. Seasons of the year...Fall. Winter. Spring. Summer." He points out the tiles in question. "Months of each." He purposely ignores the figure standing by the table. He glances at Lara. "Ideas?"

Lara says mildly, "Presumably the chamber it is held in is behind the throne."

Seishi's attention is rather caught by the figure, herself. "Can we take him with us?" she wonders in a murmur. "Put him on the mantel. Holmes-sama would love him."

Jack quirks a grin at Seishi. "Holmes Sama? Not Holmes-sensei, or Holmes-san?" he teases softly. Someone once long ago explained to him the differences between those titles.

"Don't know if touching...that...would be a good idea," Indy says to Seishi. He then says "Season of the Jaguar God....Winter?" He takes a step forward, over a tile to land on the one indicated. He then sidesteps along a few other tiles with the same symbol, advancing towards the table and the figure.

Lara grins. "I don't think there's room in Holmes' flat." she murmurs, and waits to see what Indiana's going to do. "Should we be following you?" she asks the intrepid archaeologist.

"Yeah, but watch it," Indy says, brow furrowed as he takes another halting sidestep.

Lara nods, and after a moment's reflection on his steps, walks in the same pattern as he does.

The mummified priest standing in the midst of the room looks towards the table with vacant, black eyes, mouth opened in an eternal moan, rotted teeth broken into jagged points. In his right hand is a flint dagger, locked in his skeletal grasp. A faint rush of air wafts through the room, under the table.

"You hush," Seishi tells Jack mildly. It's too dark to see if she's blushing or not, which is almost certainly just as well. She watches Indy and Lara carefully, monkey see preparing to monkey do, if that awful sight of the dead priest doesn't make her misstep.

Frowning at the table and the standing corpse, Indiana says "You happen to have much experience getting INTO the treasure room?" He looks at Lara, brow shiny with sweat, a trailing strand of cobwebs dangling from his fedora brim. He glances around.

Lara purrs, "I happen to have quite a bit of experience, Doctor Jones." With that she carefully makes her way to the throne, climbing the dais, investigating it.

The table emits a rumble and begins to lower under Lara's weight, activating a counter weight somewhere. The priest's mouth opens wider. A hiss of air seems to rise from his dried lungs, rising up his throat. The dagger rises...

Jack stands slightly hipshot, still scanning the chamber. He's no archaeologist. He does stiffen, though, as the table starts to move.

Seishi shifts her weight uncomfortably, watching all of this with wide eyes... if she wasn't spooked before, she is now. "Um, Lara."

Lara says calmly, "I know." she adds quite amicably, "You may wish to duck."

Indy can't move for fear of stepping off of a 'safe' tile. "Whatever you're doing, do it faster!" he says, a tone of insistent desperation creeping in.

As if on cue, a slab drops down behind the group with a deafening thud, cutting off exit. With a violent bubbling, a sudden spray of orange, steaming liquid vomits from the priest's mouth. Lava! It hits the wall above the table with a scalding cloud of white smoke. The ceremonial skulls begin to vomit the molten earth forth as well, pooling onto the floor.

Lara leans over the arm of the throne, and finding some jewels inset, begins to fiddle with them. It locks. She tries again. It locks. "Dammit." she says, and continues trying to depress combinations. "Jack," she says suddenly, "Come up here and have a look at this."

Seishi flinches, with an involuntary little yelp. Don't step off the tile, don't step off the tile... "Lara!" she says more insistently.

Backing slowly away from the advancing pool of burning hot liquidity oozing across the floor, Indy's boot heels soon rest on the edge of his tile. He says "Lara...." in an edgy sort of voice.

Jack picks his way towards Lara, like a stalking heron. "Certainly, Croft," he replies, returning the shotgun to its place on his back. Again, that blank look...and the strangely surehanded motion. Someone or something it telling him just what to do.

Lara chimes in a singsong tone, "Patience is a virtue...."

Seishi retorts sharply, "Feet are a necessity!"

Lara indicates the pad. "Have a look at this." she eyes him slyly. "What do you think?"

"I think..." he doesn't get to finish telling her what he thinks. instead, he moves swiftly to drop the priest's body onto the table.

Lara suddenly presses a combination, and there's a sudden series of clinking noises as sections of the floor turn over, a sort of drain for the lava. "Ah. There we are."

Indiana looks with a pleading expression at Jack as the fumes begin to get very, very bad.

Then, as the body lands on the table, the lava feed through the floor seems to be cut off, and the table begins to balance itself out. The lava pouring from the mouths of the skulls continues, but the 'bad' tiles in the floor drop out, revealing a long drop into a pool of the bubbling stuff. A door behind the table rises, revealing the treasure room.

Jack hastily and ungracefully scrabbles for the entrance to the treasure room.

Seishi wastes no time--a moment to balance herself, and she leaps, skipping off the table and into the safer--surely safer!--environment of the next room.

With a careful shifting of his weight, Indy draws his whip and uncoils it. Whipping over to a fixture in the next chamber, he pulls himself up a ways, then kicks off of a wall to swing and drop into the treasure room.

It is as you pass into the Treasure room that a door on the far side of the same room slides open, and several men come inside...and start jabbering in Spanish, as soon as they spot your crew. <Look! It is them! The infidels who would shame the holy jewel of Acathla with their greedy thievery!>

Lara stands up, gauging her distance from pillar to pillar. Scooting back a bit, she takes a leap, then somersaults to land on one. Does it again. Then again. And again. Perfect, Olympic balance, until finally she vaults down to the treasure room.

After he lands and turns to offer a comment to Lara on their safe passage, Indy turns to see the strangers also in the gem's resting place. "Son of a bitch," he mutters.

Jack bares his teeth fiercely at the newcomers, and hastily brings out the shotgun again. "Someone tell them that now is a good time for them to leave?" he asks, voice as languid as his posture is not.

Lara sighs. "<Gentlemen, Gentlemen...there's no need to fight. I'm sure we could come to some sort of arrangement.>"

The angry shouting and brandishing of weapons is overshadowed by a shrill howl of frustration (hey, haven't you heard that sound before...?), and two large henchmen come into the room, dragging...a familiar diminutive figure in a khaki jumpsuit. "I told you, No Habla Espanol, and get your damn mitts OFF OF ME!!!"

Why, it's Kate. Escorted by two longsuffering men who look like they've sustained several kicks to the legs.

After the darkness of the passages and chambers they've come through up until now, the treasure room is quite simply dazzling. The light from flashlight and glowstick is caught, splintered, refracted dazzlingly back to the eyes from walls covered, floor to ceiling, with sparkling stones. All the colors of the rainbow, and some that the rainbow can only enviously covet, glitter in a lush garden of gems, faceted into an Eden of exotic fruits and flowers, traced about with silver and gold.

A bald man with an Aztec tattoo covering the side of his face steps through the midst of his burly cohort. A dozen or more men, clad in khaki jungle attire and military garb. He inhales, absorbing the scent of the treasure room like a man rising from a long swim. He says "<We have no desire for a fight. Merely what is ours - and our Lords. The Gem of Amarra. You have been most gracious in opening the way to our prize. Now - give it to us, or your friend here...>" He indicates Kate, drawing a combat knife from his belt, pointing it gingerly towards her throat. "<Bleeds for Acathla.>"

Kate stops her protesting, her eyes growing wide at the sight of the large knife tickling the sensitive skin of her throat.

Jack has tensed, like an animal poised to spring. He's lowered the gun very slowly, but his gaze never wavers. "Croft. What are they saying?"

Lara's brow arches. They think they've already go the gem. She might be able to use that. She looks around. Assets, assets, assets. If she pulls her guns it'll be too obvious. She notes the architecture above the treasure vault. Hrmmm. A plan forms. She edges closer to Indiana, hands up as she looks over at Jack, her head tilting incrementally for him to be ready to move on Kate's behalf. "<You want us to give you the gem?>

Indiana lets his arms dangle loose at his side, like a gunslinger facing down his foe across a dusty street. He flicks his gaze sidelong to the others, looking for signals of any kind. He then looks back to the leader of the unhappy intruders. "Acathla. Cult of Acathla. And they want the Gem or...well, you get the idea."

Smiling a sharklike smile the cultist leader turns the knife cruelly, not drawing blood, but letting the serrated edge grow closer to Kate. "<As fast as possible. Our master is impatient, and I,>" the man growls. "<Have come too far to bandy words.>"

Kate lets out a faint whimper of discomfort.

Jack has set his teeth in his lower lip, as he glances hastily at Lara. What to do?

Seishi bites her lip, looking between the cult leader and Kate and Lara and Indy... she can't nail him with that knife at Kate's throat; c'mon, someone, give her a better idea!

Lara's eyes then dart to Seishi, and toward the goons. "<Well...> she says, <Alright. Here it is!> And suddenly she sidles, reaching down to snag Indiana's whip, "Jack!" she barks, as steps away from Indiana, swirls it around, and with a crack, it latches onto one of the extensions of the architecture and brutally yanks. The wall starts to tumble forward, spilling over the abundant treasure, raining blocks down on the surprised men, of which a few manage to get out of the way.

The cultists look up and cry in dismay as the ceiling begins to give way. The leader clutches Kate's arm and drags her back as rock dust and blocks of sandstone shower down. The terrible cries of men being crushed announces the demise of four of the dozen cultists, leaving a shocked eight and their chieftain.

Leaping forward after the whip leaves his belt, Indiana whips an arm forward in wicked right cross, intending to flatten one of the surprised cult goons near to him.

Jack is a blur of motion. Though not as fast as Seishi, he's still remarkably swift as he lunges across for the leader, wielding the butt of the shotgun like a club on the one with the knife. It's not a particularly neat motion - but the big man drops like a stone, as Jack yanks Kate out of the way.

It's all the opening Seishi needed. With a ringing cry, she launches herself across the space between herself and the bad guys. Someone's jaw crushes under her heel before she goes spinning away, kicking off the wall to ram fist-first into another's throat hard enough to leave him sprawled and coughing blood.

Lara yanks back the whip, flicking it to wrap around herself as she too, engages a remaining cult member, kicking him in a roundhouse before heading to the spilled treasure.

"Jack, look out!" Kate cries, seeing a dust-covered henchman coming at her rescuer with a rather wicked survival knife drawn.

"<No!>" the leader cries as Jack fells one of the two big goons and pulls his bargaining chip to safety. "<Deliver them to Acathla! Deliver them with pain!>" A few of the men prepare to throw knives, but two drop senseless under the flurry of Seishi's Seisuru barrage. Seeing the tide turning against him all too soon, the bald man with the tattoo moves towards the gemstones nearest to him, scanning the chaotic ruin of the room for the Gem of Amarra.

Indy lands after his jumping punch faced with the second of Kate's two 'guards'. He smiles and shrugs at the man, then kicks him in the groin with a somewhat sloppy kick. "Lara! The Gem!" He points towards a stone fixture in the wall. The man he kicked rises and clubs him across the side. Indy drops with a wheeze.

Lara looks up, and sees it. She leaps forward, tucking into a roll and coming up with guns in her hands, next to the fixture. She fires at the nearest cultist.

Jack whirls, though not quickly enough to avoid taking a nasty slash on the shoulder. There's obviously no training in it, though his native grace seems to help quite a bit as he lashes out at his attackers, still wielding the shotgun like a club.. not enough time to shift his grip.

Kate's hands are lashed together with cord bindings that she hasn't been able to undo yet, but Kate does manage to slide out a foot and trip up one of the slightly dazed-by-clubbing attackers.

Blood blossoms from the front of the man shot down by Lara's automatics and the man is thrown backwards against a pillar, leaving a smear. "Acathla... Mundatus sum... pro te necavi..." the bald man says in a manic chant. He clambers up a broken slab to grasp for the Gem.

Jack's rifle cracks another skull, then another, but the wood splinters as this man goes down for the count. A third man trying to wrestle Jack to the ground ends up smacking his jaw on the floor thanks to Kate's footwork.

Indiana gets up, grips his side with a pained expression. The big man socks him across the face, causing a small spray of spittle and dust to rise from the archaeologist. Indy hits the floor of the chamber again.

Lara kicks at the bald man's hand, turns her gun on him, and shoots.

The Gem of Amarra is held in the triumphant cultists hands, his fevered gaze locked on it. The moment of evil reverie is shattered by the 9mm rounds perforating his midsection. The man drops backwards in seeming slow motion, jewel dropping from his slackening fingers, skittering across the chamber floor.

Lara leaps for it, grabbing the gem in her hand and clutching it. "Got it!" she yells excitedly. "Let's get out of here!"