[DC ... 20 reflex save. If failed make 2 DC17 fort v. poison. 1st effect d6 con as above, 2nd effect blindness for d6 rounds. The yuan-ti noble is alive, but wounded.]
With yet more toxin flowing in his veins Du’minh feels his life force quickly slipping away. He feels feverishly hot while at the same time chillingly cold, a different sort of doom than he used to facing... but he will not to go out without a fight or give the yuan-ti satisfaction to see its work come to fruition.
“Hnn … Is that all you got, serpent? You’ll have to do better… ahh… than drool and spit on me…”
The Rish-i-Chal compensates for his drained vitality by fighting with more caution and tactical wit. He falls into a defensive stance and harries the yuan-ti with carefully timed swings, keeping himself decidedly between the halfblood ahead of him and Ya’shenn and Ii’Jyka’Vaar behind him.
OOC
Combat Expertise for 4 points and Power Attack for 1.
Substantial Con damage means that even if Du survives the drop in hp, he might croak soon after when secondary poison kicks in. Can anybody help with restoring Con or removing/delaying poison?
[Of course. 
]
Ya'shenn's eyes widen in alarm -- indeed, the psion feels a moment of near-total panic -- when she realizes just how much poison Du'minh likely has inside his system. The pain and weakness in his voice...
At least the gazebo didn't fall on him.
Taking care to avoid the hostile yuan-ti -- especially its envenomed blade -- as much as possible, Ya'shenn reaches out to touch the Rish-i-Chal, narrowly missing a few armor spikes in the process. Hopefully the poison hasn't already rendered him too delirious to tell friend from foe. The psion is accustomed to healing under the pressure of battle, and it only takes a few moments of concentration to absorb as much of the foul snake-graith venom as she can. She tries not to dwell on the fact that if a githwarrior of Du'minh's height and weight is reacting so badly to yuan-ti venom, its effect on her is unlikely to be much more mild.
[Empathic Transfer to absorb the poison, which should at least prevent Du'minh from suffering the secondary effects. I don't think AoO is an issue, but if it is, she will manifest defensively.]
.........[oops ignore the d20 rolls, meant d8, not d20 8 times, lol
The yuan-ti noble is a skilled swordsman, and is quicker than Du'minh. He manges to deliver another armor-penetrating blow before Arbiter puts in the final word. The snake is not quick enough to duck Du'minh's strike. The yuan-ti stumbles backwards, encountering one of the standing basins. He uses the basin to right himself, but Du's next swing puts and end to him. The basin's water is replaced by blood as the yuan-ti's body slides down, it's skull caved in.
There is a dark venom covering Du'minh's face, and it is fortunate indeed that he managed to keep the stuff out of his eyes. Ya'shenn unwraps more of her strips to wipe the toxin away as well as for use as bandages and tends to the weakened Du'minh.
****
On the other side of the gazeebo, now out of sight to the rest, Gy-Nath fights a squad of guards alone. K'tch had been hanging back, preparing something in a medium-sized pack. Now he suddenly shouts a single word in battle-speak, "Eyes!" He thows a glittery confetti in the air, which then ignites with arcane luminosity. Gy rolls away from combat, covering his eyes, but the bedazzling light pierces the eyes of the serpent-men.
The great serpent hisses,"I am Ssash Asht Shoh, of the house of the Hooded Ones. You will pay for your destructive ways with your life, Dragon-gith. Your kind is finished. Your armies may have scared away our guests for a time, but you are now defeated and they've returned. You may have cost my house much profit this day with your murderous raid, but you at least will die here and now."
[3 rounds rolled for. Roll for 2 more rds for Ar'dru which will catch up, making next att Yuan-ti again.]
[EDIT: Attack bonus of +15/+8, so rd1 miss/hit, rd2 hit/miss, rd3 miss/hit. Damage ... ignore last dam roll ... 38 damage total over 3 rounds]
[There are still 3 guards recovering from the burning dust I forgot about. I guess they were confused by the dust and the collapse of the gazeebo. Even better, what they did was join the other coughing bowman who got away and are headed to link up with a roaming squad. When they come back it'll be 2 Shieldmen, 2 fresh spearmen, 2 caughing spearmen, 2 caughing bowmen.
All githyanki (but not Ar'dru, who's busy) will be ready for action and able to act first when they come back (which will be now-ish)]
[ooc- here's my next 2 rounds. I guess I shouldn't complain with all the crits I've geen getting lately
. btw, Azure is the abomination's AC what it is in the MM because if the falcion's 2-handed I may have hit with one of my previous rolls.]
[Yea, sorry AC 20 so 1 more greatsword hit]
Greatsword damage
Du’minh tries to hold still while Ya'shenn wipes venom off him, though he has never been good at suppressing restlessness when there still is much to be done. With little success he tries to feign a modicum of strength – or at least appear less weak than he truly is.
“You have pulled me from the depths, Ya’shenn… My eternal gratitude is yours...”
“As well, I beg your forgiveness for endangering both of you in the demolition.”
[Du'minh is at -8 Con or so... what % HP right now?]
[He has about 1/4 to 1/3 of his normal max hp. Not so bad he can't take another good hit or two.]
"You need not ask..."
Ya'shenn almost immediately begins to feel a mix of fever and chills as the yuan-ti venom starts to take effect. She looks at the Rish-i-Chal with genuine concern -- he is still far from healed, and the combination of gazebo, poison, and unfriendly serpent-barbarians could easily have slain him. The stinging pain/numbness of the graith poison is very distracting, however. She eyes the group of five... six... eight yuan-ti who remain determined to fight, and hopes that the warlock from the Band of Copper -- Kirath -- has another fireball to cast, for she is occupied at the moment. The psion closes her eyes and concentrates intently, using much of her remaining Power to attempt to detoxify the poison.
[Body Adjustment to attempt to remove the poison...]
............ meanwhile, unknown to the others, on the opposite side of the ruined gazebo ...
Kirath seeing the yuan-ti survivors once again rally into a ragged formation mutters to himself "Stupid snakes you would figure that they would learn to spread out more" What is this the 3rd time the fools have been fried to a crisp?"
Once again the warlock swoops through the air his babard bearing the insignia of the Copper Ring flapping in the rush of wind created by his flight. The tiny gith brandishes the slender wand of arcane fire and yells "Inferno!" A small bead of crimson light flies from the wand speeding towards the remaining group of yuan-ti. Upon impact of the first of the snake-men the bead explodes into ball of fiery destruction engulfing the harborers of the Enemy.
( Next round Kirath will land and use his wand of lesse restoration on Du'minh.)
The Yuan-ti are singed, but their armor witstands the flames. Not so for the light robes of the slaves manning the shields, who take the brunt of the blast. Both shielmen are badly burned, though they too survive. They are really too badly burned to continue the fight, but fear of their masters keeps them in line. They stay put, protecting the bowmen, while the spearmen all advance.
Both bowmen notch arrows and aim for Kirath ....
[K's already taken 2 arrows, 15 pts of dam total if i recall. The other 'yanki can act before they get a shot off, but with the spearmens' reach, attacking melee takes a charge, which the spears are set to retcieve.]
fort save and attacks
..........
OOC: What nearby targets are there. I don't quite get where I've d-doored in relation to everyone else.
DP
Sorry for the delay, tactical situation is thus; Ii'jyka'vaar, Du'minh, and Ya'shenn are over by the ruins of the Gazebo. Na'rai and Kirath are out in the cortyard. Ar'dru is nearby, but dueling with the high-up Yuan-ti. four spearmen are advancing. Due to the reach of their spears, they can AoO any PC who attacks without a long weapon (Ii's and Na's weapons count as a long weapons). So far, only Kirath has acted.
The shield-slaves are protecting the bowmen, who are shooting at Kirath , 1 hit but I haven't rolled damage.
PCs' options are attack spearmen (risking AoOs) or delay until spearmen attack,
With renewed vigour and still covered in blood and dust Ii'Jyka'Vaar shakes the rubble of her, and with a hand from Ya'shenn she gets up from under the wooden beam that had had her pinned, she then proceeds to step in front of Ya'shenn and receive the advancing 4 spearmen with her blade...
"Rhaaaaa.... Let my blade bite deep and take blood and soul from you weakling Graith!" and she hacks away at the 4 spearmen, her first attack not as focused, but the follow up is much better and crashes into one of them with deadly accuracy..
HP: 48 of 57 (-4 from dam to self,+3 fast heal)
Na readies her polearm and turns her masked head to stare down one of the spearman, and steps slowly and calmy foward, and then suddenly lashing out at the graith with a precise strike. Ideally she is flanking the spearman Ii is attacking and also placing herself in a position to threaten as many advancing shield-slaves as possible with retributive attacks with her fork. (OOC: also manifesting hustle to get psionic focus)
Ar’dru and the abomination begin to slowly circle one another, each carefully assessing the others form for any chink in the defence. The Yuan-Ti attacks first, feinting a bite before lashing out with its wickedly curved blade, Ar’dru avoids the worst of the strike, twisting his body around in a quick spin to take himself off the line of the attack, but he still takes a deep gash across his left arm. In spite of this, the manoeuvre builds enough torque to deliver a mighty blow to the serpents side, carving a thin fillet out of the giant serpent.
The combatants quickly return to their circling, fencing now and then to test each others capabilities, the Yuan-ti is foiled several times by Ar’drus Gith-made armour and Ar’dru defeated in turn as his blade fails to pierce the creatures thick scales. Frustrated at the time being wasted Ar’dru lunges at the snake, blade again skittering across scale but again failing to penetrate, Ar’dru pays dearly for his rashness as the noble bites down hard into his shoulder. Conscious of the creatures formidable looking coils which begin to entangle him Ar’dru bites back and rolls away as the abomination rears up in pain, slashing at the creatures body as he turns back to face it.
The serpent withdraws slightly, tongue flickering as it watches Ar’dru intently. Ar’dru eyes it curiously and attempts to shuffle forward to put pressure on the giant but as he does so he discovers what his opponent has been waiting for, collapsing onto one knee as the poison steals the strength from his legs and clouds his vision. The serpent is on him in an instant, blade flashing down time and again, meeting only minimal resistance as Ar’dru attempts to angle his armour to protect himself as best he can from his current position.
Blinking his eyes repeatedly Ar’dru tries to clear his vision and his mind, resolving to face death as a warrior, not as a victim. As the serpent continues to rain down blows, somewhat more slowly now as the creature savours it’s dominance over the prone half-dragon, Ar’drus left hand shoots out, catching the Yuan-ti’s wrist mid-swing before trusting with a one handed grip at his opponents throat. The silver blade moves with such speed that the tip is needle fine at the point of impact until the blade once again flows forward, tearing open the wound and sealing the Yuan-ti’s fate. Ar’dru rolls back and hauls himself to his feet in time to watch the creature grasp feebly at its torn throat until, realising its own impending doom it calms, looks Ar’dru in the eye, and after giving him a respectful nod topples forward.
Ar’dru limps forward, looking down at the body. He sighs and with one powerful stroke removes the head, picking it up and fastening it to his belt. With that he turns to survey the rest of the field, taking flight if necessary to gain a better vantage point.
“Let’s keep close to the gazebo to limit their approach,” Du’minh proposes while getting back on his feet, eyeing the new yuanti forces heading their way.
“Though if another wave of reinforcements show up we should keep moving – we’ll be too easily surrounded.”
When the spearmen close in, Du’minh moves to intercept but not by bursting into the fray as Ii’Jyka’Vaar did. His efforts are focused on countering or stalling their offensive, and he steps forward with the Arbiter kept roundabout-swinging in fairly modest chain-length – just far enough to threathen nearby foes, but short enough to allow him rapid changes in momentum.
Blocking off the first line of hostiles that closes within range, Du’minh anticipates the range of their strikes and suddenly switches his swinging axis to encircle their spears. With a quick yank he liberates their weapons that go flying into the gazebo ruins.
OOC
Du’minh delays until the spearmen are in range, then disarms the two closest while keeping his defenses up with Combat Expertise for 5 points higher AC.
EDIT: Nat 20 on the 1st disarm! Classic BoGR, turning from one extreme to the other! 
OOC: Narrating the results of Na's attack and assuming that I get a +2 flanking bonus from Ii. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Na quickly lunges foward, babbing her pike into the gap in the shield wall created by Ii's succesful attack, striking and dropping annother already wounded shield slave (I'm not rolling damage because my minimum ammount per hit is well over 3 points). She returns her fork to a ready position, daring the two survivors to get any closer
Rolling 2 theoretical AoOs
Ii'jyka'vaar and Du'minh rush forward. Ii cuts down two spearmen before they can skewer her, and Du uses his flail to rob the other two of their weapons. The spears go skittering off across the courtyard, but the yuan-ti, undaunted, sweep out their swords. The sight of so many of their brethren lying dead on the cobbles bring fear to their eyes. They know they stand little chance against these elite githyanki warriors, but pride, and the knowledge that failure equals death at the hands of their matriarch, force them to stand their ground. Meanwhile, Na'rai rushes over to the shieldmen protecting the archers. She manages to get around the edge of a tower shield and slay the unarmed slave trying desprately to protect his masters. The slave falls with a pained cry. The two archers drop their bows and draw swords now that a foe is in close quarters with their shieldmen.
[first attack is on Du. His nat 20 causes one of the surviving spearmen to lose an attack. 2nd and 3rd attacks are on Na from the archers. Next round one will be still protected, but the other is exposed. 2 surviving spearmen have AC15. All soldiers have 10 HP remaining]
Du’minh lays waste to the guards that confront him, smashing his flail relentlessly into the opposition. He pushes on with the look of a warrior that has forgotten his pain, ignoring the biting wounds in his side and burning venom in his veins.
OOC
Full Attack.
One of Du'minh's opponents survives his onslaught ... barely [1 hp]. The yuan-ti hits the ground, bloodied and concussed. Unable to stand, he slowly, painfully, crawls along the cobbles in the direction of the foliage. The other soldier's brains tumble from his broken skull.
OOC: How much damage does Na take from the two hits?
Na leers at the archers, taking a fife foot step back to put them within reach (I don't think it is, please correct me if I'm wrong)
Na lashes out, first attack directed at one of the once-archers, the second disposing of a shield slave (who I assume does not have full cover anymore. If he does, I miss.) Na also expends her psionic focus for an extra 4d6 on the archer. Na drops both, and quickly withdraws a bloody spear to deal with the last archer.
Pleased that the yuan-ti's venom is no longer an issue, Ya'shenn concentrates once more and focuses on healing the still much-wounded Du'minh.
[Empathic Transfer, 10 hp. Should AoO be a factor, Ya'shenn will manifest defensively.]
Ii'Jyka makes a half hearted attempt, and slashes the crawling Yuanti in its back, she completely skewers the Yuanti, lifts the head on the point of her blade, and takes it off her weapon and bags it when first opportunity arises.., all the while silently scanning around her to see the battlefield..
She feels the weapon draw that bit extra of her own life, just for the sake of showing her she should not slack in taking lives...
(ill include +2 for flanking, ignore first damage roll, dont know what went wrong.)
HP: 46 of 57 (-5 from dam to self,+3 fast heal)
Kirath of the Copper Ring floats above the battlefield and smiles to himself. He takes a moment to bask in the carnage his people have wrought upon these harborers of the Enemy. With a sigh he turns his attention to the lone remaining yuan-ti archer and unleashes his arcane might.
The blast catches the yuan-ti in the chest spinning him around and with a hiss of pain the snake-man crumples to the ground. He shudders one last breath before succumbing to sweet death.
Kirath then lands next to the Psion and Rish-I-Chal and draws a wand they have seen him use before and says "You look a little worse for wear my bother and sister." "Would you like me to tend to the worst of your wounds before we continue the battle?"
Seeing that the battle is done Ar'dru sets about removing the head from the Illithid he slew before collecting any valuable gear and settling down to perform field maintenance on his sword and armour as the smoke clears.
The githyanki 'clean up' the last of the soldiers in time to see Ar'dru strike the killing blow in his own duel. Soon, Gy-Nath and K'tch come around the side of the ruined gazeebo. Both are covered with spatters of blood.
[This battle is over. The Party has time to choose one more place to hit before the airstrike; Torture Chambers, Banquet Hall, Kitchen, or some other such.]
Kirath then lands next to
the Psion and Rish-I-Chal and draws a wand they have seen him use before and
says "You look a little worse for wear my bother and
sister." "Would you like me to tend to the worst of your wounds
before we continue the battle?"
“Much appreciated, brother, my resilience has been drained by the venom of these snakes. I would rather the Void did not claim my spirit before I have fulfilled the duty to my brethren.”
Pleased that the yuan-ti's
venom is no longer an issue, Ya'shenn concentrates once more and focuses on
healing the still much-wounded Du'minh.
“My thanks to you as well, the horror of today is more bearable by your soothing touch.”
Seeing no further precense of enemy forces, Du’minh allows himself a brief moment to recover on a crumpled fragment of stone pillar while waiting for Ar’dru, Gy-Nath, and K’tch to join them. He splashes a few handfuls of clean water in his face to remove any lingering traces of poison near his eyes and mouth, occasionnaly looking to the skies for any signs of skiffs or the incoming bomber brigs.
When all are accounted for, he addresses Kirath with renewed determination.
“How much time do we have before your forces raze this palace down proper? Be it enough for another tactical strike, I suggest we make one final venture to recover our missing team. Have you received any reports regarding their whereabouts, by chance? Perhaps from soldiers near a prison block or torture chambers?”
"I would, thank you." Now that the battle is concluded, Ya'shenn brushes off some of the dust and flakes of stone from the destroyed gazebo. She looks to the Rish-i-Chal, then to the knight, assessing the wounds of each, then does the same for the kith'rak and K'tch once they return. A pity that her own powers are nearing exhaustion.
Once the warlock has provided whatever healing he can spare -- for others may need it more than she does -- the psion walks around the garden-battleground, taking the time to thoroughly loot the serpentine non-victors. Many of these graith are loaded down with gold and silver, and while Ya'shenn does not especially covet wealth, the war against the Enemy is expensive, and their informal warband may be effectively marooned at the moment. In the course of her 'acquisitions,' the psion courteously slits the throats of those barbarians who might be wounded but not yet dead. She keeps an ear focused on the group's conversation, and an eye out for any "friendly fire" from above. When she comes to the two illithids, Ya'shenn is more cautious, making sure the ghaik are quite deceased before searching them.
[Take 20 on Search to loot the barbarians/illithid.]
Kirath brandishes a slender wand of made of bone from his wand sheath at his belt. He proceeds to growl out the commnad word several times applying it's healing effects to his compatriots. After the wounded are healed he returns the healing wand to it's holding place and retrieves another slender piece of some type of dark wood.
Kirath walks up to the mage-slayer and says "This wand will hopefully restore some of the vitality you lost from the poision." Kirath barks the command word and proceeds to touch Du'minh with the wand sending restorative magic throughout the gith-warrior's body. "Tiamat be praised the tiny warlock mutters under his breath.
Kirath looks to his companions and says "If we are to continue hunting the illithids here we must proceed quickly before my strikeforce reduces this palace to rubble."
(OOC) I will keep healing with the wand until we are healed I guess just apply each roll to each character until they are healed and go from there. If anyone needs more let me know .
OOC: sorry for slowness
Not being particularly hurt, Na does not pay much attention to Kirath. Not that she would be thrilled to accept aid from him in any case. Most of her attention is directed towards her weapon, which she rubs clean with the nearest convenient enemy (she makes a point of not cleaning her armor). Then she polices the corpses for anything off interest. She will definitely take several spare bowstrings and one bow. The underdark has taught her to be very careful of these things. Na cuts and pries off chain links and armor fastners of the the enemies she has disposed of, adding them to a very long chain at her belt. She then takes a tentacle from the head of the ghaik she killed.
While she is collecting her gory prizes, Na also contacts Sthar mentally. "How do you fare, brother."
"I think it would be best to make our waqy belowground," says Na to the others. "Unlike the duthka'ka gith, the rest of our...warband do not seem to be fireproofed"
While she is collecting her gory prizes, Na also contacts Sthar mentally. "How do you fare, brother."
"I fare well, but the skiff sustained a goodly amount of damage. It still flies, but no longer at full speed, and the helm is damaged. It may have be scuttled after the battle."
When all are accounted for, [Du'minh] addresses Kirath with renewed determination.
“How much time do we have before your forces raze this palace down proper? Be it enough for another tactical strike, I suggest we make one final venture to recover our missing team. Have you received any reports regarding their whereabouts, by chance? Perhaps from soldiers near a prison block or torture chambers?”
[Kirath recieves a sending from his psion coordinator informing him that the strikeforce is less than twenty minutes away. As for the teams of warriors they have met with a fairly good success rate, but none have found the torture chambers mentioned]
[If the slave was speaking the truth, the main torture chambers are under the slave quarters, not far from the party's present location]
Ii'Jyka watches with piqued interest how the two newcomers seem to act as if they have had years of intergration within the party, and for now bides her time and lets them act as they do...
The small force of elite githyanki move through the gardens towards the slave quarters. They find them locked down. The yuan-ti, though they are brutal with their slaves, evidently fear them taking the opportunity to escape in the chaos. There is, however, a sunken stairway leading from the gardens down into a sub-level. Likely, the torture chambers lie down there. There is a stout wooden door, with iron reforcements and locks. The door is likely to stand up to a great deal of punnishment, but will be easily bypassed by teleportation.
To Sthar: "It is fortunate the enemy has little to engage our skiffs with while they fly."
"It would be most efficient to use psionic means to destroy this. Our mobility is a valuble resource that should not be wasted. If we cannot manage that, I sugest one of our number teleports inside and opens the door for the rest. I have no objection to voulenteering myself."
Ya'shenn repeats the hand signs she had used prior to the battle of the dread gazebo -- and in Mudshow's lair before that. If the others do not object, the psion closes her eyes and concentrates on remotely viewing the area.
[Clairvoyance again.]
"By all means, newcomer, lead the way and open us a door.." Ii'Jyka says wryly and gestures at the bolted reinforced door..
(she would rather see a "new ally" burn himself out in a blaze of "enthusiasm" rather then any of her more welknown allies..)
ooc: did i get the 11 points healing?
Du’minh nods to Na’rai, keeping a fairly unassuming attitude towards her. Though her worth has been proven on the battlefield, it strikes him that he still knows nothing beyond her brief introduction – and that the timing remains poor for questioning both her and Kirath.
“Very well. Wait a moment for our sister to work her psionics,” he says, indicating Ya'shenn.
“If you encounter any trouble you can’t handle quickly, the rest of us will be coming through the…” He gestures with his adamantine mace at the door. “Loud way.”
[Clairvoyance again.]
Ya'shenn reaches deep inside her remaining psionic reserves to manifest her conciousness on the other side of the door [last use of clairvoyance until full rest]. Beyond is a long, dark hallway that eventually opens up into a chamber with sunken holding cells on each side. Small, three-foot wooden door with small viewing slits lock each cell, and in this first chamber there are also hanging chains and a few bloodstained wooden tables. There are a couple of racks on the wall with impements of torture, positioned to be well visible from most of the cells. The entire place is lit by burning torches and 'decorated' with a few skulls and an almost-complete skeleton hanging from a pair of chains, just to add to the pervasive horror of the place.
There seems to be no guards, though if Ya'shenn cares to check, she finds a few of the cells are occupied by humans in the most wretched of states; naked, injured, starved, too weak and pathetic to even stir or moan. There is a snake of some sort crawling through the empty eye-sockets of the hanging skeleton, but there is otherwise no movement in the chamber.
Beyond is another chamber, similar but lacking the side-cells and containing a wider variety of torture equipment. There is another abused slave here, confined in a hanging cage far too small for even her emaciated frame. There are two guards here, but both lie on the floor in a pool of their mingled blood.
Beyond this chamber there is a third, larger than the other two put together and comparmentalized by a number of large pillars upon which hang shackles. Some of the shackles are occupied, and there are a great many tools of torture, cages, tables and chairs with straps, etc. There are also the corpses of three more yuan-ti soldiers on the floor, positioned near the entryway. As Ya'shenn 'looks' around, she spies three githyanki. One is proped against a pillar, greviously wounded; he is missing most of a leg below the knee. Ya'shenn recognizes this githwarrior as Ha'kan'a. Also here are Kitiir and Sark'ja. They have a live illithid restrained on a rack, and are in the process of alternately stretching it and burning it with red-hot pokers.
Ar'dru eyes the giant reptilian carefully and nods slightly - a worthy foe, a beautiful death - "You would harbour the great enemy and expect no chastisement! Had you simply thanked us for removing the cancer of their presence I would have considered you to be merely entralled but it is now clear that you were a willing partner. Despite all this I accept that you cannot help your weakness, it is simply the way of your kind and I will accept your request for a warriors death."
[ooc - I'll roll for next round too to keep this moving. I've been assuming an AC of 22 so no damage rolls needed]
"We're making a better world. All of them, better worlds." - Anonomous Harmonium Officer