Cum Aperit Pandemonium {DEAD}

[Faal Lot Himdah]

A Mad Dash to Pandemonium
Dragon 5
Sometime in the year 2996

---

As the Dragon 5 made its way to the planet, the stealth fighter followed, or tried to until one of the remaining Mules opened fire on it, forcing it to disengage for the moment. And it was at that moment it did something unexpected. It disappeared completely, reappearing behind the Mule that tried to engage it, and opened fire. While the Mule was not destroyed, its thrusters where hit, and due to being so close to the planet below, it started to go down.

Meanwhile, in the Dragon 5, after witnessing this, Kato just stood there, speechless for a moment. Until he realized what had happened. "They actually managed to complete it... shit..."

It was then that the stealth fighter began an approach on the other remaining Mule. Again, it didn't destroy it, but crippled it, causing it to be pulled towards the planet. Now, the Dragon 5 remained the only fully functional Mule, and the stealth fighter began one last approach. Fortunately, just as it began opening fire, the Dragon 5 entered atmosphere, and the shots from the enemy craft just simply disappeared.

Upon entering atmosphere, things started to get strange. There was no resistance, as the Dragon 5 just slipped into the atmosphere. From space the atmosphere was realitively clear, but upon entering it, there was suddenly what appeared to be clouds of gas. Except they weren't clouds of gas, as they were pulsating, and changing colour rapidly. Not long after entry, the entire ship shook once, and the engines cut out and refused to restart. In fact, all the ships electronics just died.

But the Dragon 5 did not enter a free fall, in fact it seemed to slow down. After a few moments, the Dragon 5 was falling through the atmosphere, like a leaf from a tree. It descend being controlled by some other force. However, to those in the cockpit, things didn't feel much different. After a few minutes, the ship started to creak and the glass of the cockpit's window started to crack. The crack grew, and grew until the window was about to shatter. But then something strange happened, the glass returned to normal, no cracks, no danger.

It was after a few minutes that the strange clouds that surrounded the Dragon 5 had started to allow more distance between them and the Dragon 5. Soon, those in the cockpit would find themselves sitting in awe as the Dragon 5 dropped into a negative space in the strange clouds, and just floated there in the middle of it, despite the Dragon 5 being dead. It was just floating there, as if gravity had no power over it.

In this negative space, the Dragon 5 floated for a few minutes, but to those in the ship felt like only a few seconds, until a strange ball appeared. The ball was only the size of a football (or soccer ball) and looked to be covered in vantablack. And yet there was still a light coming from it, a light that could be seen as a ring around it, making the obeject look almost like a miniture solar eclipse.

But things only got stranger, as it felt like the object was looking at them. And not just at Kato, Donatellus and Aurek, but even those in the cargo bay of the Dragon 5 felt its gaze. Then they all heard it, a strange voice, speaking in a strange language. Despite it being an unknown language, they all could understand it. The voice basically warned them of the dangers of the planet, of some species known as the Altsnakht and of some being known as the Dark Mother. It didn't shut up though, the message repeated over and over, as the light from the object grew brighter until it blinded all those on the Dragon 5.

When the light faded, the Dragon 5 was no longer in that negative space, in fact it wasn't even in the sky of Pandemonium, it was on the surface, during the day, despite the fact that they were entering the planet's atmosphere from its night side. It had landed on a large flat area, with a cliff to the east, and a frozen forest with strange looking plants and fungi. Landed perfectly, with all systems online, except communication. There however was no fuel for the the engines, meaning the Dragon 5 could not take off.

---

A Dark Shadow
Somewhere on Pandemonium
Sometime in the year 2996

---

It was pitch black, but in the darkness, a single shadow could be made out. This shadow was standing in the middle of the circular room, looking upwards. Sounds of things scuttling around could be heard through the walls. But the shadow made no noise at first, but it started to chuckle.

"Perfect..." A voice, distinctly feminine spoke, "Soon, I will be free. They will pay for trapping me here... You can't contain a goddess forever after all... Go my children, find them, kill them, we don't need them after all, we just need what they brought with them."

---

Commander Kato Galen
On the surface of Pandemonium
Sometime in the year 2996

---

He sat there for a moment, trying to process what just happened. When did they land? How did they land? What the hell was all that? Those where the questions running through his mind. He could not find an answer, so instead of focusing on those questions, he turned his attention back to the mission. He checked the Dragon 5's exterior sensors, checking to see if they could breath outside.

"Oxygen levels are perfect..." He stopped speaking as he saw the other two Mules appear in the sky, heading straight for the surface, beyond the frozen forest to the southwest. Without hesitation, he stood up and headed for the cargo bay "Donatellus, see if you can contact the others. If you can, get their positions, and tell them we will come meet up with them, as it looks like they will land some what close to each other... even if it is a crash landing. Aurek, lets go check on the supplies, and the area around the ship right now."

---

Alastor Brone
After a sudden light
Sometime in the year 2996

---

"What happened?" Alastor said silently as he looked around the room. There was a sudden light and a strange voice for a moment there. But now there was nothing, except those in the room like they were before. In fact, there was no noise from beyond the walls either. "I think... I think whatever we are in has stopped moving..."

It was then his eyes widened and he looked to the door. "Someones coming..."

As soon as he finished, footsteps could be heard approaching the door.

[Charlia]

Aurek wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, but he wasn't exactly complaining. It was a good turn of events, after all, and he found one gloved hand automatically going to the silver crucifix hanging around his neck.

Trying to win me back over? Good luck with that.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Kato's words, and he nodded silently, following the other man up until they had reached the cargo bay--at which point he moved ahead slightly and simply opened the doors, only to see--several people?

Within seconds, he was pointing a gun into the room, aiming it at the closest person, a boy with ragged-looking dark hair and a look of sheer panic in his eyes, next to a redheaded girl in dark clothing.

"All right, what's going on here?" he shouted, eyes roving around the room suspiciously. "Who are you all?"

---

Charlotte was confused enough about the previous events, but now there was a man(judging from the voice) pointing what appeared to be a futuristic sort of weapon at Alastor, and shouting questions at them.

Deescalate. Don't let anyone get hurt. With barely any further thought, she moved in front of Alastor, holding up her hands and trying to show that she wasn't a threat. Though, people generally seemed to be able to tell that just by looking at her, without her even doing anything to reinforce that assumption... not that that was usually a good thing.

"W-we aren't here to cause any trouble," she replied, her voice soft and shaking slightly. "Actually, we--don't really know why we're here. From what I can gather, we all just woke up here. Where--where even are we?"

[Danceria]

Vera Pax Gunship
Pandemonium Surface

---

Donatellus did with as little power could cooperate. Borrowing a Mr. STUR-D and an ATV's motor, he quickly hot-jumped the communications back online. "Testing Testing, this is Donatellus Eldoradau of the Dragontooth Company, Call-Signal Oh-five-sigma-sigma-cadmus-thirty-nine-four, all Pax Vera units please respond-put that on loop STUR-D." He then launched into his Leftenant mode "Triple-check those scans, I want to make sure that you can set up a perimeter as safely and swiftly as possible. Guildicranz, keep on the horn, let me know if there is any response-" he then heard the bickering of Aurek and his commander yelling at...someone?

Hoisting his gun, he made a beeline towards whatever decided to stow away on the Mule.

[Tracian Empire]

A couple of minutes passed.. but the gray eyed boy quickly realized that despite the appearances..this certainly wasn't one of the private planes that he was accustomed to. His head continued to hurt like hell, and he was still lying face down on the metallic floor, so his ability to understand what was happening around him was limited.. but the way in which the thing they were in seemed to move, to descend.. this was certainly no plane. And then the message that he had heard.. the voice in his mind, the sudden light.. Arno immediately stood right up, forgetting his weakness, his exhaustion, and his headache. Had someone put something in his drink last night? He had never tried stuff like it, but he had heard about its effects.. and no matter of how hard he tried, he just couldn't remember the last part of what had otherwise been a pretty wild night. So that was it probably.. was he hallucinating? But the others around him, all these mysterious people, seemed to have also heard it.. so was this some sort of a prank?

And yet before the ashen haired boy was able to say anything, to voice his indignation..someone had entered the room.. with a gun in his hand. Arno immediately felt weak, ready to fall again, gripped by fear at the sight of a weapon.. but the gun wasn't pointed at him. It was pointed at two other people.. a panicked boy.. and a red haired girl. The man holding the gun shouted, asking who they all were.. but Arno didn't think about it. He had no time to think about it.. he just reacted instinctively. Just like back then.. in that dark alley. But he had been facing a knife that time..
He took a step forward, and in one move, he pushed the two who had been the closest to the gun back, finding himself right in front of it and of the weird guy who was holding it.

Slowly raising his hands, Arno tried to remain calm, hoping that the two who were behind him would stay there.. even if of course, he had no particular desire to be shot.. "That.. is a really good question..", he said, desperately trying to remain calm. "But there is no need to ask it while threatening people with a gun.. so why don't we discuss it peacefully..without anyone dying? Please?"

[Korhal IVV]

Lost Through Space and Time
Kagero Tojo

As things went on and on, Kagero just kept on munching on his bag of potato chips, looking around as more people woke up. There was this grey haired boy though that didn’t seem to wake up. “What kind of pandemonic crisis have I found myself in.”, he thought as the place shook one more time. He chose to just sit in the corner and observe, however.

When Jeremy proposed smashing things, Kagero would give a strong word of disapproval. “That would be most unwise, man. I don’t think breaking stuff we have no idea about is anything good. What if one of those things are explosives, huh?”

However, a little later, footsteps began to resound from outside. He braced himself, imagining aliens with lasers and armor, but the door opened to reveal… well, humans, just like themselves. They would be suspicious, eyes glaring all around the room. One of them had a gun, and it was already pointed at Alastor. My God…, he thought as the gun appeared to be quite deadly. Whoever these people are, they are fairly rational human beings, seeing as how they didn’t shoot at sight. Then, a girl began to explain the situation.

"W-we aren't here to cause any trouble," the girl replied to the space man, her voice soft and shaking slightly. "Actually, we--don't really know why we're here. From what I can gather, we all just woke up here. Where--where even are we?"

Kagero shook a little. He had already long finished his bag of chips. He then stood up with some difficulty. “Last time I was awake, good sir, I just came home from work.”, Kagero told the man. “We’d also like to know why exactly why we are here, just like you. But erm…”, he was then cut off when Arno began talking. About how asking people questions while pointing guns at them isn’t necessary. Consider me seconding the notion…, he thought.

[Theyra]

Unknown location
Unknown time
Zacarías Obregón

"Okay Mrs. Long", he looked around at the others. Listening to what they were talking about and the plan he heard from Jeremy to cause a ruckus was...... not good plan. He voiced his thoughts after one of the men that was trapped in spoke his thought on the plan. "Like he said, smashing stuff will not help us. We should try and fine found a way out of here or find something to defend ourselves at least. Maybe we should see what is in one of these crates in here".

Zacarías started to get a good look around the room that they were in. The room did not look like a prison cell or anything he would consider a place for prisoners considering the amount of crates in here. He walked to one of the crates near the back of the room. As far as he could tell it did not have any ominous markings on it. The crate looked it was secured with the rest of the crates and as he kneed down to try to open it. He felt a odd sensation that something was looking at him. Then the voice started to warn him about a........ planet and something on it and was repeating itself? He was perplexed to what it meant and after being blinded by a bright light that seemly came from nowhere.

"What brought us all here to this room and does it have to do with this planet for some reason? He thought in a near panic as he tried to makes sense to what just happened to him. He stood up with his hand on the right side of his head as a reaction to...... something messing with his head or maybe he hit his head harder then he thought, he wondered. He did not hear the approaching footsteps but, he did hear the voice of the one that entered the room.

"All right, what's going on here?" he shouted, eyes roving around the room suspiciously. "Who are you all?"

Zacarías turned around to see a stranger pointed what looked like a gun at a man that looked like he was in a panic. He walked forward enough to rejoin the rest with his hands up. He spoke to the stranger after Arno finished talking to him. "We have no idea to why we are here but, if you do not know who we are then.... Are you not the ones that brought us to this room?

[Faal Lot Himdah]

In the Cargo Bay
Dragon 5
Commander Kato Galen

---

"Aurek, lower that weapon." Kato said, stepping past him and into the cargo bay. He paused and looked at all those in the bay at the time. He heard them, and watched for any signs that they were lying. But there was no sign, hence why he was willing to step forward. He saw the confusion on their faces, and the panic in their eyes. He sighed and muttered to himself, "This complicates things..."

"No, we are not the ones who brought you here. And since it seems you didn't purposely stowaway, perhaps this is the result of a third party..." Kato said to Zacarías before looking to the rest of them, "I am Commander Kato Galen of Vera Pax's Dragontooth Company. You lot are in the cargo bay of our Mule, the Dragon 5, currently on the surface of the planet known as Pandemonium..."

[Charlia]

In the Cargo Bay
Dragon 5
Commander Kato Galen

---

"Aurek, lower that weapon." Kato said, stepping past him and into the cargo bay. He paused and looked at all those in the bay at the time. He heard them, and watched for any signs that they were lying. But there was no sign, hence why he was willing to step forward. He saw the confusion on their faces, and the panic in their eyes. He sighed and muttered to himself, "This complicates things..."

"No, we are not the ones who brought you here. And since it seems you didn't purposely stowaway, perhaps this is the result of a third party..." Kato said to Zacarías before looking to the rest of them, "I am Commander Kato Galen of Vera Pax's Dragontooth Company. You lot are in the cargo bay of our Mule, the Dragon 5, currently on the surface of the planet known as Pandemonium..."

"You're way too trusting," Aurek muttered, but did as he was told anyway, folding his arms afterwards and staring at each of the stowaways in turn. "But, I guess that's why I'm here, isn't it?"

The redhead and that boy in gray weren't the brightest, putting themselves in front of his weapon like that, but he supposed he could admire their bravery, even if it was foolish. It'd be hypocritical of him to judge too much on that account, anyway. It wasn't as if he hadn't done that sort of thing before himself.

---

"Planet?!" Chelsea's head jerked up, and she looked over at that boy from before--the guy who'd said they'd been abducted by aliens.

Holy crap. He was right.

She stayed silent other than that, just staring at the two who'd entered the room, trying to process what she'd just been told.

---

Charlotte's eyes widened slightly as she was pushed back by the boy in gray, and she fought back the panic, trying not to let herself fall back into that. You've had more than enough time to get over that. You shouldn't still be affected like this. It's just silly. Get over it!

She did appreciate the gesture, though she didn't have much time to think about it before the man who'd walked in with--Aurek, his name was? That was what the other one had called him--introduced himself as... Commander Kato Galen? Vera Pax? Dragontooth Company? Mule? Planet Pandemonium?!

She was feeling dizzy, overwhelmed by the thought of what his words implied. Was he really saying--

He was... They weren't on Earth anymore. But then, there was no such thing as--

"...What year is it?" she asked softly, her hands shaking slightly. This can't possibly be real...

[Aidannadia]

Just as Fox had begun searching through the various supplies on the ship, a flurry of visions interrupted him. At the end of it all, he found himself on the metal floor, towards the back of the storage room with a device in his hand. He began to sit up, sweat wiped from his brow as he inspected the device he was holding. It was about the length of his forearm with a small satellite dish at the end. He looked it over. Maybe I can knock out of our captors out with a blow from this thing??? He thought to himself, just now finding the serial and model numbers towards the bottom of the handle. Model #267 Fusion Cutter Serial 26955- There were a few symbols her didn't recognize, but there was something about a fusion cutter in particular that rang a bell somewhere. He shook his head, dismissing it as he heard the doors open.

A group people, some wielding devices vaguely resembling guns began to speak.

"...I am Commander Kato Galen of Vera Pax's Dragontooth Company. You lot are in the cargo bay of our Mule, the Dragon 5, currently on the surface of the planet known as Pandemonium..." said one of the more decorated individuals, obviously posing as some sort of officer.

Fox made his way around the side of the storage room as the rest of the passengers took in the "Commander's" words. He held tightly to his weapon in one hand, ready to swing if the captors approached him. "Look, I don't know if this is a prank or some game show, or some new test in graphics and holograms, but I think I'll be on my way. Truly, 2018 graphics are superb and I'd love to stay and chat but I'm gonna have to ask you to let me go home or we're gonna have a problem."

[Granis]

"Well, looks like you were right." Hannah said to Jeremy, as the pair stood towards the back of the group. "Somehow though, I get the feeling that you still aren't happy about it..."

"You know me, most of the time I'd just prefer to be wrong..." Jeremy replied. Things had gotten way more complicated. Like he said, he really wished he'd been wrong about the whole 'space and aliens' thing, but lo and behold, he had just heard the mans, this 'Commander Kato's', words. They were on a planet named Pandemonium, and their 'cell' had actually been the cargo hold of these guys ship, the Dragon 5.

For a moment, he considered staying in the back, but he soon changed his mind, deciding he wanted answers more than the relative anonymity he would get by staying behind everyone else.

And so he sighed and stepped forwards. A couple of people had already started asking questions, most of whom being the ones who had shot down his original plan to make a mess of the crates in the cargo hold until someone came out to investigate. Seeing as that plan hadn't gone quite as well as he'd hoped, he decided he might need to show some proof he wasn't a complete idiot, and had already taken a few mental notes he thought might come in handy.

"Commander Galen, was it?" He asked, stepping out of the crowd. "The names Jeremy Lindall, and I've got a few questions to add to the pile. For one, who exactly are Vera Pax, and the Dragontooth company? Also, who are the Altsnakht and the Dark Mother? Then there's the question of who we could hear shooting at us while we were in the cargo bay, and finally, and probably most important as well, just how far from Earth are we right now, and how much danger have we found ourselves in just because we were somehow teleported onto your ship?"

Meanwhile, Hannah slowly weaved her way through the crowd, stopping beside Chelsea, subtly pushing a stocking with a rock into the girls hand.

"Sorry for the fake names, Miss Goggles." She whispered, making sure Chelsea's fingers closed around the makeshift flail. "If it was just a normal kidnapping, it might have been necessary, but things are different now, and they may never be the same again. Just in case it comes to it, how good are you in a fight?"

[Zjaum]

Phil Richardson
Well, this was clearly not from any of his books. He wouldn't have been nearly as uncreative. Commander Kato Galen of Vera Pax's Dragontooth Company, indeed... Well, it was time for Phil to make new friends. He stopped shouting at the wall and strolled up to this "Commander Kato" and extended his hand. "My name is Phillip Richardson. I apparently have been warped to another universe from a planet called 'Earth,' where we have computational, atomic, and genetic technologies. If you could provide information about the current state of affairs on Pandemonium, I would greatly appreciate it." Direct, simple, and clear. How any of his characters would have appreciated.

Abigail van der Rohe
Honestly, she felt more comfortable before he was introduced to this cadre. Now she'd have to open negotiations, which would mean talking to an alarming amount of people. There was a renewal of shock, excitement, and outrage from her compatriots, but it was slightly less than previously. Abigail quietly slunk into a corner and watched the affair from the other end of the room. It felt nice to be disconnected from the rest of the group, and it allowed her a brief respite as she digested the new amount of information that was presented before her.

[Faal Lot Himdah]

In the Cargo Bay
Dragon 5
Commander Kato Galen

---

"Umm... Looks like things have gotten stranger." Kato said and shook Phil's hand out, "Earth... Earth was rendered unhabitiable 796 years ago, due to the actions of humanity. So, it appears the impossible has become possible. Maybe you are from an alternate reality, but it is more likely, something has pulled you all into the future. The year is 2996, this is reality, not some game."

He then looked at Jeremy, "Vera Pax is our nation. Dedicated to peace across the galaxy. And we the Dragontooth Compay are sent in by Vera Pax whenever they have a mission that could be described as suicidal. As for the Altsnakht and the Dark Mother... I don't know what those are. As for those who were shooting us, Ordinis Aeterna. As for the state of Pandemonium, we don't know. The planet is surrounded by a planetary shield that prevents communication off planet, so we don't know."

[Aidannadia]

....

"So this is a global warmin PSA too? Shit, good luck changing anything there." Fox gave a dark chuckle at the thought that humanity had no hope of avoiding disaster on Earth. "Say, if we're on some foreign planet, don't s'pose we can go outside and check for ourselves?" Fox continued, still trying to talk his way out of this situation and back into his old life, not believing a word of this for his own sake.

[Charlia]

"I'm fine in a fight, if I need to be," Chelsea whispered, "but I really don't think it'd be a good idea to try and get into one. I feel like the blond one's just waiting for a good excuse to shoot someone." Indeed, the open hostility in his eyes was hard to misunderstand. He seemed to be held back only by Kato's words and the fact that none of the stowaways had actually done anything yet, aside from being there.

As she listened to Kato continue to speak, though, her eyes grew quite wide behind her goggles. "Whoa... that's definitely something. So you're... what, Suicide Squad in space? That's great, I guess. I mean, Mr. Tall, Blond, and Furious looks like he'd fit right in. You... not so much, but there's an odd one in every group. If we're really in space, though... heck yeah I want to go outside. Being some of the first humans on a new planet? Like I could pass that opportunity up... and then I want to look at some of your technology, if that's not a problem." Her eyes shone with excitement, and her voice pitched a little higher. "If this is really the future, I want to see what you guys have done!"

[Tracian Empire]

For the first few moments after he had pushed those two aside, Arno had no time to focus on the guy who was aiming a pistol right at him, or at the discussion between him and the others. His attention was distracted by the rather weird way in which that red haired girl had reacted to him pushing her away.. you would think that she should have been afraid when a gun had been aimed at her, not after someone had stopped in front of her to help her.. why was that?

But still, having a pistol aimed at him wasn't fun, so of course, he felt pretty relieved when another newcomer ordered the gun guy, the so called Aurek, to lower his pistol. But after that, this new guy started to speak.. and of course, there was no way that Arno could believe him. Quickly relaxing, the ashen haired boy chuckled. "We are on another planet? In the future? In a future where Earth was destroyed? Peace for the entire galaxy? A planetary shield? What is this? Some sort of a sci-fi themed prank?" The boy took a deep breath, trying to ignore his headache and the nausea. "Now this is fun and all.. but could we please stop right here? I'm not exactly in the mood for it, and I have to return back home. Alright?"

[Granis]

"You know Goggles, if you were worried Angry Vash was dangerous towards us before, comparing him to Suicide Squad probably isn't the best course of action." He looked over to the future guys, a lazy-looking expression that betrayed none of the fear he currently felt on his face. "Tell me, is it still a thing? Or have the old superheroes faded into obscurity in the last nine hundred years? And if they haven't, are people still angry about how badly they did DC? Because the internet made it sound possible..."

Of course, as he rambled, his eyes were flickering across the future duos face for any reaction he could find that might suggest the whole thing was a fake. Specifically the 'nine hundred years' part, where if it was a lie, there would probably be some kind of minute facial twitch or something. However, Kato's face remained stony and unyielding, and he eventually just sighed.

"Well, I guess if you don't know how we got here, we probably wont be getting back anytime soon. That... That really sucks." He sighed, walking back towards Hannah for a little strategy meeting. "So, notice anything I missed? Because to me it looks like they're telling the truth..."

"Nope, same here." She whispered back. "No face twitches or anything. Looks like we really are stuck here, on an alien planet in the future. Sounds like a movie, huh?"

"Yeah, a movie with a lot of casualties!" He whisper-shouted back. "Do you even realise that you can just take the future part out of that and you just described Pitch Black?"

"Fine, if we're gonna play that game, I'll take out the alien planet part too!" She replied. "Now we're two best friends trapped in a strange land, meeting and befriending the people who do belong here, and while one of us is trying to be cool and make friends with them, the other's being a big ol' negative nancy! Wow, look at that! Now I'm describing Road to El Dorado! So you go and find me a horse, and I'll convince our new friends that we're actually gods."

At this explanation, Jeremy could only stare at her blankly.

"Really."

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

More staring, before he eventually just facepalmed.

"Well for one, you aren't a Miguel. Miguel is friendly, and innocent. And two, you just removed practically everything that separates this from that time we accidentally ended up in Detroit... Which now that I think of it, was also a horrible, terrifying experience that I'd really rather not repeat!"

"How. Dare. You. I'm adorably naïve and lovable! Watch, I'll even prove it."

And then she walked up to the group before Jeremy could stop her, half of which were now trying to convince themselves the whole thing was a lie or prank.

"Alright, make way, its my turn to ask questions now." She said, squeezing between people to reach the front. "Hi, my names Hannah. You say we're on the planet surface, but you also said there was a shield around the planet that blocked communications. Why didn't people just come down and then leave again? Or did everyone who tried just die before they could get back to their ships? Or, is it some kind of one-way force field deal? Come on, hit me with all the worldbuilding. Show these guys that it's all true."

For a moment, everything was silent, before a loud slapping sound rang out, as Jeremy facepalmed once more.

[Faal Lot Himdah]

In the Cargo Bay
Dragon 5
Commander Kato Galen

---

"It appears as if some of you are open to such strange ideas, while the others are quite cynical, as I would be in your shoes." Kato said with a sigh and looked to Fox, "First, Earth was not destroyed, just rendered uninhabitable. Second, if the records were to be believed, it was not global warming but global warfare."

Then he looked to Chelsea, "A suicide squad, yes that is an apt way of describing the Dragontooth Company."

Kato then turned to Hannah, and stood silently for a moment, raising an eyebrow before he spoke, "Well, you just answered your own questions. From what we could determine, the planetary shield is what you'd call one way. It seems to be designed to keep something on this planet, not keep others off. All who have come down here before have never returned. So, we can assume that whatever is down here, is not friendly."

"Unfortunately, I do not know how you got here, and as such, I do not know how to send you home, back to your own time." Kato then said as he looked to Arno, "Believe what you wish, but eventually you will see the truth of this situation."

"Now... You see I'm here with a perdiciment." Kato said, walking past them to the back of the cargo hold, before turning around to face the group, "The rest of the Dragontooth Company was either destroyed trying to get down here, and the survivors have crash landed to the southwest of our position. As the leader of the Dragontooth Company, I am duty bound to head to their location and make sure they are alright. But with you all here, this complicates my job. Now, I have to make sure you all are safe. Due to the unknowns of this planet, I have only one thing to ask..."

He paused for a moment, "Who knows how to fight?"

[Zjaum]

Phil Richardson approached them. Obviously it wasn't global warming; the most that could consumed was Florida, whose consumption would have made whole world just that much better. Now, they needed a soldier? "Well, technically I don't know how to fight," he explained. "However, I am well-versed in an independent style of rifle-based martial arts called Wirtoya. It is the local fighting technique of a warrior tribe from one of my books. A fan turned it into an actual series of moves and doctrine. If you hand me a rifle, I can show it against..." He looked around. "Well, if you give me a gun and a target, I can demonstrate."

Abigail raised her arm. "I don't get excited very easily, and I can fire a firearm. I can run pretty fast, and I'm strong. I'm sure that's all it takes to join your 'suicide squad,' right?" She didn't watch that many movies, so she didn't go for the obvious reference there.

[Charlia]

"Aw, heck yeah," Chelsea replied eagerly, her eyes lighting up behind her goggles. She tried to ignore the strange look that Aurek guy was giving her. She wasn't sure she liked him very much, he seemed awfully hair-trigger. Though, death by futuristic weapon didn't sound so bad in the grand scheme of things, she supposed. "That's the sort of thing I can get behind. Who knows how to fight? Well, you could say that I do, I suppose. Though I'm not sure I'd be much of a match for whatever you guys have got, realistically speaking..."

---

They're really not lying, are they? This is the future... I'm actually in the future...

A smile started to spread across her face, and she started to laugh, quietly, sounding utterly delighted. That's it, then. If I'm in the future, no one knows--no one here could possibly know! It's just what I wanted... To be somewhere he can't find me... and here I am, finally, finally somewhere that there's no way he ever could! This is amazing...

She seemed to calm down by the time Kato asked his question, and for a moment, a look of guilt crossed her face. "Ah... No, I don't," she admitted. "Sorry... I guess that's not very useful, is it?"

[Aidannadia]

"Who knows how to fight?"

"I mean who hasn't been in a few scrap-" Fox began before being interrupted.

"Ah... No, I don't," a woman across the room admitted. "Sorry... I guess that's not very useful, is it?"

"Well, it would be true to say not being able to do something is rarely useful. But that's hardly something to focus on." Fox put it bluntly. "Anyways, I can point and shoot. I suppose you could point out a fancy piece like that," he gestured towards Aurek's weapon, "and just about anyone can fight all the sudden, right?"

I need a smoke if I'm gonna entertain this. He lit a cigarette as he received a response.

[North Arkana]

"Who knows how to fight?"

After having remained a mostly quiet observer, getting a handle on the others around her, and feeling her way around the group dynamics, Adelina speaks up for the first time.

"I was a soldier of sorts, a Carabinieri, a military police officer essentially, specifically the Raggruppamento Operativo Speciale, counterterrorism and the like, so yes, I can fight, quite well. Probably better than the rest," she finishes, glancing at the others.

[Zjaum]

Clearly there was no response; he'd have to demonstrate himself. Not to worry; he still had his sword replicas. He picked up a falchion and held it sideways. "Well, sirs, if you look here. Imagine that this..." He might cut himself on one of the edges, though. He paused. No matter; there was the pistol variant, and he had his writing utensils. He held a pen as if it was the barrel of a gun. "This will be used as the firearm for my purposes. Iya, ko rai shaiya, ko roo royaa, werai ta-rawera! He then began spinning the pen. "You'll have to remember that this is the weapon, and as I spin it I'm reloading it." Phil threw the utensil into the air, accidentally failing to catch it as it fell down. "Now, if I had caught it, it would have been fully charged, and you would have been too distracted to maintain your defenses. I have more exercises, if you'd like. Ones to increase accuracy, maintain discipline, and lead into close-quarters combat."

Abigail sighed. "Apparently we have two-and-two-halves other fighters, not including myself, all of whom are apparently good with a gun. And absolutely nobody that I'd trust with one." She walked towards and then past the squad. "How about this. You all take care of yourselves, and we'll take care of ourselves. I'm sure that you'd only need a couple of us, and I'll do my best to keep up with you."

[North Arkana]

Abigail sighed. "Apparently we have two-and-two-halves other fighters, not including myself, all of whom are apparently good with a gun. And absolutely nobody that I'd trust with one."

"Non preoccuparti, cara, I brought my own. And I don't plan on killing any of you, not yet at least," Adelina says with a wry grin that suggests she's joking, patting the holstered weapon at the small of her back. Turning her attention to the overly enthusiastic man who managed to make a complete fool of himself, she continues, "though I do agree that I wouldn't trust l'idiota con il falchion to handle so much as a penknife without endangering the rest of us. I don't know if I can even teach him to avoid shooting himself if his penmanship is anything to go by."

[Granis]

Hannah tried not to laugh.

Really, she did.

But watching the guy swinging a pen around and chanting was really getting to be a bit too much. Luckily, she managed to stifle her laughter with her hand long enough for Jeremy to notice, giving her a light smack on the back of the head to snap her out of it.

Or apparently not, instead merely opening the floodgates as she doubled over laughing at Phil with an intensity thought only to exist in the gods themselves.

"Wha-… What're you doing?!" She managed to force out between gasps. "This is the greatest thing I've ever seen! Are you gonna start speaking Klingon too?!"

Jeremy just sighed, massaging his temples. He was almost afraid to mention that he was actually kind of a fan of the Triangulum books at this point, even vaguely recognising the style Phil was going for… Eventually though, he managed to recover, and while Hannah continued slinging abuse at the poor guy, he looked to Kato.

"Anyway, I should mention that Hannah and I are also pretty good at fighting. Not amazing, but decent."

"Hah, oh my god…" Hannah said, as she finally managed to calm down enough to chime in as well. "Stop being so humble Jeremy, we're awesome…"

She looked to Kato giving him a thumbs up.

"We're the baddest kids in the mean streets of Detroit, forged in fire and battle. We've beaten everyone who has dared to challenge us, easily and brutally!"

"Ignore this idiot." Jeremy sighed. "We're from Leadville, in Colorado. We did stop in Detroit once when my mom took us on a road trip to Canada, but we didn't really get into many fights."

"Oh yeah, 'not many fights...'" Hannah said, waving him off. "We were there for two days, and we fought five times. One of those gangs broke up after we beat them! We're incredible!"

"You mean those five teenagers?" Jeremy asked sceptically. "Yeah, because those idiots totally counted as a 'gang'."

"Not the point, my foolish friend!" Hannah shouted, shoving him away and turning back to Kato, a wide grin on her face. "The point is that we're amazing! See the wooden sword on Jeremy's back? That's not there just because he's a degenerate weeb! Just… It's also because he's the best swordsman in Leadville! Maybe even in America! Just like I'm the best brawler in Leadville! And we're both good with guns, so don't worry, you can depend on us!"

"Alright, that's enough out of you." Jeremy said as he walked back, smacking her on the back of the head again. "Anyway, Kato, the point is that despite what this psychopath is saying, we're really just kind of average. We're decent fighters, and yeah, maybe I am the best swordsman in Leadville, but if I am, its because I'm the only swordsman in the city. And that's with the broadest, most generous use of the word 'swordsman' too."

[Faal Lot Himdah]

In the Cargo Bay
Dragon 5
Commander Kato Galen

---

"Not everyone can fight by just picking up a weapon..." Kato finally spoke and looked at Fox, before his attention turned to Phil. He didn't speak, instead Kato's forehead was introduced to Kato's palm. I swear... Just when things couldn't get weirder...

"And I am not asking if any of you are capable of joining the Dragontooth Company." Kato then said and looked to Abigail, "Every member undergoes intense training, of body and mind. And as for us taking care of ourselves, and you all taking care of yourselves, that's not how I operate."

"Any skill in combat is enough." He said and looked to Jeremy, "Though, we don't know what calls this planet home, so brawling might not be the best idea."

"Anyways, this is the plan." He said, "We will head to where the rest of the Dragontooth Company landed. As such, we will need to travel in a defensive formation. With those who are skilled fighters surrounding those who are not. If you need a weapon, we should have extra in this place. Weapons technology hasn't changed that much, so, I think you'll all know how to wield them. We move out in five."