The Endless Knot (Post-Apoc./Alien Invasion|IC|Open)

[Khasinkonia]

Hannah Brown

Bija Somishuun Aurora Nevalainen-Sihvola
A Fan?

It was certainly much appreciated. I nodded, and accepted the pierogi portion graciously. I nodded as Ivan seemed to recognise me. It was nice when that happened. At least I had a chance to have a bit of a legacy before everything went to shit, even if it wasn’t a huge one that would stand the test of time.

“I wouldn’t say famous, but yes,” I agreed as I turned to introduce myself to Hannah as I shook her hand, “Bija Somishuun Aurora Nevalainen-Sihvola, Bija for short. Linguist, former actress and activist. Glad to meet you!”

I followed them as they began to move. Canada? I wonder if they could use a hand. It sounded like the business of planetary messiahitude was a rather intensive endeavour. If there was anything I knew, the more hands, the better. Perhaps it might be wise to at least offer to accompany them, given that I had been wandering the Canadian woods for quite some time before my stint with the Defiance Battalion.

“Speaking of Canada, Hannah,” I interjected as I caught up to her, “Do you think you and your folks could use an extra pair of hands? I came here via the Ontario woods from Minnesota. I’d be happy to help navigate if you’d like.”

Hannah looked slightly surprised for a moment then gave a wry laugh. She stopped in her tracks, her feet ankle deep in the snow, "The short answer is yes, I would love another pair of hands for the journey. We are going into this blind and, honestly, I have no idea what we are going to encounter up there. We are driving vehicles and aiming to keep to back-roads through wooded areas so we are expecting to find more than a few obstructions... but there is a long answer."

She nodded in the direction of Tariq and Rebecca, "You might want to speak to Tariq, our Jordanian Professor before you sign on for the journey. He is the 'man with the plan', but it does involve translating the Ragon language, a time machine and a spaceship, so I wouldn't blame you if you think it all sounds a bit too crazy to want to get involved with."

She paused, pulling her coat a bit more tightly around her, "If you don't mind, do you want to continue this conversation indoors?" she nodded in the direction of the deserted house which she had told Mike had belonged to her Grandmother, "Granny was one of those crazy apocalyptic survivalists, which is why there is a bunker in the garden... she doesn't seem quite so crazy these days. Slightly annoying I wasn't the first to get into the cache though."

Bija Somishuun Aurora Nevalainen-Sihvola
A LINGUIST???

I nodded intently as Hannah accepted my offer. It had been lovely here, but it would be nice to be out trekking again. Especially with a goal in mind. Yes, having a goal was always nicer than wandering aimlessly and surviving, so I tried to keep busy. But, as Hannah soon explained, there was something distinctly different about this mission. The idea of a time machine was insane to me, but perhaps there was something to it. This Tariq fellow that she directed me to was surely either brilliant or insane to be translating Ragon and working on space and time travel. My interest was nonetheless piqued, and so I said “Thank you, I’ll go have a chat,” and then went to see the man Hannah had referenced.

“You’re Tariq?” I asked when I got near him, “My name’s Bija Nevalainen. Hannah told me that I might want to speak with you about Ragon translations and the whole mission you’re planning?”

[Dyelli Beybi]

Hannah Brown

"Everybody, get yourselves ready to move out!" Hannah called to the people who still hadn't moved to get into the vehicles. She had hoped to rest up here for the evening but wherever this 'Nest' was, it would probably work as well. She didn't particularly like being immobile and out in the open like this at the best of times, especially when they were still close to the old population centres of the East Coast where the Ragon patrols were more frequent.

She glanced across at the picnickers. To be fair, she couldn't blame them for that. Might as well enjoy themselves when they had the chance, "You can finish your food off in the truck if you aren't quite done," she added, "I don't want to get caught out after dark if I can avoid it. There aren't many street lights these days. I'm just going to take a look for something in this house, but I will be out by the time you are sorted."

It was probably abundantly clear to everyone by now that Hannah was connected to the house, though for anyone who hadn't realised, it would be pretty rapidly. Hannah dropped to her knees in the snow by the back step, her hands searching nimbly behind the wooden boards before coming up with a key, "Aha!" she declared, rising and dusting the snow from her knees before stepping up to open the house up.

Some people might have been tempted to break the window, but Hannah didn't like destroying old things that probably couldn't be repaired. Not if she didn't need to. One day, in many years time, people might want to live in that house again.

Tariq ab Zubi

Bija Somishuun Aurora Nevalainen-Sihvola
A LINGUIST???

...

“You’re Tariq?” I asked when I got near him, “My name’s Bija Nevalainen. Hannah told me that I might want to speak with you about Ragon translations and the whole mission you’re planning?”

"Hello," Tariq replied, with a slight incline of his head as he began to make his way towards truck, Rebecca in tow, "I am Tariq al Zubi and this is Rebecca Cohen."

"Hi," Rebecca replied, studying Bija curiously for a few moments.

Tariq gave a wry chuckle, "Yes, I have spent quite some time working on the Ragon language, though only in it's written form. Long enough to, with the help of some colleagues who are sadly no longer with us, translate the orbit of the wormhole. As for the plan..."

Tariq seemed to be pondering how to best explain the plan without it coming across as too crazy, though Rebecca chose this as her moment to jump in, "The Professor wants to use the wormhole to send a spaceship back in time and undo any of this before it happened."

Tariq grimaced at her explanation. It had been blunter than he would have gone for, "That is the plan we have been working on, yes. We have no idea what will happen if we try to destroy or close the wormhole and, even if we did, there aren't enough of us left to do anything serious about the Ragons who have taken up residence on this planet, even if we did cut them off from their home galaxy. As much as this might sound a bit ridiculous, people have been speculating about time travel through the wormhole since the Destiny incident."

[Khasinkonia]

Hannah Brown

"Everybody, get yourselves ready to move out!" Hannah called to the people who still hadn't moved to get into the vehicles. She had hoped to rest up here for the evening but wherever this 'Nest' was, it would probably work as well. She didn't particularly like being immobile and out in the open like this at the best of times, especially when they were still close to the old population centres of the East Coast where the Ragon patrols were more frequent.

She glanced across at the picnickers. To be fair, she couldn't blame them for that. Might as well enjoy themselves when they had the chance, "You can finish your food off in the truck if you aren't quite done," she added, "I don't want to get caught out after dark if I can avoid it. There aren't many street lights these days. I'm just going to take a look for something in this house, but I will be out by the time you are sorted."

It was probably abundantly clear to everyone by now that Hannah was connected to the house, though for anyone who hadn't realised, it would be pretty rapidly. Hannah dropped to her knees in the snow by the back step, her hands searching nimbly behind the wooden boards before coming up with a key, "Aha!" she declared, rising and dusting the snow from her knees before stepping up to open the house up.

Some people might have been tempted to break the window, but Hannah didn't like destroying old things that probably couldn't be repaired. Not if she didn't need to. One day, in many years time, people might want to live in that house again.

Tariq ab Zubi

Bija Somishuun Aurora Nevalainen-Sihvola
A LINGUIST???

...

“You’re Tariq?” I asked when I got near him, “My name’s Bija Nevalainen. Hannah told me that I might want to speak with you about Ragon translations and the whole mission you’re planning?”

"Hello," Tariq replied, with a slight incline of his head as he began to make his way towards truck, Rebecca in tow, "I am Tariq al Zubi and this is Rebecca Cohen."

"Hi," Rebecca replied, studying Bija curiously for a few moments.

Tariq gave a wry chuckle, "Yes, I have spent quite some time working on the Ragon language, though only in it's written form. Long enough to, with the help of some colleagues who are sadly no longer with us, translate the orbit of the wormhole. As for the plan..."

Tariq seemed to be pondering how to best explain the plan without it coming across as too crazy, though Rebecca chose this as her moment to jump in, "The Professor wants to use the wormhole to send a spaceship back in time and undo any of this before it happened."

Tariq grimaced at her explanation. It had been blunter than he would have gone for, "That is the plan we have been working on, yes. We have no idea what will happen if we try to destroy or close the wormhole and, even if we did, there aren't enough of us left to do anything serious about the Ragons who have taken up residence on this planet, even if we did cut them off from their home galaxy. As much as this might sound a bit ridiculous, people have been speculating about time travel through the wormhole since the Destiny incident."

Bija Somishuun Aurora Nevalainen-Sihvola
Canadian Death Mission

The proposition of time travelling via the wormhole was thoroughly fascinating. But the idea of it, though Professor al Zubi and Rebecca seemed to be perfectly lucid, still felt absurd. I knew it was possible, theoretically, but the idea that I might participate in such a thing, in however passive a role, was thoroughly wild. Even so, I did have a few questions based on the nature of such a thing. As much as I wanted to ramble about linguistics at the first mention of deciphering Ragon script, that could wait until I had properly affirmed that I would be going along with them and helping their trek.

“I’m sure you’ve received this question many times, but do you believe that time travel might pose the risk of producing a paradox? Aren’t those extraordinarily dangerous?” I asked.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Tariq al Zubi

The proposition of time travelling via the wormhole was thoroughly fascinating. But the idea of it, though Professor al Zubi and Rebecca seemed to be perfectly lucid, still felt absurd. I knew it was possible, theoretically, but the idea that I might participate in such a thing, in however passive a role, was thoroughly wild. Even so, I did have a few questions based on the nature of such a thing. As much as I wanted to ramble about linguistics at the first mention of deciphering Ragon script, that could wait until I had properly affirmed that I would be going along with them and helping their trek.

“I’m sure you’ve received this question many times, but do you believe that time travel might pose the risk of producing a paradox? Aren’t those extraordinarily dangerous?” I asked.

Tariq make a bobbing circle motion with his head as if trying to nod and shake it at the same time, "Potentially, you are referring to the 'Grandfather Paradox' are you not?" he continued without waiting for an answer, "I am working on the rather large assumption that, if we manage to pull this off, that there is some kind of unknown cosmic law that will allow such a paradox to be resolved. As we don't have any actual observations of the effects of time travel, it would be very difficult to say exactly what that would be, however, if the Ragon are proof of one thing, it is that we are not the most advanced species in the Universe, and if we are at the point where we could try something like this then there is every reason to believe someone else has in the distant past. The fact that we still exist implies we won't destroy the Universe if we alter events."

"Having said that," he continued, evidently this was a topic al Zubi was quite fascinated by, even if he wasn't actually an expert in it, "My colleagues has said this would, under normal circumstances, not be a box they would suggest opening, however, we are staring extinction down the barrel of a gun so even if there are negative repercussions to our actions they cannot be much worse than inaction."

"Either that," Rebecca added chirpily, "Or it's not possible to change events anyway, in which case we've made a journey to Denver purely for the scenery. You know, like in 12 Monkeys... the original Terry Gilliam movie," which was when she seemed to realise then that an obscure film from nearly 140 years ago probably wasn't something everyone had seen. She shrugged, "The Scientists at that base we were on didn't pack much in the way of entertainment. I think I've seen every time travel movie ever, half a dozen times."

[Kylantha]

---

Huggy Turnipseed

---

Lying in the truck, Huggy began to get bored. His cat was circling around him, batting at his face. Clearly it was feeling the same way. Huggy batted his hands back at the cat who hissed and jumped on top of the seats to get away from him.

"You silly." Huggy hissed back, getting up onto his knees. He was thinking of looking around now that things seemed to quiet down a bit. Peeking over the walls of the truckbed, Huggy observed that some people were eating and most were now conversing casually. Huggy giggled at the sight. Something about him made him feel tingly inside. Getting up onto all fours now, Huggy moved to the edge of the truck to get off. Just then, Hannah called for everyone to pack up and get ready to leave, which Huggy heard and frowned at. He was already prepared. But where was she going? Craning his neck over the other people, he dusted his hands off and began to stalk after her. Halfway to the house, he seemed to pretend he was a snow-plow until he reached the front porch. He hovered around there for a bit, peeking out back every now and then. He was just listening. Trying to find out what it was she was doing.

"Hm, hmm, hm. . ." Huggy went as he quietly moved to the rear of the house. There he saw Hannah hunched over something. When she stood up, he receded into the bush. As she walked up to the door, he raised an eyebrow. What was it she'd found? Now curious to find out, he moved quickly but silently so he was behind her, looking over her shoulder.

"Ah. A key." he said, sounding very pleased to find out what she was doing.

If Hannah turned around, she'd just barely see his eyes behind his goggles. He was very obviously smiling. Over what exactly nobody knows. Probably not even he knew.

"Oh, hello." he would flatly say, then alternately look at the key and the door, seemingly anticipating what she'd do next.

[Europa Undivided]

Monsieur Lafayette, Tovarisch Ivanovsky, And Herr Andres

Ivan squinted as Rebecca told to pack up and get ready to move out. “Alright, time to go.”, he said as he chewed on his pierogi before taking it in whole. “Jean? Andres? You ready to head back to the truck?”

The Frenchman puckered his lips at Ivan, taking a last bite off his baguette. “Yes. Yes indeed I am.”

It wouldn’t be long before the three of them had all headed back to the truck, with Andres hanging out further in the back as he launched one of his surveillance drones around 100 meters upwards in order to scout out their surroundings. He would pore over his small console device, eyeing the visual and sensor of the drone very carefully.

“Clear skies.”, he reported to everyone else. “So, where do we go next?”

[Arengin Union]

Michael Carter

---

"Everybody, get yourselves ready to move out!"

Hannah’s words were accompanied by Mike calling onto his men to start heading back to the APC and the trucks outside. Some would serve as escorts within them to give additional firepower in case of anything. The armed soldiers obeyed his commands without question as they began to head back. The surrounding snipers and scouts had already disappeared as fast as they had made themselves known.

"You can finish your food off in the truck if you aren't quite done," she added, "I don't want to get caught out after dark if I can avoid it. There aren't many street lights these days. I'm just going to take a look for something in this house, but I will be out by the time you are sorted.”

“She’s right people, you dont want to get caught off guard out here believe me…” Mike said as he followed behind Hannah, he and a pair of his soldiers had remained with the group while the others prepared to head out as soon as they were finished.

Mike let Hannah do her magic as she acquired a hidden key for the house, she seemed rather eager to get in and search whatever she wanted to find. For Mike this was not much but a waste as this area had been mostly swept clean in the time after the fall of Earth. But whatever the scavenger girl from the East wanted to find he wouldn’t impede her, he was not like Dani.

The others within the group chatted as they approached the house, Mike and his men remained outside, their weapons drawn but not aimed at anything. Bija seemed to be getting along with this gang rather well, she had always been a social type. It was a shame she wasn’t interested in joining the Battalion, they needed more people like her as the numbers of recruits became fewer and fewer as did hope for humanity and their fight. As he overheard the conversation Mike became more interested in what this mission was all about.

Tariq gave a wry chuckle, "Yes, I have spent quite some time working on the Ragon language, though only in it's written form. Long enough to, with the help of some colleagues who are sadly no longer with us, translate the orbit of the wormhole. As for the plan..."

Tariq seemed to be pondering how to best explain the plan without it coming across as too crazy, though Rebecca chose this as her moment to jump in, "The Professor wants to use the wormhole to send a spaceship back in time and undo any of this before it happened."

Tariq grimaced at her explanation. It had been blunter than he would have gone for, "That is the plan we have been working on, yes. We have no idea what will happen if we try to destroy or close the wormhole and, even if we did, there aren't enough of us left to do anything serious about the Ragons who have taken up residence on this planet, even if we did cut them off from their home galaxy. As much as this might sound a bit ridiculous, people have been speculating about time travel through the wormhole since the Destiny incident."

“The Destiny Incident…” Mike said under his breath, he remembered the tales of his father about what had occured. His grandfather had been on that very mission, the Battalion owed its existence due to all that. But the plan, this wormhole plan about time travel and so much more sounded ludicrous and rather far fetched but at this point what didn’t? Mike had been fighting the Ragons most of his adult life and had come not a single step close to victory, perhaps this new plan could change that, he pondered further on it as Tariq and Bija kept chatting.

When Bija brought up questions about this time traveling scheme Mike kept listening in but he didn’t interject at all, he just listened.

“I’m sure you’ve received this question many times, but do you believe that time travel might pose the risk of producing a paradox? Aren’t those extraordinarily dangerous?” I asked.

Indeed this was a rather important problem. Mike wasn’t even a scientist and he knew of such possibilities.

Tariq make a bobbing circle motion with his head as if trying to nod and shake it at the same time, "Potentially, you are referring to the 'Grandfather Paradox' are you not?" he continued without waiting for an answer, "I am working on the rather large assumption that, if we manage to pull this off, that there is some kind of unknown cosmic law that will allow such a paradox to be resolved. As we don't have any actual observations of the effects of time travel, it would be very difficult to say exactly what that would be, however, if the Ragon are proof of one thing, it is that we are not the most advanced species in the Universe, and if we are at the point where we could try something like this then there is every reason to believe someone else has in the distant past. The fact that we still exist implies we won't destroy the Universe if we alter events.”

[i]How does that work…[/quote] Mike pondered as Tariq went further, the prospects sounded way too unlikely and like out of a mad man. But part of Mike wanted to believe it all, believe in something new.

"Having said that," he continued, evidently this was a topic al Zubi was quite fascinated by, even if he wasn't actually an expert in it, "My colleagues has said this would, under normal circumstances, not be a box they would suggest opening, however, we are staring extinction down the barrel of a gun so even if there are negative repercussions to our actions they cannot be much worse than inaction."

"Either that," Rebecca added chirpily, "Or it's not possible to change events anyway, in which case we've made a journey to Denver purely for the scenery. You know, like in 12 Monkeys... the original Terry Gilliam movie," which was when she seemed to realise then that an obscure film from nearly 140 years ago probably wasn't something everyone had seen. She shrugged, "The Scientists at that base we were on didn't pack much in the way of entertainment. I think I've seen every time travel movie ever, half a dozen times."

It was at that moment that Mike finally spoke up, setting his weapon on his back. He seemed rather awkward as he approached the group, but the militiamen could not ignore everything he had heard.

“Back at the Nest, we have scientists… Well something of the sort who build up weapons and new ways to fight the Ragons, we don’t have all that the old world did but I’m certain that if what you say is true we can muster all our forces, soldiers, engineers, and scientists to make this work…” Mike paused, looking at them with piercing and saddened eyes that turned to more optimistic for the future. “It may be a far fetched plan, but I’m willing to bet on it and I’m certain the Commander would too…”

[Dyelli Beybi]

Tariq and Rebecca

...

It was at that moment that Mike finally spoke up, setting his weapon on his back. He seemed rather awkward as he approached the group, but the militiamen could not ignore everything he had heard.

“Back at the Nest, we have scientists… Well something of the sort who build up weapons and new ways to fight the Ragons, we don’t have all that the old world did but I’m certain that if what you say is true we can muster all our forces, soldiers, engineers, and scientists to make this work…” Mike paused, looking at them with piercing and saddened eyes that turned to more optimistic for the future. “It may be a far fetched plan, but I’m willing to bet on it and I’m certain the Commander would too…”

Tariq inclined his head politely at the offer, "The offer is, of course, greatly appreciated. As for the scientists and engineers, I fear it would take decades of research to build the device. I for one, have no idea where you would even start. Before we lost communications, the report was that the base near Denver had completed the vessel, but until we had translated the orbit of the wormhole we had no idea where to launch for. We are also at a good time for a launch, when the wormhole is relatively close to Earth. If the Ragon data is correct the orbit is highly eliptical and if we miss the window of the next few months we'll be chasing it deeper and deeper into the solar system."

"Basically, we need people to help us get this convoy moving relatively quickly," Rebecca sumarised for the Professor, shouldering her weapon, "People with good upper body strength, who can shift obstacles blocking the roads. Also, the more people with guns, the better as it makes us a less tempting target for the unfriendly people with guns. It would be ironic if we got all this way only to get murdered by a band of brigands. Ironic?
Is that the right word in English?"

Before anyone had a chance to answer though, Hannah called out from the steps of the building...

---

Hannah Brown

---

Huggy Turnipseed

---

...

"Hm, hmm, hm. . ." Huggy went as he quietly moved to the rear of the house. There he saw Hannah hunched over something. When she stood up, he receded into the bush. As she walked up to the door, he raised an eyebrow. What was it she'd found? Now curious to find out, he moved quickly but silently so he was behind her, looking over her shoulder.

"Ah. A key." he said, sounding very pleased to find out what she was doing.

If Hannah turned around, she'd just barely see his eyes behind his goggles. He was very obviously smiling. Over what exactly nobody knows. Probably not even he knew.

"Oh, hello." he would flatly say, then alternately look at the key and the door, seemingly anticipating what she'd do next.

"Oh, hello," Hannah replied, echoing Huggy and looking a little startled to see him. He was a bit of an odd-ball, and she suspected some of the others were a bit frightened of Huggy, but he had saved her life and she couldn't help but feel a bit connected to him. She unlocked the door, opening it and motioning for Huggy to go in first.

She took a moment to kick the snow off her boots before following him in. It wasn't really necessary, but she couldn't help but think of this place as her Grandmother's House still, even if the old Lady had been in the grave since before the invasion. Hannah hadn't been in the property for years, but even in the gloom she could see it was largely untouched. She knew her dad hadn't sold the property before the invasion had happened, but she had imagined he had started boxing things up, yet everything was here, just as she remembered it, neat and tidy, though with a thick film of dust that Grandma would never have tolerated.

To see a house like this, still looking so... normal, especially one that had belonged to someone she knew filled Hannah with a deep sense of sadness. Tariq was probably leading them on a wild goose chase, but if there was any chance of them getting back to a world like this, wasn't it worth taking a shot?

Above the mantlepiece in the lounge were a number of framed photos, slightly faded with time, "Do you want to take a look in the kitchen to see if there is any canned food?" she suggested to Huggy.

Hannah was on a personal mission, though if there was a chance to scavenge something useful at the same time, then it was worth killing two birds with one stone. She scanned the photos. There was one of her family with her Grandma. Hannah must have been about five in the picture. She paused. It wasn't what she had come for, but Hannah didn't have any pictures of her family. Carefully she laid the photo frame on it's back, opening it up then sliding out the photo. She paused for a moment, considering folding it up, though it seemed almost sacrilegious to damage it more than she needed to. She tried it in several pockets before finding one that was just larger than the photo, sliding it in. It would get damaged over time, but she would do her best to keep it as pristine as she could for as long as she could.

She kept scanning the mantlepiece. There were one or two more of family members, her grandmother with a gold trophy, and there, tucked away at the back, the one she had been wondering about; Grandma and Great-grandma, "Hmm..." she muttered under her breath, "Who'd have thought."

Then, more because she didn't want anyone else to see it than because it held any sentimental value, Hannah took that one from it's frame as well, shoving it in her pocket with the first. It was at that moment that she felt a sharp, searing pain on her neck, "Ouch!" she reached up, feeling something hard and chitinous wriggling beneath her fingers. She grabbed it, flung it to the ground. She looked at the creature for just long enough to realise it was one of those blasted alien insectoids they'd seen in the centre of town, before she put her boot on it, grinding the little bastard into the floor boards.

She reached up for her neck. It stung and felt damp, even through the wool of her gloves. She took her palm away, looking at the sizeable blood stain, "Huggy!" she yelled, clamping her palm back to the side of her neck, "Also, can you see if there is a first aid kit out there!"

Hannah stumbled back towards the porch. She was feeling a little light headed, which was odd, she'd never heard the creatures were venomous, "Guys!" she yelled to everyone outside, leaning back against the wall of the house to stop everything from spinning, "Can someone get me a first aid kit? One of those bastard bugs bit me."

It wasn't life threatening, but there was quite a bit of blood, leaking from between Hannah's fingers and soaking into the wool of the fingerless gloves she was wearing.

---

Rebecca and Tariq

... Rebecca turned when Hannah called out, forgetting all about her question about what irony was. The American woman was bleeding. It looked painful, though even as she looked across at Hannah, she heard something else building up in the background. A low but insistent buzzing, slowly but surely getting louder.

She knew that sound from the swarms in the Middle East. The blood locusts were on the move and heading this way. Individually, the bugs weren't too much of a problem, but when the swarms could tear a grown adult apart in minutes leaving nothing but a pile of bones and clothing scraps. Guns wouldn't do any good against the swarm. A flamethrower might, though she hadn't seen anyone carrying one around, "Everyone, get inside the house! Now!" she yelled. For a small woman, Rebecca was remarkably loud.

There were some people closer to the Bunker. That was probably a better place to hole up, but that swarm would be on them in less than a minute, the house was closer and she didn't want anyone left in the open to be bug food. It had looked pretty intact from the outside and they should be able to wait for the swarm to pass in there and deal with a few bugs, if they got in.

Tariq followed Rebecca's instruction as soon as it was called, sprinting in the direction of the door Hannah had left open. Rebecca though, went another way, heading for the truck. She yanked the door open. She could see the swarm coming, like a huge writhing cloud, descending on them from the centre of the town, "Here kitty, kitty..." she said, trying to sound as friendly as she could. That guy with the bunny ears had better be grateful for this...

[Europa Undivided]

Jean-Luc, Andres', and Ivan

When Hannah had entered the house to look for family heirlooms and the supplies they all needed to stock up with, Jean-Luc had been leaning against the truck's driver door, smoking a Havana Cigar that he had acquired during one of the many searches he and Hannah did within the broken ruins of New York City. Such goods were in short supply, and Jean would cross heaven and earth to get more of these.

As he puffed smoke from the Havana Cigar, Andres would sit on the back of the truck, wearing some kind of goggles that Jean had never seen him use before. "What's that, Barbs?", he asked the man as Andres used a joystick on his hands to steer... something.

Andres quickly took off the goggles, winking at the older Frenchman. "Oh, Monsieur. It's just something I made myself when I was on the Event Horizon. It's a VR goggle that allows me to see what my drones are seeing as if I am the one seeing through their eyes... Though I still prefer the phone. This is a little tricky to use, after all."

"Well, I do think you should get more used to that one.", Ivan interjected as he hoisted himself up to sit beside Andy. "After all, you could lose the phone because of one unfortunate incident or another..."

"Jah, mein Freund...", Andres replied as he put the goggles back on.

"Scheiße..."

"What is it?"

"Blood locust swarm. Coming in fast!"

He said that just in time for Rebecca to yell for everyone to get inside the house; right through the door that Hannah had left open.

Jean bolted to a run, though he was slightly encumbered by the AT rifle sling on his back. Andres and Ivan quickly followed. Andres, however, tripped on a snow pile, dazing him for a second. Fortunately enough, Ivan was there to help him up and to get inside the house.

Once they were inside, Andres put the goggles back on, looking through one of the drones that was camouflaged against the white sky. "Big swarm. Good enough we got inside in time..."

[Arengin Union]

Michael Carter

---

"The offer is, of course, greatly appreciated. As for the scientists and engineers, I fear it would take decades of research to build the device. I for one, have no idea where you would even start. Before we lost communications, the report was that the base near Denver had completed the vessel, but until we had translated the orbit of the wormhole we had no idea where to launch for. We are also at a good time for a launch, when the wormhole is relatively close to Earth. If the Ragon data is correct the orbit is highly eliptical and if we miss the window of the next few months we'll be chasing it deeper and deeper into the solar system."

“Then we best act quick, the sooner we can get to the Nest and tell the commander of this the better!” Mike said with a rushed voice, he felt shaking all throughout as the prospects of possibility became higher but also seemingly more dangerous. But he was willing to be part of this plan, if he had to go to Denver he would.

"Basically, we need people to help us get this convoy moving relatively quickly," Rebecca sumarised for the Professor, shouldering her weapon, "People with good upper body strength, who can shift obstacles blocking the roads. Also, the more people with guns, the better as it makes us a less tempting target for the unfriendly people with guns. It would be ironic if we got all this way only to get murdered by a band of brigands. Ironic? Is that the right word in English?"

Mike looked around, first to the two of his soldiers and then away towards the APC and the surrounding men. If that’s what this group needed to make the trip to Denver then Mike was more than willing to commit to it, it was better than staying here and fighting what was increasingly a losing war. Before he was able to say anything Hannah’s voice came from the house. The girl stumbled out, holding onto her neck tightly and in noticeable panic.

"Guys!" she yelled to everyone outside, leaning back against the wall of the house to stop everything from spinning, "Can someone get me a first aid kit? One of those bastard bugs bit me."

Hannah had been stung by one of those bugs, the wound looked nasty to say the least. Before Mike could offer any help he then heard the buzzing sound, one that he was all too familiar with, looking out with perturbation he was quick to call onto his men who also knew what was coming. It was a swarm of blood locust, those nasty sons of bitches could devastate any group regardless of weaponry.

"Everyone, get inside the house! Now!" she yelled. For a small woman, Rebecca was remarkably loud.

The Rebecca women was quick to act, only seconded by Mike who also sprung into action. “Blood locust, come on people, we need to get in quickly, Mackenzy and Kap, help me cover these civies!” Mike immediately got a hold of his rifle, setting himself against a pillar and covering everyone as they got into the house. The other Battalion soldiers outside would have to take shelter back into the bunker or the APC.

Once everyone was within the house Mike and his men were the last to get in, quick to barricade the door with whatever they could find as they readied their weapons to eliminate any bugs that got in.

[Kylantha]

---

Huggy Turnipseed

---

Huggy stood and stared for a moment, watching Hannah open the door. He stared blankly at her as she gestured for him to enter, taking a moment to understand. When he finally got it, he seemed to snap back into reality and quickly enter the home. Now.. What was it he was doing here, he wondered as he looked around. It was giving him an odd feeling. Once he'd made a full circle in place, his gaze landed back on Hannah who was getting the snow of her boots. Huggy tilted his head and watched, then moving to the door and doing the same. Once content with the minute amount of snow on his own boots, Huggy stood back up and continued to stare until spoken to.

"Ah! Oh! Yes, okay!" he said with elation in response to Hannah's question, and rushed into the kitchen. To him, it was extremely odd to find a house so... Intact. It made him feel messed up. Once he was used to this kind of thing. Most everything was in order and people kept it that way.. But to the young man that just seemed distant and surreal. Vague memories filled his mind, but didn't quite register as reality. So for a few moments he stood there, cradling his head in his hands and moaning softly.

"Urrghh.. Uhhh.." the moaning became louder for a moment, and Huggy's hands balled up into fists. He was just about to pound them against his head when he heard a loud voice from elsewhere, calling out his name, and he returned to reality once more.

"Wuh--?" he rushed back to the other room, stopping in the doorway as Hannah stumbled past. Wasting no time, he went out after her and gave her support. A bit roughly, he grabbed her hand and lifted it slightly from the bite. "Shh.. Wait.." he mumbled, examining the wound. It was taking on a reddish color. This he had seen before. Letting her hand fall back to place, Huggy pushed down lightly on her shoulder. "Sit, sit.. You," he pointed at her, "..wait here." he said before rushing down the porch.

Huggy was heading for the truck, where his bag was. His ears then picked up on a very familiar distant droning noise. "Huh?" he stopped and stood still, hoping that what he was hearing was not what he was thinking. Didn't take long though until others heard the noise and urged them to enter the house. "Oh.. Oh god, oh god, oh god.." Huggy began to tense up. He knew that those bugs were fast, and soon they'd be all around. He needed to get to the truck for his stuff and his cat, but his mind wasn't letting him decide. People ran right past him and Hannah, prompting him to go get her first. He left her inside, just by the door and ran straight back outside. . .

Wigglesworth knew the sound too, and he started to become on edge. When Rebecca swung the door open, the cat became startled and hissed at her. It didn't take long for the cat to realise that this person was not trying to hurt it though, and it came out into the open and nuzzled close to her. It gave a long and loud meow as it walked around her legs, as if to say "What are you waiting for?".

Huggy could see the stranger woman and her cat and started doing a weird dance wherein he pointed frantically towards the house with one hand and flailed about with the other. "Ohhh..." he groaned in frustration as the sound grew louder and clearer. He needed his bag. In there was some smelly stuff he made that would help with the bugs. He didn't want to cross all the way over to the truck, and so he lifted his mask slightly to let her hear.

"My bag! My stinker stuff is in there! Bring it here, bring it!! It's the big blue one with puppy pins! Hurry, hurry, they're coming!"

Sure enough, there was a blue bag in the truck bed in plain sight. It had clearly been used as a pillow. There were pins on it, but they were certainly not of puppies. They were actually of an old character called Stitch. It shouldn't be easy for the stranger woman to miss, Huggy thought, resisting the urge to run as he alternately looked at her and then at the horizon.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Rebecca, Tariq and Hannah

Once everyone was within the house Mike and his men were the last to get in, quick to barricade the door with whatever they could find as they readied their weapons to eliminate any bugs that got in.

"Guys, I hope you aren't planning to fire a gun in here," Tariq looked at the troopers with a touch of worry, "These are pretty small targets and if you hit a window, there will be an awful lot of them in here. I'm going to go to the kitchen and find something more suitable for squashing a large insect, I suggest you do the same."

Hannah meanwhile, had sunk into an old, comfortable looking armchair with an orange paisley pattern to it. She looked exhausted, blinking blearily at the people around her as she pressed her hand to her neck to staunch the bleeding, "Can someone go to the bathroom and get my some medical supplies? I don't think this house has been raided and there used to be some there, behind the mirror."

"My bag! My stinker stuff is in there! Bring it here, bring it!! It's the big blue one with puppy pins! Hurry, hurry, they're coming!"

Sure enough, there was a blue bag in the truck bed in plain sight. It had clearly been used as a pillow. There were pins on it, but they were certainly not of puppies. They were actually of an old character called Stitch. It shouldn't be easy for the stranger woman to miss, Huggy thought, resisting the urge to run as he alternately looked at her and then at the horizon.[/blocktext]

"Puppy pins," Rebecca grumbled to herself, then hurried back around to the rear oft he truck to get the bag. She had been tempted to leave it, but the man with the mask seemed agitated and she feared that he might do something like try to something silly like open a door if she didn't get the bag. She muttered something in Hebrew under her breath as she spotted the bag (That is the weirdest puppy I've ever seen... if he wants this bag because it has his favourite a stuffed unicorn in it, I swear I'm going to shoot him), grabbed it, slung it over her shoulder, scooped up the cat, then hopped down off the tailboard, landing with a crunch in the snow.

She turned in the direction of the incoming swarm. It was very close. She'd make it to the door before most of the bugs, though it would be close and if there was someone nervous at the door she might end up as bug food, "Harah!" she cursed, hugging the cat close to her chest and racing towards the door. She probably hugged it a little too close, because it sunk it's claws into her, in a particularly painful spot, "Oww.... ben zona! Don't close the door!" she yelled in Huggy and Mike's direction.

The first bugs appeared as she closed on the house. Heart racing she sprinted as fast as she could with a rifle banging against one shoulder and a bag on the other. The cat sank it's claws in deeper as she got to the porch, flinging herself across the threshold, releasing Lil Debil Wigglesworth to go running under a sofa. She was also followed by four of the insects before anyone had had a chance to close the door. The buzzed around angrily, though in small numbers they could be easily swatted from the air and stamped on and weren't too much of a threat, which was exactly what Tariq did to one, now armed with a wooden kitchen cutting board.

"Oh God, not more of them!" Hannah's eyes lit up in alarm before she hunched over in sudden reflex, burying her face in her lap as she curled up into a protective ball.

[Mercatus]

Tariq and Rebecca

...

It was at that moment that Mike finally spoke up, setting his weapon on his back. He seemed rather awkward as he approached the group, but the militiamen could not ignore everything he had heard.

“Back at the Nest, we have scientists… Well something of the sort who build up weapons and new ways to fight the Ragons, we don’t have all that the old world did but I’m certain that if what you say is true we can muster all our forces, soldiers, engineers, and scientists to make this work…” Mike paused, looking at them with piercing and saddened eyes that turned to more optimistic for the future. “It may be a far fetched plan, but I’m willing to bet on it and I’m certain the Commander would too…”

Tariq inclined his head politely at the offer, "The offer is, of course, greatly appreciated. As for the scientists and engineers, I fear it would take decades of research to build the device. I for one, have no idea where you would even start. Before we lost communications, the report was that the base near Denver had completed the vessel, but until we had translated the orbit of the wormhole we had no idea where to launch for. We are also at a good time for a launch, when the wormhole is relatively close to Earth. If the Ragon data is correct the orbit is highly eliptical and if we miss the window of the next few months we'll be chasing it deeper and deeper into the solar system."

"Basically, we need people to help us get this convoy moving relatively quickly," Rebecca sumarised for the Professor, shouldering her weapon, "People with good upper body strength, who can shift obstacles blocking the roads. Also, the more people with guns, the better as it makes us a less tempting target for the unfriendly people with guns. It would be ironic if we got all this way only to get murdered by a band of brigands. Ironic?
Is that the right word in English?"

Before anyone had a chance to answer though, Hannah called out from the steps of the building...

---

Hannah Brown

---

Huggy Turnipseed

---

...

"Hm, hmm, hm. . ." Huggy went as he quietly moved to the rear of the house. There he saw Hannah hunched over something. When she stood up, he receded into the bush. As she walked up to the door, he raised an eyebrow. What was it she'd found? Now curious to find out, he moved quickly but silently so he was behind her, looking over her shoulder.

"Ah. A key." he said, sounding very pleased to find out what she was doing.

If Hannah turned around, she'd just barely see his eyes behind his goggles. He was very obviously smiling. Over what exactly nobody knows. Probably not even he knew.

"Oh, hello." he would flatly say, then alternately look at the key and the door, seemingly anticipating what she'd do next.

"Oh, hello," Hannah replied, echoing Huggy and looking a little startled to see him. He was a bit of an odd-ball, and she suspected some of the others were a bit frightened of Huggy, but he had saved her life and she couldn't help but feel a bit connected to him. She unlocked the door, opening it and motioning for Huggy to go in first.

She took a moment to kick the snow off her boots before following him in. It wasn't really necessary, but she couldn't help but think of this place as her Grandmother's House still, even if the old Lady had been in the grave since before the invasion. Hannah hadn't been in the property for years, but even in the gloom she could see it was largely untouched. She knew her dad hadn't sold the property before the invasion had happened, but she had imagined he had started boxing things up, yet everything was here, just as she remembered it, neat and tidy, though with a thick film of dust that Grandma would never have tolerated.

To see a house like this, still looking so... normal, especially one that had belonged to someone she knew filled Hannah with a deep sense of sadness. Tariq was probably leading them on a wild goose chase, but if there was any chance of them getting back to a world like this, wasn't it worth taking a shot?

Above the mantlepiece in the lounge were a number of framed photos, slightly faded with time, "Do you want to take a look in the kitchen to see if there is any canned food?" she suggested to Huggy.

Hannah was on a personal mission, though if there was a chance to scavenge something useful at the same time, then it was worth killing two birds with one stone. She scanned the photos. There was one of her family with her Grandma. Hannah must have been about five in the picture. She paused. It wasn't what she had come for, but Hannah didn't have any pictures of her family. Carefully she laid the photo frame on it's back, opening it up then sliding out the photo. She paused for a moment, considering folding it up, though it seemed almost sacrilegious to damage it more than she needed to. She tried it in several pockets before finding one that was just larger than the photo, sliding it in. It would get damaged over time, but she would do her best to keep it as pristine as she could for as long as she could.

She kept scanning the mantlepiece. There were one or two more of family members, her grandmother with a gold trophy, and there, tucked away at the back, the one she had been wondering about; Grandma and Great-grandma, "Hmm..." she muttered under her breath, "Who'd have thought."

Then, more because she didn't want anyone else to see it than because it held any sentimental value, Hannah took that one from it's frame as well, shoving it in her pocket with the first. It was at that moment that she felt a sharp, searing pain on her neck, "Ouch!" she reached up, feeling something hard and chitinous wriggling beneath her fingers. She grabbed it, flung it to the ground. She looked at the creature for just long enough to realise it was one of those blasted alien insectoids they'd seen in the centre of town, before she put her boot on it, grinding the little bastard into the floor boards.

She reached up for her neck. It stung and felt damp, even through the wool of her gloves. She took her palm away, looking at the sizeable blood stain, "Huggy!" she yelled, clamping her palm back to the side of her neck, "Also, can you see if there is a first aid kit out there!"

Hannah stumbled back towards the porch. She was feeling a little light headed, which was odd, she'd never heard the creatures were venomous, "Guys!" she yelled to everyone outside, leaning back against the wall of the house to stop everything from spinning, "Can someone get me a first aid kit? One of those bastard bugs bit me."

It wasn't life threatening, but there was quite a bit of blood, leaking from between Hannah's fingers and soaking into the wool of the fingerless gloves she was wearing.

---

Rebecca and Tariq

... Rebecca turned when Hannah called out, forgetting all about her question about what irony was. The American woman was bleeding. It looked painful, though even as she looked across at Hannah, she heard something else building up in the background. A low but insistent buzzing, slowly but surely getting louder.

She knew that sound from the swarms in the Middle East. The blood locusts were on the move and heading this way. Individually, the bugs weren't too much of a problem, but when the swarms could tear a grown adult apart in minutes leaving nothing but a pile of bones and clothing scraps. Guns wouldn't do any good against the swarm. A flamethrower might, though she hadn't seen anyone carrying one around, "Everyone, get inside the house! Now!" she yelled. For a small woman, Rebecca was remarkably loud.

There were some people closer to the Bunker. That was probably a better place to hole up, but that swarm would be on them in less than a minute, the house was closer and she didn't want anyone left in the open to be bug food. It had looked pretty intact from the outside and they should be able to wait for the swarm to pass in there and deal with a few bugs, if they got in.

Tariq followed Rebecca's instruction as soon as it was called, sprinting in the direction of the door Hannah had left open. Rebecca though, went another way, heading for the truck. She yanked the door open. She could see the swarm coming, like a huge writhing cloud, descending on them from the centre of the town, "Here kitty, kitty..." she said, trying to sound as friendly as she could. That guy with the bunny ears had better be grateful for this...

George and Jenkins

They were both sitting in the truck when they heard it. A low buzzing, like the wings of bees or wasps. Then they heard someone yell for everyone to get in the house. "You gotta be fucking kidding me..." said Jenkins as he looked at the incoming swarm. Meanwhile, George was sitting with his door open, and he noticed the approaching swarm when he looked out of his open door. It took him a few seconds to react, "Wha- Oh shit!" he exclaimed as he scrambled to get out of the vehicle. Jenkins was already out and moving, and he looked back to see George struggling to get out, probably from panic. He swiftly made his way to George, grabbing him by the shoulder and pushing him in the direction of the house. "C'mon kid! Gotta hurry or we'll be dead in the next thirty seconds!" He and George were running the fastest they'd probably ever ran, and they reached the house in around 25 seconds. Jenkins tried to open the door, only to find it barricaded. "Hey! Let us in!" yelled Jenkins as the swarm came ever closer. He slammed the door with his cybernetic fist, making what was likely a very loud and rousing noise inside the house. "God dammit! We're gonna get eaten if y'all don't hurry!" he said. Meanwhile George was frantically looking around the porch as this all was happening with panic on his face.

[New Udonia]

Isaac A. Baines
Fast Aid

Isaac had joined the rest of the group after Hannah had convinced the soldiers of his intentions. Some of them snacked while others climbed into their new allies' vehicles.
Isaac just stood there silent, taking everything in.

Hannah stumbled back towards the porch. She was feeling a little light-headed, which was odd, she'd never heard the creatures were venomous, "Guys!" she yelled to everyone outside, leaning back against the wall of the house to stop everything from spinning, "Can someone get me a first aid kit? One of those bastard bugs bit me."
"Everyone, get inside the house! Now!" she yelled. For a small woman, Rebecca was remarkably loud.

What? Isaac wasn't sure why, but he didn't want to wait and find out. He was one of the first ones inside before the noise became unbearable. Apparently a few of them had gotten inside, and everyone was rushing to end their flights of terror. He spotted Hannah against the wall, hunched over, her open neck-bite bleeding profusely. That is not good.

"Come on, let's get you somewhere safe." He helped her to her feet, keeping one of his hands on the back of her neck and the other under her arm. Spotting a nearby bathroom, he assumed it was the safest spot for first-aid. Once they were inside, he wedged a towel under the door. "They shouldn't be able to get in here." After ransacking a nearby cabinet he found the necessary gauze he had been looking for. Applying pressure, "Is there anything I need to do other than stop the bleeding?"

Weston G. Foster
A Loud Place

Following Isaac's successful march down to the crowd below, and his subsequent rejoining of the group; Weston turned to head back to the truck before a noise stopped him dead in his tracks. Damn ears, I didn't even fire once. The noise steadily increased and began to take on a direction. Shit, run. He had to force his feet to start moving, running back toward their truck which was at the top of the hill. The swarm didn't appear to be chasing him, but he'd rather be safe than sorry.

By the time he reached the truck, his head was pounding. The canvas roof of the truck wouldn't stop any intelligent form of life, so he hobbled towards the cab, lungs gasping. Checking behind him twice, he wrenched the passenger side door open and climbed inside, slamming the door behind him. After triple-checking that both doors were locked and all the windows were sealed, he placed his pack in the driver's seat. Sinking down into the seat he allowed himself to take a full breath. All he could do now was wait.

[Europa Undivided]

Ivan, Jean, and Andres

When they had entered the house, Jean-Luc was quick to set his anti-tank rifle upon the dining table that was set to face the door; perhaps it was wisest not to use it in these circumstances, but it never hurt to be sure. Without further notice, he quickly loaded a 13.2 milimetre high explosive shell into his gun, and aimed at the door; he was not familiar with the blood locusts. Perhaps he thought that they could be capable of barging down the door with their weigh of numbers and sheer will to consume blood. Either way, he wasn't trigger happy right now, and sighed in relief as Rebecca crashed into the house while bearing Huggy's cat, though his hand flew towards a nearby wooden paddle that was probably for baking as four of the blood locusts came in before Ivan was able to slam the door shut. They buzzed angrily, hissing at the air as their own hideous appearance betrayed their thirst for fresh meat and blood. Tariq killed one with a baking implement, while another was sliced in half as Ivan quickly slashed at it with Yascheritsa. Still another was batted by Andres as he swung his rifle butt to spread the insect's innards on the wall.

Andres soon informed them of something else as someone else (probably) destroyed the last blood locust.

"Weston is in the truck.", Andres announced as one of his drones still flew around outside, capturing a wide view of the area with its observation cameras. "He has closed all doors... And should be safe. As for us..."

"As for us?", Ivan asked as he picked at the bloody remains of the locust he killed.

"No matter what you do.", Andres muttered to no one in particular. "Don't open the door, or we all die."

[Dyelli Beybi]

Hannah Brown

Isaac A. Baines
Fast Aid

...

"Come on, let's get you somewhere safe." He helped her to her feet, keeping one of his hands on the back of her neck and the other under her arm. Spotting a nearby bathroom, he assumed it was the safest spot for first-aid. Once they were inside, he wedged a towel under the door. "They shouldn't be able to get in here." After ransacking a nearby cabinet he found the necessary gauze he had been looking for. Applying pressure, "Is there anything I need to do other than stop the bleeding?"

"I... I don't know," Hannah replied, wincing slightly, "I've never been bitten by one of those bugs before, but I don't think so. I guess I'm just having a bad reaction."

She blinked a couple of times, sinking down to a sitting position with her back propped up against the side of the bath, "Thanks Isaac," she added before reminding him of what she had said before they had set off, her voice taking on a tense, slightly worried tone, "Also, don't forget if I pass out or anything, I can't take a blood transfusion, no matter what else happens. I've got a rare blood mutation. Runs in the family, so unless you happen to have one of my cousins handy, whatever you try to stick me with will kill me," she paused for a long moment before adding, "But I don't think I'm going to pass out so we should be okay."

"That towel was good thinking," she nodded in the direction of the wedged piece of fabric, "I know I saw some broken windows when we arrived here, so the little critters will be able to find a way in," she pulled off her glove, then reached up, pressing her hand over the top of Isaac's, "I think I can manage here, but do you want to see if you can get the others thinking about plugging the gaps in the living room?"

---

Rebecca and Tariq

"You little..." Rebecca growled as she rose to her knees, rubbing at her chest where Lil Debil Wigglesworth had sunk his claws into her, though as she did she seemed to realise that swearing at a cat probably wasn't going to be particularly productive and she gave a slightly sheepish smile before abruptly snapping back to the current situation, "Not everyone is in here. Who are we missing?" she asked.

"That man Weston didn't make it in and we're missing George," Tariq confirmed, glancing around to see who else hadn't got in, although before he could, there was a banging from outside.

George and Jenkins
"Hey! Let us in!" yelled Jenkins as the swarm came ever closer. He slammed the door with his cybernetic fist, making what was likely a very loud and rousing noise inside the house. "God dammit! We're gonna get eaten if y'all don't hurry!" he said. Meanwhile George was frantically looking around the porch as this all was happening with panic on his face.

"Mike!" Rebecca called to the man closest to the door as she scrambled up to her feet, "Everyone, get ready, we're going to get a few dozen of the nasty little bastards in here when you open that door. The bite hurts like hell but it won't kill you. Whatever you do, don't damage the windows!"

[Arengin Union]

Michael Carter

---

"Guys, I hope you aren't planning to fire a gun in here," Tariq looked at the troopers with a touch of worry, "These are pretty small targets and if you hit a window, there will be an awful lot of them in here. I'm going to go to the kitchen and find something more suitable for squashing a large insect, I suggest you do the same."

“He’s right,” Mike realized as he set his rifle back onto his back, “Switch to melee and stay on alert!” he said as he took a hold of his combat knife, ready to end whatever bug that tried its luck. Mackenzy and Kap had a machete and a hatchet respectively and were as careful with their surroundings as Mike and everyone else, making sure nothing got through the barricades.

Hannah’s little venture outside had dragged in a few of the blood locusts but they had been dispatched quickly thanks to the group's fast thinking and action. Regardless it was for the best not to risk any further ventures outside. All the while several others within the group were busy tending to wounds and checking out whatever they could find within these confines, Mike for his part was preoccupied with the swarm outside and how it would delay the trip back to the Nest.

"No matter what you do.", Andres muttered to no one in particular. "Don't open the door, or we all die."

“Don’t worry, we won’t…” Kap answered as he had his hatchet at the ready with one hand. Mike was just about to check on Hannah as she had been wounded by one of the locusts, but before he could a muffled voice and baging came onto the door.

“Hey! Let us in!" yelled Jenkins as the swarm came ever closer. He slammed the door with his cybernetic fist, making what was likely a very loud and rousing noise inside the house. "God dammit! We're gonna get eaten if y'all don't hurry!" he said. Meanwhile George was frantically looking around the porch as this all was happening with panic on his face.

Seemed that someone had remained behind, and that was now a problem they had two choices with. Either let the pair outside to find another hidding place quickly, die or try to get them back in. Before Mike could make a decision ont he matter it was Rebecca who called for him to get ready.

"Mike!" Rebecca called to the man closest to the door as she scrambled up to her feet, "Everyone, get ready, we're going to get a few dozen of the nasty little bastards in here when you open that door. The bite hurts like hell but it won't kill you. Whatever you do, don't damage the windows!"

“You heard her men, get ready!” Mike said to Kap and Mackenzy, both grunting in annoyance but still they obeyed as they began to push off the barricades and got ready to open the door.

“Everyone get ready then!” Mike said as he gripped his knife tightly. And finally the door was opened, several locusts buzzing and Mike was quicky to swat off one and cut it in half with his knife, Kap for his part sliced a pair with his hatchet careful to not hit any windows.

“GET IN NOW!” Mike shouted to Jenkins and the kid.

[Khasinkonia]

Bija Somishuun Aurora Nevalainen-Sihvola
Death Swarm

Although the conversation with Tariq and Rebecca had just begun, and another man had entered, it was tragically cut short by the Blood Locusts. We had to run for cover, and that gave me a good insight on who was with us. One woman got a sting, and I would have too, had I not enough covering to avoid the locusts. They were worse than Finnish mosquitos, by far, but the bastards weren’t nearly as resourceful. Although Rebecca was hard at work shooting them, I only had to deal with one. I always kept my gloves on rather than taking up space in my bag, so I grabbed it, ripped its wings off, and stomped it into a pulp on the ground. Insects were never dead until they were annihilated, it seemed to me, so no risks. When I found a flea on myself as a child, no amount of rolling it in my hand stopped it. Even with no legs, the little monster tried to suck blood. These enormous beastly bugs certainly had greater resolve.

[New Udonia]

Isaac A. Baines
Unpleasant Surprise

Blood transfusion!? The idea of performing a transfusion nearly made Isaac sick, so he felt guiltily relieved when she said she couldn't accept one.
The idea just popped into his head and for some reason he said it. "Your cousins still around?" Stupid question, Isaac.
After hearing Hannah's request, Isaac stood up and surveyed the room. I don't want to go out there...
"Alright, I'll go see what I can do."

Requisitioning another towel, Isaac slowly opened the door and satisfied with the lack of buzzing, slipped through. Restuffing the original towel under the door, this time from the outside, he proceeded back towards the main group. The first thing he saw, of course, was them opening the door. What the hell? He soon realized that they were trying to rescue people trapped outside, although several locusts were entering during the process. His hand instinctively reached for his sidearm.
Great idea Isaac, shoot the bugs out of the air with a Deagle, that'll work.

Placing the additional towel on the counter, Isaac dashed for the kitchen. Luckily finding an iron skillet, he ran back to the 'battlefield'. Standing near the outskirts of the group, he waited for an insect to breach their perimeter. Getting in the way of the swinging knives and hatchets would have been another stupid decision, possibly his last.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Hannah, Tariq and Rebecca

"My cousins... no idea," Hannah replied as Isaac left. She looked very, very tired, though she was alert enough to kick the towel back under the door once he was gone.

Out on the sitting room, chaos reigned, mostly because hitting fast moving flying insects was quite difficult though thankfully nobody had been foolish enough to actually draw a firearm and most of them seemed to be drawn instinctively towards blood, which meant heading towards where Hannah was holed up rather than attacking any of the other people. Without a tool for swatting, Rebecca didn't achieve a heck of a lot, apart from keeping any of the bugs from landing on her, though Tariq was much more effective, methodically swatting them down and stamping on them.

It seemed like a long time for everyone in the room, though in reality all the bugs were disposed of within a minute, allowing a moment to mop his brow with the back of his sleeve, "I think that's it," he commented.

Rebecca glanced around, nodded, then frowned, "I wouldn't count on that situation lasting. While we have a breather I'm getting a pan or something to help knock them out of the air," she motioned at Isaac and Tariq's improvised weapons, "Those looked like they were working quite well."

As she moved in the direction of the kitchen, Tariq cocked his head to one side, studying one of the squashed insectoids. Outside the swarm could be heard humming menacingly, like they were in the middle of a hive of angry giant bees, "Has anyone studied these things before?" he asked, dropping to his haunches next to the creature he was examining, "Because it looks to me like there is a metal filament running the length of the abdomen which is rather peculiar. Certainly not something I've ever seen in a terrestrial species."

In the kitchen there was the sound of a pan colliding with a wall, setting draws full of crockery jangling and an angry, "Fucking die!" from Rebecca, who had evidently found a living bug.

A few moments later another came buzzing into the air in the sitting room, zipping and turning amongst holed-up humans, wings buzzing menacingly. Clearly they were still getting in from somewhere. A cursory glance down the length of the house revealed another closed door that presumably opened up into a hall and a fat blood locust wriggling its way under the bottom of it.

[Europa Undivided]

Locusts Ahoy

As Tariq examined the blood locust that had been smashed and remarked that there was a metal filament running through their bodies, a small noise would break out as Andres smashed another of the creatures with the butt of his sniper rifle. As the humans gained a breather from the assault of the bloody creatures, Andres, a man that had performed experiments aboard a science ship in orbit five years ago, was quick to hunch over the bloody remains of the blood locust, looking over it even with his goggles on. He muttered lowly to himself. "Metal filament, blood sucking tendencies..."

He pored over the remains, even to the point of sniffing them. "Examined the blood locust, I have not. Would appreciate if one is kept intact for thorough examination."

Andres was practically kneeling now, intently looking at the metal filament that Tariq had described. "Hypothesis, the blood locusts are not a product of natural evolution, but rather, a biomechanical creature created for the purpose of drawing the body fluids of sentient creatures. Seen these creatures before, I have not. Must examine intact specimen for further study."

As he finished, he stood back up. "Does anyone have a Tupperware?"

Meanwhile, if Weston was paying attention to the windshield of the truck, he would soon see the avian drone known as Panzer Vogel land right in front of him; its eye cameras looking straight into his soul. However, one thing was certain: he was being watched for his wellbeing.

"Another locust." Ivan snorted with his thick accented English as he walked over towards the other door, his boot ready to smash it to pieces. However, before he could kill it, Andres ran over and trapped the locust under a Tupperware. "I keep this one alive.", he said as he slid a piece of hard paper under the container before setting it on the table. For good measure, Jean-Luc added a plate on top of it so that the creature couldn't escape.

"Hannah, where does this door lead?", Jean-Luc asked as he looked at the particularly fat blood locust that they had caught. "This one is very fat with what I assume to be blood..."

[Kylantha]

Huggy Turnipseed

Huggy threw some outrageous gestures to Rebecca as she dashed for the house. He almost caught her when she jumped through the doorway.

"Thanks.." he said curtly to her as he retrieved his bag, knowing that his cat had darted under the sofa. He immediately ran to the side and knelt down, rifling through a mess of various containers. He took three in each hand and sat in a hunched position, pulling hood over head as the other humans swatted what bugs came inside down. Once the beating of wings ceased, Huggy got to work dripping the liquid from the vials onto windowsills and at the foot of doors. Whatever was in those containers smelled rancid, but he didn't have the problem of having to smell them. And whatever or whoever could smell it, blood locusts included, would find it disgusting.

Huggy knew the stench would only last for as long as the trails of slightly viscous liquid remained. It should dissuade any of the giant bugs from attempting to squeeze through cracks.

After things quieted down, Huggy started looking around for Hannah, having lost sight of her during the chaos. He soon found her on the bathroom floor, a bit of gauze around where she'd been bitten. He stood frozen for a few moments before kneeling down in front of her and looking into her eyes. He had seen people bit before, and had never seen this reaction. He wasn't sure what to do. So he just continued to think while remaining near her, not saying much as he shut the door behind him. He continued to observe the wound, wondering why it was bleeding as much as it did.

The door hadn't been closed all the way, allowing Jean-Luc's voice to come on through. Huggy looked back at Hannah and tilted his head.

"How are you feeling?" he inquired first, not too concerned about the Frenchman's question. It didn't seem like she had the energy to move or say too much. If she answered though, he could relay to them what she said..

[Dyelli Beybi]

Hannah Brown

Locusts Ahoy

"Hannah, where does this door lead?", Jean-Luc asked as he looked at the particularly fat blood locust that they had caught. "This one is very fat with what I assume to be blood..."

Hannah was in the bathroom, trying to keep the bugs out and had no idea where Jean-Luc was. Nor could she find the energy to get up and take a look, but the house wasn't huge and most of it was an open plan living area... hang on, if it was a door... there was only one other door, "That's the hallway. If you go through it there's bedrooms to the left and right and the front door directly ahead."

Huggy Turnipseed

"How are you feeling?" he inquired first, not too concerned about the Frenchman's question. It didn't seem like she had the energy to move or say too much. If she answered though, he could relay to them what she said..

"Oh hey," Hannah replied blearily, kicking out with one of her boots to jam the towel back under the door as Huggy closed it. The hum of insects outside seemed to get louder by the minute, "I'm fine, but those things have jaws like scissors. The little bastard really bit deep... but I'll live."

"You guys got the place secure?" she asked.

---

Tariq and Rebecca

Locusts Ahoy

...

"Another locust." Ivan snorted with his thick accented English as he walked over towards the other door, his boot ready to smash it to pieces. However, before he could kill it, Andres ran over and trapped the locust under a Tupperware. "I keep this one alive.", he said as he slid a piece of hard paper under the container before setting it on the table. For good measure, Jean-Luc added a plate on top of it so that the creature couldn't escape.

Outside the team were aided in their efforts to deal with the invading bugs by the fact that they seemed to be instinctively drawn towards the scent of fresh blood... which meant the bathroom door, which had a towel firmly wedged under it, keeping them from creeping around to get to their meal.

Rebecca's attention was drawn to the bug that the Russian had caught in a jar, "Of all the... why would you keep that thing alive?" she demanded, hurrying over, though before she had a chance to try to destroy it, Tariq laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Actually, I'm with the Russian on this one," he added, "These bugs are an enemy like any other and the more we know about them, the better equipped wwe are to deal with them."

This seemed to deflate Rebecca, who nodded, "Alright, you make a solid point." she conceded grudgingly, "But keep an eye on it and if it looks like it's getting out, kill it."

There didn't seem to be much likelihood of that though. The creature's mandibles might have worked quite well on human skin, but they were not equipped to deal with wood or glass.

[Europa Undivided]

A Weird Man

"For the record,", Andres answered without do much as a glance as he peered at the blood locust that he entrapped inside a plastic Tupperware. "He's the Russian.", he pointed towards Ivan. "I'm half German, half Filipino, and I grew up mostly in Edinburgh in Scotland until I went to college. But I like copying the Russian man's accent... it's so... attractive to the ear."

Ivan rolled his eyes. "Is he usually like this?", he whispered to Jean, who was still fixated on the door that had a particularly fat and juicy blood locust crawling out the crack under it. "I mean... this?"

"Believe me.", Jean-Luc replied, leaning closer to the taller Russian's ear. "You haven't seen the worst of his eccentric antics."

"Is he alright? I mean... mentally?"

Jean-Luc chuckled. "He's just wierd by impulse, that's it. And, err, Andy?"

The diminutive man looked up. "Yeah?"

"Can you get a drone under the door?"

Andy shook his head. "The smallest one that would be able to fit under the door crack is back at the truck, but I can get Panzer Vogel to fly around the house and check the area opposite this doorway."

"Oui, please do so."

Andres put on the goggles and sat on one of the chairs in the dining room. "Wait a bit for me to get visuals on the hallway and check how many of the bloody locusts have gotten in through into the hallway. Hopefully those creatures don't confuse a flying hunk of metal and plastic for a meal."

Ivan shook his head in disbelief. "Did he just turn to a Scottish man now?"

"That's his normal voice.", Jean-Luc whispered back. "At least that was the most common accent I heard from him back in the day. But you heard the man. He grew up in Edinburgh. Doesn't matter that he is half Fraülein and half Juan."

Andres was soon heard again. "Alright, my comrades. I have visuals on the other side..."

[Kylantha]

---

Huggy Turnipseed

---

It almost bothered Huggy how his intense staring didn't irk Hannah like it did most people he'd encountered. But then again, he likely wasn't taking into account the fact that she was likely a bit woozy from the pain of the bite and subsequent blood loss.

"Hmm.. Mm.. Good. That's good." he said in a mumble as he shifted his head from side to side, apparently trying to get a good look at the bite site. It took him a moment before he answered Hannah's question. "Hm?.. Oh, yeah.. Bugs? Dead as doornails. I put some crap on the windows and doors to keep them from trying to squeeze through. Usually works." he shrugged to the last part of his sentence as his gaze drifted back at the door. He kept staring at it for a moment until it looked like he was startled out of a dream, and he righted himself to a squatting position.

What was I doing? Oh! Oh, yeah. And he continued to lean closely to look at the bite wound. Then, on an impulse, he reached up and touched around the wound. It wasn't gentle, but it wasn't too hard either. Nonetheless, when Hannah reacted in pain Huggy quickly became extremely distressed.

"Sorry! Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to, I.. I didn't.." he stammered profusely, his movements becoming more frantic. He immediately backed away so that he was against the bathroom door, placing his hands under his body and sitting on them. He bent over forward so that his head was between his knees, and he seemed to be muttering curses and insults at himself while rocking back and forth.