In Case of Emergency... (Open, FT/All, Read First Post!)

[Sunset]

Imperium av Lux Nis...

The pod moved. Cracked really; Something like a clam opening up under the broiler. Light appeared around the edge, the lid swung up on smooth hinges, and a pleasant voice requested that he - not specifically - move away before it opened completely. Overall it seemed rather pleasant and uneventful for something that had literally fallen from the heavens only moments earlier but that changed with an uncomfortable groan and the soft splat-plaft as something red and white tumbled out of the pod and sprawled out face-down on the snow.

It was a man, or at least shaped like a man from what Kaisi could see of him, with an enormous round body clad in a red suit trimmed with white fur and sporting a pointy hat that hid his head aside from the large white beard that sprayed out under his chin. He was wearing black boots and similar gloves that looked suitable for riding, though it was clear that only the most dire of beasts could support his girth. A belt around his waist gave him some sense of definition but that definition was essentially morbidly obese. There was a moment's pause while he stretched out in the snow and then two more emerged from the open pod and the crash couches inside.

A boy and a girl, both were young and wearing the same kind of generally comfortable and moderately fashionable clothing that could be found throughout the galaxy. Unlike the inactive fat man, they were both on their feet in moments and, utterly ignoring the new environment they would have otherwise found themselves in, they crowded around the fallen figure and looked down at him wide-eyed until the boy nudged him with one toe. With no response forthcoming, he turned to Kaisi, "Oh my god! They killed Santa Claus," with his sister adding, "Those bastards!"

[Sunset]

Excidium Planetis...

Death Robots They Were Not...

But they were all very much naked and that struck nearly everyone as a bit of an oddity. It wasn't that the interior of the pod was particularly warm, or that the two individuals stretched out on old school log-style crash... Well... logs were engaged in any kind of erotic activity or that there was an indication of such, but the pod was of a particular age and appearance that suggested that clothing, if possible, was desirable. Both rust and scarring marred both the interior and exterior surfaces and, judging by the carbon scoring across what would have been a bow, the unit had already survived at least one planetary landing only to be recovered, reconfigured with a number of launch components that looked as though they had been attached by a ten year old with a wood burning kit, and placed back aboard a craft of some kind until it had again been needed. Even the interior furnishings showed signs of age and possibly of that aforementioned erotic activity; The fabric was ripped and torn in places and here and there the thick black foam underneath poked through like a Cthonian mushroom that would sprout eyes and tendrils any moment. On one of the logs, where the individual would rest elbows and knees, there were suspicious wear marks where none should be in a pod that had seen nothing but storage and another set just further back implied that one individual had not been entirely responsible.

At least by their appearance, it was unlikely that the two individuals spread out on the other two couches - leaving the one in the middle open - were responsible. Both bore scars both new and old and one had a long curtain of grey-red blood down the side of his face. The other was female and both were broadly human though there may have been any number of compatible admixtures through their genealogy. This process had not been kind to either and both were of a rough and altogether brutish appearance, one wrist encircled by a bracelet linked to a central unit by a flexible tube. This appeared to be the source of their hibernation as both indicators pulsed exceptionally slowly and counters showed the steady drain of chemicals from an unknown reserve. Another timer showed how long they would sleep for while yet another showed that this was an impossible event, dating several hundred years after the chemical supply had been exhausted.

Aside from the naked duo and their mediocre life support system, the pod was empty. A number of hatches and latches indicated where survival gear was doubtless stowed but these were all carefully closed and latched. Whatever had happened to the pair, it was clear that the simplest way to find out was to detach them from their chemical leash and allow them to wake...

...unless they were secretly Death Robots.

[Dogs of War]

A small group of 12 researchers was send to RoV to help them investigate the provocation which had been launched against their nation. They carried specialized equipment to analyze the forgeries placed in the Republic. When it came to aliens and the supernatural the researchers of the mercenary company were very pragmatic. All forms of magic and psi-powers had been disproved. No such things ever existed. The same was true for alien contact. As much as people loved to believe that this was possible, it was not. No little grey men could ever reach Earth as it was impossible to reach the speed necessary for that contact. It would be difficult to show the officials of the allied nation that they had fallen victim to a hoax as they obviously wanted to believe that this was actually true. Something the people who placed the aliens in the RoV must have known before.

[Sunset]

Federation of Democratic Regions...

Some might call it a pod. Others might call it a shower stall. Either way, the rectangular unit was the only particularly intact piece of what was more than likely had been a much larger piece of debris when it had entered the atmosphere. There were signs of girders and insulation, now either mostly burned away or mostly melted by the heat of the passing, and it was only by some unforeseen miracle that the sealed shower stall had survived the passage and the eventual impact. Perhaps there had been enough material - now sprayed around like shrapnel - below to cushion the impact, or perhaps the broad shape of the initial composite had acted as a crudely effective parachute before being tossed away, or perhaps it was a little bit of both, but to describe it as a pod?

It stretched the definition.

Perhaps it was then no surprise that the occupants of this particular shower stall were, in fact, well and truly dead. Opening the door only revealed the obvious; The extreme heat of reentry had worked through every available crack and joint to completely incinerate those inside and render their bodies nigh unrecognizable. Flesh and organs had been reduced to ash while only shattered scraps of bone remained, blown apart and broken. Without painstaking reconstruction it would be impossible to tell how many there had been inside the small space though an off-the-hand estimate put them solidly in the people-not-animals range. Any indication of where they had come from was similarly wiped out and again, careful work would be needed to glean even the smallest detail.

But for those on the ground who had lost their lives it was no comfort to know that similarly lives had been lost in whatever accident had befallen those inside. Dead was dead.

...or was it?

[Imperium av Lux Nis]

Imperium av Lux Nis...

The pod moved. Cracked really; Something like a clam opening up under the broiler. Light appeared around the edge, the lid swung up on smooth hinges, and a pleasant voice requested that he - not specifically - move away before it opened completely. Overall it seemed rather pleasant and uneventful for something that had literally fallen from the heavens only moments earlier but that changed with an uncomfortable groan and the soft splat-plaft as something red and white tumbled out of the pod and sprawled out face-down on the snow.

It was a man, or at least shaped like a man from what Kaisi could see of him, with an enormous round body clad in a red suit trimmed with white fur and sporting a pointy hat that hid his head aside from the large white beard that sprayed out under his chin. He was wearing black boots and similar gloves that looked suitable for riding, though it was clear that only the most dire of beasts could support his girth. A belt around his waist gave him some sense of definition but that definition was essentially morbidly obese. There was a moment's pause while he stretched out in the snow and then two more emerged from the open pod and the crash couches inside.

A boy and a girl, both were young and wearing the same kind of generally comfortable and moderately fashionable clothing that could be found throughout the galaxy. Unlike the inactive fat man, they were both on their feet in moments and, utterly ignoring the new environment they would have otherwise found themselves in, they crowded around the fallen figure and looked down at him wide-eyed until the boy nudged him with one toe. With no response forthcoming, he turned to Kaisi, "Oh my god! They killed Santa Claus," with his sister adding, "Those bastards!"

Imperium av Lux Nis.

Kaisi looked at the pod. He saw the man, the obese one with his pointed hat, red suit and white as snow beard. At least, he did until the man had collapsed upon the ground. Then the boy and girl, who both seemed identical, shouted out the man's name, Santa Claus. Kaisi said "Is he dead? Oh well, I suppose. I'll get the local Guardsmen to find a proper burial site, you can stay with me. Do you like ice saltwater cubes? They're sour, but tasty." He began to walk towards his house, and opened a hatch door next to it, before beginning to climb down a ladder. "Come with me!" he said.

[Republic of Vectors]

Several highly regarded Vectorians along with the Aspari top representatives and several of the Dog if War scientists stood in the control room for the black operations wing. The room, dark with the lights dimmed, lit by several large monitors showing every square inch of the room from a bird eye view, was tense with mixed emotions. Even the long line of Red Guard troopers, who were replacing Royal Guards for this operation, were lining the back wall and though trained to be neutral in gaze and emotion were completely transfixed on the screens. The command centre had a low roof and a dozen officers stationed at computer screens, several of them still running the base needs. The computer stations were bundled into two groups of six per side; making three rows of two near the walls. More towards the centre were tables and screens for tactical purposes and planning. The centre of the room had a slightly elevated command platform with a three screened computer console on top a circular island counter. Major Davies was seated in the command console with General Saajil standing behind him, the Asparians, DOWs and Vectorian members were clustered in folding chairs around the command console wherever they could see the screen. It was a very crowded fit, as it was not meant to hold this many people.

In the first room, the doctors were cleaning up after the surgery. The cart of tools was whisked away through the same hidden door which it entered and a sanitation cart took its place, which the medical professionals were using to clean the area and themselves before a decontamination process. Nothing seemed to have gone wrong during the process, and only time will tell if it would heal properly or not.

In the middle room, two isolation suited individuals were in there waiting orders. The single male alien lay undisturbed on the bed, waiting to be awoken. Perhaps now the chemicals would start subduing?

In the third room, it was quiet and empty save for the uniformed alien. Outside the door however, the few Red Guard troopers stood guard watching over the three doorways.

In the command centre, Major Davies nodded to the representatives in the room with him and spoke into the speaker,
"Room Bravo, see if you can shake him awake."

In the middle room with the male, the two Vectorians each took a side of the figure on the table and grabbed his shoulders, then violently shook him.

[Sunset]

The Imperial Frost Federation...

"...uhm... Kainshin... Where..."

The young man stirred, rolling his head slowly from side to side, and his eyelids twitched slightly before just rising to show the whites and a tiny crescent of blue-gray. His chest rose and fell, sagging at the end, and then he began to breath regularly before sitting up just slightly and supporting himself on his elbows. His eyes opened but a hand went to his forehead, shading them against the quite tolerable lights of the medical bay. Blinking, he looked from side to side and caught sight of the Captain. There was something odd about his gaze; A young man should not have the thousand-yard stare that he did, but to the officer it seemed as if he was looking both at and past him at the same time to search for an enemy on the far horizon. They returned to the Captain's uniform for a moment and then down at his own. Not once had his eyes caught the Captain's, instead sliding past to focus on something near him or behind.

"Where am I? Where's..."

He left that question unfinished, eyes sliding from the Captain to the medical officer and the various instruments that could be found nearby. There was an expression both of worry and unfamiliarity on his face as though he knew both what they were for but did not know for what purpose they would be used...

[Primordial Luxa]

Uni Luxa
“I have seen the dark universe yawning. Where the black planets roll without aim, where they roll in their horror unheeded, Without knowledge, or luster or name”

The Luxan Empire has always been devoted to the attention which it pays to space and the dark recess of the vast vista of cosmic blackness and inky stars, it is from this massive abode of nebula and glimpsed planets that much of their nihilistic cultures, fatalistic mentalities and horrible religions were based on. A focus on just cold unfathomable immensity created a culture which lacked much ability to care about anything earthly and human. So much of Luxan society was organized around either abject raw hedonism or the intrepid exploration of things which transcended human conception and sanity, as well as things which most people would categorize as “Things mankind was no meant to know”. It was because of things they knew which they shouldn’t that they were Uni Luxa

Uni Luxa was the name which enlightened Luxans gave in secret to their planet for there were a select few among the Empire who were aware that the Luxan Empire was not only a conglomeration of nation-states bound together by defense agreements, annexations and treaties but it in fact represented an organization the transcended the confines of this three dimensional realm of space time. For you see, Uni Luxa had made contact with Primum Luxa, an alternate version of themselves from an alternate universe not wholly different but not wholly identical either. It turned out that Primum Luxa had contact with dozens of other Luxans, some from worlds similar to earth and other radically different but regardless it appeared there was a communication network between these nations of a truly horrifying scale.

Thus when a device of strangely intelligent design appeared outside of the planet “earth’s” atmosphere for which no human designation could be given, many counties reacted appropriately with all-consuming fear as their delicate sense of importance and place in the universe and their safety therein shattered. Such a structure falling towards their planet signaled a company behind lifeless rocks or the potential microorganisms which might dwell on Europa, and many lovers of strange fiction discovered that when confronted with actual signs of alien life they were less excited than they had thought they might be. However, such fears didn’t seem to reach the Luxan Empire who had through the use of their unmanned Yuggoth base on Pluto detected the craft first and had calculated that it seemed to plotting a sort of course towards their corner of the cosmos. Because of this it became clear that while predication said it would come to rest in the central portion of the North American continent and most like in the Luxan Empire no one could be definitely sure it wouldn’t change course suddenly.

This drove many other nations into an even greater panic, but for their Luxans who had grown up with their grandmothers telling them about how the heat death of the universe meant they would never amount to anything and whose schooling was focused on removing all sense of human centrism from their dialect they made a collect shrug. The Luxan government was less lethargic and had several teams on standby ready to clean up and deal with the device wherever it may choose to land.

Outskirts of the City of Hypatia, Kingdom of Pendragon, Luxan Empire, Uni Luxa
When the awesome star bound craft did land it struck with a serious strength on the outskirts of Hypatia so that it decimated several dozen buildings and sent massive clouds of sun choking ash into the sky, there by covering the city for many miles in a haze of terrifying blackness.

Many people at first thought that the event might signal a terrorist act by one of the monotheistic groups which always saw the Luxan Empire as a detestably cancerous remnant of old cults and diabolic religious which should have died out long ago. Other people with a more metaphysical mentality thought with ecstatic glee that perhaps this was the apocrypha apocalypse coming to fruition as the Great Old Gods seeped down from the stars to raze the world of life and matter as we knew it. Other people who had paid more attention to the news and the astronomical community where correct in their first assumption that fate had decided to curse them this day and that luck was casting its deadly gaze towards them.

Several dozen people died instantaneously as they were crushed underneath buildings or by the sudden meteoric force of an object from space striking the planet. More were injured by the destruction and it was not long before emergency services scatter to stem the tide of destruction which rushed through the streets like a flood. However, there were some people who through luck or skill avoided any serious damage, August Konaka was the former rather than the latter.

August was a young man barely in his last year of high school and with all the notable telltale signs of youth and naivety about him. He wasn’t handsome by any stretch of the imagination but he had a mysterious and empathic look about him that gave him an air of charisma and friendly based solely on his features. Today like most days he was dressed in plain but high quality black clothing and layered in plates of hard coppery metal across his body and limbs, each plate had the most horribly fantastic inscription on it which seemed to have been drawn with liquid ruby for they shown like gems in the fading light of the obscured sun. However, what was more horrible than their unnatural hue and texture was the monstrous writing itself for it seemed to be equal parts scientific formula and unholy alchemical witch markings neither of which means most to the average person but together painted a hideous image of similarity. He had been in the middle of walking back from an exhilarating day at his local high school when the impact had occurred and thrown him into a nearby shop where he had remained relatively unharmed even though he was relatively close to the blast zone.

While most people were slowly walking away from the area of destruction August decided to approach, for you see while August had a penchant for learning and was concerned educated amongst his peers, education and intelligence are two radically different skills. Along with him some other Luxans were moving towards the danger but these other people were mostly concerned citizens who hoped to rescue someone or something before the emergency personnel arrived. So the first person to appear on the lip of the crater overlooking the queer craft was a singular and isolated August who allowed the breath to be sucked from his lungs as awe and horrible inspiration overtook him.

[Sunset]

Republic of Vectors...

It had the intended effect but not in the expressed fashion; Shaken, the young man failed to wake but instead the white patch stuck to his neck fell off and, a few minutes after the shaking stopped, he began to wake up. His respiration visibly increased, followed by his pulse, and both slowly moved towards the levels associated with the living. His eyes moved under his eyelids as his pulse spiked and then, eyes going still, his body relaxed as though he had gone to sleep. With that example to go by it would be then easy to wake the other two, though for the blue-skinned woman the exceedingly slow heartbeat associated with the hibernation drugs had likely saved her life - though the surgery to close her severed arm had gone well - and there was the question as to whether they wanted the enormous demonic-looking woman in the other room to wake at all. Perhaps it was best to leave sleeping dogs to lay...

[Excidium Planetis]

Excidium Planetis Navy carrier Ravenous Pack

Commander Pascal Traversi was slightly surprised by the nature of the pod's occupants. He was prepared for anything... He just didn't expect anything.

"Corporal Higgs, get some fire blankets and cover those things up. We don't need anyone ogling the guests while we search the pod." Traversi ordered one of the marines accompanying him.

"Right, er... Yes, sir."

In a short time the marine had returned with some blankets meant for putting out shipboard fires, but now repurposed as the only nearby material that could function as clothing.

As the marine got to work covering up the... humans(?), Traversi took in the interior of the pod, noting every detail of its contents. This might have have been slightly counter to his earlier statement regarding ogling. "Someone see if you can work out the latches on those compartments. There might be something useful in them. If not, don't use force, we'll just get these two to open them up. Now, where is that doctor?"

The ship's head physician appeared near the entry hatch. "Yes Commander?"

"Lieutenant, please assist in reviving these beings. They appear to be in chemically induced hibernation."

"Ah... yes. Medics, stand by with first aid. They might have complications waking up..." the doctor replied. She walked over to the female occupant and examined the bracelet, tube and life support more closely, looking for an easy way to detach the tube or start some kind of revival procedure.

The marines in the background gripped their weapons. It still might be death robots.

[The Imperial Frost Federation]

Twilight Reclaimer, Western Med bay

Captain Cardinal watched as the young man stir and see his bearings. Seeing his look of concern over the medical equipment the Captain said, “It’s alright, you’re safe. You’re on board the Imperial Frost Federation Ship the Twilight Reclaimer. I’m Captain Allen R. Cardinal but you may call me Captain, Captain Cardinal or sir. The good doctor here (he points to the ship’s doctor) was treating your injuries. Your pod ended up in the Mon system from a natural interdimensional wormhole. Tell me what happened to you and your companions?” The Captain said as he gauged the young man’s reactions as he knew that the medical equipment used to treat the young man could also be used in illegal enhanced interrogation sessions increasing the chance of a misunderstanding between the young man and the crew. However, he was hopeful that the young man didn’t have any wrong ideas since the last thing he wanted was a diplomatic incident between interdimensional countries.

[Sunset]

Resdayn...

Water rose to chest then waist and finally broke over her knees as Allison followed N'Than towards the water's edge but it was only when it was nearly sloshing around her ankles that she finally lowered the gun that she had carefully held high above her head. Despite the fact that it hadn't even touched the water, she inspected it nervously as soon as her feet touched land, running her fingers over every inch of the weapon before tucking it, and the hand that carried it, inside the open front of her jacket. There was something incongruous about it; Where she and the larger alien were both dressed in both clothing and armor that looked more rough-and-tumble the gun had the look of something both mass-produced and expertly designed. Whether it had ever been fired by her hand was another question and judging by the way her hand had shook the answer was likely negative. Between the two, N'Than seemed the more competent but some of that may have been those with a bias towards size; The monster hadn't been slowed by his passage through the muck thanks to both broad feet and towering proportions.

A series of clicks and chirps followed but whatever he - Perhaps; Ascertaining the giant's gender seemed hopeless - said was whole intelligible to anyone nearby save Allison; "No, I don't think they are more afraid of us than we are of them. That's stupid... And fuck you, I don't see any big red eyes or yellow fangs."

Her insistence to the contrary, she had seen something. Her hand twisted inside her jacket, the butt of the weapon catching on the folded fabric of the lining, and she struggled with it for a moment as she peered into the mist, "See, didn't you see that?"

It was impossible to tell if he had or hadn't but a shrug from his thin shoulders nearly rolled the awkward burden on his shoulder to the ground and he picked up the body to re-adjust it before putting one hand on the girl's head, turning her around to face an unknown something, and once again supplying her with instructions by way of more warbling noises.

"Yeah, a camp," something moved in the corner of her eye and she turned to follow it, "We should do that. Somewhere in a tall tree..."

There was a final noise from the bark-covered giant that sounded like a laugh and then more warbles and he set off towards an unknown with her following just behind.

"...Five star hotel? I wish. Figures we try to rob one and we end up someplace worse than a trailer park."

[-Resdayn-]

Resdayn...

Water rose to chest then waist and finally broke over her knees as Allison followed N'Than towards the water's edge but it was only when it was nearly sloshing around her ankles that she finally lowered the gun that she had carefully held high above her head. Despite the fact that it hadn't even touched the water, she inspected it nervously as soon as her feet touched land, running her fingers over every inch of the weapon before tucking it, and the hand that carried it, inside the open front of her jacket. There was something incongruous about it; Where she and the larger alien were both dressed in both clothing and armor that looked more rough-and-tumble the gun had the look of something both mass-produced and expertly designed. Whether it had ever been fired by her hand was another question and judging by the way her hand had shook the answer was likely negative. Between the two, N'Than seemed the more competent but some of that may have been those with a bias towards size; The monster hadn't been slowed by his passage through the muck thanks to both broad feet and towering proportions.

A series of clicks and chirps followed but whatever he - Perhaps; Ascertaining the giant's gender seemed hopeless - said was whole intelligible to anyone nearby save Allison; "No, I don't think they are more afraid of us than we are of them. That's stupid... And fuck you, I don't see any big red eyes or yellow fangs."

Her insistence to the contrary, she had seen something. Her hand twisted inside her jacket, the butt of the weapon catching on the folded fabric of the lining, and she struggled with it for a moment as she peered into the mist, "See, didn't you see that?"

It was impossible to tell if he had or hadn't but a shrug from his thin shoulders nearly rolled the awkward burden on his shoulder to the ground and he picked up the body to re-adjust it before putting one hand on the girl's head, turning her around to face an unknown something, and once again supplying her with instructions by way of more warbling noises.

"Yeah, a camp," something moved in the corner of her eye and she turned to follow it, "We should do that. Somewhere in a tall tree..."

There was a final noise from the bark-covered giant that sounded like a laugh and then more warbles and he set off towards an unknown with her following just behind.

"...Five star hotel? I wish. Figures we try to rob one and we end up someplace worse than a trailer park."

While it took the larger creatures untill the pod had started to cool and the creatures inside to try to escape from it, to feel the cautious, and overly hesitant need to investigate and probe around, the small monkey creatures, at least a small handful of the braver ones, were allready coming back to the area.

But they weren't the only creatures doing so. Shortly after the lady suggested camp in a tree, a loud animalistic screech like something wounded or angry came from overhead.

If the people below happened to look above them at just the right angle where the sun manages to cut a bit through the fog, they would have seen several blurry silhouettes of what appeared to be winged humanoid shapes darting swiftly across the sky, followed by a brief time of emptiness in the sky and then a loud whooshing sound and a large winged lizard type creature briefly darkens the sky before contuining onward, making another loud screech as it passes by overhead, one would assume, to be chasing the smaller creatures seen before it.

This would also cause the small monkey creatures that had been eyeing the people in the water, from afar, and jumping around between the trees for a better look, to make several terrified monkey sounds and basically run for the hills, rustling many tree branches and other plants along the way. As did the larger land walking creatures who had been checking out these odd space people, or at least attempting to find them to a few moments, now running away through the underbrush out of fear of getting attacked by the large flying lizard thing.
And pretty much anything else who's flight or flight response is to flee for their lives.

Thus for awhile afterward, the group would be briefly left alone, the various creatures previously attempting to investigate them, clearly having been spooked by the large lizard overhead and went into hiding for the time being.
Just left with the sounds of bugs and the occasional snapping twig or rustling bush from a small woodland creature too tiny to worry about getting eaten by the big sky lizard.

Nonetheless, the foggy forest remained spooky and foreboding, perhaps more so now with the lack of bird sounds and monkeys and other things that made it obvious the forest was lively, a chilling semi-silence sweeping over the kand. Just the noise of the softly lapping water and noisy insects and little miniature animals scurrying about, causing the whole place to give off the vibe of a scene out of a horror movie, assuming the people wading through the water and eventually near dry land, had ever seen one.
Only the occasional and rarely seen sinister cawing of a creepy, disturbing type of bird that had mostly stayed throughout, permeated the otherwise semi-silent area.

Something that resembled a mix between a crow and a raven. And sure enough, once the group managed to get into some semblance of dry land, if they happened to somehow spot the solitary species of bird left in the forest after this whole ordeal, they would easily see it was a disturbing looking midnight black bird with multiple rows of dark red eyes, eyeing them only from the few dead and gnarled trees in the area and surprisingly none of the lively green ones. Not that it would be easy to spot them in this dense fog, at least untill it was ever so slowly beginning to lift slightly as the steam from the cooling ship was slowing down considerably after the pod had a few minutes to cool down and stop being so steaming red hot.

Nonetheless, still a bit difficult to see through the fog. Though as minutes rolled on, more would be able to be seen untill, sure enough, shadows could be seen moving around in the fog, and the occasionally casing birds could be barely made out in the tree branches or swooping overhead. Most of this though, not untill they managed to have reached the shore and got onto land for a few minutes to wander around, one would assume, not taking long to notice that a bit over half of the trees in this forest were alarmingly large and towering and perfect for camping out in, assuming they didn't allready have other creatures living in them that didn't want to share.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A9o-_LSuaSw/U ... 600/49.png
(OOC:something like this but with realistically based body/head.
Imagine a slightly oversized real raven or crow with slanted red eyes like these)

[Sunset]

OOC: If you posted before the person below, remind me! I do miss these things from time to time.

Imperium av Lux Nis...

"Okay, that's pretty harsh. Like ice cold. Are you a serial killer?" The boy looked up at Kaisi with his thumbs in his pockets, seeming unconcerned with the cold. At least for the moment - his sister was another story. Tanya was more than willing to dash through the snow - her heeled boots digging in deep and hampering her way - and push ahead to enter the hatch far before her brother.

In fact she had nearly shut the lid behind her when he gave the fat man one last kick and then shrugged to turn and walk towards the opening at a much more sedate pace, "Figures. Immortal elf finally done in by a crash landing on a frozen snowball after his luxury liner was boarded by pirates. Say, where is this nightmare world of yours? I'm not exactly familiar with these stars," and to emphasize this he tossed a glance towards the heavens as though he could somehow make out both the distant nuclear furnaces and the position of his unspoken homeworld.

Perhaps he could, but he was also more than willing to follow the two, closing the hatch behind him before calling down, "So yeah. A lot of death happen around here? You seem awful calm about it..."

[-Resdayn-]

Resdayn...

Water rose to chest then waist and finally broke over her knees as Allison followed N'Than towards the water's edge but it was only when it was nearly sloshing around her ankles that she finally lowered the gun that she had carefully held high above her head. Despite the fact that it hadn't even touched the water, she inspected it nervously as soon as her feet touched land, running her fingers over every inch of the weapon before tucking it, and the hand that carried it, inside the open front of her jacket. There was something incongruous about it; Where she and the larger alien were both dressed in both clothing and armor that looked more rough-and-tumble the gun had the look of something both mass-produced and expertly designed. Whether it had ever been fired by her hand was another question and judging by the way her hand had shook the answer was likely negative. Between the two, N'Than seemed the more competent but some of that may have been those with a bias towards size; The monster hadn't been slowed by his passage through the muck thanks to both broad feet and towering proportions.

A series of clicks and chirps followed but whatever he - Perhaps; Ascertaining the giant's gender seemed hopeless - said was whole intelligible to anyone nearby save Allison; "No, I don't think they are more afraid of us than we are of them. That's stupid... And fuck you, I don't see any big red eyes or yellow fangs."

Her insistence to the contrary, she had seen something. Her hand twisted inside her jacket, the butt of the weapon catching on the folded fabric of the lining, and she struggled with it for a moment as she peered into the mist, "See, didn't you see that?"

It was impossible to tell if he had or hadn't but a shrug from his thin shoulders nearly rolled the awkward burden on his shoulder to the ground and he picked up the body to re-adjust it before putting one hand on the girl's head, turning her around to face an unknown something, and once again supplying her with instructions by way of more warbling noises.

"Yeah, a camp," something moved in the corner of her eye and she turned to follow it, "We should do that. Somewhere in a tall tree..."

There was a final noise from the bark-covered giant that sounded like a laugh and then more warbles and he set off towards an unknown with her following just behind.

"...Five star hotel? I wish. Figures we try to rob one and we end up someplace worse than a trailer park."

While it took the larger creatures untill the pod had started to cool and the creatures inside to try to escape from it, to feel the cautious, and overly hesitant need to investigate and probe around, the small monkey creatures, at least a small handful of the braver ones, were allready coming back to the area.

But they weren't the only creatures doing so. Shortly after the lady suggested camp in a tree, a loud animalistic screech like something wounded or angry came from overhead.

If the people below happened to look above them at just the right angle where the sun manages to cut a bit through the fog, they would have seen several blurry silhouettes of what appeared to be winged humanoid shapes darting swiftly across the sky, followed by a brief time of emptiness in the sky and then a loud whooshing sound and a large winged lizard type creature briefly darkens the sky before contuining onward, making another loud screech as it passes by overhead, one would assume, to be chasing the smaller creatures seen before it.

This would also cause the small monkey creatures that had been eyeing the people in the water, from afar, and jumping around between the trees for a better look, to make several terrified monkey sounds and basically run for the hills, rustling many tree branches and other plants along the way. As did the larger land walking creatures who had been checking out these odd space people, or at least attempting to find them to a few moments, now running away through the underbrush out of fear of getting attacked by the large flying lizard thing.
And pretty much anything else who's flight or flight response is to flee for their lives.

Thus for awhile afterward, the group would be briefly left alone, the various creatures previously attempting to investigate them, clearly having been spooked by the large lizard overhead and went into hiding for the time being.
Just left with the sounds of bugs and the occasional snapping twig or rustling bush from a small woodland creature too tiny to worry about getting eaten by the big sky lizard.

Nonetheless, the foggy forest remained spooky and foreboding, perhaps more so now with the lack of bird sounds and monkeys and other things that made it obvious the forest was lively, a chilling semi-silence sweeping over the land. Just the noise of the softly lapping water and noisy insects and little miniature animals scurrying about, causing the whole place to give off the vibe of a scene out of a horror movie, assuming the people wading through the water and eventually near dry land, had ever seen one.
Only the occasional and rarely seen sinister cawing of a creepy, disturbing type of bird that had mostly stayed throughout, permeated the otherwise semi-silent area.

Something that resembled a mix between a crow and a raven. And sure enough, once the group managed to get into some semblance of dry land, if they happened to somehow spot the solitary species of bird left in the forest after this whole ordeal, they would easily see it was a disturbing looking midnight black bird with multiple rows of dark red eyes, eyeing them only from the few dead and gnarled trees in the area and surprisingly none of the lively green ones. Not that it would be easy to spot them in this dense fog, at least untill it was ever so slowly beginning to lift slightly as the steam from the cooling ship was slowing down considerably after the pod had a few minutes to cool down and stop being so steaming red hot.

Nonetheless, still a bit difficult to see through the fog. Though as minutes rolled on, more would be able to be seen untill, sure enough, shadows could be seen moving around in the fog, and the occasionally casing birds could be barely made out in the tree branches or swooping overhead. Most of this though, not untill they managed to have reached the shore and got onto land for a few minutes to wander around, one would assume, not taking long to notice that a bit over half of the trees in this forest were alarmingly large and towering and perfect for camping out in, assuming they didn't allready have other creatures living in them that didn't want to share.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A9o-_LSuaSw/U ... 600/49.png
(OOC:something like this but with realistically based body/head.
Imagine a slightly oversized real raven or crow with slanted red eyes like these)

[Sunset]

Uni Luxa...

It was though a house had fallen from the sky...

Floors and beams melted by the heat of their passage, wires stripped bare of insulation before curling into the tightest knots, furnishings tossed aside to plummet and burn in the immolating fires of the atmosphere - nearly nothing remained of what had been except for a twisted wreck of metal and glass that left little indication of where it had come from or to where it had been going. Heat stretched metal popped and sung as it contracted in the early evening air but it was clear that nothing could have survived the passage through the planet's atmosphere, much less the ruefully final impact that had taken what must have been several floors and compressed them down into something far less. It was now a twisted and ruined pile of...

Something moved.

A lone girder, projecting up from the wreckage like the abject flagpole of a civilization on the edge of surrender to the barbarians, twitched and twisted and then finally shuddered and fell to clatter down the side of the heap. Coming to rest at the bottom it reminded one of the single ski that would have resulted from a terrible accident, the former wearer now a permanent decoration along the triple black diamond. Disheartening mental images firmly in mind it was then no surprise when an arm shot out of the wreckage but it was more that it was untouched, chocolate brown and pure with only a hint that it had spent any time in the sun. All around it shattered plates and broken steel moved and shuddered and then fell away as the figure of a woman emerged as if Athena herself had sprung fully formed from the forehead of Zeus as he strode through the wrecking yard of the gods.

Dark of skin, her eyes were the color of lilacs in the field and upon her brow and between her shapely breasts she bore a strange gem that flowed like liquid. Around these, surmounting them and linking them together, a clasp of some strange metal wrapped itself around her body to cradle her womanhood and protect her modesty while tracing to both wrist and ankle in strange ways that spoke more of flora than the arts of the jeweler. Here and there were small gems that likewise sparkled of their own inner light. Metal bore them but metal it was not as she stood and moved as though unencumbered, striding up the side of the crater towards August as though she were leaving her house rather than the ruin behind her...

[Primordial Luxa]

Uni Luxa
August was struck as though the Three Lobed Burning Eyes gaze had fallen on him at the sight of the women. The young man was never one who had any real fascination with the female form, something uncommon for most boys on the cusp of their second decade of life. Truly his great love had always been the crystalline sunny glow that could only exist in crystalline form. He gained an ecstatic hedonistic sensation from caressing crystal gems and settling rare stones, the kind of pleasure which most people only had a passing fancy with in drug induced stupor or occult orgies. So while the women’s was indeed pretty, her skin was the last thing he saw having spent a long time slack jawed and gazing are her crow and chest piece with barely restrained desire.

It wasn’t until she was ascending the crater caused by her crash that August was snapped out of his trace and stood down, climbing just into the lid of the hole and extending his gloved hand towards her. “…Hello…” he stuttered in the ur-syntax known to the Luxan as Aklo, a base primordial language which was more of a law of physics than a means of communication and it was said that nearly 84% of all living species could understand Aklo even if they had never heard a word of it before “…What…do…you…speak?” August was struggling to remember the words his Other Languages teacher had taught him in seventh grade so he stuttered through it and his accent was far from perfect on the alien syllables.

[Republic of Vectors]

The icy air in the control room shrank into the floor as the room exhaled their breaths. The tension melted away as the alien eased into a sleep.

"Well is that proof enough?" The General beamed down upon the Aspari and DOW people gathered beside and in front of his station.

In the second room with the sleeping male alien, another suit wearing Vectorian quickly entered the room with a shiny sterile scooper and picked up the white chemical pad lying on the floor. He left without saying a word, the solid white door sliding back into place and forming against the wall behind him.

"Okay, since you both touched him, you must go out and decontaminate." The major spoke into the speaker for the first room. He hailed an officer on the right and said
"bring up the first room." The cameras in the control room switched to the feed from the first room where the surgery had been completed. The two medical officers were unrolling an ugly orange inflatable artificial airlock over the door for them to decontaminate while the alien on the table rested. "Third room." The major ordered, the video feeds again switched to the third and final occupied room where the large alien lay in her chemical induced sleep.
"Are the restraints properly connected to the electrical failsafe?" The major asked his staff.
"Yes Sir. Triple checked as per your orders Sir." A seated captain reported back.
"What is the biometric status?" The major asked.
"Well Sir, we have the blood and tissue samples of all three beings. They are being deconstructed and examined with cross referenced to known compounds and materials. The DNA is quite unique, it is human in base but different in every other aspect. We have X-Rays on the subjects in rooms one and three, they show enhanced muscular and skeletal development, but normal composure. In examining their samples, we have found no known pathogens or bacteria that can spread, though there are very many unidentified bacteria within their system, like humans. Only, alien in nature." He opened his mouth to say more but the General cut in,
"Start the examination of the things they brought with them. Especially the gun. If that thing in room three goes rogue, we need to know how to stop it. For the aliens, we now know how to wake them. Let them be for a few hours, we will wake number two from his sleep later to talk.


-Four hours later, 6:30pm Vectorian Western Time-

"Are we ready to begin our friendly talk?" The Vectorian General asked the people in the dark control room. A wave of nodding heads confirmed his answer. "Good, good. Major? Is our safeguard 'Final Smash' operational?" The Major came to attention as he wheeled to face the General,
"Yes Sir, armed and able."
"Good," the General answered. "Place the Fort garrison onto readiness state, we will begin." Throughout Fort Polsavy, orange strobe lights began flashing and pulsating to signify something big and perhaps dangerous was taking place. Troops snapped to position and inserted magazines into their rifles. Most people sported heavy hitting large caliber rifles with cumbersome drum magazines, which took longer to insert, the rest carried and readied their small fast 5.56mm weapons with projectiles which violated most international war treaties that existed, such as pyrotechnic, poisoned, and splintering rounds. Tank crews loaded shells into their receivers and started the noisy diesel engines, pouring thick black smoke into the air over the base. If anything could deal with a lethal threat, it was these people here in Fort Polsavy.

In the middle room, two perfectly dressed officers, one from the army and the other from the air force stood side by side, green and blue berets over their bent elbows. The left one reached down and gently shrugged the right shoulder of the sleeping life form on the table and softly spoke, like one would speak to a newborn,
"wake up now, you are safe here..."

[Sunset]

Excidium Planetis...

Carefully stowed and latched had been offered up as a clue, though perhaps it was an unintentional one given the overall thuggish appearance of the two. Rifling through the various storage compartments secreted here and there around the inside of the pod led to an immediate discovery worthy of the Commander's attention. As the Marines went through them, they found the usual assortment of survival gear: Compact tents, blankets, rations, tools, and the like, all of which were laid out on the deck behind the escape pod like the wares on the blanket of a peddler in a bazaar. More importantly they found what the pair lacked and these were laid out in the front of the otherwise-ordinary for his assessment: Two outfits that looked as thought they might match the two who were currently asleep.

No military uniforms or civilian clothing, these were the rat-tag combat wear of mercenaries, pirates, and thieves. One was a jumpsuit as one might find worn by the crew of many a freighter or ground crew at a station or spaceport, but it had been modified with the addition of light padded material that looked as though it would provide some - though not substantial - protection against various types of weapons. Heavier plates here and there reinforced it and these were then linked together by a web harness that had been hand-sewn to include broad stretches of chainmail that would hang down and protect the chest, arms, and thighs. This too was made of more modern materials than mere steel but against more than similarly armed opponents it would provide little protection. The second outfit was much the same, though it consisted of a pair of sturdy jeans and a jacket that had once counted itself as the protection for the rider of a motorcycle or other similar vehicle. Both showed signs that they had been used in the commission of violence; One had a long splatter of the same red-gray blood down the shoulder and chest, while the other had patches of the more familiar red on the forearms.

Besides the outfits, there was also the weapons.

Shoved into the furthest recesses of a compartment and covered with the outfits and a wadded up emergency blanket had been a small arsenal of various knives, shanks, and other similar weapons. Some were improvised from other items and clearly meant to be concealed about the person, with the most notable being a metal spacer's toothbrush whose handle had been sharpened to a fine point. Other items less readily identifiable as weapons had been included in the mix and the Marines had handled these rather more gently, though it was apparent by their jumbled cast-away status that they were safe for casual movement. But behind these, as if they had been the first things the pair had thought to discard, were the more standard guns. One was a heavy pistol - a primitive chemical slugthrower that had suffered under the hands of an amateur gunsmith with the addition of many modifications - and the other a short carbine that looked more like a basic energy weapon that one might be able to track down on many civilized worlds. While not damage, this one was certainly what one might call dingy and would have earned any Marine some kind of discipline.

All of which led back to the two who were, by the Doctor's estimate, now ready to be woken up; "Turn the switch and they'll likely wake on their own. A stimulant would speed the process, but wouldn't be necessary."

Removing the cuffs without turning off the switch would, however, make a mess.

[Sunset]

The Imperial Frost Federation...

"Captain? I..." There was a hesitancy in the young man's tongue though it didn't seem to be a question of a language barrier. Instead he was searching for something and perhaps he had found it, "Imperial Frost Federation? I've never heard of it..."

This seemed to bring a sense of calm to his face, as though the knowledge that he was someplace new or, perhaps, far away from someplace familiar brought a certain ease to him.

"Where is Kainshin? She was with me... What happened to her?"

[Sunset]

Republic of Vectors...

There was something odd about the young man and, as whichever of the two once might have once fathered children would have guessed, he was faking it. His eyes were closed, his breathing slow, and even his heart rate down to relaxed levels but there was that moment where, as his eyes opened and he moved as though to stretch and yawn, it all felt far too natural. It was perhaps only the proximity of the moment that had given it away and even though it was possible that he guessed that they had guessed his own guess was that his charade might well continue unchallenged.

"Safe?" His hand was across his mouth, his yawn wide. There was something wrong there though it was much harder to disguise than whether one was sleeping. His teeth were in terrible condition; Brown and stained with the disgusting results of whatever habits he had held and this was utterly at odds with the continual cleanliness of his unusual clothing. In fact, it was rapidly clear from both the way he looked around the room - rather than focusing on the two officers - and seemed to search every corner and potential hiding place that he was mentally older than the body just out of its teens would suggest.

"Where am I?" He looked from one to the other, settling on the other of the two, "Are you the Captain of the Star's Charter?"

[Republic of Vectors]

Answers

When the ‘young’ alien awoke, his façade was indeed overlooked by the two officers standing and staring down at him. One thing that they did register, was the decrepit state of his teeth. Perhaps this young man had a nasty habit of smoking, or was never taught to go to a dentist. The officers cringed on the inside as they caught a faint wisp of his breath. He has defiantly not been to a dentist in a very long time. Despite not having his side-arm, the officer on the right, on whose uniform a sewn green name tag identified as Frosgar, naturally gravitated his hand to rest near the black plastic holster hanging off of his belt. Despite never having kids, a long military career had hones his gut to pick up on something…. wrong about this man. It was almost like he was another faking criminal kid on the streets of Victory, trying to fake his way past a cop. Or maybe the excitement of this event was clouding his vision. Frosgar decided to let it pass by. The other officer, slightly shorter and considerably huskier was named Delapin. His cold steel gaze which borderline resembled an angry glare never wavered from the aliens face like he was staring down the very soul of this newcomer. Both of the military personnel easily justified the reason for the alien’s careful sweep of the room. Obviously, unfamiliar surroundings would cause concern to anyone.
“No,” Frosgar replied with an even tone “You are on a planet called Earth. Your escape pod landed here, and you are in the custody of the Republic of Vectors. Your companions are in critical condition in a medical ward, can you tell us who they are?”


In the control room just over two hundred meters away, the room was focused on the screens that broadcasted the live feed from the alien interaction.
“At least they speak English.” The major muttered to whoever was listening. From just viewing the cameras, it was impossible to tell that the alien had been faking his slumber. It was only when he started talking through a yawn and acting weird were thoughts tossed around about his deception. But it slid easily under a mental carpet as the officers began their inquiries.


In another part of the Black Operations Wing, in a small research laboratory, a shell was extracted from the gun the young man had been menacing the scary looking warrior being with. Upon first glance it was three inches long and dull colored, nothing special. It was passed through an Xray machine that found nothing unusual, so the crimp at the top was pried open behind the relative safety of ballistic glass. No explosion, no scattering of toxic fluids, just a normal projectile. It turns out it was a shotgun shell; a normal three inch shotgun shell. This handgun was essentially a slug thrower. The sheer power it would take to fire that single hand idly was aweing. Closer examination of the molecular make up showed that it was not gunpowder, but a new, unknown chemical combination that propelled the large spheres on the inside. One of the examiners made a quick note about this discovery and sent an electronic message up to the command room where the General read it from his console.
“Be advised, bullets should be able to kill them.” A course whisper passed to the Major beside him.

[Sunset]

Republic of Vectors...

"Earth..."

His face broke and his bottom lip sagged in disbelief. There was no guile behind his next statement and suddenly the question of who was lying to who had been reversed, "You're shitting me. Earth, huh? And the Republic of Vectors... And I suppose you'll be telling me that you're Santa Claus," he pointed to Delapin, "And you're the Green Knight," he looked over at Frosgar. "Which means, I suppose, that this is some kind of interrogation session and you think you know just who I am or what I am. Which means I'm not saying anything without some kind of legal representation. A lawyer, in case I wasn't clear."

That was all it took for him to cross his arms and look away, clamming up as firmly as any bivalve.

[Republic of Vectors]

"We will not deny your right to a lawyer," replied Delapin. "But it will have to be an earthly lawyer."
Frosgar sharply cut in, eyes still like cold steel pikes, "And yes, you may consider this an interrogation."

In the control room, several computers were abuzz choosing a military officer who had a degree in law. Not a true lawyer, but someone who knew what he was talking about. Fake papers were printed off as the man was chose and got into a car for the drive to the base.

Both Delapin and Frosgar left the room shortly after being unable to pry out any more information on their own. Nearly an hour and a half later, Colonel Richard Srinser, now David Rissan, walked into the control room. His eyes grew wide as he lay his eyes in the monitors broadcasting the aliens in their rooms.
"Will it try to eat me?"

A half hour later, after they calmed him down, David Rissan, dressed in an expensive lawyerly suit walked into the room with the young alien man alone to talk to him. Slowly walking towards the man, the lawyer-officer started his practiced introduction.
"Hello there, my name is David Rissan. I am an international lawyer here at your request to protect your rights. Now, lets talk."

[Sunset]

Resdayn...

"The fuck..." Allison dove for the ground, rolling onto her back and pointing the purloined pistol skyward in a frantic effort to protect herself from shapes that seemed like they were on the verge of nothing at all. A piercing caw shattered the air and her eyes tracked the very tail end of the larger flying form before realizing the sound had come from elsewhere and rolling over to point the weapon into the trees. There was something like a low rumble from her towering companion and it nudged her with a giant foot. Words followed though it was still impossible to tell what he - if it was a he - had said though Allison was apparently able to translate.

"Snakes? Why does it always have to be snakes? Well, I don't know," she rolled over onto an elbow and looked up at him as he returned her gaze with something that looked like a smirk, "And what does that mean, anyway?" With a sigh and a puff of breath that sent an errant strand of hair flipping high, she hauled herself back to her feet and put her hand on the back of the man who was still slung over N'Than's shoulder, "At least he's still out."

Her gaze went to one of the towering trunks and the woven nest of branches that wound upward and she walked forward seemingly oblivious to put one hand on the trunk and look upward to the crown. It was only a moment however, and then the gun was back in her hands and she swung it to point at a dark shape that held its place on a branch, "What is that?!"

Whether she was able to fully take in the red-eyed avian through the thin mist was one question, but that N'Than was apparently able to see it more-so and stepped forward to put himself between the odd bird and the girl; "What? Is it dangerous?"