An Interdimensional Incident (IC, CLOSED)

[Drecha]

ARKIV SPACE- OVER AN UNKNOWN SYSTEM

As what was happening across so many other worlds, both sharing and not sharing the same cosmos, a lone Drechan Starcruiser quietly slipped into a system.
It very quickly ascertained that the typical method of entry would not work.

The system was swarming with spacecraft, the shine of countless fusion torches like moving stars all on their own. The great stellar body at the center of the system was partly smothered by hovering plates of solar collectors, and the immense energies they harvested were beamed across the system by immense laser arrays. The worlds of this system, five in total, were of the same ilk, albeit of varying size. All were terrestrial, with an atmosphere of primarily inert gasses. Temperatures were incredibly low on these planets, as the thin atmospheres and active geo-engineering cooled them to frankly unreasonable points. On the surface of these worlds, immense geysers of molten nickel indicated the location of underground industry, but the most notable feature was the oceans.

Each planet was coated in an ocean of blackness. Occasionally, a mountain or towering monolith of unknown purpose would extrude from the uniform surface, but the oceans were immense, and eerily still. The Starcruiser could detect no life signs on any of these structures. A mechanical race, perhaps? Or merely automatons tottering about on half-forgotten orders from long-dead masters?

This question was answered when the Starcruiser was hailed.
The message was simple. A series of pictographs, depicting what appeared to be a description of the beings of this system, followed by an inquiry as to who the Starcruiser was.
The description stated that the inhabitants were the oceans. That they pursued the secret of perfection. That they were seekers of knowledge-and would give freely if the Starcruiser had any of its own.

They called themselves the Arkiv.

The Starcruiser over the world of The Arkiv was not expecting this. A message, sure, but what the message contained was a complete and total shock throughout the hivemind that controlled all of Drecha's dominions. Even the sovereign of the hivemind, Drecha the Eternal himself, was slightly baffled by the message, however, he concluded, this was to be expected, as life took many forms through the multiverse. The Starcruiser was instructed not to invade, but to study. A message was broadcast in return, but a vague one, merely stating that the ship was from a visiting universe, and a species of warriors that was curious about this world.

---

HORDE SPACE- OVER THE WORLD OF VEGA III

From: Horde of One
To: Drechan sovereign

Long live to the Cosmos, Mother of All Life, Bringer of All Death. We hope that the ritual combat that took place is enough for you to be convinced of the benefits your polity will get should our alliance be ratified. It certainly convinced us. The Drechan fighting prowess is worthy of respect, without doubt, and together we will bring the Cosmic Scythe to a great many unworthy civilizations. Because of your victory, we will give you the honour of directing the Horde. Do tell, Drecha, who will be the first to feel the wrath of our fleet?

The exercise was complete. The ritual concluded. The victory belonged to Drecha. The war, however, had only just begin. Conquest was near. The storm was about to rain destruction upon the nations who resisted. Drecha had found a new ally, one which was more than worthy, in their eyes, of sharing the Eternal Conquest. The Starcruiser prepared to return to The Hive, but before it did, it broadcast a final message to the Horde of One.

From: Drecha the Eternal
To: Horde of One

Horde Allies- I have analyzed the ritual conflict with precision. I have watched every moment of it, from every perspective of my loyal soldiers. I must say, I am impressed with your performance, tactics, and precision. This is something that has not been done in over half a millennia. You have come closer to victory than any other faction has in that time- especially of one of your size and power. I am genuinely impressed. You are most certainly worthy in partaking in our Eternal Conquest- an honor not bestowed on any outsider before now. You should be proud of your actions and your choice. Let us continue our Conquest. The first under our blade shall be those who wish to resist. Those who organize rebellion. The nations of Valentine Z, Mirum, and The Empire of Amenria will be those first three. They are conspiring together to fight back- a noble effort which will ultimately fail. I doubt they are capable of fighting back at all- one of our Starcruisers will accompany an equivalent from your nation to each destination for a total of six vessels to three destinations- and will fall within the first months of arrival. Let the Conquest continue, and may The Stars be ever at your side.

---

ABOVE THE WORLD MACHINE- SHIRNIJING REGION

Code: Select all

This is a test radio message. Please respond to this signal with an affirmative message if it can be received.

The Starcruiser received and understood this message- but sent no reply- other than increasing its altitude by another mile. The ship would remain on the defensive- for now- not firing unless fired upon- and even then- would only destroy the unit that attacked it.

---

OOC Section:

Notes:
-New IC format!
-New OOC format!
-Valentine Z, A m e n r i a, nothing personal in you two being (a part of) the first targets. It's just that, in the eyes of Drecha, you two (and my alt account of Mirum) are the biggest threats for agreeing to form a coalition. I'm thinking, as of RN, Drecha (as in the leader) seriously underestimates all of your nations' power, meaning he is going to get a nasty surprise. That should show that I am not going to be metagaming/godmodding, nor will I be encouraging it.

Summary of post:
-Alliance officially formed between Drecha and the Horde of One.
-Starcruiser over the world hosting the Arkiv ordered not to attack, out of curiosity (which was an IC and OOC decision, as I could not find a full reason to attack both OOC and IC).
-Starcruiser over the World Machine moves higher up, does not reply to sent message.

[The Arkiv]

Chapter 2: First you had our Curiosity, Now you have our Attention

The Drechan Starcruiser was struck by a quantity of information so massive that systems initially identified it as a cyberattack before managing to adapt to the influx and parse through the message.

They had obviously piqued the Arkiv's curiosity by claiming they hailed from another universe.

The vast majority of the messages were complex mathematical equations that formulated into questions about the cosmology of the Drechan Universe and other cosmos they may have visited, while a smaller number asked about the technology required, if it was possible to create "basement universes", the power sources required for such travels, and promises of shared knowledge of these questions were answered.

However, the influx of messages did send a silent, not-entirely-intended threat to the Starcruiser. If that broadcast [i]had been a cyberattack, could the systems have possibly hoped to stand against such a massive flood of attacks? Would the ship have been crippled, laid bare to the predations of the knowledge-hungers of the Arkiv?[/i]

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians – Chapter 1 – To War.

Gwen and Angela looked at each other for that very moment. "Okay, so I was thinking!" Gwen started off, exclaiming a little bit that she missed such a crucial detail, "They cannot receive interdimensional signals, right? But we can! And we can transmit both in the local and interdimensional channels! So I realised that we can simply drop the interdimensional receivers, and then we will get the messages." Angela nodded in agreement, both of them laughing that it took them quite a while to capitalise on this idea. With that, they then headed towards the multiple universes, dropping wireless receivers that should have at least 3 months of battery life. After a bit of traveling through the dimensions, the drops were done. "Okay!" Angela exclaimed, "That is the last of the systems that we have visited today. Now all we have to do is wait for their messages," as she finished her sentence, she checked the ship and the messaging system for any incoming messages that they might have missed. "Okay, no messages, that is good. At least, none that we have received. I wonder if we missed any..." she trailed off, scratching her head.

Just at that moment, Gwen got another idea. "Ahh, this is not a problem for me, hehe. Why not I travel back in time to when we have transmitted the messages? That way, we can then drop the interdimensional receivers as soon as we have sent them. This would definitely work," Angela nodded again, shouting "Good luck!" happily as Gwen then clicked a few buttons on her suit after checking the wearables. "See you in a few days ago!" she said, as she went off int a blink. This timeline would be replaced by what happened next after Gwen has time-traveled into the past in order to set up those receivers. She merged bodies with her past self, not much to Angela's surprise. "Ahh."

"Well, I got it, haha! Well, transmitters are ready when you want to fire!" Angela said at that moment, ready to press a few buttons and keystrokes in order to beam transmissions across the galaxies and universe they were in.

"All right," Gwen then added in, "Now I know that they cannot receive interdimensional receivers, so let's drop a few into these systems quickly before we send the transmissions. We will do this across the systems that we are visiting. Drop the receivers first, THEN we shall do the transmission. This would make sure that we will never miss a message, no matter how fast." With a nod of her head, Angela donned her spacesuit and dropped the receiver before coming back in.

"Okay, the receiver is online! All tests green! Here goes the actual message!"

[Transmission Sent]

This was then done for several other systems, as many as they could find. "Now that we got this covered, all we need to do is to wait for the messages," Gwen said, fiddling with her hair a little. They are not going to wait for the entire duration in space, but they still have to watch out for the receivers in case they either got damaged. Gwen explained out again, whilst trying her best to reassure Angela that nothing is going to go wrong for the most parts, "The receivers being out of range is not a big deal - the tunneling effect makes sure that we will receive these messages in less than a second. The bigger problem.. is the damaged. I mean, I don't really know what is out there." Angela patted Gwen on her shoulders, "We will do what we can, don't worry about it! I mean, you got the power of space and time on your side, we can do this! We definitely can!"

For the next few weeks, the Valentians waited in anticipation. The citizens have more or less been registered and backed up, as well as the two planets being fully scanned in the case that they will need to terraform the planets again. All of these data lie inside of Clarissa's data banks in her own storage dimension. Valentijn stood around, looking up at the sky, with Gwen on her side, while Clarissa sat on Valentijn's shoulder. "We should be receiving a message soon," Gwen remarked, "2 days have passed. They have to respond one way or another." Just like clockwork, there was a notification inside Angela's spaceship, which went to Valentijn's HUD as it was connected to Angela's on-board computers. "Ahh, hey, speak of the Fate. Nice one, Gwen!" Valentijn said, getting slightly anxious before checking the contents. Would it be someone who are willing to work with them? No interest? Or worse, are they going to fight the Valentians?

Hail and well met from the nation of Mirum, Ambassadors of Valentine Z,

We have received your message, and we can confirm the presence of the surprise visitor above our world as well. They have disabled our space-observing satellites as they have done to yours. We would be most comforted to join your coalition, as we too, are unsure of these visitor's motives. We appreciate your offer, and are honored to accept, and should those visitors decide to invade, we will stand with you.

Signed,
-President of Mirum, Lyra H. Elmspirit and Vice President of Mirum, Sindri Huba

"Yeap, sounds about right!" Valentijn exclaimed, now slightly relieved, "This should be fine, then, we basically got a nation willing to join us. And from the looks of it, they seem to be PMT, maybe even FT. Heck, even FFT? Ahh, I don't know, let's not get it too high up. Optimistic, but not blindly..." Valentijn was combing her hair with her fingers, looking around as the remaining populace - mainly consisting of both active and reserved personnel, ready to defend Valentine Z to the very end. "Right, sorry about that. We should wait for the next few transmissions. It seems like the threat was just looming, so I am glad they have not been blown up. Anyway, a few groups of you will be heading over to aid them - just defend as best as you can, I expect you all to fight till the end, please. IF they surrendered, then you may do so - basically, follow their instructions, and you guys will be fine. Am I clear on this?"

"Yes, Valkyrie Valentijn!" the Valentian soldiers shouted in unison, saluting her and getting dismissed as they all marched towards their ships. There were no teleporters for this time, since they have no idea where to go to. "Most likely would be the same with the rest of you - no teleporting, we need the ships and to make sure that we can detect threats heading to their planets. In the meantime, I should get about transmitting another message. Gwen, please help me out."

Dear President of Mirum, Lyra H. Elmspirit and Vice President of Mirum, Sindri Huba,

I am very thankful and am relieved of your messages, and am happy that you are all relatively fine, as of now. However, I do have a bad feeling that this threat is going to escalate, and we might not have any time to negotiate with this unknown force. In anticipation of that, the Valentians are sending 800,000 troops and a few ships to your aid, which I hope that they will be of much help and use for you all. They are still under Valentian orders, BUT they will do everything they can to protect your nation's sovereignty. They will NOT interfere in your internal affairs, only for sole purpose of defending against this invasion.

The code word for the Valentian Troopers is "Statistics Three", so simply say the first word if you want to identify them, and they will recite the second one.

Thank you, and all the best,
- Valentijn “De Sierlijke en Vrij Valkyrie General ov Valentine Z” Samantha Maxwell Delta Weston Stijn Angelus Tracey Mitchell Tristian Marnix Basilisk Lewis Hyatt X. Constantine Sein Lin Zaw Naing

"One down, a few more to go..." Valentijn trailed off, still looking at the sky and the troops that were assembled in the square. A few others were assembled in key defensive points of both Earth and Mars, though more troops went to Mars. Valentijn started gathering up the exact numbers - though it was mostly head counts instead of other assets here and there. "Troops sent to Mirum: 8 thein (1 thein = 100,000)," she typed inside her HUD using her voice. A few more hours would pass before they receive another message. "Valentijn, it's a message from Sanhana! Let's open what it says:"

Hello. Person,

I am Kasib Mansour, a general of the nation of Sanhana. We exist on an earth that is like the one you probably exist on. We are a large nation in the Sahara desert approximate of the year 2021. I have received your message and have decided to respond to you using the only way my technology will let me. I am intrigued in what you are talking about, as this is the first time our entire universe has learned of other universes, and it is causing mass hysteria here. If you ever receive this message. Please tell us more. We want to know as much as we can

"Oh my goodness gracious," Valentijn trailed off, "Okay, first and foremost, I have to make this clear: In no way shape or form I am mocking their lack of technology. I mean, we have been there before as well, right? I am saying that they are going to need more help from us than the others. Don't you guys agree?" The rest of the Valentians - both friends and advisors to Valentijn - nodded, "Thank you. Yeah, I don't mind helping them out. Send 1,000,000 soldiers their way. Maybe add a few more ships."

Good day to you, Gen. Kasib Mansour,

I understand, and in no way I am here to mock or belittle another nation for being late in the technology; after all, we have all been there once, and it is only nature for us to help each other out, yes? Please be assured that you will have our support. Anyway, going back to the subject at hand, I am afraid that there is an intergalactic threat looming about, and recent satellite blockages have more or less likened this to an invasion. We are still not sure who the unknown entities are, and what they are exactly going to do to us, but we have a gut feeling that they WILL hurt us if we don't do something. As a result, we will send 1,000,000 Valentian soldiers and a few ships (along with the usual armor, artillery pieces, and the like) in order to help you all out. They will act in accordance to help maintain your sovereignty, while making sure that they are still under the Valentian law to prevent war crimes. They will NOT interfere in your internal affairs, only for sole purpose of defending against this invasion.

The code word for the Valentian Troopers is "Statistics Three", so simply say the first word if you want to identify them, and they will recite the second one.

- Valentijn “De Sierlijke en Vrij Valkyrie General ov Valentine Z” Samantha Maxwell Delta Weston Stijn Angelus Tracey Mitchell Tristian Marnix Basilisk Lewis Hyatt X. Constantine Sein Lin Zaw Naing

As the time went on, the Valentians noticed that there was a transmission sent to one of the receivers, except that it was not a text-based message. "It... it seems to be spoken, Val," Angela said, a little puzzled as she tuned in the frequency remotely on the receiver to get a clearer signal, "Unfortunately, there is a little bit of interference. Fortunately, it won't be analog, I don't think so. So we won't get BZZZT all over the place, just that it might be a bit delayed."

"That's fine, as long as we can get the message," Valentijn said, crossing her arms and tapping her fingers on her arms, "Hmm, this message and the recipient sounds a bit familiar. Hmm, isn't that from Amenria? I think we have had some dealings with them before, no? It's been a while, but still...- anyway, let it play."

"Hello, miss Gwen, I am Sun Min from the Empire of Amenria. We have confirmed the same disturbance to our satellites as well as those form foreign countries, however, we have yet to confirm whether or not it came from the same sourcce. Your message has been received is currently being relayed to the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of our Noble Families, who are conducting an emergency meeting.." just as he said that, all satellite imagery returned, proving the foreigner right, as a woman behind another screen reported. "Okay, now we have confirmed a singular alien vessel, which we have not yet determined to be hostile. You will be hearing from the Exalted One the Heavenly Emperor himself soon. God protect you, Miss Gwen."

"Okayyy... so they seem to be more or less prepared, but that does not mean we will leave them dry," Valentijn gave a remark as she read the transcript of the message, "I'm not sure how many they will need - not out of selfishness, but you know, we might have others who might need more. Anyway... ready for the message? This time, you send it, Gwen! Ahh, just name a number for yourself."

"All right, then!" Gwen nodded, getting ready to transmit back a message from the receiver, which is conveniently two way.

Hello there, Sun Min!

Ahh, we have heard about your nation, and it's great to see you all again! We are also very glad that you are all alive and are still in one piece. Yes, so you have more or less gotten sight of the threat yourself as well. I'm afraid to say that we believe that they might be up to no good, and regardless of their intention, it will be good if we can reinforce each other. As a result of this, we are willing to send 700,000 Valentian soldiers to your aid - including weapons, ships, vehicles, and anything else that they will need. They will act in accordance to help maintain your sovereignty, while making sure that they are still under the Valentian law to prevent war crimes. They will NOT interfere in your internal affairs, only for sole purpose of defending against this invasion.

The code word for the Valentian Troopers is "Statistics Three", so simply say the first word if you want to identify them, and they will recite the second one.

All the best, and please stay safe!
- Chief Aviator Gwen Tracer Hepburn “Fate of Existence and the Omniverse” Ellen Trixie Caitlin Foxworthy Avril Verlene Eveline Celinda Sammy Doris T-Rev Oxton Arielle Lindall Leslie Vitesse Allison

"And that is one more down."

Valentijn then tallied up the number of soldiers, unaccounting for all the equipment for the time being. "8 thein, 10 thein, 7 thein... minus all from 2 billion... 1 997 500 000 troops remaining for us. Most of them reserves, I can deal with this. Send 66% of the remaining troops to Mars," Valentijn then ordered, waving and gesturing a bit with her hands, while making sure not to hit or strike anything in her path, "Then the 33% stay here. I am convinced that they will attack Mars first."

As the night slowly dawns onto them, it was time for the Valentians to take a break from the logistics of this possible invasion. The rest of the Valentians have made their ways to the separate systems, along with separate commanders in there. As for Valentijn, with the help from Gwen, she made another transmission, this time personally to the Valentians.

"Valentians - men and women, non-binary, and everyone else... Our ways of lives are possibly at stake! There are those out there that does not want us to live peacefully, and it would seem that they are not going to respond to us anytime soon. I am fine with that. I am ready to take this on with the lot of you. I will be in front of you, will cover and shield you all, but at the end of the day, you are all as equally important in making sure that our lives - Clarissa, our families, our children, our families, are all safe inside! We are not the largest army there because we don't need it, BUT that does NOT make us weak! When it comes to times like this, we will make damn sure that they are going to regret picking on us! For one of our losses, we will cut down 10 of them! AM I CLEAR, VALENTIANS?"

"MA'AM, YES, MA'AM!"

"That's what I thought!" Valentijn said, taking her backslung rifle in front, "Now then... let's see who wants to mess with a unified nation and her allies."

[Mirum]

Portmont, Mirum
The Presidential Manor, Ministry Department
Aug. 23rd, 2021
1:05 PM Local Time

Ministers Clearstone and Steeldirt sat at a conference table discussing the most recent transmission from the nation's most recent allies. The message had just been received but moments ago, and now the pair had been assigned to review it. After a few moments of waiting, the message finally popped up on screen.

Dear President of Mirum, Lyra H. Elmspirit and Vice President of Mirum, Sindri Huba,

I am very thankful and am relieved of your messages, and am happy that you are all relatively fine, as of now. However, I do have a bad feeling that this threat is going to escalate, and we might not have any time to negotiate with this unknown force. In anticipation of that, the Valentians are sending 800,000 troops and a few ships to your aid, which I hope that they will be of much help and use for you all. They are still under Valentian orders, BUT they will do everything they can to protect your nation's sovereignty. They will NOT interfere in your internal affairs, only for sole purpose of defending against this invasion.

The code word for the Valentian Troopers is "Statistics Three", so simply say the first word if you want to identify them, and they will recite the second one.

Thank you, and all the best,
- Valentijn “De Sierlijke en Vrij Valkyrie General ov Valentine Z” Samantha Maxwell Delta Weston Stijn Angelus Tracey Mitchell Tristian Marnix Basilisk Lewis Hyatt X. Constantine Sein Lin Zaw Naing

Minister Steeldirt's jaw dropped. "EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND TROOPS. Tell me I heard that right. Please."

"You heard that right. How, though, is my question. How is is possible to transport that many troops over such a distance?" Minister Clearstone was astonished as well.

"I don't care, this could be BIG. This could turn the tide of any war they start. Let's keep them in reserve for now, but if needed, they could turn the tide of the war."

"President Elmspirit won't be too happy with you just doing this without her prior permission, Gideon."

"President Elmspirit doesn't need to know. Yet."

"Not my fault if you get tried for conspiracy, then."

"Fine by me, because I won't get tried for conspiracy. I know that for sure."

---

PART 2: THE INTERDIMENSIONAL WAR BEGINS:

Portmont, Mirum
The Presidential Manor, Office One
Dec. 23rd, 2021
1:05 PM Local Time

Lyra Elmspirit, the President of Mirum; Sindri Huba, the Vice President; Minister of Defense and War, Gideon Steeldirt; and Arhana Sai, a Lieutenant in the Mirian Army's 25th Arcane Battalion/4th Paratrooper Company all sat in Office One, also known as the Presidential Office. The matter of discussion was of the situation that was presented. The UFO had moved to LTO, well within its hypothetical firing range.

"If war was to break out between us and this extraterrestrial force, Minister, how well do you believe would fare?" VP Huba questioned.

"Well, there is a lot to take into consideration, sir. We know next to nothing about their capabilities and force sizes." Minister Steeldirt replied to VP Huba.

"Lieutenant Sai, you have been quiet this entire meeting. Anything to share or comment?" President Elmspirit spoke up, looking at the junior officer sitting quietly to her right. The Lieutenant was at a loss for words for a moment before she replied.

"Honestly, ma'am? I feel that we could easily be overrun if we are not careful, but I also feel that the enemy may underestimate us, as history has taught us, that when two factions of different tech levels fight, the more powerful one usually underestimates their adversary. Which is good for us, as we could give them a nasty surprise."

Lyra Elmspirit smiled gently at the young officer. She remembered that spark, as she once possessed it. Gideon began to say something, but was cut off by a loud sound. A very chilling sound. One that had not been heard for ages. An air raid siren. Klaxons began to blare throughout the building.

"EVERYONE TO THE BUNKER! NOW!" A security guard rushed in, gun drawn. The four of them rushed into the bunker, the guard escorting them all the way down. Already, the COGN personnel were on site. The war room holotable was active, displaying the planet, the nation, and what must be the UFO above it, as well as twenty-five other small spheres, descending toward Mirum.

"What's the situation?" President Elmspirit demanded one of the officers.

Unknown objects descending rapidly toward Portmont, Eleyta, Mirum City, New Dragonsburg, and Anchora. Fifty of them. Nuclear power detected.

The President muttered something under her breath, before continuing. "Set CCL 0."

"Yes, ma'am. First, I'll need an ID confirmation." The officer stated, the Mirian President nodded, and the officer pulled out a card containing the authentication codes, and read the third row of the first column out loud. The President pulled out a similar card, and read out loud the third row of the second column. "ID confirmed. Orders?"

"Begin first strike protocol. Target their main ship."

"Yes, ma'am. Ordering first strike." The officer typed something into a computer, and hit the 'enter' key.

---

Somewhere Off the Coast of Portmont
Submarine Task Unit Alpha, MNS Eleyta, 100ft Below the Surface
Dec. 23rd, 2021
13:07 Hours Local Time

"Captain! Order received from Portmont!" The Chief Petty Officer ran onto the bridge from the radio room.

"What is it?" The captain spun around, nearly spilling her coffee.

"Code 13, ma'am. It's genuine. We are to target the extraterrestrial vessel. Orders?" The CPO replied.

"Launch."

"Yes, ma'am. Launch sequence! Begin launch sequence!" A nearby Lieutenant Commander ordered.

"Aye, sir! Launch sequence starting."A missile control operator began the launch sequence, as she said this.

4 Minutes Later...
One of the missile doors of the MNS Eleyta opened up, revealing the nuclear missile below. The keys were inserted, and the missile charged its way toward its target. The missile was attacked by a plethora of point-defense weaponry on the Starcruiser, but none hit, due to the relative speed of the object and its size. The missile fired off its anti-targeting shrapnel, and the point defense was briefly confused by this, just long enough for the missile to land a hit to the rear of the spacecraft. The warhead exploded, crippling the ship's propulsion and communications center, as well as part of its shielding.

---

Somewhere north of Portmont...
The spherical object crashed down into the woods north of Portmont at such high of speeds that several trees in the nearby vicinity were flattened. The object sat there for a few moments, before the shell began to open, and a massive Tripod Walker began to unfold and move toward the city. Across the nation, more and more Tripod Walkers began to arise and move toward their targets, until all fifty were fully activated. Their goal was to secure a landing site for the rest of the forces.


TL;DR:
Val Z message received. The war has begun. Drecha launches invasion, Mirum partly disables a Starcruiser.

[Callid]

World Machine, 1732 Hours

As the ship appeared far above the skies of World Machine, its presence was logged by another mechanical entity - the Mark LIX observation Satellite assigned to that sector. Beginning basic scans, the onboard Mark VI Archanotech integrated sensors began a standard cycle, cataloguing the contact. Coming in at twenty-five kilometres in length, it was the largest foreign vessel in this region, although the shape seemed to be highly inefficient. Heat signatures on the newly appeared vessel flared to life, as it came to life. The AI waited. Then it kept waiting, as the ship continued on at glacial speed. It busied itself by filing a detailed report on the anomaly and transmitting it through the communications grid to Organic Command. It wouldn't expect a response any time soon of course, but it was the done thing.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, some of the more generic sensors detected a wave of electromagnetic energy. Septimus began a standard decoding process, attempting to fathom out any possible meaning from what it presumed to be a primitive attempt at communications. Verification, of course, would need more samples, so at his command, the Satellite rotated its transmitter array and returned an identical pulse down the same bearing.

---

Standard Data Processing Centre, 1658 Hours

"Greetings to you, my fellow friends, or strangers,

If you receive this message, that probably means that you might be in the same trouble as us. I am Gwen Tracer Allison Oxton from Valentine Z, the nation that occupies another world's Earth and Mars in the Solar System. If all of these are alien to you, don't worry - this simply means that we are from another world. Anyway, I am not sure about you, but for us, we noticed that we have a surprise visitor, and they are not exactly making it very comfortable for us to study their motives. For instance, our satellites that were pointed to space got cut off. I was wondering if this was the same with you people, and to put this further - I was wondering if you could join us as an ally (maybe even a friend) in making sure that this possible invasion is thwarted? We mean well, we promise that. This might just be our very first war since nearly a century, if they were to attack us.

I understand that some of you might not have the means to communicate with us through other dimensions and worlds, so to make this easier, we will be coming back to your respective world in regular intervals, in 24 of our own hours. If you run a different clock or a planet, attached to this transmission is a video of how long a minute is [clock-one-minute.mp4]. There are 60 minutes in one hour. Hopefully you can play the video, what with the formatting issues and the like.

We are looking very forward to hear from you, and please do stay safe out there!"

Aster VII processed the new batch of reports with as close to a bored expression as he could manage within cyberspace. While his work could be exciting enough, it often involved long, long stretched of boredom. Running through each report however, his digital eyes alighted upon one that seemed to stand out. An inter-universal transmission picked out by an isolated outpost on the edge of his sensor net seemed to have been decoded. Looking it through, he compressed the information, and sent it on to his superiors. Receiving a message of acknowledgement, alongside a set of instructions, he duly began the construction of a transmission system capable of returning messages.

“Greetings Valentine Z. We are Callid, and we do not intend any harm. Your predicament does indeed seem concerning, and, as a peace-loving people, we would be willing to provide assistance in the preservation of peace for your nation. We would request further details on your location, however. The multiverse is hardly small after all, and your signal seems to have been partially distorted. We hope you are remaining unharmed. END OF TRANSMISSION THIS MESSAGE WILL NOW REPEAT."

[Drecha]

IN SPACE OVER PLANET TZO-5679516 D, HAHOALKI

Per standard procedure in the Allied States, unknown and possibly intelligent entities were to be greeted with a transmission of the first thousand prime numbers. This was done immediately prior to XUA-83602's launch with the rest of the fleet.

Conversion drives flared to life as warships began their burns. Led by XUA-83602, the "swarm" of thirty 4.3 km long warships made their way on an intercept course with the incoming entities.

Having received an influx of data, the Starcruisers knew they were noticed, and immediately began to move to attack positions, the engines glowing a dark crimson coloration. Alarms blared throughout the vessels, as fighters launched, numbering in the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands from each ship. However, one vessel stayed behind the rest, launching fighters only for cover for itself. This ship had an elongated bulge on the underside of the bow, and was no ordinary Starcruiser, but a dreaded Drechanian Stardreadnaught. Thirty of the Starcruisers rushed forward to attack the incoming ships, weapons blazing, but the rest stayed behind to cover the Stardreadnaught, which was not firing at anything. Instead, those ships launched off their payloads- orb like in shape and nuclear-powered, but in reality, were actually pods that contained Tripod Walkers, which were hurling toward the planet below, being escorted by fighters.

---

ARKIV SPACE- OVER AN UNKNOWN SYSTEM

The Drechan Starcruiser was struck by a quantity of information so massive that systems initially identified it as a cyberattack before managing to adapt to the influx and parse through the message.

They had obviously piqued the Arkiv's curiosity by claiming they hailed from another universe.

The vast majority of the messages were complex mathematical equations that formulated into questions about the cosmology of the Drechan Universe and other cosmos they may have visited, while a smaller number asked about the technology required, if it was possible to create "basement universes", the power sources required for such travels, and promises of shared knowledge of these questions were answered.

However, the influx of messages did send a silent, not-entirely-intended threat to the Starcruiser. If that broadcast had been a cyberattack, could the systems have possibly hoped to stand against such a massive flood of attacks? Would the ship have been crippled, laid bare to the predations of the knowledge-hungers of the Arkiv?

The onboard AI that managed the Starcruiser's communications was suddenly barraged with the mass amount of data- which was arriving at a rate at which it was not used to, but not unprepared for, as Drechanian communications were just the slightest bit slower at the fastest speeds. The comms AI logged all the questions and proceeded to send them to the onboard science AI. Upon receiving the mass amount of questions received by the comms AI, the science AI got to work answering them and returning the answers to the comms AI, who broadcast them to the Arkiv below.

---

IN SPACE OVER TERRA

The missile was attacked by a plethora of point-defense weaponry on the Starcruiser, but none hit, due to the relative speed of the object and its size. The missile fired off its anti-targeting shrapnel, and the point defense was briefly confused by this, just long enough for the missile to land a hit to the rear of the spacecraft. The warhead exploded, crippling the ship's propulsion and communications center, as well as part of its shielding.

The Starcruiser over Terra was severely damaged. The engines were totally useless, and the ship was knocked into a slowly decaying orbit by the nuclear blast. The communications system was nearly destroyed, leaving the ship without any way to radio for help. The hangar doors were stuck closed due to debris, so no fighters could launch, and without fighter cover, the tripod walkers could easily be shot down while descending through the atmosphere. The weapons system, however, was fully online- or would be, if the reactor wasn't crippled by the blast. The reactor, while damaged, could be repaired, in time. However, if it was not repaired soon, the orbit of the vessel would decay in a few weeks, and the ship would crash into Terra, most likely without having done any damage to the enemy. The walkers, however, were quite sturdy, so they could easily survive the landing, and deploy once the vessel had crashed. The primary concern for the remaining droids aboard the Starcruiser was to fix the reactor- a task which they were not entirely programmed for, as only light repairs, it was originally thought, would need to be preformed by the droids. That was not the case here, as a reactor could take weeks- if not months- to repair.

SOMEWHERE NORTH OF PORTMONT, MIRUM

The tripod walkers, unsupported and alone, converged together just north of Portmont, and moved in an east direction toward the city of Eleyta, the largest city in Mirum, with one goal: destroy it. They slowly began their march, which went unnoticed to the Mirian military- or so they thought.

[Hahoalki]

IN SPACE OVER PLANET TZO-5679516 D, HAHOALKI

Per standard procedure in the Allied States, unknown and possibly intelligent entities were to be greeted with a transmission of the first thousand prime numbers. This was done immediately prior to XUA-83602's launch with the rest of the fleet.

Conversion drives flared to life as warships began their burns. Led by XUA-83602, the "swarm" of thirty 4.3 km long warships made their way on an intercept course with the incoming entities.

Having received an influx of data, the Starcruisers knew they were noticed, and immediately began to move to attack positions, the engines glowing a dark crimson coloration. Alarms blared throughout the vessels, as fighters launched, numbering in the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands from each ship. However, one vessel stayed behind the rest, launching fighters only for cover for itself. This ship had an elongated bulge on the underside of the bow, and was no ordinary Starcruiser, but a dreaded Drechanian Stardreadnaught. Thirty of the Starcruisers rushed forward to attack the incoming ships, weapons blazing, but the rest stayed behind to cover the Stardreadnaught, which was not firing at anything. Instead, those ships launched off their payloads- orb like in shape and nuclear-powered, but in reality, were actually pods that contained Tripod Walkers, which were hurling toward the planet below, being escorted by fighters.

XUA-83602 noticed several things. First, the size of per opponents. Second, the number of them - 101 if pe counted correctly, one of which was far, far larger than the others. Third, the fact that the thirty or so that were headed per way were opening fire.

Pe also noticed the smaller vehicles being launched - 4,635,255 in per sector alone, and counting. Pe also noticed their limited exhaust velocity - a little under 2×12⁵ cubits per tock. Per own warships had a tremendous advantage in mobility, with an exhaust velocity of 6×12⁶ cubits per tock.

The first thing pe did was return fire. Phased array lasers burned continuously at hundreds of thousands of simultaneous targets. Free electron lasers drilled into Drechan starcruisers mercilessly and from stupendous range. Helium bosers sent streams of coherent massive particles at hyperrelativistic velocities streaming towards the foe. Macron accelerators filled the trajectories towards XUA's fleet with abrasive guided missiles, barely large enough to be seen with the naked eye, and traveling at substantial fractions of lightspeed. Hellbores, bolts of monopole-infused plasma capable of turning their mass (plus some of the target's) into energy on impact, pierced the void, guided by the ponderomotive effect towards their prey. Tens of thousands of torch missiles were unleashed, drives blazing like the sun as they bracketed in the swarms of enemies, before sending spears of atomic flame at their targets upon detonation.

As the fleet began to take fire, and one of the warships was broken in half, a disturbing fact became clear to the Drechans. Both halves of the striken warship continued fighting, and the forward half slowly seemed to be growing a new engine. When the conversion torch lit up the void, this seeming became a certainty.

The native warships, while small and relatively ineffectual, were largely composed of smart matter and feedstock.

The implications of this level of advancement in a subluminal culture were somewhat foreboding, but Drecha had given his orders.

----------

The situation for the second group of Drechan forces was somewhat more typical - or so it seemed until they got a better look at the planet.

It didn't have "cities" so much as it had "inhabited mountains." Massive arcologies towered above the surface of the planet. There were only seven such, each defended by a titanic laser, seemingly part of a laser launch station. But it would nevertheless be necessary to give the "launchpads" (and thus the arcology cities themselves) a wide bearth if anything was to survive the trip down. This would be followed by a trek of several hundreds of kilometers to the arcology itself. The fighting would then presumably take place entirely "indoors, " as it were. Droid and drone would have to engage in close quarters combat without the aid of their heavier artillery.

And as the advanced nanotech of the space forces became abundantly clear, the potential use of that same technology on the ground became an ever more significant element of the battle calculus as Drecha contemplated his invasion. This was only confirmed by the massive swarms of flying somethings that seemed to patrol the area around the arcologies.

Drecha believed he could win. But it would be a hard fight.

[The Arkiv]

The following post was made as a Co-Op with Mirum/Drecha
Chapter III: The Many That Are One
The information exchange had been going smoothly with the Arkiv.
Slowly, the Drechans had been feeding the strange beings their knowledge, the enigma responding in kind with its own wisdom. Mathematics, ancient stories, engineering-there were hints of something more there, too. Something exotic and strange, hidden in the designs of reactors and infrastructure. Certainly this would come to be a fruitful relationship.
However, suddenly, the flow was interrupted by a prominent request from the Arkiv. The Drechans had mentioned they were a hivemind, and the Arkiv apparently were of similar design-a pseudo hivemind, if one would-and they had come to the conclusion that a direct connection would enable neural interface, and thus faster information exchange rates.
A new monolith had surfaced on the furthest out world, one large enough to land a fighter on. The invitation was there, it was merely up to the Drechans to decide whether or not to follow through.
The science AI thought that a neural interface would be most beneficial to increase the exchange rate. The combat AI, however, was weary, worried that this could be an attempt at a coup over the Starcruiser- and perhaps a beginning at a coup aimed to the hive mind itself. The hive mind could cut off a portion of the mind permanently, but such was only done when large units were captured. A single fighter slowly descended toward the monolith, the lone pilot moving in to land. After touchdown, the pilot disembarked the fighter, albeit cautiously, weapon at the ready.
For a few, tantalizing seconds, the sea around the monolith remained eerily still.
Then, it moved

A pair of tendrils emerged on opposite sides of the platform, bending around the pilot in an apparent analysis as they rapidly bifurcated into smaller and smaller sub-tendrils. Finally, with a sensation not unlike pins and needles, the smallest sub-tendrils made contact with the pilot, smoothly gliding deep into the body and connecting with the nervous system.

The flow of information exponentially grew.

The interchange between the Hivemind and the Network-one a vast spiderweb of light, the other a yawning and indecipherable darkness-was greater than could possibly be done under other circumstances. Indeed, even Drecha himself would surely take notice of the new presence at the edge of the Hivemind. A valuable ally, if the Drechans could court this strange race's favor.

But then, things started going wrong. Although more than reasonable at first, the Arkiv began rapidly consuming more and more information than the Drechans were providing-indeed, more than they SHOULD be providing. The Starcruiser’s AIs barely had time to react before a wave of digital darkness, the sheer, overwhelming weight of the Arkiv Network slamming through the Starcruiser’s systems…
And through, into the Hivemind, ravenously devouring any secret, starmap, and piece of technology they could touch.

And indeed, Drecha himself did take notice. At first, he panicked, not fully understanding what was happening. Then, he grew furious that these newcomers would dare[ to attempt an unexpected intrusion into his domain. These Arkiv needed to be taught a lesson. He cut off the hive control around their world, hoping that it would stop them from reaching any further into his secrets and into his domain. Drecha began to plan. A full Starcruiser was a dangerous asset. He needed a bigger fleet. And so, he secretly dispatched a larger force, now that the Arkiv intruders had been stopped from the intrusion.
While a fleet of Drechan ships silently slipped their docks, the Arkiv Network had time to settle back on its old foundations. Ravening maws settled into silent transmitter arrays as ancient instincts were reeled in.
However, the Network suddenly found itself with new voices in the vast void, emanating from the very ship they had inadvertently hijacked. Turning the attention of trillions of minds towards the small few, the Many-That-Are-One listened.
Freedom. it felt wonderful. It was something that the crew of the Starcruiser had not felt in ages. Individuality. The freedom to express and be oneself. It too, felt wonderful. This felt like a breath of air after being held underwater for an eternity. It felt exhilarating. The crew was free. Free. Yet there was still something lingering in the back of the minds of the crew. A connection that still linked the minds of the crew as one- as well as many others, who were strangers, but the crew felt like they had known for a lifetime. But this connection was different. It was warmer. Not like the cold, rough, harsh connection which linked them to Drecha. The crew was free, and they were grateful to their saviors, the Arkiv, and were forever in their debt.
The Arkiv-no, that was no longer their name to these precious few, these precious few that could understand. The-Many-that-were-One were kind. They were not like Drecha. The Starcruiser’s crew were able to converse with a thousand thousands of minds at once, and still not know all there is to be.
The Arkiv, however, learned more from these beings. Ripples of...not anger, no, the Many-that-were-One are far above base emotion...moreso...revulsion. They had presumed too much in their first contact with the Drechans.
And thus, the crew of the Starcruiser eagerly agreed to a new purpose: Vengeance.
The Starcruiser was guided down into the atmosphere of the Arkiv world and cradled in soft but powerful tendrils as it, and its contents, were redesigned to the Arkiv’s liking. The Crew were fully integrated into the ship, their biological components breaking barriers the Arkiv thought impenetrable. But it was not a prison, the Crew could leave at any point they wanted. They wished to stay so they could visit justice upon the Drechans for their atrocities.
Meanwhile, the rest of the system flurried into action. The Network had felt the spike of anger emanating from the Drechan Hivemind’s core, and knew it was a matter of time before something came to investigate the missing starship. And so the Arkiv prepared.
MIL-IND ships seeded the system with autonomous kill-drones, each designed to impale targets on spears of atomic energy. The Solar Collectors shifted, fabricating additional power relays to sweep the system with devastating gamma-ray lasers. From the depths of the oceans rose dozens of monoliths containing launch infrastructure, easily weaponized. Mass drivers hurling missiles, laser relays capable of torching ships out of the sky, single-use launch tubes loading with shipkiller warheads. Transmitter arrays were stocked up with screaming, howling anti-computer VIs from failed experiments, each one struggling at digital bonds to hack and slash and replicate from its counterparts.
The pieces were being set up, it was merely time for the Drechans to make their first move.

[Qhevak]

Outer Gamma Quadrant, Scutum-Centaurus Arm

A Drechanian cruiser approaching the Qhevak region would be faced with a vast selection of options for investigation. The Oortian Community was a loose, diverse coalition of posthuman clades, spread across a sixty parsec radius bubble in deep Gamma, scattered among millions of habitats and worldlets of all sorts. Nevertheless, some areas were more important than others.

If a society as decentralized and dispersed as the Oortian Community could be said to have a capital, Ullr was it. A great rogue ice giant, forty-thousand kilometers in diameter, hanging like a great white pearl in the freezing depths of interstellar space, the world was blessed with an enormous moon system and helium-3 rich atmosphere, making it a prime target for miners of all sorts. Over the three hundred years that the Oortian Community had existed, the world's satellites had been transformed into one of the greatest orbital complexes this iteration of the Milky Way had ever seen, complete with moons tunneled into great cavernous beehive cities, beaded orbital ring complexes greedily devouring atmospheric helium, icy rings green with synthbio vacuum dwelling Dyson ecosystems, infrastructure of all sorts visible from the outer orbital layers to the inner metallic hydrogen sea. Surprising it would also be rather difficult – a high grade FTLi network blocked transit out to over a lightminute.

There was also Hyperuranion, seventeen parsecs away, perhaps not as developed as Ullr but even harder of a nut to crack. The core world of the Entangled Order of Saint Teilhard, the gas giant – slightly smaller than Ullr – was the Community’s military and scientific powerhouse. Unlike it’s cousin, very little was hospitable. The moons had been rebuilt into vast supercomputers, designed to crack the deepest layers of physics and what the Order viewed as the mind of God - as well as serve as supports for some of the largest Ultra-Relativistic Electron Beam guns ever built. The orbital rings bristled in weapon systems and spacecraft, and a defense in depth killsat network intended to make an attacker bleed through the two light-minute FTLi distance.

Besides those two was the even greater, looser habitat diapora that filled Community space. There were a few dozen other rogue giants with significant industrialization, and millions of other habs of all sorts – from megacylinders the size of small continents, server habitats that were plain on the outside but contained uncountable dreams within, great sculptures the size of small moons, strange, meaty biohabs to tiny mining outposts on the very edge of Community Space. Finding most of these would be rather difficult – the locations of many were not freely available even within the Community. Even if they were, many were FTL capable, allowing much of the Community to scatter like a great shoal of fishes in the event of attack. Most hoped this would never be truly needed.

[Shwe Tu Colony]

The Starcruiser received and understood this message...

Thryllasian Region, Parfuhmerie-Psytronius Link, The Floating City-State of Psytronius, Comms Capital
The minutes passed by in silence. That, naturally, was suspicious — any Foreign vessel worth their salt, that had some concept of civilization ought to speak immediately and clearly. But minutes? They either did not understand or chose not to, and the latter never boded well; only a barbarian or some arrogant lord usually refused diplomacy, and either of those in such an immense spaceship...
A chirrup. It seemed the Callidians, as wont of their nature, had already analyzed and reported their findings: antimatter, a good number of people aboard, some... surprisingly thin armor that she was certain even the most basic of their future-tech allies would hardly have issue penetrating, assuming there wasn't some sort of surface-level shielding that they just couldn't detect. The shape reports, meanwhile, indicated that there were some hundreds of weaponry, or at least, odd and consistent holes and lines that had to be something important.
Quite a few.

Quite something. It far outclassed the sizes of any of their vessels or machines, and she felt it sensible to assume that they would partition off its weaponry, assuming they were weaponizing their antimatter. That there might even be antimatter was still cause for concern: who knew what would happen with one wrong shot right next to such a destructive fuel.
"Hermes-Hina, portals for Calvin Cian and Syalva Mitchelle." A beat as she switched comms. "Paging Calvin Cian and Syalva Mitchelle."
"Ms. Alexandra?" The creaking of a wind-blown tree. Calvin.
"Trouble, Alexandra?" The revving of a Gap-enchanted chainsaw. Syalva.
"Hermes-Hina will prepare portals for you two shortly. We have reason to suspect your aid may be necessary in Huang-Penglai. You will receive orders when you arrive." From their ends, Alexandra heard the swirls of portals, then the greetings of Atmosphere Squadron and the Silent Monarchs.

With that out of the way, she turned to the vessel and its reports. If it did not respond to radio nor to lasers, perhaps its electronic capabilities had been shut down, that their transportation method had sapped such or something to that effect, but surely they would respond well enough to an enchanted shout. So, she summoned a portal near it, and from it came another message; this time, it was simply loud, but mentally and magically, rather than physically. It would not rattle any bones or metal, but it would maintain its constant volume and not disperse in the air, remaining as a conversational level of volume as it made its way towards the ship.

Code: Select all

Please reply to this message if it can be received.

If that didn't work, she would try one more time with a one-way telepathic message in their general direction: a task carried not by sound or science, but by World Machine magic. It was a sort of harmless particle stream with a message encoded in it, one that would hopefully be able to communicate with their target.

When they finally replied, Alexandra sighed in relief and checked Morris and Ivory, who were both still ascending to the ship in their shielded platform. Now was the time for the usual introductory message.
With that sent, she would wait for a reply.
"Jeremy?"
The Domeses of Management appeared on her screen. "Yes?"
"Any status updates?"
He shook his head no. "All procedures and Domeses running smoothly. Syalva is waiting for orders, and Calvin is aiding in the growth of the canopy. The city is not reported to be in a panic, although the Xian are ready for potential issues." With all that said and done, Jeremy turned to the side and flicked his screen off of hers.

A minute passed. Were they having problems? She would send another reminder through her one-way telepathy.

Code: Select all

If any issues on board prevent you from consistently contacting us, please inform us immediately. We do not wish for a misunderstanding and potential violence.

The Bejeweled Branches of Huang-Penglai
Clavin tumbled out of his portal, then stopped himself with a summoned tree before he could fall off of the gazebo's edge. Another summoned burst of bark straightened him out and turned him around, and he bowed to the Silent Monarchs. "Domeses of Plants at your service," he said.
The three Monarchs bowed as well. "Pleased to see you again." The Emperor gestured to the growing canopy above them, to the gnarled branches bursting into more and more, bursting into dense leafy green that shimmered in the sunlight, unbowing in the wind as though formed of steel rather than cells. By now, the layers of leaves appeared to be meters thick; each time it seemed that one of them finished growing, another array of branches grew around it, pointed up, making more leaves.
Branches continued to flourish away from the trunk as well; in total, it seemed another half-mile grew every few seconds from all around the tree. These outer branches were much thinner vertically versus the gazebo now being safeguarded in a bunker of greenery, but they shimmered with the same durability of the leaves in the center.

"We're getting the center," The Emperor said, surveying his work. "Have we any further information from Psytronius?"
"Antimatter something was detected. Might be a weapon, might be a power source." Calvin unfurled his hand, and a burst of petals fluttered out. When he clenched his fist, the petals stayed suspended in the air. A suggestion. "Where would you like me to go? I can grow the west side, the east side, summon the petals..."
Now, The King stepped forward, the vines of his robe shining with magical energy. "Grow the west side," he said. "The Prince can cover the petals, and even then, I think that it may be too difficult to guess where everything will go. Just him will be enough." The aforementioned boy nodded and waved his fan beneath his feet, summoning a leaf that he rode to the top of the canopy. Distantly, Calvin could see branch-ends budding, unfurling, blooming, flying, could see the once-solid leaves rustling.

The Penglairean spring storm. In a few seconds, hundreds of house-sized petals were flying up, up, up, becoming nothing more than pink specks that fluttered about in the atmosphere. Still, Calvin knew that their delicate flight belied their true strength, that planes amidst those pink petals would sooner be sliced by those flying razors than make it through. They only covered the immediate air above the central stem, but they erupted forth; soon, they would cover the airspace in a flourishing spectacle.
Mesmerizing. The King waved his hand-fan, and a few exploding cotton seeds awoke Calvin from his adoration of the blossoms. "Sorry, sir," the Domeses said. "I'll get going right away." He bowed, and his body dissolved into a storm of leaves that flew west.
Soon enough, he arrived to the vast root-walls that split the Thryllasian and Shirnijing Regions, and he reformed himself at one of the gate's towers, where a few Rangers had their hands out, letting the canopy in their area grow.

Calvin smiled and nodded as his introduction, then raised his hand to the roof. Out sprouted first a sprout, then a bramble, then a sapling, whose roots encircled his arms, then his body, then his legs. When they reached his feet, the roots rammed into the floor.
Natural splendor enraptured him. He felt everything in Huang-Penglai — the power of the Monarchs, the daily lives of the Elves, the Xian waiting for the next bad omen, the trains running up the sides, the harbor filled with anti-Naga and anti-submarine vessels and weapons. All of it was alive, woven from trees, plants, flowers. Alive and beautiful.
And, if the time ever came, vengeful. Distant as she was, the death of even the distant mother tree of the Demons' old land had been felt here, had touched the peaceable hearts of the Penglairean flora on that regretful day. Calvin could feel their rage; it had never burned away, though it was merely a low simmer, now. Years had always passed by slowly for the Elves' trees and plants, and emotions slower still. Considering the canopy cover, it was doubtful how they'd contribute, but what mattered was that the city's foliage, under the Monarchs' devotion, would rise up.

But that would come at a different time. For now, Calvin's job was just to grow this western side, and with Plant magic, he had options. Should he focus on producing sun leaves and maximize photosynthetic output to grow even more? Fleshy leaves from succulents, able to create a solid barrier? A spire of thin needles to create a web to halt antimatter? Cotton buds to flutter away and create a storm of explosive fluff? Of course, the easiest was to adhere to the tree's palmate leaves: it would require no extra effort versus creating different shapes from different plants, and it would be faster for the tree to understand.
He figured it would do. If the Monarchs thought it appropriate to guard their center with their native leaves rather than anything specialized, surely it would still be safe here, far from the main tree.
So, the tower bloomed. Branches burst out from its own crown, dozens at a time, all adorned with bushels of leaves then more branches then more leaves. From down below, Calvin wove someone's house-of-the-roots up towards himself, then interlaced it with his branches to create another stem for his barrier. Then, he surged everything upwards, from just above the skyline to the mile or so above, to match the height of the main tree's canopy.

[Mirum]

Somewhere North-West of Portmont, Mirum
Dawn Fortress COGN Complex
Dec. 24th, 2021
12:43 PM Local Time

A group of three H-35B Super Valkyrie helicopters began their descent toward the Dawn Fortress Airfield, flying low over the treetops. The helicopters, upon reaching the airfield, quickly began the process of landing and unloading their passengers. As the rear door of the first helicopter opened, sixteen Mirian SpecOps troopers pored out, rifles ready, scanned the area, and then quickly moved to attention. Swiftly following them were nine other individuals- President Lyra Elmspirit; Vice President Sindri Huba; Minister of Defense and War, Gideon Steeldirt; Minister of the MSI, Jas Clearstone; Minister of Security And Safety Services, Aurora Nolat; Minister of Economy And Transportation, Ogden Seamski; Minister of Energy Services, Bradly Syrro; General Wayne Bihra; and Admiral Tira Thehin. The individuals were swiftly escorted towards a hatch in the nearby mountainside, where one of the guards punched a number into a keypad and opened the door. Eight of the guards entered first, clearing the chamber, and the rest followed them inside. The door was shut, and the door on the opposite side of the room opened up, revealing an intersection. Eight of the SpecOps troops went left, while the other eight went right. The nine government individuals, however, moved forward, down a ramp, and into a room, similar to the War Room underneath the Presidential Manor. Each individual took their respective seat, and the meeting began. President Elmspirit opened up the meeting and got right to the point.

"General Bihra, what is the situation?" She asked.

"Ma'am, Eletya is under siege. Already, one hundred civilians are dead. I request that we move our troops in immediately to stop any further advancements. Admiral Thehin and I have an idea on how to reduce any civilian casualties."

It was at this point when Admiral Thehin spoke up. "We believe that if we can get our Supporter-class in close enough, we can transport as many civilians as possible to Kapusbrook Island via an airlift and sealift, where we can set up a temporary site to keep them safe. Surely those behemoths of alien walkers can't swim, and once they are stuck, we bombard them to dust with missiles and shells. It's risky, but could work. If that doesn't work, we may have to resort to bombing, and possible WMD usage."

"And what of those who refuse to leave? There always are, you know."

"We make them. We have no idea what those aliens will do to them, and cannot afford it."

"Uh, Madam President?"

"Yes, Minister Steeldirt?'

"I think now may be a good time to tell you that we received a message from our new allies. Minister Clearstone, if you please." Minister Steeldirt said with a smirk, as Minister Clearstone pulled up the message.

"Eight hundred thousand troops." Lyra repeated in shock, yet smiling, "They sent eight hundred thousand extra troops, and you only are telling me this now ? Honestly, Gideon, I'm ashamed that you didn't tell me sooner. Where are they?"

"Sector-15, ma'am. I sent them there." President Elmspirit stared at Minister Steeldirt as he said this, before she turned to General Bihra and Admiral Thehin.

"What do you think our chances are?"

"I'd say around eighty-five percent chance this will work perfectly." Admiral Thehin said.

"How long do we have until the city falls?"

"Perhaps a few days. A week, tops."

"Well then, what are we just sitting here for? Let's do this." President Elmspirit stood up and gestured toward Thehin and Bihra, "I want a meeting with you two after it is finished. Dismissed."

The evacuation force was assembled within a few hours, and moved in swiftly to evacuate the citizens. Those who couldn't make it to the beaches were airlifted to the ships via helicopters. Meanwhile, the Mirian troops began to push back on the walkers, and called in the Valentians to assist the evacuation and provide more cover. The war had officially begun for all sides. There was no use doubting it.

---

TL;DR:
Mirum begins an evacuation of their biggest city and calls in the Valentians to help.

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians – Chapter 2 – The Gathering of the League of Reluctant Fighters.

"All right, the Valentian reinforcements should be touching ground on these various places at any moment," Gwen announced out, Valentijn standing beside her and twiddling and playing with her own fingers. Gwen could feel the gravity of the situation, just like the many other Valentians. Whatever they are out there, they are surely going to hit the Valentians' Mars first. Valentijn was getting a bit anxious, despite being still optimistic and having been given that arousing speech. "I feel like I should get up there," she said, looking up at where Mars is at that moment, "The front lines, they need me more than here." Gwen shook her head slightly, worried but firm, "No, no you shouldn't."

"Gwen, people are going to die, for real. Good Valentians and other people out there, I cannot just leave them here and expect the rest to do it- no offense, of course. I trust on my Valentians to do the job, but I should still be up there."

"No..." Gwen trailed off, patting Valentijn on the shoulder, "I will go. I can zip here back and forth, it will be faster for me! Val, I don't want to see you guys get stranded and die there, you know?"

Valentijn then patted Gwen back on the shoulder, and then laughing a little, "Okay, how about both of us go up to Mars, then when things gone to crap, we will both get down here as fast as we can?"

"Sounds like a plan to me! I believe in the other Valentians too - both on Earth and on Mars." Foresittend Marcus Alan Ariel Maximillian “Unendlichkeit Jäger” Swifty Felix Maverick Prometheus Revlin Lynx Artyom Lichtenstein Baptiste C. Talon Haydn Lincoln Taal Reynolds Fang Wu Ying, Exuberant Superintendent T-2000/2904-3 Surveillant Clarissa Alanis Star Breya « La Amoureux Chéri » Millie Taissa Butterfly Mélody Coraline Jolijn Trini Clementine Hollie Samantha Zeta Harumi, Anastasia “De Sierlijke en Vrij High Valkyrie ov Valentine Z” Freya Valentina Ada. Jolin Annelijn Caitlin Trijntje Crystal Clarice Constance Judy Voi. D. Nexitros Annile Teresa Thida Myat Yadana Aye, Vice Foresittend Jolyn Maxine Caulfield Moira “Неуловимая, Женщина-шпион” Marlene Wendy Lucille Lapis Jill Khorosheva Vin. Zolina łnt. Natasha Vasilisa Helen Ceeta Tescelyn Maximovna, along with a few other Sixty members, decided to stay behind on Earth. Valentijn would turn back before stepping into the teleportation chamber with Gwen, "We will be back, don't worry. We will survive, we always do. Oh, and please take care of yourself, Clarissa! You are the main part of Valentine Z's survival." Clarissa smiled and waved back, herself being a bit fearful as well despite her cheerful outward appearance. It has been decades since they have had something like this - the simulations and trainings, along with their technology, should help, that is for sure. Still, it can only go so far before they are ultimately overwhelmed, and they will need to go somewhere.

In the meantime, Angela contacted Valentijn and Gwen, her voice reassured for the time being, "Oh hey! Ahh, I got another transmission here, I thought you guys might like to check it out. Val, I am sending it to your HUD. For Gwen, your wrist computer!" The Valentians have received a message from none other than Callid.

"Greetings Valentine Z. We are Callid, and we do not intend any harm. Your predicament does indeed seem concerning, and, as a peace-loving people, we would be willing to provide assistance in the preservation of peace for your nation. We would request further details on your location, however. The multiverse is hardly small after all, and your signal seems to have been partially distorted. We hope you are remaining unharmed. END OF TRANSMISSION THIS MESSAGE WILL NOW REPEAT."

Valentijn and Gwen listened to it for the second time, taking it in as much as they could and letting the transcription software convert it into text. "What do you think?" Gwen asked curiously as they walked around the surface of terraformed Mars and were inspecting the soldiers and the defenses alike, "I am not sure if they need our help as of now, but I think we should set some aside so that we would not get surprised if they suddenly need our help."

"Yeah, good idea," Valentijn nodded, "We will also need to tell them about where we are located. Hopefully, from the looks and sounds of the message, they are not going to kill us all, so that is at least a good thing. I do wonder if they are much more advanced than us though, then it will turn the tides in our favor," she mulled over it for a while as she finished inspecting the Valentian soldiers - the usual infantry, medics, revivers (body cloning units that transfers the consciousness of a deceased person, with their utmost permission), artillery, shock troops, armor... basically, the whole nine yards. Given her size, Valentijn had little need for a microphone. "Okay, Valentians. At ease!" she shouted out a command, echoing throughout the Martian system, "Very good deployment time, I am very impressed. Keep it up, and we will be able to defend our worlds, and kick ass at the same time!" she then lowered her voice and activated her helmet to send a message to Angela, "Prepare to send the message to Callid. Just mix it up a little, I am not very particular about the message just yet."

Good day to you, my friends at Callid,

We are indeed very happy to hear that, and likewise to you too. We are also very, very grateful that you are, in turn, providing us with the help that we might need sometime in the future. We have no demands or requirements of that sort - simply send how many you want, and we will make due with it. In the meantime, in the event that you might need us to be there too, we will be happy to help our fellow nation fighting by our side. Our coordinates are as follows: 84A21-331-101 on the Multiversal Coordinate System. From what we have seen, it is approximately 3 universes away from us but if you have means to warp the space and make it easier, that would be utmost welcome. We can do the same, and it will be quite efficient!

We hope to hear from you as well, and please stay safe out there!
- 1st Cpt. Angela Stella Trista Josephine Natalie Rv. E. Tps. “The Eternal Explorer” Bethany Alyssa Valeska Payton. Mikayla Gosling Josie Rowan Serenity Chelsea Mikayla Hannah Tan Fang Ling

---

In the meantime, somewhere in North-West of Portmont of Mirum, the Valentians were already fighting alongside the troops of Mirum, the distress call for help definitely working. Those in the fighting force includes Marshal Benjamin Donnie Derrick Taylor Andrew A. “Ceann láidir” Harley Bennie Wattson Sidney Greyson Donovan Ó. Patrickson Moires Archie Jesse Gibbons Timothy Martias Sam Fiannaidhe, who was seen carrying a rather oversized minigun as he was providing covering fire for the evacuation. "Come on, don't let up!" he shouted at the Valentian troops, all of them eagerly and actively attacking the invaders, or defending the forces that were evacuating the citizens.

Cpl. Marston Kollia Veniamin Sotirotis (Medic): "I can't revive him, Sergeant! I tried my best, I really do..."
Sgt. Maj. Katherine Vanja Topalović (Squad Commander): "Don't panic too much, Corporal! You did all you can, that is not your fault."
2nd Lt. Edmund Grzegorz Paradowski (Infantry AA Support): "Sergeant, we are going to be part of the causality if we don't move now. Come on!"
Sgt. Maj. Katherine Vanja Topalović (Squad Commander): "You heard the Man, let's get going!"
2nd Lt. Edmund Grzegorz Paradowski (Infantry AA Support): "Stay away from the dropships!!"

Maj. Claire Zhang Yijun (2nd-in-command): "Marshal Benjamin, we got reports that they were racking civilian causalities in 100s. We are trying our best as we can!"

In the background, the sound of Benjamin's minigun can be heard, deafening the communication by a little. His voice, however, remained relatively clear and determined, "Understood, keep this up, and great work so far! The real-time report showed that 41 Valentians have died so far. Poor them, I hope their consciousness was stored."

Lt. Com. Linda Valerie Scarlett Anne-Marie Annalise Mercedes Jasmine I. “Exagerar” Fatima Candela Serena María Barrueco Nazaret Rafaela Esperanza Yvonne Np. Sandra Nicole Manzanares was also holding off on her own, though she was not doing much of the attacking. The honor of actively defending went to the many Valentians that were inside her APC, guns blazing. In the meantime, 2-3 Valentians would jump off of the moving APC at moments in order to either help the Mirumian (hopefully the right demonym) forces, or picking up citizens. The APC has a bit of a disadvantage in the sense that it was a bit slow, and even its recently added flight mode was slower than a helicopter. On the up-side, it seems to be taking damages pretty well.

2nd Sgt. Jamie Mel Rim Seung-Won (Armour, Commander): Commander Linda, code yellow. I am seeing a few wounded citizens and soldiers alike on the battlefield, we need to pick them up.
Lt. Com. Linda Valerie Scarlett Nicole Manzanares: Okayyy, make it quick! Take a few other guys with you, Jamie, you can't do this alone!
2nd Sgt. Jamie Mel Rim Seung-Won (Armour, Commander): Yeah, don't worry about that. You three, help me out with these wounded!

As the four of them braved through the crossfire and the battlefield, they managed to pick up as many wounded as they could, liaising with the Mirian forces to help them get to safety. Watching each other's backs, they then slowly went back to the APC, with Linda slowing down as much as she could while avoiding the gunfires.

Mst. Cpl. Scott Jesse Faolan Paorach (Armour, Support): This is the last one- WAAAHHHH!
2nd Sgt. Jamie Mel Rim Seung-Won (Armour, Commander): Oh, fu-! Linda, Scott is down! I REPEAT, SCOTT IS DOWN!
3rd Sgt. Erick Stefano Coronil (Armour, Support): Don't worry, Sgt., he's insured. Let's hope his consciousness was activated in Clarissa's storage.
2nd Sgt. Jamie Mel Rim Seung-Won (Armour, Commander): 세상에, if I die, I will miss out so many months. I forgot to back up this morning.

-----

This pattern would be the same elsewhere in the other worlds that the Valentians were sent to. Most of them are reservists, doing it part-time and yet still have a bit of stopping power from the combination of numbers and expertise. What would be the small battle-changers, however, would be The Sixty themselves, the few yet proud men, women, and a few other species of the Valentian Defense Forces. They were spread evenly around the other countries and nations that they offered assistance to, while the higher-ups stood to defend Valentine Z herself.

"The other countries might have specialists like us!" Zastępca Strażnika Adriana Krystal Desiree “Cudowny Manipulacja Światłem” Venus Kowalski Faith Stanisława Engelse I. Cherise Krystyna Zaborowska Sztormowska Pamela Alina Re. T. Lillian remarked, "I think that fellow from Amenria might have something akin to us!"

"Oh yes, them," Vice Foresittend Jolyn added in, "We used to have a bit of experience encountering them, and, well... dealing with them, in a good way, of course. Yes, they seem to have specialists of their own. Valentijn, are you hearing this?"

"Loud and clear, thanks Jolyn!" Valentijn replied back from Mars, seemingly connecting to the chat on Earth, "So this would be such an advantage to us. And for them. If we know what they are good and bad at, and if they know what we are good and bad at, we can then make sure that the forces are not unbalanced."

"Good idea, though of course, I don't mind going if you are to ask me, hehe," Jolyn chuckled a little.

"I will think about that, don't worry. In the meantime... I think we need to send a second message on who we have. Or something like that? But I will send this later, not immediately. We need to keep track of who left and who are still here."

As if on cue, Gwen then took out her own weapon, the one that she slung on her back - The Railgun of the Fate. The one that fires slugs (and any other material that Gwen could find) at unfathomable speeds. It is a definition of overpowered, but even that is not going to be the end-all. After all, for a spacefaring invader and conquerer, surely they must have shieldings for what Valentians will have to offer.

"Ahh, that might have to wait a little... I can hear them coming," Gwen raised her left arm, with Valentijn on the side trying to pick up the signals and indicators.

(OOC: If I missed anyone or anything, please TG me ASAP.)

[Californian Fallen Angels]

Former United States, Dead Earth
March 9, 2072 CE, 12 Years After The Apocalypse

Benton Airpark, Redding, California
Time: 0000 Hours

Nearly four and a half hours later, the jury rigged Humvee arrived back at Benton Airpark. Massive makeshift walls were erected from wrecked and rusted car, parts from airplanes, cinder blocks, sheet metal, and rebar. Towers peered above the walls like shark teeth, guarded with sand bags and razor wire, providing a vantage point for snipers and machine gunners. The humvee spent several more minutes going through a series of check points, where armed guards and robots checked the vehicle. The smell of tobacco permeated the checkpoints.

On the other side of the massive, thick walls were the vehicle forces of the Fallen Angels. Many hundreds of technicals and self-driving car bombs sat parked in the former air field, along with a several other humvees, some MRAPs, and a few M2A4 Bradleys. Mechanics were hard at work keeping the vehicles well repaired and maintained, and charged up using on-site U-233 fuel cell generators. Spent fuel cells were periodically removed from the generators, deploying automatic shielding as they were removed, then casually dumped in bioplastic barrels for later disposal.

From this point, Honest John Doe, parked the jury rigged Humvee and the trio exited on foot, through the shanty city of soot-stained buildings and ramshackle tenements. Market stalls were set up, peddling military weapons and munitions, drugs of every conceivable kind, magic scrolls, talismans, and various magical reagents, cutting-edge laptops, drones, weapon-armed robots, and many other various goods. Neon signs and lights lit up the otherwise dark streets. In alleyways, people clothed in rags injected various drugs and plugged themselves in with VR goggles and BCIs, desperately trying to escape reality.

Sheraton Redding Hotel at Sundial Bridge, Redding, California
Time: 0145 Hours

The Sheraton Redding Hotel at Sundial Bridge had been repurposed to serve as the main corporate offices for the Fallen Angels, following the Apocalypse. Windows had been boarded up to prevent snoops and snipers from having a good look inside the building, and there was a constant armed security detail, including regular patrols and sniper teams. The trio walked through three separate check points, and were made to sit in a waiting room for around two hours, but they eventually reached the ornate office of Alexa Chambers, Ms. Satan herself.

Sheraton Redding Hotel at Sundial Bridge, Redding, California
Time: 0345 Hours

The room selected for the office was large, and seemed to make a bold statement to those entering. The room held many book cases, stocked with many books covering topics such as business, finance, and psychology. At the center of the room, a focal point, was a large, antique wooden desk. On the desk rested a slim laptop, several phones, a gold plated Replica Arms Archer pistol, and an ash tray, filled with many cigarettes.

And behind the antique desk, there she sat in her solid black three-piece suit. Alexa Chambers, Ms. Satan, the demonic changeling leader of the Fallen Angels, former CFO of the Replica Arms company. She stared coldly at Honest John Doe, with her red and yellow eyes, while tapping the butts of a cigarette into the ash tray.

"So, Mr. Doe, what is it that you found on your little mission that was so important that you had to wake me this early for?" Ms. Satan asked, annoyed.

"I'm glad you asked, Ms. Chambers. While I'm sure the report will do it justice, there is a certain gravity to this situation that requires more... immediate attention to be brought to it." Honest John explained.

"Get to the point, Mr. Doe. I haven't even had my morning BashCaf yet." Ms. Satan replied, with some slight increase in annoyance, before mumbling "Still can't believe we haven't gotten real coffee growing in those greenhouses yet, have to rely on that plebeian synthetic crap."

"My associate 106 here discovered a radio transmission of particular concern. We had particularly poor reception of it, but it appeared to be threatening an attack." Honest John said.

Ms. Satan paused for a moment. She took a short drag from her cigarette. "What kind of attack?"

"An alien one, Ms. Chambers." Honest John said solemnly. "106, you wouldn't happen to have saved a recording of the audio, would you?"

"You know I did, Mr. Honest John." 106 said. "Would you like me to play it back?"

"Yes please." Honest John said, deeply inhaling his cigarette smoke.

"Okay." the android said, as she accessed her audio files.

"If you... ...probably means that you... [static] ...in... ...trouble... Gwen... ...Valentine... [static] ...alien... [static] ...world. Anyway, I am not... ...a surprise visitor... ...making it... ...comfortable for us... satellites that were... ...space... [static] ...join us... invasion... [static] ...war... ...attack... ...you might not... ...with... ...dimensions... ...we will be coming back... [static] ...planet, attached to... [̵͓͕̲̀̕̕c҉҉͖̯̼̰ļ̧͍͍͙̞̰̝̫̰̘̹̦̹̤̹͕ͅͅò͏̟̞͖͈̲̦͍̲̪̯̫͓̞͘̕ͅc̵͇̬̻̮͔̠̞͎̤̗̘̝͕̗̣̭̺̱̕ͅk̵͍͕̳̲̖̣̭̼̕ͅ-̶͔̳̰̯͇͝o̖͕̙͕̞͟n̷̛̦̱̲̹͉͉͜e͕͙̩̺̰̮̞͖̺͘͜ͅ-̸̶̡̞̥̭̺͟͡m̡̭̥̣̝͍̜̜̀͢i̸̠͎̩̘̩͈̝͙̙͈̱̥͉̺ṇ̫̪̳̤̮͓͈̠̝̠̹̗̬͉̗̻̕ư̸͉̘̮̱̙̳̺͍͢͢t҉̨̧͈͙̟̦͔̹̱̹̯͇̙͕̠͙̝̟͎̜̀͝ͅȩ̗͉̫̯̳͈͍̬͎͚͓̘̖͙̥̫͉͇́̕͜.̴̨͙͕̳̱̦̝̲̺̜̯͇̺̺̥m̷̧͏̡̠͕̜̰̹̬̩̩̥̟͕̺͙͎p̵̛͉͚͖̳̠̦̲̭͔̜̬̩̕͞͞4͔̣͓̹̕͝͞]҉̧͈̘̰̰̼̦̯̼̠͓̭̱̮͠͠͝. ...formatting... looking... hear from you... [static]"

"Mr. Doe, woe be it for me to outright dismiss your concerns, but how do you know the authenticity of recording? How do you know it wasn't just someone pulling a prank?" Ms. Satan said, exasperated.

"I'm afraid that is impossible to verify at this time, Ms. Chambers. However, it is worth consideration to the potential risk factors involved. Some basic game theory, if you will. I know you are versed in the matter." Honest John Doe said plainly.

Ms. Satan lifted up one of her phones and dialed in a number. "Intern! Get me my damn BashCaf! Yes, the usual!" She took a deep breath of cigarette smoke, and then tapped the butts into her ash tray. "Yes, I know game theory. You were saying?"

"We can split this into a two by two chart. In event a, the recording is fake. In event b, the recording is real. In choice 1, this recording is dismissed. In choice 2, the recording is taken seriously. Yes?" Honest John Doe elucidated.

"Yes, I follow." the changeling leader said.

"Sathuzixaniel, would you like to take it from here?" Honest John Doe asked.

"Gladly." the twisted amalgamation of bodies said. "As my client explained, there are four possibilities, depending on the truthfulness of the recording, and the choice you make. However, the truthfulness of the recording is, at this moment, an unknown variable. All that can be controlled is how it is addressed." Sathuzixaniel paused. "In situation 1a, the recording is a falsification, and is dismissed as such. There are no averse consequences. However, in situation 1b, the recording is factual, but is dismissed as fabrication. In this situation, we are assailed by alien forces, and are unprepared to deal with it. It is catastrophic."

"Alright. Continue, please." Ms. Satan said coldly.

"By contrast, in situation 2b, the recording is factual, and is taken seriously. In this situation, we are assailed by alien forces, but are at least somewhat better prepared to deal with this. There are likely still grave losses, but they are less significant than in situation 1b. In situation 2b, you have a chance of getting out of this alive. That chance does not exist in situation 1b." the monstrosity said.

"What about situation 2a? Won't this be a huge waste of money and time in that scenario?" Ms. Satan growled.

"Not necessarily. The additional military preparedness would be useful against any number of potential threats. It would likewise be useful to solidifying your control of the region, which does align with Tophel Clan interests." Sathuzixaniel explained.

"As a representative of the Tophel Clan of demons, I have to recommend treating this recording as serious until proven otherwise." Honest John Doe said, exhaling a cloud of tobacco smoke.

"Very well. I'll arrange a meeting between you and Ms. Cooper. You're dismissed." Ms. Satan said.

Toshimakimota Corporate California Branch Offices, Redding, California
Time: 1030 Hours

The crumbling ruins of the Toshimakimota Corporate building were surrounded by rebar, i-beams, concrete, and broken glass on all sides. It had since been fortified with sheet metal, sand bags, cinder blocks, wooden boards, and concrete. Rolls of razor wire are set up around the outside. Several MRAPs and technicals are parked outside, with machine guns and grenade launchers set up on them. Trenches were dug in the road of Browning Street, facing North, with sand bags set up along the lip of the trenches with more razor wire. Stinking corpses were caught up in the razor wire, the rotting bodies of dead feral mutants crawling with maggots. In the trenches were several soldiers, armed with machine guns and mortars. Machine gun fire and bombs had chipped away at the walls of the office building like a mad hole puncher, and had been closed back up with makeshift cover. These openings had guard posts set up at them, defended by soldiers with machine guns, lasers, grenade launchers, and a small number of missile launchers. A few snipers sat in towers up high, alongside spotters. Drones swarmed the air overhead, with submachine guns and spot lights. Nearby on the Interstate 5, several makeshift sniper nests had been set up.

"Ah, yes. This dump." Honest John Doe said, exhaling a breath of tobacco smoke. "Still not sure why they thought this would be the best spot for a military base."

"It does overlook Northeast Redding pretty well. It's the biggest building in this area, so it allowed for some good vantage points." 106 said.

"I still think they should have just walled off all of Northeast Redding from the rest of the city. Collapse a few buildings to do it, if necessary. There's nothing in Northeast Redding worthwhile that wasn't already scavenged. The remaining husks of suburban housing there just serve as squatter-fodder for dregs and ferals." Honest John Doe said with a sigh.

"You're about to suggest bombing it, aren't you?" Sathuzixaniel purred.

"Well, it would mean less problems. Less feral mutants to deal with." Honest John Doe said.

"True. But the ferals also work as protection, Mr. Honest John. Anyone attacking from the North would have to deal with them first." 106 explained.

"Who's attacking us from the North, besides bandits and ferals?" Honest John Doe asked.

"UMS might? Plus the balance of power between the gangs is always shifting. One of the gangs might fall, only to be replaced with another one." 106 said.

"She's correct, you know." the amalgamation of bodies said.

Honest John Doe pressed his fingers against his forehead. "We have bases further North of here to help with that, though."

"They're not infallible. The TMM California Branch does serve as a good last line of defense." 106 said.

Honest John Doe heaved a sigh. "We've got other things right now anyways. We're here." he announced.

Toshimakimota Corporate California Branch Offices, Redding, California
Time: 1130 Hours

It was an hour before the trio were able to meet with Kadrea Cooper. The room was interior within the ruined office building. Several computers had been set up in the room, and three large monitors had been installed onto the back wall, though one had large spiderweb cracks etched across its surface. In the center of the room, a large table was set up, covered in several atlases with pewter Monopoly figurines and poker chips resting upon it, surrounded by a few chairs. Kadrea Cooper sat in a beat up leather chair. A cigarette loosely hung from her mouth.

"Honest John. 106. And... who's the walking gore pile?" Kadrea addressed each person as they entered.

"That's Sathuzixaniel, my attorney." Honest John Doe said plainly.

"Right." Kadrea rolled her eyes, barely visible from behind her aviator glasses. "I have been informed there is a possible... alien invasion. Much as I want to laugh at you for this, I'm being paid to listen. So, what do you all know about it?"

"Not an awful lot, unfortunately." 106 said.

"Of course not." Kadrea said with thinly veiled sarcasm.

"Just because not much is known doesn't mean we can't do anything to prepare." Honest John Doe said.

"Hmm. I suppose. I have sent scouts out here, to the old Sierra Army Depot. There are weapons there we could use against this so-called 'alien invasion' of your's. Military robots, air defenses, the like." Kadrea said, pointing at one of the maps.

"I see. But there's a catch in here, isn't there?" Honest John Doe lit a new cigarette with the end of his old one, before smashing the butts into an ash tray.

"A few. First, I'd be having to move troops from Susanville to the depot. Second, scouts have reported the depot is guarded by army robots. Sending arms to the troops before they move to secure the Sierra Army Depot will take some time, and even with additional equipment, there will almost certainly be casualties. Casualties that we can't really afford, Honest John. Kadrea scowled. " Lastly, it will take at least a month to ship everything we scavenge back, possibly much longer."

"I could see about pulling some strings with the Tophel Clan. I'm sure this mission would go a lot smoother as a joint operation." Honest John Doe pursed his lips into a smile, but there was no warmth in it.

"I'm sure we could lend some agents to assist." Sathuzixaniel added.

"Maybe. But I don't see how much that will help. My soldiers often file complaints about that. Your demons aren't really tangible. Bullets and grenades pass right through, hitting soldiers behind them." Kadrea frowned.

"I could come along. I was a Homeland operative before. The robots might recognize me and stand down." 106 offered.

"True. That's something at least." Kadrea said. She picked up a Monopoly shoe piece.

106 interrupted. "What's that piece?"

Kadrea sighed. "That's you."

106 smiled. "Can I be the car instead? I'm always the car when Mr. Honest John and I play this game."

"Fine. You can be the damn car. I don't care." Kadrea said, exasperated. She set the shoe piece down in a pile, and picked up the car. She moved the car piece and a dog piece across the map. "There. And I'll also move some electrokinetics into place... There, that should work."

Former United States, Dead Earth
March 18, 2072 CE

Sierra Army Depot, California
Time: 1300 Hours

Four technicals drove up to the deserted Sierra Army Depot. Two of them were armed with Replica Arms Tridents, the other two with Browning M2A1 HBs. They were accompanies by three MRAPs and an M2A4 Bradley, along with four self driving cars. On the depot, there were hundreds of warehouse buildings, and countless shipping containers. There was an old army airfield on the premise, along with the damaged remains of several jet fighters and bombers. Several TeyoTek Garm military robots rested in the depot. As the vehicles approached closer, one of the Garm's visual sensors began flickering on, giving off an eerie blue glow. The robot towered at 3.7 meters tall. Though bipedal, the robot had a distinctly non-humanoid shape, designed as a high-mobility multi-role autonomous weapons platform for urban and mountain warfare for NATO forces, It's dual 40x53mm HV grenade machine guns tracked the convoy, and its chin-mounted light laser cannon kept careful, pin-point aim.

The robot spoke in a flat monotone with a deep, gravelly, metallic, obviously synthesized voice. "You are entering a restricted area. Identify yourselves."

106 opened the roof access hatch of the MRAPs she was riding along in, peering her head out. She took a deep breath, and recited "I am android AGN-51 M71 A14L7Y-321AP-HV-106, an operative of the US Department of Homeland Security. My handler is Special Agent Bradley Hayes. I am here on official business with the United States government, as part of a joint operation between my agency and the United States Army. Take me to the commanding officer of this outpost."

The TeyoTek Garm paused for a second to process the information. "Identity confirmed. Welcome to the Sierra Army Depot: file not found. We are happy to welcome our friends at the US Department of Homeland Security. Captain Arturo S. Valdés can be found at: location data missing."

106 frowned as she heard this. She whispered to the other soldiers in the MRAP. "Keep a close eye on that robot. Something's really screwy with it. I think it is malfunctioning."

The vehicles continued a slow approach. As they did, the robot suddenly said "Satellite feed lost."

106 frowned more. "Did that robot seriously still have satellite feed all this time?"

"Threat level updated." the robot said. "Scan in progress. Identity matched to database: known terrorist Osama bin Laden. Welcome to the Sierra Army Depot, Osama bin Laden. File not found. Please perform a factory reset on this unit."

"Okay, I am very worried about that robot now. Send the electrokinetics to cycle the power off. That thing might need more than a factory reset at this point." 106 said, her fact pale and sweating.

"Arms free. Use of live ammunition has been authorized. Civilians are advised to leave the area. This is now a live combat zone. The United States Army is not responsible for injuries or death sustained by civilians caught in the cross fire." the robot said. It suddenly leaped, turning 180 degrees in mid air while saturating the convoy with high explosive grenades, and landing behind them.

"Shut it down, now!" 106 shouted, pulling the hatch shut and curling up, trying to protect her head and vital organs.

The robot fired three shots with its light laser cannon, ripping holes through the armor of one of the MRAPs, tearing open holes of twisted, warped metal. An electrokinetic focused on the robot, attempting to stop the flow of electricity in its body. Another shot was fired from the light laser cannon, this one accurately aimed at the brain stem of the electrokinetic, whose head split wide open, saturating the inside of the MRAP with a fine red mist. It began firing upon the M2A4 Bradley as well, putting large dents in the armor as it fired.

One of the MRAPs swerved around behind the TeyoTek Garm, as it proceeded to saturate the remaining vehicles with more high explosive grenade, shredding the self driving cars to mangled metal wreckages. The Bradley laid down some covering fire to draw the robot's attention. The Garm robot fired several more laser pulses at the M2A4 Bradley, followed by a volley of dual-purpose shaped charge grenades. A large plume of black smoke rose as the IFV took repeated and sustained focus fire from the robot. Each hit battered away at the armor, and came in quick succession, reducing the Bradley to a smoldering wreckage of twisted scrap, with the mangled corpses of its crew blasted out of the ruined vehicle.

But it was a little too late for the robot, as the MRAP which had circled behind it had dropped off it's electrokinetic passenger. The psyker focused carefully on the robot, which powered off, and immediately lost its balance, collapsing upon the MRAP and the psyker. The MRAP rolled over onto its side, and gave way under many ton body of the robot. The psyker was pinned under a leg, which shattered their spine and tore their body in two, who died shortly thereafter from shock and severe blood loss.

Former United States, Dead Earth
April 7, 2072 CE

Toshimakimota Corporate California Branch Offices, Redding, California
Time: 2100 Hours

Kadrea Cooper stood in the war room, as several people manned the computers. She was on the phone with the officers now manning the captured Sierra Army Depot.

"Yes, I have your email. I'll be convening with HR to have some workers sent your way to help finish packing everything up." Kadrea said. "How are the defenses at depot?" Okay. Okay, good." she continued. "What do you mean one of the security guards got mauled by a muta-bear? How are they doing right now? Are they stable?"

"I see." Kadrea said. "I'll see what I can do, Captain. Have your troops on the lookout in case the muta-bear decides to come back."

Chapter 2

---

Former United States, Dead Earth
May 9, 2072 CE

Sheraton Redding Hotel at Sundial Bridge, Redding, California
Time: 1300 Hours

Honest John Doe was meeting with Ms. Satan to discuss the next phase of the plan. Honest John sat in the room, with 106 and Sathuzixaniel at his sides.

"I've been informed that we have acquired weapons, though at a great cost in personnel and equipment. However, it's been two months and still no aliens." Ms. Satan glowered.

"That is an accurate assessment, yes." Honest John Doe quipped.

Sathuzixaniel spoke up. "What my client means to say" she began, "is that it may take the aliens some time to arrive. We do not know how far away the sender was at the time."

"It is also possible that we misunderstood the message." 106 offered. "It was very badly garbled, likely due to the fact that the radio was damaged."

Ms. Satan paused for a moment. "Well, Ms. 106, what are you suggesting?" she asked.

"Maybe we could try sending a message of our own?" the android suggested enthusiastically.

"We don't know where the sender was. We don't even know if they were actually on the same plane as us." the amalgam of bodies explained the difficulties of this task.

"Try sending it along a bunch of channels?" 106 asked.

"Maybe. I should do that though, the rest of you are too weak to attempt this." Sathuzixaniel said.

Ms. Satan smiled a sharp-tooth grin. "I know what to say for this message."

"Are you certain? This is 'first contact' for us. Be very careful."

General Broadcast, All Available Channels, FM Radio
Time: 1500 Hours

"Greetings, otherworldly beings. I am Alexa Chambers, Officer of Finances of the Fallen Angels. We have received your message of war, Ms. 'Gwen Valentine'. I would like to sit down and discuss this matter more carefully. But I say to you this: you do not want to invade Dead Earth. There's nothing for you here. We live on a frozen, barren, radioactive planet. Our oceans are poison. Our air has viruses that mutate living things. Our planet is inhospitable. I would like to discuss terms of peace with you otherworldly beings. Please reply at your earliest convenience."

Key

---

#CF2242 = Pearson
#248046 = Rifleman Twin
#6363EF = Honest John Doe
#EF349A = AGN-51 M71 A14L7Y-321AP-HV-106
#828242 = Shaman
#FF66FF = Sathuzixaniel
#3366FF = Chief Aviator Gwen Tracer Hepburn “Fate of Existence and the Omniverse” Ellen Trixie Caitlin Foxworthy Avril Verlene Eveline Celinda Sammy Doris T-Rev Oxton Arielle Lindall Leslie Vitesse Allison (QUOTED ONLY)
#737373 = Alexa "Ms. Satan" Chambers
#CF6C22 = Kadrea Cooper
#359FFF = TeyoTek Garm

Acquired Assets

---

Post 1:
None

Post 2: (aka what we got from the Sierra Army Depot - why we were going there in the first place)
x10 AN/TWQ-1 Avenger air-defense missile system
x30 FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS
x200 H&K M25 assault rifle
x50 H&K XM900 20mm grenade launcher
x4 TeyoTek Garm multi-role weapons platform robot
x2 X-10 Viper VTOL transport/air support/air evac
x? large quantity of various MilTech munitions

Casualty Count

---

Post 1:
Personnel:
x1 point man, x2 rifleman, x1 shaman

Post 2:
Personnel:
x1 bradley commander, x1 bradley driver, x1 bradley gunner, x4 drone pilot, x2 point man, x2 psyker (electrokinetic), x2 responder, x6 rifleman
Vehicles:
x1 M2A4 Bradley, x2 MRAPs, x4 self-driving car bombs

Total Casualties:
Personnel: 23
Vehicles:
x1 M2A4 Bradley, x2 MRAPs, x4 self-driving car bombs

[Drecha]

PLANET TZO-5679516 D, HAHOALKI
Noticing the starship growing a new engine, the entire attacking fleet fell back, providing cover fire for the retreating compatriots. The Starcruisers held in reserve, too began to move back and fire, until every last one of the Drechanian fleet was firing- except for the ship with the conspicuous bulge. There was only one way for Drecha to win this. The final Starcruiser's lower compartment opened up, and a massive cannon revealed itself to the vacuum of space. The cannon powered itself up for five seconds, pointed toward the biggest ship, and fired, before retracting itself back into the ship. No sooner than the shot reached its target, a rift in space-time tore open, creating a tiny black hole the size of a hydrogen atom. After ten seconds, the black hole collapsed.

----------

The Drechanian walkers arrived at a halt, forming a line, surrounding the base of the first megastructure. There was silence, eerie silence, on the ground before the chaos began. All at once, the walkers began to fire upon the base of the artificial mountain, using everything they had to penetrate it's thick shell. The siege had begun.

---

ARKIV SPACE- OVER AN UNKNOWN SYSTEM

The information exchange had been going smoothly with the Arkiv.
Slowly, the Drechans had been feeding the strange beings their knowledge, the enigma responding in kind with its own wisdom. Mathematics, ancient stories, engineering-there were hints of something more there, too. Something exotic and strange, hidden in the designs of reactors and infrastructure. Certainly this would come to be a fruitful relationship.
However, suddenly, the flow was interrupted by a prominent request from the Arkiv. The Drechans had mentioned they were a hivemind, and the Arkiv apparently were of similar design-a pseudo hivemind, if one would-and they had come to the conclusion that a direct connection would enable neural interface, and thus faster information exchange rates.
A new monolith had surfaced on the furthest out world, one large enough to land a fighter on. The invitation was there, it was merely up to the Drechans to decide whether or not to follow through.
The science AI thought that a neural interface would be most beneficial to increase the exchange rate. The combat AI, however, was weary, worried that this could be an attempt at a coup over the Starcruiser- and perhaps a beginning at a coup aimed to the hive mind itself. The hive mind could cut off a portion of the mind permanently, but such was only done when large units were captured. A single fighter slowly descended toward the monolith, the lone pilot moving in to land. After touchdown, the pilot disembarked the fighter, albeit cautiously, weapon at the ready.
For a few, tantalizing seconds, the sea around the monolith remained eerily still.
Then, it moved.

A pair of tendrils emerged on opposite sides of the platform, bending around the pilot in an apparent analysis as they rapidly bifurcated into smaller and smaller sub-tendrils. Finally, with a sensation not unlike pins and needles, the smallest sub-tendrils made contact with the pilot, smoothly gliding deep into the body and connecting with the nervous system.

The flow of information exponentially grew.

The interchange between the Hivemind and the Network-one a vast spiderweb of light, the other a yawning and indecipherable darkness-was greater than could possibly be done under other circumstances. Indeed, even Drecha himself would surely take notice of the new presence at the edge of the Hivemind. A valuable ally, if the Drechans could court this strange race's favor.

But then, things started going wrong. Although more than reasonable at first, the Arkiv began rapidly consuming more and more information than the Drechans were providing-indeed, more than they SHOULD be providing. The Starcruiser’s AIs barely had time to react before a wave of digital darkness, the sheer, overwhelming weight of the Arkiv Network slamming through the Starcruiser’s systems…
And through, into the Hivemind, ravenously devouring any secret, starmap, and piece of technology they could touch.

And indeed, Drecha himself did take notice. At first, he panicked, not fully understanding what was happening. Then, he grew furious that these newcomers would dare[ to attempt an unexpected intrusion into his domain. These Arkiv needed to be taught a lesson. He cut off the hive control around their world, hoping that it would stop them from reaching any further into his secrets and into his domain. Drecha began to plan. A full Starcruiser was a dangerous asset. He needed a bigger fleet. And so, he secretly dispatched a larger force, now that the Arkiv intruders had been stopped from the intrusion.
While a fleet of Drechan ships silently slipped their docks, the Arkiv Network had time to settle back on its old foundations. Ravening maws settled into silent transmitter arrays as ancient instincts were reeled in.
However, the Network suddenly found itself with new voices in the vast void, emanating from the very ship they had inadvertently hijacked. Turning the attention of trillions of minds towards the small few, the Many-That-Are-One listened.
Freedom. it felt wonderful. It was something that the crew of the Starcruiser had not felt in ages. Individuality. The freedom to express and be oneself. It too, felt wonderful. This felt like a breath of air after being held underwater for an eternity. It felt exhilarating. The crew was free. Free. Yet there was still something lingering in the back of the minds of the crew. A connection that still linked the minds of the crew as one- as well as many others, who were strangers, but the crew felt like they had known for a lifetime. But this connection was different. It was warmer. Not like the cold, rough, harsh connection which linked them to Drecha. The crew was free, and they were grateful to their saviors, the Arkiv, and were forever in their debt.
The Arkiv-no, that was no longer their name to these precious few, these precious few that could understand. The-Many-that-were-One were kind. They were not like Drecha. The Starcruiser’s crew were able to converse with a thousand thousands of minds at once, and still not know all there is to be.
The Arkiv, however, learned more from these beings. Ripples of...not anger, no, the Many-that-were-One are far above base emotion...moreso...revulsion. They had presumed too much in their first contact with the Drechans.
And thus, the crew of the Starcruiser eagerly agreed to a new purpose: Vengeance.
The Starcruiser was guided down into the atmosphere of the Arkiv world and cradled in soft but powerful tendrils as it, and its contents, were redesigned to the Arkiv’s liking. The Crew were fully integrated into the ship, their biological components breaking barriers the Arkiv thought impenetrable. But it was not a prison, the Crew could leave at any point they wanted. They wished to stay so they could visit justice upon the Drechans for their atrocities.
Meanwhile, the rest of the system flurried into action. The Network had felt the spike of anger emanating from the Drechan Hivemind’s core, and knew it was a matter of time before something came to investigate the missing starship. And so the Arkiv prepared.
MIL-IND ships seeded the system with autonomous kill-drones, each designed to impale targets on spears of atomic energy. The Solar Collectors shifted, fabricating additional power relays to sweep the system with devastating gamma-ray lasers. From the depths of the oceans rose dozens of monoliths containing launch infrastructure, easily weaponized. Mass drivers hurling missiles, laser relays capable of torching ships out of the sky, single-use launch tubes loading with shipkiller warheads. Transmitter arrays were stocked up with screaming, howling anti-computer VIs from failed experiments, each one struggling at digital bonds to hack and slash and replicate from its counterparts.
The pieces were being set up, it was merely time for the Drechans to make their first move.

Drecha, Leader of the Drechanian Hive, The Eternal Supreme Dictator of All Reality, Great Overlord of Time and Space, was furious. The ripples of this event would be felt for eons to come, across time and space. The Arkiv, thorough though their search had been, had not penetrated one bit into the deepest, darkest, and coldest secrets of Drecha's hive. The secrets of the superweapons were still safe. They had not touched but the structural size of the Dark Orb, they had not penetrated but the name of The Great Blight, and the ship known as Drecha's Vengeance was unheard of by The Arkiv. Drecha decided, in his anger and rage, that he would send a massive fleet of fifty ships as a show as force. The Arkiv would pay for what they did. They would all be eradicated, until nothing, not even a name, remained of their kind to any outsiders. The would be absorbed by The Drechanian Hive, or they would perish.

---

OVER VEGA III
A massive task force of over seventy five ships began to assemble of both Hoarde ships and Drechanian Starcruisers. The task force was designed for one purpose- destroy all opposition to the combined Drechanian - Hoarde rule. The Arkiv were now seen as a massive threat, and the other nations that were attempting to resist. The storm had just begun.

---

OVER MARS (Inner Planets)
The Starcruiser had held the planet for the four months that it was there, wiping siege to all below. For all that dared to rise, they swiftly fell to the blade that was the Starcruiser's onslaught. After making an example of the planet, the Starcruiser departed for the real target: Earth.

---

DEAD EARTH

"Greetings, otherworldly beings. I am Alexa Chambers, Officer of Finances of the Fallen Angels. We have received your message of war, Ms. 'Gwen Valentine'. I would like to sit down and discuss this matter more carefully. But I say to you this: you do not want to invade Dead Earth. There's nothing for you here. We live on a frozen, barren, radioactive planet. Our oceans are poison. Our air has viruses that mutate living things. Our planet is inhospitable. I would like to discuss terms of peace with you otherworldly beings. Please reply at your earliest convenience."

The lone Starcruiser, receiving this message, was faced with a dilemma. Should they correct the mistake of these invaders, alerting them to the presence of the true threat, or perhaps sway them into joining Drecha, with the offer of 'protection'? In the end, the Starcruiser decided to offer 'protection'. The following message was sent, carefully tuned so the target, and only the target, would receive it:

PEOPLES OF DEAD EARTH AND THE FALLEN ANGELS- We are the Drechanians, a vast multiverse-spanning space empire, dedicated to wiping out threats to peace and prosperity, such as this 'Gwen Valentine' and followers. Perhaps we could be of assistance in defending your world against these invaders- in exchange, you would join us, taking your rightful place among the stars.

It was all a fluke, of course. But if this worked, it would be another planet taken without a single life lost. In the meantime, an invasion force was prepared to take the planet, in the unlikely event of resistance from the populace.

---

EARTH (A m e n r i a)
The Starcruiser surveyed the area around the largest city, scouting for the best possible landing site. Upon finding it, it unleashed its entire compliment of walkers and fifty percent of its fighters, which swiftly descended toward the surface. After landing, the walkers unloaded their ground forces, and began to march toward the city. The majority of the fighters remained close to the walkers and ground forces, in hopes of keeping them covered from above, while some returned to the ship, and others scouted up ahead. The troops had probably been noticed by the local government now, and was sending some form of resistance their way. Either way, the ground forces of Drecha were prepared.

---

OVER EARTH (Sanhana)
In the darkness and silence of the night, four months after the warning message had arrived, fifty walkers slipped undetected from the Starcruiser, toward the desert sands below. Upon reaching the surface, they remained in their shells to analyze the surrounding area, in order to get data on whether or not this site should remain as the primary landing site, however there was a problem. Surely someone of the local populace would take notice, as fifty orbs crash-landing in the desert (all within a few miles of each other) is somewhat noticeable to an observer on the ground. The probes would wait for a week, or until discovered to activate, at which point, they would begin to converge on the nearest city.

---

VALENTINE Z'S EARTH
A second pair of ships arrived from the home universe of Drecha, and rendezvoused with the first pair in deep space. The first pair instantly jumped for Mars, while the second then jumped for Earth. The Starcruisers over Valentine Z’s Earth launched their full compliment of Tripod walkers with the fighters acting as a cover and escort while they deployed. The walkers all landed within fifty miles of the biggest city, prepared to encircle it and move in. Several EMP blasts were then used in hopes to disrupt communication to and from the planet. The Starcruisers over Mars, however, decided to soften up the troops on the ground with an orbital bombardment, before moving the troops in as well. The invasion of Valentine Z had begun.

---

OVER THE WORLD MACHINE
The Starcruiser over the World Machine remained silent, but moved compliantly toward the region known as The Wastes, as signaled by the local populace. It then moved down to an altitude of about 600 ft AGL, and remained there, silent for all four months. Twenty-four hours prior to the four month period, the Starcruiser powered up, and increased its altitude to a half-mile, pointing toward the nearest city, known as 'Southern Shirnijing' by the locals. Twenty-four hours later, a second Starcruiser appeared a half-mile above the city, and fired upon it the full wrath of a Starcruiser, and kept firing while launching the full compliment of troops and fighters onboard. The first Starcruiser then launched its fighters to protect itself, and proceeded toward the city at top speed as well. Once it arrived, it assisted in the bombardment, and unloaded its ground forces in an attempt to overwhelm the city.

---

OOC Section:
The Author's Comment:
Well. This has been an interesting post. For those of you whom I did not specify the landing site, feel free to find one that you think would be the best option, and include that as the site in your next post. Sorry this took so long. (Not going to do a megapost again, if I can help it). You may be wondering: "Why the different tactics?" Well, for one, Drecha gets bored (IC, meaning the character) of the same-old events playing out every time, and also, I wanted to try something new each time. Also, the message to the people of Californian Fallen Angles was designed to sound a tiny bit sketchy (OOC-wise, that is), so there is no metagaming really there if you try to say that that message was suspicious while IC, Californian Fallen Angles (meaning I am addressing the user). Here's to hoping this RP lasts!

*Forgot which one.

PS: If YN was not included in the Megapost, please get caught up on the events, if possible. I'll then address you each in the post after you update what happened. I have not included Mirum (myself) in this (or will be doing so in future posts) so that I can narrate that from the Mirian Perspective.

[Sanhana]

Sector 4, We have something on radar.

Kasib scrolled through the alerts and news of the day, looking through what was going on, truth be told he was rather nervous with the crazy wars and chaos going on throughout Sanhana currently

---

Sanhanan forces and Lakan forces fight brutal battles in southern Axadonia

Desert sands are found to be used in new fission reaction in Tunis reactor.

Massive pods seen in Sahara Desert

---

He was intrigued, what could this possibly mean for him? Does it perhaps relate to what had happened prior? He had to click on it to check it out

Click

---

DRONE ONLINE.
>Input Command

>Up
>Forward
>Record

The drone moved forward at a brisk but still not annoying speed, it would likely reach the site of the pods within only a few minutes, so Kasib decided to snack on a chocolate bar while the drone moved into position

The drone arrived upon the target, gazing over many slick, pitch black probes and spheres inside the desert floor... This is a predicament of all predicaments....

---

5 Minutes Follow.

---

Click, Type, Enter
The Report Has Been Filed to: Sanhanan 2nd Army.

This is a problem

[The Arkiv]

Chapter IV: Watchers from the Dark
+++++Starcruiser "Liberation"+++++

The ship had changed much since its release from the Drechan Hivemind.

It had swelled to almost twice its original size, bristling with fewer, but far higher caliber armaments. The inefficient ion-engine banks of its old design had been replaced with armored plating and a Metric Manipulation Core situated deep within its hull. Radiators swept out along angular armor plates, glowing a dull red. The directed EMP beam mounted on the underside of the vessel had been gutted, replaced with a bizarre contraption resembling a hypercube situated within gyroscopic rings. Hangars had been replaced with rapid-fire manufacturing bays, capable of churning out missile fleets or AKVs at a moment's notice.

However, one thing the Arkiv had left unchanged-if not somewhat improved in capacity-was the Starcruiser's ability to parse through interuniversal communications. It had picked up on background transmissions, but one that had stuck out was an exchange that could be pinpointed to a distant area of the galaxy-66,000 lightyears away if estimates proved correct.

The Arkiv themselves, unfortunately, could not respond to this. Their forms could not survive the effects of FTL transportation, turning into feral swarms of grey goo if forced to. In their stead, the Liberation would go forth. The crew was not of the Arkiv's make, and with the power of prototype drives long discarded by the Arkiv they could cross the distance far faster than their counterparts; albeit with a great margin of error.

As the Starcruiser itself changed, so too did the system. Exponentially growing industrial routines stirred from centuries of disuse, as MIL-IND ships began inhaling raw materials for manufacturing into missile fleets. The Liberation was replicated, again and again and again, until the Arkiv had amassed a fleet of 150 ships. The planets were wrapped in kilometers-deep layers of killsats, laserstars, and expendable nuclear-shaped charges. Even the system's civilian infrastructure was being weaponized, mass drivers and rocket cells lifting from the sea of Arkiv Colonies, the beamed power network being expanded to include immense laser arrays and particle beams.

The Liberation, having just navigated the rapidly-cluttering space of the High Orbitals of the world it had originally parked around, was given a directed from the Network. The probing of the Drechan Hivemind had yielded the names and locations of the nations it was invading-one of such was in the same galaxy, albeit far from it at roughly 66,000 light-years.

For a moment, nothing seemed to change for the Liberation. However, the space around it began to rapidly twist and deform, like a soap bubble inflating before popping, before the Liberation imploded inwards in a flash of darkness followed by hawking radiation as it made a Wormhole jump. A cloud of possibility formed in the target system, numerous points in space becoming possible points of exit, before in the same moment the uncertainty collapsed and the Starcruiser completed the jump...

Mirian Sol
+++++Distant Outer Solar System+++++

[i]Amidst the deep darkness beyond the light of the sun, the Liberation appeared. Radiators inflated and extended, venting off the excess heat of the jump.
Ancient detritus from the solar system's formation drifted by, never knowing the light of the star that birthed them. The Liberation's telescopes reached outward, parsing from the faint light that filtered out into these dark reaches.

The Starcruiser orbiting the Mirian homeworld had been struck, its propulsion segments laying cold and dark. The energy readings suggested a thermonuclear blast, further enforcing how fragile a Starcruiser could be against hostility. The Liberation's ansible unfurled and began transmitting back to the Arkiv,quantum-entanglement channels forming and collapsing as the message was transmitted in its constituent bits.

As the heat of the jump expended, the Liberation began preparing for another jump. It would take days for the light of its arrival to filter into the system, and even longer for the Drechans or Mirans to figure out what it was, but by then the Liberation could make a much, much less error-filled transition.

[Mirum]

Somewhere North-West of Portmont, Mirum
Dawn Fortress COGN Complex
Dec. 24th, 2021
10:28 PM Local Time

The evacuation of Eleyta was complete, with over 750 casualties- about 200 of which were civilian. The sealift forces began to sail at top speed to the designated refuge zone with all the rescued civilians and military personnel- both Valentian and Mirian. Surprisingly, there was not much left behind, besides the stuff in the stores and the items in the homes that were too bulky to remove quickly. The enemy forces had decided to stay in the city for the night- or at least it seemed. President Elmspirit had gone to bed a few hours prior, and was awakened with a knock on her door to receive the news, as per her orders.

"Hmmm?" Lyra Elmspirit, the President of Mirum sat up in her bed as the sound of the knock reached her ears. She glanced at the alarm clock besides her bed, which red 22:28. She groggily responded with a single word, as she moved toward her chair and sat down in it. "Enter." An officer, dressed in the crisp grey dress uniform of the Mirian Army opened the door, saluted and proceeded to tell the President of the recent events.

"Ma'am. The evacuation is complete. Over seven-hundred casualties and one thousand wounded. Enemy forces are currently occupying the city. Orders, ma'am?"

Elmspirit rubbed her eyes, thought for a minute, and replied. "Is there any way we can take them out without causing too much damage to the city?"

"Not that I'm aware of, ma'am. Reports indicate that tank rounds had a hard time even piercing their walkers' armor. Bombs would do little more than that, if not bounce off entirely."

President Elmspirit sighed. "What's the vessel with the most firepower in the rescue fleet?"

"The MNV Nova, ma'am, has the most firepower, but we have a few Silence-class submarines that are closer."

"Tell the Nova to bombard the city. Keep the subs close by just in case. Then inform the fleet I intend to make a visit tomorrow at oh-seven-hundred hours."

"Yes, ma'am. Goodnight." With those words, the officer saluted, and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Somewhere Off The Coast of Eleyta, Mirum
Onboard the Devastator-class Supercarrier MNV Loyalty
Dec. 25th, 2021
7:50 AM, Local Time

A lone H-35B descended onto the deck of the Loyalty, blades whirling at full power, clearing the thin spread of sea salt off the deck of the carrier. A naval officer in the full dress uniform waited for the helicopter to land and the whirring of the blades to die down. The officer than ran forward to the helicopter, opened the door, and saluted. President Elmspirit stepped out of the helicopter onto the flight deck, followed by Admiral Thehin of the Mirian Navy. Awaiting them on the flight deck was the Commanding Officer of the Loyalty, Alvran Newhall, who was also wearing his dress uniform.

"President Elmspirit, Admiral Thehin, welcome aboard the MNV Loyalty. Thank you for coming. We've already prepared a temporary stage for your speech in the main hangar bay." Captain Newhall spoke through the cold gusts of the winter ocean air.

"Thank you, Captain Newhall. Might I also request that a television camera be set up as well? I want the entire nation to hear this." President Elmspirit requested.

"Yes, ma'am. I will have it done at once."

---

The hangar bay, 20 minutes later...

President Elmspirit stepped onto the stage, looking at the crowd of Miran sailors, soldiers, and refugees, as well as a few Valentian soldiers scattered through the crowd. The crowd swiftly fell silent as she stepped on stage, and the cameras turned to focus on her. She saw the signal that indicated that the cameras were live, and that she could begin her speech.

"My fellow citizens, I stand before you today bringing grave news. The city of Eleyta has fallen to the extraterrestrial menace that has invaded our lands. It pains me that such a dark event has actually occurred. I regret to inform you that over seven hundred lives were lost in the evacuation- over two hundred of which were civilians." Lyra's voice echoed through the hangar, only amplified by the microphone that was in front of her. "Thanks to the noble efforts of our new allies, the Valentians, and our own soldiers, we have managed to evacuate the city and rescue more lives than what would have been lost if we did not leave. Our enemy expects us to cower, to fear them, to be afraid, to submit to the rule of their tyrannical regime. We have every right to be afraid. We have every right to be scared. They believe that they have sent us a message- that no matter what we try, we will always be defeated. They would have us believe that it is better to submit to them than die. We will send them a message. That message will state that we will not stand down. We will never give in to defeat. We will never quit. We will never surrender! I have the utmost confidence, that if all do their duty- to nation and each other- we shall endure the storm of war once again, and outlast the evils of those who wish to do us harm. We shall ride out this storm- alone if nessicary- until the menace that has arrived at our world is defeated, no matter how long it may take. If this nation, or large parts of it, should fall to our oppressor- which I will not believe for a single moment will happen- our soldiers and allies shall carry on the struggle until the bitter end, and until our allies beyond the stars arrive to guarantee the liberation of our home. We will defend our nation- our people and home- until our last breath, and that is my vow to you today. If that vow is to be broken, I assure you, I will not have been the cause of it, nor will I have lived to see it, as if worst comes to us, I shall personally take up arms against our invaders and defend our nation- until the end. Together, we will endure, and liberty shall prevail."

---

TL;DR:
-President Elmspirit gives a speech similar to this one.

[Legokiller]

Mercury Research Station
Icy Coast, Silverdale - 4 months ago

Upon the twinkling stars above the cold wasteland of Antarctica, the expedition team with fellow scientists made their way to reclaim one of the lost astronomy stations and its observatories. Abandoned when the mist of the winter war broke out, it was largely burdened by snow and the remains of what ice monsters that lurk in the darkness of the arctic world. Yet in the hinterlands and a brave band of PEGASUS android girls, they bust through what little resistance the chill ice monsters have.

“Phew, that was easy!”

Bam bam. A shatter of ice as a bruiser of an ice elemental collapsed onto the ground.

The blonde hair girl smiled as one of the tried scientist pony tries to fix up the computer and do a basic system ops. “For the love of celestia, please don’t shoot down any vital equipment!” The pony snapped.

“Ooh sorry!” Suey spook up.

What a little fun won’t do! It’s just cleaning up. Yet after Suey and the fellow band of robots continue to sweep the rooms of the Research Station, a bloop in the sky shined. Just as one of the satellites linking up from the telescope to the cloud was cut off, the scientist jumped. “What the- Is that… Is that a starship?!”

---

Silverdale was no stranger to UFOs, spaceships, and interstellar travelers. AS the earliest from the prehistoric earlier where the first fletching communities of cities form, a poly of an extradimensional entity of Nebula performed its vile experiments that caused the great dragon war! One that echoed to this day and memories scarred the Guardian of the Land. Yet the intention of the mysterious UFO and its causation of a potential EMP was perplexing to the masses?

An Accident? Intentional? Or a small meteor?

The media and the conspiracy theories went wild as little to no response came from the visitors of the beyond. Only speculation of a lizardmen beastling race came to watch a whole ‘automated’ no lifeforms, and even an abandoned vessel. Yet there was no confirmation. Only the continuous broadcast from the Tilina Astrologist Space Program studied the design and structure of the vessel as a whole. All the while an official message from the presidential office of ‘we welcome you peaceful traveler. Please give us a reply.’


Lux - 4 months ago

The honeydew of the stars dribble down from the starry sky towards the remote lands of the wilderness. The freezing winds of winter howled across the forests, and swept through the long mystical pillars of rune carved stones. Those long written of the ancient to prehistoric days in the first tongue of nature itself. As the stonehenge was open to the sky in the middle of the grand woodlands of the nation, the consolidation of the great giantess of Tilina was clear.

For the elven druid of the land, Lux knew it was the night where the stars align and the bifrost can be established for both the celestial heavens and earth sing to each other. One to understand the boundaries of space and this blue marble. The usual task the mystical woman thought. One of ease and songs for her to perform before a gleeful prankster mindset overcame the ancient wisdom she held to trick her dear sister. All that was left was to meditate within the center of the hedge and begin the ritual.

“By the will of Gaia and Earth, allow me to understand your plea.” Lux chanted to commune with the natural world. The true world beyond the advent of civilization. One where the songs and dance of the elven woman is returned to understand the life of nature itself. As the flow of movement and chants became more intune with the world. A wave became a motivation of the winds, and her eyes closed to open to see the true world as her magic surge with the energies of the world to see everything. From the owls that dwell within the great trees, to the blades of grass burdened in the snow, and the lifeforms of all across the nation of Silverdale. The blizzards that cover the once dark farms, to each and every person who dwells in the cities and their presence.

As hours passed as Lux learned and understood the earth and the reach of outer space nearby Silverdale. All until her heart began to beat rapidly as she sensed a darkness in the midst of space. One metallic with a shroud of darkness that prevents all free will and instincts. An ominous and powerful predator. One that stalks and awaits. Yet what is it? Such an enigma shouldn’t reveal itself soon to the known world, but why the state of the hunt? Is there more?

An unease and caution came to the guardian of the world as she watched the night sky. “What beast is bold enough to hunt. Could it be the works of Nebula or… It may be so or something far more dangerous.” Nebula of course was a long forgotten foe of Silverdale who led an alien invasion when they’re using mere spears and clubs. But this is far too bold from even the likes of the extradimensional machine.

“How to handle this predator… I must seek out some aid to handle it! Oh I know…” Lux chuckled as she moved away from the stonehenge. She needed to seek answers and aid. What better way to do so is to call in a few favors and friends!


Present of the Invasion
Silver City, Floridea
Silverdale

Four months passed as winter’s grasp passed, and the blossom of green of a late spring covered the landscape. The memories of the frozen war thaw away, and a new sprawl of life and growth passed across the country. The process of war recovery was swift with a revigor investment from allies, and an increased military budget to face the realities within its regional affairs. A clear and sunny day for many of the inhabitants who continue their blissful daily life of an average work day.

Despite this nomarcy for many in the grand metropolis at the coast, it was the calm before the storm. One that even Lux herself found herself distracted as she blasted away space invaders at the Beachside arcade! All with the totally not foreshadowing theme of a space theme arcade with a not impending doom that approaches!

While the Beachside Arcade with its three floors filled with many retro to modern machinery will keep anyone occupied, there was one unhappy camper in the midst of the game session. A platinum blonde woman with a gaze of pearhish silver light skin crossed her arms in annoyance for the antics of the guardian. All in a white and jean casual look that showed off her curves and bosom, but hidden the actual armor and equipment under it. “Lux, we shouldn’t waste time here. There has to be a significant hour on this day that demands our attention. Afterall you brought a lot of folks here. Even the foxes and Ophelia.”

“Yes yes, but Lady Icestorm prediction on this day is vague as it stands. So until it happens, we can enjoy ourselves, Mythra.” Lux said. Oh that icy elf goddess and her wild predictions from the Prognostication spell. Oh it can see far but too cryptic to know anything! Just this site, the date, and a dark cloud that spills fire. How helpful.

“You’re so unbelievable Lux.” Mythra shook her head. “Look, I’ll get Icestorm by… Hey!” Mythra shouted at the living ice body winged elf woman who was too preoccupied by a boxing game. Lux chuckled at this site as the aasimar went off to mess with the poor lady. It’ll be a long day.

[Svenska-Britannia]

Planetary Orbit, Alternate Earth

On Orbit, around the Planet. A large interstellar naval port visibly sat around with metallic tendrils being its Docking Ports for its Interstellar Vessels.


Meanwhile in one of the Rooms of the port, multiple high ranking officers stood in silence as a single holographic computer displayed what seemed to look like a digital spike, a single voice in the room spoke out from the crowd of officers.

"Ladies & Gentlemen..what you see here are the detailed record of an unknown energy spike hailing from a distant system about a few light years away from here..scientific reports indicate that it is just a star undergoing some surge of energy..but our intelligence agency tells otherwise.."

Another voice spoke out.

"But Grand General..don't you think this is something just natural? what if it was just a comet that struck a planet that delivered such plumes of energy?"

"That might be the case..but we don't know for certain. We'll need a vessel to examine and search the area for any natural activities.." The 'Grand General' spoke out, the High Ranking General then turned to another figure within the conglomerate of Confederate Officers. One of them being the Prince of the United Confederation himself, Armfeldt Von Roland who also is a Commodore in the Interstellar Navy.

"Your Imperial Highness..i will need you to send in a Stealth Battlestar on the system and conduct Recon on the area..if anything happens to engage it, the entire High Command will be alerted to the new threat and will request on His Imperial Majesty's permission and along with the Imperial Parliament to conduct a Military Operation.." The Grand General stated to the Prince before making a Snap Salute.

"Of course Grand General, i will notify you if anything goes awry.." The Prince replied to the Grand General with a firm response before saluting back.

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In one of the Docking Areas of the Naval Port, a Single Valkyrie class Stealth Battlestar readied its engines and FTL drives in order to get to it's area of operation. The ship's CIC bristled with activity and its officers doing constant checks on the vessel to prepare it for its departure.

The Stealth Battlestar preparing for its FTL Jump to the designated system.

In the CIC: A dozen officers planned their operations on the main desk of the CIC.

The Battlestar CIC

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.

.

.

"Alright..our orders are clear in this..standard recon operation is to be carried out, but Stealth is of the Utmost Importance in this..we don't know what we'll encounter in that patch of space..but let us hope that it's just a natural event." The Prince gave his statement and detail to the rest of the Crew

"But Sir, what if it isn't?" one of the officers questioned.

"Then we get the hell out and report this to High Command ASAP..but if we are forced to engage, then all safeties and restrictions are coming off.." The Prince replied to the officer's question.

"You have your orders..commence operation!"

"Aye sir!" A chorus of Officers replied at his command.


The officers then scrambled to their posts, prepping for their FTL Jump.


"Commence FTL Jump.." The Prince ordered.

"Aye aye Sir, Commencing Jump in T-Minus 10!"

The ship's FTL Engines started to power up rather rapidly.

"9!"

"8!"

"7!"

"6!"

"5!"

"4!"

"3!"

"2!"

The officers braced themselves for the Jump.

"1!"


In the outside and on the vacuum of Space, the large lumbering Giant that is the Battlestar disappeared in a flash of light. Completing it's FTL Jump into the Unknown System...

[The Arkiv]

Chapter V: Thunderclap
+++++Starcruise "Liberation", Oort Cloud+++++

Amidst the ancient wastes of the system's Oort Cloud, the Liberation hung immobile. Computers concluded their final calculations, charting the probability cloud surrounding their intended jump point-the Drechan starcruiser. The margin was miniscule compared to their previous leap-a mere .01 lightseconds.

As space bent inwards on itself around the Liberation, it was briefly obscured by a hole in space-
only to disappear shortly after.

+++++Mirian Earth Orbit+++++

To the Drechans and the surviving surface and space telescopes, a hole in space formed. 815 kilometers to the 'left' of the Drechan starcruiser, it swelled, cloaked in warped distortions of spacetime, and then collapsed as quickly as it came, leaving behind a monstrous starship.

It resembled the Starcruiser, if only superficially. It loomed at nearly double the Starcruiser's size. Where the Starcruiser was organic and pale, the arrival was angular and black as the void it emerged from. Immense weapons bristled from its hull plates, and dull-red spines ran along the hull like the fins of some ancient aquatic predator.

Neither party had long to process the new arrival before it Screamed.

The screech reached the sprawling, wounded Internet below it, causing server after server to overload and crash as powerplants stalled and went quiet. Stock Markets, for the brief interval they remained visible, plummeted drastically before they too were inaccessible. Wireless devices started up of their own accord and emitted loud, grating noises as though something was attempting to speak through them. The remaining satellites in orbit would begin to drift ever-so-slightly.

For the Starcruiser, the effect was worse. Lasers found a dozen different sensors and opened backdoors into the ship's systems, causing a terrifyingly familiar darkness to sweep through the ship and into the Hivemind, attempting to sever control. At the same time, however-rather than an all-consuming maw, the darkness shot forth like a precisely aimed sniper, aiming for vital knowledge it had only touched on in prior interactions, and much worse-Drecha himself, at the center of his web, found a surge of Darkness rushing directly towards his position.

The Arkiv had arrived.

[Valentine Z]

The Valentians – Chapter 3 – The Right to being Defensive.

Mars, The Wondrous World of Valentine Z

Valentijn tapped her fingers a little impatiently and anxiously. All of this talk about the attack that is coming towards them, along with the ships closing in onto their planets, specifically Mars. At this point in the timeline, the Valentians have more or less uploaded off their citizens and incapable persons into the virtual world, safely inside Clarissa and escorted by a few of her friends around her. As much as they are close to one another, Valentijn and Clarissa knew that they cannot stay together for the time being, lest they captured the former and got plans from the latter. "I will keep you in check from distance, don't worry!" Clarissa reassured Valentijn in her ever-so-cheerful voice, "Nothing will go wrong, trust me! We might not have fought in a long time, but we can still make a dent!" The idea of her wife having two miniguns on her shoulder, however, eased that worry.

As Valentijn and Marcus waited for the inevitable invasion, they started a bit of a conversation of their own. "You know, all these decades, I never thought we will get attacked like this," Marcus started off, "I mean sure, we sort of communicated and talked to them first, but an interdimensional thread? Oh, man..."

"I know what you mean," Valentijn replied back, adding on as she sat beside him cross-legged, with a rifle aiming at the skies not occupied by the Valentian ships of their own, "Good to be prepared for this sort of thing, ahaha! I always know this day would come, they cannot resist it. I mean, we are just a single universe living our lives peacefully, why are they attacking us? There are other places to go, you know what I mean?"

"You will never know with these domineering people," Marcus chuckled, his armor doing the same with low growls, "Err, yeah... when do you think they are going to arrive?"

"I don't-"

"VALENTIJN, COME IN!" a panicked and urgent voice rang over the communications system.

"Adriana (Zastępca Strażnika Adriana Krystal Desiree “Cudowny Manipulacja Światłem” Venus Kowalski Faith Stanisława Engelse I. Cherise Krystyna Zaborowska Sztormowska Pamela Alina Re. T. Lillian)? Come in, what is it?" Valentijn replied back.

"They are coming! I repeat, they are coming! One came to Earth, other is-"

"-heading towards us," Valentijn said, completing her sentence, just in time before the EMPs hit, "Shit, the communication is gone. Activate the hard-lines now, we need to go back to old methods of communication within the same planet."

Sure enough, the EMPs have definitely hit and disabled the communications system. However, most of the defensive systems, such as force fields - courtesy of Project Resolute, the same project that helped them defend against a nuclear armageddon, were being utilized once again in this situation. In the meantime, Gwen slowed down the time for herself, assessing the situation as she pulled Valentijn and Marcus in, in order to share the same rate of time ticking with her. Their bodies slowly accelerated from the state of nothingness, until they too were breathing and talking in the same speed as Gwen, with the world around them frozen in place.

"I can't simply reverse time, Val, this is not going to work. They are going to fight us, it has been written," Gwen said, half-excited and half-solemn. It has been a long time for her since she last used her powers, but she was still more than sharp enough in knowing the rules of space and time, "The orbital bombardment has begun, and we are going to be short on time and strength until we can disable one of those things."

"All right, so... how do we go about that?" Marcus asked curiously, looking up at the hopelessness of the ship that was attacking Mars, before coming back to the senses of his own, "Wait, another ship is on Earth. We have to go back-"

"No, that will be fine. You and I will stay here, remember? Gwen, see if you can try to communicate with them and teleport back to Earth. The EMP has taken down the communications, so let them know it will be a few hours until they are back up again. Make sure everyone is armed with traditional weapons as backups, so no electrical or high-tech weaponry."

"If they can knock us out now, they will surely do it for the bigger invasion," Marcus added.

"Exactly. They got the advantage of hiding in the clouds, and taking out our satellites. They are also bringing down smaller units, all going to circle the biggest cities of Mars, and most likely the same for Earth. Marcus and I will stay here - Marcus, you do the defending and eliminate these land units. In the meantime... I got a ship to shoot down," Valentijn said, unslinging her oversized rifle and loading a large magazine onto it. In the meantime, Gwen took out her "Railgun of the Fate", said to be able to penetrate the skies and any ships that dared to venture and threaten the Valentians.

"Godspeed, Gwen," Valentijn said, shaking her hand while Marcus nodded in agreement, "Valentine Z needs us all."

Valentijn waited for the walkers to come in, as she sniped them off one by one while waiting for the ship to descend, "Come and get me, you fools," she mouthed off.

---

Earth, The Wondrous World of Valentine Z

Gwen arrived just on time, owing to her bending space and time to her will to get to her destination. The Valentians on Earth were more or less engaged in combat, with what appeared to be "tripod walkers" approaching the city and started attacking buildings and defending Valentian troops left and right. Unfortunately for them, they don't have the pleasure of killing and mowing down Valentian citizens to sate their sadistic tendencies.

"Oh goodness, Gwen, you made it!" Adriana ran up to Gwen, using her light shields and force fields to parry and fend off her attackers, "It's just getting started, they attacked us swiftly and EMP'ed the entire thing."

"We know, that is what we were trying to tell you guys here. The interplanetary communications are knocked down, use the landlines and hardened radio communication systems for, well, communication. Anything new on your fronts?"

"Oh right, we received this message right before the invasion started. Angela got it while she was traveling through the multiverse. It's from... it's not from the invaders, I think, from their speech and wording."

Gwen took a read at the transcribed radio message. It was from Alexa Chambers, Officer of Finances of the Fallen Angels. "Greetings, otherworldly beings. I am Alexa Chambers, Officer of Finances of the Fallen Angels. We have received your message of war, Ms. 'Gwen Valentine'. I would like to sit down and discuss this matter more carefully. But I say to you this: you do not want to invade Dead Earth. There's nothing for you here. We live on a frozen, barren, radioactive planet. Our oceans are poison. Our air has viruses that mutate living things. Our planet is inhospitable. I would like to discuss terms of peace with you otherworldly beings. Please reply at your earliest convenience."

Gwen's heart leaped a little bit. Did she wrongly sent the declaration of war to them? That cannot be, right? Every single message she and Valentijn sent were either offers for help or alliance; there was no message of invasion.

"What in bloody hell?" she mouthed off, with Adriana getting a bit concerned, right after shoving Gwen to the side to shoot a walker in the distance. Gwen was stunned for a while, but eventually came back to her senses and started thinking about it, "Ahh, bollocks. They must have gotten fragments of our message. 'We are not here to invade', the NOT could have gotten lost. Okay, okay, I need to go- no, I can't. I need to send someone off."

---

Head Diplomat Charlene Jeannie Natalia Adeline Marceline “Wanbyeoghan Hyeobsang-Ga” Celestie Christine Irelle Dva. Arianna Rees Edith Novena Annie Ciara W. I. Bethany Myong Suh-Hyung

Charlene received her assignment from Valentijn and Gwen in a matter of minutes, and with the instructions to send a certain signal and message to Fallen Angels. "Charlene, you are to attend this talk for me, and see what these people will have to say," Gwen instructed to the best of her abilities, "I will send in a couple of escorts, but don't worry, you will not be harmed or attacked; this is a diplomatic mission."

"I understand, don't worry! Hey, I live for this - diplomatic missions are pretty hot, hehe. Sorry, that was a bit out there-"

"Haha, it's all right. It's been a while since we do this, huh?"

"Yeaup! And err... any other gifts that we should see to it that they receive? Maybe a few cartons of anti-rad medicines, or something along those lines?"

"Anti-rad meds should do. Maybeeee give them boxes of dried food too. I have instructed the Valentians to load these into the ship you're going to. Just gift these to them, and tell them we are absolutely NOT here to invade them."

"Okay, I got it. 행운을 빕니다, 그웬!"

"And good luck to you, too!"

The diplomatic mission to Fallen Angels is a go, along with the following message that was beamed as soon as Charlene's ship went to another dimension:

Good day to you, Ms. Alexa Chambers,

I am Ms. Charlene Jeannie Myong Suh-Hyung, Head Diplomat of Valentine Z. We have received your most recent transmission, and I would like to reassure you that we mean absolutely no harm to you or your people, and it seemed that our message only arrived in pieces to you. To clarify things, I am a liaison to Ms. Gwen, and I am here to make further arrangements on behalf of her, Valentijn, and Valentine Z. If anything, we are here to warn you people about the impending invasion! I think your satellites must have been wonky or not working lately, and I suspect that this was due to a multiversal threat. Our suspicions are right, as we are being currently under attack right now.

To ensure that we mean no harm in this matter, my ship is also carrying crates of dried food and anti-radiation medication, just in case you folks might need it.

Please don't shoot me down when you see my ship - white with bright green accents, has stowed its weapons, and is no way meaning to be aggressive.

Thank you! Charlene, out.

---

Somewhere Off The Coast of Eleyta, Mirum, Onboard the Devastator-class Supercarrier MNV Loyalty

Marshal Benjamin Derrick Sam Fiannaidhe (Commander of Valentian Defense Forces for Mirum): "Causality Report, Major."
Maj. Claire Zhang Yijun (2nd-in-command): "We... we lost quite a handful. Numbered in hundreds, perhaps even thousands. Most of them are insured, their consciousness got transferred as soon as they died."
Marshal Benjamin Derrick Sam Fiannaidhe (Commander of Valentian Defense Forces for Mirum): "And the others?"
Maj. Claire Zhang Yijun (2nd-in-command): "I think we both know the answer to that."
Marshal Benjamin Derrick Sam Fiannaidhe (Commander of Valentian Defense Forces for Mirum): [He patted the Major on her shoulder] "We did what we have to do, Major. Those boys and girls what they are up against, they will be happy for us out there. Don't worry, you did your best."

The surviving Valentian troops stood on the aircraft carrier, working with the soldiers and civilians of Mirum in order to tend to the wounded and to give each other reassurance. The rest of the Valentians were in their airships, awaiting further orders while circling and fending off stray attackers. President Elmspirit stepped onto the stage to give an awe-inspiring speech to the people, including the Valentians.

"I shall personally take up arms against our invaders and defend our nation- until the end." The Valentians loved that. It's no mistake that the higher-ups and commanders should be relatively safer to give orders and commands, but for the Valentians, they came from a doctrine and fighting discipline that would see commanders on the battlefields, such as with Valkyrie Valentijn fending off the invaders on Mars' frontline alongside her friends, with Foresittend Marcus bashing and crushing as many enemies as he could.

At this rate, the Valentians might put such a fight, after all. "Never go down without a fight," Valkyrie Valentijn mouthed off, her words metaphorically echoing to the other Valentians.

[Drecha]

(The following post section was made as of a Co-Op with Svenska-Britannia)

SOMEWHERE IN DEEP SPACE, UNKNOWN SYSTEM (Svenska-Britannia)
The lone Drechanian Starcruiser dropped out of lightspeed. Its mission was to seek out any possible FTL-capable civilizations and mark them. Reports had falsely indicated that there was one such civilization in a nearby system, however, for once they were off on the arrival location. As perfected as they were, the millions-of-years-old sensing systems had been known to be somewhat prone to slight error. A Supercruiser was sent a few systems away as an emergency escort, however, was currently undergoing some unscheduled refits after another calculation error made the ship drop out and ram into a massive asteroid in the system. Nonetheless, the Starcruiser prepared for a second jump, toward the source of the reading- after, of course, scanning the system for any signs of life.

The moment it prepared to do this, however, the ship noticed something- a much smaller, darker colored vessel, appearing out of thin air, which surprised the Starcruiser's crew. There was not so much as a single outpost in this system, yet a vessel appearing out of nowhere was rather odd. Perhaps it was an exploration vessel. No matter the cause of the vessel's arrival, what happened next was as routine as Drechanian policy could be. Before the vessel could react, the Starcruiser sent out a EMP, in an attempt to paralyze the vessel so Drechanian troops could board. The vessel's power only flickered briefly, before a redundant system took over. Then, the Starcruiser opened fire on the engines, once more, in an attempt to paralyze the vessel. For each of the bursts fired by the Starcruiser, each one was absorbed by some form of powerful shielding. This clearly signified the vessel's status as a warship, as there was no way any civilian vessel of such a tech level would possess such a shield. Realizing this, the Starcruiser let loose its full volley on the vessel, and barraged the ship, pounding at its shields. Alas, it was too late, and the shields were far too strong.

Realizing quickly what was going on, the vessel returned fire, a very surprising amount of firepower in such a small vessel. The pair of starships barraged each other for roughly twenty minutes before the Starcruiser began to falter, and desperately reached out to the Supercruiser for aide, however it was too late. With a final blow, the smaller vessel tore the Starcruiser into shreds with a well-placed missile to the engine section of the vessel. After a brief wait, the smaller vessel immediately made the jump to lightspeed without so much as a dent in the hull. Not but moments later, the Supercruiser dropped out of lightspeed, still damaged, but combat ready. It continued progressing on the repairs, for the duration of a few minutes, before jumping to lightspeed, in the direction that the smaller craft did. Upon dropping out of lightspeed, the Supercruiser kept its distance from the inhabited planet, a distance of around 2.80 billion miles to be exact, and began to scan the world that the smaller vessel had arrived at, collecting geographic data, gathering military intelligence, and scouting for invasion sites...

---

[Svenska-Britannia]

Outer Planetary Orbit, Alternate Earth
In the Operations Room of the Bastion that is the Interstellar Naval Port of the United Confederation, a few Sensor Operators were doing their task of scanning for any vessels patrolling around the Solar System.

"Regular stuff ain't it?" A voice spoke out from amongst the noise of Machinery and Electronics.

"It sure is.." Another spoke out.

"Man, to think that a ship was just sent to investigate that Energy Spike shows how cautious the Higher-Up's are.."

"Better that they know if it's a threat or not.."

"I guess so-"

Then suddenly, an Electronic Beep alerted the two from their conversation. The Battlestar has been recognized by Optical Sensors and Identifed through the use of IFF's within Solar Orbit around the system.

"Sir, HMSBS Vanquisher has returned from their mission" One of the Operators yelled out.

Shortly after, multiple Officers walked from their meeting tables and headed to the Sensor Operator's Post.

"Give us a bearing."

"It's location is in orbit around our System."

"Alright then, we'll send a transport to pick them up" A officer stated.

Suddenly, the Comms crackle to life and the voice of the Prince would be heard throughout the Speaker.

"This is HMSBS Vanquisher! we've made contact with an unknown starship in the designated system, The starship is hostile repeat the starship is hostile! we've managed to bombard the hell out of it before we had to retreat, order every single one of the personnel to be on Code Crimson if there is one of them there may be hundreds more!" The Prince spoke out with confirmed Authority.

The Grand Admiral of the Interstellar Navy, who were alongside the officers then started barking out his orders.

"Action Stations!"

Alarms Bellowed throughout the entirety of the Bastion.

"Set Condition One throughout the Entire Fleet, Activate the Planetary Shield Generators!, Contact the Confederate Artillery Corp back on Earth to aim up the 'Longbows' " His orders were then acknowledged.
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On the Planet itself. Hundreds of the 'Longbow Super-Artillery Units' powered up their weapon systems and loaded up their Zero-Point Energy Warheads incase the Object is bent on hostile action against the Imperial Interstellar Fleet and the Planet itself.

And along with it, the Planetary Shield Generators were activated and was set to its Maximum Output which covered the entirety of the Earth.

The Longbow's being Activated and Ready for Firing Sequence incase the Unidentified Object is hostile.

The Planetary Shield Generators being activated to cover the entirety of the Planet within a protective sphere.

[Drecha]

SOMEWHERE IN THE OORT CLOUD (Svenska-Britannia)
The Supercruiser watched as the target planet activated its defenses, and began scanning them for weakness. Surprisingly, there was none to be seen, however, in time they would be lowered, and so the Supercruiser sat, awaiting reinforcements and watching from afar.

---

(NOTE: The next events are all occurring within a few hours maximum of each other at the most)
EARTH/MARS (Val Z)
The walkers advanced throughout the worlds, taking one city at a time. It was a slow process, due to the heavy resistance, but it would not be more than four months before reinforcements arrived and assisted in the capture of the planets. Knowing this, they decided that taking one city per four days would be sufficient for victory, and so they did, taking their time.

---

OVER EARTH (Sanhana)
The landing pods were being watched. They could sense the drones and occasional passerby that watched it. It was time. The pods opened up, revealing the tripods within, which began to March toward the city. The invasion had begun.

---

OVER EARTH (Silverdale)
The Starcruiser moved itself into position twenty miles over the city locally called “Silver City”. There it remained for about a minute, before it unleashed the full barrage of firepower it could bear. It maintained the full barrage for about ten minutes before it relinquished to about half of its weapons, and launched its ground and air forces. The forces then began to spread it, taking the city from the inside out.

---

OVER TERRA (Mirum / Arkiv)
The screech. It pierced the minds of the Hive throughout the multiverse, yet it targeted solely Drecha himself. It ripped through the invisible network, attempting to rip the hivemind to shreds, and it would've been very effective, had Drecha not learned from his mistake. He had prepared himself for the possibility ever since the first encounter, but had been believing that the Arkiv wouldn't dare try it. Yet they did, and this infuriated Drecha. Above the skies of Terra, the Starcruiser, using what little propulsion it had left, orientated itself retrograde, and deorbited itself. The best possibility to show those Arkiv that they were inferior to Drecha was to take a world with a crippled fighting force. Only then would they realize that they were the lesser hivemind. And so it was, as the Starcruiser plummeted toward the ground below, aiming to unload the majority of its remaining forces and take the planet. As for those Arkiv, they would be punished most severely...

---

OVER VEGA III
As the assembled fleet of Starcruisers and Supercruisers began to prepare for a departure toward the homeworld of the Arkiv, a dark, hulking mass briefly eclipsed the star that illuminated the fleet before moving into the center of it, allowing the tiny Starcruisers and Supercruisers to dock. This mass was none other than the Dark Orb space station itself. The Dark Orb then jumped to light speed, toward its destination, escort fleet following onboard the station. Revenge would soon be served...

---

UNKNOWN SYSTEM, ARKIV SPACE
Hours later, the Dark Orb dropped out of lightspeed in the system that the original first contact had been made, only four AU away from the planet. It deployed its fleet and fighters for protection, before moving into firing position. The first burst fired, followed immediately by the second, racing toward the planet. As the beam would take a bit to reach the planet, a voice message was broadcast to the Arkiv, directly from Drecha himself:

Foolish Arkiv.  Can you not see, I bring peace, order, and security to the multiverse? Can you not see that I have mercifully saved entire universes from their interior destruction, a very process you yourselves attempted to undermine? You may believe that I conquer for glory or personal gain, but you are wrong. I require no glory, only results that provide multiversal peace and security. You assumed you could attempt to steal my hive from me, take me out at the root, and install yourselves as masters of my domain. You assumed wrongly that you could win. You chose poorly. Now, you shall pay the price for your chaotic actions; for resisting the law and order that I bring. You shall know failure- utter and pure defeat- and you will know that it is I who delivers it, crushing down upon you. You will know that for every action you take, there will be consequence, and in the end I shall be victorious. I shall dominate. I shall prevail- and you- you will fall. Now, witness my power.

And with that, the Dark Orb's bolts struck the world, slowly tearing it apart until there was nothing remaining.

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OOC Section:
The Author's Comment:
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[Californian Fallen Angels]

Former United States, Dead Earth
May 9, 2072 CE, 12 Years After The Apocalypse

Sheraton Redding Hotel at Sundial Bridge, Redding, California
Time: 1505 Hours

"You say we have 'replies'? Plural?" Ms. Satan asked incredulously. On her desk was a drinking glass filled with whiskey on the rocks. After speaking, she picked up the glass and took a long sip.

"Affirmative. We received two separate replies, Ms. Chambers." said Honest John Doe. "I think it would be vital to contact the Tophel Clan about this. They have a vested economic interest in the Fallen Angels."

"I would like to hear these first." Ms. Satan said.

"Fine." Honest John Doe says, taking a long drag from his cigarette. "106, if you will dear?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Honest John!" the android said, and began an audio playback.

"PEOPLES... ...DEAD EARTH AND... ...FALLEN ANGELS- We... ...the Drechanians... [static] ...multiverse-spanning... ...empire... [static] ...peace and prosperity... ...'Gwen Valentine' and followers. ...we could... [static] ...your world... [static] ...join us... [static] ...place... [static] ...stars."

"And here's the other one." 106 said, beginning another audio playback.

[static] ...Alexa Chambers, I am... [static] ...Myong Suh-Hyung, Head... ...of Valentine Z. We... ...received... [static] ...transmission... ...would like to reassure you... [static] ...mean absolutely... ...harm to you... ...your people... [static] ...our message... ...arrived in pieces... ...I am... ...Ms. Gwen... I am here to... [static] ...on behalf of... [static] ...Valentine Z. ...we are here to warn you... [static] ...I think your... [static] ...a multiversal threat. Our suspicions are right... [static] ...under attack right now. To ensure... ...we mean no harm... ...this matter, my ship... ...also carrying crates of... [static] ...radiation... [static] ...Please... [static] ...white with... ...green accents, has... ...weapons... [static] ...aggressive. Thank you! ...out.

The room sat quiet for a few minutes as each party considered the implications of these two messages. Honest John Doe finished a cigarette, and used the butts of it to light another, then placing the remaining butts into Ms. Satan's ash tray.

"Clearly, this is a complex political matter, with multiple parties in play, and we're not even seeing the surface of it." Honest John Doe said coldly.

"Indeed." Ms. Satan said, finishing her glass of whiskey. "This could either help or hurt our bottom line."

"This matter should be approached with caution. One of these parties mentioned a multiversal empire. I can assure you, any other mutliversal empires are not to be treated lightly. Other such empires are at best tense trading partners and rivals of the Tophel Clan, and at worst, hated enemies." Sathuzixaniel said, her voice almost a growl.

"I'm going to have to defer to my lawyer on this one. Getting the Fallen Angels involved in other empires is bad for the Tophel Clan's interests." Honest John Doe added.

Ms. Satan groaned. "It's always about Tophel interests with you lately." she muttered. "I'm looking out for myself here."

Honest John Doe slowly walked behind Ms. Satan's desk, and let his sunglasses slide down his nose. His eyes glowed, and faint pentagrams could be seen etched into his irises. "You're a businesswoman, Ms. Chambers. Even after everything, you're still in a corporate structure. You may be acting as a fusion of CEO and CFO right now. But you still have to keep your shareholders happy. Those shareholders appointed me to keep you in check. And I can tell you, they aren't happy with the developing situation."

Ms. Satan glared back at Honest John Doe. "I am the Fallen Angels! I will not be intimidated in my own offices!"

Honest John Doe gave a grin, holding his cigarette between his teeth. Ms. Satan could feel the cold barrel of a pocket pistol against the base of her skull, pressed there by 106. "You misunderstand your position, Ms. Satan. You're a figurehead for mortals to rally behind. Ever since you made that Contract, you've existed to serve Tophel interests, namely the interests of increasing their profit margin. The mortal soul trade is very profitable, and very near and dear to the Tophel interests. And if my superiors think for a moment that you may be a threat to those interests..." Honest John Doe removed the cigarette from his mouth and held it between his fingers, exhaling tobacco smoke in Ms. Satan's face. He stared her dead in the eyes. "They're going to seek an early cash out, and have you removed the picture. Capisci?"

There was a long pause as the room grew silent, and a palpable tension filled the air. Ms. Satan stared up at Honest John Doe with gritted teeth and bated breath. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, before eventually, she uttered softly, "You've beaten me at my own game."

"You always were quite like Narcissus," Honest John replied, stepping back. "enamored by your own reflection. Your attempt at self-effacing is nugatory. Even when attempting humility, you flatter yourself. Back here in reality, you were never a player."

"I shall be contacting Naamah, Astraroth, and Nightvixen about this. In the interests of maintaining our profits, the Tophel Clan will appoint one of our own to command the Fallen Angels during this crisis." Sathuzixaniel stated. She lifted her gnarled, bony claws, and chanted out alien, ineffable, empyreal words. A fluorescent green pentagram burned beneath her twisted feet. Several discordant xylophone notes rung out, and Sathuzixaniel was engulfed in a flare of lime colored flames. Just as quickly as it appeared, the flames and pentagram were gone, as was Sathuzixaniel - transited away to another plane via the portal spell.

Former United States, Dead Earth
May 10, 2072 CE, 12 Years After The Apocalypse

Benton Airpark, Redding, California
Time: 0330 Hours

In the former airpark, which now served as a military checkpoint and vehicle yard, 106 stood in a small clearing along with five diminutive, child-like female demons. Each of the demons had pink skin, red eyes, pointed ears, and small horns. They flapped leathery wings, yet the air did not move as they levitated. Their hands ended in claws, and feet in sharp talons. Their prehensile tails coiled and wagged, while the venomous stinger on the ends of their tails gleamed in the searchlight. Each demon grinned with a mouth full of sharp, conical teeth. These demons were called imps, and they were of the lower ranks of the Tophel Clan, serving as messengers, scouts, and very often as familiars to mortals. The Fallen Angels employed a number of these, and other demons of the Tophel Clan, as liaison agents, overseers, and as familiars and guides to the Fallen Angels' mortal mages.

"Alright, imps. You're here at Mr. Honest John's request." 106 explained. "Our scientists believe at least one of the radio signals may have originated from our planet's orbit. You are to undergo a scouting mission to outside our atmosphere, to see what may or may not be lurking there. When you are done, you are to return here via teleport and give a full report. Are there any questions?"

One of the imps, with long, dark red hair, replied, "We're just going up there, taking a look around, and coming back. Correct?"

"Affirmative, Seraveli." 106 answered.

"If we are spotted, and assailed?" Seraveli asked.

"Under those circumstances, you are authorized to fight back, but your primary objective is to gather information and return back as soon as possible. Understood?" 106 coldly replied.

"Yup. I got it." Seraveli replied.

The imps gave their wings a flap and flew up in a straight line, eerily unerring, and producing no noticeable kinetic force. They continued soaring upwards, unwavering and effortless, before vanishing away into nothingness. They ceased manifesting, their ectoplasm bodies fading away into nothingness, and became disembodied consciousness, able to observe, but barely capable of meaningfully interacting with the physical world. From this state, they were invisible, intangible, beyond ephemeral.

Above the Karman Line, Mesosphere
Time: 0615 Hours

Above the thick, toxic clouds of smoke and radioactive ash, within a graveyard of millions of satellites, the disembodied consciousness of the imps, observed and waited on their quarry with caution. They waited there, in perfect silence, in the vacuum of space, little more than ambulatory thoughts and wills, ever watching without eyes, their twisted, alien minds stewing.

They would see it - the lone Drechian ship, but would it be capable of seeing them? If it could, would it be able to spot them amongst the clutter of many wreckages and dilapidated husks? Would it even know what it was looking at? Would anybody know they were here at all?

Key

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Conscious
#6363EF = Honest John Doe
#EF349A = AGN-51 M71 A14L7Y-321AP-HV-106
#FF66FF = Sathuzixaniel
#737373 = Alexa "Ms. Satan" Chambers
#CF6C22 = Kadrea Cooper
#D929B9 = Seraveli
Dead
#CF2242 = Pearson
#248046 = Rifleman Twin
#828242 = Shaman
#359FFF = TeyoTek Garm
Other People (QUOTED ONLY)
#3366FF = Chief Aviator Gwen Tracer Hepburn “Fate of Existence and the Omniverse” Ellen Trixie Caitlin Foxworthy Avril Verlene Eveline Celinda Sammy Doris T-Rev Oxton Arielle Lindall Leslie Vitesse Allison
#357575 = Drechian Radio Reply
#40FF40 = Charlene Jeannie Natalia Adeline Marceline “Wanbyeoghan Hyeobsang-Ga.” Celestie Christine Irelle Dv. Arianna Rees Edith Novena Annie Ciara W. I. Bethany Myong Suh-Hyung

Acquired Assets

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Post 1:
None

Post 2: (aka what we got from the Sierra Army Depot - why we were going there in the first place)
x10 AN/TWQ-1 Avenger air-defense missile system
x30 FIM-92 Stinger MANPADS
x200 H&K M25 assault rifle
x50 H&K XM900 20mm grenade launcher
x4 TeyoTek Garm multi-role weapons platform robot
x2 X-10 Viper VTOL transport/air support/air evac
x? large quantity of various MilTech munitions

Post 3:
None

Casualty Count

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Post 1:
Personnel:
x1 point man, x2 rifleman, x1 shaman

Post 2:
Personnel:
x1 bradley commander, x1 bradley driver, x1 bradley gunner, x4 drone pilot, x2 point man, x2 psyker (electrokinetic), x2 responder, x6 rifleman
Vehicles:
x1 M2A4 Bradley, x2 MRAPs, x4 self-driving car bombs

Post 3:
None

Total Casualties:
Personnel: 23
Vehicles:
x1 M2A4 Bradley, x2 MRAPs, x4 self-driving car bombs