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Post by Acruan on Feb 14, 2016 14:08:00 GMT
The Invader's lasers were, as the Acruani expected, unable to overcome their own. The ships were safely on the ground, all they had to do now, was to survive against the Invader's fleet long enough. The Acruani formation became something close to a bubble, all of the ships going around the Hive Queens. They had to keep themselves functional until Archene's return.
As the ships got low enough and lost communication, Archene's sword seemed to return to his hand, scabbard later being attached again to his waist. Those ships all having a proper Acruani core attempted to trace the destination of each other in order to properly land. Considering their lack of knowledge of the current atmosphere properties... it can be said that they were far from being able to detect each other destination but they kept true to their courses, hoping that the Acruani on other ships would be able to guide them properly.
Some of the ship kept going towards the ground at terminal speed, certainly hoping to crash onto it. Those were ships with explosives. The rest of them, numbered to almost a dozen 'crewed' and a dozen empty ships slowed down, dramatically. These ships were ready for... this? Well, not exactly landing in the middle of a city, but if the city has no lives for them to worry about most of the ships, specially the smaller ones could land on the streets. So they attempted to land on the streets, even as other ships crashed at and very well possibly through buildings before exploding. The ships attempting to land clearly attempted to meet in groups of three, usually 3 small transports together though at times there would be a ship of a bigger size among them.
"Carver, we are here. As expected, there is no contact with space currently, nor with the other ships. But we are still able to get visuals the ships capable of finding and identifying each other should be meeting now. If we can return to any of these groups, we could be able to leave the planet... once the mission is complete. Are your commandos ready?" The HUDs of the commandos would be able to detect slight changes in the ships pressure as it attempted to equalized with the exterior.
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Post by The Governor on Feb 14, 2016 16:28:36 GMT
"We're ready," Carver said as his troops moved towards the door. "We'll venture out, see what we can find. Everyone stick together." With that, the commandos slowly filed out of the now landed transport. The planet outside immediately struck Carver as odd. It held an abandoned city, one whose age was impossible to tell. Some architectural features looked ancient, but the lack of obvious decay suggested otherwise. Whatever the age of the place, it was strange, new, and it made him feel nervous. The commando officer motioned to the other squad members to be careful, and move in a tight reconnaissance formation.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2016 19:45:27 GMT
The city was just as dead and quiet as expected, partially foggy, making the commandos certain difficulties in seeing more than a few meters in any direction. While under normal circumstances, the city should have been taken by the Invaders only a year ago it seemed as if... it had always been like this. The city had no age... no life... nothing. It also seemed as if... it was changing, moving. At one look, the street was there, but if you looked somewhere else or blinked, a building could have simply appeared instead of it, in complete silence. Something was really wrong about this city... something was really, really, really wrong about it. Even if it was just a bad feeling for now.
For a large part of their recon mission, the commandos failed to meet anyone. The city seemed to be empty, with no humans or Invaders here. But eventually, they saw something... something really strange, seemingly appearing from the fog.
In something that once was an intersection, a small girl was laying on her knees, crying. She was wearing a blue dress, and she seemed to be an Invader? Or was it because of the fog and the light? She seemed to have a pure, white hair, and white skin, but humans with similar features existed, and the only way to say for sure would be to look at her eyes, but she was crying, covering her eyes with her hands. Dead city of not, this was pretty real and convincing.
Hearing the commandos coming the girl slowly stopped crying, still slowly sobbing, covering her eyes as she attempted to say something, speaking in a Colonial Standard, with an accent that any of the former natives of the planet would have spoken, if they would have been here.
"Mister soldiers... mister soldiers...", the girl said between sobs, looking almost... supernatural, in such a dead city. "Did you... did you see my p-parents? And my b-brother? I'''I g-got lost..."
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Post by The Governor on Feb 15, 2016 7:11:49 GMT
Carver edged slowly towards the girl, sending an image from his HUD to Archene. There was no telling if the image would reach the Acruani leader through the fog, but Carver sent it anyway. He captioned the image, "Contact made, life form uncertain."
He then walked slightly ahead of his troops, and stopped a few yards from the girl. He answered her question truthfully, "I haven't. What did they look like? And what is your name? Is there any way we can help you?" He then added while looking around the city, "What happened on this world?"
The girl could well be an Invader, Carver knew that. As she appeared now, it seemed very likely. But she was also someone who appeared to need help. Besides, if she was an Invader, the commando sergeant had trisilviate weapons ready and waiting.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2016 9:18:30 GMT
"I d-don't remember..", the little girl said, still sobbing, not looking at the Confederate soldier." T-they c-came one d-day... t-the white q-quiet people.. they k-killed t-the good s-soldiers... and then the soldiers b-became w-white q-quiet people. T-they g-gathered us all in c-camps afterwards... all w-women and children... t-they.. they did all t-they wanted with us.." As she spoke between sobs, the girl continued to rub her eyes, probably scared, trying to calm herself down."T-then, they brought t-the big white t-thing, and t-the fog appeared... and p-people started to d-disappear... t-turning to w-white p-people... and I r-remained alone.. it's quiet... I'm scared... I don't... I don't want to become one of them... "
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Post by Acruan on Feb 15, 2016 9:38:59 GMT
From a handful of other ships, not quite close to their own, emerged nearly small groups of meter tall silver 'spiders', seemed to be made of similar to mercury. These spiders were closer to orbs with 4 thick by dexterous 'legs'. While such spiders under perfect conditions would immediately be able to meet with Archene, that fog and the city's peculiar layout made it nearly impossible for them to find each other. Save the initial direction their ships observed.
Noticing the predicament, Archene went behind the commandos, though clearly without any equipment visibly not affected by the fog. Most specifically, because he was not breathing it. Though his body was human looking and even human based in a sense, it was very far from being human. Though he was only slightly behind the group, after noticing the city's peculiarities, he refrained from looking away, or at least kept them somewhere in his sight.
As images were from Carver's HUD... it became clear that the communication even in such short range was being affected. All that was replied through the HUD was, "Refrain from unnecessary actions. Be ready to be attacked, and... be ready ambushes. General sensors don't seem to be doing much here." Surely, Archene also didn't physically speak that, he couldn't waste his breath on something like this.
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Post by The Governor on Feb 15, 2016 9:47:29 GMT
"I see," Carver began. "I'm sorry for your loss. My name is Scott Carver. I'm a soldier of the Dothvalian Confederacy. We came to see what had happened to Line Maria. This planet is a part of it. And don't worry about the white things. I won't allow them to harm you."
Although he had relaxed somewhat, Carver was still concerned. The fog probably wasn't safe to breathe, and the girl had no life support device. He slowly removed his helmet, removed a rebreather from a belt pouch, and placed it over his mouth and nose. Carver then handed the girl his helmet and said in an even tone, "Take my helmet. This air probably isn't safe to breathe. I expect the mask I'm wearing will keep me alive, designed to filter all known toxins. But I know my helmet does, and I don't want to see you poisoned. Not when you survived this long."
Another question then formed in Carver's mind. "You said they had camps of women and children. Do you remember if any of them may still be alive, to where they would be? And how did you escape the camps?"
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2016 11:15:12 GMT
The little girl stopped rubbing her eyes, looking at the Confederate for the first time, showing off her green eyes, that seemed to have a fairly normal color. She seemed human, at least for most of it. The white color of her skin and her hair really seemed to be that of an Invader... but she seemed to be somewhere in between. Maybe it was because of the fog?..
Anyway, the girl hesitstated a little before she took the helmet and put it on her head slowly, speaking in the same low, stammering voice after that.
"D-danke, Herr Soldat.", the girl said. " We t-thought that w-we were abandoned.. t-the F-federal people n-never returned... th-thank you for coming... "
The girl then beard the soldier's question, and for a moment, she seemed as if she was going to cry again, but she tried to speak.
"Th-there were c-camps everywhere on the p-planet... me, my b-brother and my p-parents w-were taken on a c-camp n-near this c-city.. they t-took d-dad first... then, t-they started to t-take everyone one by one... no one t-taken ever r-returned... then, one d-day they t-took m-mom... and they took me and m-my brother in the end... th-those white people escorted us.. t-they were t-taking us somewhere.. my b-brother... he t-told me that I had to escape.. I didn't want to.. b-but I w-was scared... he pushed me and I fell off the road, in t-the forest... and I ran.. like a coward... until I... until I got here..."
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Post by The Governor on Feb 16, 2016 6:15:29 GMT
Carver considered the information the girl had shared. If the camps were still around, then people may yet be saved. It was probably too late, but Carver didn't want to abandon anyone. He had seen enough of his comrades as well as innocent people die, whether they had been abandoned or not. All those names on the Wendigo roster, and the ones without crosses beside them could be counted on both hands. One cross-bearing name in particular, Specialist Helen Coleridge, was seared in the Sergeant's memory.
"Sir..." A distant voice seemed to say. Carver kept thinking about the city, the girl, and what he should do.
Suddenly more loud and real as his shoulder was touched, the voice again said, "Sir." Carver snapped out of his thoughts, and turned to the private addressing him. The commando said as he removed his helmet and donned a breathing mask of his own, "Sir. Message from Archene. And keep the helmet. You command the unit. We can't afford to have you suffocate."
"Of course," Carver said neutrally. "Thank you, soldier." He then turned back to the girl and said, "You'll decide what we do next. Would you like for me to escort you back to the ship, or would you rather proceed with us? I wouldn't ask except you mentioned those camps. Do you think you could lead us to them? If anyone is left, we could maybe save them. If you don't remember it's alright. Just an idea I had. And what is this city, this world, called? And can you remember your name?" Carver stopped short after that. He hated to bombard the girl with questions after all she had been through, but he had little choice. If there was anyone still alive, Nightmare Company had to reach them. Inspiration then struck Carver like a bolt of lightning. He said in a sincere tone, "I'm sorry about what happened to your family. If they're still alive, we'll find them. And don't feel alone. I've lost people I cared about to those things too."
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2016 15:54:29 GMT
The girl once again remained quiet for a few good moments before she answered. "My name is... Sylvia, Herr Soldat.", the girl said with the same low voice, probably still shocked by just... everything that was happening around her."The p-planet's name is Pagida... and the city's n-name is Caligo. B-but I don't know.. h-how I know t-this... I don't remember... am I... am t-turning into one of those white p-people?", Sylvia said, looking at her hands scared. Then, the green eyed girl looked at the Confederate soldier.
"N-no, I d-don't want to leave... n-not without mom, dad, and my brother... I k-know how to go b-back to the camps.. t-they're not that far away from here... b-but...". At this moment, the girl once again seemed to be on the verge of tears, her voice only barely a whisper.
"Herr Soldat... c-can you... c-can you save them... I... I r-ran away l-like a c-coward... b-but... I don't want them to... t-turn into.. white p-people...". At this point, tears started to roll on the girl's face. "P-please... I'll... I'll show you where the camps are... I'll... I'll do anything.... so... p-please.."
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Post by Acruan on Feb 16, 2016 18:19:41 GMT
Unlike the humans and Archene, the Spiders center bubble was adaptive enough to have its sensors more distributed. Following that soon enough they began meeting with each other... and soon enough, they were at Archene at the back of the Confederate group. Archene seeing them, gave a pat on the closest to him with his gauntlet before walking over to the girl. The spiders strangely stood where they were, almost as if hiding from the girl. Archene may have lost some subtleties, but in the least, he wouldn't bring more things to scare the little girl.
Slowly moving in-between the soldiers, Archene began approaching the girl, staying a while away still, "We will helping you, don't worry." He offered a incredibly sincere looking smile to the girl before saying, "I am Archene Night of the Acruani Collective, we will do our best to help your family and everyone we can." And with another smile he saved air for later... not that he was worried of any of the possible side-effects of breathing in, he was ready for that surely, but it is better to be safe than sorry.
Not two seconds later, Carver could hear Archene speaking in his new HUD, "Let's follow the girl and see what we can do. But don't forget that our chances of finishing this mission at all without completing the objective is nearly nil. We have enough transports here for quite a number of people, so as long as they aren't hostile we can bring them back. Considering the color of the Marker here, the least we can be sure about is that the objetive should be on this planet."
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Post by The Governor on Feb 16, 2016 18:54:23 GMT
"Not to worry," Carver said to Archene. "We've come to capture a Marker. Our sensors are no good, so with the information of this girl...it may not be much, but it's a starting point. If we're not grossly late, it shouldn't be too hard to complete a surprise liberation of an Invader prison camp. We kill some of the Invader guards, take their weapons, and distribute them to crowds of angry prisoners. Maybe we'll get lucky and find a Colonial who knows everything that's happened here. And maybe we can find out where the Marker is from a prisoner."
He then said to the girl, "Alright, then Sylvia. We'll head to these camps, see if there's anyone left to save. You said the Invaders were taking people, and maybe those left at the camps can tell us where. And there's nothing cowardly about what you've done. You never expected any of this, and you're a lot braver helping us than some of those who didn't make the cut for my unit."
With that, Carver motioned to the others to follow the girl.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2016 13:59:42 GMT
Strangely enough, the girl didn't seem to be that scared of Archene. She vaguely remembered that she had learned something about them back at school.. the Acruani.. but even so, just like most of her memories right now, she couldn't exactly remember what. And for a man didn't seem to breathe, he seemed to be kind. Hearing that they were going to help her family, the little girl seemed to be calming down, trying not to cry anymore.
"Danke... Herr Soldat... Herr Archene...", Sylvia said, looking at them, trying to keep in the tears. "I can... I can lead you to the camp.. it's... it's not that far away.... so... please... help my family... and the other people... p-protect them from the white p-people..." Saying that, the green eyed girl stood up, and started to walk, probably followed by the soldiers. She really looked strange, wearing a blue dress and a Confederate soldier helmet. Not to mention that she was wearing no shoes. But she knew where the camps were, and that was important. Following her, the soldiers left the city...
Eventually, they entered and crossed a forest, eventually reaching the top of some hills. And then, in a relatively small valley, there was the first camp. Surrounded by high electric barbed wire walls, probably built a little quickly, it was filled with people, humans, most of them seemingly women and children. The humans were quiet, probably with the morale down, all hope lost. The only visible enemies were some Invaders, former now dead Colonial soldiers, that were guarding the camp. Of course, the fog was still there, so it was hard to say...
As they reached it, they were still hidden from the Invaders and humans down below, by the fog and the trees, Looking at the camp, the girl started to shiver. Was it because of fear? Because of the cold, as she was walking around only in a dress? It was hard to say, but once again, she was on the verge of tears. "This... this is it...", she said, looking at the camp, as tears started to roll down her face. She then said something in a really low voice.. "Mom... dad...brother..."
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Post by The Governor on Feb 17, 2016 19:03:53 GMT
Carver could hear the hum of electricity coursing through the fence. He zoomed in through a pair of binoculars attached to the helmet, and examined the camp. There were many women and children, and fortunately only a few Invaders at first glance. It was a hastily built camp, and there was no way it could house too many enemies within the occasional structures. Carver noticed it was ringed by trees. He motioned to most of the company to spread out, then communicated via hands signals, "Everyone, form up behind me. We're storming the front door. I'd split us so that one group gave suppressing fire, but I don't want stray shots harming the prisoners. Minimal damage mission. Guns and vibroswords only. No rockets, grenades, or cryonics. Go!"
With that, the commandos moved for the Invader guards and the front gate.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2016 21:08:07 GMT
The camp seemed to be guarded only by a few Invader soldiers. Around ten were defending the main gate, armed with rifles and two heavy machine guns, some of them hidden inside the small barrier cabins next to the road. The main gate itself was made just like the rest of the camp, a barbed electrified wire gate, with some wood there and there. Ten more Invaders seemed to be patrolling around the fences, and most likely a few more of them were in the observation towers, either as snipers or at the HMG's mounted there. The Invaders didn't seem to be expecting an attack, so they weren't too careful, but they were also soundless, not speaking, not even breathing, making the use of any sound possibly fatal for the Confederate soldiers. Next to the main gate, there was a flag pole, on which a pretty well known blue-red-black flag was lazily waving, torn apart and with holes in it, the cross and the starts barely visible on its faded colors. Most likely, the Invaders never bothered to take it down.
The girl, Sylvia, remained hidden between the trees, scared, and waiting for the fight to begin..
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