Planet Nouvelle: Sunset
Hollie, Capital of the Kingdom of Nouvelle

The sun had finally set upon the glittering capital of Nouvelle. Its last beautiful rays flickering and dancing between the buildings and monuments, the trees and towers, gently touching Hollie one last time before retiring for the night. The people celebrated all throughout the streets and squares and plazas. They danced, sang, ate, and drank. Another good year of fortune, of harvest and peace, of children being born and kids becoming adults. It was in the middle of all this revelry that the event occurred.

It was a brilliant display of light in the skies above Nouvelle. A dazzling white exploded forth into reality, into the fabric of space. All eyes turned upwards, towards the sheer glory of such a bright light, brighter than a star, than the Goddess Demecria, as bright as a small sun perhaps. Across the capital the people had stopped, the music, the dancing, all, as they stared upwards in awe. Yet, that was only the begging of this event.

By now, young Queen Sabine stood with her friends and family on the palace balcony, their eyes closely watching the skylight. Soon, this light began to dissipate, but, an object appeared in its place, falling from the heavens to the earth below. The object turned downwards, and began its decent to the world below. The people of the capital were blessed to be at the epicenter of this event. But those within the radial view of this light were looking on in as much awe and growing joy as they watched too.

The object, or, as people began to whisper, a falling angel, sparked brilliant gouts of light from its body, before being fully engulfed in brilliant crimson and orange flames as it further descended to the planet below. Bright and brilliant, it shot across the sky, a low rumble could be heard from the capital and nearby towns, as it passed overhead, and into the region of the Gods. The object would disappear from view as it passed the Fayette mountain range, the border of the explored areas, and the region of the Gods.

Queen Sabine turned to those about her, and spoke what all across her world were thinking. “An angel has come from the heavens… the Gods smile on us all brothers and sisters… let us rejoice in this most historical of moments.”

One hour later…

The Nouvellians were all in quiet contemplation, still talking to one another about what they had seen, about the historical coming of an angel. In the week of the Sun God, Tem’plar, he had sent the people of Nouvelle a sign that he was watching over them, and they would always be amongst his children. It was during these conversations and discussions that the second event occurred.

This time, it was a brilliant blue light the appeared in the skies above Nouvelle. A dazzling, pale blue that radiated with glorious light onto the planet below. Again, the people of Nouvelle fell silent, as they all looked up once again to the heavens. “Another Angel,” many exclaimed, their joy exuding outwards. Some pointed, other held their children aloft to look at this divine light closer. Even the Queen had made her way to the tallest tower of the palace to look upon the skies.

“Such a light… such joyous of times, the gods speak to my people, the speak to me.” She closed her eyes, letting the light bask over her. She opened her eyes once more, smiling as she looked upwards at this angel. “Lord Tem’plar, Lady Demecria, Ladies Merce and Elna, thank you for sending us a token of the Light, of letting your love for us shine brightly, even in the dark of night.” She stood alone, having left her retinue behind. She lowered herself to sit, and stared upwards at the sky, marveling at the angels.

The light flickered and moved, tumbling and moving, lights flicker from the epicenter, as it too fell to the earth below. She watch it closely, not ever wanting this moment to be forgotten. This day, her birthday, was the best she had the privilege to be a part of thus far. “Thank you, all of you, my Gods. I am blessed to rule your children in your name, and in mine. We are forever grateful for all you do for us.” She grew quiet as the object sped across the sky, and it too disappeared into the City of the Gods, a region vast and largely unexplored.

A few minutes later, the frontier of the Nouvellian Kingdom.
The towns of Cherac, Derac, and Terac.

The small towns to the edges of the Fayette Mountains reveled in the sighting of two angels. The people danced around their central bon fires, bright and full of light, casting orange and red glows onto their homes and buildings. Even the soldiers danced, their weapons carefully stacked out of the way. The people were happy, and joyous. The gods had blessed the day of their Queen, and the Holiday of Tem’plar with two angels, with two beacons of light. Never had such a momentous occasion happened before, or, at least that anyone could remember.

The mountains stood many miles away, but in the darkness, an object of an unknown species flew towards these three towns. Each town was rather similar to one another. All were mining towns, each with a small central fort that was meant to protect the people in times of chaos or war. Cherac had a beautiful church in the town proper, while Derac had a dazzling Town Hall standing in the town square, and lastly, Terac, the western most town, had a beautiful monument to the Queen, hewn from spectacular rose marble that was mined from the quarry beside it. What town would be viewed, or if all three, remained to be seen.

The skies above Nouvelle, seven minutes later…

Once again, for the third time in one day, brilliant lights filled the skies above Nouvelle. Its people all looking upwards once again. These lights were far less brilliant than the two previous angels, and yet, they were just as beautiful in their own way. Little tiny lights covered the angels in the sky, their size massive and yet elegant. The people of Nouvelle all looked at one another in a collective share of joy and happiness, and then back to the skies.

Queen Sabine gazed upwards in her aloneness. She had wondered what all this could mean. What the Gods had in store for her people, for the Children of Nouvelle. The new lights were but another token of the gods, another show of love and kindness. The two object twinkled and dazzled in the skies above. Their lights were subdued, softer and more faint, and yet, more soothing in a sense, as though these two angels had decided to look upon the beauty of Nouvelle from afar, to let the creation of the Gods, the works of the people, wash over them, before they decided if they too wish to join their compatriots who had already came to the world below them.

Sabine smiled, and lay back against the doorway, looking at these two far off angels. “Thank you for watching over us… for being there to brighten our nights up, and to protect us from the hungering dark that is always present, trying to destroy the worlds of life and creation, to extinguish the spark of Light. We are so thankful for all you do for us.” She wiped a tear away, turning to head inside, and speak with her people on what all this meant…

New Condia

Thundering into the ground, an Amazon attempted to brace as it leaned back from the intensity of the infantry fire, but found one of it's legs violently sheer in half from a well placed balefire round, causing it to tumble and crash into the ground, dead. As the other continued it's advance, a hinge opened on the front side of the machine and revealed empty darkness, quickly replaced by hundreds of writhing whip like appendages which reached and grabbed around blindly for, presumably, Iscandarians. The machine started to move faster, and was almost upon the phalanx.

Not daring to risk trying to slice through the shield wall, Matrons backed away from the Phalanx, and tried to fire upon the gunship that tore through their ranks, spraying black viscous fluid and chunks of shrapnel all around the group. As the Iscandarian elite jumped over their fortified wall, Matrons turned and engaged, well matched by the swordsman but cutting through them and tearing them apart. The battle seemed to turn in their tide, when suddenly, each machine stopped. They stood silent, as new instructions were relayed, while the silence continued:

You may return to Me, now. More pressing matters have arisen...
Let them find the next Piece, it is of no concern to I...
We can always rip it from their dead hands at a later time...

With that, the lights flickered on their three eyed displays, and they crumbled into the ground, turning to a thick slag as they dissolved. The Amazon too dropped, draping a large tentacle over a soldier's shoulder as it fell and collapsing . And then, quiet.

---

As the alien stood dumbstruck in it's embrace, not sure of what it was doing exactly, Sage interrupted with some information. "Well, at least we have transport now. But we still have Yss to worry about. So, I say we begin recovering the Shard Guides." The glowing orb flared orange, and spun as it analyzed it's aging data streams. "Well, that's interesting... Two have already been recovered, and the Yss seem to have abandoned the first one. I'd say that's a good thing, but I remember them being somewhat tenacious. Whatever called them back, it's serious. As for the second... No data. Hmm, the Body's Warden should have made an update at some point. That leaves only one still uncovered"

The Warden looked up at him, and then back at the humans. She began to draw crude drawings in the dirt, and made sure the human could see it, leaning the human down. It was a circle, with other circles and one had a ring. She drew a line from the surface of the ring up, and looked at the female, eyes filled with hope that the humans had a way off world.

Explorer-Battlecruiser Exploration group A
In response to the two unknown ships going into the atmosphere of a rather large moon around one of the inner gas giants, shown to be in the liquid-water zone, both of the ships reset their nav. systems and sped towards the moon, fulling intending to check just what the bloody hell is going on.

Of course, they didn't expect to different ships to take to landing on the moon's surface, and the moon to have a large population, of sentient creatures, based on readings when they got closer.

So they went into orbit and debated what to do. They fired off a probe to FTL back to the home system with updates regarding the recent events. By this time, it'd be morning in the capital city, which was identified because of the big-ness of the city and of the palace. Finally reaching a decision, two Tinkerers from the Explorer was picked up by the equivalent of a shuttle from the Battlecruiser, carrying a large guard and their own Tinkerers, and slowly descended towards the city. Identifying a large open space, a plaza or square or somesuch, the shuttle pilots decided, "Let's land there!", and so a shuttle that would crush an apartment building landed in the biggest plaza in town. It had large wheels that each had 3 giant, plastic-rubber titanium-meshed wheels on each of the four landing gears.

If there were any mosaics, they would probably be crushed by the weight of a heavily armored shuttle. As it was, the wings may very well scrape neighboring buildings, though the stubbiness of the craft would prevent the nose or the tail to hit anything. The tail was another odd feature- simply like a fish, where it split into two 'tails' that extended back a bit more than the stubbiness would fit with, and a large, slightly curved fin that extends all the way on the outermost part. No visible engines could be see, besides the ones embedded in the front edge and the back edge of the wings.

From the side, a 3' x 8' door opened outward, a step ladder extending down to the ground from it. From inside came a single Hunter, who looked around, and checked a device on his forearm, before deciding that the air was breathable- barely. Then the rest of them came out, looking about them in their mental sense with unease, unsure why they were even doing anything.

Nouvelle

A trio of HV-6 Sparasinta (Sparrowhawk) VTOL aircraft thundered through the mountain range, the droning of their J3 PlasmaJet engines reverberating across the tall peaks. Once they exited the range they lowered altitude to treetop level and began scouting around. That's when one of the pilots noticed a group of the blazes. As lead of the flight he designated the other two to go to the respective fires while his HV-6 quickly adjusted its bearings and began barreling over there.

Once he got closer he realized he was approaching a small town, what looked like very primitive mining equipment and warehouses comprising most of the hamlet. He touched down shortly outside, and offloaded 20 general purpose marines. The two squads wore the typical standard-issue powered armor. Each soldier was nearly seven feet tall, and brandished gunmetal-gray armor with markings identifying ranks. The only thing sticking out was the faceplate and HUD, tinted yellow from the chlorine gas cycling through the suit. The soldiers unslung their weapons. Most of the marines reached for their Type 3 Cyclonic Battery Assault Rifle, while four marksmen--two to each squad--pulled out Type 2 Designated Marksman Rifles. Two support gunners took large Type 9 Automatic Support System weapons and two antitank soldiers pulled out Type 11 Personal Anti-Armor Weapons. Once they were locked and loaded they moved from the VTOL, which began to take off as it changed course to regroup with Might of a Thousand Suns, and began striding towards the fire.

Mars, Contact
The humans smiled, and began to draw her own picture in the Martian soil. It appeared to be a crude drawing of a star system, with a single star in the middle and eight planets in elliptical orbits around it, many of them had multiple moons. She drew a second circle around the fourth one, then pointed to it. With her other hand she pointed to the ground.

"Mars."

She drew a surprisingly good trajectory from Mars to the third planet, either she had superior logical skills, or simply knew the path. When she reached the third planet, she pointed to it.

"Terra."

She then drew a trajectory from Terra to it's moon, then pointed at it too.

"Luna."

She made a tiny dot in orbit around Luna, and pointed to it as well.

"Försvarere av Humanity, Starship."

She then drew a line directly out of the system from the "Försvarere av Humanity", obviously meant to indicate an interstellar trajectory. Pointing off to where they had come, she picked up her tablet and displayed a picture of what appeared to be an aircraft with primitive rocket/jet hybrid engines, indicating that it was supposed to function in a vacuum as well as in the air.

"Spaceport." She said

Hollie, Nouvelle
One of the objects let out another burst of blue light, which seemed to slow it until it came to stop. It began to get larger and lager, and became engulfed in a brilliant orange fire. However, this didn't last long, as it began to slow due to some unseen force. It finally stopped falling above the capital city of Hollie, allowing itself to be clearly seen. It looked like a giant metal... thing. A central cylinder, with four other smaller cylinders branching off. Protruding at what seemed to be the front was a giant saucer, red lights blinking on each side. Strange characters were on the top and bottom the saucer, put in a shadow by two gigantic rings with various marking on them. Light was distorted at the bottom of the rings, giving them an odd appearance. The object itself was a brilliant white, like the color of snow.

The thing simply hovered there in the sky, as if waiting for something. Little did the natives know that there were people inside of it, scurrying around to gather as much data as possible on the city. A radio message was sent out to the Sazkarjhit vessel.

"This is the Captain of the Alcubierre, if you haven't noticed yet, this planet is inhabited. Industrial revolution, I would guess. They don't seem to have radio technology, which is curious given the fact that they definitely have steam power. We are going to initiate contact."

The giant object began to descend once more, into one of the city's parks. It seemed to be taking great care in it's landing, making sure to avoid any organisms or structures. Hovering but a few meters off the ground, it's size became obvious. It barely fit inside the park, with part of the saucer sticking out into the street. Of course, it had to be large for it's railgun to reach a sufficient velocity for a devastating bombardment.

A door slid open on the bottom of it, and four creatures jumped out. They held some kind of gun, but it was acting as a grappler for the creatures. It was obvious the device could also be used a weapon, albeit more advanced that those on Nouvelle. They had coils of metal instead of a barrel, and had a long clip that fit perfectly on the weapon in a legnthwise fashion. They were wearing unconventional clothing, with obvious plates of armor. An odd choice, especially since they must have passed the age of gunpowder already. They must have had the technology to stop a bullet head-on.

Each one wore some sort of headband, and once they landed, it became quite obvious it wasn't ceremonial in any way. A blue glow appeared in front of the right eye of each of the four, projected somehow onto what seemed to be a piece of glass. Their clothing also had an odd, green design on it. The design was chaotic, and different for each one. It was comprised of multiple blobs of different shades of the color, and there were pockets. So, so many pockets.

The four walked to the street, and as if they knew the city's streets already, headed straight for the palace. Using their weapons, they jumped from window to window with their grapplers. With that kind of mobility, they were able to reach the palace faster than even some of the carriages in the streets. Luckily, the park where they had landed was just a few blocks from the palace anyways.

On their way, they saw what seemed to be a landed shuttle. It definitely wasn't Sazkarjhit, or any other known species for that matter. Whoever sent it, it wasn't obvious whether or not they were hostile. The thought only made them rush for the palace even faster, defending the leader of a nation from aliens was always a surefire way of earning trust. After they had successfully made hundreds of people ask the question 'Wait what the hell?", they reached the palace. Specifically, a third floor balcony.

Their landing was unceremonious and clumsy, the first one on the balcony had miscalculated his trajectory and crashed into the door with a loud thunk. The other three came down as good as they could, but two of them ended up doing a painful looking log roll on the floor, bumping into the door slowly. The only one that had landed in a way that could possibly be though of as "good" was the captain, who performed a head-first roll, and ended up going in three small circles before she finally stopped, launching herself up with her hands and landing on her feet in a fall that was much less painful than it would have otherwise been due to the gravity of the planet.

"Showoff." Said the one who had hit the door, chuckling while holding his midsection.

"And they said Aikido was a worthless class." Responded the Captain, helping the marine up. "Do we have a network connection?"

"Yep, a damn good one too. I find it funny that we actually have a universal translator now, I mean, shouldn't it be impossible."

"It seems like we've made technology so advanced that even we perceive it as magic."

"Excuse me." Interjected another marine. "We should probably go in before they, you know, send the army because somebody just bounced off of a door that opened to a third-floor balcony in the palace."

"Good point." Said the Captain, walking right up to the door and opening it. In a completely ridiculous stroke of luck, there was already a group inside. The marines looked on in surprise, shocked that she would simply walk into a royal palace on an alien moon.

Those in the room looked remarkably similar to humans, but seemed to have a reddish... everything. Their skin, their eyes, even their hair, it all had traces of red in it. According to atmospheric scans, this made a lot of sense considering the unique makeup of the air. The Captain remembered that there was a larger concentration of noble gases, especially argon, in the atmosphere. It would be a boon for humanity if they were given gas mining rights, as humans tended to use argon in all their plasma devices for aesthetic purposes. Something told her that these people wouldn't find the brilliant blue of argon plasma as appealing as humans did, perhaps preferring a more reddish hue.

Snapping back into the situation at hand, she realized that there were armed guards. Their weapons appeared primitive, likely unable to pierce her nanofiber armor, but a shot to her unarmored head would kill her. Besides, a single shot would result in a shootout, and she didn't want to be responsible for the deaths of multiple important officials. She carefully approached them, throwing down her coilgun. Hoping the translator would work, she lowered the microphone on her headset. after taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth.

"Greetings, we mean you no harm. We hail from the planet Terra, and speak for it's government, the United Terran Federation. We came here in response to a distress call from a ship used by another nation, it had to perform an emergency landing here. We had no idea this world was inhabited, and apologize for any problems caused by our arrival and the fact that we have decided to reveal ourselves to you. We must stress that our existence is not capable of disproving any religious beliefs, and that religious war over our arrival must be avoided at all costs. There will be those who say our existence disproves religion, but it does not. There have undoubtedly been those who have believed us to be divine messengers, but we are not. I cannot stress the fact that a mistake in perception has absolutely no bearing on the truth of a belief enough, the last thing we want is blood on our hands. With that out of the way, we also apologize for our unannounced entry. We had to hurry though, as another craft landed in this very city. We've never encountered the species that owns it, and they could be hostile. We came here to make sure the leader of this nation is protected. Speaking of whom, would that leader happen to be in this room? In cases like these, the best choice is for the visitor to talk with the leader directly."

E.U.V Phoenix
Fergus sat there for a few moments, processing the information. He seemed as if he was weighing two responses, and finally decided to compromise.

"That has to be one of my favorite origin stories." He said "No improbable story about the entire universe being created, and it makes it clear that your people, despite being created by a divine being, are not perfect and superior to other species. That part about the higher plane of existence, it fits quite well with what humanity has discovered. You probably know this or have disprove it already, but we have something called the omnis sonzai. It is a description of all that exists, eleven dimensions, and all things stem from a membrane in the eleventh. It has been theorized that beings from higher dimensions may have powers that would be seen as supernatural by us. Definitely intriguing. Also of note is this 'Lahnha', you see, that name is somewhat significant for me. It might just be a coincidence, but I have to ask you this. How is she described? What was her personality?"

Nouvelle
A light Eternal Union scout ship slipped into the system, floating above the moon of Nouvelle. At first it ignored the UTF ship, merely sending greetings. However upon scanning Nouvelle with the ship's advanced scanners. they sent the following message to the UTF, Sazkarjhit, and the unknown party.

"We request that all parties maintain discretion and keep a low-profile. Current estimates put the natives at late Industrial Era, and caution will be needed to proceed forward as to maintain there societal stability and culture."

Facility A-4
The secret facility was hidden far from Iscandarian space. It was not known to the public, having some of the most top secret projects in Eternal Union History. This was the place the Shard Guide and Cathedral wrecks had been taken.

The Cathedrals were secured between two long metal poles connected to the station. They were soon surrounded by a shield, as little drones flew about them, taking detailed scans and data on the ships. Chatter could be heard across the radios about how another two fleets were being constructed, bring the ship count up to 808. While the knowledge couldn't be relayed back to the Ethereals, it was interesting none of the less.

The Shard Guide was taken to a small sealed chamber. Two laser activated, lifting it into the middle of the chamber. It seemed to be analyzing the exact structure and energy of it, as various devices across the chamber took more basic scans.

E.U.V Phoenix
Basil thought for a minute, before speaking.

"She was often described, when she had not taken another form so as not to reveal her true identity, as having silver skin, a unique trait among Iscandarians. Her eyes were a soft blue, and her veins flowed with rainbow. She also had wings, and long flowing chestnut hair. Her personality was described as being nice and helpful, as well as strong and independent."

New Condia
Tired of simply watching and floating aimlessly at the border of the finite, gaseous atmosphere that is the sky and the infinite, endless cosmic void that is space, the duo decided to take a bit more action to the field. A very, very, very long tentacle-like appendage extended from Rasis' body and reached out to any kind of ship in the vicinity, regardless of whether it was the inhabitants' or the invaders' (although disappointingly, they became piles of goo by now, but still they grabbed it, yet probably also disappointingly, nothing might be found). One by one, this arm grabbed a ship, leeched out the computer information from it, crushed the shields and the ship, then branched into two that then extended again to two other ships within its immediate vicinity and fell victim to its leeching and crushing. The number of its branches and victims grew exponentially, and even included living beings on the ground for an evolutionary snack, until hundreds of ships and thousands of people fell to a terrible fate, and Rasis became satisfied with the information and the food it caught in its grip. As the arm retracted back, Skaroth was left with analyzing what Rasis gathered...

Planet Nouvelle, Capital City of Hollie 6:32 A.M.
Central Trade District, Plaza De Leone

As it was still early in the morning, few people were about the streets of Hollie when one of the “Angels” descended to the ground below. The object descended through the clouds and remnant wisps of smoke the floated over the city, landing in the trade district, upon the beautiful stone slabs that made up Plaza De Leone. Citizens moved hastily out of the way, not necessarily running for cover, but, rather, keeping their distance from something so foreign and new.

The stone slabs beneath the object’s extended wheel like objects, as this metallic behemoth settled. This “Angel” was made of metal it seemed, and it was far larger than any air going vessel the people of Nouvelle possessed. Its large size barely fit into the breadth of the plaza, the horizontal tips of this object mere meters from the buildings that surrounded Plaza De Leone. The cracked slabs beneath the object finally stopped cracking and making noise, have since been broken apart into small enough fragments.

A youthful girl spoke aloud, to those about her. “It looks like a fish mommy… look at its tail.” She looked up at her mother, who smiled, and told her to hush. “Hush my little one, stay behind me… we do not want to offend the ‘Angels’, they are the servants of the gods.” The little girl nodded, and hid behind her mother’s skirts. The people were still in a midst of calm and unease, awe and fear. The spoke in low voices to one another as they watched the dust settle.

The people all took a unified step back as a door way appeared on the side of this object, opening up to their world, and letting the object open itself up to theirs in turn. Within moments, a ladder extended down from the object, making its way to lightly touch the ground beside the object. The Nouvellians watched on with curiosity as a figure stepped into the rising light of the world. The citizens stood quietly taking in what this new being was.

Was it a sub-class of “Angel”? Were these objects what the “Angels” rode about in? These thoughts and questions swirled about the congregated group of some three dozen people. A few turn and ran as the rest of the new beings came forth. To where, only those individuals knew. After an elongated moment, a person stepped forth, a male. He wore a dark blue uniform, with a golden star upon his right breast. A police officer, one of three of the citizens, and the only ones with firearms. The revolvers remained on their hips, the leather flap buttoned closed.

“Who… who are you? I mean… why… I…” he grew silent… his dialect would be a mix of English and French mixed together. He smiled meekly, and bowed forward slightly. “I am Sergeant Bower, of the Hollie Royal Police Forces. I… I welcome you to our… our city. Are… Are you the ‘angels’ of the Gods,” Bower looked on with curious unease and awe. He stood closer to the beings than anyone else.

Fayette Mountains, Frontier town of Cherac 3:37 A.M.

Two soldiers patrolled the town outskirts, slowly meandering their way through the low brush the dotted the foothills before the true mountains. Their rifles lay slung across their backs, the two men talking in excited tones as they made a routine round. As they stopped to kill some time, conversing over what had happened just last night, their turned their heads to the tree line to their right. A curious noise had drawn their attention, followed by the glinting of metal in the dancing light of their towns bonfire. The two soldiers stood in awe as this flying object made its way to just before the tree line. With unequalled grace, it slowed, and then proceed to descend to the ground.

The object opened up, revealing large imposing figures to spring forth from its bowels. Theses beings, these gray metal clad creatures, were a sight to truly behold. The two soldiers took a few steps backward, unsure of how to proceed at such an event. They had yet to even think of drawing their weapons, still standing on their usual dirt path looking with complete awe at what was unfolding before them. It must be a sign, an omen of the gods.

The two soldiers looked at one another, before looking back at the new beings. Their gray metal was only broken by a yellow glass like device covering where they could only assume faces would be. One of the soldiers tripped and fell back as these beings unslung what could only be assumed to be weapons. His compatriot quickly helped him up, both of them backing up, not sure whether to run, or to bow before such beacons of the gods. As the two soldiers talked hurriedly in low tones, the object that held these beings closed back up.

With a low rumble, and a rush of air, the soldier’s covers were knocked off as this object took to the skies once more. It would turn as though it were some mythical being, a chariot of the angels, perhaps. Before they could figure out where it was going, the beings had begun to move towards them, and towards the town behind them. The two men turned and ran, running for the fort that sat in the town square to rouse no doubt their commanding officer.

Within a few minutes, the local garrison was roused, by the sounds of a ringing bell. A mustachioed man came stumbling out of the fort, into the town square, standing off a ways from the low burning fire. He wore no top, the straps for his suspenders at his sides, rather than over his shoulders. He held a revolver in his right hand, though not pointed at anyone in particular. His eyes widened as he saw these beings, clad in their armor the refracted the rays of the firelight.

“I… I am Captain Reynald, commander of this garrison, and prot…protector of the town of Cherac. Who… who are you… what are you…” He stopped speaking, stepping forwards a bit more, to better see these newcomers. He could not believe what he was seeing. The garrison behind him was watching from their battlements, weapons drawn, but not aimed. They too were in awe, and unsure as what to do. The looked among each other, and then to their commander.

In a low voice… Captain Reynald, a religious man, spoke to himself aloud. “These must be disciples of the gods… angels no doubt. I… I must not offend them.” He turned to his men, and the people that were looking on from the corners of buildings, and from behind objects… “These must be the angels we saw… that is the only explanation…” He turned about quickly, and slowly sank to his knees, and bowed before the beings. Following his lead, the soldiers and people of Cherac followed suit, and bowed before the newcomers, believing them to be angels of their gods.

Hollie, Capital of Nouvelle 6:39 A.M.

A dog barked excitedly at the sky, its owner having been mesmerized by the object that had landed itself in the city’s trade district. He turned, to see what his companion was barking at. His mouth went agape as he saw an even large object begin to descend from the heavens above. Even in the growing light of the morning sun, the dazzling blue of object was still very vibrant and breathtaking. He began to move, running alongside his dog as the two exited the western park, the biggest in all of Hollie. He was among a dozen or so early birds who had woken to see the rising sun, and all of them moved to get out from underneath this new object.

Even as he ran, the object was breathtaking. Beautiful, large, artful, and the most dazzling white that could only compare to newly fallen snow. He stopped running when he felt he was safely away, finding himself standing in a side street that ran away from the park. This object was adorned with strange symbols, readable, but, to the man, they did not make sense. He continued to look on as his dog barked excitedly. The round lights blinked in an almost mesmerizing manner, but were just another factor of the beauty that made this ship.

The man was right in his assumption. The object that had been quietly hovering, aside from a low hum, began to make its way to settling directly over the western park. The object grew in size as it further descended, making its way to land within the confines of the park. The object seemed to float with an unseen force, as though it were imbued with the power of the gods. It finally landed, the vibrant grasses beneath the object moving wildly from the object’s downward motion. Whether it touched the ground, or merely hovered above it, could not be discerned, especially from the man with his dog.

He took a few steps back, as this object rested, because a door opened up, revealing four beings striding forth into the light. In their hands were some sort of weapon like object, but he could not be sure. He moved farther back, just to be on the safe side. He now knelt beside his companion, calming the dog as it sat back, looking from his master, to the new beings that had appeared from this surely divine object. The man looked back to the beings, trying to discern what they looked like.

Their clothing was bizarre and different from what the man was accustomed to. He noticed the odd pattern that adorned their clothes. Green blobs all over the place, different shades of it, like some chaotic child’s painting. Nothing like the flowing colors of the police and military uniforms he had seen of his people. Their heads had some sort of band about them, with a blue glow coming from their right eyes. He shook his head in disbelief, unsure if he were truly seeing this, or if he were merely dreaming. The last thing, oddly enough, was the abundance of pockets on these beings clothing. It was though their clothes were designed to hold everything that a rucksack could hold. How odd.

The four beings had since made their way into the cobbled streets of Nouvelle, aiming their weapons, or whatever they carried towards the upper floors of the surrounding buildings. With some sort of divine power, or whatever, these four individuals quickly flew up and away from where they once stood, and towards the palace, some eight blocks away. The man and his dog looked on with awe, watching the four sail away from where they knelt.

People that were begging their day stood still, watching these four figures zoom over head on their grappling hook like devices. People looked up and pointed, children laughing and running along, while parents chased after their own, and chided them for being so foolish. Some people dropped to the knees and bowed before these beings that made their way to the palace before them. Even the guards along the palace walls could not believe what they were seeing.

Some were focused on the object that had landed in the trade district, while others had forgotten that held weapons, looking at these acrobatic beings. The men all looked up in awe as the four soared over the walls, and up onto a third floor balcony of the palace proper. It was then the guards remembered that they were sworn to protect the palace, and their beloved queen. They sprang into action, begging to mobilize themselves, waking up those that slept, and ringing the bells of distress.

High above the walls, in a third floor room, minor nobles slept, exhausted from all the hubbub from the night before. The five shared a room, the two women sharing a bed, with the three men sprawled about on the couches and floor. They all awoke to a resounding thud against their balcony window. This thud was shortly followed by the sound of breaking glass, and then another softer thud. In an alarm, they shouted for their personal guards, the women leaping up in their night clothes to hide behind the soldiers who came running in.

The guards their weapons at the ready. Some had swords, others their halberds. Two officers had revolvers and swords at the ready. The door swung slowly inwards, revealing four curiously dressed beings. They were oddly similar to the Nouvellians, but a light shade of pink, or perhaps a peach color. Odd, was what all the Nouvellians though as one.

The two noble women moved to cover themselves with robes, while the guards moved to slightly spread out, and not be so bunched up. These beings, these newcomers, were certainly not from here. They could be agents of the gods, angels, or perhaps another form of the divine. Still, the guards knew they would have to be ready to defend their unarmed comrades. To their surprise, the being with more effeminate features strode forth, and let her weapon fall to the ground, her moves completely non-threatening. This show of good faith, the guards lowered their weapons as well, but not completely put away.

The Nouvellians listened intently to the being speak. They found her, as they all conclude that this being was a she, had a very odd dialect of the Nouvellian language. Almost similar, but, more… proper, or perhaps lacking some words. Either way, they continued to listen, wanting to hear all she had to say. She spoke fast, with an authoritative tone, but not threatening. Her hands would move as she spoke, gesturing to key points in her dialogue. She finally finished, her words having been sincere and truthful no doubt.

The gathered Nouvellians conversed amongst themselves, speaking in a lower as to hopefully not enlighten these new beings as to what their thoughts were. A few moments would pass, before they all would turn to these beings from the planet Terra. One of the guards stepped forward, having more stripes on his uniform.

“We greet you with respect… distant visitors. We apologize for our… surprise to when you arrived, and your methods of entering our capital, and our palace. It is of no disrespect that we have our weapons drawn. I am Sergeant Caudill, of the Royal Guards 2nd Platoon. Normally, such wishes to see our Queen may be directed to a higher ranking official, but, this is most important, and no doubt she would be honored to speak with you all.” Sgt. Caudill placed his weapons back on his side, before gesturing for the four beings of Terra to follow him and the guards. The guards held their weapons at ease, those with swords sheathing them, while those with their spears and halberds held them up and away.

“We will be escorting you to the throne room. If it pleases you, as it is a matter of great respect for us, could you be so kind as to bow before our Queen? She is a kind and gentle woman, but, it is best to remember that she is a queen, and us, are her subjects. You are our guests, and will be treated with the utmost respect, but, still, this is one thing that we ask…” He smiled, before continuing, “And, our Queen is young, so, don’t be surprised when you see her.” Sgt. Caudill finished, before hurrying off to fetch the Queen.

The beings of Terra were left to stand before a relatively empty throne room. At its center stood a carved white and purple marble throne. Two massive birds were carved into the arms of this throne, while a massive sun was emblazoned in its back, joined by a smaller planet, and then two moons, with Nouvelle in the center beneath the sun. A red-purple cloth decorated the seat of the throne, is stitching visible even from where the beings of Terra stood. A few more minutes would pass before a door would be heard opening up behind the throne, followed by the sound of rushing footsteps.

“All those in attendance, esteemed members of the Planet Terra, I present to you, her grace, the Royal Divine descendants of Lord Tem’plar, Queen and Protector of Nouvelle, Her Majesty, Queen Sabine of the House Rouverte.” Sgt. Caudill called out, bowing deeply after doing so. The queen strode into view, her long flowing hair worn about her shoulders, her clothing simple yet elegant. It was clear she had been awoken within the last few minutes, and hurriedly made her way to the throne room. Her head was adorned by a beautiful red-gold crown with deep purple gems. She smiled to her guests, bowing her head slightly to them, before seating herself upon her throne.

“I am told you needed to speak with me, esteemed guests… I am honored to have you here… I do apologize for my… my people’s reaction to you, and my dishevelment. I must seem like some rag tag person. Please, speak what is on your minds. You will find that my court is open to all who would speak truthfully and honestly.” Sabine smiles brightly at her guests, eagerly awaiting their words on the matter. Her face was young, compared to many about her. Her skin flawless and smooth, with her hair a deep black, with tinges of deep crimson red throughout it. Her eyes shone brightly, and her teeth bright and perfect. One could assume that she was very excited for this moment.

The Skies above Planet Nouvelle

With all the flurry of the happenings going on in the capital, three frontier towns, another object appeared in the heaven above this moon world. Barely visible to the naked eye, it could only be another disciple of the angels and gods. Or something else. Only time would tell.

Nouvelle Frontier Town

The Sazkarjhit marine at the fore of the squad was a bit stunned, he turned to a soldier and mentioned something in Sazka, out loud, assuming the humans wouldn't understand what he was saying.

"They speak Terran language, however the Terrans themselves said they are not part of their federation? Peculiar..." the soldier, marked with brown striping on the armor identifying the rank of Higher Kordal ((Similar to the modern-day rank of Private First Class)), remarked.

A slightly larger Sazkarjhit, this one's armor brandishing black stripes identifying a leading rank of Captain, strode forward. "Peculiar indeed." he gruffly replied. He looked down at the man who was bowing to them as if they were some type of deity. He waited for him to stand up before looking up and down at him. The two were slightly similar. It was clear he had some sort of position of power, and he carried a small firearm while the others carried rifles. Like this man, the squad leader, Captain Suren'kum, only carried a small arm; a Type 93 Coilgun Magnum. He noticed that the man had a much more primitive looking weapon.

Captain Suren'kum at first grumbled something in Sazka, then pulled out a small tablet, folded down his helmet which sprayed chlorine vapor in the air, and launched the small thing into his gullet. After a brief fit of coughing, he stood erect, the gas fading revealing a reptilian face with an elongated snout, flacid horns that began to point out from the back of his head, and black globular eyes with two tiny white pupils focused on the soldier. His skin was a dark orange color with a yellow dot pattern running down the middle of his head and then angling down the sides in front of his eyes. He began speaking, hoping the codec in his throat mic would translate into the Terran language that the alien may or may not have spoken.

"I greet you upon the Empire of Sazkarjhia and the Peoples' Military of Sazkarjhia. I am Captain Ranan Suren'kum, leader of 1st Squad of Marine Expeditionary Sub-Brigade 3, under garrison of PNSS Might of a Thousand Suns."

Facility A-1

As the beams echoed and resonated amongst the Cathedral, several interesting tidbits of data were presented. First and foremost, a sentience could still be found dwelling on one of the ships, unmoving and silent. The Witch had resigned itself to it's fate, but still sought some way to escape, or at least to strike back at it's captors. For now, it just waited, biding it's time for a lapse in the organic's vigilance. As the scans penetrated deeper, more structural data was revealed, and the Cathedral seemed to give more questions than answers.

There were three separate chambers, the uppermost one including the Core and several walkways, baffling considering the Ethereals had no real need to walk. Next was a massive hollow in the central component of the vessel, with hundreds of hooked rods that crisscrossed through out the space. Some hooks still had balled and inactive Matrons and Sisters, awaiting deployment, hanging from them like grapes from a vine. Lower down, was various, mysterious energy generation systems, compact and glowing dangerously, a definite warning sign of powerful and deadly power being kept there..

The lower chamber held the most secrets, as it was lined with dozens of pod like devices, too thick to be penetrated by the scans and keeping their contents hidden. They almost seemed organic in nature, and were definitely full of something. But for now, the pods did nothing but hang there, twitching slightly.

The Shard Guide

The lasers couldn't penetrate the thick membrane of the sphere, and only registered a slight rippling on it's surface. There was a dull warmth emanating from it, and little else. It didn't react, or give any proper reaction to the tests, and just floated in the center of the chamber.

Nouvelle
In response to the guardsman introducing and welcoming them to the planet, the two Tinkerers that had disembarked did what was equal to a glance at each other; a slight twitch of the head towards each other was all that was needed. Simultaneously, the two Tinkerers pulled out their energy handguns, with bars on the side glowing an ominous blue, and handed them to the Hunters standing on either side, with two more flanking them.

The Hunters retracted their blades by folding it inward from the joint, sliding the edge of the bone blade into a slit in their inner forearm. A robotic hand, identical to the Tinkerers' and the Engineers', grasped the handguns that was handed to them. They attached them to their utility belt, appearing as if they just pressed it against the belt and they just stayed there, and then the Hunters, the four outside, and eight more coming from inside, all surrounded the shuttle, keeping people away from landing gears and from the open doorway. This time, their blades were not sheathed, as a sort of warning to any who would try to approach the Valkians' escape.

Then the two Tinkerers and two just-disembarked Engineers stepped forward to the captain, speaking an unknown language, and asked him in their own language, "Do you mean peace? What are you? Who are you? We have not the same languages, do we?" It did, of course, sound more like just one big word with a questioning tone, which is one of the few things similar about the two different races' speech.

After staring at the somewhat-equally-tall creature in front of them, studying it, the Tinkerer leading the mission was suddenly filled with a sort of clarity. Looking over at his colleague, which was just a small turn of the head, he didn't detect anything different about him. He turned his head towards him as well, but in question, and slight confusion.

After a moment, the leading Tinkerer said, "I believe the Valk-Mother has blessed me." The second Tinkerers' face grew alarmed and very, very confused, and the leader realized that he had just spoken in the exact same dialect as the one that had been used with the natives of the planets. Had he been able to see, and still used his eyes and the muscles around them, they would most certainly have burned with a curious, and surprised, fire. Then, being careful to speak in his language, he said again, "I believe the Valk-Mother has blessed me."

The other Valkian just gave a tiny nod, barely noticeable by the red-humans, but easily recognized by all the Hunters, the two Engineers, who were even more blown away than the Tinkerers- "Where's our Father now?"- and the leading Tinkerer.

"Could you perhaps let us meet a leader or representative?" the Tinkerer asked with the low, difficult to completely interpret voice, common among all Valkians. Only their shouts would be equal to a regular human's conversational tone.

Facility A-1:The Cathedrals
Bjorn looked at the data he was getting on the Cathedrals, he didn't seem pleased.
"I want 3 teams, 10 people each. Two scientists and a Magi per a team, rest should be soldiers. Give everyone magnetic field devices, as well as shield projectors. Team 1 will move in to capture the remaining biological presence, while Team 2 will move in and take a few of the remaining Matrons and Sisters and investigate the energy generation systems further. Team 3 will move in to see what the pods on the lowest level are." said Bjorn, with a very rough and gruff voice.

The 3 teams were soon prepared and heading onto the ship, with the scientists and magi in the back of each time. Each were intent on their assigned goal.

Facility A-1:The Shard Guide
Dr.Vahlen looked at the crystal. Anger was clearly on her face, as she thought to herself about how this crystal foiled her best equipment. She was one of the greatest scientists in the Union, she would not let this crystal's secrets evade her.

"Give me the Arcane Gems, I shall find its secrets. It cannot escape the power of a magic probe." said Vahlen, as one of her assistants handed her two small purple shaped gems.

Her veins began glowing more, the white flowing through them becoming ever more prevalent. She stood next to the Shard Guide, as the two gems floated behind her, connected by a bright beam. She put her hands onto the crystal, two new beams shooting out of the gems and connecting to her hands. The white glowing from her veins became almost blinding in a way, as she channeled mana into her magic probe, intent on discovering the secrets of the shard.

Planet N1

The Praefectus could sense that the being was saving the Plaerique, but didn't understand why. Before it could have a moments of thought, however, 6 more ships were drifting in at large speeds and slowing down. They spread out, some looking over the moon, some joining the others as they looked down at the planet.

There was nothing but silence for awhile.

The Plaerique laid there for a moment, before jumping up in a surprised manner, and looked around and made sounds, mixed of squaks and barking sounds, 'looking' around the room, but really just cocking it's head about like a chicken or ostrich. It made some coughing sounds, but it could slightly tolerate the carbon dioxide. It took more energy from it to turn it into oxygen, but it could do it. It's 'stomach' area or 'belly' would expand and contract very obviously and largely as it calmed down. Still in shock that the being had obviously grabbed it and taken it to this box like area, it was intimidated until it was calmed by the Praefectus.

...

...

"The being that placed us in the chamber. You gave it life."

...

"You must meet us. On our home."

As the Praefectus said 'on our home' the very large Hive ship that had entered in close to the Exploration vessel opened its mouth largely and attewmpted sound, an echo wave that the Exploration could feel and sense, but it was completely ineffective to the larger, more battle ready ships. It's small and short tendrils stretched out and its smog released slightly, it was drawing attention to itself, away from the other Hive ships. Stating that it was the ship the Being needed to board.

Whether or not the demand was for the Tinkerer to board the ship alone or not was not answered. And the Praefectus would not speak again.

(There are apparent openings, small enough for someone to crawl into, on the sides of the Hive... if they could find them. They are covered in something representing a biological slime-like wall. Considered to be similar to pours, but act as airlocks for Esurienti, coming with another slime-like wall on the other side. If one wanted to be a dare-devil, the Hive is keeping its mouth open for this purpose; one would blatantly see a large entrance in the mouth, consider it a throat. But an airlock much larger with the same slime-like walls that one could pass through. Hint: This is what they use when a Hive bites on an enemy ship. Create a hole and create an instant boarding party)

Facility A-1: Mysterious World

When Dr. Vahlen placed her hands on the Sphere, it shook and surged violently, before exploding outwards and throwing her across the room, a little winded but otherwise unharmed. Where the Shard Guide was before, was a single crystal, with blobs of the outer casing orbiting it from a set distance. It pulsated and flickered an eerie purple light, before expanding further and revealing it's contents.

A single planet was shown, with various points and triangulated markers, accompanied by an undecipherable, unknown language. Aboard the Cathedral, the Witch could sense that something had indeed happened, and it became more determined to escape and recover the Guide. The second Piece had been revealed, the Body.

Paris, Capital City of the United Terran Federation
A tattered Federal flag lay on the ground, the Capital building it once flew proudly on now little more than a pile of rubble. A mushroom cloud dissipated in the distance, hanging over the city, a reminder of the past as well as a portentous display of the fact that history likes to repeat it's bad jokes after telling them, the way that leaves everyone involved with a disgusting taste in their mouth. The only thing louder than the screams were the air raid sirens, blaring their now-irrelevant warning constantly. The sound still pierced the hearts of the survivors with fear, it was something that was supposed to be gone, a sound long buried in the sands of time. Unfortunately, somebody had a shovel.

In the distance, trails of smoke rose up into the sky. The retaliation. Everyone stared up at them, some cheering, crying out for vengeance. Others cried, not over their friends or family, but because of what had begun. As the missiles rose up into the sky, they wept for the death to come, while all around them, broken survivors overtaken by anger cried out for more death. One man, probably in his hundreds, looked up at the missiles. He did not weep, cry out for vengeance, or stand astounded. A single tear rolled down his wrinkled face, and he spoke to the few near him in a quiet voice, as if he was ashamed of something.

"Cries for death, I have heard so many of them." He spoke in a German accent, but it was almost suppressed, like something had taken his pride in his heritage and shattered it against a four-foot thick concrete wall. "And yet here we go again, crying for retaliation, for genocide. Will we ever change?"

Nouvelle, Surface
The three men bowed, thought it seemed quite obvious that they were not used to the gesture. It wasn't quite the usual respectful bow, more of an ashamed one. The woman, on the other hand, preformed a perfect curtsy. She definitely knew what she was doing, perhaps the others didn't have any experience with royalty. Of course, were that the case, it would mean that the woman did. Since nobody else had any, and they wore the same uniform, the nation she lived in must have been conquered. Unfortunately, this deduction would raise even more questions. Was she forced into the military? If so, why was she in charge, and why did she show unflinching loyalty?

"There is no need to apologize for your reaction or your own appearance." She said. "We haven't had a shower in weeks, the ship is incomplete. You see, we were rushed out here to respond to a distress call. When we found you, we decided to make contact. Apparently, someone else decided to land here as well. We don't know why, but at your level of technological development, it is likely that they came to conquer. If we work together, the safety of your people can be established. If you give us mining rights tin this system, then we will produce weapons for your troops and help modernize your industry. If you do not agree, we will still ensure your safety. anything to make up for what we have done."

The men looked at her in shock, and she realized she had let it slip. Telling a technologically superior civilization about it was one thing, they probably wouldn't be interested in an alliance. But letting a civilization that still used steam power about it could have terrible repercussions. They could refuse to allow them to provide protection, and be destroyed, there would be no chance of getting mining rights, forcing them to keep their railguns. Nevertheless, the deed was done.

"Sorry.. that last part... it just came out. Feel free to ask."

Nouvelle, Space
A message was transmitted to the Iscandarian ship, from the ground. Apparently, the Terrans had already disobeyed the order.

"They have already been found by an unknown species, possibly hostile. We have no choice but to protect them. Nothing you say can change that."

Nouvelle
"We will gladly help defend them but we must make a demand, and we will enforce it. Do not give them any technology, let us handle this. Species need to be ready for certain technology, and my superiors feel that you would recklessly give them technology they are not ready for."

Facility A-1:Mysterious World
Despite having been roughed up by the explosion Vahlen stood up, fixing her glasses on her face. She seemed very pleased.
"Get translations experts working on that language, I shall prepare for the interrogation of the presence that we saw aboard the Cathedrals." spoke Vahlen, walking off to another part of the facility.

Facility A-1:The Cathedrals
Team 1 proceeded forward, as they saw where the presence was contained. Before it could react they dropped down several devices, a combination of magical and magnetic fields. It seemed to lock the presence in place, as it was dragged off to who know were by the Iscandarians.
"This is Team 1, presence captured, proceeding to interrogation." spoke the lead of the squad.

Meanwhile Team 2 was poking around near the Matrons and sisters. They took down a few, dissembling them for there own purposes, and carefully documenting all the parts and making some quick scans on them, before grabbing a few whole ones and proceeding down to the energy generation level. They began observing the generators and documenting them.

Team 3 had reached the pods. the scientist and magi were using a variety of spells and tools to try to figure out what they were.

Nouvelle
"You are the one being reckless, you assume that nature knows best. You Iscandarians have never known the look on the face of one of your own people as they order the death of millions of others just like them, never known the sermons of a madman bent on wiping out those who disagree with him, never known the evil stare of a grey mushroom you planted. To be Terran is to know all those things, and to never allow them to happen to any other! We know more than you here, just because you could wipe us out in a single day does not mean you are an all-knowing god!"

Nouvelle
"Your words show how ignorant you are and how young you are. You do not have the same level of advancement we do, nor the same knowledge. And we have may have not faced the same horrors as you, as there was little conflict between the various Iscandarian states, but we faced horrors of a all new kind. Imagine for a minute, seeing your family slayed right before your very eyes by a dark creature, then watching as there bodies are turned into mindless zombies, and forced to attack the rest. Or perhaps, cults of insane Iscandarians devoted to chaos, which is forbidden for a reason. They would destroy towns within seconds, leaving many innocents left dead. Our demand remains as such."

A small shuttle floated down to the surface, preparing to see the Nouvellans for themselves.

Nouvelle
"Of course we do not have the same knowledge! Knowledge is always different between civilizations, but that's all it is, different! Your knowledge of is completely inapplicable to this situation! You speak of mindless zombies created by a creature, I have seen mindless zombies created by my own people! Can you imagine being in a hospital, wondering if you first baby will be a boy or a girl, only to be told that your child was born without a brain? You speak of towns destroyed in seconds, I have seen an entire region wiped clean of all life in under a week! Can you imagine being on a plane, on a religious pilgrimage, only to hear that the very city you were traveling to was just destroyed? All of that, because there were only twenty others who cared! If we had guidance, then none of that would have ever happened! You are arrogant, you believe that because you are more powerful than us, you are automatically superior! Did it ever cross your mind that maybe, just maybe, we know something truly beyond what you know?"

Nouvelle Orbit, The Explorer V and the Varren III
Both ships began to perk when flunctuations appeared in other parts of orbit, and an unknown vessel descended through the atmosphere nearby. Going on alert, the Explorer almost immediately began detecting unknown ships, and responded accordingly, sending a recently-devised message by way of a diagram and code for a DNA module, the DNA of a drug that is similar to several that calm the nervous system, and relax the muscles. Essentially saying: Calm, we won't do anything bad.

On the ground there wasn't so much luck.

Nouvelle Capital City
Before there could be a response from the creatures calling them "Angels," a Hunter stepped forward and whispered something in their native language to the Tinkerer. After a moment, he too expanded his senses as far as they could go, and saw a stranger sight. A creature similar to the ones that stood before them, but dressed differently, with technology that may be on par to their own, apparently speaking with the natives.

At this, the Tinkerer waved, and responded with several orders. Shortly afterwards, one Hunter remained to accompany an Engineer and the Tinkerer that could now speak the natives' language. The door to the shuttle closed, shutters slid out of the bottom of the shuttle to encase its landing gears, and the wings folded like a bat's, a point coming down with a skid extending out to touch the ground, the rest of the wing folding up relatively close to the shuttle. A small turret extended out the end of each wing, both of which aimed opposite of each other, not pointing at the ground or sky, but simply there, a warning.

With this done, the Tinkerer asked, "Bring us to your palace. There is another type of Angel waiting there for us," utilizing the recent name-calling of "Angel," simply taking it in and figuring that they were still primitive enough to believe that anyone that descended from the heavens was godly.