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[IC] The Zea of Worlds Page 4
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DSS Audie Murphy
Compared to their previous engagement, the UED forces were doing very well against this enemy. Probably because, unlike their previous enemy, these creatures died when you shot them. Carver had already picked off several of the smaller ones, and the other Marines were picking off plenty of them as well. During all the chaos of the battle, he barely noticed the alien ship going down, still focused on the enemies in front of him. He did notice a number of the creatures moving away from his ship, leading to him looking over to see the crashed airship. At least they have a shield. They can hold out.
Looking back towards the battle, Carver watched as the Goliaths launched their missiles at the larger enemies. The result of the attack left a smile on his face. The larger creatures had been utterly devastated by the attack, with the first few dead or crippled. As their bodies fell to the ground, cheers erupted from the Marines, and Carver cheered with them. Despite their size, these beings were no match for the might of the Terran war machine. The missiles ripped through their flesh like tissue paper. As the remaining creatures moved to engage them, Carver wasn't too worried. The big ones were only a threat if they got close, something the Goliaths could easily stop with a few missiles. He was more concerned that the smaller ones would try to swarm them, which would force them to engage them in melee.
"Form a perimeter around the Goliaths! Don't let anything get through!" At his command, the Marines moved to form a semicircle around the two Goliaths. If any of the smaller ones tried to swarm them, they would be cut down by gauss fire. As they prepared to take on the creatures, nobody noticed a small creature move towards them. Carver barely caught a glimpse of it before it perched onto one of the Goliaths. To his surprise, though, it didn't attack the Goliath, instead choosing to prance on the mech's hull in what looked like excitement. This caused a chain reaction, as the Goliath's pilot suddenly noticed the creature, followed by the Marines.
"Shit, it's on me, it's on me!"
"What the fuck is that?"
"Shoot it!"
"Don't shoot it! I repeat, do not engage!" Carver shouted, putting his hand up as one Marine raised his rifle. He lowered his rifle, looking between Carver and the creature, before slowly turning back around. As the Sergeant looked at the creature, he could see several similarities in its uniform to the griffon from before. He could only assume that it wasn't hostile...but why was it here, on top of their mech? Looking back and seeing the enemy begin to move towards them, he figured that he could save those questions for later.
As the larger creatures got into range, the Goliaths prepared to engage. The sounds of missiles being launched could be heard, as they unleashed another salvo at the larger beings. During the chaos, Carver barely noticed the streaks of green light heading towards the ship.
On the bridge, Specialist Lee prepared himself to listen into the creature's mind. As the connection was made, he was taken about by the sheer amount of activity buzzing through its mind. It seemed to be directing the other creatures, validating his theories that this one was a leader of some kind. However, he didn't get much time to look through its thoughts, as it seemed to catch onto his presence within seconds, and was staring right at him, snarling. Suddenly, his mind was flooded with thousands of screams and terrible images. Lee was taken aback, fighting to sever the connection as the mental attack worsened. He could faintly make out the sound of gunfire, and soon enough, the attack began to fade in intensity, allowing him enough concentration to end the connection. As the connection ended, he let his cloak fade away, finding it too difficult to maintain it after the harsh mental assault. He could see it had been wounded by the crewmen's gunfire, and he could sense it preparing a counter-attack.
Fortunately for the crewmen, something intervened. He could only watch as the three new beings moved in, two moving to apparently protect the crewmen, while the third attacked. They seemed to have countered the other creature's psionic attack, and one of the new beings attacked it, throwing shards of glass at it. As he watched them fight, he decided that these new beings were allies, not enemies. Taking out his canister rifle, he managed to stand up, still somewhat shaken from the psionic attack. Lifting the rifle up, he took a shot at the enemy creature.
Meanwhile, the surviving crewmen were surprised to find that they were being healed, not killed. While they were terrified at the whole situation, they surrendered to the aid of the unknown beings. They could only hope that this whole situation would be over soon.
GM
@thedman
Indeed, the little thing meant no harm to the Goliath, and could certainly be looked into later... though in the mean-time he was seriously pondering what to do now, the bugs were getting annihilated, but until they were 'dealt with' completely he couldn't really hope to investigate anything himself without potentially inviting retribution, he was impatient, but not stupid, though it could have been funny to make them attack eachother trying to hit him... it still left him with the dilemma of busying himself in the mean-time...
Almost on cue the next wave of missiles were launched and another bundle of behemoths were left with missing pieces of splattered parts, bits of chitin scattered in such volume that most of the marines would likely have pieces bouncing harmlessly off of their armor... And like that, it hit him... not the literal chitin bits, the idea!
"Ah! Of course! I can help, duh! That should get them to let me pick one of these toys apart!" Granted, their defensive perimeter was quite effective it seemed, and that meant he could potentially get mistaken for one of the threats if he returned to the air... that just left one option!
He pranced up to all fours once more before splaying his wings and... jeez, it almost looked like he was 'dancing' ontop of that mech, were it not for the distortion appearing around his wings and the thrust of air that followed his wing beats... it didn't really make much of a spectacle, but a discerning eye may catch on to the timing of his motions coinciding with one of the swarming creatures losing some control of their flight path and veering away from the cluster of marines.
That aside though, they were being minced easily by the gauss weaponry, both the turrets and the marine's weapons... granted, the shots tended to pierce clean through with too much ease, causing somewhat lesser damage, and yet, these things couldn't even compare to 'zerglings' for durability. A Couple of the clean holes were often enough to leave them unable to functionally fly, and once ground-bound they were easy targets for a couple more shots.
...
That said, once it became clear universally that there was in-fact a greater threat than the ship's guns, or rather, a physically smaller threat that was too low for said guns to cover effectively, it seemed as if the same idea swept through the masses of bug things, and almost as one their paths shifted to pour onto the marines... they were either sub-sapient, or maddened, as they seemed to hold no concern for the hail of bullets that now tended to go through one target and hit another... Whether or not the swarm could even 'harm' the marines even with a proper dog piling was up for guessing, and yet something seemed to decide to lend a hand anyway.
With the swarm's attention diverted to the immediate and considerable threat of the smaller metal bipeds carrying strange rapidfire small cannons, the ship was free to drop it's shield and return what fire it could... in a literal sense, a variety of colors soared through the air, carefully aimed to go 'over' the marines in every case, and give quite a show, even if the aim was seemingly random at that distance.
Colorful bolts of fiery energy decorated the air in waves of a dozen or so, helping to lower the flight level of the swarm, as while the gauss rounds would rip right through them, history dictated that being struct by arcane fire could prove deadly in it's own way, and would easily spread to other members of the swarm if they got too close... which they 'would' while burning alive and panicking. It seemed instinct forced the creatures lower, some to the ground, as they tried to charge these alien things.
It might well have been an impressive feat to weather that assault at all, even more so to simply get back up and level one's weapon before even taking a moment to catch his breath... but what was truly impressive was, either through luck, skill, or timing, the effectiveness of that shot...
With similar timing, the interloper had skittered himself away from the advancing queen, seemingly cowering against the wall for a moment, though his eyes had drifted to notice the strange biped leveling what he could only assume was a weapon at her, and with a quick little bit of planning he spat at her... something that made her snarl with rage and prepare to strike him.
Only for him to whirl about and try to kick her with both hind-legs, something she easily reared up to avoid, just in-time for the shot to fire, and for a Twenty-Five millimeter shell to bust clean through the chitin of her side, only to find enough resistance form this particular creature to trigger it's detonation, 'clearing out' the other side of her and throwing what was left to the ground in a smear of it's own blood.
For a moment that interloper stopped and stared in shock at the damage, and back at the weapon that had done it... hoo boy, if they had something that'd tear into a queen like that.
A noise drew his attention back to the remains though, to spot them twitching suspicious, still trying to 'move'... given the damage that had been done, there was really only one thing to do, and he quickly leapt over to bite down on the neck with a sharp crunch, one that was immediately followed by it going still, a mercy kill most likely?... of course, it would conveniently conceal him draining the horded emotions that she contained, or other elements of the draining process.
He quickly pulled off a few moments later and spat out a gob of mess and then... proceeded to sit down, and let things progress as they would for a bit... And of course giving a bit of time to better observe the 'helpers', which one might note were not full of holes as the one's who'd been attacking were.
Speaking of which...
Back outside the ship, the reaction was timed flawlessly with the specialist's shot, The swarm of creatures collectively keeled over, screeching and hissing and flailing as if something horrific had happened, some even taking to attacking eachother instead.
*Boodeep!* "Sergeant. It appears that the creature that attacked the bridge fulfilled a roll similar to a Zerg Queen. I have confirmed that the swarm's sudden rabid madness coincides precisely with the moment that Specialist Lee struck the one in the bridge." *Beep* "Seismic disturbances have ceased, and psionic activity has vanished outside of the ship" *Bleep* "One Alien Psionic source remains on the bridge, however, it appears to have intervened in defense of the injured bridge-crew, and two similar creatures are covering their wounds."
Captain Cloak's Crew
@evanist
Something worth noting, was that they were just close enough to the mountain to hear the rapid pattering of weapon's fire, though what 'exactly' the source was, was unclear.
They were smaller than expected, almost adorably little things, but only one of them cared about that and the other two either wouldn't, or couldn't, express such interest. Though they continued their steady pace towards said mountain, backwards, the big one spoke up. "Survivors?... Good... Have. not. seen. 'pods'. or. tiny. feather. creatures... We. search. too. Captain. Tall. Red. Can't. Miss. Follow. Combat. Sound.
@nevikr1
Given the lack of anything happening around him, The tall red figured assumed perhaps it was just a forest critter he'd heard, and picked up his pace to continue on towards the sounds of action in the distance.
The Responders
@wanderingdragon@rangingwolf
Amber was absolutely oblivious to the strange creatures musings, simply continuing to mercilessly cling to the boy's arm and flutter around wantonly, trying to gnaw another carrot out of his hand...
At least, until said 'other carrot' was hovered infront of his muzzle... he couldn't actually see it at the moment due to his masking being askew from making room to bite the last one, but he could smell it, he could taaasssteeee iiiit!...
He shot 'down' so quickly to snatch the second carrot that one might fear he's crash head-first into the ground and hurt himself, yet even in his current state at the last moment his wings snapped into a curve that pulled him up into a skidding slide, already sitting and eagerly chewing on the carrot, which slowly dissapeared into his mouth... like a timer... ticking down till the next demand for a snack...
...
Of course, this also meant he'd released Escotto in mid-air, and seemed completely oblivious to the sudden return of gravity to his previous victim...
Meanwhile, Ruby, with her boss moving off to join the Asari for... whatever it was going to be, considered the use of a little information about her oddly behaving companion, and quickly singe-doodled a few things...
One was an arrow pointing towards the distracted Stallion, another was a picture of a quadruped surrounded by lightning, and the last was a caricature of his muzzle with spinny eyes to imply being loopy.
Co-op with Ranging
From the looks of it the equinoids had accepted the proposition of a meld. This would be a first for Linass, not many could say that they initiated first contact with a species. Even fewer could say that they were the first to meld with unknown species. But for the sake of diplomacy they had no other options. As the leader of the quadruped aliens finished his drawing, Linass took a quick look at it. She was unsure what the extra additions made to Elijah's drawing were supposed to mean but she would likely find out within the next few minutes. Once the equinoid was in front of her, she took a steadying breath before she sat down Cross legged Linass met the alien's eyes. Once she had permission she started her meld. A quiet "Embrace Eternity" could be heard before her eyes turned Black as she touched her head to aliens.
Said lead quadruped calmly moved closer, inside there was some tumultuous distrust, but he also trusted in his patron's ability to defend him were this to turn out to be a trap, so he leaned in when she seemed... prepared, however strange it was to see those eyes go black, something that was often a bad sign in Equestria.
Perhaps unexpected to those viewing from with-out, they both slumped more than expected upon making the connection, slipping over eachother's shoulders for balance, likely more unconcious than they were supposed to be... though familiar qualities of the melding would still be seen.
On their side though, the world had gone dark, slowly illuminating to form something akin to a night-scape, albeit barely visible, and nearby, between, was standing something that resembled this 'night-scape' in the shape of an equine much larger than 'he' was, bright enough compared to the rest of the area that it stood out, and nearly featurely save for it's darker eyes...
Otherwise, it seems there was invisible solid ground to stand on, and both were present unscatched, though the equine was missing his armor and suit now, revealing him more clearly as a nearly white furred pegasus with a firey mane and tail, and bright ice blue eyes. She might not be familiar with quadrupedal species like his, but there was well trained muscle tone under that fur, something that in most species was a clear indicator of intense training.
Of course, 'he' was looking at the thing to the side, and eventually spoke in a tone perhaps younger and less authoritative than one would expect of a leader. "Welp... that was what I was afraid of..."
Once the meld had started, Linass found herself in a darkened landscape. Instead of her armor she defaulted to what she normally wore.
In front of her stood the quadruped alien. Though unlike in the waking world where he was clothed. Here he wore nothing. Since the Asari are considered the masters of the mind she knew the feeling when a third party was there. For now though she would ignore the presence and continue on with first contact.
Now that they had now become effectively one being she understood him clearly when he spoke. "I'm glad that the meld was successful and we can understand each other, let us ignore the third party for now. Let's instead focus on the sharing of our language."
Said Equine seemed to be... 'mildly' startled by hearing her, or rather, by 'understanding' her so clearly, head snapping to the side to stare at her with some surprise at first, though it quickly mellowed out as things became more clear, and he quickly replied "Ignoring them is not a bad idea, but I should inform you that it is a dream guardian serving my patron, It protects us and informs her when something tries to tamper with our minds... It's lack of aggression is evidence enough that this 'Meld' is harmless, though it is also why we have been pulled into a dream-scape. of course, 'she' will likely be joining us soon."
Linass nodded her head. "Ah so that is what the last part of the message meant. It was confusing to say the least." Pausing for a moment as she gathered her thought. "Honestly a lot of this is unknown to me. Normally during a meld its two people. Unless its a three way meld of course. But mind guardians? Unheard of from where we from." A smirk appeared on her face. "And as to why this is benign. Well it is how we reproduce among my species. But do not fret. I will not become with child to do so would involve a lot more work. This was just the fastest way for us to give you our language, well at least mine."
Onyx nodded as well "Indeed, that's what it meant, it would've taken a little long to draw a proper depiction instead... and I suspect that protection is the source of this unknown portion." There was an inevitable blush though, when 'reproduction' had been mentioned, but he calmed down quickly when she clarified it away. "Ohhh, I see... I've never actually heard of something that bred through mental contact like that."
Linass gave another smile. "You most likely have never heard of it since my race are the only ones that can do it. To skip the biology when we meld to reproduce we can choose what genes to give to our offspring." Waving her hand. "But lets skip all that, that is neither here nor there."
He nodded softly to acknowledge the idea of moving on from the subject, interesting as it 'could' be, they had more important matters to discuss, both of them moving closer to sit a few feet from eachother, and with a smile he agreed. "indeed, bridging the language barrier will be vital before we part, at least to some degree. one of my greatest concerns so far has been the lack of effective communication leading to an eventually aggressive resolution." He stopped there before he got too rambly, and let her continue on uninterupted.
Once she sat herself on the 'ground' she looked at the alien. "Does all of your species come in such colors?" She somewhat blurted out. "Apologies for that. For being almost six hundred years old I still act like a maiden at times. Let's start over. My name is Linass T'Kaana and I'm a Asari. My other three companions are Ghalo Sangeral, he the one with four eyes and he is a Batarian. The large one is Jorgal Valak and he is a Krogan. Then Finally the one that leads us is Elijah Messener, he's the one with the single glowing eye and he is a Human. The other human found our ship so I do not know who he is except that his name is Escotto. What about yourself?" Linass said turning the question to him with a serene smile.
Her introductions of her companions was quick, and he attached names to each of the creatures he remembered seeing... a small snicker and a grin crossing his lip "Escotto... that must be the one that tried to give me a carrot and got Tackled by Amber in response... poor thing, Amber's 'voracious' after using a lot of energy, heheh... and yes, we come in 'all' the colors... all of them." He'd been taking the time mentioning that to process something else she had mentioned though.
"Yes Escotto. From my understanding of Human biology. He is very young, not even a adult." She shook her head. "It is obvious the child has never thought that his actions do have consequences. Despite him not being a part of our group we offer our humblest apologies for his transgressions." A short bow of her head followed suite.
He chuckled then and waved his hoof "it's alright, I know, the young will do foolish things... honestly, I'm older than I certainly look, for good reason, and I still do foolish things... heheh, if you never do 'anything' foolish, then life just feels too serious!... heheh, considering that our forest has been threatening to kill you, we can 'at least' let that go anyway, especially given the potential consequences of riling up the Everfree forest, hoo!... besides, it was funny seeing Amber buzzing around with him" A small smirk joined her then "And I don't know his language anyway, unless you're speaking 'human' at least.
A small chuckle followed "Although i'm unsure of how well it will translate, we'll have to adapt to some degree, I don't think we have the proper biological structure to speak eachother's languages fluently, but it will still be a boon to understand eachother.. . plus, this offer an oppurtunity for me to clearly share some important information about out world, heheh, which you're clearly not from."
Another laugh graced past her. " Yes the young will do such things. Luckily I'm three hundred years too old for such nonsense. And no we are not speaking the 'human' language. I speak a variant of the Asari language known simply as Illium standard. But several of our people speak it so you shan't be waning on conversation. Yes it will be very vital for you to at least understand 'one' of the many languages spoken by the crew of the Verrikan. "
"as for language, it is going to be simple at least for us. We have a tool that is simply called an omni-tool they work as translators. Once we have your language we can program our omni-tools and probably make a few simple omni-tools for you to use. Though they will not be connected to the extra or have any combat functions they will at least allow you to communicate with us." She said bringing up a mental image of a omni-tool
It was a fascinating piece of technology that she demonstrated, though as far as his eyes could guess it might as well be conjuration magic for all it's appearances... he certainly didn't know what an 'extranet' was, and he had no need of it's combat abilities. "That sounds incredibly useful! Though I imagine it's going to take a bit of time to... 'program' them. I'd be willing enough to supply my language for it, though it may require some additional examples, some ponies speak in different ways, or with unusual accents."
Linass gave Onyx a look. "Young one, programing this omni-tool will be child's play. As for the accents it shouldn't be that difficult. The omni-tool is a very simple machine." She said with a smile, though paused for a moment. "Although, The potential consequences of riling up the Everfree forest? I believe our ship could handle it. Child, nothing short of a bullet traveling at almost the speed of light would hope to penetrate its armor." She said in a condescending tone.
His knowing smirk hinted at something she was underestimating about the forest though, and he brought the subject back for a moment. "However, One of the greatest rules around here for centuries has been not to piss off 'or' underestimate the forest... there's... 'something' there, the princesses either don't know, or are keeping it hidden for good reason so the forest can protect 'other' secret, but it empowers the forest and it's creatures in strange ways... for instance, this." He waved a hoof to the side and an image appeared.. it seemed he knew a thing or two about dream imagery at least. "Is a cockatrice." it was a really goofy looking creature, like someone had fuzed a chicken with a lizard in a wholely unnatural way. "It can turn it's victims to stone, though I suppose it's possible that with your strange armor, it's inability to actually 'see' your body's may prevent this." He paused to tap his chin... then seemed to realize something "Oh, i'm rambling, and we may not have too long, my apologies!"
He cleared his throat "To be more immediately relevent, what has been attacking you so far are called timber-wolves, quite literally 'made of timber', the big one is a bit more complicated, most just call it a king timberwolf, but magically speaking it's more like a 'forest vein', the crystal at it's core that allows it to manifest such size with stability is some kind of living thing from inside the forest... now, I say 'vein', because that is among the smaller sizes of them. It hasn't been seen in mine or a dozen generations, but my patron has shared imagery and memories from the last time a forest 'heart' was enraged..." There was a rush of color behind him, 'far' behind him, and something akin to an entirely forest come to life in the shape of a wolf appeared... this one was much larger than the ship. "Destroying the vein could likely have awoken something much worse... And I'm not sure if it needs to penetrate your armor in order to simply crush it, or if it endures, then burying it in the ground that will crumble around it from the force."
A pleasant smile returned then "Luckily, the forest is neither mindless nor rabid, and it knows 'we' don't intend it harm as long as it stays in it's own territory, and likewise, the vein surviving and our presence makes it question if the threat it perceived in you may have been poorly assumed... at least, that's my guess, I've never interacted with it personally." He dispelled the titanic image then.
When onyx brought the image of the cockatrice, she cocked her head at it. "How can one such creature turn a person to stone? That is not scientifically possible....Though if what you say is true when can just polarize our armor so they cannot see our faces." From what she could tell he seemed rushed for some reason. Perhaps it had something to do with his 'patron' showing up. "Magic? I don't want to sound condescending but magic is not real." She said at the mention of the king timberwolf. "Besides for the most part those beings were easy to kill. Though we will switch our ammunition to something different instead of incendiary." At the mention of the forest 'heart' waking and it crushing the ships armor, she gave a kind laugh. " I do not believe something other than another starship could destroy the ship. Though having it buried in the ground that would be somewhat of a challenge for us. Now that we have made our mark against this entity in the forest, do you believe it will attempt to make a move against us? Or have we quelled it for now?" She asked.
Her next question brought him a little chuckle, and he shrugged "there is some contention for how, but there is some form of magic production behind their eyes that produces a stone transmutation curse of sorts. It doesn't spread to trees and plants or anyone but it's target, so it's theorized to bet a specific abnormality based about turning 'flesh' to stone." However, her disbelief in magic caused him to grin delightedly. "And yet, our whole world has lived magic for longer than history has been recorded, perhaps it could be something other than what you understand to be a 'magic that doesn't exist'... Alas, we used out wings to generate fire and lightning only minutes ago, though I understand it more thoroughly than that, it certainly happened. I have seen many examples, too many to list now, hmhm."
A quizzical look passed her face. "Curses? Magic. I still do not believe it. I trust in science, no offense. But it isn't plausible. I mean even our biotics are easily explained." Disbelief lacing her voice.
He followed with a shake of his head though "I don't think it will have the time to make a move against you, shortly before this 'meld' I spotted Princess Celestia approaching the gorge behind the ship, She will likely be present by the time we awaken and convincing it to back down. It doesn't mean something feral from the forest might not attack eventually, Hydra, Manticore, maybe a local Dragon... with all the disruption these crashes have caused, I just hope it hasn't woken an ursa." He grinned a little though "And timberwolves are easy to break, but the magic saturating them makes them reconstruct rapidly when not destroyed, and allows their pieces to be used to build a bigger one by a forest vein... And yet, all you need to run them off, is loud high-pitched noises... I can only assume those weapons of yours didn't do so because the forest emboldened them to deal with a perceived 'threat'."
Shortly after he voiced those delayed thoughts "Although... humans... There's no confirmation of it not being merely half-baked crackpot theories, but there are quite ancient mentions of the word, extremely few mind you, but that is enough to fascinate those obsessed with 'maybes' and 'unknowns'... You should warn your leader then, about a minty green mare in the nearby town, she is... fanatical, about the idea of humans existing, and may potentially become... hrm... 'awkwardly interested' in him... and his hands... I don't quite understand it personally, but to each their own."
At the mention of humans being in their mythos and nonexistent an eyebrow rose. "That is very odd that you do have mention of them in your mythos. Since my crew does not like Escotto we ask of you not to tell him when we wake. It would be fitting punishment." A laugh escaped her.
After that he cleared his throat, straightening himself in an almost militaristically refined manner, though he maintained the smile, his tone came a bit more officially "I will keep in mind your companions, as for me, I go by Onyx Wing, for... Military reasons, I can't share my real name. I lead a team of Shadowbolts, which essentially operates as an unlisted high-tier threat management force serving the night Princess directly... She is the one who will likely be arriving soon, she keeps a close eye on external forces interacting with, or trying to, our minds, her sister will be arriving shortly to calm the forest as well. My Current companions go by Amber wing, the one currently gnawing on the human boy, and Ruby wing, the one who'd been singeing the images into the stone. The rest of my team spread out to other crash sites to try and get them under-control." He relaxed slightly then "That aside, it is a pleasure to meet you properly 'Linass T'Kaana', I hope this can all be concluded peacefully."
The theoretical eyebrow rose once again. "Military eh? Makes sense. A lot of our crew were prior military. Let us get a formal introduction in then." Standing up she gave a elegant bow. "We are The White Company. We are a small band of mercenaries. From pirates to Warlords to slavers. No target is too difficult for us. " Sitting back down she continued on. " Am I correct in understanding that you guys are considered your planets special forces then?"
"Although, You serve your Princesses? Why not the King and Queen?" She paused. "Nonetheless it seems we have a lot to learn about this planet. But once it again it is a pleasure to make all of your acquaintances and we hope that this can all be concluded peacefully as well. As well, For these other beasts you mentioned do they have any special quirks such as the timberwolf? And am I to assume that it'll be fine to defend ourselves against these beasts?" Linass asked.
He noted her 'formal' introduction and broadened his smile, his patron would likely approve of that "Actually, technically speaking, we are more like you in that respect, the Shadowbolts are 'officially' a mercenary organization that takes on less 'publically acceptable' jobs, or to read a bit more into that, carry out duties that either the leadership cannot be publically involved in, or are seen as too extreme for the standard guard or military forces." He raised a hoof to cough into with a playful smirk "our nation has not known war in centuries so... they're abit out of practice... we're the answer for things that are too far out of their current levels of experience." Then a small shake of his head "although, not this 'planet's' per se, but our nation's at least, and we're it's 'aerial' special forces, the less official ones, there are others for less airborne specialties. From a rogue Ursa to a disaster level hurricane, we're the ones to fix it, and our speed often sees us sent after most 'sudden' emergencies."
"Ah so black ops then." She said with a knowing smile. Then turned to confusion at the mention of there being no war for centuries. "How is that possible, without war stagnation happens. And thats not a good thing." She paused letting him continue. "What do you mean other species? Like other sentients? Athames Azure! This planet is full of wonders." She said.
Her greater disbelief at the idea of 'no war' brought a fresh chuckle "I guess you're from somewhere more heavy in conflict... though I should clarify, 'no war' doesn't mean there haven't been lesser skirmishes, threats on the loose, or violent encounters. There has just been no direct nation versus nation conflicts in many generations. There's still rogue monsters, heavens, the nearby town next to this forest is attacked 'weekly', like a bloody schedule. There's also the occasional 'ancient evil' that likes to come back... There was a reality warping mad-creature a few years back, then an invasion by bug creatures, an ancient tyrant escaped his prison, then a giant centaur thing that ate magic, and we don't even talk about when the 'smooze' returned... Heh, it's an exciting time we live in these days!" Then he perked up even more "And yes! other sapient species, though you'll likely find ours the most hospitable once they get to know you, and more skittish 'before' they do. There also Griffons, the minotaurs, the zebras, the crystal ponies, thestrals, changelings, dragons, centaurs, gargoyles, oh the list goes on."
She gave a hearty chuckle. " I wouldn't say heavy conflict. We haven't had a true war in a good while. The last open conflict was the 'First Contact War' as the humans called it. Though it only lasted a few months. But our various governments constantly have military operations going against pirates, slavers and their like. Thats in the Council Space. From where we operate out of is called the Terminus Systems basically lawless lands that are owned by Warlords, Pirates, Slavers and their like. Though mind you some of the Warlords are decent. But its like choosing a lesser evil over a greater evil."
As Onyx finished his list of the most recent 'conflicts' she once again shook her head in disbelief. " It almost sounds like some sort of fantasy book from what you are telling me. I almost don't want to believe it." Linass's eye almost 'popped' out one could say at all the sentients Onyx listed. "Athame's ass! Hold on, you're telling me your planet has ten different species of sentient life!? Our scientists would go crazy over this place." She laughed.
Then suddenly his smile became quite mirthful "Oh yes, there are 'quite' a few, however 'the princesses' are actually a subject i'd hoped we'd get to soon, given their eminent arrival. I imagine like our neighboring nations and other species, your's may have different structures from our own, and for good reason. It could take ages to be 'thorough', but i'll lay out the basics, and I don't even need imagery, heheh, you'll likely meet both of them soon enough."
"Princesses Celestia and Luna, are our highest Diarchs, they actually choose to use 'princess' instead of queen, or empress, or goddess, depending on how fanatical who you ask might be, as a show of being closer to their subjects... it seems silly to me that they would need do it such a way, but back then ponies were... simpler, superstitious, paranoid of power, and many other issues. To compact it into as few words as possible, though you may hear different versions or embellishments depending on the source, they are the immortal sisters, they united our species and founded the nation thousands of years ago, they guide the movement of the sun and moon around our world, and have lead the nation since it's inception. Celestia over-sees the day, the sun, and more often than not diplomacy and defense. While Luna over-sees the night and the moon, dreams, and usually military matters... The eclipse that rose in the sky shortly before this 'melding' is an ancient sign both of crisis, and to let the public know that they're personally seeing to it... Luna, by the way, is the shadowbolt's patron, and she will be joining us here before long."
He returned to a calm smile then, and just incase she got worked up over his description of them, he elected to clarify "You don't need to worry about any 'superiority complexes' or potentially deadly offense at benign things.... immortality, I hear, is very lonely and boring, interacting casually is among their preferences outside of exceedingly formal settings, though Luna will certainly seem quite 'imperious'." He paused to whisper teasingly "She likes to look the part of a nightmare when prepared for combat." Then returned to normal. "She will appreciate casual interaction when you're not an enemy." That he felt the need to mention it at all, hinted that reactions or assumptions had happened enough in the past to warrant it.
Linass decided not to comment on their form of government for she had no place to. She just nodded her head politely. " Good there are no royalty where we are from. Plus we are considered 'scum' from our home as well. So we only planned on acting casually. As for long age. Just ask any Asari or Krogan it gets quite tiresome after a thousand years. And how does one look like a nightmare anyway?" She asked.
He'd seemed to have skipped right over her mention of being 'centuries' old, and the specific language she mentioned, and while one might wonder why, they wouldn't wonder long.
"Like this?" That wasn't 'his' voice this time, it was something else, womanly, rich, powerful, one might very well associate it with a disney villain's tone of casual disdain for lesser beings, if it weren't for the slightly mirthful tone and playful inflection... of course, the source made itself known quickly, fading into being
, accompanied by the sensation of an exceedingly old and powerful mind slipping into the dream-scape, though it was up for guesses if it became involved with the melding or simply the scape that they were seeing in... It was also very tall, more than her krogan friend, if by a small margin. Remarkably darkly
furred, armored, with a mane and tail that looked to be made of the galaxy itself, and eyes that glowed like stars... And a mouth full of fangs
"It is pleasant to find at least 'one' potential crysis was already being resolved peacefully before I had to step in." She quieted for a moment to glance between them "I can only assume the calm interaction I see is confirmation that there is no threat here." Her tone lightened up considerably at least, but her presence remained somewhat over-bearing, even if it wasn't clear if this was purposeful or natural.
Linass felt another being enter the meld, but she did not feel how ancient and powerful it was, since for the Asari once they entered a meld there was no differentiating of ones age or 'power'. The other being that entered the 'meld' was a tall equinoid of unknown phenotype. This one though had wings and a horn. How peculiar! This one was wearing what would be considered ancient armor among the species of the her world same with the weapon. Though they looked very well crafted. "Aye what crysis there was; was easily averted by the help of your 'mercenaries'" She said with a graceful laugh. "And yes there is no threat currently, I initiated a meld with Onyx here, with his permission mind you. So we could share our languages to better communicate in the waking world." She said with a smile.
This alien's reaction to her... or, rather, the calmness and familiarity with which she addressed a complete stranger and in-fact alien, it was... unusual to her, but it brought a smile "Fascinating... With inference from the report I received, and the way you can remain so casual and open, you and your allies must be used to meeting new species... Though your dismissal of magic as imaginary is somewhat concerning, given that your ship was preserved by a mass wave of solar magic before you crashed." She shook her head slightly and her wings shrugged "Nevermind, that is irrelevant, if no threat is posed, then I shall relax." And like that the 'nightmare' melted away, leaving a noticeably smaller and more... 'adorable' mare standing there, barely taller than the stallion she initiated the meld with.
The voice that came now was both refined, but younger and lighter in tone, if still very 'official'. "Now then, I can answer some of those questions I heard while observing, since I interupted them." After a short clearing of her throat. "There are actually 'dozens' of sapient species on this world, there are others living on my moon as well, and more still in the prison plane of Tartarus. Our's is among the most advanced however, and those that Onyx mentioned are the other with the greatest semblance of civilization on a 'nation' scale. Many others are single tribes, or large villages instead kingdoms... though there 'are' others farther beyond that few encounter due to distance."
"As for those 'beasts'... Yes, you are free to defend yourselves as you like, it would be unfair to expect you to disarm in the face of a threat, though if they flee it will be best you don't pursue, it could just as easily be a lure for a trap. As for special qualities... Dragons are either massive and solitary, and thus extremely durable, or smaller and traveling in groups with a remarkable disdain for, hrm, 'lesser species' that they have yet to grow out of... Manticores are not too difficult alone, large flesh and blood, but their stinger's are highly poisonous and they often hunt in packs, they are also quite intelligent for an 'animal'... Hydra's are roughly the size of a barn, 'before' you factor in the necks that are longer than their bodies, Five heads, each capable independantly of spew acids or anything else they've consumed, and removing one head will not sufficiently hinder them... they 'are' however, quite stupid and prone to tying themselves up."
Said lead quadruped calmly moved closer, inside there was some tumultuous distrust, but he also trusted in his patron's ability to defend him were this to turn out to be a trap, so he leaned in when she seemed... prepared, however strange it was to see those eyes go black, something that was often a bad sign in Equestria.
Perhaps unexpected to those viewing from with-out, they both slumped more than expected upon making the connection, slipping over eachother's shoulders for balance, likely more unconcious than they were supposed to be... though familiar qualities of the melding would still be seen.
On their side though, the world had gone dark, slowly illuminating to form something akin to a night-scape, albeit barely visible, and nearby, between, was standing something that resembled this 'night-scape' in the shape of an equine much larger than 'he' was, bright enough compared to the rest of the area that it stood out, and nearly featurely save for it's darker eyes...
Otherwise, it seems there was invisible solid ground to stand on, and both were present unscatched, though the equine was missing his armor and suit now, revealing him more clearly as a nearly white furred pegasus with a firey mane and tail, and bright ice blue eyes. She might not be familiar with quadrupedal species like his, but there was well trained muscle tone under that fur, something that in most species was a clear indicator of intense training.
Of course, 'he' was looking at the thing to the side, and eventually spoke in a tone perhaps younger and less authoritative than one would expect of a leader. "Welp... that was what I was afraid of..."
Once the meld had started, Linass found herself in a darkened landscape. Instead of her armor she defaulted to what she normally wore.
In front of her stood the quadruped alien. Though unlike in the waking world where he was clothed. Here he wore nothing. Since the Asari are considered the masters of the mind she knew the feeling when a third party was there. For now though she would ignore the presence and continue on with first contact.
Now that they had now become effectively one being she understood him clearly when he spoke. "I'm glad that the meld was successful and we can understand each other, let us ignore the third party for now. Let's instead focus on the sharing of our language."
Said Equine seemed to be... 'mildly' startled by hearing her, or rather, by 'understanding' her so clearly, head snapping to the side to stare at her with some surprise at first, though it quickly mellowed out as things became more clear, and he quickly replied "Ignoring them is not a bad idea, but I should inform you that it is a dream guardian serving my patron, It protects us and informs her when something tries to tamper with our minds... It's lack of aggression is evidence enough that this 'Meld' is harmless, though it is also why we have been pulled into a dream-scape. of course, 'she' will likely be joining us soon."
Linass nodded her head. "Ah so that is what the last part of the message meant. It was confusing to say the least." Pausing for a moment as she gathered her thought. "Honestly a lot of this is unknown to me. Normally during a meld its two people. Unless its a three way meld of course. But mind guardians? Unheard of from where we from." A smirk appeared on her face. "And as to why this is benign. Well it is how we reproduce among my species. But do not fret. I will not become with child to do so would involve a lot more work. This was just the fastest way for us to give you our language, well at least mine."
Onyx nodded as well "Indeed, that's what it meant, it would've taken a little long to draw a proper depiction instead... and I suspect that protection is the source of this unknown portion." There was an inevitable blush though, when 'reproduction' had been mentioned, but he calmed down quickly when she clarified it away. "Ohhh, I see... I've never actually heard of something that bred through mental contact like that."
Linass gave another smile. "You most likely have never heard of it since my race are the only ones that can do it. To skip the biology when we meld to reproduce we can choose what genes to give to our offspring." Waving her hand. "But lets skip all that, that is neither here nor there."
He nodded softly to acknowledge the idea of moving on from the subject, interesting as it 'could' be, they had more important matters to discuss, both of them moving closer to sit a few feet from eachother, and with a smile he agreed. "indeed, bridging the language barrier will be vital before we part, at least to some degree. one of my greatest concerns so far has been the lack of effective communication leading to an eventually aggressive resolution." He stopped there before he got too rambly, and let her continue on uninterupted.
Once she sat herself on the 'ground' she looked at the alien. "Does all of your species come in such colors?" She somewhat blurted out. "Apologies for that. For being almost six hundred years old I still act like a maiden at times. Let's start over. My name is Linass T'Kaana and I'm a Asari. My other three companions are Ghalo Sangeral, he the one with four eyes and he is a Batarian. The large one is Jorgal Valak and he is a Krogan. Then Finally the one that leads us is Elijah Messener, he's the one with the single glowing eye and he is a Human. The other human found our ship so I do not know who he is except that his name is Escotto. What about yourself?" Linass said turning the question to him with a serene smile.
Her introductions of her companions was quick, and he attached names to each of the creatures he remembered seeing... a small snicker and a grin crossing his lip "Escotto... that must be the one that tried to give me a carrot and got Tackled by Amber in response... poor thing, Amber's 'voracious' after using a lot of energy, heheh... and yes, we come in 'all' the colors... all of them." He'd been taking the time mentioning that to process something else she had mentioned though.
"Yes Escotto. From my understanding of Human biology. He is very young, not even a adult." She shook her head. "It is obvious the child has never thought that his actions do have consequences. Despite him not being a part of our group we offer our humblest apologies for his transgressions." A short bow of her head followed suite.
He chuckled then and waved his hoof "it's alright, I know, the young will do foolish things... honestly, I'm older than I certainly look, for good reason, and I still do foolish things... heheh, if you never do 'anything' foolish, then life just feels too serious!... heheh, considering that our forest has been threatening to kill you, we can 'at least' let that go anyway, especially given the potential consequences of riling up the Everfree forest, hoo!... besides, it was funny seeing Amber buzzing around with him" A small smirk joined her then "And I don't know his language anyway, unless you're speaking 'human' at least.
A small chuckle followed "Although i'm unsure of how well it will translate, we'll have to adapt to some degree, I don't think we have the proper biological structure to speak eachother's languages fluently, but it will still be a boon to understand eachother.. . plus, this offer an oppurtunity for me to clearly share some important information about out world, heheh, which you're clearly not from."
Another laugh graced past her. " Yes the young will do such things. Luckily I'm three hundred years too old for such nonsense. And no we are not speaking the 'human' language. I speak a variant of the Asari language known simply as Illium standard. But several of our people speak it so you shan't be waning on conversation. Yes it will be very vital for you to at least understand 'one' of the many languages spoken by the crew of the Verrikan. "
"as for language, it is going to be simple at least for us. We have a tool that is simply called an omni-tool they work as translators. Once we have your language we can program our omni-tools and probably make a few simple omni-tools for you to use. Though they will not be connected to the extra or have any combat functions they will at least allow you to communicate with us." She said bringing up a mental image of a omni-tool
It was a fascinating piece of technology that she demonstrated, though as far as his eyes could guess it might as well be conjuration magic for all it's appearances... he certainly didn't know what an 'extranet' was, and he had no need of it's combat abilities. "That sounds incredibly useful! Though I imagine it's going to take a bit of time to... 'program' them. I'd be willing enough to supply my language for it, though it may require some additional examples, some ponies speak in different ways, or with unusual accents."
Linass gave Onyx a look. "Young one, programing this omni-tool will be child's play. As for the accents it shouldn't be that difficult. The omni-tool is a very simple machine." She said with a smile, though paused for a moment. "Although, The potential consequences of riling up the Everfree forest? I believe our ship could handle it. Child, nothing short of a bullet traveling at almost the speed of light would hope to penetrate its armor." She said in a condescending tone.
His knowing smirk hinted at something she was underestimating about the forest though, and he brought the subject back for a moment. "However, One of the greatest rules around here for centuries has been not to piss off 'or' underestimate the forest... there's... 'something' there, the princesses either don't know, or are keeping it hidden for good reason so the forest can protect 'other' secret, but it empowers the forest and it's creatures in strange ways... for instance, this." He waved a hoof to the side and an image appeared.. it seemed he knew a thing or two about dream imagery at least. "Is a cockatrice." it was a really goofy looking creature, like someone had fuzed a chicken with a lizard in a wholely unnatural way. "It can turn it's victims to stone, though I suppose it's possible that with your strange armor, it's inability to actually 'see' your body's may prevent this." He paused to tap his chin... then seemed to realize something "Oh, i'm rambling, and we may not have too long, my apologies!"
He cleared his throat "To be more immediately relevent, what has been attacking you so far are called timber-wolves, quite literally 'made of timber', the big one is a bit more complicated, most just call it a king timberwolf, but magically speaking it's more like a 'forest vein', the crystal at it's core that allows it to manifest such size with stability is some kind of living thing from inside the forest... now, I say 'vein', because that is among the smaller sizes of them. It hasn't been seen in mine or a dozen generations, but my patron has shared imagery and memories from the last time a forest 'heart' was enraged..." There was a rush of color behind him, 'far' behind him, and something akin to an entirely forest come to life in the shape of a wolf appeared... this one was much larger than the ship. "Destroying the vein could likely have awoken something much worse... And I'm not sure if it needs to penetrate your armor in order to simply crush it, or if it endures, then burying it in the ground that will crumble around it from the force."
A pleasant smile returned then "Luckily, the forest is neither mindless nor rabid, and it knows 'we' don't intend it harm as long as it stays in it's own territory, and likewise, the vein surviving and our presence makes it question if the threat it perceived in you may have been poorly assumed... at least, that's my guess, I've never interacted with it personally." He dispelled the titanic image then.
When onyx brought the image of the cockatrice, she cocked her head at it. "How can one such creature turn a person to stone? That is not scientifically possible....Though if what you say is true when can just polarize our armor so they cannot see our faces." From what she could tell he seemed rushed for some reason. Perhaps it had something to do with his 'patron' showing up. "Magic? I don't want to sound condescending but magic is not real." She said at the mention of the king timberwolf. "Besides for the most part those beings were easy to kill. Though we will switch our ammunition to something different instead of incendiary." At the mention of the forest 'heart' waking and it crushing the ships armor, she gave a kind laugh. " I do not believe something other than another starship could destroy the ship. Though having it buried in the ground that would be somewhat of a challenge for us. Now that we have made our mark against this entity in the forest, do you believe it will attempt to make a move against us? Or have we quelled it for now?" She asked.
Her next question brought him a little chuckle, and he shrugged "there is some contention for how, but there is some form of magic production behind their eyes that produces a stone transmutation curse of sorts. It doesn't spread to trees and plants or anyone but it's target, so it's theorized to bet a specific abnormality based about turning 'flesh' to stone." However, her disbelief in magic caused him to grin delightedly. "And yet, our whole world has lived magic for longer than history has been recorded, perhaps it could be something other than what you understand to be a 'magic that doesn't exist'... Alas, we used out wings to generate fire and lightning only minutes ago, though I understand it more thoroughly than that, it certainly happened. I have seen many examples, too many to list now, hmhm."
A quizzical look passed her face. "Curses? Magic. I still do not believe it. I trust in science, no offense. But it isn't plausible. I mean even our biotics are easily explained." Disbelief lacing her voice.
He followed with a shake of his head though "I don't think it will have the time to make a move against you, shortly before this 'meld' I spotted Princess Celestia approaching the gorge behind the ship, She will likely be present by the time we awaken and convincing it to back down. It doesn't mean something feral from the forest might not attack eventually, Hydra, Manticore, maybe a local Dragon... with all the disruption these crashes have caused, I just hope it hasn't woken an ursa." He grinned a little though "And timberwolves are easy to break, but the magic saturating them makes them reconstruct rapidly when not destroyed, and allows their pieces to be used to build a bigger one by a forest vein... And yet, all you need to run them off, is loud high-pitched noises... I can only assume those weapons of yours didn't do so because the forest emboldened them to deal with a perceived 'threat'."
Shortly after he voiced those delayed thoughts "Although... humans... There's no confirmation of it not being merely half-baked crackpot theories, but there are quite ancient mentions of the word, extremely few mind you, but that is enough to fascinate those obsessed with 'maybes' and 'unknowns'... You should warn your leader then, about a minty green mare in the nearby town, she is... fanatical, about the idea of humans existing, and may potentially become... hrm... 'awkwardly interested' in him... and his hands... I don't quite understand it personally, but to each their own."
At the mention of humans being in their mythos and nonexistent an eyebrow rose. "That is very odd that you do have mention of them in your mythos. Since my crew does not like Escotto we ask of you not to tell him when we wake. It would be fitting punishment." A laugh escaped her.
After that he cleared his throat, straightening himself in an almost militaristically refined manner, though he maintained the smile, his tone came a bit more officially "I will keep in mind your companions, as for me, I go by Onyx Wing, for... Military reasons, I can't share my real name. I lead a team of Shadowbolts, which essentially operates as an unlisted high-tier threat management force serving the night Princess directly... She is the one who will likely be arriving soon, she keeps a close eye on external forces interacting with, or trying to, our minds, her sister will be arriving shortly to calm the forest as well. My Current companions go by Amber wing, the one currently gnawing on the human boy, and Ruby wing, the one who'd been singeing the images into the stone. The rest of my team spread out to other crash sites to try and get them under-control." He relaxed slightly then "That aside, it is a pleasure to meet you properly 'Linass T'Kaana', I hope this can all be concluded peacefully."
The theoretical eyebrow rose once again. "Military eh? Makes sense. A lot of our crew were prior military. Let us get a formal introduction in then." Standing up she gave a elegant bow. "We are The White Company. We are a small band of mercenaries. From pirates to Warlords to slavers. No target is too difficult for us. " Sitting back down she continued on. " Am I correct in understanding that you guys are considered your planets special forces then?"
"Although, You serve your Princesses? Why not the King and Queen?" She paused. "Nonetheless it seems we have a lot to learn about this planet. But once it again it is a pleasure to make all of your acquaintances and we hope that this can all be concluded peacefully as well. As well, For these other beasts you mentioned do they have any special quirks such as the timberwolf? And am I to assume that it'll be fine to defend ourselves against these beasts?" Linass asked.
He noted her 'formal' introduction and broadened his smile, his patron would likely approve of that "Actually, technically speaking, we are more like you in that respect, the Shadowbolts are 'officially' a mercenary organization that takes on less 'publically acceptable' jobs, or to read a bit more into that, carry out duties that either the leadership cannot be publically involved in, or are seen as too extreme for the standard guard or military forces." He raised a hoof to cough into with a playful smirk "our nation has not known war in centuries so... they're abit out of practice... we're the answer for things that are too far out of their current levels of experience." Then a small shake of his head "although, not this 'planet's' per se, but our nation's at least, and we're it's 'aerial' special forces, the less official ones, there are others for less airborne specialties. From a rogue Ursa to a disaster level hurricane, we're the ones to fix it, and our speed often sees us sent after most 'sudden' emergencies."
"Ah so black ops then." She said with a knowing smile. Then turned to confusion at the mention of there being no war for centuries. "How is that possible, without war stagnation happens. And thats not a good thing." She paused letting him continue. "What do you mean other species? Like other sentients? Athames Azure! This planet is full of wonders." She said.
Her greater disbelief at the idea of 'no war' brought a fresh chuckle "I guess you're from somewhere more heavy in conflict... though I should clarify, 'no war' doesn't mean there haven't been lesser skirmishes, threats on the loose, or violent encounters. There has just been no direct nation versus nation conflicts in many generations. There's still rogue monsters, heavens, the nearby town next to this forest is attacked 'weekly', like a bloody schedule. There's also the occasional 'ancient evil' that likes to come back... There was a reality warping mad-creature a few years back, then an invasion by bug creatures, an ancient tyrant escaped his prison, then a giant centaur thing that ate magic, and we don't even talk about when the 'smooze' returned... Heh, it's an exciting time we live in these days!" Then he perked up even more "And yes! other sapient species, though you'll likely find ours the most hospitable once they get to know you, and more skittish 'before' they do. There also Griffons, the minotaurs, the zebras, the crystal ponies, thestrals, changelings, dragons, centaurs, gargoyles, oh the list goes on."
She gave a hearty chuckle. " I wouldn't say heavy conflict. We haven't had a true war in a good while. The last open conflict was the 'First Contact War' as the humans called it. Though it only lasted a few months. But our various governments constantly have military operations going against pirates, slavers and their like. Thats in the Council Space. From where we operate out of is called the Terminus Systems basically lawless lands that are owned by Warlords, Pirates, Slavers and their like. Though mind you some of the Warlords are decent. But its like choosing a lesser evil over a greater evil."
As Onyx finished his list of the most recent 'conflicts' she once again shook her head in disbelief. " It almost sounds like some sort of fantasy book from what you are telling me. I almost don't want to believe it." Linass's eye almost 'popped' out one could say at all the sentients Onyx listed. "Athame's ass! Hold on, you're telling me your planet has ten different species of sentient life!? Our scientists would go crazy over this place." She laughed.
Then suddenly his smile became quite mirthful "Oh yes, there are 'quite' a few, however 'the princesses' are actually a subject i'd hoped we'd get to soon, given their eminent arrival. I imagine like our neighboring nations and other species, your's may have different structures from our own, and for good reason. It could take ages to be 'thorough', but i'll lay out the basics, and I don't even need imagery, heheh, you'll likely meet both of them soon enough."
"Princesses Celestia and Luna, are our highest Diarchs, they actually choose to use 'princess' instead of queen, or empress, or goddess, depending on how fanatical who you ask might be, as a show of being closer to their subjects... it seems silly to me that they would need do it such a way, but back then ponies were... simpler, superstitious, paranoid of power, and many other issues. To compact it into as few words as possible, though you may hear different versions or embellishments depending on the source, they are the immortal sisters, they united our species and founded the nation thousands of years ago, they guide the movement of the sun and moon around our world, and have lead the nation since it's inception. Celestia over-sees the day, the sun, and more often than not diplomacy and defense. While Luna over-sees the night and the moon, dreams, and usually military matters... The eclipse that rose in the sky shortly before this 'melding' is an ancient sign both of crisis, and to let the public know that they're personally seeing to it... Luna, by the way, is the shadowbolt's patron, and she will be joining us here before long."
He returned to a calm smile then, and just incase she got worked up over his description of them, he elected to clarify "You don't need to worry about any 'superiority complexes' or potentially deadly offense at benign things.... immortality, I hear, is very lonely and boring, interacting casually is among their preferences outside of exceedingly formal settings, though Luna will certainly seem quite 'imperious'." He paused to whisper teasingly "She likes to look the part of a nightmare when prepared for combat." Then returned to normal. "She will appreciate casual interaction when you're not an enemy." That he felt the need to mention it at all, hinted that reactions or assumptions had happened enough in the past to warrant it.
Linass decided not to comment on their form of government for she had no place to. She just nodded her head politely. " Good there are no royalty where we are from. Plus we are considered 'scum' from our home as well. So we only planned on acting casually. As for long age. Just ask any Asari or Krogan it gets quite tiresome after a thousand years. And how does one look like a nightmare anyway?" She asked.
He'd seemed to have skipped right over her mention of being 'centuries' old, and the specific language she mentioned, and while one might wonder why, they wouldn't wonder long.
"Like this?" That wasn't 'his' voice this time, it was something else, womanly, rich, powerful, one might very well associate it with a disney villain's tone of casual disdain for lesser beings, if it weren't for the slightly mirthful tone and playful inflection... of course, the source made itself known quickly, fading into being
, accompanied by the sensation of an exceedingly old and powerful mind slipping into the dream-scape, though it was up for guesses if it became involved with the melding or simply the scape that they were seeing in... It was also very tall, more than her krogan friend, if by a small margin. Remarkably darkly
furred, armored, with a mane and tail that looked to be made of the galaxy itself, and eyes that glowed like stars... And a mouth full of fangs
"It is pleasant to find at least 'one' potential crysis was already being resolved peacefully before I had to step in." She quieted for a moment to glance between them "I can only assume the calm interaction I see is confirmation that there is no threat here." Her tone lightened up considerably at least, but her presence remained somewhat over-bearing, even if it wasn't clear if this was purposeful or natural.
Linass felt another being enter the meld, but she did not feel how ancient and powerful it was, since for the Asari once they entered a meld there was no differentiating of ones age or 'power'. The other being that entered the 'meld' was a tall equinoid of unknown phenotype. This one though had wings and a horn. How peculiar! This one was wearing what would be considered ancient armor among the species of the her world same with the weapon. Though they looked very well crafted. "Aye what crysis there was; was easily averted by the help of your 'mercenaries'" She said with a graceful laugh. "And yes there is no threat currently, I initiated a meld with Onyx here, with his permission mind you. So we could share our languages to better communicate in the waking world." She said with a smile.
This alien's reaction to her... or, rather, the calmness and familiarity with which she addressed a complete stranger and in-fact alien, it was... unusual to her, but it brought a smile "Fascinating... With inference from the report I received, and the way you can remain so casual and open, you and your allies must be used to meeting new species... Though your dismissal of magic as imaginary is somewhat concerning, given that your ship was preserved by a mass wave of solar magic before you crashed." She shook her head slightly and her wings shrugged "Nevermind, that is irrelevant, if no threat is posed, then I shall relax." And like that the 'nightmare' melted away, leaving a noticeably smaller and more... 'adorable' mare standing there, barely taller than the stallion she initiated the meld with.
The voice that came now was both refined, but younger and lighter in tone, if still very 'official'. "Now then, I can answer some of those questions I heard while observing, since I interupted them." After a short clearing of her throat. "There are actually 'dozens' of sapient species on this world, there are others living on my moon as well, and more still in the prison plane of Tartarus. Our's is among the most advanced however, and those that Onyx mentioned are the other with the greatest semblance of civilization on a 'nation' scale. Many others are single tribes, or large villages instead kingdoms... though there 'are' others farther beyond that few encounter due to distance."
"As for those 'beasts'... Yes, you are free to defend yourselves as you like, it would be unfair to expect you to disarm in the face of a threat, though if they flee it will be best you don't pursue, it could just as easily be a lure for a trap. As for special qualities... Dragons are either massive and solitary, and thus extremely durable, or smaller and traveling in groups with a remarkable disdain for, hrm, 'lesser species' that they have yet to grow out of... Manticores are not too difficult alone, large flesh and blood, but their stinger's are highly poisonous and they often hunt in packs, they are also quite intelligent for an 'animal'... Hydra's are roughly the size of a barn, 'before' you factor in the necks that are longer than their bodies, Five heads, each capable independantly of spew acids or anything else they've consumed, and removing one head will not sufficiently hinder them... they 'are' however, quite stupid and prone to tying themselves up."
@Lugia@Rune_Alchemist@ninja@double
The pair of smaller quadrupeds had simply been following along behind the larger dark one as she addressed the other aliens that were present, as well as Astral... at least, until her captive suddenly burst into flames and scattered around her.
She of course had been patiently listening to his explanation, and just about the time he finished her 'passenger' burst into flames. She
jumped at this and quickly vanished from view in a puff of that familiar dark cloud, of course anticipating an attack, and quickly reformed a short distance away, quite ready to resume the fight... only to find an inert pile of ashes there and-not quite inert actually, there was a sense of... 'dreaming' coming from it, wonderful, so this wasn't even a normal 'dragon', it had to be hard to kill too.
Alas, she still had some other things to deal with at the moment, so rather than interfering more immediately, she directed one of her observers to peek in on these 'dreams', while she took some time to light her horn and gather up the ashes in her magic, while similarly summoning a seemingly innocuous trash-bag to contain it all in... a fire-proof durability enchanted one of course, a common item to find when one lives with things that tend to spontaneously immolate or tear things.
Once that was secured, for the moment, she returned her attention to Astral, for all the world looking unphased by bagging up a combusted criminal... she'd taken note of how he was quite respectful, talkative, and straight to the point, perhaps to a degree that she, like her sister, was quite familiar with and had long since perfected disinterest in the groveling portion... though she was pleased he seemed a bit less ready to plaster his face into the dirt at a moments notice. "Indeed it seems not... ours do not tend to affect the weather nor electrocute themselves to heal either. But I have this one under control, as for you..."
She pondered her reaction to his information, quickly, logically... "This information will prove quite useful, and save us some trouble, as well your dedication to your craft is commendable, though the potential risk of a meteorite is considerable, you are either quite skilled, or somewhat foolish to rush off without assistance to ensure your safety... That said, your initiative may prove invaluable as well, I must assume that your continued health implies they lacked a hostile intent, and that you've had some success communicating if you're certain of the circle's use, even if only partial... It would be prudent to have you direct me to this vessel however, it is possible they may come for a fight if they think their companion is in danger, and I believe-"
She went stone still suddenly, widening her eyes a bit and straightening up... something she would not admit publically about her position as immortal royalty, it had left her unused to casual contact outside of her family or close friends, the sudden sensation of something in her mane led her to turn her gaze back and find that rather voluminous mane subjected to the alien's touch, nuzzling it, rubbing it, brushing it... it sent a shiver into her scalp and down through her spine.
It may or may not be a foreign experience for her, that mane flowed like water to the eye, and with a close inspection there appeared to be only that, it was like gazing into the blackness of space with no protection yet no harm... to the touch though, it was an anomaly, like hair floating in water it slid off instead of clinging, yet it somehow combined with the sensation of grasping at nothing, water flowing around her fingers, and something like a cloud wrapping around her contact... It was as if it existed in several states combined, or perhaps it was an illusion of the grandest quality...
Either way, it was more common to her than a strange alien plastering their face into her mane, though it did not seem to be threatening so she... 'tolerated it'... if barely. "Why does this remind me of 'The Pink one'?"
As if, and quite possibly literally, on cue "You called?!" A familiar high pitched eternally playful voice sounded out from... within her mane? To the ebon it may have almost sounded like carnival music... why? how? who the fuck knows, the pink one commeth, and reality trembles in her wake!
All the more clear as she suddenly produced herself from within that nebulous mane, latching onto the Ebon's face and giggling madly "I knew there were new ponies out here! but you're not a pony are you? Even better! new not pony friends to make! Oh high mister no-fun!" Though other's may have made it sound like an insult, she sounded as innocently playful even saying that...
Alas, she descended, as oft was the case, into unintelligable rambling for a few seconds before vanishing back into the ether within Luna's mane, pulling Shael partially back into it before contact vanished entirely as soon as she couldn't see her anymore, prompting the mare to turn back towards Astral with a low snort... "Shall we simply pretend that did not happen and progress to ensuring our... 'visitors' are not rallying for a rescue?"
@hellotraveler
The forest in this area was dead-silent, though vines and roots could be seen encroaching on the crash-site and the trench it left behind, a different distance plume of smoke could be seen, and the mountain in the distance had many flashes coming from it... Of course, more important was the thing before it.
It was certainly quite a sight, a vessel of design so foreign no creature on this planet could ever have seen one, most could only guess at the functions of it various pieces. There was also a great deal of activity around it, it's crew obviously on high alert and skittering about the crash site to ensure it's safety and check the damages...
It was a pot-luck whether or not they might notice the one watching them from afar, but there was always the option of approaching for a closer look...
Evanist The Mewing Mew
Member
Seen
3 yrs ago
Celina Letendre
Celina listened carefully to what the big golem was saying, hearing this and hearing the combat, but for her it seemed to be closer then to them probably. She frown a bit and think a bit at all this. “Know what... if there are hostile things here... might as well help out.” she says, getting both her pistols out, a distinct click from both guns being heard at that time. She smiles a bit.
“If we can help each other out in this place we should be ok… although I do wonder how the creatures of this place are… any intelligent species here. “ she then says, before Zoe, a white fluff, black lining and purple feather avali lower herself a bit with her grappling hook. She had a mask that looked like one from a dragon from one of those final fantasy games on her face right now as well as specialised armor.
“Captain... I know we could help those people, but what about our survivors... And can we even trust them?” she then says, a worried face right now as she talk. Celina think and sighed softly right now.
“We do not have much choice here considering the chaos that happens on our ship. If survivors can band together here... Maybe we could figure this out. Let’s just follow them for now.” She says, before lowering her tone of voice just so Zoe can hear it.
“And you know what I do to traitors anyway...” she then says, with Zoe looking at her and giving a nod, a slightly clear memory about what happen to the last guy that tried to do a mutiny in the ship. Celina nod before going to jump to follow, the small group of avali’s following close behind. Now to see what that whole fighting was. Although she also wondering... considering that crew, what was their own captain anyway? Well they would probably find out soon.
Lugia Legendary Bird
Member
Seen
2 yrs ago
The dream lasted for a bit, and, just about once he got bored of it, Trevor noticed something, or someone trying to look into his dream. He immediately stopped what he was doing, and quickly flew to the roof of a nearby house, where he quickly looked around for where the viewer might be looking from. "So... I'm guessing you think I'm some sort of feral monster, huh? 'Oh, this horrible thing, what DAMAGE it's caused to these... ponies that he, himself dreamed up!'... oh, right, you probably don't understand a word I'm saying yet... hang on," Trevor said to... wherever he assumed his intruder was looking from. He then decided to draw a few things, using the fact that it was a dream to actually make it look decent. It was a simple picture, meant to only convey three words, a book, followed by an arrow pointing to Trevor, followed by a brain, with the words being as simple as 'read my mind'... he figured he'd say the reason once it was happening, but he also knew that he COULD, indeed do so, since, hey, Trevor's letting him, he has no defenses against mind reading, and... well... they're already reading his dreams, so his thoughts can't be too far off... heck, dreams WERE thoughts, weren't they?
Once he was convinced that the intruder, who he could only assume was another horse, was reading his mind, he started changing the dreamscape, this time, to view his past as a human... a small child just being annoyed at the ONLY three commercials that played on a channel he liked to watch... over and over again, during his cartoons, they'd ALWAYS advertise something to do with horses, and, of course, the MLP toys... past Trevor seemed to find that commercial particularly annoying. "If I had to pinpoint where it started... I guess here's as good a choice as any. I was isolated from my friends, so they could only rarely visit, and some of my favorite shows as a kid were shown here... and hoo, boy, those commercials nearly drove me INSANE. I swear, at one point, they felt like screws being drilled into my head, but, oh, it doesn't stop there," Trevor noted, as the thing probably wanted to know WHY he acted so poorly towards the fake horses... he then changed it again to show a slightly older Trevor attempting to ride a horse owned by his grandparents... said thing immediately got scared by some innocuous thing, bucked him off of it, and then trampled him. "You see, before that point, I was kind of, er, no pun intended, on the fence about this whole hatred thing... and then THAT happened... nearly got killed by one of them at age 9, or so, but, while I didn't take any more damage from them until recently, there was ONE more reason," Trevor shook his head, and continued on, changing the dreamscape one more time to a somewhat older Trevor trying to use the internet for the first time... and seeing NOTHING but people spamming pony pictures and videos, and those same people demanding that everyone should watch the show. "That... that was the first time I ever entered any sort of forum for anything... and it immediately reminded of those endless commercials, and, I couldn't help but lash out at them... but that's what they wanted, they were the first fans of a show that came about because of those toys, the ones that look like you, and they were what we refer to as trolls," Trevor then continues on with "No, no, no... they aren't what you're thinking, they're just people who get a kick from getting others to rage at them, and sometimes others, though, thankfully, this phase didn't last and honestly, the newer fans who've since replaced the trolls are much more, er, mild about spamming,"
Of course, Trevor knew that this thing wouldn't spare him just from a sob story about how horses have pretty much equated to evil for his entire life, so he changed it, again, showing him during his adventures, with not a single horse in sight... it showed him helping out whomever needed it, usually complete strangers, even, it showed him trying to help rebuild society after anarchy struck, and even getting people who became bandits to rejoin society... the dreamscape continued to show Trevor physically helping rebuild buildings that have been bombed, or otherwise destroyed, and he said "I'm... really not a horrible person, it's just... I have a couple buttons, and one of them happened to be pressed," he then continued, this time showing the day he got here, from his perspective... he was just laying down on his roof with his telescope, looking at the starry sky when he saw those space craft crashing down a decent enough flight away, and, when he got to the edge of his place, he showed how he teleported here using the artifact, and was immediately confronted with a situation, a robot, who seemed to be defending the last bits of a castle, and a strange, smokey creature... of course, Trevor leapt into action, assuming the robot needed some sort of help, and then he lost it when he saw what it looked like. "I come from somewhere completely different... so, I had no real context for the event that was happening, but, since I'm a hero, I HAD to do SOMETHING about it, right? Of course, what I did lead to me passing through the thing, and it spawning a training room," Trevor then showed that part, up to the point where his rage wore off and he was actually in a good mood... then, of course, the moon horse showed up, but this time, he made sure her speech was impossible to make out, since he couldn't understand her, and just as he looked down at the ground, she stomped it, and took an aggressive stance, which, to him, looked like she was challenging him to a fight. "Er... you know what happened next, of course... He then changed the dreamscape to be a fixed version of his home town, with him in his usual spot, lying down on the roof, and looking up at where he assumed someone was. "Anything else you'd like me to explain?" Trevor asked, since he couldn't seem to wake up for some reason.
Once he was convinced that the intruder, who he could only assume was another horse, was reading his mind, he started changing the dreamscape, this time, to view his past as a human... a small child just being annoyed at the ONLY three commercials that played on a channel he liked to watch... over and over again, during his cartoons, they'd ALWAYS advertise something to do with horses, and, of course, the MLP toys... past Trevor seemed to find that commercial particularly annoying. "If I had to pinpoint where it started... I guess here's as good a choice as any. I was isolated from my friends, so they could only rarely visit, and some of my favorite shows as a kid were shown here... and hoo, boy, those commercials nearly drove me INSANE. I swear, at one point, they felt like screws being drilled into my head, but, oh, it doesn't stop there," Trevor noted, as the thing probably wanted to know WHY he acted so poorly towards the fake horses... he then changed it again to show a slightly older Trevor attempting to ride a horse owned by his grandparents... said thing immediately got scared by some innocuous thing, bucked him off of it, and then trampled him. "You see, before that point, I was kind of, er, no pun intended, on the fence about this whole hatred thing... and then THAT happened... nearly got killed by one of them at age 9, or so, but, while I didn't take any more damage from them until recently, there was ONE more reason," Trevor shook his head, and continued on, changing the dreamscape one more time to a somewhat older Trevor trying to use the internet for the first time... and seeing NOTHING but people spamming pony pictures and videos, and those same people demanding that everyone should watch the show. "That... that was the first time I ever entered any sort of forum for anything... and it immediately reminded of those endless commercials, and, I couldn't help but lash out at them... but that's what they wanted, they were the first fans of a show that came about because of those toys, the ones that look like you, and they were what we refer to as trolls," Trevor then continues on with "No, no, no... they aren't what you're thinking, they're just people who get a kick from getting others to rage at them, and sometimes others, though, thankfully, this phase didn't last and honestly, the newer fans who've since replaced the trolls are much more, er, mild about spamming,"
Of course, Trevor knew that this thing wouldn't spare him just from a sob story about how horses have pretty much equated to evil for his entire life, so he changed it, again, showing him during his adventures, with not a single horse in sight... it showed him helping out whomever needed it, usually complete strangers, even, it showed him trying to help rebuild society after anarchy struck, and even getting people who became bandits to rejoin society... the dreamscape continued to show Trevor physically helping rebuild buildings that have been bombed, or otherwise destroyed, and he said "I'm... really not a horrible person, it's just... I have a couple buttons, and one of them happened to be pressed," he then continued, this time showing the day he got here, from his perspective... he was just laying down on his roof with his telescope, looking at the starry sky when he saw those space craft crashing down a decent enough flight away, and, when he got to the edge of his place, he showed how he teleported here using the artifact, and was immediately confronted with a situation, a robot, who seemed to be defending the last bits of a castle, and a strange, smokey creature... of course, Trevor leapt into action, assuming the robot needed some sort of help, and then he lost it when he saw what it looked like. "I come from somewhere completely different... so, I had no real context for the event that was happening, but, since I'm a hero, I HAD to do SOMETHING about it, right? Of course, what I did lead to me passing through the thing, and it spawning a training room," Trevor then showed that part, up to the point where his rage wore off and he was actually in a good mood... then, of course, the moon horse showed up, but this time, he made sure her speech was impossible to make out, since he couldn't understand her, and just as he looked down at the ground, she stomped it, and took an aggressive stance, which, to him, looked like she was challenging him to a fight. "Er... you know what happened next, of course... He then changed the dreamscape to be a fixed version of his home town, with him in his usual spot, lying down on the roof, and looking up at where he assumed someone was. "Anything else you'd like me to explain?" Trevor asked, since he couldn't seem to wake up for some reason.
Rune_Alchemist Absolute Depravity
Member
Seen
0-24 hrs ago
~~Ebon Shael~~
@Shoryu@Double
"Oh this is quite pleasant." Shael giggled happily, still rubbing her face over Luna's mane. "Hee! I haven't burst into flames or spontaneously had my existence erased, either!" It felt so wonderful. Like reaching into a galaxy itself! A wonderful ever changing river. A stream that could be grasped, yet could be not. She could touch it, yet it flowed through her fingers at the same time. Ah, how curious! If she could figure out how they did that, then she'd be the most beautiful Ebon, yes!
What she did not expect though, was to be grabbed by something from within the mane itself.
"Words of surprise!" The Ebon made a small unpleasant ringing noise as the pick pony latched onto her face, carnival music in tow and almost knocking the tall alien over. However, Shael did not feel any surprise or hostility from the pink pony. Instead, there was something else. Something familiar. Something like a kindred spirit. Shael couldn't help but to join the pink one in her giggling, eagerly chatting and returning her unintelligible banter with ones of her own until the pony left, pulling Shael's face into Luna's mane with her until contact was lost, and she pulled her head back out.
"Hee!" Shael's normally pristine white hair seemed to have somehow become quite frazzled from the incident, but she seemed incredibly amused. Twirling away from Luna, she bowed deeply. "The inhabitants of this planet know how to make a welcome party, tee-hee!" Of course, all they would still hear are the Ebon's usual melodic hums and chimes. "Come come! I shall introduce you to the un-fun one in our party!" Shael clapped happily before motioning them to follow her to the Eventide.
Jessiel would probably scold her when she returned, heh.
thedman Fanatical Purifier
Member
Seen
4 yrs ago
DSS Audie Murphy
As the battle raged, Carver hardly noticed the creature on top of the Goliath moving around. His attention was fully focused on the enemies in front of him. The battle was going in the UED's favor, with creatures falling left and right to their fire. Oddly enough, it seemed like their weapons were almost too effective, often punching clean through the creatures. It made sense- they were designed to go through things with much more armor than these creatures. Despite their similarities to the Zerg, these creatures lacked one of their distinctive traits- an armored carapace. Either way, even if the rounds had a tendency to pass clean through, they still did enough damage to kill or incapacitate them. Them being aerial targets made them somewhat harder to hit, but the sheer volume of the Marines' fire made up for that. And once they were knocked onto the ground, they were sitting ducks.
Unfortunately, Carver's fears were realized when all of the creatures simultaneously decided to charge the Marines. Fortunately, they had prepared for this exact scenario. The Marines opened fire on the swarm, a barrage of gauss fire ripping through the enemy's ranks. As the creatures flew closer to the ground, they came into range of the Goliath's gauss cannons. The Goliaths, each having three gauss cannons (two on the sides, and a smaller one below the main chassis), opened fire, shredding the enemy. If whatever was on top of the Goliath was still there, they might want to cover their ears.
And, if that wasn't enough, the other crashed ship had hit them with their own attack. It was bright and colorful, and it set many of the enemies on fire. It reminded Carver of Protoss weapons, as they had a similar effect. Either way, the swarm was getting torn apart, and it seemed like they would soon be destroyed by the combined assault. As the swarm was almost upon them, however, they suddenly broke. The charge fell apart, and the creatures began flailing, screeching, or, in some cases, attacking each other. As the surviving creatures were put down, Carver watched, astonished, while the adjutant spoke to him. Well, shit, I guess that's that. Nice shot, Specialist.
Meanwhile, Specialist Lee was sitting down at the wall, taking in deep breaths. The fight had taken a lot out of him, and it was a small miracle that he was able to stand up to take that shot. Looking over to where the large creature's corpse lay, he couldn't help but feel a little bit of satisfaction. The C-10 was designed to go through heavy armor, and when it was used on unarmored, fleshy targets, it tended to have a rather...dramatic effect. He could see one of the other creatures, staring at him in what he assumed was disbelief. He smiled a bit at that (although they wouldn't see it, as his face was covered).
For a while, he sat there, watching them. He saw one of them approach the downed creature, moving in for what looked like a mercy kill. Well, they aren't savages, at least. He watched as it spat out something, and then...sat down? Interesting. While he'd love to communicate with them, they likely didn't speak any human languages. He could try to psychically communicate with them, but he was too exhausted to attempt that right now. And, even if he had the energy, he'd want to make sure they knew what he was doing first. So, until then, he sat there, resting.
GM
Cloaks crew
@evanist
The big golem thing kept moving as it listened to them chatter amongst themselves... "Follow. If. You. Wish... Otherwise... Stay. Out. Of. Way." His pace picked up a little, still backwards though "However. Mountain. Near. High. Vantage. Spot. Pods." He kept his eyes on them for a few moments more as he passed some trees a dozen meters away, which given the thickness of this forest was already enough to nearly lose sight of him. they had a bit of catching up to do since they'd stopped to talk to eachother before following, when the one on his back called out "Hey! Mud brain! Watch where you're goin!"
There was a clank a moment later and he turned out of view for a moment, before his voice called out a single word "Oh... Pod." Almost at the same time the sounds of gun-fire in the distance ceased, the timing almost like the world was conspiring to create an ominous scene.
What strange timing... it appeared that something had created a small clearing that he'd wandered back into, and a quick look would reveal something... 'like' an escape pod... it looked like it'd had to have been there a long time though, it was absolutely 'over-grown' by plants, vines and roots alike grew around and through it, panels ripped away through relentless plant-growth... Luckily, it 'was' wide-open, as if someone had left it on purpose, instead of appearing torn open... they of course were nowhere to be seen, though any equipment in the pod remained.
Changeling Crew And Some Shadowbolts
@thedman
The Specialist might learn sooner than expected that they weren't just not savage, but intelligent enough to infer some unusual possibilities... demonstrated as it looked away from the injured crew-men, which the other pair had moved on from and started to investigate the pair that hadn't moved since ariving.
It's eyes fell on the specialist sitting against the wall, it's eyes appeared to be solid for a moment, before that solid green retracted, revealing similarly colored slitted irises, not unlike the Queen's, but devoid of the aggression or madness it had displays. The queen's psychic storm had also been intense enough to wipe away any evidence that this creature had a psychic potential of it's own... except of course for the fact it had 'used' that attack at all, something that would've been inefficient at best against anything that had not given 'it' reason to believe he did... so he decided to take a gamble.
His eyes flashed for a moment alongside his horn as he stared, and attempted to prod this being as he normally would a hive-mate... it would be a tremendous contrast to the Queen's reaction, as it was far more relaxed, tentative... 'asking' even, and the message was simple <Can you understand this?... nod if so.> The strange bipedal thing had just with-stood a queen's flood, He wouldn't assume he had the strength to actually reply yet even if he 'does' have the ability.
Back outside, the horde of creatures were scattering more and more, some 'literally' scattering on the wing, without a queen to force them onward they simply shut down and faded away, much like the numerous corpses from the weapons fire. Other's continued scrabbling at what little scraps their fallen might have, and other's still tried desperately clawing their way towards the only remaining option for survival, the ship that they knew nothing more about than that it felt like there were healthier changelings on it, and emotion storage.
If the marine's thought to finish them off, they might find a momentary, and quite possibly unintentional obstacle in doing so, as the massive griffon lumbered in-between them and the ship, though it was hardly a frightful sight to a bunch of marines, It was 'barely' taller than one marine in his power armor, granted, going through him suddenly might prompt a defensive reaction from him or something else, such as the smaller hoove'd creature with wings that landed ontop of it's head, dressed in identical armor but clearly 'not' a griffon, and barely even 'knee high' on power armor... sounds came from them, the big one moving a bit in line with some deep bassline squawk, and the smaller one something akin to some kind of violin, quickly joined by the flutey sounds of the tiny one that buzzed over to land on the smaller one's head...
For many this would easily be seen as a comically silly 'totem' pose, though the exasperated sounding sighs of the larger pair hinted in the universal language of 'tolerating things' that it was not meant that way... Meanwhile, the ship's shields rose once more, just incase these visitors elected to target them... particularly when similar creatures became visible peeking over the edge of the ship's deck-railing... oddly, they also threw something over-board, a small red crystal thing with a dull glow to it, and as soon as it hit the ground the nearest 'survivors' of the massacre swarmed over it like locusts.
Luna's intervention
@lugia@Double@Rune_Alchemist
Luna rather suddenly jerked in place, before anything else could be addressed, her attention snapped to the west where... it seemed a storm of energy had manifested from nowhere, it wasn't clear precisely how far, or how much, because it only lasted seconds before vanishing into thin air, taking with it the strange creature she had been interacting with, though a quick check revealed to her that her shadowbolts were still present and intact, leading to a sigh of relief before returning her attention to those nearer.
...
The strange alien seemed to have handled it's encounter with the pink one well... She didn't dare consider the possibility of it being 'like' the pink one, the horrors they could reap together... She still didn't understand a bit of what it was trying to say, but the 'physical' communication was obvious, 'follow me', and given the direction matching Astral's own she assumed it was going to lead them back to the ship as well. She glanced back to the shadowbolts present and gave a motion of her head, prompting both to go air-borne, likely keeping watch on the area around them.
She began calmly following along, though leaning lower to speak to Astral "Did you observe much about them while you were present? Any additional information could be of assistance."... Interestingly, a glow, matched by her horn, engulfed the sack of ashes she was carrying as well, though it may not seem important to anyone else.
While else-where, a portion of her attention manifested in the dream-realm, finding that indeed the pile of ashes was... 'alive' still, reminding her a bit of ancient pranks that her sister's pet phoenix would play upon her once upon a time... these thoughts irritated her slightly, those were horribly annoying when they were new, but she found ways to get back at the horrid little bird.
More importantly, it seemed her observer had quite some information for her...
...
Heavens, it was crazy too wasn't it? shouting at shadows in it's dreams? Imagining things staring at him from the darkness? Rambling on and on at nothing without even waiting for a reason to prove he wasn't talking to himself? Though it was interesting that this being had the ability to influence their own dream-scape in such a way, yet possessed no apparent 'power' in the dream-realm as whole... That said, it 'was' an enlightening story, and all but proved that it was from another world, much like she could assume from the crashed vessels and their crews... perhaps more disturbing though, there was some kind of 'marketing advertisement' based on 'them'... it was hardly accurate, but that was irrelevant to her in the scheme of things.
Quite suddenly her voice sounded off in his dreamscape and broke the pending silence "I am honestly 'most' offended by the insultingly childish portrayal those 'toys' provide, than by electing to greet me with your 'fist'." She manifested slowly into his sight, anything but 'friendly' though, there was a stark frown somehow visible despite her dark colors, and a certain heat in her eyes. "however, none of that excuses a vicious, blinding hatred of some creature you have never met, leading to you flying into a blind murderous rage at the sight of a creature with 'equine shape'... annoyance is not a worthy excuse for brutality, and that feral beast's actions have nothing to do with an entirely different species."
She cleared her throat then and exerted her own power over the dream-space to replay the scene of his arrival at the castle, re-creating the actual scene of the shadowy creature in question actually being 'in' and around the castle, while the implied 'defending robot' was outside. 'What you 'did' was attack the castle's defender that was attempting to scare off the actual intruders, one of my old pets that had been assigned to it's security while I was away... what you 'did' was see a big shadowy creature and assume it had to be the aggressor." Something about this particular quality of events caused her to steam a little, perhaps a sore subject? "More worrying however, was your reaction both to it's reaction to your attack, and after I pacified you... The fight I can forgive, nonsensical as it is to assume a creature you can't understand wants a fight because it looks aggressive, without actually making an attack first... but you demonstrated first a shameless disregard for attacking ponies simply because you perceived that you weren't harming them, imagine if you had run into another than myself first? But after you defeat? a dream-scape of unparalleled brutality, including a rather offensively pitiful version of myself?"
Her eyes narrowed then "I can sympathize with you having 'reasons', I'm sure it's 'completely' normal in your culture to try to kill things with a passing similarity to something you found annoying as a child. But the fact of the matter is, you present a clear and undeniable threat to the well-being of any average pony you may come across, and I cannot allow that threat to go unaddressed. And given your reactions, I cannot simply take your word that you won't 'snap' suddenly, especially with how instantaneous it was upon your arrival... plus, it is simply unhealthy to harbor such a weakness as a berserk trigger tied to a specific species, I shall simply have to ensure you 'get over it'... Being a 'hero', I hope you can appreciate the necessity of actions when 'you' have become the threat yourself." She was curious how he would react, particularly considering that she had 'not' clarified exactly what she was going to 'do' about that threat... though as an aside, she despised people who called themselves 'heroes', it usually meant they were suicidally bold, tended to assume they were right on a whim without second guessing themselves, and tended to have a bit of a holier than thou opinion of themselves, all of which tended to cause more trouble than they solved.
Lugia Legendary Bird
Member
Seen
2 yrs ago
@Shoryu
After a bit of waiting, something appeared, and answered Trevor... oh, wait, it was the horse from earlier, though, this time, she was speaking in what he heard as English... she explained the situation in detail, and told him exactly why he was completely and entirely in the wrong, and... she was right. Trevor wasn't even going to try to legitimize his actions, this time, he was wrong. Not only were the horses of this world intelligent, something he was going to have to work through, mentally, but he most likely broke a million laws just by coming here. "I suppose that's true, and I guess I shouldn't have just assumed that you were like the horses in my world... and you're right, that doesn't excuse it. I never thought it did, I just thought you'd like to know the 'why', so to speak," Trevor finally responded to the second of her lectures. Trevor shook his head, mainly at the knowledge that these things had a society, apparently, and he was now a criminal.
The moon horse then messed with his dreams, and, while he would have just 'rewound' to that area if she asked, Trevor assumed this was just because she wanted to demonstrate her power over other creatures' dreams. She then continued on, and he responded to her third lecture with "Yes, I suppose I should have taken some more time to think, for a few things... I suppose it was wrong of me to pick a robot over the shadowy creature, especially given that I have a friend who uses dark magic, though, admittedly not often, and not very well, though, and I'll only defend myself here, I had NO idea which one was the dominant species of the planet," Trevor then added "Honestly, once I saw they weren't taking damage, I just used them as training dummies. I guess I shouldn't have done that... heck, I shouldn't have done a LOT of things that I did when I got here..." Trevor chuckled, a little bit when she got to the part about her effigy, and he jokingly said "What? In my world, we don't have dream invaders, we respect our own privacy in our dreams," it... should have been easy enough to tell he was joking, but, just in case the joke failed, and it probably did, he added "Ah... sorry for the bad joke, it's kind of a habit of mine," Once she said her last piece, he said his, that is, after a short sigh "No, it... really isn't normal in my culture, it's just not an anger issue I worked out, since I figured the chances of me meeting something close enough to the toys that, well, that would happen were nil, and I deserve whatever punishment you're willing to give me for my actions, and yes, do what you must to suppress the threat. I won't say something like 'Oh, it won't be an issue, anymore!' since that... would imply a guarantee that I can't exactly keep... not without actually trying to fix this problem, anyways," after that, however, he said "Sorry we kind of got off on the wrong foot back there, I suppose I should formally introduce myself. My name's Trevor," he then held out his hand... only to remember that these creatures don't HAVE hands, making the gesture look more awkward than anything... after a moment, he simply bowed, and asked "And you are...?"
After a bit of waiting, something appeared, and answered Trevor... oh, wait, it was the horse from earlier, though, this time, she was speaking in what he heard as English... she explained the situation in detail, and told him exactly why he was completely and entirely in the wrong, and... she was right. Trevor wasn't even going to try to legitimize his actions, this time, he was wrong. Not only were the horses of this world intelligent, something he was going to have to work through, mentally, but he most likely broke a million laws just by coming here. "I suppose that's true, and I guess I shouldn't have just assumed that you were like the horses in my world... and you're right, that doesn't excuse it. I never thought it did, I just thought you'd like to know the 'why', so to speak," Trevor finally responded to the second of her lectures. Trevor shook his head, mainly at the knowledge that these things had a society, apparently, and he was now a criminal.
The moon horse then messed with his dreams, and, while he would have just 'rewound' to that area if she asked, Trevor assumed this was just because she wanted to demonstrate her power over other creatures' dreams. She then continued on, and he responded to her third lecture with "Yes, I suppose I should have taken some more time to think, for a few things... I suppose it was wrong of me to pick a robot over the shadowy creature, especially given that I have a friend who uses dark magic, though, admittedly not often, and not very well, though, and I'll only defend myself here, I had NO idea which one was the dominant species of the planet," Trevor then added "Honestly, once I saw they weren't taking damage, I just used them as training dummies. I guess I shouldn't have done that... heck, I shouldn't have done a LOT of things that I did when I got here..." Trevor chuckled, a little bit when she got to the part about her effigy, and he jokingly said "What? In my world, we don't have dream invaders, we respect our own privacy in our dreams," it... should have been easy enough to tell he was joking, but, just in case the joke failed, and it probably did, he added "Ah... sorry for the bad joke, it's kind of a habit of mine," Once she said her last piece, he said his, that is, after a short sigh "No, it... really isn't normal in my culture, it's just not an anger issue I worked out, since I figured the chances of me meeting something close enough to the toys that, well, that would happen were nil, and I deserve whatever punishment you're willing to give me for my actions, and yes, do what you must to suppress the threat. I won't say something like 'Oh, it won't be an issue, anymore!' since that... would imply a guarantee that I can't exactly keep... not without actually trying to fix this problem, anyways," after that, however, he said "Sorry we kind of got off on the wrong foot back there, I suppose I should formally introduce myself. My name's Trevor," he then held out his hand... only to remember that these creatures don't HAVE hands, making the gesture look more awkward than anything... after a moment, he simply bowed, and asked "And you are...?"
Evanist The Mewing Mew
Member
Seen
3 yrs ago
Celina Letendre
As Celina and the group advanced, Celina listened carefully at what those guys were saying. Being on the mountain would really give a high vantage point to see where the pods would have landed, that was true, but would also make it that people would see them from a distance and such. Would the risk be worth it? It probably would be, considering all the possibilities and the fact that they had those people to help possibly in case something does attack.
When the group found the pod, they moved quickly to it, going to check what it was, before Celina frown a bit as she looks at the white and orange pod with the orange glass, opened right now. Celina started to look at it, unsure right now before she looks at the group.
“The eject button was pressed… the question is was it from the inside.. Or outside that it was pressed. “ She then says, checking for any signs of dragging from the floor or any footsteps, trying to see if she could follow those right now though. Unfortunately the forest was overgrown and she could not see anything and considering that time it took for them to arrive here.
“And no tracks of where he or she could have gone to… ugh… great... Just.. Great.. how to find someone when the forest itself covers your tracks.” She says, listening around the place, rising her 4 ears just in case she could hear anything at a distance… Maybe any clues of where they would have went here. She just hoped that person was still alive. She looked at the other group and think a bit.
"It might be the best bet for me to find them, If only we could track them... We will be going to track them now… we will try to get in contact when we get to our ship after we get that person back. If... We find them.. Alright?” she then says. She didn’t really like having to leave them right now, but she knew what she needed to do here. She just hoped nothing would have gone and flied that avali away.
thedman Fanatical Purifier
Member
Seen
4 yrs ago
DSS Audie Murphy
Specialist Lee continued to observe the aliens, watching as they moved about the bridge. As they moved away from the lightly injured crewmen and towards the more heavily injured ones, his eyes followed, and he winced at what he saw. One of the crewmen was lying on his side, with several deep injuries. The only sign of life was the occasional rise and fall of his chest. The other crewman wasn't so lucky- his neck was twisted at an unnatural angle, obviously dead. That's a damn shame, he thought. Even before their arrival on this strange planet, the crew had been understrength, and they had already lost half of their number in the crash. Every time they lost someone, their odds of survival went down.
Looking away from the grisly scene, he noticed that one of the aliens was looking at him. He looked back at it, watching as its eyes transformed. The being's eyes were similar to that of the creature he had just killed, but much more calm, lacking the rage that the dead creature had. Are they the same species? They look mostly similar, but there are a few differences. Before he could continue that line of thought, he watched as the creature's eyes flashed, and its horn began to glow. Immediately, he could feel the psychic power emanating from the creature. He could only hope that the creature wasn't about to unleash an attack, as there would be no way he could defend himself. Fortunately, his fears were unfounded, as the creature sent a gentle psionic signal towards him. The message was simple enough, and he slowly nodded. Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes, trying to muster up whatever energy he had left. He had just enough energy left to send a simple response back, but he didn't need to. Instead, he focused on regenerating more of his energy, waiting for the creature to send another message.
Meanwhile, outside the ship, Carver watched as the swarm continued to fall apart. With their leader killed, it seemed they had no direction, and were reduced to fighting each other. With some concern, he noticed that a few of them were heading towards the ship, those these ones were usually quickly picked off by the Marines. It seemed that the battle was soon to be over, and Carver couldn't wait until he could sit back and get some rest. Ever since they had arrived on the planet, they had been constantly working or fighting, and a break sounded very appealing right about now.
However, before they could finish off the remaining enemies, they were interrupted as the griffon that Carver had seen on the cameras approached, inadvertently blocking their line of fire. Carver held up his hand to have the Marines stop firing, and they obeyed, silently watching the creature. Carver was surprised as the sheer size of the creature before him- it was nearly as tall as the Marines. It had certainly looked much smaller on video than in person. Soon, it was not alone, as another winged creature landed on top of it. Then, the creature from before flew over, landing on the new creature's head, and the three of them began to speak in their alien language. The Marines watched silently, mostly in confusion over their bizarre behavior.
Looking to the side, he observed the crashed ship in the distance. It's shield activated again, and he could barely make out figures on the deck railing. As they threw something overboard, some sort of glowing red object, the survivors of the swarm began to move towards it. As a few of the Marines aimed their rifles towards the swarm, he spoke up. "Don't shoot them now. Let's see what their plan is."
Focusing his attention towards the three creatures, he turned to face them. "I'll try to make contact with them. Don't do anything stupid." At that, he began to walk towards them. Taking a few steps in their direction, he stopped when he was about fifteen feet away from them. To an uninformed observer, the UED forces could look quite intimidating. There were eleven eight foot tall beings, in metal suits with face-concealing visors, along with two large mechs. Standing in front of them, Carver opened his visor, showing his face to the creatures, a move that he hoped would make him look less threatening. Holding his rifle at his side with his right hand, he raised his open left hand up. While it was currently impossible to communicate with the creatures, this gesture would hopefully communicate the fact that they had no hostile intentions.
Rune_Alchemist Absolute Depravity
Member
Seen
0-24 hrs ago
~~Ebon Shael & The Wreck of the Eventide~~
@Shoryu@Double
Dancing her way back to the wreck, Shael kept a quick, but watchful pace so she wouldn't lose her alien friends. She even circled back occasionally! Getting ahead only to spin back around and seeming skate over the land with her long, graceful legs, humming and chiming a pleasant tune all the while. It was likely becoming increasingly clear that yes, this particular alien, may or may not have some traits in common with the feared pony of pink. Eventually though, they found themselves at the edge of the crashed ship where Shael waved them over energetically.
"Jessiel! Jessiel! We have guests!" She shouted loudly as she ran into the small defensive perimeter the rest of the Ebon had set up.
"...Hmm." Jessiel was close to the last place Astral had seen him, standing near the edge of the wreck, seemingly observing things quietly. "Jester Shael. You have returned. With guests. What was that mass of energy? All of the Ebon felt it - and trembled with its presence. Is this Beryllius' doing?"
"Worry not, robed friend! The situation has been resolved." She twirled over to Jessiel, stopping on a deep bow as she replied. "With the help of these wonderful friends, tee-hee!" Jessiel's expression was hidden behind the Ebon's usual face masks, but judging from his posture and the fact his hand moved to his head, his expression likely read 'you have my sympathies'.
"Wahaha, Jessiel continues to be no fun!"
"Jester Shael, consider that our guests can't understand a word we're saying."
"Tee-hee! Nonsense! We're such close friends already we can read each others minds!" Shael then turned to Luna and Astral once again as she clapped her hands together, as if waiting for a reply from her new friends.
HelloTraveler Good Golly Gosh
Member
Seen
6 yrs ago
Life in the Wasteland had taken a turn for the mundane for many Wastelanders like Ashen Crest ever since Watchtower had come into play. From the moment they appeared and established themselves and out of nowhere at that, what could have been called the beginning of an economy seeded itself within the few factions willing to cooperate with them. Their hooves, shady as they were, shook with many others and soon enough jobs were plenty and offered to those willing to make a few caps for some honest to goodness labor. Some didn't like it, Raiders and Slavers mostly, but others like settlements and a few select others were all in for a little assistance in bringing the Wasteland back onto it's feet.
Ashen was another one of these workers despite being known as a vigilante from the Old World. He had a specific role that catered to his line of expertise in "just sort of succeeding at whatever and coincidentally not dying" and got to take care of special drops. He would receive an unmarked package, didn't know from who, and was told to never open it under any circumstances and to deliver it to a seemingly random location. And he loved every moment of it! Because it typically meant that he didn't have to shoot anything, and nothing, usually, would shoot at him. Though there would occasionally be the stray Raider or Scavenger that got too curious. Nothing that caused him too much trouble. It was that, drop it off, and head back for a nice hefty sack full of cold hard caps.
Another day, another drop. Ashen was eagerly taking off, waving to his contractor and stepping out the door. He took one look at his package, smiled, then flipped his hood up and pulled his mask over his muzzle. He looked up. He found himself amongst some beautiful trees, surrounded by a lush, green forest, a delightful summer breeze caressing him. What a beautiful night it was! Wait. Night? ...Ashen froze. He looked back. The Watchtower Office was no longer there. The package was also missing. Swinging his head from side to side, eyes darting back and forth as he took a cautious stance. No, there was a feasible explanation for all of this, he thought to himself and looked up to the clear night sky. Of course, an overhead view would provide more information. Ashen extended his wings and gave a few powerful flaps, lifting him into the air, and above the canopy.
His eyes went wide.
It was... the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. Equestria, as it was before the war. He could see Canterlot off in the far distance. Without a pink cloud surrounding it. He could see the vast green landscapes, the running rivers, and cities completely intact, as well as the fact that it seemed there was an eclipse currently. He could feel his heart nearly bursting it was beating so fast. He had never been more terrified in his life.
This was wrong. All wrong. Everything was wrong. Landing back on the ground, Ashen leaned against a tree while he lowered his mask so he could breathe easier. His chest was heaving with each short and spastic inhale-exhale. Eyes stinging with tears. The taste of bile on his tongue cause him to heave. Ashen was having a full on panic attack, and he couldn't for the life of him understand why his reality had just been torn asunder. Why he couldn't find the Office, why he was stuck in this perfect world that was like a vision of heaven. Head spinning, Ashen soon found his eyelids growing quite heavy.
...
Ashen awoke under the cool shade of a tree, the amount of time that had passed unknown to him. The sky was still in it's twilit state. The need for survival sprang into the forefront of his mind. Calm now, at least as much as he could be before he gained full cognition, all Ashen could think about was surviving. Establishing his surroundings, finding resources, a place to set up shelter, he was not going to simply leave this forest to go to one of the many cities he recalled seeing on the horizon. No. Ashen was far too cautious to fall for what could be a trap. There was a reason he was in a forest, he imagined. A curse, perhaps? The work of Zebra's? There was something so, so wrong with this that he simply refused to take what he had seen at face value.
First things were first, he needed to get a lay of the land. The forest was endless, no exit for as far as he could see, and as far as he could tell it just had to be the most dangerous Forest in all of Equestria... If he was right, he was smack dab in the middle of the Everfree. Knowing this, he started moving as quickly as he could. Keeping in the shadows while stalking about. Deep marks were cut into the trees, each one unique enough that it would remind him where he was. If there were certainties about that spot, he would put it into the design, such as a river, or fall logs to be used for wood. No food yet, but that would come later. After an hour of wandering, coming to understand his current situation, Ashen decided once again to fly into the air to get another overhead view of the forest. This time, however, as he did, he noticed something... peculiar. Smoke. From a few different locations that he somehow had not noticed before.
This was almost certainly a sign that things were not as they seemed in this forest, as it never usually WAS in the Everfree. There was one smokestack that was near the Sister's old castle if he recalled his various teachings correctly. If there was ever any place he'd want to begin, there would be the best.
There was no telling what he was going to find. Caution with him always, his weapon was drawn by a slim tendril of what appeared to be a mobile shadow. The source of the smoke was close, in a clearing ahead there was a strange craft the likes he had never seen before... in a heaping wreckage. It appeared to have crashed. But, this was something the Wasteland was familiar with, strange... "occurrence" like these, where the paranormal seemed to be afoot. It was a ridiculous theory, he knew, but could it have been that this was the ship of... aliens?
That very well could have been the case, as he began to quietly patrol the outer parameter of this clearing. The Sister's old castle in the background, as he had predicted it would be. He began to hear things. Voices, coming from the other side of the wreckage. Were they voices? Or were they simply... hums? Or, musically inclined noises? Singsong... That, mixed with something else. Actual Equestrian, but just out of earshot so that he could not make it all out. Upon reaching a point where he could see the other side, Ashen saw them. He was right. Strange, bipedal aliens. But... a unicorn as well? And... He blinked. No.
It couldn't have been.
That couldn't have been... The Princess...
But there she was. She was unmistakable. Her grace, her beauty. Her divine radiance. Ashen furrowed his brow. This was an illusion, trying to draw him out. And he wasn't going to fall for it.
Ashen was another one of these workers despite being known as a vigilante from the Old World. He had a specific role that catered to his line of expertise in "just sort of succeeding at whatever and coincidentally not dying" and got to take care of special drops. He would receive an unmarked package, didn't know from who, and was told to never open it under any circumstances and to deliver it to a seemingly random location. And he loved every moment of it! Because it typically meant that he didn't have to shoot anything, and nothing, usually, would shoot at him. Though there would occasionally be the stray Raider or Scavenger that got too curious. Nothing that caused him too much trouble. It was that, drop it off, and head back for a nice hefty sack full of cold hard caps.
Another day, another drop. Ashen was eagerly taking off, waving to his contractor and stepping out the door. He took one look at his package, smiled, then flipped his hood up and pulled his mask over his muzzle. He looked up. He found himself amongst some beautiful trees, surrounded by a lush, green forest, a delightful summer breeze caressing him. What a beautiful night it was! Wait. Night? ...Ashen froze. He looked back. The Watchtower Office was no longer there. The package was also missing. Swinging his head from side to side, eyes darting back and forth as he took a cautious stance. No, there was a feasible explanation for all of this, he thought to himself and looked up to the clear night sky. Of course, an overhead view would provide more information. Ashen extended his wings and gave a few powerful flaps, lifting him into the air, and above the canopy.
His eyes went wide.
It was... the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. Equestria, as it was before the war. He could see Canterlot off in the far distance. Without a pink cloud surrounding it. He could see the vast green landscapes, the running rivers, and cities completely intact, as well as the fact that it seemed there was an eclipse currently. He could feel his heart nearly bursting it was beating so fast. He had never been more terrified in his life.
This was wrong. All wrong. Everything was wrong. Landing back on the ground, Ashen leaned against a tree while he lowered his mask so he could breathe easier. His chest was heaving with each short and spastic inhale-exhale. Eyes stinging with tears. The taste of bile on his tongue cause him to heave. Ashen was having a full on panic attack, and he couldn't for the life of him understand why his reality had just been torn asunder. Why he couldn't find the Office, why he was stuck in this perfect world that was like a vision of heaven. Head spinning, Ashen soon found his eyelids growing quite heavy.
...
Ashen awoke under the cool shade of a tree, the amount of time that had passed unknown to him. The sky was still in it's twilit state. The need for survival sprang into the forefront of his mind. Calm now, at least as much as he could be before he gained full cognition, all Ashen could think about was surviving. Establishing his surroundings, finding resources, a place to set up shelter, he was not going to simply leave this forest to go to one of the many cities he recalled seeing on the horizon. No. Ashen was far too cautious to fall for what could be a trap. There was a reason he was in a forest, he imagined. A curse, perhaps? The work of Zebra's? There was something so, so wrong with this that he simply refused to take what he had seen at face value.
First things were first, he needed to get a lay of the land. The forest was endless, no exit for as far as he could see, and as far as he could tell it just had to be the most dangerous Forest in all of Equestria... If he was right, he was smack dab in the middle of the Everfree. Knowing this, he started moving as quickly as he could. Keeping in the shadows while stalking about. Deep marks were cut into the trees, each one unique enough that it would remind him where he was. If there were certainties about that spot, he would put it into the design, such as a river, or fall logs to be used for wood. No food yet, but that would come later. After an hour of wandering, coming to understand his current situation, Ashen decided once again to fly into the air to get another overhead view of the forest. This time, however, as he did, he noticed something... peculiar. Smoke. From a few different locations that he somehow had not noticed before.
This was almost certainly a sign that things were not as they seemed in this forest, as it never usually WAS in the Everfree. There was one smokestack that was near the Sister's old castle if he recalled his various teachings correctly. If there was ever any place he'd want to begin, there would be the best.
There was no telling what he was going to find. Caution with him always, his weapon was drawn by a slim tendril of what appeared to be a mobile shadow. The source of the smoke was close, in a clearing ahead there was a strange craft the likes he had never seen before... in a heaping wreckage. It appeared to have crashed. But, this was something the Wasteland was familiar with, strange... "occurrence" like these, where the paranormal seemed to be afoot. It was a ridiculous theory, he knew, but could it have been that this was the ship of... aliens?
That very well could have been the case, as he began to quietly patrol the outer parameter of this clearing. The Sister's old castle in the background, as he had predicted it would be. He began to hear things. Voices, coming from the other side of the wreckage. Were they voices? Or were they simply... hums? Or, musically inclined noises? Singsong... That, mixed with something else. Actual Equestrian, but just out of earshot so that he could not make it all out. Upon reaching a point where he could see the other side, Ashen saw them. He was right. Strange, bipedal aliens. But... a unicorn as well? And... He blinked. No.
It couldn't have been.
That couldn't have been... The Princess...
But there she was. She was unmistakable. Her grace, her beauty. Her divine radiance. Ashen furrowed his brow. This was an illusion, trying to draw him out. And he wasn't going to fall for it.
GM
Cloaks crew
@evanist
There wasn't much to tell about the pod other than it had clearly been all but devoured by the forest... It was entirely possible that their friend had been flown away... perhaps even prefferable, if the forest was being aggressive like that. The pod was devoid of supplies as well, so either they took it with them, or it was looted in their absence...
The big golem of course... had not even stopped moving, he had an objective and he was advancing towards it, period, the flighty little critters splitting ways already wouldn't stop him. "All. must. seek. their own... Captain. will. find. you. or find. way. to mountain. as well. Objective. is. clear."
The feline critter on his back hissed irritably and two-cented himself "What he's 'trying' to say is, run off aimlessly in the forest looking for someone you don't even have a base direction to follow if you want, we're going where we know our objective is going to find us, one way or the other... Maybe the cap'n'll find ya wanderin around and lend a hand, claw, or tentacle himself, heheh."
Changeling Crew And Some Shadowbolts
@thedman
As the two creatures investigating the injured came to the one that was clearly 'dead' they paused and looked to the one that had actually been fighting, and for a few moments they chittered, buzzed, and hissed something back and forth, before one of them leaned down to bite down on the back of the neck of the dead one... it wasn't the least bit clear as to 'why' though... A few moments later it pulled back and began spitting up that green goo, starting to a steady process of spreading it, then spitting more, then spreading it more, as if cocooning the corpse.
The other one quickly returned to the one that was subtly breathing and went about repeating the process of treatment it had given to the conscious ones, systematically removing one injury's source and covering it with the goo before moving to the next injury, and in the cases of more severe injuries made sure to press it as closed as it could before doing so... logically speaking, it shouldn't be hard to infer that the goo was supposed to have some kind of medical use, though the precise properties remained unclear, but the unconcious crewman's breathing began to ease at least.
Meanwhile, the one that had initiated contact turned a fanged smile towards the specialist and nodded himself <That's good! I didn't think there'd be any among you creatures that could be reached by a hive-link, nevermind with-stand a queen's Blitz. That's some impressive fortitude, even if it clearly took a lot out of you.> It didn't take a mind-reader to recognize signs of exhaustion... he tried not to let it bleed into his mental projections, but he was exstatic at both this fact, and the simple encounter of something he could communicate with! It was a perfect oppurtunity to position himself, and by extension his kin, in an indispensable position that the Equestrian's couldn't afford to eject them from without causing potential problems with these incredibly dangerous aliens!
<More importantly, I can tell important things before your friends that can slaughter a horde mistake my kin for more of the rabid ones... With their Queen eliminated, they are no longer a threat, and we don't suffer the desperate madness.> On a side note, he and the sergeant both might start to hear a change in the comms, with the queen gone it seemed that every instance of panicked crewmen on the ship also ceased, many who'd become incoherent reporting in that they were fine, everything had just suddenly 'returned to normal' it seemed.
The creatures from the ship in question had simply watched at first as the survivors swarmed around the jewel they'd thrown... obviously the aliens wouldn't know what was going on, but it was a jewel full of stored emotions, a simple bait feast as far as they were concerned, but one their desperation wouldn't allow them to deny.
One of those on the boat stood up on it's edge and seemed to shout something at them, obviously it wasn't clear what, but the sharper edge to it's sounds didn't paint a 'happy' picture. Whatever it was saying seemed to cow the survivors and they quickly started digging where they were, doing their level best to vanish under-ground as quickly as possible... the rest that 'hadn't' come their way? They were still busy destroying what was left of eachother, and those on the ship didn't make a move to get anywhere near interacting with them.
Much closer though, the trio of strangely garbed quadrupeds tensed up slightly when one of the big metal things approached them, but quickly softened when it stopped and made some kind of gesture... indeed, something that was easily interpreted as non-hostile, and they started to converse amongst themselves, an array of low squawks and whispered tones passing before the one in the middle of the stack waved a hoof in the marine's general direction, as if directing the griffon in some way, which seemed to make an odd roll of it's head before raising a talon in a similar gesture... it was a lot more hand-shaped than a bird's talon would normally be, then it made some kind of shrugging gesture, as if it didn't quite get it... They couldn't communicate well at the moment, but they could at least express a disinterest in aggression for now.
It was a strange creature in their eyes, the one that opened his head... helmet? They hadn't actually seen any such intergrated covering that 'opened' instead of needing full removal, but that gesture was also clear enough, and each one in turn reached up to push up their own masks... the two smaller ones both appeared to have clearly smaller more equine like muzzles, the larger one darker gray fur color, and the smaller one hot bloody pink... while the other was certainly confirmed as a griffon, a very thick one, with deep green feathers, and enough beak that looked like it could very well pick apart the less armored portions of a marine's armor... maybe, it was hard to tell how tough it was, at least with just seeing it.
Luna's intervention
@lugia@Double@Rune_Alchemist@HelloTraveler
Luna's expression did soften somewhat as this creature went on and on, as well as introducing himself... "Hmmm, I can respect your maturity in accepting whatever... solution, I could conjure." Then a coy smirk arrose "And in 'my' world, I am the warden of dreams, I watch over my subject's dreams, protect them from living nightmares and dream monsters, and in the case of our enemies, 'invade' them to teach them a lesson." She even playfully poked her tongue out at his 'joke'.
She shook her head then and with a twinkle of her horn pulled him back to standing "You are no subject of mine, bowing is not a requirement of showing respect." she took a step back then and with a flourish of magic swept away the nightmare imagery, leaving a much smaller 'luna' standing there eyeing him up. "'I' am Princess Luna, though given some of your history I suspect you already have an inclination of that. I am... many things, Warden of Dreams, Misstress of shadows, Goddess of the moon, The First Reaper... heavens the titles that's stack up over the millenia... but in a simplified form, I am the younger diarch of Equestria, the more likely of us to simply split you in two to solve the problem 'permanently', and the moon and stars dance to my whim... Keep yourself out of trouble, and you'll have none from me... well, no 'more' than is already pending at least. This is quite a troublesome event that has come to our world."
She perked up then and seemed to glance off to the side "Mmmm, I must focus on the 'group' of aliens I am meeting, but I will see to your return to the waking world shortly... preferably when doing so will not appear as though I have taken one of my own hostage. I shall leave a link here as well so that we may to 'some' degree communicate once you are awakened again, though it will only be rudimentary, neither of us wants a lasting 'deeper' connection beyond surface thoughts." With that she suddenly vanished in a puff, leaving him along in his own mind again... One might wonder, 'what' did she mean by looking like she'd taken one of her own hostage?
Luna almost seemed to come out of a trance, where she'd been waiting for Astral to say 'something' to her, yet he seemed to have been struck dumb by her presence, or perhaps he was simply too busy thinking to notice?... she could only assume, and that was not quite as demanding at the moment as the collection of strange creatures she now found herself approaching in pursuit of the prancy mirthful one... she had certainly been interesting to observe in action as they progressed... they might not understand eachother's speech, but she could tell from her behavior that she must've been a 'playful' sort... it disturbed her how much it reminded her of the pink one...
The sheer contrast between her and the other alien she led them to reminded her even more of that implication, she actually gave this new creature a slight smile and a shrug, as if this was nothing exactly 'new' in terms of behavior... Though she did take a moment to look between them before speaking "Thou art quite strange, looking as if you expect to understand my words at any moment, hmhm." Still that voice came as little more than a dark ethereal orchestral... She was curious though, this new one didn't seem nearly as intensely reactant to her appearance, neither her size nor the ethereal nebulae of her mane... was this one simply used to unusual experiences? or did it perhaps trust the other one enough not to lead a threat back to them?
To a certain batty visitor, it certainly was not quite the 'princess' that he'd been familiar with hearing about, though the cues were undeniable, the moon-themed mark on her flank, the starry nebulous mane and tail, the whole 'alicorn' thing that didn't properly resemble the knock offs of his own world... But she was taller than the stories, darker and thicker as well. One would hardly expect her to be unaware of being watched, particularly in such a dangerous situation, perhaps more confirmed when several of the stars in the back of her mane lit up a brighter blue, almost seeming to form the illusion of eyes observing the forest around her, though otherwise there was nothing to hint at a reaction...
Lugia Legendary Bird
Member
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2 yrs ago
Trevor listened to the moon horse, who introduced herself as 'Luna', and one thing stuck out to him... millenia? Was her species somehow THAT long-lived, or was she just special in that regard? She also said something about dream invaders, something that his world certainly didn't have, at least, not yet, but Trevor was more focused on her supposed age. He would have said something, but he figured it would be rude to do so, and she went on, saying that she'll return him to the waking world once it doesn't look like she has one of 'her own' held captive... Huh? That's a bit odd... I'm not one of hers, nor do I look like it... she even said that much, herself. before he could say much else, however, she disappeared, probably to go deal with something more important, at the moment. Trevor then decided to just start dreaming his usual stuff... flying around the world, using his powers to help get the tech level of his world back to what it was before the first apocalypse, just to keep himself relaxed while everything else pretty much happened around him. While he was relaxing, he then realized something... he left ALL of his high-tier stuff, all of his runes, and even his form gems back at HOME... he then tried to think of how each and every one of them might have helped... the gear would triple his damage, at the very least, but he didn't like wearing gloves, and the fire breath enhancer wasn't really... comfortable... of course, that would at least have given her pause when he attacked for the first couple of times, but she was capable of teleportation, and was immune to electricity, so it's not like it would have REALLY turned the tables, right?
The runes... if he had left them, then how did he pull off some of his attacks? Specifically, energize, which Trevor remembers needing to have the 'healing' rune equipped to use... of course, the 'scan' rune MIGHT have given him some info on his opponent, like it always does, but for all he knew, it didn't have any data on something like her. The 'repeat' rune might have been handy, except... he recalls using his friend's 'slice and dice' technique without it... strange. There were a few other runes that he figured might have come in handy, such as the 'piercing' rune to MAYBE get past whatever defense she had, the 'power' rune for more damage in general, or even then 'EFFECT!' rune to make his punches stun her. Why did he have to leave pretty much everything at home? Wait, there was still the artifact, right? Surely if he had used its power, things might have gone his way... Trevor kept on thinking about how things could have gone differently, though, if things HAD gone his way, and he HAD managed to get out of the forest, given the dominant species, and given what he knew about himself, it would either end with the ponies destroyed, and one instance where HE was the big bad guy, or an all-out war between the already exhausted, and beat down people of... whatever piece of Earth decided to fly away, and the low tech ponies... given the low tech, and lack of drones on either side, it would be a bloodbath... and even if the people of Earth won, it would be a huge set back for the rebuilding of society, anyways.
The runes... if he had left them, then how did he pull off some of his attacks? Specifically, energize, which Trevor remembers needing to have the 'healing' rune equipped to use... of course, the 'scan' rune MIGHT have given him some info on his opponent, like it always does, but for all he knew, it didn't have any data on something like her. The 'repeat' rune might have been handy, except... he recalls using his friend's 'slice and dice' technique without it... strange. There were a few other runes that he figured might have come in handy, such as the 'piercing' rune to MAYBE get past whatever defense she had, the 'power' rune for more damage in general, or even then 'EFFECT!' rune to make his punches stun her. Why did he have to leave pretty much everything at home? Wait, there was still the artifact, right? Surely if he had used its power, things might have gone his way... Trevor kept on thinking about how things could have gone differently, though, if things HAD gone his way, and he HAD managed to get out of the forest, given the dominant species, and given what he knew about himself, it would either end with the ponies destroyed, and one instance where HE was the big bad guy, or an all-out war between the already exhausted, and beat down people of... whatever piece of Earth decided to fly away, and the low tech ponies... given the low tech, and lack of drones on either side, it would be a bloodbath... and even if the people of Earth won, it would be a huge set back for the rebuilding of society, anyways.
Astral Gleam
Struck dumb might have been one way to put it. Where? How? WHY? These were important questions that the accursed Pink One just blatantly ignored! She wasn't even a Unicorn and yet apparently she could defy the laws of physics more than any magic spell ever could! Just... just why? Astral rubbed his hoof gently against his forehead, as if suffering from a migraine. That pony had a real talent for giving him painful headaches, it seemed, "I'm dead, aren't I? I'm dead and this is my personal Hell, I'm certain of it." he mumbled, wanting desperately for there to be some kind, any kind of explanation for the shenanigans of one Pinkamena Diane Pie. But alas, there was none. In fact, the Pink One herself was gone just as suddenly and frustratingly without explanation as when she arrived.
Well, at least she was gone. That at least was some relief. The Princess elected to ignore what just happened, and in all honesty Astral probably should have as well. But that was something a student of science just simply could not do. And thus Astral found himself mentally building up and subsequently shooting down explanations in his own head. Of course, he basically missed the Princess addressing him once more and asking a question. Probably something more important, but of course he couldn't get the inexplicable appearance of that pony out of his thoughts. He walked along with the Princess, but his responses were not particularly helpful at first. Mostly just mumbles about the Pink One and various possible explanations for her... abilities.
Thankfully, though, the meeting with the rest of the visitors finally snapped Astral out of it. He remembered where he was and what they were doing here, "I don't believe them to be all that hostile, Princess." he said, finally answering her earlier question, "It's hard to say for certain due to lack of proper translations, but if I had to make an educated guess then I would say they are more interested in learning than anything else. They might be a race of scholars, perhaps. I'm afraid they didn't provide much demonstration of their capabilities... other than merely floating about." perhaps if he'd conversed with them longer he might have learned more, but unfortunately the commotion at the castle ruins pretty much nixed the meeting before he could learn anything more substantial.
"I fear I must also make a request, Your Majesty." Astral really didn't like asking favors of anypony, let alone a Princess, "My colleagues and superiors in the Crystal Empire Academy will wish to know of my actions and inlcusion if this matter exceeds the period of time I was to spend in Ponyville. It's also a safe bet that Her Majesty Princess Cadence and Captain Shining Armor would appreciate being informed of this as well. For diplomatic purposes of course, I imagine all four of the Equestrian Royalty will need to play some role in dealing with these visitors, correct?" but he didn't wish to put her on the spot for an answer right away, so he quickly added, "Shall I cast the Translation Circle for us, Princess?"
Evanist The Mewing Mew
Member
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3 yrs ago
Celina Letendre
This was a complicated situation. There was 2 choices here. Either the group goes and head in the forest to find that person… which would take risks and would not be sure that they would find someone, or they head to the mountain to have a look around. Now here was the main issue here.. If they went to the mountain, they would lose some time getting there. And then there was that last part that the cat said… hand, claw or… tentacle? At that last word, Richard shivered, shaking right now as Celina looked at him and sighed a bit. The group still wasn’t sure what it was before, but considering what Richard said before and the feeling of something slimy on his back before he ran away… not the best we could say. Celina looked at the golem and think a bit.
“I think we will take our chances and go find that guy. I mean… considering this forest… all the pods might be open or something… we will have more chance to find that person if we head off… we just needed a place to start go look. I hope they are ok…” Celina then said.
“And if we don’t find them, we probably will be heading back to our ship. For now… Take care.” She then says before going to head off. Richard gave a slight sight of relief. One thing for sure though is that when the group gets back to the ship Celina going to let Richard stay on the ship for guard duty with others. At least there he is more focused on one area and not looking around constantly while moving around and trying to not have any beast tower over him by surprises or something. Zoe sighed at bit.
“Well.. You’re the boss Celina.. And anyway, we probably will be able to send the drones to scout when our systems are back online.” Zoe then said. Celina nod at that. Well... indeed the drones would be useful, but would they be able to find anyone without being broken considering this strange forest? Well only time will tell when those will be deployed
Rune_Alchemist Absolute Depravity
Member
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0-24 hrs ago
~~Ebon Shael & The Wreck of the Eventide~~
@Shoryu@Double
"Wahahah, see!" Shael laughed eagerly, seemingly taking Luna's reply as a confirmation of their understanding. "See, they understand unlike you! With that brain of yours, hee-hee! You should lose it. Would make you smarter!"
"..." Jessiel simply groaned audibly, a deep, low tone. "Regardless, Jester, the rest of the crew can not comprehend such a dark and beautiful tone." Glancing over to Astral, Jessiel bowed lightly, drawing a large circle in the air with one of his hands. Hopefully the intent would come across easily.
"Tsk, fine fine." Shael made a low hum. "I'll handle the speaking. You go help with the cleanup." Nodding, Jessiel left the small trio with a low hum of confirmation. For the most part, the rest of the Ebon seemed to watch their pony guests with curiosity. Now that the Jester had returned, most seemed to relax quite a bit, especially the guards that had been put on patrol and it'd be quite obvious, and luckily for the bat pony they didn't seem to notice his presence.
"Now now...where were we?" Clapping her hands together, she gave her guests an expectant look. They might want that translation circle unless they want a horrible misunderstanding.
HelloTraveler Good Golly Gosh
Member
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6 yrs ago
If it weren't for his experiences in the Wasteland, Ashen would have imagined this to be the most bizarre sight he'd ever beheld. One of the creatures there he couldn't even recognize, though it reminded him of court Jester's of all things. He shuddered, the dreaded Jesters... There were others akin to it, though they seemed much less jovial in nature. Guards, more than likely. And from the information he could gather based on the scene alone, it appeared that they must have been the aliens and that was their ship, and of course such a thing would be investigated by one of the Sister's themselves at it was clearly no normal threat. Who the others were, he couldn't even begin to wager a guess.
There were options to be considered. As of then, none of them had spotted him lurking around in the shadows. As he weaved through them, vanishing into one only to reappear from another, Ashen saw a few choice opportunities. But there was the issue of what exactly it was he was WANTED to do... Ambush, perhaps? If Ashen were able to find a good position where he could keep his gun set on all of them at once, he'd have the means with which to demand whatever he wanted, and that meant answers. Even if there was a chance none of them were even real. And he WAS nearing the Sister's castle, after having traveled around in a circle far enough. He looked over at the ruins. They'd be an even better place to prepare his plan.
Ashen stepped through another shadow, appearing again from one of the many deep shadows the ruins of the Castle cast. He was inside the Gate. Ashen sighed, readying his weapon. It was still held aloft by what appeared to be a shadowy tendril. There he waited for his opportunity to strike. Although, unwittingly he had trespassed on the premises... not at all thinking of the Guard Dog that might have been doing its job.
There were options to be considered. As of then, none of them had spotted him lurking around in the shadows. As he weaved through them, vanishing into one only to reappear from another, Ashen saw a few choice opportunities. But there was the issue of what exactly it was he was WANTED to do... Ambush, perhaps? If Ashen were able to find a good position where he could keep his gun set on all of them at once, he'd have the means with which to demand whatever he wanted, and that meant answers. Even if there was a chance none of them were even real. And he WAS nearing the Sister's castle, after having traveled around in a circle far enough. He looked over at the ruins. They'd be an even better place to prepare his plan.
Ashen stepped through another shadow, appearing again from one of the many deep shadows the ruins of the Castle cast. He was inside the Gate. Ashen sighed, readying his weapon. It was still held aloft by what appeared to be a shadowy tendril. There he waited for his opportunity to strike. Although, unwittingly he had trespassed on the premises... not at all thinking of the Guard Dog that might have been doing its job.
thedman Fanatical Purifier
Member
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4 yrs ago
DSS Audie Murphy
As he lay against the wall, the Specialist took a few moments to look at the other two aliens, who were spreading something over the dead crewman. What are they doing? He's already dead... As he watched them continue to cover the man, and then eventually move on to the injured crewman, he could see that it had to be some sort of medical treatment. Maybe they can bring him back? Wouldn't that be something. Soon enough, he turned away, and looked back at the one that had communicated with him, seeing it give him a smile (A smile? That's very human of them.), and a nod of its own, before it began to communicate with him again. He could feel the psychic link opening up, as the creature began to speak.
As it mentally communicated with him, he could tell that it seemed rather excited. A hive-link? Interesting... It implied that they had, or used to have, some sort of hive mind, and given the behavior of the hostile aliens, seemed incredibly likely. As the creature finished its communication, he could feel his psionic energy slowly returning to normal levels. Gathering the energy, he opened up a link to the creature. <We are thankful for your intervention. Without your help, this could have gone much worse. I'll send a message to my commanding officer, so he knows you are not a threat.> With that, he turned his energy away from the link, deactivating it, but in a way that it could be easily re-opened. Putting his hand up to his earpiece, he turned on his radio, sending a message to the Sergeant.
Meanwhile, the Sergeant looked towards the trio of aliens in front of him. After some conversation between them, the larger one had approached him, raising his talon in the same way he was raising his hand. So, we understand each other. Good. He lend his hand fall back to his side, looking at the aliens for a moment. After he had lifted up his visor, the aliens had reciprocated the gesture, taking off their masks. The two smaller ones seemed to be horse-like creatures of some sort, while the other was, as he expected, a griffon, with a rather intimidating beak. After staring at the griffon for a bit, he turned to watch the crashes ship in the distance. It seemed the surviving enemies were trying to dig themselves into the ground, for whatever reason. Looks like they've got it handled.
Turning back to the aliens, he gave them a nod, before flipping his visor back up and walking in the opposite direction. Facing the Marines, he started to speak. "Well, they're not hostile, at least. Take up positions around the ship for now, make sure nothing else tries to attack us." At that, the UED forces began to spread out around the ship, keeping a lookout incase any other threats decided to appear. As Carver turned back towards the ship, he heard Specialist Lee's voice through the radio.
"Sergeant, I've been able to establish psionic communications with the entities on the bridge. They appear to be the same species as the creatures that attacked us, but they aren't associated with them. They're currently patching up our wounded now."
So, they were the same species, but weren't hostile? Likely another faction- maybe they were defectors? Rebels? Either way, they had made peaceful first contact, a first for the human race. Stopping outside the vehicle bay doors, he began to speak. "Good job, Specialist. Keep communicating with them, tell me if you learn anything. I've managed to make contact with some other aliens. We can't communicate, but I managed to establish that we aren't looking for a fight." As he sent the message, he paused to think about the aliens. There were now three confirmed races of sapient creatures, all on a single planet. He didn't need to be a scientist to understand just how improbable that was. I swear, this place gets weirder every second I'm here.
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