It have been about three months since their arrival, they still converse with the strange yet someone familiar language. Perhaps another version of low gothic, thought Don as he made his way back towards the house. The first few weeks were, strange, say the least. Their odd "discovery" in the warehouse. The red/purple hue of the sky made him recall the day of the strangers' discovery.
The sirens screamed in the distance as the impending warp storm manifested, being a backwater alpha world within the Ultima Segmentum, such an event is rare, but the Adeptus Administratum was prepared for such an event. The first signs appeared as the astropaths started going crazy and clawed their eyes out all the time screaming, the lucky ones died as soon as the warp storm appeared, leaving the PDF officers struggling to decide whether or not they should end their suffering.
The Smith family like those others who reside outside the city's wall rushed to their own basements after several minutes that seemed like hours, the warning sirens died down, the stayed in the basement several moments longer before venturing out. Experiencing his first warp storm, Don expected it to last much longer and that it would cause fire to rain from the sky, the planet to move out of orbit or encasing the planet in ice as the vids sometime announce about the other worlds that fall prey to the warp storms.
However, upon leaving the basement, everything looked as it was before the warning bar the strong wind that would usually turn up prior to a heavy downpour. Until he looked at the sky, what was usually an aqua blue with patches of grey clouds now display a purple cloud like formations that seemed to twitch and swirl ever so slightly should one stare at it for the right amount of time. Awed by the sight, Don can't seem to make himself look away, the he noticed something, a cloud swirl seemed to be reaching out towards him but due to how slow it is moving, he was not sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him or if it was an actual cause of concern.
His train of thought was then interrupted when his father grabbed his shovel. "What's wrong with you boy? Have you gone deaf?" asked his father, voice tainted with anger due to his son ignoring him and staring blankly towards the sky.
Don mustered out an acknowledgement as his father gave out tasks to each of them to inspect the family's property for any anomalies. The task with checking the warehouse fell to Don. Making his way, he looked at the sky again, this time certain that the swirl is reaching towards his location, he thought of an arm reaching out of the swirl and snatching him away, the though gave him chills that ran down his spine as he pushed the thoughts out of his head and picked up speed, hoping to be indoors as soon as possible.
Just as he was about to reach the warehouse, he gave one last glance at the swirl, it now looks as though it is touching the roof of the warehouse, is no one else really noticing this?! He asked himself as he looked around, no one to be found, each with their own task to accomplish. Then without warning a single bolt of lightning traveled down the swirl straight towards the warehouse, this was followed by a blinding light bursting out of every window as though someone installed flood lights within the warehouse.
Don ran as fast as his legs could carry him, the previous encounter left him horrified as he screamed in terror, looking desperately for his father. His panicked calls quickly earned the attention of his father, asking with worry as to what is wrong. His cries also earned the attention of his mother and sister as they too show up to ask their concern. After franticly explaining what happened, they all hurried to the warehouse. Having already sold their harvest, the warehouse laid bare, or at least it should be if not for three bodies that now lay. Both suppressed and wary by the find, Don first called out to them.
The lack of reply from the still motionless bodies on the ground confirms Don's suspicion that they could be unconscious. Unsure of what to do, he took the time he has to inspect the three. Their clothing resembled those of the Imperial Guard yet different, they bared arms which reminded him of an auto gun yet the designs differed to those he seen on the holo-vids. They look to be between the mid-twenties and early-thirties though one looked older than the others. The older man's hair was of a dark brown and his body was obviously larger than the rest, though not in terms of fats. The youngest looking man's was silver, he pondered about that fact for a moment before dismissing it and resuming his inspections. The last man had jet black hair and had more metal like things strapped onto his body compared to the others.
Turning to his father, Don asked his father on what they should do with the strangers, after a short discussion, they all decided that they should first be unarmed in case they tried something funny, follow by checking them for wounds.
As his father reached for the auto gun looking weapon next to the man with the black hair, he starts to regain consciousness, this panicked Dons father and caused him to carelessly stumble for the weapon.
The murmurs, he wished they would stop and just leave him be, he needed his rest after that assault. That assaults... wait a minute, what happened? Were we not still in the middle of it? With that thought he opened his eyes, vision unusually blurry and his mouth dry, as though he had fell asleep with it open, and through the blur of colors, he noticed something quickly moving towards him.
Fearing both the unknown threat and for his life, his basic training kicked in and he did a backwards over the shoulder roll whilst drawing his secondary, the sudden movement seemed to have shocked the blur figure as he leveled his berretta at the target. As his eye slowly starts to clear, he cleared his throat and warned them to stay where they are and not to move. This earned them replying him with a tongue which seemed somewhat like English, yet not. "What?" he asked, this time another voice spoke and yet another replied. "Do you speak English?" he asked voice deeper then he would usually speak, thinking that he made a threat the kids and lady moved behind the man as the man raised his hands, palms forward in a calm down gesture.
Realizing that he is causing them fear, he holstered his gun and stood up. He regretted doing so immediately as blood drained from his head, as the adrenaline from his sudden awakening fades away, he start to feel pain and exhaustion adding into the mix. He wobbled a little hands reaching out to find anything to hold on to, something brushes his hand and he instantly grabs for it, thinking it an object solid and able to support him. He quickly found out he was wrong however as he finds the ground rushing to greet his face with physical contact.
They stood still for a moment longer before Don asked "Is he ok?" "I don't know" replied his father before moving in once again, with more caution this time, to prevent stirring them up again. He was just about to pick up the auto gun like weapon when another stirred and groaned softly. He quickly placed the gun back down, not wanting to look like a hostile figure to the confused individual; he can feel his own heartbeat as he slowly looks around for the cause of the noise to find all three still on the ground. Calming himself, he moved to the man with silver hair and lightly slapped his cheeks in an attempt to wake him up. Getting no reaction, he then does the same with the other two who did not react as well. "They're out cold" he finally concluded. He then instructed Don to help him get them back to their home and for the girls to gather their belongings to store them in the attic. After several trips back and forth, they managed to undress their strange clothing and tend to their wounds. It was only after 4 days of them subconsciously eating light soups that they were able to regain full consciousness.
They made their way back their tasks at the farm completed. Having them around really helps with the farm. Thought Don as they reached the door to the house, warmth embraced them as the door opened and they took off their shoes and entered. A greeting was called from within beckoning them to the dinner room.
"Ho man, I still cannot get used to the smell" mentioned Ventris, the man with the silver hair. "Still, this grox thing tastes like chicken though, at least that's something." Mentioned Norton, the oldest of the three 'outsiders' as they were called, "Right Jax?" The man with black hair just shrugged his shoulders and kept quiet. Strange man thought Don as he made eye contact with Jax. It was not like he never spoke but being usually silent, Jax was more of a mystery than the other two. Taking their place around the dinner table, the family said their thanks and praises to the God Emperor while the 'outsiders' silently watch them as usual. Ending their thanks, they began to eat. Not long after they started, the silence was broken from Don, "So what were you doing before you came here? And how Did you come here anyway?"
The three outsiders just looked at each other for a moment; Norton then smiled and said "That, young man, is a story for another time."