Nova
October, 2398
"This is a pretty nice place you know," Ishmael comments as they stride across the forest, "blue skies, green trees, lots of animals. Say, are we in a bio-dome or something? Or is it just you UDS folks who like to make stuff like that?"
Fabian resists the urge to reply, mainly because he is right. Another thing he is right about is the scenery. It's almost nice to walk in naturally grown forests that are free to grow, rather than carefully cultivated and managed in a bio-dome. Although…
"Is it just me or does the fauna and flora remind you of something?" he says, taking note of their surroundings.
A pause in their footsteps. Evensong looks around, scanning the trees and sure enough, honest squirrels scamper out of view.
"They're similar to that of Earth's," she says, almost in wonder, "this is strange. I'm not sure what to make of it."
"Leave it to our xenobiologists," Ishmael replies, avoiding the question entirely "Fabian, how far are we from the settlement?"
"A few more minutes walk at least," is his answer, "we should be there soon. Remember first contact protocol everyone. Slow and steady."
He would have preferred if Booker or Gloria were here, but he understood why they didn't. They needed to know if it is safe for them to properly enter the settlement. Once that becomes clear, it'll be a quick trip to the teleporter.
His thoughts are interrupted when his radar picks something up, most notably, a fast moving being of considerable size. His eyes widen and he turns to his squadmates.
"We got something coming!" He warns his squadmates and the comm officers back on the Daring. The creature on his radar is considerably large yet fast moving, yet he isn't sure what exactly they're facing. Regardless, his squad got ready for combat.
Ishmael draws a double bladed spear and Evensong moves her arms into a boxing stance, her fists crackling with psionic energies. He readies his blaster rifle, and the three of them prepare for combat.
And then it comes. It flies by overhead, too quick for him to make out details. Yet, his helmet manages to catch the beast in detail, bringing up a closer image. It appears to be of reptilian origin with wings. It is also large. Very large.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Ishmael cries out as the beast passes over them. Despite the shock in his voice, Fabian could make out the excitement in his tone. Does he want to fight it?
"Something dangerous that's for sure," Evensong says, her powers winking out as she stares into the distance where the beast went, "we should be glad it didn't come for us. I doubt we have the firepower to take it on."
Fabian nods. Whatever it was, it's gone now. It is certainly something to look out for though, "what do you think it's doing here?"
"Hunting, perhaps?" Ishmael suggests before shrugging, "whatever it is, ain't our business. Let's move out. Say, which direction is the settlement?"
A map of the region appears on his helmet display, and checks the direction before reporting to his comrades, "right, we should be there soon, it's just a few-"
Wait. He checks the map again, and looks up. He does a mental calculation, and realises that their mission just became a lot more severe, "it's heading for the settlement."
A beat. Then, Ishmael speaks first, staring directly at him, "W-what? You serious?"
"I am," Fabian states before sending the map over to them, "the beast is heading for the same direction we are. Chances are it's either passing by...or it's going for them."
Evensong shares a glance with her comrade, before looking at him, "the chances that it really is attacking them are low. And if it is attacking them, we shouldn't intervene. We simply don't have the firepower to take it on."
He freezes in place, pondering her words. She is right, of course. The three of them did not have the capabilities at all. Trying to face a beast of that size is a nigh impossible task. For a brief moment, he wonders if he should call off this mission and request teleportation to another area.
But then, a plume of smoke rises in the distance.
"Fuck! It really is attacking them!" Ishmael swears his head darting in between the plume and the squad leader, "Fabian, your orders?"
The leader hesitates, he feels Evensong's gaze on him. She knows the choice he will make.
You always led the way.
Fabian opens comms with the Daring, "This is the SOS, requesting drone support. We're engaging local wildlife that has waylaid our objective settlement."
He ends comms, just managing to catch Booker's surprised sputter, before nodding at his companions. It's now or never, he supposed.
And together, they run, towards the fire and the flames.
[=]
Tuka Luna Marceau screams as her home burns around her.
Her people fight back. Arrows fly and swords swing, both shattering against the scales of the Flame Dragon. Even magic proves to be fruitless, their strongest spells not even scratching it.
"We need to get out of here!" Her father cries the sounds of fighting, dragging her by the hand.
Any response she could make is cut off when the Dragon breathes a gout of fire, the screams of elves being burnt alive haunting her forever. She closes her eyes, trying to force down the tears. She can mourn their deaths later. Escaping the village is top priority.
But luck is not on their side. Her father lets out a gasp as the ground shakes- the dragon having landed right in front of them.
Her life flashes before her eyes. She grabs onto her father, hugging him tight. The Dragon opens its maws wide-
-and takes a direct hit to its eye.
Its roar of rage is deafening. Her father whisks her away, taking the chance to flee. When she looks, she realises that the dragon is fighting three strange people.
Two of them wear armour as dark as midnight, made of some strange metal, while the other wears one of shining bronze. They engage the Flame Dragon, bright beams of light shooting forward from the metal staff of one of them. The other casts some kind of spell, a powerful mystic rope of purple light that binds the beast. The knight (for what else could they be?) in bronze charges forward with a spear.
Of the three attacks, only one showed any effect. The Flame Dragon does not roar, not because it doesn't want to, but rather, because the mystical rope has wrapped around it's entire body.
Tuka gasps at the sight, watching as the immobilised Flame Dragon is blasted by bolts of purple lightning from the same stranger. Her father too watches, the danger of the Dragon attacking having disappeared.
"What in the world…" He trails off, watching as the warriors battle against it. Could this be, the end of the beast?
[=]
Once Evensong runs out of energy, they're doomed. That much Fabian knows. The dragon is simply too strong. Killing it, without proper support at least, is an impossible task. But they had to try. At least, to give the people here time to escape.
He fires away with his blaster rifle, beams of concentrated energy striking the creature across its body to no avail. It simply isn't enough to do any major damage.
Evensong creates yet another rope of pure psionic energy to hold the beast down as Ishmael activates his jump pack, propelling him upwards towards its neck.
"Go for the wings and the eyes!" He cries out, grabbing onto a scale to prevent himself from falling. The crazy knight begins to climb, trying to get up to its neck and up to its head. Fabian nods and switches targets, firing at the wings, only for shots to have no effect. Damnit, he's useless-!
He opens up comms and starts to yell, "where's our drone support? We need them asap!"
"They're coming," Booker cooly replies, "just hold on for a bit longer."
"I'm not sure if we have that much time!" Fabian curses as without warning, the psi ropes break, allowing for the dragon to retaliate. It swings its tail at Evensong, who is too slow to react, and is sent crashing into a house.
"Fucker!" Ishmael yells, having already climbed atop its head. He raises his spear, right above its wounded eye, and thrusts it down to pierce its brain.
Only for the dragon to move, causing the knight to miss. He swears but before he could take any other action, is swept up in the dragon's claws. It raises him to eye level, and opens its maws wide.
Lasers strike the dragon in the face, and a lucky shot strikes its tongue. It rears back in pain, dropping Ishmael, who tumbles onto the ground, alive but not unharmed.
The dragon glares at him, and all Fabian could do is raise his rifle in defiance. As it rears its head back to undoubtedly blast him with fire, he pulls the trigger for what could be the last time-
-and watches as the dragon's head explodes.
He nearly drops his rifle in surprise. His comms crackle to life in his ears, "The drones have taken the creature. Good job on holding it off.
Sure enough, two drones fighters zoom overhead, making rounds around the burning village before flying up and back up to the atmosphere. Fabian breathes out a sigh of relief, "Thanks Booker."
He rushes over to check up on his squad, Ishmael having already recovered while Evensong slowly stirs.
"You all right?" He asks her, kneeling down to get level with her.
"I'll live," is her telepathic reply, getting on her feet as Ishmael rejoins them. Though the knight's armour shields his features, he could tell from body language that he is displeased.
"Was hoping to kill it myself," he admits, his disappointment palpable, "but I guess I should be glad to be alive, eh?" The knight chuckles bitterly, but makes no further comment.
The Squad share a glance. Fabian's radar picks up a large presence not too far away. Most likely, these people are the survivors of the attack.
"Let's move," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. The three of them make thier way out of the burning forest, and into a small clearing. Sure enough, that is where the remnants gather.
Even from a distance, he could tell that things are bad. The wounded are being tended to, but it's clear that they do not have the capabilities to properly attend to their needs. Family members hold each other tight, weeping, whispering, comforting one another. The unlucky ones simply stare, their eyes hollow.
"We can't leave them here," Evensong says, stating the obvious, "there's no guarantee that they'll receive the help they need,"
"Well," Fabian replies, helping her to her feet, "I suppose the Daring can handle a few dozen more passengers. And if you look at it from a certain way, this is within the mission parameters."
Indeed, this could prove to be useful for building better relations with the locals in the future. Saving a village and eliminating a threat is easily a good way to leave a positive impression. Perhaps the central government will be grateful for their assistance.
"Booker," he brings up comms, "we need a teleport out of here. Prepare it for a few dozen people. Alert the medical team and ask the cooks to prepare a meal, preferably something filling. We're bringing aboard refugees from the village."
A moment of silence. Then, the SIO operative speaks, "Understood. Get them to gather around you and we'll beam you up here. The translator in your helmets should contain a local dialect."
"Roger that. See you soon," he replies and ends the talk. He looks at the gathered people before speaking. One them steps forward, a male humanoid from what he could tell. They stare at each other, unable to make a move.
Fabian takes the initiative. His voice comes out of his helmet, the translator doing its work as words that he does not know are spoken.
"Gather around us."
At first, there is confusion, and Fabian wonders if the translator failed, or if they were not aware of this dialect. But eventually, the man speaks to his fellows, in a distinctively different language. For a moment, Fabian wonders if the translators failed. The survivors hold a brief discussion, before the same person looks up and speaks, thankfully, in the language the translator is programmed to.
"Who are you?"
But even as he spoke, the people began to gather around them, and it was clear nothing would stop them. Even the speaker moves to follow, pulling the hand of another.
The okay signal is sent to the Daring, and light particles begin to gather. Fabian glances at the man before back at his team. First impressions always counted, didn't they? He looks back, and even though he couldn't see it, smiles beneath his helmet. The answer is simple.
"We are the Unified Democratic Systems and we come in peace."
There is a flash of light and they are all gone.
[=]
Itami blinks, quite confused by the turn of events. His team stare in surprise as well, unsure how to properly react, before eventually, he decides to radio in Alnus Base.
"Hey guys...did you happen to send some jets over to take down a dragon?"
[=]
Accessing Codex….
Opening entry….
Unified Democratic Systems
Originating from the Sol System on the planet Earth, the mammalian human race began their rise as several divided nations that all sought a form of compromise in order to prevent mutually assured destruction. Using a pre-established organisation known as the United Nations, the humans began a prosperous unification that soon saw their first attempts of space faring. Near the end of the 21st century by galactic standard times, a new invention known as the replicator, which could allow for direct energy to matter conversion, revolutionised the entire way of life. With a means to end scarcity now at hand, changes were made, mainly in the regards to philosophies that once formed the foundations of government and economy.
A slow, gradual change began. It was not entirely peaceful. In fact it was even violent at times. But regardless, as the United Nations of Earth slowly swapped out capitalistic and wealth driven ideals, newer ones took their place, one that emphasised on the equality of the people, the welfare of the masses, and the values of working together as one.
By the middle of the 22nd century, the UNE was no more. In its place was the democratic socialist Unified Democratic Systems.
[=][=]
I am so sorry for the late chapter. Real life caught up to me in the form of my internet dying and becoming inaccessible for a month. I also had to rewrite this chapter as I wasn't all that happy with the finished work. But regardless, here we go, the latest chapter of The Stars Lead the Way. Merry Christmas everyone!
Unlike the first two chapters, this one has not been beta'd! Apologies for any errors/loss of quality.
Now, someone mentioned to me about this story following the plot flow of Gate and I'm here to confirm that things will start to change even more once the presence of the UDS is known to our Earth.