She wasn't quite sure where she was. One moment she was fighting a giant creature and the next she woke up on a world covered in ash and lava.
Pyrrha immediately looked around for any signs of life. She found nothing as she looked across the hellish landscape.
"Is any-" Before Pyrrha could finish her sentence, she began to cough violently. She'd accidentality inhaled the ashes that engulfed this world.
She tried to hold her breath in a vain attempt to block out the ashes, but she continued to cough. She made an attempt to stand up, but fell onto the smouldering hot ground.
From the distance, She could see a group of creatures approaching her. She tried to get up, but coughed even more.
As she coughed, blood came out of her mouth.
She fell to the floor once more, and looked towards the swarm of creatures approaching her. 'Is this how it all ends?' She wondered to herself. Dying to an environmental hazard was a horrid way to go for someone who trained their whole life with the knowledge that they may fall in battle, not to a coughing fit and an atmosphere filled with ashes.
As she faded out of consciousness, a strange figure approached from the distance. It was much taller than the creatures that charged towards her in the swarm. As it approached the creatures turned their attention towards the tall figure.
A long, glowing blade appeared from the figures arm. It charged towards the swarm of creatures and began to attack them. Pyrhha saw the figure rip through every creature that came at it. The figure finished off the last of the creatures and walked towards her.
As she faded out of consciousness she saw the figure standing over her. She tried to raise her hand out to the figure, but it fell limp. Only one thought went through her mind.
Was the stranger here to help her or kill her?
"-and then I said 'It's for child labour!' Isn't that funny?" A man spoke. He was in a massive underground mining facility surrounded by his fellow soldiers. They all laughed at his joke.
Most laughed out of pity.
"Enough with these stupid jokes! We have a job to do!" An officer said as he came into the room that the soldiers were stationed in.
"...Tightass." One of the men said under his breath.
"Who said that!"
The officer was met with silence. He looked around the room before moving to it's centre. The soldiers gathered around him. Some sat on the control panels that lay about the place while others stood.
"Now men, I'm sure your all aware of our operations on this planet. I know you lot would much rather be home sitting on your asses instead of being brought to this hellish planet, but you've been brought here for a special mission." The officer said, looking around the room as he spoke.
"A few hours ago, our computers picked up a strange anomaly south of this facility. Some of our scientists found that this anomaly created a similar shock wave to the ones that spatial rifts create."
The officer looked around the room once more. He saw that the men weren't interested with his explanation of the spatial rifts.
"Alright then, I'll leave the boring science part out. You men will head south, find the anomaly and then report back to base. You'll be outfitted with the gear necessary to survive on this planet. Along with that, you'll be accompanied by a guide to assist you on your journey."
The officer looked around the room again, just to make sure that his soldiers were paying attention.
"And one more thing. The guides that you are being sent with are going to be in charge for this mission."
Every soldier in the room grunted.
"I know what your thinking, but listen closely. If the seeds of a new world order are to be sown, then we must be willing to cooperate with other powers in other worlds. We may be powerful, but don't forget that it was those Dust shipments that won us the war."
Every soldier was suddenly intrigued with the officers way of thinking. As the officer walked out of the room, he turned towards the men.
"Once the mission is complete, report to me. And if you can't find me, search up Oscar Schultz. I'm sure the terminals can direct you to my office."
He walked out of the room and went back to his office.
She was stuck in a nightmare. Pulled away from her team. Pulled away from Jaune.
She was on a hellish planet surrounded by what looked to be corpses. Some she recognised. Others… not so much.
Ash fell from the sky. She accidentally breathed it in. She fell to the floor.
Choking. Life fading.
Creatures came from the distance. They swarmed her, and began slashing their arms at her. She tried her best to fight them off, but it was no use.
Then, one of the creatures leaped towards her. Ready to kill.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Pyrrha woke up, screaming at the top of her lungs. She looked around her, expecting to find a horde of creatures attacking her, but nothing was there.
She got her bearings and looked at her surroundings.
She was in a large cave that lacked the ashes that engulfed the outside air. The ceiling was high above her, and the entrance to the cave was quite a distance from where she lay. She was lying on a long table which was right next to a few crates. Medical supplies sat on top of the crates. Some of the supply kits were left open.
Pyrrha saw what looked to be some kind of vehicle near the entrance of the cave. It looked to be an aircraft of some sort, but she couldn't tell what it's purpose was. There were some other objects in the cave that had a similar theme to it, but she couldn't make out what they were used for.
She looked towards the entrance and saw a strange figure approach. The figure walked towards her.
Pyrrha saw that the figure had something in it's hands. It had a strange object in its hand.
The figure came up to her and put the object on a crate next to her. It sat down on one of the crates and looked at her. Then it spoke.
"It's good that your awake, Terran. Do not be alarmed. I mean you no harm." The figure next to her spoke. But it didn't open it's mouth. Instead, it spoke to her via her mind.
"Who… are you?" Pyrrha said, shocked at the stranger's ability to speak through telepathy.
"I am Tal'hasir. I know you Terrans like to shorten your names, so you can refer to me as Tal, if you so wish."
"I'm Pyrrha Nikos. Nice to meet you, Tal."
"It is good to meet you, too. I hope you don't mind If ask you some questions."
"Go ahead."
"Where do you hail from?"
"Well, I come from Remnant. I… don't know how I got here, to be honest. One moment I was fighting a giant monster with my team and then I was sucked away into a portal of some kind."
"Interesting."
"I need to know something. What was that creature that I fought? I assume it came from here?"
"Well, if it did come from here, then you fought one of the creatures known as the Zerg."
"Are there more of them?"
"Far more."
Pyrrha was taken aback by this information. If more of these creatures existed, that meant that Remnant was about to face another threat.
"Why are they coming to my world?"
"That's a good question. But I might be able to answer it, if your want."
"Do tell."
"Well, it all started seven long years ago."
In a ship destined for a hellish world there was a single person. He flew his craft through the atmosphere, successfully piercing the outer layer of the ash filled world. He landed his ship on a clearing near a small complex that stood nearby.
Suddenly, a device onboard his ship sprung to life.
"En Taro Adun, Tal'hasir. I'm glad you were willing to take up this task. Few others would. Nearby to your location is what we believe to be a small complex. From deep inside the facility a dark energy emanates. We have reason to believe that there is something there that might put us all in danger. Good luck." The device shut off after the message.
Tal'hasir got out of his craft and approached the facility. It was built into a large, ash filled mountain. Lava poured down the sides of the mountain, and flowed through the ground below.
Tal got closer to the base, keeping a safe distance from the complex as he approached. Occasionally, soldiers came out of the base, heading for parts unknown. He also saw swarms of Zerg charge towards the base. Every time they did so, they were gunned down by the guards that manned the base.
He slipped past some of the soldiers that guarded the outside gate and made his way into the base. The cloaking device that he used gave him an advantage over the soldiers, who had nothing to detect him. As he went further down the facility, he noticed that some of the guards had different uniforms than the others, and used entirely different weapons. It didn't matter much to him. They were obstacles either way.
As he walked towards the energy source, something stopped him in his tracks.
A massive shock wave went through the base. Tal was knocked back slightly, but got back up. Alarms went off across the base as soldiers began running towards the energy source. He heard gunfire down the hall as the men scrambled for the weapons. Suddenly, a voice blared throughout the base.
"This is Oscar Schultz speaking. All Atlesian soldiers are to be considered hostile. Engage and arrest any that you see. Over and out." The announcement ended.
The soldiers turned on each other. Gunfire rang throughout the base. Tal'hasir had seen enough. He made his way back through the base slipping past all the soldiers. He watched as they gunned each other down, splattering blood across the hallways. He made his way to the exit, but suddenly another announcement came on.
"We've got a swarm of creatures approaching this location! Their bringing in the big guns!" The announcement came to an end.
Some of the soldiers made their way to the entrance. Tal followed behind them, keeping out of sight as best as he could. He'd turned off his cloak to save power. Most of the soldiers were too focused on each other, so it wasn't a problem.
As he exited the base, he was met with a swarm of Zerg approaching the base. Some of the soldiers noticed him, but they quickly turned their attention towards the flood of creatures approaching them. A large group of Zerglings, smaller creatures that made up the bulk of the swarms forces, were in front of the horde. Hydralisks, the ranged creatures of the swarm, stayed behind the smaller creatures.
Tal prepared his weapon, and got himself into a combat stance. The soldiers behind him had stopped fighting each other, and turned their attention towards the approaching swarm. The men got into position and began firing wildly into the flood of creatures.
Tal stood his ground as the first wave of Zerglings approached. Most of the forces were swarming the positions of the soldiers, but six of the creatures charged directly towards him. One of the creatures leaped towards his face, but he extended his two blades and made a cross pattern with them. The creatures landed right into them, and was sliced into four pieces. Two more of the creatures charged him. The first one leaped towards him. He sliced it in half with his left blade as it got near him. The second one ran along the ground and made a move for his left leg. It made a slicing motion, but missed by a centimetre. He lashed out with both blades, cutting the creature into small pieces. The last three charged towards him, but he lashed out with his blades once more, cutting the creatures into bits.
From the distance, a Hydralisk spotted him, and began spitting projectiles towards him. Tal charged towards the creature, dodging every shot that came towards him. He prepared his blades once more and got close to the creature. It tried to defend itself with its arms, but It was too late. Tal sliced both of the arms off with two well placed slashes, and then sliced the creature in half with both weapons. Suddenly, a massive horde of Zerglings charged him. Every one of the creatures charged him at the same time, but he was ready for them. He lashed out on the creatures, slashing every one that approached.
From the distance, a swarm of Hydralisks began firing towards him. More Zerglings began to charge him. Their numbers began to overwhelm him, and some of the Zerglings got some hits into him. More and more Zerglings charged him. It was too many for him to handle.
But then, the creatures began to fall. A concentrated volley of fire came from the defensive positions of the soldiers. The creatures screamed in agony as the bullets hit them, sending them back. The Zerglings changed their targets, charging for the defensive positions of the soldiers. But Tal wasn't in the clear yet. One of the Hydralisks took him off guard, and knocked him to the ground. The creature raised it's arms and prepared to strike him.
Then, a bullet ripped straight through the creatures chest. It screamed in pain as another round went through it's chest. One final round went straight through it's head, knocking it down to the ground. From the distance, a man approached Tal with a smoking gun in hand. He looked down to Tal and then extended his hand towards him.
"You alright, soldier?" The man spoke. Tal looked up at him for a second and then grabbed his hand. Tal got up and looked at the man.
"You saved my life. Thank you."
"Your welcome. I'm James Ironwood. Pleasure to meet you."
The battle around them had finally come to a close. The last of the Zerg retreated from the battlefield, and the few that remained were quickly dispatched.
"My name is Tal'hasir. It's nice to meet you."
"…Well, I didn't think first contact with an alien race would be like this. Well, first contact with an alien race that doesn't try to kill us on sight." Ironwood looked towards the corpses of the Zerg before turning back to Tal.
"You have my gratitude. No doubt, I would be dead and my mission would have been for nought."
"No need to thank me."
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but where do you hail from."
"A world called Remnant. We came through a portal deep in the complex. The soldiers in gray uniforms over there are from a different world entirely. Their a bunch of-" Before Ironwood could finish his sentence, multiple aircraft left the facility.
"-cowards." Ironwood finished his sentence, although not with the words he'd intended to use.
"I see."
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but could you do me a favour?"
"You saved my life. I'm sure I can do something for you."
"There's no doubt in my mind that more people are going to pop through those portals. Some willingly. Others, not so much. If you find anyone. Direct them towards me."
"Gladly. I must report back to my people, first."
"You do you. Godspeed, Tal."
"En Taro Adun, Ironwood."
Pyrrha listened in to the whole story with intrigue. Tal looked towards her and spoke.
"And that's my story."
"Interesting. I mean, It doesn't answer my question, but… it's intriguing none the less."
"I see. Well, as to why the creatures are attacking your world I do not know. My best theory is that because this world has a high amount of activity, the Zerg are the ones being sent through spatial rifts the most."
"I see. Thanks anyway." As Pyrrha got up, she turned to Tal to ask another question.
"You said something about a man. Ironwood, right?"
"Yes, what do you want to know?"
"You said something about others being directed towards him, right? Well, since I've got no other choice, I may as well see him."
"That would be advisable. I'll get straight to finding him."
"Before you do, I'd like to check out this facility that you talked about. If I'm going to Ironwood, I may as well give him something useful, right?"
"The facility that I explored was destroyed long ago, but there is another complex nearby. A mining complex, If I studied it right."
"Good enough. Just send me straight to it."
"I'm not so sure. I've seen… things there. Even from the outside, I could tell they were doing something terrible in there. I've seen them dump people outside occasionally. I don't think your young mind is ready for it."
"Then that's all the more reason to figure out what's going on there. You contact Ironwood, and Ill sneak into the base."
"Fine then, but take this." He handed Pyrrha the strange object that he came in with earlier. "This is a cloaking device. It has a short life span, but recharges quickly. Use it wisely."
"I will."
"En Taro Adun, Pyrrha. Good luck. And make sure to take a breathing apparatus with you. It could save your life."
Pyrrha took the cloaking device that Tal had given her and walked towards the entrance. She picked up a rebreather and walked outside. As the ashes fell down, she walked towards the location of the facility.
She was going to find out what was going on in that facility, no matter what.
"Zerg. Dead ones, too." A man spoke. He wore a massive suit of power armour, and was carrying a large gun. He looked towards the corpses of the creatures that lay before him. He saw the burn marks on them and turned towards the rest of the squad.
"Alright boys, listen up. Dead Zerg means somebodies out here. Somebody that isn't one of ours."
"That's impossible. There's no way someone made it all the way out here. Otherwise, there would be a trail of corpses all the way here." A soldier responded.
"I don't think its an escapee. There's someone out here. Someone who's avoided detection for far too long." The marine looked towards the squad of soldiers that now surrounded him.
"Boys, this expedition has officially turned into a hunting trip."
