Arrival

[The Empire]

Tailing the Myrorian ships until they arrived at this new world was a smaller but more advanced-looking spacecraft, The Imperial Ark.

Settling into high orbit, the crew commenced visual observations to find a suitable landing site and spectrometers to determine the state of the atmosphere.

On the third pass they had located a suitable location and determined the atmosphere was fit to breathe and Princess Hanna initiated the landing cycle.

First of all, the three small sattelites in the hold were released into orbit and allowed to stabilize themselves before the secondary cycle was initated and the spacecraft fiered retro-rockets, allowing gravity to grab it and the decent started. The bottom of the spacecraft started to glow as the friction ignited the air around them and they passed the point of no return. As the spacecraft had slowed enough to remain cool, breaking thrusters were fiered and the breaking chutes were deployed. The ground was approaching fast but the plain below looked smooth enough to handle. Landing skis were deployed and the spacecraft touched down, small trees and shrubs were swept aside or snapped like straws as they were hit and small rocks tore the landing gear to shreds. As the spacecraft came to a halt on it's bottom, it just lay there like some large dead beast, the ceramic panels scattered in it's path still smoking from the heat of entering the atmosphere.

The night came and all was still calm. Inside the cockpit, The crew was slowly regaining consciousness.

[The Empire]

As the crew regained conciousness the only light came from the windows, they tried to restart the craft's computers but it was impossible, two of the royal guard staggered back into the airlock and tried to open the outer door, it was stuck. Grabbing the door by the edges, the two guards locked their gloves and pulled with all the strength their armour gave them to one side, slowly but certainly the groan of the opening mechanism grew more and more strained until the hinges snapped, causing the two guards to fall out of the opening together with the heavy door and down onto something they hadn't seen in months, green grasses and plants. as they recovered form their fall, they scanned the horizon for any sign of civilization, using both optical and IR augmentation.

[The Empire]

Apparently they had crashed at the edge of a field of crops where strands of beans ready for harvest was flowing in long lines.
"Errm, I think we better get the princess and the others out here"

"Yeah, I think you are right"

The two guards moved quickly back to the open door and went in. As they removed their helmets a sweet smell reached their noses.

"Crap, the cryo tubes..."

"Well, the power is fucked so there is nothing we can do for the frozen. Let's get the princess and our buddies out of here before the coolant gasses knock 'em out permanently."

They climbed back into the cockpit and started to cut the harnesses that was holding the princess and the other crew members strapped to their seats in the uppside-down celing.

[The Empire]

They worked as quick as they could with cutting the crew free and dragging those who were still passed out outside to safety but the work was hard and time was short as the coolant gas leaking slowly from the broken cryo-tubes filled the rear compartments of the spacecraft.

[The Empire]

As night came the Princess had started to regain some consciousness but her head felt like it was being processed in a steel mill, throbbing and pounding where she was lying on a mylar blanket staring at the stars while the deep rumble of Sasha's breath, the great white tigress sleeping behind her. Nikolai, her yellow male tiger was as could be expected resting his head in the lap on one of the guards sitting by the fire, getting his chin and the back of his ears rubbed.
Some distance away, Lieutenant Tanja Ljung, one of the better off guards was sitting behind a make-shift cover she had made of a felled tree, keeping a lookout using the night vision mode of her visor. most of the guards was sleeping or tending to nicks and bruises they had taken. The fire pit was lined with ceramic shards from the heat shield that had scattered all over the place in the crash but due to the explosion-hazard of the coolant vapour near the spacecraft the makeshift camp had been made at a safe distance.

[Mor'os]

The sun slowly faded to the west behind the panorama of rolling mountains, ushering in a lazy and gentle summer dusk in rural Sēkad. The cicadas incensent chirping permeated the air, but were joined by no other sound. A satisfied Manzhī Tadom surveyed this scenery from his doorway, and was at peace for it.

It had been a good year; plentiful rain born by the typhoons which, while spelling destruction for the coastal provinces were a boon to those of the western foothills. Manzhī had quietly and discretely tucked away that nasty concern about profiting from the misery of others deep within his brain so that he might enjoy his success untroubled. The beans in particular had done well, and it was this particular distant plot which he now admired, as though the thing were visible. At this rate there would be plenty of the bean jam which his son loved so much for the boy's birthday. Manzhī loved the boy deeply, little Shau'as, and spoiled him at any given chance.

"Lhun ti rī īn?"

It was his wife, Halmu, who had stepped out to join him in his revery. Firmly seated in her arms was Shau'as, babbling and gurgling away happily as he always did.

"So so..."

Shau'as at that point let out a delighted squeal, with no apparent provocation, and began to wildly wave his arms about and pointing to the sky eagerly. He smiled and gurgled some more. Both parents looked up to where the boy pointed only to be stunned, and with good reason.

"Manzhī, tle īn?" Halmu asked with concern as the fiery streak that raced across the sky seemed to grow brighter, larger and above all more immediately deadly and dangerous.

"Nolne..." Manzhī replied to no one in particular, in a stupor of sorts. The air began to rumble ominously. The fire grew brigher and bigger, which only made Shau'as all the more happier and terrified his parents further. Manzhī took a step back, and then another, retreating into what little safety his thatch and plaster home would provide against Heaven's apparent wrath. With no instruction his wife followed and the door was shut firmly. Shau'as let out a petulent whine, angry at having been denied this marvelous sight.

The house shook. Pottery and utensils rattled, loose plaster fell as dust to the floor. The shaking was taken all in stride; earthquakes were a fact of life in Mor'os. But the roar, and the terrible balls of fire were completely and certainly not. Huddled in the corner the family waited as the roar grew stronger, like some fearsome beast drawing closer and closer to consume them all. And then...

The shockwave and blast that followed were simply so tremendous that Manzhī's brain didn't register it, for fear of overloading itself. Time and space seemed to simply skip a beat, and then level off into a silence made all the more profound by the cacophany that had preceeded it, spiced with the intermitant sound of plaster crumbling. Manzhī was the first to cast a cautious glance upward; Shau'as only failed to do so because his mother had kept him firmly pinned to her bosom. The house seemed intact, if a complete housekeeping disaster. Standing, he walked through the ominous gloom and silence to see what there was to see.
Anything not firmly planted in the ground had been thrown it seemed. Further away, closer to the center of the epic blast, Manzhī could see that anything that wasn't the ground itself had been thrown. A great, ominous hulk loomed...right on top of the bean harvest.

Manzhī's weakened heart broke.  All that money, bean jam...gone...

Halmu's head peaked out of the door. Her eyes widened at what she saw. Shau'as giggled happily. Manzhī groaned and put his head in his hands. And for the moment, that's what the lot did.

Elsewhere, concerned folk were filing  to the scene to investigate the Ark's less than subtle approach. Not particularly numerous, but particularly concerned and curious, if not outright terrified...

[The Empire]

Spotting the small but growing crowd coming down the hillside beyond, Lieutenant Tanja reported to the others through her com-link.
**We have company, a small crowd coming this way**

**Got it, I'm gathering those who are fit enough to move and coming to you**

crouching down further, Tanja held her rifle tight against the shoulder guard of her armour but didn't raise it to aim yet she activated the forest night pattern for her armour and melted away into the shadows.

The sudden comotion got Nikolai's attention and he went over to his mate, pushing Sasha gently in the side with his nose and with a soft growl the tigress stirred awake. Four of the royal guards were moving carefully towards Lieutenant tanja's position, the powerplants and actuators of their armours humming softly in the cool night air.

[Mor'os]

Vethash-sam was first to arrive on the scene. The Tadom family was already there of course, but already being there it would have been impossible for them to arrive in any way. His plot was just across the dirt road which wound its way from the village and to the east, and it was to be expected. He was greeted by the sight of Manzhī sulking against the wall of his home, still lamenting the loss of his bean crop. Halmu was sitting nearby, cradling Sauas in her arms. Sauas had exhausted himself through excitement and was now soundly asleep.

"Are ya'll okay here?" he asked in the nasally dialect of the Sēkad region. "I heard a terrible roar. Done woke up father and upset my little ones." Manzhī stuck to sulking, but Halmu looked up.

"Ah, Vethash-sam! It's a real blessin' seein' ya here. It was terrible, just as ya said. A great bright steak of fire cut 'cross the sky and landed right in Manzhī's beans. Frightened poor little Shauas here so..."

"Landed in your crops?" Until now Vethash's mind had not processed the presence of that large other worldly thing sitting in Tadom's bean crop; it had just been unable to accept that such a thing could exist until someone else had confirmed its existance for him.

"Heaven, that's certainly something ya've got there..."

"I just know this is all yar fault someways Raugeb!" A yet unseen third party was now approaching, but all present immediately recognized that terrible cry. It was even enough to get Manzhī to look up for a couple of seconds.

"Please, there ain't no reason that you gotta..."

"Don't try and talk ya way out of this one Raugeb! I know that you ain't been visiting yar parent's tomb like ya's supposed to! Now you've done gone and called Heaven's angry hand down on all of us! Our children too!"

Kirmu Forbazh was known for the manner in which she constantly chastised her husband for not meeting the high moral standards she seemed to expect of anyone. Raugeb for his part never seemed to improve, at least in her opinion. In some ways it was now what people expected, and it was when the two were at peace that worry was stirred.

Raugeb firmly chose to ignore this last comment and speak to the presumably less hostile Vethash.

"What's all this about? I was just hopin' for some sleep when the whole sky seems to open above me."

"That." Vethash merely said and pointed. Raugeb blinked. Kirmu ceased her verbal assault and stared.

"Well, that is something. What do we do about this all now then?"

Vethash shrugged. "Wait until that prefect shows up- well I reckon he might be here with us now."

Sure enough, fate had with that ever potent attention to convenient coincidence had orchestrated at this moment the arrival of prefect Parzan, everyone else in the thorpe in tow. The man was generally held in low regard: an Ar, stupid and appointed to the backwater no doubt to get him out of the way. There was nervous babbling. Parzan took one good look at the craft, and then conferred in hurried whispers with his left hand man. An expectant hush fell. Momentarily, he came back and coughed slightly, readying himself for the aggrandized speach which was a must in moments like this.

"I am told that this-" he motioned to the appropriate thing "is a vehicle of Divinity sent from Heaven itself! We must proceed in the proper manner! Make haste, make haste! There must be gifts and welcome for them unless we wish to risk Heaven's wrath. Go to it now! Food and drink would make a good start."  He waved his hands in such a way that he appeared to be shooing the peasants away from him, which was partly true. Murmering, the crowd dispersed to do as they'd been told. Halmu stood to her feet.

"Well, I'm gonna go and put little Shauas in bed and cook up the spare rice. Ya'll might want to do the same. To think, divine messengers here in our little village. Ain't something ya see often..."

[The Empire]

**There seems to be some commotion in the crowd, they don't seem to be hostile but several of them have been gesturing towards the ark, what do you suggest we do colonel?**

**We wait, it doesn't seem as they have seen anything but the ship just yet and the campfire is concealed from them by that mound**

The five guards took up low positions along the row of trees on thier side of the causeway and the hum of their armours softened as they settled and the need for actuator power lessened.

Nicolai and Sasha was curious and now climbed the mound, the shilluettes of the two fully grown tigers contrasted against the darkening evening sky and they roared, letting the new world's air vibrate with their annouced presence.

[Mor'os]

"Yes yes, put the rice over there..."

Despite the late time of day, probably more accurately denoted as night in fact by this point, the village had been rather fast in accumalating a sizable tribute, or at least for the size of the community. In absolute terms it was utterly pathetic, but people were banking on the Gods being a merciful and understanding lot. No one there had ever met them in person; who was to say what they'd be like in person? Parzan was now going over and micromanaging every aspect of the process, and was smugly satisfied with himself.

"Wonderful, wonderful. Priest!" A wisened old man answered the call.

"Wuh?" he croaked.

"You are versed in the proper ceremony?"

"Wuh?"

"I said, are you versed in the proper ceremony?!"

"I s'pose... march 'long and mumble and the hurdy and the gurdy..."

"Then get us started already." Parzan was becoming impatient. "You all! Ready with those gifts?" A vague mumble of yes came from those who'd been selected as bearers.

"Good, good. Then let us-"

The tiger's roars split the dusk, and sent a collective shiver up the spines of all those in earshot.

"I told you Raugeb!" shrieked Kirmu automatically. "That's the sound of divine justice I tell you, and you've done gone and brought it on us all!" Her righteous fury was fast consumed though by the larger collective clamor.

"Tiger!"

"Tigers!"

By the same impulse that will cause a deer to steer into oncoming headlights, the group froze and waited, staring in terrified awe at the creeping silhouettes. Only a glum Manzhī remained unmoved.

"Priest!" cried Parzan desperately as he shook the old man. "What does this all mean?"

"Wuh?"

"I said, what does this all mean?!"

"That we're all going to die I s'pose...done my time for sure..."

[The Empire]

Neither Sasha or Nicolai were very interested in the new toys but some of the tributes smelled much more interesting, however, she had not said they could have it so they lay down , waiting.

The colonel signed to his four soldiers and spoke through the com-link as he stepped up on the causeway.

**Forward.**

Half a step behind, the lieutenant and the others followed, the five royal guards in Mk 1 power armour with dark green m90 forest camouflage separated from the shadows, their eyepices reflecting the sed glow of the setting sun.

[Mor'os]

Parzan and the assorted peasantry gathered behind him stared in a stupidified and silent awe at the terrible figures now advancing on them. Parzan made a series of unpleasant, squirming motions to the elderly priest who, lost in his own blissful senility, had not quite grasped the full gravitas of the present situation.

"Priest! Do something! You are the holy man here are you not? Go and welcome... them."

The old man squinted at him. "Yes, I've been a priest my whole life... now what was that last part?"

"I said go welcome them!" he was hissing, as fear forced his whispers into unpleasant formations.

"Okey dokey..." he mumbled, and shuffled down the causeway, still oblivious to just who or what he was about to make contact with. When he deemed himself close enough, he cleared his throat and after having allowed the proper dramatic pause began.

"O, da da ten on sar-samsam. sēv-cham sū vī-samsam jī i hal." Though many in years, practice ensured a relatively impressive delivery. A few impressed murmurs in the crowd even managed to briefly surface through the maelstrom of fear and shock.

[The Empire]

WTF are they saying... CPU, decompress helmet. CPU, open helmet


The colonel turned slowly towards the crowd and his helmet hissed as it decompressed and the visor flipped backwards and up to reveal his face, the face of a man in his late thirties with a three-day beard and moustache.
Lowering their weapons slightly, the other guards also opened their helmets and adopted a more relaxed stance.

[Mor'os]

The crowd leaned back and held their breath as one in collective, nerve wracking anticipation as the terrifying arrivals began to remove their helmets. All except of course for the priest, who passed the seconds by humming some indistinguishable tune to himself.

The colonel's revealed, the old priest's brain moved slightly, as it still did against on all reason on certain occasions. He peered upwards through squinted eyes, in keen examination. The crowd, breath still held, mirrored his intent and leaned forward slightly. Though, he did not say it, he was slighly dissapointed to see that this was what had caused all those panicked people to wake him from his evening nap. Tall, yes, but he'd found most people were taller than he, the  onset of age having gradually reduced his own height. All in all, he looked like yet another shabby individual, wandering from here to nowhere.

"E...gen īn-cham?" the elderly man, finally concerned by the confusion of the new visitors.

[The Empire]

In ozian, the colonel replied:
"What place is this old man?"
When looking closer, the priest saw the sword that hung at the colonel's side, a blade at least four feet from hilt to tip with hundreds of small teeth on some sort of chain along one side. The flat side of the blade had an etching of a winged lizard and symbols of a strange language underneath it.
When the colonel swept his hand across the land to punctuate his question, the old priest barely noticed a quiet whinnying sound from the elbow and shoulder of the stranger's armour, rising and falling in strength with the speed of the stranger's movements. similiar whinnying and buzzing sounds were emanating from the other strangers aswell.