Eternal Galaxy: Phoenix - Intermission

[S121]

Nevaaras

Ethan turned his gaze away from the girl and towards the sand storm that she had directed his attention towards. From what he could tell, the sand storm would most likely hit within the next ten minutes, probably not enough time for them to reach the colony, considering how they still had a mile and a half to go.

"Yea, we probably should. The dust storms can get pretty nasty out here.", Ethan said as he turned his gaze away from the sandstorm and toward the colony, only to be met with the sight of a dogfight over the city.

Upon seeing the scene unfold, Ethan simply looked up as he swung his hands up to the sky and let them droop down before giving a small chuckle. Just when he thought the day couldn't get any more exciting, another surprise was right around the corner... not that it bothered him at all.

"Speaking of exciting, look at that.", Ethan said to Mokou as he pointed at the star fighters. Just as he did though, one of them was shot down by the others following it and crashed near the colony, followed by the three other ships landing near it and their pilots exiting their vehicles.

"Aaaaand cue the part where our curiosity gets the better of us and we go investigate.", Ethan remarked to Mokou as he pointed at the crashed vehicle.

[WriggleRid3r]

Nevaaras

---

Mokou too saw the dogfight going on in the skies of Nevaaras, with all their guns blazing. Several planes actually came crashing down the colony, which prompted Ethan to comment about exploring the plane wreck. Exploring things like that could turn into a fun expedition, but only after Mokou takes a shower and gets a fresh pair of clothes... maybe a drink or two as well.

"Ueeee, I'd rather get myself refreshed before I do anything like that." Mokou pandiculated, stretching her arms up which drifted her tank top up as well. "New clothes... I don't like the smell of sweat... It'd also be nice to take a shower to get myself clean."

[SUSTIC]

Nevaaras

As Miranda chased after the White Ranger in nothing but black underwear, she stopped to catch her breath as she had made it to the very edge of the colony entrance. Unfortunately for her she was unable to catch the White Ranger who had managed to escape into the colony.
"Freaking... bastard..." Miranda muttered as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. That was when she took notice of something in the sky... It looked like a... dogfight? Seeing this Miranda didn't get furious, but rather she let out an irritated and tired sigh upon seeing the ships fight before she saw one of the ships seemingly make an emergency landing... or did it crash again? Either way Miranda was getting tired of the amount of sh*t that has been happening today.

Thinking about what to do, she remembered a certain mercenary... After having come up with an idea that involved sending Ethan and SiMo to investigate, she then turned around to check on how far they were... only to see a large sandstorm in the distance.

"God fucking dammit. I'm not getting any rest today aren't I?" Miranda commented as she is beginning to get fed up with all the shit she has dealt with and is dealing with today.


______________________

As Megumi was still hanging onto Ethan, she too watched the ships fighting in the sky, and took notice of the large sandstorm. Seeing both she quickly let go of Ethan and turned to face the colony. Without a second thought, Megumi turned back to face Ethan and gave him another blank stare.

"You better run." Megumi spoke in a deadpan tone before taking off running to the colony before beginning to quickly slow down to a walk, which then came down to a small few steps before finally passing out due to heat exhaustion. As she passed out she fell face first into the sand with a bit of a thud.

It was clear that the rather long day out in the sun for her in such little clothing, and her awfully pale skin does NOT make for a good combination on the hot and arid desert planet that is Nevaaras.

[Cucoo5]

Chapter VI

The War of Eternity was a civil war that concealed a real war. If the War of Eternity never happened, had the people focused on the real threat then we would not be living in fear of annihilation. No, we would not be afraid of the Nihiliods.

- Revere to Aion after he commented about how an entire galaxy “didn’t see it coming.”

Hunteri Stronghold – Sedes Imperii
All it took was fifteen minutes. The Hunters were ready. Everything was packed and organized; which Achlys still couldn’t believe. Aion had remained stoic as he inspected the preparations; not an easy task considering the immense pride he felt toward them all. They were family to him as much as his squadron was. They were all his children, and he was proud of what they had become: true Hunteri. “Everything is in order. Time to secure the transports.” A collective Sir sounded as they all shifted their weapons forward. “Condor Squadron, with me. We’ll secure the extra transport and its owners.” He motioned for the squadron of twelve to follow him to a ladder that led to the maintenance room outside the former Council chambers. He led the group up and into the heavily insulated room where they gathered and prepared to enter the main hallway. “Ready?” The group split into two, going on either side of the door. One of the men held onto the manual override switch that would open the door without power. “On three…”

“Three… two…one…go.” The door opened with a hiss as the hydraulics were released. Everyone sprang into motion. Two checked either way down the large cathedral-like hallway followed by another four dashing across to positions behind the massive pillars on either side. Once the signal was given, Aion and the rest marched out to the center. So far, so good. No contacts. Either the Nihiliods had left or they’re waiting. Aion would admit that simply moving about the upper levels could put his men at risk, but he was confident in the abilities of everyone here. He took up the rear as they moved as one unit forward. He started to fall back slightly and seemed to speak to the walls. “I thought Arachnae couldn’t shift into the shadows so discretely.”

“Well, like you pointed out earlier, maki’te, I lost a lot of mass.” Achlys shifted into her bipedal form to walk alongside him. “Besides, you might need my help if trouble shows up.” Aion kept looking ahead but she could see the grin on his face. I’m as much a Hunteri as anyone else. I was just sitting back while they did the work, now I’ll get my hands dirty.

“You don’t have to, adki’ta” He had his concerned look again.

“No, I want to.” Aion’s expression lightened once he understood her reasoning.

“Very well, then. Just don’t do anything rash.” Achlys gave him a skeptical look that told him that he need not worry about that. As they continued onward, the two took point again. That was when they saw two figures standing in front of the council chamber’s doors. Once they were closer, Aion managed to ID them, causing him to chuckle. “Well, what do we have here? Two familiar faces that I haven’t seen in a long time.” He said it loud enough for their guests to hear. He held up a fist to tell the squad to stand down. “It’s been far too long, maki’ti. How have you two been?”

[Kilelicus]

Prosperity | Sungrey
BGM: Legend of Dragoon OST - Echo of Flame
http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=F...-_Complete_OST

---

Phenom holstered his guns, but kept his hands on their handles in their holsters, just in case. These past two days have been full of surprises. He wouldn't be shocked if these... Hunteri... weren't being entirely truthful about their reason for being here. His threat of force may have vanished, but his accusing glare just above his scarf did not, and Phenom always cared an invisible threat of force.

"So, if you were only here to warn the colonists, then why are you still here? Think very carefully before you answer. I don't trust you, and the wrong answer may end your life."

[S121]

Nevaaras

Ethan was hoping to see what was up with the three unknown pilots in the distance, but soon his attention was stolen away by the young pale girl in black, who broke off into a run, telling him to follow, but then started to lose speed. Ethan incredulously watched as Megumi slowed until she passed out and fell to the dry earth below her, causing small puffs of dust to billow out around her. He could only stand there with his shoulders slumped down, his back slightly arched forward, and his head lightly tilted to the side, but after a few seconds of silence, Ethan suddenly straightened his posture back to normal looked into the sky and simply laughed.

"Hahaha! Again!?", Ethan rhetorically asked aloud as he started to walk towards the girl on the ground.






Hunteri Stronghold – Sedes Imperii (Palace)

Right as the group began to try and find a way to unlock the door to the palace's council chambers, they heard a voice echo from across the room.

“It’s been far too long, maki’ti. How have you two been?”

In that single instant, John immediately raised his battle rifle towards the source of the noise in preparation, but was greeted by a rather familiar face.

"Wait Chief. Is that who I think it is?", Cortana asked John as she tried to piece his face to the few fragmented memories she had, all while John simply remained silent as he slightly lowered his gun.

John could barely recognize the face, as if it had been from a dream, but the longer he stared at the man before them, the more and more he began to remember him.

"Aion?", John asked in a relatively confused tone. By the normal standards of human emotion, John's reaction would have appeared rather tame, but beneath the surface, he was quite shocked to see Aion standing there.

[Aria of Forbidden Magic]

Prosperity | Sungrey

---

Terra didn't quite understand who the people who had just come through the door were. Could today have gotten any weirder for her? At this point, as a perfectly natural result, Terra was getting a bit annoyed by the constant twists and turns. Getting attacked by monsters? Happened before. New planet? Took some adjusting. Army raid and rescue by mysterious stranger? Still kind of fresh. Now another group suddenly joins in. Thus, Terra joined Phenom in his suspicion.

It's possible that they could be here to check up on the survivors, perhaps to make sure we all have viable escape routes, Terra thought. But there are other possibilities. Maybe they're a second wave sent in by the army from before. They look totally different, though. That could be a confusion tactic, however. Still, then wouldn't they have already started killing us? And what are these weird words they're saying? Is this some other language? Why can't they just keep speaking English? While these thoughts clouded around Terra's head, all that showed on her exterior was a questioning stare.

[WriggleRid3r]

Nevaaras

---

Mokou too saw the pale girl run away, slow down to a walk, then collapse. At first she was shocked, then she was worried; even though she just met her, anyone collapsing suddenly warranted a degree of worry. However, Ethan's casual demeanor suggested it wasn't very serious.

"Again... does she always go unconscious like that?" Mokou asked in curiosity as she kept pace to Ethan. "See, my point still stands... this place is weird."

[S121]

Nevaaras

"Yea, it seems to be a common occurrence for her. She's done this twice already.", Ethan remarked as he walked over to the girl in black, knelt down, and picked her up.

The situation felt oddly familiar to Ethan, but hopefully he wouldn't get punched in the chest again. After Ethan lightly shuffled Megumi into his arms to ensure she wouldn't fall out of his arms, he stood back up and looked over to the white-haired girl.

"Maybe, but you can't say it's dull.", Ethan rather playfully remarked to her, "C'mon, we've got quite a distance to cover and not enough time to do it."

[Cucoo5]

[Tomorrow's part: Palace]

Prosperity

Ian shook his head, a forced laugh escaping his lungs. "Oh, no, we're still here to warn you; to warn you of the fact that there are far greater dangers here." He looked outside at the damaged colony. "Whatever attacked this place was mere child's play compared to the real threats this galaxy has to offer; the greatest being in the form of a type of parasite." He looked back to the colonists grim-faced. "They are known to us as Nihiliods." It was Sarah who added in their descriptive title.

"Planet Killers."

[Kilelicus]

Prosperity | Sungrey
BGM: Legend of Dragoon OST - Echo of Flame
http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=F...-_Complete_OST

---

"Nihiliods. I've encountered one. Killed it. Durable, but not invincible." Phenom said, "And they're on this planet?"

[WriggleRid3r]

Nevaaras

---

"She looks like she's out like a light." Mokou commented as she quickly caught up to Ethan, observing the unconscious girl. "Poor thing, must be pretty fragile. Anyway, I agree. We should hurry."

[S121]

Nevaaras

"Yea...", Ethan said as he looked back out into the distance at the colony and the sandstorm just beyond it. He could see that SiMo had already made quite a lot of progress with pushing Miranda's vehicle all the way to the colony. It seemed that Ethan would not be able to simply place the now unconscious girl in his arms into the car, but it wasn't like it bothered him too much. At the very least, he could at least ask some questions as they walked, maybe even learn where exactly the white-haired girl came from.

As Ethan began to walk towards the colony, he looked over to Mokou and asked her a question.

"So, what's your name?", Ethan asked rather casually.

[WriggleRid3r]

Nevaaras

---

"Mokou." Mokou answered just as casually. "I'd tell you my last name, but my heritage isn't very important in this place... or seems to be, anyway, with robots and all these fancy technological doodads."

[S121]

Nevaaras

"Mokou... Hm.", Ethan said with a light smile beneath his helmet, saying her name as if to feel the name slide off his tongue. It was a rather unusual name, but if he had to guess, it probably had to have been an old Earth name, possibly of Asian origin. He wasn't entirely sure from what country though.

"My name is Ethan, and if the robots and gadgets surprise you now, just wait till we get to the colony.", Ethan said to Mokou with that same smile beneath his helmet, contemplating how Mokou would react to seeing holographic displays, anti-grav platforms, and other pieces of more advanced technology. Now that Ethan thought about it though, it did seem strange that she felt unfamiliar with the technology. After all, how else could she have gotten here?

"So anyway, I was going to ask you a question earlier before I got hit by a car... and beat up.", Ethan said in a matter of fact way before continuing with a tone of interest and curiosity,"Just how exactly did you survive a drop like that? What did you mean earlier when you said you 'technically' came from Earth?"