I.A.V. Qián Shí Huà 2517.05.15 15:25 Responding to a distress call on Ita

An Officer and a soldier walk through the halls to an elevator, they enter and the soldier pushes a button. ‘Tier A, Deck 32. Interrogation bay’ the two men stand in silence for a short while until the Officer speaks up. “And who is this man that we picked up?” “His name is Nathaniel Thomas, Sir. The rescue team found him holed up in a cave about 4 clicks from the settlement of Lains. He was mumbling about death from the sky, howls of wolves, and something about wearing skin.” “Any clue as to what happened in the settlement?” “No Sir, there appeared to be no survivors and Lains looked to have been ravaged. Also several ships were found scattered near Lains in a 10 click radius. Most just short range shuttles, we think they belonged to a transport class ship we found among the wreckage. The odd thing about that particular ship was that some of the main thrusters were crushed, looks like a grappling device of some sort.” The officer took a moment to digest some of the information as the elevator came to a stop and opened its doors. “I’m going to have a little talk with Mr. Thomas. Meanwhile, you head over to Communications and get them to dispatch some salvage crews, dohn-ma?” The soldier saluted and took the elevator back down. The Officer clasped his hands behind his back and headed for the room that held the key as to what happened on the Settlement.

“They come from above……All they do is feed……..skin is a trophy……..many trophies….one thing…no telling where they might be next….” Outside of the room two guards stood watch calmly, trying to blank out the ramblings of the man inside. When the two guards saw the officer they approached and saluted him. The officer shot a glance through the window, “This the guy from Ita?” “Yes Sir, He’s been going off like that for hours. I think he’s calming down, earlier he was mentioning bodily organs and feasting on human flesh.” Nodding the officer said, “All right, I’m going in to have a little chat. I’ll see if he can form a sentence or two about Lains.” The officer walks into the room and sits down in a chair opposite the only witness of what happened in Lains. The Officer shuffles a few papers, organizing them slightly, before he speaks. “Mr. Nathaniel Thomas, Journalist for the Lains Weekly and sole survivor of the atrocities in Lains.” Nathan stares at the table not moving an inch, almost as if he didn‘t know the officer was in the room. “I am Lieutenant Commander Jason Drodgery. My job here is to find out what happened in Lains and you,” Jason puts the papers down, “are my only link. Mind telling me what happened?” “Death from the stars…….men wore skins not their own………I…lived?” Lt. Drodgery sighs, “I can see that you were really affected by what transpired there. However, I am not known for patience. I want you to tell me what happened, in full detail. You can trust us. Was it Reavers?” Nathan’s eyes went wide as he looked up from the table to the Lieutenant. “Now I want you to tell me what happened. The Alliance wants to do everything they can to help.” For the first time in several hours Nathaniel forms a coherent sentence. “I’ll tell you what I can remember.” “That’s all I ask.” Drodgery says calmly. “It happened three days ago,” Nathan starts, “Was about midday…..” ********************************************************* ‘Everybody was so peaceful until They dropped from the sky, like a hawk swoops down onto its prey.’

Nathan steps out of the Lains Weekly headquarters after handing in his article. “Now to help myself to a snack.” He thinks to himself and begins to walk over to the local bar. “Afternoon, Nate!” “Afternoon, Weis. How’s the Family?” “‘Doing alright, the wife is finally breaking free of that gorram flu, my daughter is doing well in school and I couldn’t be happier.” “That’s good to hear. Want to have a drink with me?” “Sure, why not?”

The two men both head to the bar, but as they make it to the entrance an explosion draws them back into the street. They turn their eyes upward in time to see a shuttle tear through the sky. Its port side was on fire and the angle of descent made it obvious that the pilot, if there was one, had ceased to draw breath. More people spilled into the street to watch the shuttle crash, two more shuttles fell, one was also on fire but the other had no visible damage. It just dropped like a stone. Weis, the town’s Sheriff, had already begun splitting up people into rescue teams to try and search the shuttles for survivors when two more ships flew through the sky.

The first ship was obviously a transport ship, it had suffered a great deal of damage and it was a miracle that it managed to stay airborne. There were also a few open bays which, the people on the ground guessed, must’ve been from the shuttles they saw crash earlier. The second ship was so twisted and contorted that the original design was impossible to know. Black smoke poured from the rear of the ship as it bore down on its prey.

“…Reavers….” someone in the crowd managed to say.

The Reavers’ ship closes the gap to the fleeing transport ship and fires a magnetic grappler. The transport banked to port but not soon enough to dodge the claw-like projectile. The grappler digs into a starboard side thruster and begins to take hold. Metal groans as the grappler tightens on the thruster, eventually the thruster gives into the pressure and folds over the opening sending the grappler back its source. The Reavers’ ship fired the grappler once more and took out the other starboard thruster. The fleeing ship begins to shake violently as the stabilizers ad the pilot struggle to maintain a straight line.

***********************************************

“I guess the engines for the starboard thrusters overheated, because the next thing I know the transport ship was rocked by several explosions. The ship didn’t go far after that, dove right into the dirt.” Nathaniel Thomas reenacts the ships movements with his hand, including the crash. “It was horrible, pieces of the ship and the other shuttles were everywhere.” Nathan rubbed his eyes; three days without sleep from watching for the Reavers had finally started to wear on him. The adrenaline that had kept him going slowly faded, Nathan gradually became sluggish, his vision blurred and eventually he succumbed to exhaustion.

Lt.Comdr Drodgery sat there and stared at the only survivor of the Reaver Raid for a while. He rapped on the door and said, “Get someone to take Mr. Thomas here to a bed. When he wakes up have him back in here and notify me immediately.” The soldiers outside replied in unison, “Yes Sir!” After they went on their way Drodgery went on to the Communications deck.

Once on the Communications deck Drodgery scanned the area for the soldier he had sent there. Several grunts are keeping the communications in the ship functioning, while others are monitoring possible threats to the alliance. Before long, he notices the soldier is still continuing the wave; he shook his head as he remembered how inquisitive salvage crews are. He strolled over to the soldier, put his hand on the man’s shoulder to get his attention and motioned him to leave. The soldier looked like he had been saved from an Independent’s ambush; Drodgery watched the soldier leave the deck to continue his duties then sat down to finish the ongoing wave.

“All right, listen up. This is an Alliance sanctioned job, you will all be paid accordingly. As a bonus, instead of having to turn in the scraps to the nearest ship builder, you will get to keep whichever parts you wish.” Several of the salvage crews begin to raise questions as to what happened and why the alliance wants this to be kept quiet. “That information is classified. Just do your jobs and be grateful for the work. Asking for more information than what is required, more often than not, will only have you and your crew wanted for Espionage. Espionage, gentlemen, is an offense that is punishable by death. Now I believe you have some salvaging to get to and only a week to do it, Good day.” Several protests rise as to the limited time they have but Lt.Comdr Drodgery abruptly ends the wave.

Lt.Comdr Drodgery sighs and leans back against the chair. He knows that a salvage job this size would actually take several weeks, maybe even months. But, with the information he could be getting from Nathaniel, they might not even have that much time. “How much farther in will they come?” Drodgery wonders aloud. He stands up with a sigh and then heads to his quarters to turn in for the day.

The next morning found Lt. Comdr. Drodgery just finishing his hygiene cycle. A monotone beep sounded over his door ‘Come in.’ An ensign from the Communications deck entered his quarters and stood at attention. ‘At ease, now what is it that you want?’ ‘I was sent to remind you of the meeting regarding the …survivor.’ the ensign said stiffly. Drodgery simply nodded and waved the ensign away. He made his way to a capture of a quiet, peaceful looking plain. As the capture plays in a loop he watches the wind move the grass and a fawn bound across the plain over and over again. He sighs as he pulls himself away from the capture and prepares for the meeting.

************************************************ The landscape is dark and forbidding. A halo of light highlights a figure, male, on his hands and knees. Footsteps come seemingly from nowhere, and then two more men appear in the halo. The two men seem almost like vagabonds, their hair is messy and unkempt, with numerous sores, blisters, and scars cover the faces and exposed skin of the two men. They circle the man in the middle, staying on the balls of their feet, their backs are arched, and arms spread out ready to stop the man should he try to run. They circle the man four times all the while snapping their jaws and clawing at him. Then the menacing figures open their mouths and a horrible screeching begins.

The screeching goes on for what seems like hours and changes pitch and tone almost every few seconds. Then the screeching starts to fade, sounds and then coherent words emit from the two men’s mouths. They speak in tandem, and what they say disturbs the listener.

“Join us…..become one with us….remove all that you were…join us in the great feast, the table is set….” The two figures stare hungrily at the man in the middle “One way or another, you will join us.” They say before they lunge for the man and tear at him with their teeth. Suddenly, more lights flash on and more men, just like the two speakers, are seen. All of them rush for the man reaching, ripping, and biting as if their hunger could not be satiated.

“‘NO!” Nathan wakes up screaming. His eyes dart left and right, it takes him a minute to remember where he is and calms down. A door across from the cot he was sleeping in opens and a soldier steps in. “Everything alright, Sir?” “Y-Yes…can you tell…Drodg… .” “Lt. Comdr. Drodgery?” “Yeah. Tell him that I’m ready to finish my account on what happened.” The soldier nods to Nathan and closes the door. Nathan wipes his brow and heads to the bathroom to steady himself. He looks at himself in the mirror, the face looking back at him is tired. As he continues to look the face begins to change, the upper lip disappears, cuts and scars appear across the right cheek and over the left eye. Nathan bows his head toward the sink feeling very nauseas and splashes his face with cold water. It doesn’t work, within moments he throws up. *******************************************************

“Allright Gentlemen, Let’s get this meeting underway.” In a well-lit room sitting at a round table are some of the men who uphold the Main Objective. The Commanding Officer, Intelligence Officer, Communications Officer and Medical Officer gather their respective notes and wait for the incoming wave. A screen flickers to life and a slightly obscured face appears. “So what have you found out?” The face asks. Drodgery stands up first and introduces himself, “Intelligence Officer, Lieutenant Commander Drodgery. We have confirmed that it was a Reaver attack. Our only survivor, One Nathaniel Thomas, is recounting the attack as he remembers.” “What is the status of the salvage operation?” A woman with fiery red hair stands up, “Communications Officer, Captain Vicky Comoré. The salvage crews are getting a little unruly. A few fights over some of the more valuable parts have started. But a few of the crews have come to an understanding and are working together.” The face nods, “And what is the state of Mr. Thomas’ wellbeing?” An Oriental man stands up, “Medical Officer, Lieutenant John Xiào . He is in good physical condition, aside from a few minor cuts and some bruising. His mental state, however, is another story. It seems that the attack took a bit of his sanity and it is slowly altering his perception of reality.” “Then we might not have a lot of time.” “I’m not completely sure. Everyone’s mind has their own strengths, it could happen tomorrow or a few years from now.” “Understood. Now does he have any next of kin or friends out in our ‘verse?” The Commanding Officer stands up, “Commanding Officer, Commodore Franklin Nguyen. Our resources have found that all his relatives are deceased, the only other people Nathaniel Thomas knew lived on that settlement.” The face closes its eyes and nods again. “As unfortunate as that is it makes our jobs that much easier. We need those reports as soon as Mr. Thomas has given his account. You know where he needs to go after that.”

The face is interrupted when a soldier enters the room, “What is it?” Nguyen says with a threatening tone. “Nathaniel Thomas is awake and he wants to finish recounting the attack.” the young soldier stammers. The Commodore motions for Drodgery to go ahead and leave. When the Lt. Cmdr is out of the room the face continues. “Now for other business…..”

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When Drodgery made it to the Interrogation room he found Nathan pacing, nervously, as he shut the door Nathan quickly raised his head in his direction. The look in Nathan’s eyes were slightly wild, but was brought back under control. “I’m ready to finish this.” Nathan said, he was more than a little nervous and his nightmare had made him jumpy and jittery. “Good.” was all Drodgery said.

“It was kinda sudden, when they attacked….” ------------------------------------------------------------------------ They must’ve landed on the outskirts of the town, because nobody noticed them until it was too late……

“Wuo duh Ma!” “Wo de ma he at de finking de waisheng dou!” “Heaven help us!” Weis tries to shout over the worried townspeople. “All right, now what we have to do here is split into several groups and search for survivors.” “What if the Reavers come back?” “They left. We all saw them shrink in the distance. They won’t be comin’ back. Now let’s all calm down and try to help the people in the shuttles.” The crowd slowly calms down, a few overly-cautious citizens shout out their concerns and head for home. Eventually, the town is split into three groups but before they leave the town square the sound of gunfire erupts from the northern part of town and screams come from all over. The townsfolk huddle together forming a circle, the screams multiply and their worries become a reality, the Reavers had stayed. None of the townsfolk had ever seen a Reaver, like everybody else they had only heard stories. The tales told them of horribly mangled people that had gone mad at the edge of the black, tales of people so far over the edge that they’d eat their own kin and willingly cut their flesh. The tales could never have prepared them for the sickening visage of the monsters walking towards them now. One of the Reavers was missing a lower lip and because he wasn’t wearing a shirt the townsfolk noticed that several parts of his skin were very different shades of color. Another had two different colors in his hair, with the scalps from the unwilling victims sewn into his head. Other Reavers came from different corners of the square, the townsfolk were so focused on the horrors in front of them they hadn’t noticed that the ship the Reavers came in had flown over head until several more Reavers dropped around them.

“Oh my God… cover you eyes son!” a father held his son’s face against his chest, trying to shield his son from the horrific images before him. Soon, the remaining townsfolk were surrounded by Reavers. “W….why are they just standing there?” “What do you think they’ll do to us?” Questions whispered through the crowd, confusion heightened fear. Then one of the Reavers lifted his hand and pointed at several members in the crowd. Five of the Reavers reacted by snatching those picked from the crowd. Protests that arose were silenced quickly with threatening sounds and icy stares. The five chosen consisted of a child, two women, an elderly male, and a scrawny looking young man. They started with the child, mercifully, shooting him in the head first then tearing the small corpse to ribbons with their teeth. The father of the young boy stood up, his body shaking with rage, “How….dare you!” He roared as he charged. He caught on Reaver with a swift uppercut and was about to hit another using a left hook, however, another Reaver came in from the father’s blindspot and opened his belly with a rusty blade. The father cried out in pain, frustration, and anguish as he fell to the dirt. The gash in the man’s stomach wasn’t deep enough to cause death and not painful enough to cause the victim to pass out. Three more Reavers came in from the Northwest, the same direction the distress beacon was in, one of the three wore the bloodied star of a deputy. Nathan spotted the star and prayed that the beacon was activated and still working. The three new Reavers noticed the man on the ground gasping for breath, caught between mourning his son and trying to block out the pain in his gut. They descended onto him and cut patches of his skin off while making gutteral like sounds to each other. Eventually, after several parts of his skin were taken, the father was consumed by small gathering of Reavers. The crowd did nothing. They did not want to see the brutality and animosity of the Reavers yet they felt compelled to watch. That’s how it went for the elderly man and the scrawny youth. They both begged for their lives, falling to their knees before the Reavers, but the end result was the same. They killed one of the captured women just as quickly. The final victim was much more significant though. As she was stood in front of the crowd with her eyes red from tears long since gone and her hair a tangled mess, a few members in the crowd recognized her. “Ain’t that Bill’s wife….?” “Sheri isn’t it?” Several Reavers circled Sheri, they all lunged at first but what was happening was unmistakable. They were raping her. Some of the Reavers weren’t satisfied with having their way with her and began to eat her arms, thighs, and upper torso. The color drained from Sheri’s body and Sheri herself became limp and weak. When her movements came lazily, and her cries sounded far off, the Reavers threw her to the ground. Sheri’s chest barely moved and with each agonizing second became harder to watch, finally Sheri stopped breathing and died. “Rung tse song di ching dai wuo tzo.” “Oh my God….” Bill McQuillan had a rough time ever since he came to Lains. His crops hardly grew, his cattle were either lost, stolen, or killed by the elements. He and his wife Sheri had suffered from two miscarriages that scarred Sheri’s womb rendering her incapable of ever having a child again. During all that Bill had been on the brink of self-destruction several times his will broken time and time again. But Sheri had always been his source of strength, constantly giving him encouragement to keep trying saying that it would all be allright in the end. Everytime Bill was on the brink Sheri was able to pull him back and try again. But now his anchor, his source of strength was being ripped from his life. His eyes glazed over and he walked awkwardly to his dead wife’s body. ‘Bill? Bill! What’re you doin’ ?!’ ‘Come back Bill! They’ll kill ya!’ Bill doesn’t hear the warnings, he only sees the mangled corpse of his wife and the beating of his own heart. He looks to the Reavers who, oddly enough, are easier to look at now. They open their mouths and Bill understands them. Nathan watches as Bill stumbles past the Reavers and falls to his knees next to his dead wife. For a few tense seconds no one, not even the Reavers, moved. When Bill moved again the crowd gasped in horror as he began to devour his once lovely wife. “Bill! What‘re you doin‘!” Bill spun around, fire in his eyes and blood dripping from his mouth, “What am I doing?” Bill’s voice cracks, “I‘m doing what I can to keep Sheila with me! She‘s all that I have!” His voice raises to a scream, “And I‘ll do anything to keep her with me!” He turns back around and savagely rips off some skin from his wife’s left thigh and places it on his right bicep. He looks around for something to hold it in place when one of the nearby Reavers produces a needle and some thread and begins to sow the two skins together. Bill begins to chuckle, the crowd is horrified, “Now she‘ll always be with me.” Some members of the crowd throw up, others start to dry heave, they all want to look away but the graphic scene before them has cast a spell on them. At that moment something clicks in Nathan’s brain, ‘This isn’t a raid for food……This is a Draft!’ Nathan leaps up and with a desperate scream cries out “They‘re recruiting us!” ----------------------------------------------------------------- Nathan’s eyes widen “Yes, that‘s it……they weren‘t looking for an actual food source. They were looking to add to their number.” “And what happened next?” Drodgery pried. “I don‘t remember, everything is a blur up until the point when you came. I think I might‘ve seen the Reaver ship return, I guess not everyone joined the first time around.” Lt Cmdr. Jason Drodgery closes his eyes and thinks for a few moments. “Thank you for your cooperation, Mr Thomas. Now I must go and fill out some paperwork. The soldiers outside will escort you to your room.” ------------------------------------------------------------------ From his chambers porthole Jason Drodgery is able to get a view of what ever ship comes and goes from the docking bays and airlocks. Although a human body is much smaller than the standard class cargo ship, the effect of the black on an unprotected person is easy to spot. Jason steps away from the Porthole and returns to typing his report.

Lains Settlement on Ita attacked Survivors: 0