Arda Vondorn's Story

All seemed quiet, even blissfully unaware, in a somewhat beautiful wooded city park. The citizens of Caprica moved about their business as usual and even some took joy in wandering the many pathways within heavily wooded park. However it wouldn't be long until something strange and eldritch befell the parkgoers as a massive portal appeared within the center of the greensward. The gateway itself was formed from the earth and concrete itself into a massive arc which arced and pulsated as an image from the other side began to reveal a massive mountain range and what seemed like countless people carrying their livelihoods upon their backs. The first Dwarf who stepped through the gateway was a robust stout woman with long fiery red hair and simple brown garb that was made of a indigo colored silk and garb and jewels which decorated her ears, neck, and fingers.

"Look no further!" The she dwarf called out in her native tongue as others of her kind stepped out from the portal and looked in awe at the trees and sky above their heads. A few appeared to lean heavily on staves of ebony and ironwood whilst the elderly appeared almost flabbergasted at being presently within this realm or even above ground. Many more dwarves stepped through the portal and even massive golems with glowing white eyes carried even more supplies that their dwarven masters couldn't carry. One of the elderly dwarves simply placed a single wrinkled hand upon their leaders shoulder only to offer an approving nod.

Caprica City Riverwalk Park




It started like any other normal day in Caprica City, the sun was high in the sky, birds were chirping, and the sounds of the morning propaganda echoed across loudspeakers through the city.

it was all around a peaceful morning, joggers moved about the park, there was even a young couple walking their dog along one of the concrete paths inside the park. Of course, that all seemed to change when a tremor rocked the park, this got the attention of every one of the meandering onlookers, whom turned their eyes to the twisted arch of earth, and concrete.

The young couple with the dog tried to reel in the animal as it began to furiously bark, snarling, and barking at the pulsating arch, they tried their hardest to hold the leash, as the animal continued barking, frothing at the mouth in anticipation.

The dog had the body shape of a husky, but grizzled grey, black, and white fur. It also bore a deep, and rather menacing bark for it's size.


The moment the female Dwarf crossed the event horizon of the portal, the couple backed up several paces, the young man tripping back over a piece of concrete, letting go of the leash, which sent the dog lunging towards the stout dwarven figure, it's wolf-like maw snarling, but it stopped just short of the figure, barking, and snarling, pacing around her looking for an opportunity to attack.

Several more people came out from some hedges, murmering to each-other in a rather smooth language, some snapped pictures with their cellular phones, but others...

"Caprica City Central Dispatch, please state the nature of your emergency!"

"Oh my gods! It's some kind of portal! There's these creatures! Oh gods! They're everywhere! Please send someone! Help!"

"Alright... I'm triangulating your location... please remain calm, help is on the way..."

"Oh my gods! There's monsters everywhere!"

"How many are there? Are they armed?"

"I don't know! They're attacking someone's dog! Oh gods!"

"Stay on the line... I've got help coming."

---

The sound of sirens began to echo in the distance, sounds bouncing off the glass, concrete, and steel of the Caprica City skyline. Vans upon vans of Police officers would be mobilized first, to cordon off the strange anomaly and keep further civilians from getting near it.

"Attention all units... be advised; we have multiple reports of strange anomalies in riverwalk park. ERT/2 has been dispatched, Civil defense has also been notified... possible invasion in progress... possible hostile combatants may be armed, and dangerous... all units approach with extreme caution."

More, and more people began to gather around the emerging dwarves, while others in the park simply ran to their cars to try and make an escape.

The sirens grew louder.

The dwarves continued to pile out from the gateway with their luggage and livelihoods strapped to their backs or the golems which carried their wealth and property. It was Arda however who was the first to taste the hospitality of the new world. The barking and growling dog was met with stern opposition as Arda and the elderly dwarves behind her took a slow step back as two of their golems stepped forward placing their massive hands down in front of their dwarven masters to act as a barrier against the aggressive creature.





Arda muttered in her native tongue. These people seemed panicked and it surely wasn't long before the sound of sirens filled the air and panic was met with her kinsmen as the native population began to seemingly come undone. Another golem walked over to the she-dwarf only to lower itself down for her to step up upon its back allowing her to get a descent view of the growing crowd of people. The sound many voices carried over the park but she simply took a deep breath and reached for what appeared to be a silver flask which she quickly opened and downed the contents granting her the tongues spell which she mixed with a bit of brandy.




The stout dwarven women's words seemed to flawlessly translate into the native peoples language as more and more Dwarves and golems began to pour out from the portal. Each still carrying bits and pieces of their lives before the massive shadow descended upon their homes and destroyed their lives.


"Arda! The rams have arrived with the last of the supplies and goods we brought with us!" A dwarf in a white and brown robe shouted from somewhere within the crowd. This caused Arda to turn and smile as she witnessed her kind bringing in the last of their possessions as Dwarves mounted atop noble beasts stepped into the park allowing the portal to finally close behind them.

Pale wasn't the only one stranded on the world though Pale took a more direct path to the ground. As the craft started breaking up in reentry Pale dove through a flaming hole in the frame as it desperately tried to level off. Aiming for a patch of thick greenery Pale broke nearly all his limbs and fractured his carapace ramming through the canopy. It hurt, a lot, but being in a ball of fire healed much less well than breaking limbs.

Tangled in vines and debris Pale just hung for a while as carapace promptly sealed shut though milky drops escaped toward the floor. Once his organs recovered enough to move he started eating his way through greenery to the floor using what few limbs still worked. Juddering all the while from pain and planetary screaming. He had no vocal flaps to contribute his own screams but a small pip in the RF noise floor. Several dozen pounds of greenery later his legs had grown back by the time the hip-height spider hit the surface. Though a devastation of greenery left behind him by the energy demands. The medics, however, ate meat just fine and the remains of his own body soon located and 'recycled'.

Pale didn't know if the planet had much fluorine and he couldn't afford to lose any until he could get off it. Though he thought he didn't taste terribly good. His other senses continued to be assaulted by loud persistent screech like a crowd screaming at his shoulder at all times. White Quietus didn't work under the din and it didn't seem like the planet would have a spaceport. He phased away from the light and investigated the area for signs of life finding it in the coming and goings of small humans. Later finding them dwarves he hung at the fringes waiting for some way to get off the planet. Though he did spray a few dwarves now and again separated and crushed by debris. Though the reddish coating left behind at times had a telltale honeyed smell. It was the holes inside those rings of pried off metal showing healthy flesh they'd likely notice first. Then every so often they started showing up passed out in disused tunnels with scars or missing eyeballs so he fixed them. Corked small kegs made him worry they knew the phased gardener healer was there. He couldn't get drunk, he had two livers and two spares after all, but between the ale and fungus below he didn't starve or dehydrate at least. Keeping to the sturdier tunnels kept him safe when the shaking came.

Then the chaos of the exodus started centered around a gate. His way out. A nearly invisible spider with a range of psionic amnesia found it easier to hitch a ride on a golem's shoulder blade. Leveraging the rocky creature's surface a small blur clung on tightly just behind the head. Quite worried that one of the people out of his range could see the faint interference blur of his invisibility. He could hear sirens. The small bug had only its beaten-up and singed merc ID left of its things after so long underground.

As the minutes ticked by, the local law enforcement agencies of Caprica City continued to mobilize. The location of Riverwalk Park being relatively central to the rest of Downtown Caprica City meant that the local law enforcement could reach the park relatively easily, and quickly.

Caprican radio chatter filled the air waves, as dozens of local agencies attempted to coordinate with the breach. Local patrol units would be on scene first to secure the area and move civilians away, while the CPF, City Police, and the Imperial Defense Force deployed to establish a more permanent cordon around the park.

It started with a chorus of phone notifications chirping through the crowd.

'EMERGENCY ALERT - Go Indoors immediately, proceed to nearest civil defense checkpoint, avoid main roads, call 9999 for emergencies only!'

A few moments later, and the distant police sirens were drowned out by an ever present wail that engulfed the park, and from distant echoes, this ever present wail seemed to engulf the entire city.

It was deafening, and seemed to echo eerily off of the glass and concrete skyscrapers of Caprica City.

The people gathered around the dwarves began to scatter, running away in a panic as the blare of the sirens filled the park, others checked their phones to read the emergency text message sent to them, before joining the panicked crowd in running away from the portal, and the gathered dwarves.

"Unit Alpha One Niner approaching the scene... Civilians have begun to disperse."

"Acknowledged Alpha One Nine, use extreme caution!"

The Police radio chimed for one lone Caprica City police officer as he pulled his cruiser onto the dirt, slamming on the brakes and bringing the car to a stop. He was the first officer on scene, before a second police car screeched to a halt, doors thrown open, and officers climbing out, rushing to herd the panicked parkgoers away from the assembled dwarves.

Arda's words too fell on deaf ears, at least for now as a panicked people ran quickly away from them, and towards the police officers, their panicked cries drowned out by the wailing of Aschen police sirens, and the City's warning sirens.

The Officers on scene didn't pay much heed to the dwarves at the moment, not much more than watchful eyes and drawn weapons from the cover of their police cruisers.

They chattered on their communicators, honing a perimeter around the park itself.

Symbols of the Aschen Empire were evident all around them, and though the Dwarves likely didn't recognize them, perhaps the Gardener would, and could shed light on their situation.

Propaganda posters were affixed to concrete sculptures, and the towering effigy of Big Brother, the metaphorical symbol for the party currently in control hung like an ominous specter upon a large building overlooking the park.

The first Aschen voices carried across the green of the park, from the police cruisers on the street, through a megaphone in one of the police cruisers.

"Drop your weapons, and identify yourselves at once!" The officer called out in Galactic Common.

All while a pair of Police officers in an adjacent cruiser worked to configure their disruptor rifle, issued to them by the City, before pointing it directly at Arda from behind the doors of their cruisers.

Distant sirens grew louder under the wail of the city's warning sirens.

Arda seemed rather confused as she upon the shoulders of two stone golems that held her aloft above her people and that of the planet they came to. Her gaze fell back to her own people as they looked confused and scared wondering what was going on or what would happen to them. Many of the dwarves did indeed carry weapons of a sort. Some held walking axes and others had swords and bows strapped and secured to their persons.




Arda began to frantically look to each of her people only to raise her hands giving herself a moment to allow the magic of the spell to switch over back to her native tongue. Once she was able she raised a single hand high above her head and began to speak slowly towards her people.

"These people want us to disarm ourselves! They are cautious, as they aught to be, and we must respect their customs and laws!"


Many of the dwarves looked confused. Some angry at the notion of throwing down their weapons. However, each and every one would comply with Arda's wishes, and with that their leader turned their attention back to the Confederation Forces. She also took this time to remove her knife and tossed it to the ground at the feet of the golems.

Pale weighed his options with the armed response playing out. Pale didn't recognize the soldiers that got him and Earthrend but they could have been Ashen. All the Gardeners knew of the Ashen by way of the various encounters of Nemesis's mercenaries with them though mostly by proxy. The general assessment was you make nice, give them what they want, and hope they're feeling generous. Pale had been told that the Ashen weren't ones that reacted well to any other authority much less threats. Most of the medical corps that spoke well learned how to say their role in a few problematic languages. Though almost all, including pale, couldn't actually speak it. Singing corrupt Quietus to sound like english over RF was hard enough. Across a civilian RF channel it heard insistent voices chattering back and forth and tuned his pitched singsong voice to the range.

At hopefully high enough gain that the parked humans could hear it Pale transmitted a response, "Pale Oculi, Humanitatis ratione medicus MilNet Contractor ID#9492bbc709, Inactive. Lost and requesting safe passage off-world."

The tongues spell cast by Ada certainly might hear the small spider 'speaking' hidden a scant few meters away clung to the back of a golem. However to rectify a nonsense speech in one language used to represent another in a different mode of speaking is quite the muddy proposition. A melodious humming carrier upon which language arose by an agglomeration of individually meaningless jabber. Perhaps a crowd chattering, whispering, with the sense of the meaning only assembled by whole of a crowd's constant melodious muttering. Their speaking habits were a hack in the first place. They didn't have any vocal flaps to make noise with.

While the distant police sirens continued to grow in volume, along with the city's ominous howl from it's own civil defense infrastructure, the Aschen police noted the Dwarves as they began to drop their weapons. There was little in the way of response, as the Aschen kept their weapons drawn and readied.

High above the commotion, a news helicopter droned overhead, circling the group, with cameras focused on the unfolding event, the helicopter itself was white, with a large eye like symbol emblazoned on the tail section of the helicopter, and the letters CAP in Anquietas.

By now there was some sort of order among the Aschen police force, a Central Protection Force lieutenant, identified by his crisp, clean white uniform, and aire of authority.

He was promptly handed a bullhorn, which made a shrill screech as he powered it on. George cleared his throat, and called out to Arda.

"You, leader of these people, approach me slowly, make no sudden moves or you will be shot, keep your hands where we can see them!" The CPF Lieutenant called out.

---

Inside a command tent that was being erected, radio chatter came across some of the more sensitive equipment, it would take awhile for the technicians to isolate it, and lock it down, and it was eliciting some confusion inside the nearby news helicopter.

Many of the dwarves seemed fascinated by the level of technology that was thrown at them while a few seemed almost terrified as they realized there was some kind of mistake as Jorn was not there to great them or any of their other kin. What made matters seemingly worse was the man who approached the situation by shouting that he would have his men open fire upon Arda if she didn't comply with their wishes. A few of the clergy that came along with their leader were about to raise up and defend the one who brought them but found themselves silenced as Arda simply had her golems lower her slowly down from her lofty position.

"We wish for no trouble!" Arda called out as she revealed her empty hands only to slowly approach the man with the strange device that allowed him to amplify his voice.

She found herself glancing at her surroundings as she continued to walk slowly towards what she assumed was the lawman of these parts only to realize that she was as alien to these people as they were to her kin.

A conversation mostly required someone be listening and Pale wasn't entirely sure anyone had heard his transmission to let them know he was there. He did hear the ones talking back at the dwarves though and they didn't seem to have said anything indicating they heard. He didn't have any weapons and couldn't very well put parts of his face down so Pale just stayed perfectly still. At the helicopter's distance he was a slightly distorted light volume though his cloak worked better for those in proximity. Pale figured as long as he didn't move it wouldn't be obvious he was stuck to the back of the rough golem even at that distance. Given the reactions of the other humans here to dwarves as the eyes flit about the scene it definitely wasn't a good idea to chance letting go of the shroud he held up. At least for now.

He tried again to see if someone answered across whatever spectrum he was on though the voice polished to a posh accent left a bleak absence of any background noise, "Unknown station this is Pale Oculi. While I can hear the park announcement Gardeners don't have vocal flaps to speak with. I am noncombat personnel not under Dwarf authority. Please acknowledge, over."

Ean Falcor yawns and stretches as he walks along the streets, looking for a decent place to eat

High above Langara, and Caprica City, thousands of small satellites began to come online, somewhere between low orbit, and the thermosphere, a Hard Light Shield began to form electro-quantum mechanics similar to a Watchtower's Aegis field. A Top secret Aschen project dubbed 'Lunatea's Veil' Which was incorporated into Langara's defenses sometime following the Galactic War.

Shimmering like sunlight on water across Langara's sky, the barrier began to stretch as far as the eye could see.

Feidlimid made a request across the beleaguered engineering through damage control comms, "Damage control, Critical, please assess transit support field systems in sector tau-psi-6. Possible tampering. It is not aligned correctly with neighboring sectors and it would be good not to explode right now."

The temperature was rapidly rising in the primary coolant crucibles for the engine and he had to keep enough head-end for the shockpoint jump to initiate cleanly. The ship was already starting to hum with the load on inertial dampening systems attempting to keep rei from turning the crew into red paste.

As the Cobalt Glaive gained altitude from the spaceport, several ground based emplacements that dotted Caprica City's towering skyscrapers, and the surrounding mountains swiveled to life, they almost immediately began to garner firing solutions, as dozens of heavy anti-orbital gun batteries fired, causing deafening booms to reverberate all throughout the city, as school bus sized ferric-tungsten slugs were hurled up at the ship, calculated for trajectory at near relativistic velocities, igniting the atmosphere into a white hot plasma as they screamed through Langara's atmosphere.

Raid sirens began to blare through Caprica City's streets, as Langara's defense fleet began to move in for a star-side intercept.

Leading the charge was the Reverence II 'Esteem' But there was little they could do on the other side of the Aegis field, so the fleet moved with coordination, and haste only Aschen ships seemed to be able to pull off, they moved into position.

Ean called this out just as one of the Tungsten slugs from the orbital defense arrays clipped across the ships shields, shearing off the starboard side. No damage was done to the ship itself, but the shields would not be able to hold that bombardment for long.

Feidlimid busies himself with trying to keep the ship from melting as he replies, "I have an option if there is a breach. Thin then shift the shield and throw hot plasma at it. Hot metal at least will puncture less armor. It will cost us core health and fuel but needs must."

Rei grit her teeth and poured as much power as she dared into the ship to evade the defense arrays, and push them further away from the planet. "Crazy bitch... I did not want Aschen Rim 2.0.." She muttered as she continued their ascent towards the rapidly closing shield. Rei just hoped they could make it far enough before having to resort to other matters.