Return to Earth

The blasts from Max's gun slowed the Torbis, but it didn't fall. Before the Torbis recovered from the shots a Ternalis dropped from a tree above it, driving a spear through a soft spot in the creatures head. The Ternalis rolled with the Torbis as it fell. The Ternalis quickly got up, retrieving his spear as Atlan and the rest of his escort approached the clearing.

Atlan produced a small crystal device from his suit, the end of which crackled with some form of energy, when he saw Teneb in the clearing. He did not want to hurt the Carcaeon, but he needed to scare him off. "Begone priest of Caeonos, your superstitions have no purpose here," Atlan barked at Teneb in a harsh Ternalis dialect, "If you believe your myths, then confronting these will only result in your death."
 
First Telara was covering her ears from Max's gun shots. Then she was covering her eyes, as right out of the trees came this impressively huge humanoid feature dropping on top of the bird-like beast to spear it right through it's head. There was quite a bit of blood spray, yet that wasn't quite what Telara was horrified by when she finally opened one eye and then the other.

Humanoid creatures. Two of them. And one of them was talking. They had dialect!

Telara was glancing around frantically for some sort of backup besides Max. Like one of those damned zoologists! She was just here for the plants, not all this!

"WE HAVE INHABITANTS!" she shouted... and didn't realize until after she did, that screaming out like that was probably a bad idea.
 
Laack and her group of hunters continued to hop toward the strange floating thing in the air when a sudden scream of some sort caught her attention. She didn't understand it but she could tell that it was female and seemingly in distress. She growled a bit to herself, her natural irge to protect the inoccent kicking in, the other hunters also seeming to look in the direction of the scream with the same intent to help. She quickly changed the groups direction and hurried off toward the direction that the voice had come from.

They eventually came upon a group and jumped higher into the trees, keeping their distance till they were certain that they should jump in. It seemed that the group had just missed the accident, a dead Torbis on the group, it's body twitching slightly as the last bits of life ran though it's veins. She looked around at the creatures talking, wondering what had just went on. One was a Ternalis, which was a bit of a surprise since she rarely saw the strange breed in the forest. Another was a Carcaeon, a much more familiar face that at least calmed her a bit, if she had to jump in she would at least be able to get some back up. The other two she had not seen before, though they seemed to have a few familiar characteristics.

One of the unknown creatures happened to catch her eye. From what she could tell, it seemed male, as well as armed and possibly dangerous. Either way, there was something about him that...peaked her interest, she couldn't explain why. It could be possible that her own natural curious was finally start to poke through her usual quick judgement of new things, or that the male just looked weird. Either way, it did not matter, for now she would sit and watch the show.
 
"If you believe death is a deterrent to me, than how little you understand of our 'superstitions.' I'll thank you for saving my life and I'll thank you more if you can resist the urge to mock my beliefs in front of me." Teneb said in the Ternalis language as he rose to his feet, his gaze meeting Atlan's with no fear.

"I find it unbelievable that you would call my beliefs myths when the proof is right before your eyes. You saw their craft in the sky, as our 'myths' describe. Unless of course, you can find some excuse not to change your mind, as always."

He heard the Gerayt scream and turned to face her, moving his spear to his dominant hand, tightening his grip around it with obvious intent as he cast a glance at Atlan. "Well Ternablis, what is it to be?"
 
Deegan hadn't had a chance to do much sightseeing since they broke Lost Earth's atmosphere, as he was busy first trying to ease the jittery ship through air that seemed thick as a gas giant's, landing it in a serviceable location, and then performing post-landing equipment checks. The meadow they had alighted in was so green, so different from the speckled black vacuum of space he was used to, that he felt the need to shield his eyes as he worked the controls. He stayed behind in the shuttle craft for a while checking equipment gauges as his companions filed out in their haphazard way. "I'll catch up with y'all in a jiff."

It wasn't long before he was disrupted from his work by the sound of gunshots in the forest, followed by a muffled scream that made him jolt from head to toe. "Telara!" Deegan darted out of the ship, leaving the controls unlocked and the exit hatch wide open. "I'm coming, Tel!"

He ran towards the source of the commotion, slowing to a stop as he saw a group of people standing in the forest. "Guys, what's goin' o--" Deegan's mouth gradually gaped open as he came not upon his shipmates, but rather, the faces of two strange beings - a tall creature in fine robes, and a shorter one, more ragged, with a bald head. Both were human-like, or maybe they were humans indeed, genetic variants of some sort from from his own Homo sapiens plus-cuam-sapiens. A larger group of creatures, in similar dress as the robed being, were gathered around a massive carcass that looked like an overgrown chicken, and muttering in a foreign tongue. All of them were staring down his shipmates, Max and Telara.

"I... uh... we... we come in peace!" Deegan attempted, shouting at the top of his lungs, in what he thought was a voice loud enough for a speaker of any language to understand. He raised his hands up high and waved them in the robed being's face, to show he meant them no harm.
 
Okay some tall dude just jumped down from the trees and speared the giant chicken in the head, took care of that problem but seemed to cause another. There were now two other beings he knew nothing about. They seemed intelligent enough, they were arguing with each other but he didn't know what about and that made him a little nervous. Max was about to shepherd Telara stealthily back toward the ship but then she brilliantly decided to scream out the fact that there were inhabitant. Max spun toward her and whispered ferociously "What the HELL are you doing?! Do you want to get us ki-" Max was distracted by Deegan, walking up to the taller of the natives waving his hands around around in his face and screaming at the top of his lungs. Max took a moment, contemplating just shooting Deegan. Instead Max's temper shot up at the untactfulness of both Telara and Deegan, he shouted "Deegan!" stomped over to him and dragged him back toward Telara so he could yell at them both. "Are you aware that these guys-" jerking a thumb at the natives "-might get spooked if you start yelling?! And then maybe they'll just kill us?! We have to handle this situation delicately, Jesus Christ!" Max didn't realize he'd been yelling until he heard the echo of his voice come back to him from bouncing off the trees.
 
Atlan gestured to Telara, Deegan, and Max as Tenneb mentioned his proof. "They hardly look like the threat mentioned in your legends. Perhaps it would be prudent to ascertain whether they truly are your Gerayt before we start killing each other."

The other four Ternalis positioned themselves between Tenneb and the three from the landing party. Atlan walked past his companions, putting away the small weapon and pulling out a crystaline orb.

Holding up the orb Atlan spoke to the three "It is unwise to be so loud," the words reached the landing party in the language they were most familiar with, though with a strange accent, "there are many things that it will attract, none of them pleasant." Turning he looked at Tenneb, and then back, "I am Atlan, of the Ternalis, who are you and why have you come here? Your answer will determine much of what is about to happen."
 
Telara was really starting to doubt her chances of survival with these guys around. On the bright side, the Sarge was no where to be seen. He'd probably tip the scale and they've have a full-out gun battle going on.

What really surprised her was that one of the aliens suddenly started speaking common English. Telara was then standing there stiff and baffled. Being able to communicate with someone on the planet seemed so unlikely! And here she was the most unqualified of the exploration group.

"Hiiii.." Telara started, her voice a few shaky octaves higher than it should have been. She cleared her throat as she waved a hand in greeting. Dropping her voice back down to normal. Or at least as normal as she could get it. Telara was still eying the other native, who didn't look pleased at all with the situation.

"We are, uh... Explorers..? I am Telara." She wasn't about to repeat Deegan's we come in peace. That just seemed cheesy as hell.
 
"Very well Ternalis, we'll play your game for now." Teneb said in a low voice before Atlan stepped towards the Gerayt to begin his introduction. If he wanted to invite the Gerayt into his city so that they could destroy it from the inside out, then it would be his loss. They would pay for their disbelief.

The other four Ternalis moved to block him from the Gerayt, and for what? Was he an infant? Typical of their kind. No others but them had intelligence, or could control their reactions, or were capable of any sort of trust at all.

He put his hand on the shoulder of one and pushed him aside as gently as he could manage, resisting the urge to send the Ternalis to the ground, stepping out in front of them, his expression stony.

He was unsure whether his words would be affected by Atlan's sorcery, but he wouldn't have much to say to the Gerayt anyway. So he gave them his silence and his cold, evaluating stare.
 
Laack quietly watched along with her other companions, keeping her eyes on the unknown creatures as well as the Ternalis and Carcaeon. For a moment things seemed to be a little tense but the Ternalis seemed to making an effort to make contact with them, the Carcaeon seemed a little peeved however. This put her in a bit on the spot. So far the unknown beings were considered innocent, and by her beliefs she had to help them, but the Carcaeons were rather close trading allies and to do something that would hurt that relationship could do quite some damage to the village.

With a singal hand motion she told the other hunters to move higher into the trees and to stay in place until she summoned them. She then slowly crawled down onto a lower branch, holding her spear in her hand as she watched the group from above. She let out a chirping sound, one that was of question and curiosity, in no way did it sound frightening. It was directed at the Caraeon who would most likely know it was just her and her kind and not some charging and hungry beast. She would wait for his answer before she moved down to the ground, she had a better attack advantage from up in the trees anyway.
 
Max's expression tightened, he didn't like the last thing this tall guy said. Will determine much of what will happen. He also didn't like the way this littler guy was eying them, could just be in his mind though. Although of the two he preferred the shorter guy, he didn't have the air of superiority Atlan seemed to have.

Max opened his mouth to speak but Telara started before him. He grunted after she introduced herself. "I'm Max, Security for this expedition. This over here is Deegan, one of the pilots. Like Telara said, we're exploring. We came from this planet a long long time ago and forgot about it. Recently we found it again and now here we are."

The radar on Max's wrist beeped softly. He looked at it and saw a number of other yellow dots off to the side and looked in that direction, trying to penetrate the foliage of the jungle to spot what ever it was his radar picked up but couldn't see anything. Time to even the odds in case this got hairy. Turning away he put his hand up to his ear "Come in everyone, we have natives. They don't seem hostile as of yet but better to be safe, send more security this way. Approach with caution."
 
Sergeant Northgate and his squad watched the proceedings through their rifle scopes, hidden in the treeline to the west. Their suits had been callibrated quickly and now produced a perfect camouflage to match the vegetation. From their hiding place they silently loaded their smoke rounds and chose their targets, calculating distance and weakpoints in the alien biology.

Snipers were in place and a light support weapon mounted. At the front of the unit, Northgate himself lay beneath a pile of leaves and adjusted his binoculars. "Wha' the fack?"

He zoomed in on the giant.. chicken.. thing... then the... dog... guys... and the bald geezer with leathery skin. One of them was waving a shiney thing and barking at the eggheads.

Max's report crackled over the radio but Northgate switched it off. "You can kiss my rosey red arse with caution, sunshine," he muttered, before taking back his rifle and getting line of sight on Atlan.

Best to put some holes in these alien cunts and show the locals that the landing party ain't to be messed with.

His squad took the hint and readied weapons... waiting for one false move from the Zulus.
 
Atlan let out a small growl, letting the sphere drop as he went over to the other Ternalis that were in the clearing. They spoke if a different dialect, a smoother one they didn't generally use. They didn't even talk for five minutes when Atlan moved back to the landing party.

Lifting up the sphere again, Atlan spoke in a flat tone. "If what you say is true, little can be done," motioning at Tenneb he continued, "That one is a Carcaeon, they believe that thousands of years ago, a people known as the Gerayt who attacked and ravaged the planet thousands of years ago. It will be impossible to refute such accusations with what you have told me, so here is my advice. Leave, and when you return, be ready to fight the Carcaeons to the last man."
 
Confusion knitted Max's brows together until what Atlan said sunk into his brain. He looked back and forth between the Carcaeon and Atlan. "Wait a minute we didn't come here for a fight, we didn't even know this place was actually REAL. AND I'm pretty sure we didn't attack good Ol' Earth way back then either. But Telara or one of the other nerds would be the ones to ask about that." Max rubbed his face with his free hand, trying to calm himself down. "Look Atlan, I'm no negotiator or diplomat. Lets get some one else down here to work this out and avoid any one dying huh?." Speaking of dying, Northgate's trigger happy crazy ass is out there...
 
Telara was about to argue that she was so NOT the person to ask about old school Lost Earth history, but her words died on her lips the moment a lour roar echoed through the trees. Birds and other flying animals suddenly took off in to the skies and everyone could feel subtle vibrations through the ground, like something was shaking the earth.

Stomp. Stomp. ROOOOOAAAAAR.

At a distance that was alarmingly close, a huge brown furry creature appeared. It's height almost broke to the top of the trees around them. Looking much like a giant bear with tusks, it could easily fit any human-sized being in it's jowels. And that seemed to be it's current goal as it approaching with alarming speed towards the hodge-podge group of people.

"Holy shit!" Telara was the first to start running. Following the example of a few 'natives' that were quickly scattering themselves. This huge bear-like creature was far too large for their group to combat.

Not realizing she was heading in the opposite direction of their shuttlecraft, Telara was only concerned with finding a hiding place to keep herself from being a snack!
 
Teneb quickly grabbed his spear up as he saw the beast burst into the clearing. In the confusion, he turned to where he heard the chirp, turning to where he thought the sound had come from and lifting his free hand high, signaling for help and further conversation. He didn't expect them to be able to kill the beast, but they might be able to keep the Gerayt in line.

He saw a furry claw coming down between him and the Ternalis, and dove out of the way to avoid it, not seeing or honestly caring about their welfare as he did. He did see Telara run into the woods though, saw the direction she chose, and could only imagine that she was trying to use this distraction to get to Carcae.

He broke into a run after her, trying to catch up after her head start into the forest. Letting her get to the city could spell the end of it. He put on an extra burst of speed, smashing a low hanging branch aside and yelling after her, "Stop now, Gerayt!"
 
Laack nearly fell of the branch she was sitting on as the beast charged into the clearing, scattering the people and causing more trouble. She barely caught the signal from the Carcaeon as she jumped from her branch to avoid the creature who smashed it to pieces. With a loud screech directed at her companions, a group of seven Skivv burst from the trees and started to attack the giant bear, stabbing at its back and making attacks at it's necks in hopes of killing it quickly. They were not knew to killing of beasts of this size and seemed to be able to handle it easily. Laack on the other hand made her way after the creature that the Carcaeon was chasing. She slipped through the trees quickly and threw herself down to the earth, landing on her feet and grabbing onto the runaway as it darted into her arms unknowingly. She lifted the creature onto her shoulder and started to walk back toward the clearing where her companions were finishing of the giant monster and mingling near the carcus as they signaled to each other about what they could use from it.
 
KABOOM!

Laack was thrown off her feet when the trees behind her exploded. In a shockwave of soil and bark fragments she fell, and Telara went rolling off her shoulder down the riverbank leading from the clearing. Teneb, who was a few paces behind, saw them fall, but then the cloud of smoke and noise engulfed him. Mortar rounds were pounding the treeline and ripping apart the vegetation. And with the bombardment heading his way, he had no choice but to retreat.

Back in the clearing, bullets crisscrossed over the heads of the aliens and pinned them down as CS gas rounds punched the ground. They were suppressed from the south and west, whilst artillery turned the jungle behind them into a curtain of fire. Somewhere a heavy machine gun was firing and ripping into the gigantic creature as it battled the Skivv.

Soldiers were rushing into the clearing. Hands grabbed Max and Deegan as they choked on the CS gas and within seconds they were manhandled away and respirators slapped across their faces. Sergeant Northgate moved past them, advancing with a full squad of riflemen.

There was a shape amongst the smoke, reeling with the rest of the aliens. His lazer-sight splashed across the armoured helm of Atlan.

"GET ON THE FACKIN FLOOR!" the Sergeant's voice was muffled behind his respirator, but hopefully the alien would get the jist. "NOW!"
 
Man there was chaos. The beast broke out of the trees and stuff just went off. He thought about shooting at the thing but it was moving too much for him to shoot it in the eye or anywhere else as sensitive. Max looked around to see where everyone one was at, in time to see Telara running into the woods and the unpleasant fellow chasing after her. He started aiming his pistol when a cloud of CS interrupted his breathing and watered his eyes, effectively messing up his shot. Next thing he knew some soldiers were clamping a respirator over his face and hauling him and Deegan away toward the ship.

Max soon regained himself and shook free of the soldiers, shoving them away as they continued attempting to pull him from the situation. Telara was missing. As security it was pretty much his obligation to find and secure her, or what ever. He swatted at another soldier trying to keep him away from the fray and avoided the crossfire with a large arc, going toward where he'd seen Telara last amongst the trees.
 
Laack never saw it coming, she had only heard a small snapping of a twing that caused her to stop. After that she was thrown back and slammed into a tree violently. For a moment she just laid there before she finally was able to shake off the pain. She let out a soft growl as she looked around for the other creature, knowing it would be bad if she lost the thing that the Carcaeon was chasing. She pulled herself up and pulled out her spear, ready to take on what ever came her way and headed into the bush. She headed in the direction of where she had been thrown believeing that the creature would also be thrown there as well. She crawled into the bush after the creature, the sound of her companions retreating and loud bangs filling the air. She didn't care if her companions didn't help, they were smart not to. It would have been to dangerous in this fray anyway. She pushed through the leaves loudly as she continued her search. At this point she didn't care if she could the first creature or not, certainly any of them would do.