Plaza of the Founders, Terra Casus, Sanctuary, Arc System
The streets of the old city of Terra Casus were beginning to fill up, even at this relatively early hour of the day, despite the tropical heat. Colorful stalls and banners were strewn almost haphazardly around as the denizens of the city prepared to celebrate, as they had for generations, the first landing of their ancestors on the world, a holiday throughout human space. While each world celebrated the first landing there, they all celebrated the first landing of humans on Sanctuary.
The old city stood, almost eternal, many of the buildings showing the styles favored by their ancestors, full of structures that had tried to merge nature and industry seamlessly. In places it worked, and in others, it left something to be desired, though further from the center of town, in the newer areas, nature had taken a priority. Near coastal edge of town, however, the Plaza of Founders, beside the ancient House of Planets, was filling rapidly with people come from all across human space to come celebrate, many to hawk their wares to festival-goers.
The city seemed at peace, and relaxed, at the moment, without the least bit of concern. After all, why should they, when the festival has gone on for centuries without problem.
- Jhes'Kah
- Mercenary
- Plaza of the Founders
Jhes wandered the festival, looking around at the strange sights and sounds of the people, smelling the strange smells. She didn't know why the people were hosting some type of gathering, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, so she did as well. She traded for some of the strange foods and muched away as she wandered about the fairgrounds, occassionally shooing and hissing at the children who tried to pull her tail.
- Lieutenant Jason McCallister, Ranger Exploration Corps
- Aide, Central Command
- Plaza of the Founders
Jason was here mostly for work related duties, but he had some off time and decided to check out the festival. It was mostly out of the attempt to remain productive and branch out a little, because who knew, he might gain some benefit from being around a crowd full of strangers. He didn't really care for large gatherings of various natures so he was present for a few reasons. Some kids that had been roughhousing near Jhes headed towards Jason randomly and startled him out of his mellow state momentarily. He had a drink in his hand, nearly spilling a good bit of it as they ran by.
"Hey watch it, please!" he huffed a sigh and took another sip, casually eyeing Jhes before glancing away towards another booth with food that looked good, so as not to appear rude. In this case, he wouldn't be the first to say anything about her unique appearance. Jason was normally rather quiet, especially when he was serious on default. It was a little different if one bothered to get to know him.
- Cassius Rean
- Engineer
- Plaza of the Founders
Cassius had travelled to Sanctuary on a rust bucket of a cargo transport as an onboard engineer, the thing was so outdated not even Pedras carried parts to fix it's broken fuel compressors. Cassius and his team had managed to throw something together, but he had needed to accompany the transport to maintain the repair. Not having been to Sanctuary before he decided to spend the journey stipend on a brief holiday before looking for a trip home.
As he walked the streets of Terra Casus Cassius marveled at the architecture around him. It reminded him of the pastures of Aella yet the sheer number of people gave it the bustle and vibrancy of home. "I might be able to get used to this place." He muttered to no one in particular. "Though some of the cosmetic mods these people use seem a bit out there." His eyes kept coming back to the women who had very successfully altered her appearance to that of a cat, wondering just how much that must have cost.
- Jhes'Kah
- Mercenary
- Plaza of the Founders
The cat-person continued to wander around the fairgrounds, talking with many of the handsome young men present, letting some buy her food or try and win her items at many of the games. She didn't linger too long on any one person; they seemed uninteresting, or were not interested in her beyond mere curiosity.
She noticed some of the less civilian types looking at her, and she occasionally winked and flicked her tail at them.
The festival went on, for a time, with everything seeming peaceful, and calm. A warm, lazy breeze blew the smell of the ocean over the festival-filled streets of the city, but it was after a time that something was noticeably amiss. Here and there, people paused, staring at personal devices, as if watching the news, as the mood began to turn. As the mood turned, patches of the sky darkened overhead, and there was a titanic clash like thunder. Without warning, sirens began to blare throughout the streets, unused in generations. An automated and genderless voice began to speak, echoing from the speakers.
"This is not a drill, a state of emergency has been declared. All persons on the streets are instructed to seek safety immediately. The anti-orbital defenses will be going live momentarily. I repeat, this is not a drill. Message Repeats-"
At the words, many people began to rush into various buildings, to clear out of the streets. In parts of the city, the defenses began to come online, streaks of light shooting skyward, and detonating in explosions. Debris began to fall, towards the city, as the prow of a massive ship appeared through the clouds, plunging towards the city, tumbling and shedding debris as it went. As it tumbled, explosions rocked its length, and it became apparent, from the ragged holes near the end, that it was only a portion of a larger vessel. Here and there, more regular pieces began to spit from the wreckage, some seeming to fall at a more controlled pace. It was one of these that seemed to be heading towards the square where Jhes, Jason, and Cassius found themselves.
Through Jason's implant, he could "see" the following words projected into his vision, flashing the dark ominous red of a priority message.
From: CentCom
To: MilFor/Sanc/TerCas; CivDef/Sanc/TerCas; CivPat/Sanc/TerCas
Priority Message
Threat Condition 2
All personnel in the Terra Casus military district and surrounding areas are to stand by for orders. As of 1103 hours local time, a vessel appearing to match the characteristics of a warship has entered atmosphere and is on an uncontrolled descent towards the city. Observers have noted escape pods departing the vessel. Personnel in the area of wreckage are expected to contain any survivors from the wreckage and keep order in the city until further notice. Lethal force is authorized.
Message Ends
- Cassius Rean
- Engineer
- Plaza of the Founders
Ignoring the warning sirens, Cassius reached below his aqua blue floral shirt, bought especially for the festival, and checked that his universal service tool was attached to his belt. He then started to look around for something that could double as a pry bar. Spotting an awning pole that had fallen in the commotion, he grabbed it and headed towards where he figured the nearest of the pods would land.
- Jhes'Kah
- Mercenary
- Plaza of the Founders
Jhes headed into an alley away from the large crowd. Finding a corner of the room to, she closed her eyes, connecting to her PIN and M1N1 drone. Using its claw, she picked up her weapon and set it on auto-pilot for her location. She headed for a near-by bridge to protect herself from the debris, waiting for her drone to arrive.
- Lieutenant Jason McCallister, Ranger Exploration Corps
- Aide, Central Command
- Plaza of the Founders
Debris began to fall, as anyone would expect-and it would be worse when the warship hit the ground. He kept an eye on the warship, waiting to see where it would crash. Naturally, it was kind of hard to not stare at it in slight awe as it approached the planet, normally a struggle to see from the ground. On a good day, it should be hard to see such big spacecraft. It's appearance was a surprise that no one was expecting that afternoon. Here he was enjoying a drink while trying to cool down, and then this had to happen out of the blue. Jason had been holding his drink in his left robotic arm, which was loosely covered by long sleeves...The man was not going to to go out of his way to cover up both hands with full gloves and gear-there was little point. The metallic fingertips exposed were clearly metal if one got a good look at him prior to the incident. He didn't care, people could judge all they wanted. Wearing long sleeves in decently warm weather was pushing it, because he preferred the cold any day.
When an escape pod hid the ground near him (luckily not deadly close), fairly heavy debris from parts of a small building flew towards him and others seeking cover. Unlike Jhes, he and many others were still out in the open. Not ducking for cover quite yet, Jason used his arm to shield himself from the debris, specifically a chunk of a support beam. More debris would be on the way soon, he had to be on the look out if he was going to be assisting survivors after impact. All he had was a concealed gun, so he'd make due with that, and at least he had something.
Promptly after recovering from the impact, he sent a message back to CentCom:
From Jason McCallister
To: CentCom
Priority Message
Authorization of lethal force acknowledged. Might be the only one here. Urgently requesting assistance.
- Cassius Rean
- Engineer
- Plaza of the Founders
The pod had come down too fast, the impact cratered the paving of the square and sent shock waves into the surrounding buildings. Debris was flung far and wide, causing Cassius to dive behind a nearby vehicle to avoid the larger pieces.
Exiting from behind the vehicle Cassius looked around as he got to his feet. Dust and debris covered the square. Most of the windows on nearby buildings had been blown out, littering the floor in broken glass. As he picked his way towards the crash site Cass saw that he was one of only a few not running for cover from the ship debris that still fell from the leaden sky.