[b]OPEN FIELD, UNIDENTIFIED FRINGE WORLD, JUST OUTSIDE DOMINION SPACE.[/b]

[img]https://anibundel.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/neville-bishopface.jpg[/img]

	A young priest of Rhodull, clad in standard "True" bio-plating, strode down the ramp of his modest cruiser-class ship. The RCS Unity was a proud vessel, but not large enough to be worthy of any high-ranking priests. As such, the youthful True found himself in a position of authority that he wasn't yet used to.

	He glanced over his shoulder, at the platoon of missionaries behind him. As boldly as he could, he shouted his command.

	"Disperse and explore. This world doesn't seem overly developed. If you encounter locals, remain passive, and signal the ship immediately. Now commence the conversion, in the glorious name of Rhodull!"

	The True sprang forward, marching outward from the ramp in various directions. Seeing them depart, the priest paused for a moment, meditating on his surroundings. He recounted his lessons at the Rhodullvard Academy, where he learned to detect nearby life. As the warmth of the other True moved further and further away, he felt nothing.

	"Hmmm", he pondered to himself, "perhaps the ship's engines are producing too much warmth."

	Stepping further outward, away from the vessel, he searched for a high-point in the field. A few moments of walking later, he came upon a moderate hill. Climbing to the top, he again paused. Honing his senses, he began his meditative search. His first distraction was the sun, beaming down upon him. This planet was relatively close to its star, its warmth too, was distracting. 

	"I must venture further."

	Marching alone, in a different direction from his missionaries, the priest sought for some shade, to shield him from the radiance above him. A short while later, he came to the field's edge, where a treeline began. At last, he would be able to achieve the necessary concentration.

	Rustling through the branches, he felt the cool shade wash over him. Unlike most other races, the True don't find comfort in coolness. Rather, the sensation of blocking one's self from warmth is quite unpleasant, almost painful. Nonetheless, it made his detection of thermal energy all the more acute. Again, he meditated...

	... And there it was, a gathering of animalistic life-forms, not much further into the trees. These would be his first conversions, outside of SURTR-owned space. Excitement filled the young priest's mind. This would bring a great deal of honour to his family, and to himself, to return to the homeworlds with so many new worshipers.

	He marched onward, faster and faster, knocking branches to the side as he eagerly approached the group. Drawing nearer, the shape of their thermal energy became more vivid to him. They were humanoid... 

no... they were... human.

	Breaking through the trees, he came upon a small village, tucked away in the forest. Sensing the radiation coming off of the buildings, he noticed they weren't standard human structures. There was no concrete, no steel, no glass. They were mostly wood, with some kind of stone composing their roofs.

[img]http://imgur.com/xvGdZ2Z.jpg[/img]

	As he entered the village, a few of the locals screamed and ran away from the towering invader. Others, presumably the men, grabbed weapons and began encircling the alien. Their weapons were primitive, spears, swords, and clubs. They posed no threat to the priest's bio-armour.

	"Greetings, my brothers!" the priest began, in standard human dialect. "Today is a day of great blessings, of great fortune and joy. The sunlight that shines upon you today, brings new life to your village."

	The locals responded with ferocious shouting, and by brandishing their weapons threateningly. The priest couldn't understand what they were saying. It wasn't standard human-speak, nor was it any of the common dialects, and it certainly wasn't the language of any of the other races. The priest stood puzzled. Why would these humans be so primitive? Their technology was far beyond spears and swords, by the time they began colonizing additional worlds. 

	A large, confident human stepped forward, and began speaking very slowly to the priest. He appeared to be some sort of military leader, for the village.

	"[i]Knee, Sure, Shay![/i]" the human bellowed. "[i]Gow, Sue, Woah, Knee, Sure, Shay![/i]"

	The human's speech was completely broken. The priest had no idea what the man was saying, but given the situation, it was likely that he was asking for self-identification.

	"I am Rhell, priest of Rhodull", the dark alien responded, his voice echoing outward from the holes in his exoskeletal head. 

	"[i]Way, Shuh-Muh, Knee Lie Juh-Lee.[/i]"

	Now the priest was completely baffled. He hadn't the faintest idea what the human was attempting to communicate. He tapped his left arm, and messaged back to the ship.

	"Attention crew", he began, "I have encountered intelligent, human life. Track my coordinates, and you will find their village. We require adaptive translation technology. Their language is not in the database. It is likely derived from an older human dialect, as they seem to be quite technologically primitive."

	His suite resonated with the response.

	"At your will, father, we will begin the programming, and will transport a translator to your location, and begin the calibration for a new entry into the database."

	This second, echoing voice, was enough to provoke several of the guards. They charged the priest, and began prodding him with their spears and swords. Reflexively, he knocked a couple of them out of the way. This prompted the rest to begin their assault as well. Regretting his initial response, the priest attempted to stands still as possible, to not provoke them further. He stood there, awkwardly, as they hacked away at his armour, to little effect.

	"I may not be able to speak to you, but the songs of Rhodull pierce all hearts."

	The priest began emitting a low, rhythmic hum. Among the True, this song was considered to be inescapably soothing and calming. He hoped it would pacify the locals. To the contrary, however, children that were looking upon the scene began to cry in fear of the deep grumbling sound. This only enraged the guards further, who began calling for reinforcements.

	Soon, arrows joined the spears and swords, pelting the confused priest as he stood at the edge of town. Disheartened, the priest again contacted the ship.

	"Brothers, upon further investigation, I don't believe the locals to be friendly to our kind. Return the translator to the ship. We require one of our human brothers, if we wish to spread the good news."

	"Father", the voice responded, "Our only humans are the engineering staff. They are not educated as representatives of radiant Rhodull."

	"Do you question the orders of Rhodull's chosen?" the priest responded, growing increasingly irritated with the whole situation.

	"Certainly not, father, blessed be your decision, the the name of Rhodull."

	The priest rose up to full height, as a procession of local monks joined the guards, and began waving religious instruments at him and chanting. Apparently, the locals thought him to be some sort of demon, that they could cast away with spells. Ultimately frustrated and off-put, the priest turned around and walked back into the forest, as the locals began cheering behind him. No doubt, they believed that their monks had just banished the demon. This would only strengthen their faith in their current religion, and make the conversion all that much more difficult.

	The priest grumbled angrily to himself, as he marched back to the ship. He hoped, deeply, that the locals would treat his human engineers more hospitably than they treated him.