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[color=b89383][sub]HELSTON OUTSKIRTS  [color=a8a8a8]▎[/color]  FRIDAY  [color=a8a8a8]▎[/color]  26 OCTOBER[/sub]
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[color=a8a8a8]Alice scurried down the streets. Every now and then she would bump into other people that were a bit riled up, as well. They were most likely on their way to work or home. General Alerts was rather standard for Helston. It happened a couple of times a month. The call was usually issued due to union incursions or ballistic attacks. However, this particular alarm was different. Its unknown natured caused a little bit of chaos in the neighborhood. Alice jogged past a daycare center, where she could see parents turning heel at the front door. Some of the independent shopkeepers had already bunkered down and closed early. The otherwise mundane Friday had become one of the most unique Helston had known in long time.

After about a five-minute jog, Alice arrived at the apartment building in which she lived. The top floor of the three story quarters was hers, although shared with two neighbors. One of them was an old lady, who loved everything about guns and shooting them. The other was an ordinary couple with three, small children, which Alice occasionally babysat on date nights. However, Alice did not mind them at this time. She was all focused on getting her gear and be out the door again. She threw her vest on that was stocked with a couple of extra magazines. Elbow and knee protection were attached in a jiffy along with reinforced gloves. The weapon of choice today was an Elkoss Carbine—a lightweight, tactical firearm with a lot of attachment potential. Alice had a forward grip and holographic sight equipped on it, which would have to do, as she did not have time to change anything. The last thing she grabbed before heading out again was her scarf mask.

Her car was parked in an underground lot underneath the building. Residents of the house received a spot along with their apartment. Alice’s spot was right next to the bomb shelter entrance. The door was massive and the shelter itself could easily fit every person living in the building. There were enough supplies in there to last them a week. The steps of her sneakers were silent within the garage. The only thing that could be heard was when the key slid into the door handle of the car. The vehicle was an old model, cheap, but good enough for Alice. She had received it as a gift from her parents after graduating High School. Alice’s father always said that ‘the first car that someone owns is not supposed to be fancy’. She could agree with him to some extent. If everything inside the car was functional, then it did not have to look nice.

The GPS on her phone led the way. The Netrunners of the neutral zone were able to hack the signals of the union satellites, which allowed people to use functions such as GPS. The drive out of town took about half an hour. A few other vehicles were headed in the same direction. Alice could only assume that they had responded to the General Alert as well. Upon arriving, the location revealed a forward base of operations by both resistance factions. They had set things up by an old, abandoned construction facility. A massive dust cloud trailing upwards towards the canopy of the world could be seen in the distance. Sounds of gunfire and explosions could be heard. The overcast from the morning hours had disappeared and the sun shone through clear skies. Alice parked her car close to where others had lined up theirs. She grabbed her weapon from the back seat and locked things up.

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The hastily put together makeshift camp was teeming with life. Alice could not count them all, but she guessed that there was at least upwards of a thousand resistance members there already, and more were pouring in by the minute. However, many of them seemed distraught, nervous, and hectic. Alice tried to ask one of them where she could find a sergeant for orders, but the guy did not even look at her. He simply stocked more ammunition into his bag and took off. His clothes were covered in blood, which was baffling. Union attacks were not usually this violent. This was surely something else. After looking around for a bit, Alice finally found a sergeant instructing a few other—what appeared to be—citizen volunteers. Apparently, the strategy was to assault the ‘invaders’ in waves, but he did not explain who these invaders were when asked. The small crowd broke off after being given instructions. The assault would commence in ten minutes.

[color=b89383]“Excuse me, Sergeant? I’m a sensitive. Is there anything in particular that I can do?”[/color] Alice asked after modestly approaching the middle aged man with a salute. She used the term ‘sensitive’ to describe her unique condition. There were quite a few nicknames and words for Aeons in the world, some more flattering than others. Alice personally liked ‘Children of the Sun’ the most.

[color=c2abab]“Thank the Godmother that you are here. We need all the Aeons that we can get. This enemy is unlike anything we’ve fought before,”[/color] the Sergeant said with a hint of relief but also despair in his voice.

[color=b89383]“What exactly is this enemy? It doesn’t seem like it’s any of the unions.”[/color] Alice was cautious, but also abusing her status for just a bit.

[color=c2abab]“We don’t know, but they are not human. When the assault begins, we’re packing things up here and going back to Helston. This area will be swarmed and we need to prepare the town’s defenses, and evacuate everyone southwards, to Halos City.”[/color] The sergeant spoke hurriedly, already packing his things together.

[color=b89383]“So, these people here are more or less charging into their deaths?”[/color] Alice asked, but the sergeant did not respond. It became apparent that the assault was to buy resistance commanders time to fall back and mobilize what they could find in Helston. [color=b89383]“Sergeant?”[/color] She calmly uttered.

[color=c2abab]“Yes and no. We don’t know anything of what this is or where it will end,”[/color] the man paused with a sigh. [color=c2abab]“If you want to help, make sure that these people make it back. Find others like you and team up. When you get back to town, report back to me and we’ll figure things out.”[/color] The man took his bag and weapon and headed off towards the command vehicle. The last thing Alice observed about him was his name tag, which said ‘Cermak’.

Alice remained confused, but focused. The assault would soon begin and they would ride into the fray just beyond the facility. The enemy was not human, which could only mean that the thing that fell out of the sky was some kind of vessel from space. Aliens? If there were godly beings slumbering within planets, then Alice figured that aliens were a certainty. But why now? Why here? There were so many questions dancing within her mind.
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[color=79629b][b]QUEST STEPS[/b][/color][color=9a8bb0]: Arrive at the forward base. Prepare and join the assault. At the most, end your post with riding the personnel carriers just beyond the facility.[/color]
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