---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Her tail twitching nervously as she struggled to control the ship's descent, Srettia swept her hands across her console, keying extra power and thrust where needed as she aimed the ship at the lake sitting in the centre of the city. "One minute until landing." She announced to the bridge. "Any movement from the Briolb??" Michael asked, looking over to Steven, who furiously scanned the surroundings as the retreating army ran into the forest. "None from orbit. It looks like we've evaded detection." He replied, nodding at Jack with a grin. Srettia inhaled deeply as she pushed the ship towards its target, continually adjusting her descent and speed before suddenly hitting the anti-gravity just as the belly touched down on top of the lake and reversing thrust, triumphantly hitting her target. Exhaling the long breath she was holding, Srettia let the ship slowly sink to the bottom with a gentle bounce and a happy grin. "We have landed, Captain." She reported, thankful to have not screwed up such a difficult landing. "Good work, helm." Michael stated, walking over to Commander Soto and motioning Jack to follow. Srettia clenched her jaw shut as not to show her frustration. "Good work!?" She thought angrily. "This was my first time landing on a planet. And the first time my people have even landed on top of water to sink a spaceship!" She angrily thought to herself, though understanding he couldn't show favouritism or affection in public while working. It still hurt for him to just 'good job' and ignore her. Turning to look at Michael, however, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Viscia, seemingly holding back a giggle. Keeping her jaw clenched, she turned her full attention to the female tittering to herself in the corner, though what the female was up to confused Srettia. She would sneak a peek at Michael, then back to Srettia, then back to Michael before sticking her tongue out and tittering. Finally getting the message, Srettia released her jaw and scented the air. What she found was absolute bliss. The pheromones coming off Michael were that of pure pride and happiness. The satisfaction someone would have when a loved one succeeded in a difficult task that would make others proud, It was almost smothering to her. Glancing Back at Viscia as she fought to calm her tail and still her hood. She continuously scented the air to revel in the feeling, finally noticing the female giving her a subtle nod and a wave of her hood that only a mated female would understand, still giggling to herself at her station. Srettia let her tail twitch and hood wave in return, affirming that yes. The Captain was bound for a lengthy night. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- General Basthin limped down the stairs with the assistance of a nearby soldier, one he had not gotten the name of yet. But she was eager to help him reach his desired location as a roar crashed through the sky. Looking up, he watched in horror as another alien ship flew overhead. Only this time, it flew past the gate and seemed dead set on landing somewhere in the city. "OPEN THE GATES!" He cried, trying his best not to yell into the female's ears. "Go! Run to the gate! You need to allow the god's passage to fight whatever is coming from that space ship!" He confidently ordered, letting go of the female to lean against the wall. "Yes, sir!" She responded, vaulting down the stairs towards the gatehouse. Basthin continued to slowly trundle down the stairs, determined to at least speak with one of his saviours as they passed by to do war with the aliens. "I will not let a blasted foot prevent me from seeing this through." He mumbled to himself, cursing his age. Caithen hefted the maul onto her shoulder and placed a hand to lean against the tall gate. "These guys sure build high!" She noted, watching as the rest of her squad joined her and the thunder Ankiah's steps finally reached her position. "What's on the to-do list?" Sergeant Aylen asked, squatting down to draw in the dirt. "We make for the lake mid-city. The ship just finished landing, and the Captain wants us to muster before he decides on what's next." She replied, eyeing Ankiah as she carefully stopped in front of the group. "After that, who knows? Maybe we'll be on guard duty, so no civilians boat out to our ship." "Ahh, yes. The eternal duty of being a soldier. Guarding against unarmed mooks." Renin commented, thrusting his sword into the ground and placing his shield on his back. Basthin finally reached the bottom of the stairs and began making his way towards the gates as they began opening, attempting but failing to increase his speed as the first of the gods slowly stepped into the city. Caithen stepped onto the road and eyed her surroundings in wonder. "You people build beautifully." She privately com'd to the silent Ankiah. Everything was made of wood, obviously from the nearby trees. But the artistry was astounding. Caithen couldn't detect a single metal piece holding the houses together, but her scanners told her every building was airtight. "Looks like a bunch of ancient Earth buildings. Something like uh.... did peasants own houses? I mean, they look like small wooden castles." Renin commented, gawking at his surroundings as an odd Voktlix approached him. Basthin had finally made it to the gods. They were looking around the city, obviously judging if it was worthy of their continued protection as they didn't seem to mind that the invaders had landed in the city interior. Caithen eyed the Voktlix as it approached, it was dressed in black pants and a fancy yellow jacket gilded in a silver metal with something that resembled a cravat attached to its neck, but the pins on its lapel reminded Caithen of someone with a high rank. As she walked over to greet... Well, she couldn't tell the genders apart by face quite yet, so she did what any Terran would do and scrutinized his chest, nodding that it was indeed a he as it didn't have any breasts like Ankiah. "Hello, Sir. Lovely city you have here." She began, walking up to the male. Basthin was stunned. The god was talking to him, but it. "You have the accent of someone from the central continent. The northerners will have a kit!" He laughed out, forgetting himself in the hilarity of the situation. "Excuse me, why would the northerners have a kit?" Caithen asked in confusion, not knowing what exactly was happening. Basthin only laughed harder. The god didn't even know its most devout followers were in the northern continent. "No, you see. The northern continent worships you forest guardians. They are your devout followers. The central content, though... They don't believe in anything! This is wondrous!" He laughed out, collapsing onto his rear. "Fuck. They think we're gods or something?" Caithen spat, thinking to herself for a moment... "Can you come to sort this out, Ankiah? We're under orders not to remove our armour." She asked, waving the female down. Ankiah slowly walked over to Caithen. Stopping far enough away to kneel in front of the general and place her hand onto the ground. "Give me a moment to disengage." She replied, beginning the standby sequence. Remembering why he had rushed down in the first place, Basthin looked at the god, the terrifying one carrying the maul with pleading eyes. "Please! Our people are in danger. A new ship has landed somewhere in our city. Who knows what the enemy is up to!" He begged, noticing the strange noise coming from the large god to his left as a female helped him to his feet. Caithen looked at the male and shook her head. "If you're talking about the ship that just flew by. That one is ours, so you don't need to worry. I think it's going to set up base in the lake." Basthin let himself relax and let his weight fall onto the helping female, relieved to find out that the city was finally safe and shocked to find the gods have brought their own ship with them. It wasn't until the chest of the large god open that he began to think straight again. "What is that god doing?" He asked with a respectful tone. "We're not gods. And that one is one of yours." Caithen replied, watching as Ankiah exited her mech, grinning with lust from behind her helmet. She always liked what neuro mech pilots wore. Basthin held his breath in astonishment. It was a red fur! And she was nearly naked! Though he wondered why she was only wearing a tight chest covering with a weird harness and shorts, he didn't quite mind as it allowed him a look at this rare specimen. Her fur was a lovely shade of red. Only the tuffs of her ears, the tip of her tail, and a beautiful bit between her breasts sported white fur. "A perfect coat." He thought to himself. However, it was her mane that really caught his attention. It was long, even for a female. And slightly lighter in colour, accenting her already beautiful fur. It began at the rear of her head and flowed down her back to the base of her tail, giving her the look of a ferocious beast. Her legs as well, perfect form. Bending in all the right ways to elicit a reaction from a male. The general shook the thoughts from his head as he watched the female walk over, stopping in front of him with a neutral face. "Hello, General." Basthin sank to his knees, catching himself with his hands while he fell as tears filled his eyes. "It was Voktlix." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So... Well, this is something. They only have electricity around two spots in the city." Michael said, looking at the city blueprint Jack had made. "Correct. One in what I assume the political district. Another in an area where the houses are larger. Understanding correlation, I would assume it to be a high-class district." Jack replied. "So what do we do now then?" Viscia asked, pulling up their power plant schematics. "Ahhh... Wow, Steam-powered dynamos. They must have just discovered electricity." "Commander. The surface team has made contact with a General Basthin. It seems he thought they were gods at first, but Ankiah smoothed it over. They're on the way to the lake now, ETA fifteen minutes." Soto replied, leaning back into his couch. "Well, at least that decision was correct." Michael stated, looking around the bridge. "We need to meet with the president now." "Recommend Ankiah meet with him first. Introduce the idea of friendly aliens and move on from there." Soto advised as he looked around the city map. " I'm not a fan of that idea. But I think we should limit surface exposure as much as possible right now as well. Have a team of five escort her to the president and the rest set up on top of our ship. We'll see what happens after." Michael ordered. "And send out a few drones to look around the planet as well since we're in atmo now." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- President Lunouri sat in his chair, dabbing his quill in ink as he wrote out his orders. "Take this one to shelter one first." He stated, handing it off to a female aid. "We will first need the expertise of our scholars to rebuild our country." "Understood, Mr. Lunouri." She replied, grabbing a lantern and running out the door. Beginning to draft another note, he looked to his wife, Ekianei rubbing his chin in thought. "Would you think the labourers or the grocers and producers would be a better pick for the next group?" Ekianei sighed as she continued her own work. The police would be a better choice. We will need to keep public order first as the people leave their shelters. The producers should be after." "Yes, I thought as much. Thank you." He replied, dabbing his quill once again. "It is hard to believe the general won the battle and repelled the invaders." He commented, finishing his paper and handing it to another aid, who promptly left the room. "I would assume they got bored and went to find another city. We should muster our forces and begin tracking their movements. We may need to plan and free another city from a siege." Ekianei replied dryly, passing off her work to a waiting female. "Take that to Shelter three and inform the masons to begin work on repairing the wall immediately." She ordered, watching as the female ran off only to bump into a panting soldier. "Mr. President! The gods approach your manor!" The soldier stated, shifting her feet nervously. "Is that so?" He replied, moving to his feet and brushing off his shirt. "Ekianei, could I bother you to help me don my coat, please. It would be rather disrespectful to meet our saviours in not but a shirt and pants." "Of course, dear." She replied, walking to his hangar and grabbing his black coat. "Though if they are gods, would they not be aware you were merely trying to impress with fancy clothing?" "Of course. But they would also know that I had not put the effort into meeting them as well." He retorted, slipping into his coat with his wife's help and beginning to button his front. General Basthin exited the auto, trying his best to ignore the giggling armoured Voktlix she exited with her massive maul. "We have arrived." Caithen stepped back and happily, studied the vehicle. "It's so cute! It makes a little pop pop sound as it goes!" She stated, holding her hand out to Ankiah for support as she exited the auto. "It is also very dangerous, so please be on guard around it." Basthin replied, walking towards the dimly lit manor. "Come. The president will be wanting to speak with you, Ankiah." Ankiah nodded grabbed onto Caithen's hand as she exited the auto, looking up at the large mansion with slight annoyance. "Of course, his house would be so large." She mumbled, holding Caithens hand tightly and pulling her up to the entrance where the remainder her the Terran guards were already waiting. "Welcome. Miss Ankiah." The manor butler stated, her voice was as monotonous and polite as possible, though her eyes spoke of slight judgment as she observed her apparel. "It is an honour to receive you and your guests. The president is waiting for you in his office." "Thank you," Ankiah replied, following the female into the house with Caithen as General Basthin and his supporting aide followed close behind her. As they were lead through the house, Caithen observed her surroundings closely, noticing guards at multiple spots and paintings that hung from the wall, statues of Voktlix in every corner and the odd tree growing up from the floor into the ceiling. It was a strange mix of natural and unnatural, though she assumed it was all just a show of power as she could have sworn they were being led around in circles. "In here, please." The butler finally stated, standing off the side as she motioned to a door guarded by four females with an ancient handgun and sword. "Thank you." Was the dry reply from Ankiah as she stepped up to the door, looking at one of the guards to push it open for her. President Lunouri watched as the door was pushed open by one of his guards, studying the three as they walked through. One was a beautiful red fur... A rare specimen he wouldn't mind adding as his wife. Another in full armour, her weapon spoke of death and destruction. The third a close friend. "General Basthin! Congratulations on your victory." He stated, keeping himself seated in his chair. "This is the supposed god, then is it?" "You would be correct. She says she is under orders to speak with you." Basthin stated, taking a seat with the help of his aide and putting his foot up with a long breath. "I would appreciate some medical assistance with my foot. I do not know how much longer I can ignore this pain." Lunouri looked to an aide and nodded, watching as she ran off to gather a medical professional. "So, miss Ankiah is it?" Tell me who can order one who many claim to be a god?" Ankiah sighed. She knew the southern continent was full of stuffy people. She preferred the relaxed Terrans to her own kind in situations like this. "I am not a god. I do bring help from the stars, though." "Is that so?" Lunouri replied. "And at what cost? I do not like putting our country in the debt of others." "They want nothing in return. Only to help." Ankiah replied sternly. "And there is my next question. Who are they? Why would they help us for nothing?" He shot back. Happy the female was fidgeting with her tail. "This will be quite easy." He thought. "Perhaps I will proposition for marriage. She seems to find me attractive. Or is it my power she requires?" Caithen groaned in annoyance and stepped forward. "That would be us." She replied, reaching up to remove her helmet and unclasping the locks. "And I don't like how you're looking at my woman, so I would remind you that if you want our help. I would correct your attitude." She continued, slamming her helmet through the president's desk. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------