From The Guardian (April 25th)

LONDON RECOVERS AFTER BRUTAL ALIEN ASSAULT

The last alien has been killed, and the world is free from extraterrestrial invaders after nearly three months of covert and overt attacks that have left hundreds of thousands dead, and millions injured.

London was the last strike, the final gasp of hostility from the creature dubbed “Alien Omega” by the global intelligence community.

At roughly 11:48 PM GMT, London was besieged by Alien Omega, and roughly all of its 8.9 million citizens became its thralls. Victims of the attack said they felt a “pressure,” around their heads, and then blacked out until roughly mid-afternoon the next day, when all claimed a sudden “rage,” and felt a need to get to Trafalgar Square as quickly as possible.

Prime Minister Stark has revealed that this was the influence of Alien Omega directing Londoners at a handful of hosts who had arrived to combat the alien attacker. Those unfortunate enough to get within sight of the host threw caution to the wind and attacked them en masse with zero disregard for their own well-being.

At this time the death-toll is still being tabulated, but authorities state it is in the hundreds “at least,” with far more injured, currently in the hundreds of thousands.

“I commend the hosts not only for their bravery, but quick thinking and restraint. They saved as many as they could, and without their action, the whole city might have perished as other towns did leading up to this final, cowardly attack,” PM Stark said. “London, and the whole of the United Kingdom and the world, owes a debt to the hosts that cannot be repaid. They’ve saved our planet, and secured our future for whatever may come next.”

Host Reaper, the UK’s premier host, will be awarded damehood and presented with the Victoria Cross for her efforts in the battle of London and abroad. The ceremony will be held this coming Thursday, when other members of the UK’s defense force will be honored by the Queen.

From The New York Times (April 25th)

AFTERMATH ON CAPITOL HILL

President Hanover has announced an end to the alien invasion of Earth following the successful battle of London, where millions were at risk. The President stood before a jubilant Congress last night where his statement brought a standing ovation that last for nearly ten minutes.

“This is our home, our planet, and our victory!” President Hanover said. “By humanity, and for humanity!”

The victory is hard-won, with the United States the place of some of the most devastating attacks and battles of the alien invasion, topped only in terms of damage and body-count by India and Belarus. The tone during the rest of the address by the President was uniformly congratulatory of the military, America’s allies, and the newly formed USAIF and its hosts.

Director MacDougal was present, as were several of the American hosts, including the controversial Host Warden, responsible for the devastation of Honolulu just days prior.

“We won, yes, but at the cost of more lives and more damage to a major metropolis,” Senator Kalawai’a said. Kalawai’a was one of the hosts’ harshest critics following the Battle of Honolulu and the tactical use of a volcano as a weapon that saw the tropical city reduced to a molten, ruptured mess.

“And now that the aliens are defeated, what of the hosts? This is just going to turn into another arms race, or maybe worse, with rash, uncontrollable, very human people instead of stationary nuclear warheads,” Kalawai’a continued. “I don’t want to diminish the victory, but the problems we will face in its wake demand immediate attention.”

Director MacDougal acknowledged the Senator’s concerns, but did not seem bothered by them. “If this attack on our planet has taught us anything, it’s that we’re not alone in the universe. And since there are other things out there, humanity needs to come together more than ever before. We can’t afford to be sniping at each other for political points anymore. Yes, the hosts are powerful, but they serve the government, just the same as a nuclear submarine captain.”

Most members of congress were focused on the overall success of the USAIF rather than its perceived shortcomings. Public opinion polls in the wake of the victory in London show an 82% positive response and in favor of the American hosts (with individual polls showing Warden with the lowest at 67% and Pan with the highest at 91%).

Kalawai’a isn’t alone in her concerns for what comes next, and while Capitol Hill and the country as a whole in the rest of the world in celebration, it would be naive to assume that our planet can simply return to the way things once were.

From the public chatlogs of World of Fantastical Magic, an MMORPG (April 26):

Arbiter Dane: Where is everybody

Arbiter Dane: LVL 50 Pal LFG/Raid

Arbiter Dane started dancing

Arbiter Dane: Hello? LFG anybody

Bear Arms: lmao dude are you serious

Arbiter Dane: You LFG?

Bear Arms: Maybe a couple short quests

Arbiter Dane: Nobody doing raids today

Joshua Trollin: It’s because everybody is out celebrating the aliens getting whupped

Bear Arms: Yeah I’m just killing time until the DD gets here

Arbiter Dane: DD?

Bear Arms: Designated Driver

Arbiter Dane: Some aliens died but I wanna raid

Bear Arms: Dude you need to get out. World almost ended and you’re goin on about raiding. You gotta live like it’s your last day on Earth

Arbiter Dane: I wanna raid

Joshua Trollin: I gotta say, I admire his dedication

Arbiter Dane started dancing

Bear Arms: To be that at ease about everything that happens. Aliens invade, wanna raid. People get superpowers, wanna raid. Aliens defeated, wanna raid.

xXDarkElfPalXx:I’m more worried about those hosts than the aliens

Joshua Trollin: What? Aliens killed tons of people, man.

xXDarkElfPalXx: Isn’t that only because they were hunting hosts though? They only ever showed up where they were. Besides, aliens just seemed to kinda chill unless people bugged them. But the hosts are like, people.

Bear Arms: Brilliant observation.

xXDarkElfPalXx: No, I mean they’re human. Like, every other asshole. Except when my asshole neighbor gets a bug up his ass, he just gives me dirty looks or something. But if a host has a bad day, what? They blow up a city? Like that Warden chick?

Joshua Trollin: It’ll be fine. People have had nukes for years and nothing’s happened with them.

Bear Arms: I think Japan has a few words regarding that.

Joshua Trollin: That was ages ago.

xXDarkElfPalXx: I’m just saying it might be too early to party.

Bear Arms: But on that not, I g2g and party my ass off

Arbiter Dane: If you guys aren’t gonna raid get off public chat pls

From Science Monthly (April 27th):

NASA CONFIRMS LARGE ASTEROID HAS SHIFTED TRAJECTORY

Earlier this year, NASA observed an asteroid the size of Australia passing through our solar system in the vicinity of Mars’s orbit. It was believed the asteroid would either strike the red planet, or more likely continue on through our system unhindered. However, that seems not to be the case.

“We have been keeping an eye on it from a distance, and did not observe much difference in its expected path until a few days ago,” Dr. Alyx Chang said during a small press conference. “It’s been subtle but its course has altered slightly to direct it more towards Earth. Currently we do not suspect any form of intersection with our planet, and it should still give us a berth of at least several millions of miles, but since some civilian observatories and private individuals with powerful telescopes have contacted us about this, we thought it best to make a public statement before any false information can begin to circulate and cause a panic.”

Science Monthly placed several calls to the United States Anti-Invasion Force (USAIF) regarding the asteroid. Many online communities have noted the timing of the asteroid altering its path at roughly the same time as the defeat of the infamous Alien Omega in London. For many, it seemed too much of a coincidence.

“The USAIF has no comment on what NASA may or may not be researching. They’re a different department,” a spokesperson for the USAIF said over the phone. They would not respond to further questions.