Attack on earth {2734}

This is yes. a space themed RP
Created upon a request of Strange2

{a message by him posted
in the RP chat hub}

~~~~~~

Earth. Civilised...
November 7th 2724 that was all changed.
The planet had been attacked by an unknown
species known only as the Zikonians
"Ziks"
some people say.

people left to stay and fight, others fleed to get
assisstance. after almost 10 years of fighting, the
humans were finally able to gain some push,
small countries such as Britain and Jamacia have
been recaptured and the Zikks try their hardest to keep
control over the planet.

"We need you to join this fight soldier... if your an earth born
or a civilised creature of space, we need you to help take back
the planet of earth!"
~ a recruitment message for the U.S.M {United Space Military}

**Zikonians**
Standard Species Information Pack: Zikonians:
- Always Yearning for true power {reasons unknown}
- Has a hatred towards all species except "true-blood Zikks"
{A zikonian born of zikonian {not a cross species bred child}}
- Took over earth as a sign of dominance
- Tough Scaled {heavily built tank like species}
- Powerful but not tactical {Relies on quantity
over quality "the more attacks, the better"}

{the Ziks are loosely based
off the krogan from mass effect}

{contextual info: you can create a new species, or not? up to you.
ps. you can be a soldier or a civillian? a traveller caught in the crossfire?
your choice of character}

{PPS. You can be a Zik if you'd like,
trying to defend earth from the attacks
CONTEXT: the Ziks are a "take no prisoners"
kind of species}

{PPPS. Message me if you have any questions}
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Character creation
{mine is just an example}

[image: media.discordapp.net]

Name: Kira "Sadie" S'kati

Age: 497 {in earth years}

Species: T'k'nari "Tiki"
{perfectly identical Human-based
creatures with a live span of 8000
years old {in earth years ofc}}

Description: {optional}
5'3 / Black hair / Pale purple eyes / Distinctive scar along her palm.

Business: {traveller, civvi, etc}
Soldier for the U.S.M

Combat Specialties: Long range ballistics
{snipers and single shot rifles}
Enhanced sidearm training {pistols}

Rank: Combat Scout & Specialist when
in battle. out of battle: Radio operator
{ignore if your character isnt in the USM}

Weapons: RS-55 {Lighter} Recon sniper
LP 16-7 {based off the classic 5-7}

{CONTEXT: Futuristic or current weapons: up to you.
although current weapons will look the same, all guns
universally are laser based so they wont shoot the same
{thermal mags instead of bullets except for certain guns
such as anti-mat rifles or something of such a heavy
caliber.}}

Gear: A radio, a picture of herself and a few other people in
manhattan taken a few days before the war, star charts of the
galaxy {milky way}, some small medical healing items and a
small supply of food & drink.

Backstory: {optional}
Born 2237, back before earth finally gained space travel tech.
when earth finally gained travelling abilities, Kira decided to live
on earth for her life although that was cut short during the attack
in '24, she managed to escape, leaving behind her home, most of
the memories she'd created and a significant ammount of photographs
of the beautiful and natural life on earth.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is Shuttle 7-5-8... we are nearing
LZ... Sadie... you hearing this?"
The soldier asked, checking comms

"yes sir! whats up?"
Kira replied

"hold the major teams back...
please... just let us find out more
before you send the full attack squadrons..."

there was a few seconds of
silence then a tap on the radio
"of course sir... you have a few
minutes... but... thats the best
you will get..."

"Alright... Tanner, out"

"good luck down there scout!"

"thank you ma'am... god
we're gonna need it..."

Captain Hawthorne was born to fishermen on the coast of Ireland in 1724. As soon as he could, he signed on to the British navy, eventually mutinied and took the 44 gun frigate HMS Inevitable for his own. He sailed for the West Indies, and quickly became rich and infamous, having 20 ships and 5000 men at the height of his power. It is here things become unclear. The Inevitable was sunk in 1754, but his body was never found. He still lives as an undying vampire, now with three massive warships and ten thousand men at his command.

Gear: An airtight, uv filtering space suit, 6 laser flintlocks, a lascutlass, and his ships and men.

Name: Captain Jack Hawthorne
Height: 6'7
Age: 2010 years
Species: Vampire
Eyes: Red
Hair: Black
Weight: 190 pounds

Ever since the initial fight,
the main HQ on mars has
been the main FOB for the
earth fighting.

"Sh~t! KIRA!!"
An explosion makes the
radio go to static for a moment.

"Tanner... Lucas can you hear me?"
Kira grabbed the headset and held it close
"luke?"

"I hear you Sadie... F~ck!"
rifle shots dominate the
radio for a few seconds.
theres then again silence

"whats happening?!"

"Send those teams! we...
PILOT MOVE THIS THING FORWA-"
the radio goes straight to static again

"no..."
Kira got up and held her head.
"damnit! Sadie keep it together...
someone get the reinorcements for
earth to get down there. please..."

she walked out of the comms room
and headed towards the main soldier's
quarters. four soldiers per room but the
rooms were pure luxurious.

A familiar figure saunters towards her, helmet and tricorn removed for once. The rogueish mercenary captain they'd hired for muscle flashed her a smile, long fangs showing briefly. Women on the base had described him as a "silvertongued devil, though a little handsy." When he spoke, it was with a rich Irish accent, though it had the bearing and class of a British noble.

"Miss Sadie, it's a pleasure to see you again! And we're not pitch drunk this time, I see!"

He smiled again, putting an arm around her waist...a little too low for comfort.

Her eyes went purely gray and her spine twitched
as his hands tapped her waist, she pushed him back,
then rolled, rapidly getting back to her feet. then
quickly yanking the 16-7 from the holster on her leg,
pointing the weapon towards the Vamp.

[image: media.discordapp.net]

She had gone full
lioness mode and put the
gun up to his face.
"the f~ck?"

when she realized, she'd put
the gun away and laughed.
"i am so sorry... oh my..."

she put the gun back into the holster.
"my god..."
she rested her head on his
shoulder for a split second.

"i... i gotta go... we'll talk soon. okay?"

Jack frowns, but withdraws his hand. He sighs dramatically before chuckling and winking.

"Oh, well. You know where to find me, if you need some company to pull you out of this little funk~"

He spent quite a lot of time at a nightclub and bar on the base, flirting with the dancers and occasional female customer. It was in fact where he'd met Sadie, drunk as pitch one night.

"motherfu-"
she then remembered about the radio
thing a few moments before. a tear rolled
down her cheek

~~~

"Dont make a threat that you
cant fall through with little lady..."
She remembered his voice.
The memory of how she met Tanner.

"you cant judge me yet..."

"alright. shoot me then..."
He passed her his 16-7.
the one she now uses
"do it..."

~~~

"f~ck!"
She covered her eyes and
leaned up against the wall.
taking out the gun holding
it close to her head.

after a few more meters down the
corridor, she reached the room. her
gun was in hand but she couldn't help
but think about Tanner and the rest of
her team and she should've gone with
them instead of being stuck behind the
desk.

The light in the room was mix of light
blue and light purple, although the bulb
was still pretty luminescant.

Kira leaned up against the wall once again.
holding the gun and pointing it at the wall
then grappling onto it tightly, holding it close
to her head.

she wiped away the tears and brushed her hair,
looking to the right, towards the door.

[image: media.discordapp.net]

"i just dont know anymore..."
She sighed. all the different
emotions running through her mind.
"f~ck"

Inside a lone cabin in the ship, there is an alien silently looking at the skulls he brought inside. All skulls resemble a head of some sort of reptilian creatures. He then caress his heavy shotgun. He calls it "Labrok", which in his native tongue meant "Hunt" or "Victory".

This alien is:

Name: Gluargh of Clan Ranag

Species: Unidentified


Age: 538 cosmic years old

Description: Visibly larger than any normal species. Not really Talkative, but whenever he speaks it sounded like two people are talking as one. Garnet eyes. Covers himself with heavy clothes that covers most part of his body.

Business: Freelance Mercenary of Bloody Roar Company

Combat Specialties: Heavy Shotgun Specialist, Grenadier Specialist and Unarmed Combat Specialist

Weapon: M-600 Zweihander Shotgun and 2 Plasma Grenades.

Gears: Ammos for his shotgun, a jug of "water",
a banner of his mercenary company, the Bloody Roar Company, and a rhinoceros horn.

Backstory: It is a mystery where this alien came from but he is certainly there in the ship, looking at the stars through the window. Apparently according to him, his former ship is destroyed by Zikonians four years ago. He lost contact with his company.

He is one of the mercenary who is hired, along with Jack.

Kira managed to get some sleep, but not much. about two
hours after falling asleep. she woke up, tired. somewhat irritated.
"well..."
she sighed, taking her jacket and putting it on.
then taking the gun from the table and putting
it into the holster.

Kira opened the door and headed to the
main dispatch area, the "deployment zone"
where people go to be assigned a team to
join on making attacks to regain earth.

"shuttle 7-6, away sir..."
there was chatter over the radio
but that was most easily heard.

"good... 7-2 is coming back soon"
the main commander was an old yet sly
man. or. well. alien.
"yes Specialist?"
he asked, seeing kira approach.

"i'd like a deployment. sir..."

"i heard about your team... alright...
but hold back a few minutes... we're
getting most of the mercenaries ready
to make a push. we have one team tasked
on retaking tokyo... but... another tasked on
gaining control of washington... most of that
team is ready and waiting... but you and the
Mercs still on base are the tokyo team... they
should be all getting ready to head off now..."
he then finally went silent.

"alright... thank you sir... i shall go grab my bag
and rifle, then go to a shuttle"
she walked off, getting her stuff then going to
the assaigned ship. after another half an hour,
the ship took off, headed to earth.

Over the P.A theres an A.I announcement:

"MARS BASE NOTIFICATION! ALL MERCENARIES
ON BASE, PLEASE, GET READY TO GO TO EARTH"

Kira had in fact been assigned to one of Hawthorne's ships- there was little chance she'd be dying today. The three massive vessels were built to resembled first rate ships of the line, from the Golden Age of Sail. Four enclosed gun decks, each with 25 auto plasma cannons, individually operated. These plasma guns were built into the sides of the ships, accessed by catwalks, as the inside of the vessels more resembled the inside of a zeppelin than a spaceship. Several smaller cruiser ships loaded with men for a ground assault occupied the majority of the hull space inside each of the massive vessels. On the main deck on each ship, 355mm triple barrel dark matter main guns were mounted, 10 to left side and ten to right. (Port/Starboard)

Gluargh heard the announcement of the mission. He prepares his loadout and flexs to check his body condition. Hardened and flexible. He walks to the space strip where all the ships are stationed. He meets up with other mercenaries although he looks down of them because of their height. He is able to intimidate the ones who bother or humiliate him by staring them down and calling them "Greenhorns". Any other mercs that have guts to raise their voice, Gluargh gives them a nice headbutt when they get close.

Soldiers in the base warns Gluargh to behave or else. He simply stood still waiting for the another announcement to come. His garnet eyes glows and he tightly clench his huge fist. "Mer gurthak ven argkl labrok yen blessing." he said, which translate to "May bounty for monster hunt be a blessing."

Tycho Randrin sat in the cockpit of one of the drop ships, waiting for the soldiers to get inside. He typed a few commands into the touch screen and watched as it lit up. He read the commands for the day. It appeared he and a few other ships were attempting to retake Tokyo. Tycho smirked and grabbed a three ring binder from under the console, an item from a bygone age. Inside were an assortment of pictures, images, and stickers taken from the landing zone of the drops. He flipped to the nearest empty page and scrawled “Tokyo” in big, large letters.

He made a quick check of the systems before he settled in. Forward facing flak shields were charged and online. Radar and auto lock jammers were solid. Fuel tank was full. His survival pack was at his feet and mag charged pistol was on his waist. All he needed was to wait until they were brought into the immediate orbit of Earth.

Tycho had always been fascinated with earth. Compared to some of the aliens who fought with them, humans were such a small and finite people. He couldn’t even imagine what it was like for those who had seen earth in its prime. All Tycho had to rely on were the library data banks.


After 10 years of Zik rule, the earth looked much different. Many cities had been reduced to rubble and rebuilt as utopias for the Zik elite. Plains had turned into battlegrounds and breeding chambers for the monsters and slaves who worked for the Zikonians. All in all, some places were barely how they were.

Tycho gazed out and thought of his home, and how he hoped to retake it.


—————-

M’Sarri Senthi stood up, pushing aside the two servants who had been cleaning the gore from his scales. He walked out of the room and into a nearly empty hallway, the thud of his feet echoing. Silently and completely still, guards were stationed every 15 feet. M’Sarri noticed some of them went especially rigid as he passed, as if trying to be even more nondescript. M’Sarri surpressed a grin.


He was legion master over the eastern lands. These included what the humans had once considered China, Japan, and the Southern pacific. A few more paces brought him to a door, which opened into his high command for the region. This base was within the new city of Elseyin, built at the edge of the ocean. As M’Sarri took his seat in a central chair, he thought of how he had been brought to this new and strange land.

He had been but a shock troop when deployed to fight for this planet. Some of his very own nest brothers died in the initial assaults, and more died in the insurgence fighting that happened. Time and again he survived and was promoted by his superiors. He became legion master only after he proposed a successful plan of subduing what was once China. Fighting on land against the nearly 1 billion humans would have been a slog, so instead, they bombed the entire East coast into rubble, their lasers turning buildings into sand with the heat of the bombardment. After that, the Zikonians had a landing ground and quickly took over the area.

”Legion master, we have the latest reports from the lands.” A lesser officer spoke. M’Sarri nodded, taken out of his thoughts.

”The two hive cities of Fydan and H’Dyth are on production to produce another three legions of soldiers by the end of the month. Each.” The officer swiped on his data pad to display more reports.

”The final insurgencies in the South have been crushed. That secures the pleasure cities of Krylith and Quahdi for our people. Finally, and most important, our spies have indicated that the humans plan to make a large assault on the eastern island of Hwai, what they call Japan.” The officer bowed and stepped back.

“How many troops do we currently have in Hwai?” M’Sarri inquired.

”Around three thousand pure bloods led by General Akari. With an additional one thousand Pit monsters.” The lesser officer reported.

”Hmm. Sufficient numbers, should I wish to throw them away. But I do not. To keep this planet we must adapt, keep the pure bloods protected. Send M’Humdi and his battalion. They should provide a sufficient challenge for them.” M’Sarri commented. The officer nodded and speed off to pass along the orders.


M’Humdi was… well… something new. He was not a pure blood, but rather an experiment, and a successful one by M’Sarri’s opinion. He was a merger of Human and Zikonian, and that made him, and his half breed troops, a whole new thing unto themselves. This would provide good data to see if more of these half breeds could be used against the humans.

As the ship moved through the empty glades, getting
into a ready position to join other ships and fly into
the plains of space. the rumble of the engines filled
the non-exsistant vaccum's air.
"it surprises me... you know... how your people look
almost exactly like us..."
One of the crew commented towards Kira

"well... you know... theres a lot to it...
best to leave it at that."
Kira smiled then held her rifle tightly.
she was ready to start bringing fire
down on the Ziks

"alright... alright... no rash decisions now..."
the crew member put his hands up then
walked off.

"pff... gah this is just... hmm..."
She sighed and looked out one
of the windows
"its beautiful... you were right tann..."
She held her head and closed her eyes

"i'm sorry..."
Wiping her eyes, she looked once more,
seeing a few more of the ships ready up
and approach them.

While Jack and his fleet were a rather new acquisition for the USM, their reputation was known all over the universe for their resilience and bloodthirst on the field of war, the sight of the Invictus and her sisters Inevitable and Indomitable enough to make even the most battle hardened men quake in their boots. Once the fleet had gathered, he lead the charge in through hyperspace, the fleet being spat out over Tokyo, the bay doors of the Dark Sisters opened, unleashing the hundred and fifty odd cruisers they held in their bellies, along with some ten thousand odd men that simply jumped out of the ships, hitting the ground with nary a stagger, eyes glowing a fearsome red, fangs bared, shouting battle cries. And then the sky went bright with laser fire, the 1200 autoplasma cannons between the three capital ships turning wide swaths of the city into rubble as they swept back and forth, as well as making an air assault on them suicidal at best. The triple barreled dark matter batteries of the vessels shook the air like thunder, creating massive craters in the ground and pounding Zik fortifications, shattering shields like butter.

the small cruiser that kira entered, just redied.
"you lot are going to be dispatched over to the
rooftops... stealth systems will be engaged for
you... so go quiet got it. and you... woman... hold
back... just watch... we'll take it from here"
as the shuttle departed, the commanding crew
member wasn't expecting the ship to move so
quickly - he'd tripped and almost smashed his
knee onto one of the ammo boxes being stored.

"heh... good job..."
One of the others laughed

"Shut up you motherf...
be quiet..."
The commander hissed

"sure thing boss... and hey. you...
miss... whats your deal... why'd you
fight with us?"

"same reason your fighting... i see earth as home...
a place to return to when this is all over... to... nevermind..."
Kira looked at her gun and sighed
"its just some stupid thing..."

World War Z {theme song}

"no i... i wanna hear what you have to say..."
One of few asked

"well... i-"

She was cut off by the pilot
"Deploy now! Camo is off! GO!!"

"you first, girl..."
The commander said,
holding his rifle close

Just as Kira jumped, the
Shuttle was hit by one of
the flak shells

"Sh~t! Everyone out! NOW!"
The commander yells, two
of the soldiers manage to
get through the glass on
the floor below, one of the
soldiers managing to hang
onto the ledge of the roof.

"I got you..."
Kira helps the soldier up,
some of the Ziks manage
to kill the two on the floor
below.

"take cover... they're probably
going to try getting us in a
moment..."
The two hide behind some of the
electrical boxes as the Zikks come
up.

"stay here... us vamps
are hard to kill..."
The soldier gets up
and runs towards them

he manages to take down a few before
one of them sliced his neck open with a
specialised machete, keeping him to the
ground, the zik placed it against his chest
then pushed it through, peircing his heart,
and ultimately keeping him stuck against
the roof.

{sorry for the graphic there,
just trying to keep Angelo happy}

"f~ck..."
She hissed, clutching her silenced gun.
a few gunshots came from the floor below,
the Ziks then go running back to the roof
access door to investigate.

Kira slowly moved to the door and placed
a proximity bomb on the door, arming it to
prime after the door was closed, she moved
slow. trying to make no noise. closing the door.
but not entering the building.

"right... come get me now you f~ks..."
she took a grapple device off her back and
attached it to the rifle firmly. ensuring it wouldn't
fall off during use. the Toranomon Hills Tower
was the biggest in the sub-section of the city, close
to three or four more other buildings, standing in a
shorter but still high height, close to the building.
she fired her rifle then hopped to the next building
using the grapple attachment. but she got over fine.

there was an explosion as she made the jump.
"stupid beasts"
she thought, hiding behind one of
the many ruined or dying flower beds
atop of the tower.

M’Humdi stepped out of the transport on the outskirts of the city. At the moment, the Zikonians seemed to be in a tough pinch. Few Zikonians, except for few dozen of the highest elites, had any kind of serious tactical planning. They’re idea was charge, shoot, and kill until no one else put up a threat. Unfortunately that left out some of the more subtle forms of fighting.

M’Humdis soldiers, all half-breeds like himself, stepped out of their cruisers. M’Humdi gestured at some of the ships near the center of town.

”All batteries target that ship. Bring it down with everyone in it. Men, follow my lead. No reason we have to die like the others.” He said with a chuckle. He drew a rifle from his back and equipped a laser knife bayonet to the front of it. His men did likewise. They all had the same simple kit.

The initial charge brought them up against a few units of humans. They had a group of Zikonians pinned. M’Hundi gestured for his group to split up and flank the humans. The humans, for their part, didn’t see anything coming. One moment they were pounding away at some trapped Zikonians, the next M’Hundi’s half-bloods we’re among them. A few of his men fell, but the scales deflected the worst of the blaster fire. Coupling that with their Zikonian strength and many of the humans were literally ripped apart. M’Hundi saw one crawling for a comm. M’Hundi smirked.


—————

“Come in, the Zik’s, they have something new! Some sort of Agh!” The comm cut off, before a thrumming hum came through, what some might realize as a laugh.

“I am M’Hundi. I come for you humans. Earth may have been your home, but all it is for you now is a tomb.” He whispered, before dropping the device. He and his men then moved out, cutting their way through unit after unit of mercenaries and humans.

—————


Tycho, meanwhile, had offloaded his troops and had snagged a wrapper of some sort from the ground. It read ‘Ramen.’ He didn’t know what it was, but he’d find out later.

He got back in his ship and headed back to the cruisers in the sky. He didn’t know how the battle was going but he had to be prepared to deploy more soldiers or, possibly, fly down for an emergency evacuation.

He turned back to look at the city as he was leaving and saw that the Zikonians had released pit monsters as well. Some with lithe hunters, creatures like wolves and bobcats who hunted men down in the fight alleys and streets. Others were large and armored like bears, claws and tentacles swiping through clusters of soldiers. With the help of the pit beasts, the Zikonians were turning the tide.


Concentrated flak fire was also bringing down escorts, limiting reinforcements for the humans. The Zikonians didn’t currently have enough guns to target the cruisers and the drop ships, but once enough drop ships were down, the flak guns would turn on the cruisers.

Gluargh is fighting against the approaching Ziks with three mercenaries when they landed in Shinjuku. He is blasting them with the powerful spread from his shotgun. Two other mercenaries are providing covering fire while the one with a huge back pack is providing intel to the base.

They are currently fighting in Shinjuku and routed 25 Zikonians which mostly killed by Gluargh using his unique way of fighting. And also for the fact that he is very familiar of how these Ziks think in the battlefield. In some cases, some Ziks got their hearts ripped out of their body whenever it is Gluargh who killed them.


The mercenary got intel where the rendezvous is. Gluargh gives command of this group to meet up with other groups and slay any enemy combatants they come across. Gluargh purposely moves ahead and gets the Zik's attention towards him, diverting their attention away from the other mercenaries as they venture further.

[image: media.discordapp.net]

Kira looked down scope to see many of the deployed get cut to peices
"f~k..."
she covered her eyes and breathed heavily.
then finally put her hand on the gun and looked
back down the scope. there were the normal green
armoured Ziks then there we're the darker green with
a Red mark down the sides and back of their armour.

"elites... they have deployed elites..."
she sighed, saying over the radio.
Right after she said it, she saw one of
them pick up the earpiece of a downed
soldier.

"all it is for you now is a tomb..."

She held her breath.
"we may not win this fight. but we will
try... We may not... succeed... but... we'll
fight you regardless... as we speak, i have
my sights on your head... if you flinch, move...
or even turn around... you will be killed..."

"FIRE ON THE BUILDINGS! OUR
SOLDIERS ARE CLEAR! BRING
THEM DOWN TO THE GROUND!"
A Zik yells, taking a flak gun from
its position and moving it, then firing
on the building that kira is on.

"sh~t!"
she repositioned the
sniper and fired on the
Zik that began targeting the
building. multiple other
turrets began firing upon
the tower.

"i gotta move... now!"

"GET OUT OF THERE!"
Someone yelled over
the headset.

"f~ck! f~ck! alri-"
the building is then brought down.
the only thing heard over the Earpiece
is screaming and some groaning.
"i need- ... evac- ... tikoro- ... Plaza-
overrun-"

She got the tail end of it, managing
to somehow enter a panic room whilst
the building fell.

"Send help..."
Her microphone cut out, the signal
was horrid. although it does tend to
be when your trapped in rubble.

"Kira... KIRA?!"

Tycho was waiting for more orders, and had congregated with some of the other pilots who had made it back. He saw that about a quarter hadn’t made it back this time. He sighed, looking at his own ship, currently being repaired. He didn’t know if they’d be sent down to drop another wave or not.

”Tycho, how did your men fare?” One of the pilots asked.

“I touched them down in a quiet section before the flaks started up. What about you David’s?” Tycho asked back. David’s shook his head.

”I had to drop them in the heat. I had a half dozen get shredded in the bay of my ship. They’re cleaning out the bodies now.”

Tycho shook his head and looked down and out of the cruiser. Explosions rippled across the city.


—————

M’Hundi chuckled as he saw a shot ricochet off to his right. He had heard the words of the sniper but held no fear. That was bred out of his genetics with some of the weaker human emotions. M’Hundi gathered his men and cut their way back toward command, seeking an update on the situation. A brief report indicated a group of humans and mercenaries was making their way toward the center of town and regrouping before a push.

”Direct the flak on the cruisers. Without air support their men will have no where to retreat to. Leave one or two cruisers, so that some can escape. They’ll fight to see who the lucky survivors are. Time to show them our surprise.” M’Hundi said, typing some commands into the console.


The desolated plains on the Outskirts suddenly began to erupt in fire, barrage after barrage of lasers firing on the ships from underground caves. Almost instantly two of the handful of cruisers went down under the fire. They descended in flames toward the city.

The main batteries of the Dark Sisters turned, raining their poisonous hellfire down upon the city's outskirts as the remaining humans equipped gas masks, unleashing their own secret weapon- a noxious fog that fouled the air and caused fearsome hallucinations of horrendous pain. Several of the cruisers began to launch that era's equivalent of EMP missiles, eventually overloading the Ziks' command center and many of their ships, and all the while the Dark Sisters continued their unceasing barrage.

(the Dark Sisters are Hawthorne's capital ships btw)