Arknights: Starsfall I

Chapter 18

"Hello from another kind"

Lemuel "Exusiai"
December 13th, Earth time, 2055
October 14th, Local time, 1097
Rhodes Island Company
Southwest Grassland

Holding her KRISS Vector, Exusiai stomped along the dirt path. In front, Lappland was busy slash down trees that were in the way. Taking the magazine out, Exusiai checked to see if there was still plenty of bullets in it. Satisfied, and letting out a nice hum, she puts the Mag back in, and stays close.

The forest was calm, and cold. It was night time, and just in time for the creepy crawlies to come out. As well as some more harmless Originium slimes that focused more on surviving if anything. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary yet.

Exusiai blankly though back to the vehicle that got them here, and how mysteriously its tired popped, despite nothing in the area that could do that. Shaking her head, it was too late to think on that now, she looks over at Croissant, who was relaxed and kept her shield at her side. Bison was near her, and he was as equally relaxed.

Figuring there wasn't a point in staying too tense, Exusiai also relaxed. "There's nothing out here dude," Lappland called from the front as she slashes another tree, "Nothing!" Texas stuck a pocky in her mouth as she was a bit exasperated at Lappland's outburst. Shaking her head, remembering it was normal, she continues on. Ch'en seems to be hanging back, with LGD guards armed with compact crossbows looking around.

Exusiai watched Lappland cut another tree, and... it revealed something. "Hold," she said loud enough for everybody to hear, as she aims her SMG upwards at the tree branches. When she turned on her flashlight, she honestly wish she didn't. Exusiai and the others jumped back seeing, that, trying to keep their cries silent.

It was an anti armor soldier, somehow stuck in the tree. He seems to have expired long ago, but his face was still contorted in an awful look of shock. Shuddering, Exusiai and the others began to walk on. Operators like Jessica getting close to full on wailing. Dobermann kept her quiet, lest whatever happened to him, happened to them.

They continued on, the more flighty operators getting more restless. Lappland and Texas began to sniff the air, the former had stopped cutting trees as she was now playing alert. Everything was quite in the forest. Quiet, everything was quiet save the pattering of their own feet. Lappland and Texas suddenly hit the deck, Texas pointing and making a warning sign off to the right.

Realizing what it could mean, everybody else hit the deck, while Ch'en and LGD hid behind some brush. Exusiai had to hide her halo in the brush as quick as she can, as another person's foot steps was heard. It wasn't one of theirs from the way Lappland and Texas seemed to be reacting.

Exusiai kept the end of her gun sticking out, the dark barrel ready to let loose fire should they need to.

The unknown person began to step into view. From his point in the forest, he was surrounded by Rhode Island and hidden LGD operators. Exusiai wanted to fire, but she held, they didn't know this person's intentions, nor their faction. He certainly isn't Reunion. The person began to stop, and everybody got a good look at his weird clothing. He had a helmet on as well as a see through visor, revealing - to anybody close enough - soft emerald eyes. He seemed to be carrying a weapon himself, not one of any design they are familiar with, but due to its compact nature, Exusiai thinks its a weapon like her own KRISS Vector. He also seemed to be carrying 2 large tubes on his back, and 4 smaller ones along his backpack.

This implied that he might be a Sankta, but he had no sign of the famous Halo and shattered wings that every Sankta is familiar with. Something chirped off a black box on his shoulder - a communicator she presumed - and he reaches to grab it, "This is Lancelot 2 - 3," he spoke into it, in surprisingly what appears to be a dialect of Old Victorian, with the Victorian Accent everybody is familiar with, "I have no sign of the Reunion here, I don't know what you were reporting, it might have just been a false alarm." He finished as he goes and sits down on a tree stump, right near Lappland, Texas, and she was hiding. Setting his rifle down on the bush, right in front of Exusiai's face, the man reaches for a metal thing on his vest and unscrews it.