Day 211

[from Devastation Online]

The first point of interest on the road to St. Leonard is a small mountain range, which one has to traverse through in order to proceed. The fastest way through is to head to the small mining town of Iron Valley, almost directly to the east of Arwing, and then head through the Iron Valley Mines, a network of mining tunnels and bridges criss-crossing the narrow valley that gives the town its name. The tunnels may seem confusing to the uninitiated, but as long as you have a compass, and remember to keep heading east, making your way through is a breeze.

I don't stop for long in Iron Valley, instead making my way straight through and heading for the mining tunnels. The mining operation is still underway, but some of the older, less-needed tunnels have been renovated and set aside for civilian use. This is, after all, the fastest gateway between two of the largest cities in Albion. As important as the mining operation here is - it's a major supplier of iron to the PDF - they can't have it getting in the way of the transport system.

I make my way through the tunnels with ease, and before long I'm on the other side of the mountain range. I now find myself in the rolling green pastures that dominate this part of Albion, dotted with hills and small ridges. Other than a few wild animals, it seems to be mostly deserted; it's rare to see Devastators on this side of the mountain range. In the distance, I can make out the small town of Clifton Hill, and to the north, a small river flowing down from the mountains. It's a very picturesque environment. Or at least, it would be if not for the two large wolves currently headed straight towards me.

The Devastators' presence has had a strange effect on many of Earth's creatures, causing them to grow stronger and more violent. The prevailing theory is that this is some type of strange radiation that only affects lower-level life forms, and is perhaps deliberately spread by the Devastators in order to give us a harder time. Fighting the Devastators is bad enough without having to fend off all manner of wild creatures as well. The Devastators, of course, aren't threatened in the slightest by these creatures, but sadly I am not a Devastator.

I manage to draw my SMG and fire off a burst of ammunition that fells the first wolf, but the second keeps charging and I have to dodge sharply, pushing its jaws away as it lunges. The wolf skids to a halt and prepares another charge, but I'm able to quickly fire off another burst of ammunition and kill the second wolf as well. With those enemies dealt with, I continue on my way.

The dirt track I'm on soon curves to the north, and after a while I find myself at a four-way crossroads. Naturally, I want to go east, but I can't help being curious about what lies to the north, on the other side of the river. From the looks of things, there's a forest in the distance, and presumably there's something in it; however, the signpost doesn't actually say anything. Despite my curiosity, I decide that I can't allow myself to get sidetracked; it's already getting a little late, and it'll probably be nightfall by the time I reach St. Leonard. I should carry on to Clifton Hill.

I'm nearly at the town when I'm assaulted by a small group of crows, which prove difficult to hit, and I end up expending the rest of my ammo clip. As I start to reload, I'm now vulnerable, and two of the crows swoop down upon me and start pecking and clawing at me. I instinctively shield my face with my arms, but of course my arms then take the brunt of the attack, and now I can't reload either. It seems I'm in big trouble, unless-

"Move-not." The unmistakeable accent and speech patterns of a Dae'loran. I dare to glance behind me for a moment and manage to catch a glance of a blue-skinned figure in a long white dress, her hand raised in a spell-casting stance. "Static Discharge!"

An arc of lightning surges forth from the Dae'loran's fingertips and strikes the crows directly, while miraculously missing me. The electricity paralyzes the crows and they all collapse to the ground, helpless. Now that I'm finally free of their torment, I'm able to safely reload my SMG and finish them all off.

With the battle over, the Dae'loran approaches me, a concerned look on her face. "Okay-you?" she asks. The Dae'loran language has some kind of strange quirk where every word is a compound word, made up of a base word and a modifier. It's been a few months since they started to arrive on Earth en masse, to help fight back the invasion, and although their grasp of English is fairly impressive considering, they've had trouble adapting to our language's syntax.

"Yeah," I say, nodding. "I just have a few scratches."

"Bleed-you," she says, drawing closer. Looking down at my arm, I notice that I am indeed bleeding from some of the deeper scratches. "Heal-will." She gently places a soft blue hand on my arm. "Heal," she says, and a gentle blue pulse emanates from her palm. I feel the pain in my arms subside, the scratches spontaneously healing. Dae'lorans are world-renowned healers, and I have to admit, if this one hadn't come along I might have been in serious trouble.

"Thank you," I say. "You really helped me out there, honestly."

"Thank-not," the Dae'loran says. "At-war are-we. Help-must. Duty-is."

"Of course," I say. "Well, thank you anyway."

The Dae'loran curtseys. "Good-leave," she says. "Luck-many." She's not the first Dae'loran I've spoken to, so I know that this garbled phrase is their way of saying, "Goodbye, and good luck".

I salute her in response. "You too, ma'am," I say. "Luck-many."

The Dae'loran lets out an odd noise that may be her species' equivalent of a giggle, then continues on her way. Still thanking my lucky stars that she'd happened to come along when she did, I continue on my way towards Clifton Hill, and safety. I might need to buy some more ammo clips at this rate.

Day 187

[from Devastation Online]

While in Arwing City, I stock up on some supplies: healing items to replenish my health, a couple of chocolate bars in case my SP runs low, and some more ammunition for my Enforcer 9mm sub-machine gun. I've never travelled east of Arwing before - at least, not since the invasion started - so I don't know what to expect once I set out. It's best to be prepared.

As I head east, towards the city limits, I pass into the industrial area. To my right, I notice a group of Reavers salvaging sheet metal from a disused factory. Even though their stated aim is to plunder as much of Earth's wealth as possible, we can't do anything about them. The PDF top brass have determined that it's best not to waste resources fighting them, not when we have the much bigger threat of the Devastators to deal with, so we've been ordered to just let the Reavers go about the business. The fact our hands are full with the Devastators are probably why the Reavers targeted us in the first place, come to think about it; they know we're too busy fighting this war to be able to stop them.

I ignore the Reavers, as per my orders, and continue on down the road. Soon I'm outside the city limits, and into the barren wastelands to the east. Before me, looming in the distance, is a large mountain range, which I will have to cross in order to get to St. Leonard. There is a clear path through the mountains, however, so the journey will not be as arduous as it sounds.

After a few minutes, I hear an ominous buzzing sound, which can only mean one thing: an incoming Devastator drone. These smaller, flying Devastators were the first to make the hyperjump to Earth, and they've since swarmed across much of the region, scouting out the lands. They're weak in comparison to the other Devastator types, but are very fast and still highly dangerous. I quickly draw my SMG, eyes peeled for the drone's distinctive circular metal body.

A sudden burst of flame to my right catches my attention, and I turn round to find that another PDF recruit is engaging not one, but two Devastator drones. One appears to be a standard T-Class Devastator - the drones' formal designation - while the other is a TP-Class, equipped with a flamethrower. The burst of flame I saw came from the TP-Class, but it looks like the other recruit managed to dodge it just fine.

I quickly rush to the aid of my fellow soldier. It's only right that I help them out. "Are you alright?" I ask them.

The solder nods, accepting my help. "Yeah, I'm fine," he says. "Could use a little help, though."

"Happy to oblige," I say, aiming my gun. The T-Class Devastators are about two feet in diameter, with circular bodies and a single red eye. There's a small gap in the centre of their bodies, from which protrudes a four-foot-wide, five-bladed fan that spins at extremely high speed, somehow providing their propulsion. The way this system works has never quite been deciphered. The spinning blades can also be used as a deadly melee weapon, slicing through anything in the drones' way, and we'll have to be careful not to get too close.

I quickly start firing at the machines, using short quick bursts of fire in order to conserve my ammunition and minimize recoil. I can only get two or three bursts in before the T-Class charges at me, and I have to duck out of the way to avoid its deadly blades. The TP-Class fires another burst of flame at my fellow fighter, but he activates a Special and raises a magical barrier to protect himself. It seems as though he prefers battling with magic to battling with weapons, for instead of using the Defender handgun holstered at his hip, he instead unleashes a powerful lightning attack at the TP-Class, striking it directly and sending sparks flying. The machine is not disabled, however, and the fight continues.

I continue to fire at the T-Class, dodging its attempts to strike me with its blades. Finally, it resorts to laying down a smokescreen, obscuring our vision in a thick haze. I fire blindly into the darkness and, upon hearing my bullet strike metal, hastily unload my whole clip in that direction, no longer worried about accuracy. I do not stop firing until I hear a satisfying boom as one of the machines is destroyed, unable to withstand my sustained fire.

As the haze begins to subside, a burst of flame suddenly erupts through the darkness and strikes me before I can dodge it, knocking me over. It seems that the TP-Class still lives. As I get to my feet, my comrade unleashes another lightning attack in the direction that the flames had come from, and is met in turn with a hail of gunfire from the TP-Class' machine gun. He weathers the attack though, and as the haze disappears completely, we quickly team up to finish off the TP-Class. Just as I run out of bullets in my magazine, the drone explodes in a satisfying shower of sparks, its remains falling harmlessly to the floor.

"Thanks for the help, man," says my fellow comrade. "I'm not sure I could've handled that on my own."

"No problem," I say, as I load another magazine into my Defender. "You alright?"

"Nothing major," he says, rooting around in his backpack. "Just need a Potion and I'll be right as rain." Pulling one out, he quickly consumes it and tosses away the empty bottle. "Ah, that's better. Say, which way are you heading? Maybe we could team up for a bit. You're pretty good."

"I'm headed to St. Leonard, to ATRAC," I explain. "I have an important discovery to tell them about."

"Ah. Well, I'm headed back to Arwing, so I guess I'll see you around," he says.

We exchange contact details, then goodbyes, and then go our separate ways. My brother-in-arms heads back the way I had come, towards Arwing, while I continue onwards towards St. Leonard, keeping a sharp eye out for any more T-Class Devastators that might try and attack.

Day 150

[from Devastation Online]

I'm busy gathering berries in Greendale Forest when I suddenly hear an almighty crash coming from nearby. The ground shakes violently, knocking me off my feet and spilling most of the berries I'd managed to gather. Scrambling back to my feet, I decide to put my berry-picking on hold for now, and instead investigate what on Earth could have caused such a violent tremor this close to Arwing City. As a member of the Planetary Defence Force, it's my duty to investigate such disturbances.

I draw my Protector 9mm handgun and start to make my way north, in the direction of the noise. Ever since the Devastators' arrival, about seven months ago now, wild animals throughout the planet have started to go berserk, so even in this dense forest, I'm not safe from attack. Researchers at ATRAC believe that the Devastators emit some kind of low-level signal that interfere with the animals' brain patterns, causing them to turn violent. Why the signal doesn't seem to affect humans is unknown.

As it happens, I make my way through the forest without being attacked. At one point a crow swoops down from a nearby tree, but it ignores me and flies away. Soon I find myself at a clearing, and what I see there chills my blood. It's a Devastator, one of the larger, bipedal R-Class machines. It's lying in a crater, having apparently just crash-landed, and seems to be badly damaged.

Standing at the rim of the crater, aiming at assault rifle at the fallen machine, is a PDF soldier that I recognize as Lieutenant Martina Vasquez, one of my superior officers. She noticed me entering the vicinity and holds up a hand, signalling for me to halt. "Don't come any closer, rookie!" she calls out. "It looks like the fall might have knocked it out, but it could wake up again at any time."

"This Devastator just fell out of the sky?" I ask.

"Yeah," said Lt. Vasquez. "Usually they warp directly onto the surface, but this one seems to have gotten its co-ordinates wrong somehow. Fell five miles and came down right here. We were lucky; if this thing had fallen just a few clicks further  south, we could kiss goodbye to Arwing."

The mere thought of having our entire base of operations wiped out by a single errant Devastator is enough to make me wince. "So, what now?" I ask her. "If it's inactive, shouldn't we take advantage of the situation and make sure it doesn't get up again?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, rookie," says Lt. Vasquez. "The two of us probably wouldn't last a minute against this thing. That said, if this thing does wake up, we gotta make sure it never gets anywhere near Arwing, no matter wh-"

The lieutenant suddenly falls silent as the machine begins to whirr into life, its eyes lighting up. It turns its head to look at me, and I feel the bottom fall out of my stomach. "Oh God, it's waking up!" exclaims Lt. Vasquez. "We should get outta here! With any luck, it'll follow us, and we can lead it away from Arwing!"

After taking a few steps back, however, Lt. Vasquez stops and begins to cautiously approach the crater once more. "Wait a minute…" At this point, I begin to notice the same thing as her: though the machine is trying to get up, it does not seem to be able to. The lieutenant's posture relaxes a little, and then her eyes suddenly light up. "This thing's too badly damaged to get up," she points out. "That means it can't attack us… no, more than that. This means it's essentially captive. A captured Devastator that's still active… we could learn so much from this thing! Where they came from, why they want to destroy us, and most importantly, how we can fight them more effectively."

She turns around and gives me an uncharacteristic grin. "What we have here, my rookie friend, is an intelligence goldmine. But we can't really leave this thing alone, just in case something happens. So here's what I'm thinking. I'll stay here and make sure this thing doesn't go anywhere, and nobody tries to destroy it, and you head over to St. Leonard to let the ATRAC boys know what we've found. I'm sure they'd love the chance to study a real-life Devastator."

I nod affirmatively. "I'll head over there as fast as I can," I say.

"Thanks," says Lt. Vasquez, "I'll let you know via radio if anything happens here." She then gives me a farewell salute. "God-speed, rookie."

I return the salute, then head off back the way I came, through Greendale Forest and towards Arwing City. St. Leonard lies to the east, and it's a bit of a journey to get there, but if Lt. Vasquez is right, then the information we could extract from this Devastator would be invaluable to the war effort. This could well be my chance to really make a difference.

Day 119

[from Devastation Online]

In the aftermath of Lael'in's arrival, and her warning about the Devastators, humanity began preparing for the invasion that was to come. The world's militaries pooled their strength to form the Planetary Defence Force (PDF), a military organization dedicated to protecting the world from the Devastators; its headquarters was based in Arwing City, close to Lael'in's landing site.

The Alien Technology Research Center, or ATRAC, was set up further east in St. Leonard, with the aim of researching alien technology, such as that used by the Devastators and Lael'in, and attempting to reverse-engineer it for human use. With the impending invasion weighing heavily on the world's mind, the bulk of these applications were military in nature; however, Lael'in had not brought any weapons that they could reverse-engineer. She had, after all, been on a diplomatic mission.

Lael'in herself was taken to a special government facility, where she was cared for but also closely studied. The entirely facility was thoroughly sterilized and she was given numerous inoculations to protect her from the plethora of Earth diseases, to which her body would have built up no immunity. She also began learning English, and tried to teach her hosts Dae'loran in return, although the differences in syntax between the two languages made it rather difficult to translate coherently between them.

The Devastators did not come for almost six months. In that time, the PDF had learned to harness a mystical force that the Dae'lora possessed, allowing them to manifest all manner of supernatural powers such as fire, ice, lightning, healing abilities, and numerous others. It was found that cocoa was able to act as a weak fuel source for this power, allowing humans who consumed it to harness it, and so the price of cocoa went up considerably. Lael'in also introduced the PDF to a lightweight metal called "Bor'ael", which was native to Dae'lora and which could block the effects of this force. Though it was physically weak, ATRAC engineers were able to produce an alloy of Bor'ael and iron dubbed "Bor'en", which combined their defensive properties.

In the meantime, a religious cult known as "Steel Heaven" had begun to form around the Devastators. The Steel Heaven cultists believed that the Devastators would purge the Earth of the wicked and bring about a new age of humanity. At the same time, the wait caused a few people to start doubting that the Devastators would ever arrive at all, and questioning whether the whole thing was merely an elaborate hoax. They would, however, find out in time that the invasion was all too horribly real.

One day the PDF detected a metallic sphere heading towards Earth at extremely high speed. It was undoubtedly sent by the Devastators - it bore a distinct radio signature that Lael'in had warned them to look out for - but a single sphere by itself did not constitute an invasion, and in any case the object was too small and too fast for them to try and destroy. The sphere thus posed a quandary for the PDF, and ultimately it was decided to simply allow the object to land and then attempt to destroy it once it had done so. When the landing site was calculated to be a town near the Aurora coast, northwest of Arwing, the town was abruptly evacuated.

Less than three days after its initial detection, the sphere struck the town and completely obliterated it, killing the few remaining people who had not abandoned. Shortly after landing, the radio signals from the sphere began to grow even stronger, and several hours later, the first Devastators began to appear, warping through space-time and manifesting themselves near the sphere. The sphere turned out to be a homing beacon, launched by the Devastators in order to allow them to warp from the Devastator homeworld straight onto Earth. The invasion had now begun.

Before long, the city of Barriston to the south was attacked and almost completely destroyed. The Route 101 highway that ran through Barriston was over-run by Devastators and became a no-go area. Strategic blockages prevented the Devastators from reaching the key coastal port of Bridgestone, to the west of Barriston, but instead they made their way northwards, and towards Carston to the south-west. The PDF have thus far managed to hold the Devastators off at Carston, but the town has suffered significant damage, and the fighting there continues.

 The Steel Heaven cultists, meanwhile, constructed their own gated community to the east of the Devastator landing site. Known as "Heaven's Gate", the walled-off city has so far been safe from Devastator attacks, with some theorizing that the Devastators are capable of discerning that Steel Heaven see them as allies.

During the conflict, other Dae'lora have followed Lael'in to Earth, seeking to help the PDF in their battle against the Devastators. Inspired by the tenacity of mankind, they have given humanity the native name "Dae'in", meaning "strong, admirable warriors". Many Dae'lora have joined Aurora's beleaguered hospitals, using their powerful healing spells to help them cope with the massive influx of patients wounded by the Devastators. Others have forsaken their race's peaceful nature and taken up arms, joining the PDF's ranks and taking the fight directly to the Devastators, determined not to let another planet fall victim to the machines.

Shortly after the Devastators' arrival, a third race of aliens arrived: the Reavers. This race, who appeared to speak English already, responded to PDF communications with a message stating that they were not intending to participate in the war, but simply to take advantage of it to plunder Earth's riches. The PDF, who already had their hands full taking care of the Devastators, decided to permit the Reavers' activities for now, but have also begun a propaganda campaign aiming to convince some of the Reavers to join the PDF. Steel Heaven have also begun a similar campaign, aiming to recruit some of the Reavers.

ATRAC, meanwhile, are attempting to recover the remains of defeated Devastators, hoping to either discern the machines' weaknesses and build weapons that can exploit them, or even build their own Devastators that would work for the PDF and could combat the machines on a more even footing. Those days are still some way off, but the PDF sincerely hope that the technology gleaned from the Dae'lora, Devastators, and even the Reavers, will be the key to ending the conflict and destroying the Devastators.

Day 83

[from Devastation: Online]

[TOP-SECRET REPORT]

[DECLASSIFIED FOR YOUR EYES ONLY]

The spacecraft belonging to the individual now identified as "Lael'in" was first detected by ASA scientists on 18th August 2020 at 19:38:38 GMT, as it began to approach Earth. It was then imaged for the first time at 19:55:10 GMT , whereupon the scientists realized it was a spacecraft and the military were contacted. After much discussion as to whether or not to make the discovery public, it was eventually decided to be in the public interest, and was thus announced via an impromptu ASA press conference at 22:15 GMT, generating massive interest across the globe in what was potentially mankind's first confirmed extraterrestrial encounter.

On 19th August, at 01:36:57 GMT, Earth received its first signal from the spacecraft:  an intermittent 20-second pulse transmitted at 1420.406 MHz, almost precisely the "hydrogen line", and thus the frequency expected by some scientists to have been used for such a signal. At 01:39:26 GMT, ASA began to beam the signal back in reply. At 01:56:13 GMT, they then began beaming a second signal to the spacecraft; encoded within were several thousand tweets made by civilians around the planet, using the hashtag #WeAreHere, as well as information on Earth such as its diameter, mass, albedo and atmospheric pressure, intended to indicate to the spacecraft's occupant(s) that humanity was intelligent and knowledgeable about its home planet.

Over the following two days, as the spacecraft continued its approach, signals continued to be transmitted back and forth between ASA's scientists and the spacecraft. At 05:17:18 GMT, the craft's approximate landing point was calculated to be somewhere within the region of Greendale, near the western coast of Albion. At 12:17:08 GMT, it was discovered that the spacecraft was transmitting in what appeared to be binary, however, when translated into both numbers and English, no meaningful pattern was found. It was determined that the craft's occupant was attempting to communicate in its native language, but could not be understood. At 12:54:49 GMT, the signals from the spacecraft ceased, and upon resumption at 21:22:57 GMT, it was once again transmitting the 1420 MHz signals.

At the same time, tests confirmed the craft's extraterrestrial nature, however ASA scientists were unable to calculate its exact point of origin. Thermal imaging confirmed that there was one life-form aboard the craft, now known to be Lael'in, but no further specifics were able to be determined. During an emergency meeting at 13:00 GMT, the world's leaders determined that the spacecraft, being only a solitary ship, did not constitute an invasion fleet, and that Earth was not in any danger from it. At the same time, the decision was made to quarantine the ship and any of its occupants upon arrival, to prevent any alien diseases - to which humanity would have no immunity - from spreading among the populace.

On 21st August, at 08:53:47 GMT, the spacecraft entered Earth's atmosphere, with billions worldwide watching the event live. A congregation of world leaders, including the President of Albion, were stationed in a field on the outskirts of Greendale that had been agreed upon as the landing point. A number of military personnel were also present, and four FA-18 fighter jets were on standby at Arwing City International Airport, ready to be scrambled if the spacecraft showed any signs of hostility. Ultimately, this precaution was not necessary.

After successfully passing through the atmosphere, the spacecraft touched down outside Greendale at 09:02:13 GMT. At 09:03:02 GMT, a door opened in the side of the craft, and six seconds later, Lael'in took her first steps upon the Earth's surface. She was wearing a silver spacesuit and helmet, which she later revealed to have been a precaution not only against potential atmospheric hazards, but against Earthly diseases against which she would have had no defence.

Upon Lael'in's egress, the President of Albion stepped forward, flanked by two armed guards, and declared, "Welcome to planet Earth. We are honoured to have you here," before bowing as a sign of greeting. After a moment's pause, Lael'in bowed in response, then held out a holographic transmitter for the President to take. The President took the transmitter and pressed a green button on the side to switch it on, with the holograms being transmitted across the planet via television cameras.

The first hologram contained a sequence of text written in seven different languages, as well as a notation resembling binary. It has since been translated to mean: "I am Lael'in. I come from Dae'lora. I mean you no harm. I have an important message for your kind." The second hologram was of her home planet, since identified as Dae'lora. The third hologram depicted male and female children of her species, the Dae'lora; the fourth hologram depicted an adult male and female. The fifth hologram depicted a building that has since been identified as the parliament building of the Dae'loran capital city; the sixth hologram depicted a city later identified as the same.

The seventh hologram depicted the same city in ruins. At this, many members of the congregation gasped; some of the military personnel, believing this to be a threat, began to consider taking action until the President of San Felipe told them, "I don't think they caused that [violence]. I think that's one of their cities."

The eighth hologram depicted a giant bipedal robot opening fire on a cluster of what appeared to be civilian buildings. This was later designated as an X-Class Devastator. The ninth hologram was a three-dimensional rendering of the machine, with a scale that appeared to indicate its size as being fifty-two feet. The tenth hologram was a star map with two arrows. One was labelled with a small image of a Dae'loran, and reached all the way to Earth. The other was labelled with an image of a Devastator, and reached only halfway to Earth, stopping well before the Solar System.

Navigating back to the hologram of the Devastator, the President of Albion asked, "Do you mean to say that these machines are on their way to Earth?" When Lael'in did not respond, the President pointed to the machine, then at the ground, and Lael'in nodded. The President then navigated back to the hologram of the ruined city, pointed at it, then as the ground, as though to ask, "Will this happen here [if they arrive]?" Again, Lael'in nodded.

The eleventh and final hologram was another message. This one has since been translated as follows: "You are not alone. My people will help you fight them. We will not allow another race to suffer as we have. But your people must prepare, for they are coming, and they will bring devastation."