"Hey. Are you going to sleep all day?" Settled into a bed a bit too small for him, a gentle push awakens Nicholas from his slumber. He stretches, opens his eyes, and notices Sarah standing above him. "Good morning. How'd you sleep?"

"Good enough. Last thing I remember was drinking some of that weird purple stuff Tirin gave us. I'm guessing it was alcohol."

"Yeah, you were pretty drunk," Sarah lets out a smirk. "But you fell asleep pretty easily."

"I guess I can't complain. At least it was somewhere soft." Nicholas jokes, slowly pushing himself up to a sit. "What about you?"

"I've been having weird dreams lately. Been staying up most of the night. So not that great, honestly, but I'll be fine. I'll just catch up when we're back on the ship," Sarah replies. "So, I was thinking, I want to go out and see what else this place has to offer. Figured we could go for a walk? Heard from one of the Lokken here that there aren't any predators on this planet that would cause us any issue, so it should be safe."

Still hazy with sleep, Nicholas lets out a loud yawn before he pushes himself up to stand so he can get a better stretch. A few bones and joints crack as they move back to normal placements. "Sure."

The two make their way out of the room they'd been given to rest and quickly walk through the nearest exit, past the landing pads for Lokken ships, and out into the grassy plains. Once clear of the noisy work and engines from the outpost, they slow a bit, getting near the base of a small cliff. "Interesting how this planet looks a lot like Earth. I'd sort of come to grips with the idea that we'd probably never see a planet like ours again, so to see one so soon," says Sarah. "I don't know. It just makes me appreciate what we have back home, you know?"

"Sounds like you're homesick." Nicholas glances over at Sarah as they walk. "I gotta say, considering how badly you wanted to stay out here, I'm surprised to hear you say that."

"Oh, I haven't changed my mind. I still want to stay. It's just that Earth will always be... familiar, and not because of family, or school. I already have you guys here, so it's not like I'm missing my friends. I just miss the morning sunlight. The summer breeze. You know, just the little things that made life on Earth normal," Sarah responds, fidgeting lightly with her fingers. She's only distracted by a large insect that flits past them, a brilliant red color that reflects the sunlight and leaves a distracting red glow on the ground. "I was hoping that one day I would go back and see how things had changed, you know? See my brother again. It wasn't that I never wanted to return. I just— I think I can make something of myself here. I mean, if someone like Raven can do it, why can't I?"

"That's fair enough. Although, I don't see you becoming a badass mercenary raiding ships any time soon, but yeah, I get it. Who wouldn't want to stay out here? We've been exposed to something amazing. Why would anyone want to go back to their old life after this? I guess I can understand where you're coming from," Nicholas says, nodding. "I just wish we didn't have to part ways. You're pretty cool."

Sarah smiles, her cheeks reddening. Several more of the flying insects, in a myriad of colors, flit by in pursuit of the red one that had passed them several seconds ago, leaving a rainbow of colors in the air and on the ground. Nicholas simply keeps his attention on them, distracted.

Sarah watches the insects fly by before she nods in agreement, reaching out to take hold of Nicholas's hand. "You ever wonder what would've happened if we had never found these?" Sarah lifts both of their hands up showing off their omnitools. "I mean, if you think about it, we've been pretty lucky so far. If it wasn't for these, we'd probably be dead."

There's a flash of surprise on Nicholas's face before he turns his attention to the omnitools. There are a few moments of silence, with the only sound being the nearby insects buzzing before he smirks. "Yeah. It's amazing we're still alive after everything that's happened to us."

A moment passes where both of them exchange looks in silence.

Sarah lets go of his hand and reaches up to gently brush some hair out of her face. Before she can say anything else, something catches her attention in the background. Her eyes drift away from him and her facial expression completely changes. She frowns, staring at something behind him.

Sensing her dismay, Nicholas frowns. "What's wrong?"

Turning his head to look back over his shoulder, he spots the barely visible Lokken capital ships in orbit above the planet, their distant figures firing off brilliant emerald bursts of plasma in the sky. Several of them are visible even from the ground, and they all seem to be firing the same beam of energy towards some point in space. They continue, with minimal pause between them. "Maybe we should head back to base."

"Yeah." Sarah nods in agreement, both of them heading back as quickly as possible to the nearby Lokken installation. Once they enter, it's clear that things have gotten chaotic. Every single Lokken that had been seated and working when they left are now busy and running around with tablets and their own versions of omnitools. Monitors that had previously been blank or off now display diagnostics and the results of what appears to be radar. "This can't be good." Sarah's attention is suddenly distracted from the monitors by the arrival of Tirin, who looks relieved to see them.

"There you are! I was beginning to get worried," Tirin fidgets nervously. "As I'm sure you've noticed, we're under attack. But do not worry, we should be able to handle it. We've detected some Ophio ships in the system. We're sending starships to intercept them as we speak." He looks between the two of them. "But just in case, we're going to be evacuating this installation."

A klaxon begins to sound somewhere within the base, the lights overhead switching from white to red. The Lokken seated nearby quickly begin to stand and gather their things. If they weren't nervous before, they are now. "Oh dear. You two should stay here, I need to prepare the security team just in case there's a landing."

"We'll come with you," Nicholas nods at him. "If something lands, we can help take care of it, right?"

"I don't think you understand. The Ophio are a menace we still do not completely understand. If they land, I can't guarantee your safety. So long as you fully grasp the danger you'll be in if we do meet them, I can agree to it," Tirin nods, before he turns to scurry off, heading outside through a different exit than Nicholas and Sarah had entered through.

At the front, gathered around the single land vehicle shaped like a turtle shell, are several armored Lokken, each with helmets on and something akin to a rifle in hand. Among them are Ava, Darius, and Sophia, who look up when Sarah and Nicholas arrive.

"Did you two enjoy your walk?" Sophia grins knowingly, rubbing her hands together. "Here I figured you two were going to flake out and leave us to handle this problem all by ourselves."

"Not a chance," Nicholas smirks, ruffling Sophia's hair affectionately once they join the rest of them. "Besides, I doubt we'll have to fight, the Lokken seem like they're prepared for this kind of thing." He turns his head skyward to watch the clouds overhead tinge with varying intensities of green glow as the spacecraft above them continue to fire their weapons.

Tirin laughs nervously. He looks down towards the tablet in his hand. "The Ophio fleet advancing towards Igeon seem to be much larger than the one we encountered before, and reports are coming in. Some of the ships have broken past our defensive line. This is not good. The worst part is some of them are heading in this direction. We only have a few minutes now."

At the news, the Lokken of the security team chat nervously among each other. Worried murmurs regarding family and loved ones become rampant. The murmuring goes from whispering quiet to loud in a matter of seconds.

"I hope none of you are planning to leave," Tirin frowns. "We knew what we were signing up for when we joined the Stellar Guard. Have you forgotten our values? Our training? We are guardsmen. We're not leaving until everyone has evacuated. We have to buy them time to gather our supplies, and retrieve all of our saved data regarding the enemy. Also, don't forget, we have families here."

He pockets the tablet and picks up one of the last few rifles that was leaning against the nearby vehicle. He checks it over, ensuring it's ready to fire, before he looks back towards the teenagers. "This is what we feared might happen. A worst case scenario. I wouldn't blame you if you decided to flee. You can board one of our transport ships at the landing docks."

"No," says Nicholas, stepping forward to get closer to Tirin. "We're going help you."

The rest of the group look at Nicholas with growing smiles. They all nod in agreement.

"Alright then," Tirin looks over at the group and then at his rifle, then back at Nicholas. "Will you not need a weapon?"

"We've got the omnitools," Darius lifts his hand, showing off the flexible metallic material currently coating his entire hand. "We can make weapons with them."

Tirin tilts his head a bit. "Ranged weapons?"

"We can make some, yeah," Sophia smiles. "Don't worry about us."

"But what about helmets?" Tirin seems even more concerned now. "If the Ophio get too close, you might be harmed."

Ava clears her throat, closing her eyes and stretching. "Our friend Tah-Kuell says our suits will create helmets if we need them. So don't worry about it. I think we have all the personal bases covered, so let's cover this base, yeah?"

"Smooth," Darius chuckles. "You've been hanging around Nick too long, I think."

Sophia giggles at the two.

Sarah looks around again, frowning. "Where is TK, anyway?"

"He's on board one of the transport ships with the other Lokken helping them prepare to evacuate," Tirin says. "Don't worry. He'll be with us when it's time for us to leave."

"Everyone should prepare themselves for a fight. They're almost here," Tirin warns them. After a moment, he turns back to Nicholas. "Look, I've been meaning to talk to you, but I haven't had the time since I got sidetracked last night. This is as good a time as any."

"Sure. What's on your mind?" Nicholas asks, turning to fully face the short alien.

Tirin levels his rifle towards the ground as a precautionary measure before he looks up at Nicholas. "I spoke with your friend last night, the Grey, and he mentioned that since you were the captain, you were the person to ask, so..." He takes in a deep breath, before exhaling slowly. "Not sure how to say this other than to just ask. May I come with you?"

"On our ship?" Nicholas blinks in surprise. "Why?"

"Let me be honest. I'm very curious to see where your ship leads you to," Tirin whispers lowly, almost desperately, to Nicholas. "And I feel like I can be more useful out there. Day in, day out, we're on constant threat of being wiped out by the Ophio and the Galactic Council does nothing but send more young Lokken to die to guard the border worlds. If I can come with you, maybe I can find some way to stop the Ophio. Perhaps this ship of yours is the answer. I've never been outside Council space. And to have a Grey by my side, well, I feel like I could learn much from the journey. Please. I would be of great help. I know a lot, and skill-wise, I'm a trained Guardsman. Ranged weapons are my specialty."

"Wow. Well..." Nicholas rubs the back of his head. "... I don't see why not. Just gimme a minute." He looks towards the other teenagers, moving to a more secluded spot near the base and motioning for them to pull together into a huddle so he can speak without the security unit hearing them. "So, Tirin wants to join us on the ship. What do you guys think? The more the merrier? Or would you guys not be comfortable having another alien around?"

"You're the captain," Darius muses. "Sure, why not? I'd be fine with it."

Sarah and Ava nod. Sophia goes wide eyed. "We're going to have another alien with us? Cool!"

"I guess that settles it then." Nicholas grins, turning back around and patting the Lokken on the back. "You're part of the crew now, Tirin."

With a widening smile, Tirin seems elated, the hardened skin near his face turning a different shade of green in his excitement. "Thank you! Ah, but..." His scales return to his usual light blue. "We'll worry about the details later. For now, I need to get my helmet. Excuse me." He pushes past the huddle of teenagers, picking up one of the helmets waiting for him inside the vehicle and putting it over his head. Like the rest of the Lokken who place the black helmets on their heads, they seem to be specially made for them and they hiss as they create an airtight seal. Their visors light up with a holographic interface.

Off in the distance, several white craft slip through the similar white, fluffy clouds overhead. They're mostly nondescript, nearly like clouds themselves; they each have weaponry and thrusters, but they're cobbled together onto some organic vessel in a rudimentary manner. It's almost as if they had been swallowed by a creature and then spat out. Still several feet from the ground, the craft explode into a grey dusty fog that catches the wind and begins to drift away slowly. There's too much of it for it all to catch the wind, and so most of it simply leaves behind enormous piles of spores.

As the spores catch the breeze and drift in the direction of the Lokken's installation, the suits on the teenagers' bodies react, initiating a mechanism that creates helmets for them. Unlike the physical helmets the Lokken wear, the teen's helmets are completely made of hard light, allowing them full visibility in every direction they need to look at while still creating something airtight. From the piles of spores that stick to the ground, humanoid forms begin to come out and crawl. They shakily stand, each holding on to anything they can use as a weapon. From the debris of the explosion, they grab shards of metal and begin swinging it like actual bladed weaponry. Torn pipes from the inorganic leftovers of what was once a craft stick out of their bodies. Some grab rocks and twigs. Anything that can cause damage.

"Alright, here they are! Don't hesitate, just fire!" One of the security officers commands, and the Lokken line up their shots and fire in unison. There's only seven or eight Lokken, including Tirin, but initially that seems to be enough. The plasma they fire cut through the Ophio spawns, several shots enough to force them to explode into more spores. The teenagers, with little more else to fall back on than the sonic cannons they were familiar with, launch their projectiles towards the Ophio along with the Lokken's plasma shots. The impacts are enough to force the Ophio to explode in a single shot, but for each one they destroy, two more rise from the dense pile of spores left behind.

From the sky, several more Ophio ships approach. "Sir, look!" Another of the Lokken draws their attention to the ships, which move to flank their position as they explode. With new, growing targets, and the Ophio's population rapidly increasing, the group split up their attacks as more Ophio rise from the new spore piles. The air, by this point, is thick with the snowy white spores. What was once a pleasant green, grassy field, now seems practically snow white by comparison.

"Just a little bit longer!" Tirin calls out as a few of the transport ships fly overhead to escape the attack, ascending out of the atmosphere in minimal time, out into the battle that rages overhead. An Ophio crawler gets in close towards the group, but Darius fires upon it with his sonic cannon before it can attack one of them, forcing it to explode. "We're almost clear!"

Though even with all of them working together, the Ophio now seem to be too numerous, and moving too quickly. "We're being overrun!" Sarah yells, ducking under a swipe from an Ophio that she destroys a moment later. "We can't destroy them faster than they're coming at us!"

"Just keep shooting!" Nicholas yells, continuing to blast the incoming horde with his cannon without pause.

"We're almost out of ammo, sir!" Another of the Lokken soldiers calls back, the risk he takes while looking away towards Tirin becoming a deadly one. An Ophio appears from the thick, snowy spores surrounding them, almost like a ghost; its blade is long and jagged enough that it's capable of piercing the Lokken with just one powerful jab. The soldier's blood splatters to the ground at Ava's feet, who's visibly shocked by this. The fallen soldier looks up towards the others, but before the blade can even fully leave his corpse as it's pulled, he begins to disintegrate right before their very eyes. Not into ashes, not simply disappearing; instead, into more of the snowy white spores around them.

While the armor of the dead Lokken remains, inorganic and useless to the Ophio, in mere seconds the alien has burst into a million white pollen-like filaments. There's a quietness that settles over the group, before the sound of Tah-Kuell's voice echoes from the teen's suits. "Electricity! Why didn't I think of it before? I'd almost forgotten. This is why the Mowaii use sonic pulses and electricity during sanitizing protocols! They must have already run into the Ophio. Try that!"

In the heat of the moment, Nicholas doesn't even think, he wheels around in place, closing his eyes and focusing. His sonic cannon is replaced with a two-pronged device, which continuously arcs electricity between the two solid prongs. The next Ophio to get close receives a burst of electricity, and with a haunting cry it collapses and burns as if being scorched alive, leaving nothing behind. The other teenagers look at him in awe, and then follow suit, helping to escort the Lokken back towards the installation behind them. Tirin opens the door and the entire group flow back into the installation.

"Quickly, we need to go meet the other ships and evacuate!" Tirin ushers everyone forward as the door behind them closes, just in time for the flood of Ophio to overwhelm the door. Crossing the actual installation takes less than a minute; they escape out the other side, where they're greeted by the sight of empty landing pads.

"Where are the ships?!" One of the Lokken screams, panicking. "They left us. We don't have a way out of here. We're dead!"

"Calm down!" Tirin calls to the others, motioning for them to follow along. "It's alright. We'll think of something. For now, we just have to run! That's our only choice right now!" He takes the lead, bringing the group forward past the empty landing pads and out into the woods. The installation behind them, already covered in a thick layer of spores, plays host to a stampede of Ophio, over the top, around the sides, all running or crawling like ferocious animals. They're fast, and the sheer numbers make it impossible for them to take on.