Invasion of Lone Guardian Remnant. Yep, just one.

It had been late...or rather, early in the morning when the first person had seen that bright light.

3AM and a night owl who had been up late gaming had looked out their window and saw the light cascade across the sky and for the first few moments they had believed it was a meteor crashing down and that this was the end of the world. Eventually they lost sight of it and in the distance they heard the crash. He had been the first to see it, but not the only one. Several other people who had been up at this ungodly hour also claimed to have seen the same thing. A light crashing towards the Earth and impacting outside the city.

While it had been sudden, the people who handled such things were quick to act and reported it as an unpredicted astronomical event that had messed with their ability to monitor such things. They made up something about an electronic and magnetic force of it that had messed with the feeds of their monitoring instruments. In the end, it had been a bunch of big words that the common masses probably wouldn't have understood. Any who claimed otherwise we're thankfully perceived as quakes and their claims were put down, and no one really persisted beyond that. This was good, didn't leave too many questions to be asked.

On that same day, maybe would suffer what they believed to be an unrelated issue with trying to walk on a nearby nature trail that had been closed down by the government, which they had claimed a rare and endangered migratory bird was passing through and that humans interactions on the trail would disrupt them and could ruin their mating. This was another lie, one to keep the public from reacting too harshly and drastically to what the truth really was.

While this wasn't the first alien encounter Earth had had, the governments of the world still tried their best to keep them underwraps at first so the world could be eased into each new species that graced the planet. One look at the society the humans lived in and all of their..."acceptance" would be a clear indicator as to why. Further, there were powerful alien beings out there and to combat this, there were special protocols for this. Specifically to send their own empowered beings to meet them, just in case things had gone poorly and there needed to be a heavier hand involved.

Thankfully, for the local government of Chicago, a hero had been in the area and was only a quick hop away from the landing.

Melody had been called early in the morning and she promptly agreed to meet with this being.

She had said that, but now she was regretting it. She could feel the early exhaustions that came from waking up to early don on her. She did her best to look her best, though exhaustion still rode on the sides of her eyes. Even the fresh air that she found at the start of trail wasn't enough to wake her up and the briefing the guard had given her was even less helpful. Despite all of that, she would start off into the woods, going at a slow and steady pace, walking towards where the ship had crash landed.

Yup, this was a normal Saturday morning for heroes...

Along the trail which said ship had crashed seemed fairly quiet despite what had happened earlier that morning. Though one thing for sure, is that quiet was unwelcome one. As said ship had not actually opened yet. Within the forest the small craft laid dormant. Rounded and oval, small wings to help it get off the ground, and entirely covered in a dark metal. Even the front of it seemed covered in a dark opaque glass. Nothing could be seen through it. At least on the outside. The craft itself seemed to have seen better days. Burnt upon entering the atmosphere, the carbon residue was streaked across the craft. Upon arrival it didn't seem to do much. It was just sitting there.

  On the inside though, smoke was billowing from the controls, filling the inside leaving no room for air. Arms waved through the smoke, as they started to press a few things on the controls. Beeping insued as the smoke seemed to be sucked out. That smoke was the only thing to actually happen outside the ship as a dark near black smoke spilled from ports on the outside of the ship. Breathing heaving, the occupants of the ship laid her head back into the chair. "Can anyone hear me? I think... I think something happened with the automatic navigation. The area I was headed too is still lightyears away, though my ship is damaged. I don't know if I can repair it on my own. None of the sensors work either, I don't know anything of the planet I'm on. Is anyone there please respond." Her voice was soft, though worried as she tried to use the systems within her small vessel. Yet nothing seemed to happen. There was no response. "I guess there's only one option..." She reached for a small handle near the glass. She reached for it, grabbing it and pulled down on it.

  The vessel finally popped open after hours of sitting there. A field of energy release in a pulse of purples and blues glowing out from the ship in what could only be described as a visible sonic boom, though much slower and seemingly less dangerous as the energy wafted out from the ship. Only for it to be sucked in just as quick creating a small pop. From the vessel, the hatch started to open slowly, a release of steam or smoke covering what was inside, except for two wolf like ears that popped out from the smoke. They twitched a little as she finally walked out. Mostly she seemed human, nothing too crazy, tan and black stripped hair, golden eyes, though on her head were those said ears. Behind her a tail the same color as her hair. Large and fluffy as it swayed side to side as she stepped out of the ship. wherever she was, this was not where she was supposed to be. Her hands were held out in a defensive manner, as if she were a wizard ready to cast a spell as she got a look at her surroundings, though her ears twitched and pointed into the direction which Melody was coming from.

As she came further down the path, Melody's slow and steady pace became more of a trudge the further she got from the police blockade. She didn't need to keep up the heroic look when people weren't looking and by no means did she feel like she was up for it. She certainly regretted taking this job, she could've just shoved it onto Sam or one of the other local heroes, to which she was sure there was plenty. At the very least, though, it would be a good way to bolster reputation. Either she would be the ambassador for a new alien species to the planet Earth, or she would be the hero who defeated a blood thirsty, conquering alien menace.

Yeah, it was too good to pass up, but...holy heck was she tired.

She was sure the exhaustion would persist all day, until her ears flicked a bit. She heard the crackling of something electric. She lifted her head slightly, closing her eyes and sniffing the air. That was certainly smoke in the air. She was close and once more fixed her posture, loosening up a bit so she could react if anything suddenly came flying her way.

With a small huff she began to bound, jumping from tree to tree, picking up the pace as she grew closer to the ship. It wouldn't be until she could actually see it that she would jump back down onto the trail and then walk with more caution towards the ship. It looked in rough condition, although she didn't know what it was supposed to look like. She just assumed it wasn't supposed to be crashed into the ground, smoking, and with a few broken pieces here and there. That was, of course, an assumption as she had never actually seen an alien vessel before, at least from the outside.

Just as she started to make her way towards the craft, the glass casing on it was suddenly removed and push off. She winced a bit as the smoke and steamed poured out of it, waving a hand and trying to disperse any that flowed down to her. Her eyes narrowed a bit, giving the ship a curious glance as she tried to see exactly who was coming out of the strange craft. The being had canine ears, though largely appeared to look human which...weird. The number of aliens she met that actually looked human were staggering and she wondered how that evolutionary process worked. But these were questions for later, for the scientists who would no doubt want a chance to speak to Earth's newest visitor.

For now, Melody had to be the one to address this species. She had to represent Earth and all of its virtues and assets. She had to be the one that could put their best foot forward, to be smart and clever. To be well spoken and to make sure she treated as seriously as the situation warranted.

Melody lazily pointed at the alien's craft. "Hey, I don't think you can park there."

Nailed it.

"But honestly, you okay, girl?"

Said alien watched as Melody pointed to the ship, her ears flicked just a small amount as the words hit her ears. She blinked a few times starring at the person who greeted her. Nykora lowered her hands as she patted down her clothes gently, all being a mixture of black, green, and teal. Made in a simple yukata design as to offer mobility, though the nearly black yukata faded into a forest green and bright flurry of specks of teal that seemed to nearly glow in the early morning's sun light. From a small satchel she seemed to carry she pulled out a small device. It couldn't have been wider than three inches and was about an inch tall. It was a very light grey and seemed almost like glass. Nykora kept an eye on Melody for a long moment before she tapped on the device. Annnnd... Nothing happened. Besides the little device popping out a tad and growing a bit larger, to the size of a smart phone. Just much thinner and seemed clear, though she used it as such. Swipping through something till she seemed to find what she was looking for. Poking it once now, then once more she looked back to Melody, keeping silent just that much longer. Only for a small light blue shine of light came from one of her ears.

"I-" Was the first thing she said. Stopping a moment to think. "You are not... Here to attack me? Or detain me?" She may have lowered her hands earlier, though she was still on guard. She slowly moved the device back to her satchel as she spoke again.

"I went into enemy territory due to a complication with my ship. So much so as I was shot down. Though there may have been a rift... I..." Her words trailed on for a moment. "You have asked me if I am okay... I think I am, a bit bruised and some scratches, though relatively in one piece. Thank you. I suspected as soon as I landed, I was going to either die in the crash or fight off a small army..." Once more trailing her words as she looked over Melody. "Are you... A Guardian?" Nykora reached for her device once more as she pulled it up, swiping till she poked twice, the blue flash in her ear happened once more. Now she spoke once more. Though this time in a language which was anything but simple. What seemed to be the closest language that sounded anything like what she spoke, would be ancient Latin. Though there were sounds that seemed near impossible to come from one's mouth. After she spoke her piece with that foreign language she watched and waited for Melody's response.

Whoever this woman was, they were certainly, undeniably an alien. If not only for the outward appearance of the alien and the very obvious space ship, the woman’s attire, both in design and color, was very alien-like. It had been similar, at least in Mel’s opinion, to an outfit an alien wore in one those old horror flicks that Sam had shown her.

With all the information in mind, it was a complete surprise to hear that this alien had just spoken, not just an Earth language, but English. In the infinite cosmos, yes, there was a small probability in which an alien could have a similar language, but word for word, the same? That seemed to wild, even for Melody who tended to just roll with these kinds of things, and for the first few moments after the alien had replied Melody just stared up at them, not sure on how to proceed with this.

It could be an alien device? They had that weird light come from them, so maybe it was some sort of advanced learning technique or…maybe it was that piece of tech they carried. There was an explanation for it, for sure, that was probably the least important thing right now. She would keep it in the back of her head and be sure to report it to…whoever it was she was supposed to report all of this to. That seemed important at the very least.

Now, more importantly was what the alien had to say, not the fact the alien could say it. First, they were surprised that they weren’t outwardly attacked. That said a lot in itself, which lead to the second…enemy territory, shot down, and ended up here. Did that mean that mean there were enemies nearby? Or perhaps someone from Earth shot them down, in which case that should’ve been more obvious or some report made. However, nothing of the sort was made or noticed, which implied the former, that it was an outer-worldly threat.

She would have to take this one thing at a time. She had no idea what the last thing the alien had said was, but she would circle back to that after each point was made. Mel raised a finger, “Alright, first of all…no, not gonna attack ya. Unless you give me a reason to, here to make sure you won’t attack us.” She stated firmly, giving the alien a curious look. “Second…" She raised another finger, "Who attacked you? Why? What’s happening and how far away did it happen?” This was important to know and she wouldn’t be doing her job if she didn’t ask. She raised a third finger, “I am…a hero? Which I guess is a better way of saying guardian, this planet has a lot of them. Glad you’re alright, but also…is that small army gonna come here? And how small we talking here?” That was also important to know. She gave a quick look around the area, and then she raised the fourth finger, “So…uh, also is your ship gonna explode? Should we get you out of that thing? Also I have no idea what that last thing you said was, so…can you go back to talking my language please?”

Nykora listened to Melody's questions, taking each into account. She would look to her device though in thought as she seemed to nod. Responding once as she swiped through the device, poking it once more as the blink came from her ear again. "As for who attacked me, it is hard to say who exactly. The area in which I had to cross over was generally humanoid territory. Though by the looks of it, it seems I landed here. Which as for your Guardian status... Perhaps I was wrong. From where I come from, my nation is of the Guardian's, a race similar to how we are now. My people though, the Guardian Remnant, are just that, we are all that is left of our people. I had hoped that you were a Guardian, but it seems you are a 'hero' of this world." Nykora looked around her ship after she spoke, nodding moving to get away from it, walking up now to melody, looking about the area. She stretched out, her large tail unfurling behind her as she stretched, her ears twitching before she seemed well stretched at least after such a crash.

"Small as in a few hundred ships. A contingent of Humans that have been trying to pick us off one by one by what had happened after the wars. Not a whole fleet. Despite my people who have been slowly over the years been shrinking and losing ourselves and our culture, they are hell bent on making sure that we never exist again. I am not sure if they will come or not. Though from what I saw coming down, the technology is not something I have seen before. That may be enough to keep them from coming after me." Nykora then looked back to her ship as it laid there smoking. She poked a button on her device, the blink in her ear again as she spoke that alien language. Finally after another poke, she'd nod.

"There is a small chance, that my ship explodes. It is powered by a small dark gravity fusion coil currently in the helium stage." Nykora walked toward the ship as she let her hand glide over the metal before getting to a small hatch, opening it as she pulled out what seemed to be something sucking in color, like pure black paint. It was void of all color, an orb floating within a small box. She'd hold it up to look over the box, nodding. "This is the engine, and is most likely to explode, thankfully it seems to have been damaged. I also, apricate the lack of hostilities, I would wish to ask for asylum." Nykora offered the small orb of black to melody as almost an offering this in return for protection.

Mel's head whirled for a moment at the answers she got. It had, admittingly, been a bit more than what she was expecting. For a moment, she felt suspicious of it all...yes, after a wreck people could ramble and go on, but they hadn't seem all that shaken. It had all been stated in a very...she wasn't sure what the tone was, but it wasn't what was expected. True, she was an alien and maybe they handled things differently, but still...there was something she didn't like about this regardless. This alien, beyond just the normal amount of watching, had to have an eye kept on her.

All that aside, there was also a lot of history here to take in. It was something Mel had no mind for. Even in her younger years she was an athlete, not a scholar and stuff like this always janked up her head. She nodded along, trying to process it all and remember the important bits about guardians and humanoid races, but what really caught her attention was the fact that humans had been the one to attack her? If she had understood correctly. She made a face at that fact, but would save more questions for the end.

Of course, the explosion sounded bad...especially along with the big words that went along with it. Now, it had been very difficult which of these things to tackle first. Humans in space, the exploding engine, or whether or not to give this alien asylum after being so suspicious.

She considered her position for a moment, but literally and metaphorically and then decided to act. Firstly, she took a few steps back from the ship and then nodded at the alien, "Alright, is that a big explosion? What kind of damage are we talking about? If so, we should step away from it or find some way to stop it from happening. If not, I can try and just...get rid of it, send it back into space so this place doesn't...you know...explode. Also, if it ain't that bad we should just step away from it for the time being."

She would pause, giving the ship a cautious once over before looking back to the alien, "I do have several other questions for ya. Namely about humans in space? Cause the humans here don't have anything like that, maybe some satellites and exploratory ships for going to...like...the moon and maybe mars, but we don't have anything like that...nothing that commit an intergalactic genocide. You sure they were humans? And as for asylum...why? Why here? And what dangers would that pose?"