Life and Death on Planet Nauru, Omicron Delta - [PM for Invitation]

[Arioch]

As Cierra sat looking over the dunes, she couldn't help but marvel at the landscape before her. An endless sea of sand and rocks, of varying desert colors. Many viewed such a landscape as desolate and barren. An empty wasteland void of any beauty. But to Cierra, it was beautiful. It was her home. It was where she was raised, the daughter of one of the local miners.

Looking out, she felt the ground beneath her tremble ever so slightly, increasing steadily. Turning her head, she recognized one of the rigs used to haul the precious resources from the mining camps to the various landing pads that carried the minerals up to the stations in Delta.

---

As the rig came to a stop above her, she tilted her head down, knowing that this brief moment of bliss was over. Standing up, she walked over to the ladder on the side of the rig."Cierra? Urgent message for you." a man said, as he opened the side door at the top of the ladder. Tossing down the datapad, she keyed in her access code, and played the message:

"Cierra, this is Damian. We just received word that Blue Dune are in the area, and are currently outside the Core base. Looks like a Zoner carrier, the "Hutoka", has touched down with relief supplies, and Blue Dune is in the process of burying the carrier in the sands for cover. We've relayed this information over to the Cucauacha Roja along with our coordinates, and are rendezvousing at coordinates 22°76'174 / 163°29'165. Minus the 4 men I've sent to pick you up, the Fenneks are on the move as we speak. See you soon Cierra. Stay safe."

---

Tossing the pad back up, she turned and faced the dunes once more. Looking out, her face switched from that of joy to that of determination, and she slowly closed her eyes. As much as the deserts of Nauru held much beauty in her eyes, it also held death and anguish. For her home had become a battlefield. The Core had swept through the larger mining camps, slaughtering hundreds. No warning, no transmission. Just death.

Many perished, and very few made it out alive. Together though, they were able to get word to some of the smaller camps and villages of the attack, and were able to mount resistance groups. Cut off from supplies and help, they were able to help those alive find shelter and hiding places within the rocks and natural caves within the monolithic rocks half buried in the sand. It was only days previous that word from off-world provided them with updated news. Freeport 11 had been attacked. Thousands dead, and many more injured. Debris from destroyed ships littered the sands on the far side of Nauru, burnt and bent into indistinguishable heaps of metal.

But hope still remained, for a taskforce had made landfall, in secrecy, to help with the resistance effort. Bringing medical supplies as well as arms, the main resistance groups were gearing up to combine forces and meet up with Blue Dune, the off world task force sent.

Recalling the events that led to this moment, Cierra opened her eyes. Determined to make the Core pay for what they did, she silently made a small prayer. Taking in one last look, she whispered to herself...

"It begins..."