Destroyers in the Dusk

**Destroyers in the Dusk** is the first episode of No Home in Twilight.

*One week since the glassing of Angresst, the remnants of the ARCA construction company pick up arms and prepare to charge into action with nothing but simplistic tractor mechs armed to the teeth with surplus weapons. This is the beginning of their long, arduous story.*

## Summary

The episode opens with a recording from an unknown figure announcing a massive alien attack on Earth 3. As the recording continues on, it is interrupted by static until it is completely cut off. Perspective then shifts to a UEA captain regaining consciousness in a desolated battlefield. After briefly regrouping with his soldiers, their position is suddenly assaulted by a pair of alien mechs. Almost immediately after, Asher Halloween appears and engages one of the aliens in mech combat. He is soon joined by his coworkers Ace, Forsetti Galerian, and DUCK, who work together to fight back the alien attackers. Once the mechs are successfully fought off, Ceti manages to supress one by sitting on it. The team is approached by the UEA, who ask Asher who they're working for. Asher reveals that he and his team are members of ARCA, which surprises the soldiers who recognize the name as the name of a construction company. The leader of the troops attempts to get the ARCA pilots to fall in line, but Asher stands his ground, sternly declaring that ARCA is working *with* the UEA in the current situation, not *for* it.

At Ace's advice, Ceti lifts off in her mech to scout the area, noticing several alien mechs nearby moving in on their position. They briefly call in Pops, who informs them of the next stage of their mission - to establish a stable comms connection in a nearby area with heavy alien activity. After calling in an ARCA team to salvage the defeated mechs, the pilots and the UEA troops head to the destination. They are greeted by a scene of a devastating burning woodland crawling with alien mechs. The team, accompanied by a UEA tank, immediately deploys as they begin a desperate search to find an appropriate spot to set up comms before the alien forces do the same. A brutal combat ensues as the ARCA team engages with several powerful alien mechs, sporting advanced weaponry and strange technology such as invisibility fields. Despite this, they are able to eventually close in on their target location, which has been occupied by several mechs. Asher and DUCK manage to pull one mech into a nearby fire and immobilize it. However, it detached a smaller, durable mech in its position, which was eventually dispatched through the combined effort of Asher, all of Ceti's weaponry, and DUCK's turrets. The previously immobilized mech moves back into the field, but it is grappled by Ace, who suplexes it into the ground behind it and kills its pilot. As a result of intense structural damage from weapons and overheating, Ceti's mech loses one of its arms. Ace's mech was also heavily damaged.

Their position secured, a UEA technician quickly establishes comms. Meanwhile, the captain speaks to Asher once again, informing him that if ARCA does not divulge their current base of operations, military protocol will be forced to treat the organization as hostile. Asher contacts Pops, who informs him that this was bound to happen sooner or later, and gives him permission to tell the UEA what they want to know. With everything wrapped up, the team heads towards Angresst Spaceport, ARCA's current base of operations. While on the way there, Ceti gives Ace the callsign "Suplex". Ace accepts this, preferring it to "Pink", a callsign given to them previously by an unknown person.

The group arrives at the spaceport. Asher and DUCK stop at the engineering facility, where Pops and Moon are surveying a military information screen stolen from a bombed out UEA facility. Asher informs Pops that the mission was a success and that he should be able to make contact with his daughter soon. Moon inquires about damage taken as Ceti and Ace enter the room. Ceti frets over how Moon will react to learning just how badly their mechs were damaged, so Ace tells her that they'll take the lead. As expected, Moon is upset to hear the news, but is moreso relieved that none of the pilots were seriously wounded in the fighting. She and Pops then leave to speak to the UEA, deciding it would probably be smart not to let the UEA see their stolen military technology during such a sensitive time. Before leaving, Pops forces the pilots to take a mandatory break. Ceti protests, but Pops insists, and she eventually relents. The group heads to a nearby common area, where Ceti wraps herself up in a large blanket. Ace joins her in the blanket, which is suitable for two people to fit in owing to Ceti's large size. The group discuss whether or not they can trust the UEA, as well as speculation on the possible biology and culture of their alien adversaries. Ceti makes Asher and Ace promise to get her out of this alive. In response to her saying that this is a uniquely catastrophic situation, Ace says that they've seen worse, and briefly describes their experiences as a corporate soldier. Asher also narrates about his worldview as a result of his previous employment as a Cosmoknight. As the conversation winds to a close, time moves on, and a scene of the team in their mechs wandering through the bombed out wasteland of Earth 3 plays as the episode comes to an end.

## Characters

### Player Characters

* Forsetti Galerian
* Asher Halloween
* Ace
* DUCK

### ARCA

* Pops
* Moon