InCharacter Studios, Inc seeks Character Modelers for Araellia: Into the Maelstrom

The sirens blared outside, and the young gunner snatched up his helmet as he ran toward the upper level bulkhead. By the time his hand waved before the open sensor, his helmet was strapped on and its air filter was already pumping him fresh air. The bulkhead flew open and he ran the last few paces to the gunner seat.

Dropping into the seat he grabbed its straps and quickly locked them into place. The screen in front of him flared to life and he grabbed the controls and began to rotate the massive turret to bear on the bright bluish protective shield that enveloped the city on all sides. Sensors flashed and he immediately swiveled the massive gun to aim at the shimmering forms he could make out through the bubble.

The energy core of the anti-aircraft burst thrower hummed to life and his screen showed him he had locked on the target. The gunner swallowed as he stared at the form floating toward the bubble. He always hated the pause between seeing the mutant drop ships and actually being able to shoot them down. The bubble that protected the city also prevented them from firing at the enemy any sooner.

Finally the energy shield rippled as the mutant drop ship flew into full view. Its underbody was laden with the heavy seed like drop pods. Each one carried several mutants, and each ship carried over a dozen pods. As the back end of the ship cleared the bubble the pods started to shake and began detaching from the undercarriage.

The shrill sound of other anti aircraft burst throwers blasting away at the incoming ships snapped the gunner from his awe and he squeezed his triggers.

There were a dozen drop pods breaking through the bubble. He only hoped they could limit the number of pods that actually hit the city, and that the Crusaders would be ready to mop up those that did spill their deadly cargo. He did not have much time to think about it.

One of the lead drop ships banked his way, releasing pods as it flew. His battery spun about as he tracked it. Searing blasts of energy slammed into the drop ship and one of its engines erupted. The ship spun into a massive housing building, exploding on impact, carving a massive hole in the side of the building.

The young gunner heard warning sensors going off but only managed to spin the gun turret halfway around when one of the ships pods slammed into the elevated walkway between him and the closest tower. It burst on impact, spilling several goo covered forms onto the ground.

The gunner ripped his sidearm out and began shooting at the forms even as they stood up. The first couple went down, but there were too many. He reached for the strap release but fumbled as he tried to get the straps off. Looking up he saw one of the mutants leap into the air at him. He blasted away with his pistol, but it just did not seem to do much good.

The thing landed as one blast took it in the shoulder. Howling in anger, it drove both bladed arms into the young gunner's chest.

Eventually all the drop ships were downed, and the Crusaders did indeed mop up all the mutants whose pods had made landfall, but many more Araellians had died, and while their seemed no limit to the numbers the mutants could gather outside the city, the Araellian people were a finite number, and with each attack, that number grew smaller and smaller. Something had to be done, and soon.