Writing Prompt: Remembering the Rikti War

[McSpazz]

It has been two decades since the first Rikti invasion. On May 23rd, 2022, it will be the 20th anniversary of the nail biting six months humanity stared into the brink of oblivion.

 

Even as the Batallion are an ever looming threat, we are at the point where there are now adults who have no memory of that first invasion. Everything they know about the invasion comes not from first hand experience but, instead, stories passed down from those that were there. Your character encounters a young person asking about what it was like to live through it. Maybe it's on an online forum or maybe it's in person.

 

What does your character say about it?

[McSpazz]

Sunk Cost

Age - 26

Quote

Jesus...yeah, I remember. I was just a kid, of course, so I can't say I remember super clearly, but I have some memories of it. I think I was...six or seven? I don't know, I don't feel like doing the math off hand.

I lived in Etoli, so we escaped the worst of it. Most of the conflict we saw was Rikti flying over to get to denser population centers and vital targets. Places like Paragon, London, Moscow, that sort of thing. But we got hit. Figure the bastards flew over, saw some humans, and were like..."Hey, Blorp. We got some extra bombs, don't we?" One of the worst times to be situated in the Atlantic ocean, I guess.

I remember my parents took us to some parking garage whenever the sirens blared. I think they told me someone was being naughty with fireworks or somethin'. Didn't take long for me to figure out something was really wrong. At that age, you kind of assume that the adults have everything all figured out. As news from what was happening beyond Etoli trickled in, those frantic trips to shelters became the best time to discuss what you heard and, got to face it, I was a nosy kid. My dad told me later that I asked him if the planet was going to get blown up and, when he hesitated, I just kind of folded up and tucked into his arms. Was real scary for a kid...can only imagine what it was like for the adults.

Honestly, what I remember most wasn't what happened during it. It's what came after.

 

The more immediate fallout? Infrastructure. Don't think anywhere wasn't hit at least once. Supply chains were hurt real bad. Took a long time to bounce back from it. I don't think I have to explain how bad things were as the world recovered. It's not like the Rikti had an infinite army or something. They had to play it smart, so they devastated our most populated cities and then fractured everything they could. Right up until the portals closed and they suddenly were trapped here with us. We might have them in a corner now, but if you want to know what the world looked like after the Rikti invaded? You don't have to go far to still find scars in the cement.

But the long term fallout? The impact it had on society as a whole? That's easily outlived the holes in the roads. That whole "Earth is for Humans" movement really kicked up a storm. Still kicking if you know where to look. Christ, there's some people that still believe that the Rikti were aliens. Lot of fear and paranoia came out of that. What was and wasn't a human...that sort of thing. Doesn't help that a lot of wild, weird, and horrible shit happened in the following few years. Hell, you know what came in the following few years? The Devouring Earth, Rularuu, Kheldians, the god damn ghost ship that haunts Paragon's coastline. Don't get me wrong, I'm no bigot...but people shouldn't be shocked there's groups like the Malta trying to wipe the weird off the face of the map. There's plenty of ammunition to radicalize and still a lot of people that can't let go of the fear they felt then.

So I guess what I'm saying is...we never stopped living through that invasion. We're still trying to pull ourselves out of it.

[dtjunkie]

The legend of the hero called Big Country:

 

Come and listen to my story about a man named Jed

A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed,

And then one day he was working on the farm,

And an alien bomb hit and did his family harm.

 

Rikti that is, monkeys, Infantry.

 

Well the first thing you know ole Jed's really mad,

The kinfolk said "You gotta get em lad!"

Said "Don’t worry bout us we’ll carry on"

So Jed loaded up the truck and moved to Paragon

 

City, that is. Hazard Zones, Archvillains.

 

From a Rikti Monkey (now going by Funky Rikti Monkey) who had never felt like he belonged, finally finding a home

 

Throughout its years of invading planets and laying waste to their inhabitants, this Rikti monkey just never felt like he belonged. Then one fateful day it found itself invading Earth. While stalking some heroes it noticed a strange van covered in pink flyers, that seemed to be pulsating with this glorious noise. Intrigued, the monkey jumped in the van, and found itself, at last, home.

 

The King's Row Clergyman called Father John

 

After graduating high school John Black enlisted in the Army and was quickly deployed to several combat zones around the world. After seeing the horrors of war close-up, he separated from the Army determined to dedicate his life to making the world a better, safer place. Black returned to the hardscrabble King’s Row streets of his youth and began working with local community outreach groups including the Catholic Church in his old neighborhood. Eventually, John felt a greater calling to serve and joined the seminary. On his ordination day, as he lay prone on the floor of Saint John’s cathedral in King’s Row, the Rikti invasion struck. The last thought he had before the Rikti bombs brought the cathedral roof down on him was a prayer for the strength to save his family and friends. His prayers were answered.

 

Edited May 6, 2022 by dtjunkie