A midnight arrival

It was almost midnight, and yet, the city of Calypso was in the midst of a celebration; a parade was taking place downtown and lights illuminated the entire place. Families and friends danced in the square to live music -- the city was known for its local culture in the arts, food and music -- and the entire scene was one of a giddy, excited happiness -- complete excitement at the nation's sixth anniversary. Despite the horrific events that had taken place in Luna in those six years -- Calypso burning to the ground back in December 2080 as riots erupted in the place, nuclear weapons ravaging the entire nation and more -- they were joyous, exhilarated to see that the Lunar democracy, one the old government called ill-fated, had lasted this long, especially in the face of challenges.

Several kilometers east of Calypso's grand festivities, a patrol boat made its way to the eastern Lunar coast. They'd braved a storm just off the coast, and most of the people aboard were shivering, unused to the bitter cold of the Greenlandic nation and soaked to the bone by waves and water. Aboard the vessel was a team of twelve members of the Prosperity settlement in Eden's Gate, led by 17-year-old Carmina Rye. Carmina and her group hoped to find support within the Lunar populace and government, knowing of their hostility toward Joseph Seed and Eden's Gate and their support for democracy.

"Hey!" shouted a voice in the distance. The beam of a flashlight cut through the dense fog of a coastal village, the buildings newly rebuilt after a brutal attack by Luna's enemies in a past war. "Who are you?"

Carmina exited the boat, followed by the other eleven members of the team. 

Another voice spoke up from the darkness, higher-pitched and more feminine than the first. "Can't tell where they're from. Careful now. Could be hostile."

"I doubt it. It's unlikely that they'd show up in a tiny patrol boat like that one if they were hostile."

"That's why I'm suspicious," the woman said, as they both walked closer. "That boat looks oddly like the ones they have in Eden's Gate-"

At the mention of the old cult, Carmina spoke. "We're not with the Seeds," she said guardedly, making sure to avoid raising suspicion among the two Lunar citizens standing there. "Well, we are from Eden, technically, but we're from the Prosperity settlement, if you've heard of us."

"Prosperity?" asked the man. The name was familiar, but he couldn't recall exactly what the settlement was for. The woman pulled him aside, keeping an eye on the Prosperity team.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "They're enemies! You can't seriously trust them-"

"They aren't enemies. Prosperity- they're on our side, Emira."

The woman, Emira, looked rather exasperated by his trust of the newcomers. "How can you be sure?"

"We can't be a hundred percent sure, of course, but I think we can trust them."

Just then, Carmina and two other members walked up to the two of them. Emira whirled around to face them; she had her hand dangerously close to a pistol at her waist, but Carmina didn't flinch at the sight of the weapon. In fact, she questioned how it was even allowed.

"I thought civilian ownership of firearms was banned out here?" she asked, more as a genuine question than a sarcastic remark.

"Think the government cares about enforcing that crap anywhere but the big cities? You just so happened to wander into the most unknown, declining hellhole in the entire nation, kid. Now, take your deranged cultists out of my country before I shoot. You have exactly ten seconds to retreat."

"Calm down, Em," the man interjected. "I'm sure these people aren't hostile, okay?" He turned to Carmina. "I apologize for my sister. I trust you. Don't see why she doesn't."

Carmina sighed as Emira and the man argued over whether or not to trust her -- before even hearing her perspective. I thought Luna was the most friendly nation we could go to, she thought. I guess I was wrong...

Just then, a third person entered the discussion. "What's going on?" he asked. Carmina took a look at the young man who spoke. He had red hair and grey-green eyes -- common Lunar traits, really -- and walked with a slight limp in his left leg. He gave her a friendly smile. "Who are you?"

"My name is Carmina Rye," she said as the others listened intently; Emira still had her hand positioned rather near her gun, but listened peacefully for some time. Carmina assumed that the man had won the argument. "I came from the settlement of Prosperity in the nation once known as Eden's Gate. We hope to rebuild what was once Eden into something new. A democracy. My team was sent here to speak with your people and your government. To ask for your support."

"Support?" asked the red-haired man. "What do you mean?"

"There's a group calling themselves the Highwaymen. All they want is to raid us, steal, kill us- they're a violent faction bent on destruction. We've been attacked by them already, and we can't hold out for too long on our own. Now, I know Luna's been through a revolution to get to where you are today: to democracy and freedom. We want to achieve the same thing over in Prosperity. I promise we aren't from New Eden or supporting any of the Seed family. We just need your help in bringing Prosperity to what we'd like it to be: the capital of a new nation born from the ashes after the Collapse, but not the Father's so-called paradise. We want freedom and a democratic government willing to listen to the people."

The older man, Emira's brother, took a quick glance at her and her team of shivering settlers. Their efforts to stay warm had failed, and they stood there, almost wincing at freezing gales. "Let's get everyone inside and then we can talk about this."

"Thank you," she said quietly, her breaths visible in the frosty air.

---

Soon enough, the fifteen of them, along with the town's mayor, were sitting in the small town's comfortable city hall. Carmina tried her hardest to explain Prosperity's predicament, and the mayor agreed that the Highwaymen had to be stopped.

"Well, Carmina, this is just a small village, really -- we can't do all that much ourselves. But several kilometers out, you'll find the city of Calypso. There's all sorts of stuff going on over there for the sixth anniversary of our nation, and right now, the President and VP just so happen to be making a visit to that city. If you can make it there soon enough, you may be able to speak with them about this. I haven't been able to make any sort of communications for a month or so -- our entire transmission system is broken or something -- but I can help get you there."

---

8:00 A.M. in Calypso, Luna.

The vehicle carrying Carmina Rye, five other Prosperity settlers, the mayor of a small Lunar town and three civilians entered Calypso after witnessing a magnificent sunrise on the way. The city, as a whole, was rather sleepy after a long night, wide awake until the early hours of the morning in celebration. Confetti covered the ground; banners were placed everywhere and the majestic trees that Luna was known for were filled with strings of lights that gave them an almost magical-looking glow at night, but that were off now that the sun had risen.

Carmina had a sudden desire to see the festivities of the night before as she glanced at the beautiful architecture of Calypso and the small local businesses in the downtown area of the city. She knew it had all been rebuilt after the city's destruction in war, but that didn't diminish the beauty of the classic Lunar architectural styles and artistic culture. Maybe we can have a place like this in Prosperity once we get rid of those awful raiders, she thought, taking in the sights around her.

"The President and Vice President are doing some kind of event in City Hall at 9. A question-and-answer sort of thing. That might just be your perfect opportunity, Carmina," the young red-haired man, who she had discovered was named Nikolas, said with a smile. She had come to enjoy his company; he was friendlier than some of the others. Even those who'd tried to be kind and understanding -- some were a hint condescending to her age, to which she reminded them that their own nation was founded in its current form by someone who was fifteen when she became the primary leader of the revolutionary side, while others were still nervous and didn't make an effort to really speak with her. Nikolas, on the other hand, had tried to get to know her and become a friend, more than simply being an ally.

---

8:30 A.M. Calypso City Hall.

"Hello, President Arpina," Carmina said. "I am Carmina Rye, from the Prosperity settlement in Eden's Gate."

"Nice to meet you, Carmina, and feel free to call me Cressida. All these titles are just confusing, I think," the President of Luna responded. "I hope Prosperity is doing well?"

"That's actually what I came to speak with you about," Carmina said softly. "We need your help."

"Against the Seeds?" Cressida asked, her deep brown eyes sympathetic and yet full of anger against the family that had caused the devastation of the world. Carmina remembered that she'd lost friends in the Collapse; some said the city of Cydonia still wasn't the same. She shook her head, and Cressida looked at her in surprise. They don't know about the Highwaymen, she realized. They think it's been the Seed family all along.

"No. It's- there's a group calling themselves the Highwaymen," she began, telling the President the stories of how their settlement had been raided and attacked, about the people who died in the raid on Prosperity and their hopes to establish a new, democratic nation where the cult of Eden's Gate once stood.

"It's an admirable effort, to go from the warped system the Seeds forced upon your nation to a democracy, much like we did six years ago," Cressida said. "We've said before that we support you against the Seeds, and, of course, we support you against the Highwaymen as well."

We may finally be able to do it, Carmina thought. Prosperity will have Lunar support. Nobody else will have to die to the Highwaymen if this goes right.

"We'll try and get in touch with your leaders as soon as we can," the President continued. "For now, feel free to stay in Calypso, take part in our sixth-anniversary festivities and enjoy your time in Luna. It's really nice to meet you and the rest of your team, Carmina. I wish the best of luck to Prosperity and hope our support helps in defeating these raiders."

---

This is the beginning of a collaborative RP story between me and Eden's Gate! I'm looking forward to the rest of it, and hopefully it won't take me this long to write later parts of the story... Eden, please let me know if I'm doing anything wrong and I can fix it. This is kinda my first time doing any collaborative RP things aside from helping my allies in wars, so if I messed up, sorry, and just tell me what's wrong so I can fix it if possible. :)

And I'll have images for these when I'm not writing them at midnight...