top of page

LONE GUNMEN 2011


In the beginning 

Xarah – Born Callie Romero, was once a promising test pilot and triathlete who has the full life ahead of her. As she’s looking forward to what’s ahead of her, the path took a major detour in 2000 after lightning struck her group of campers while they were running for cover during a freak thunderstorm. She was the lone survivor. Every aspect of life from this point turned upside down for her. She rarely spoke; her outlook to the world hanged completely. Callie seemingly disappeared from the face of Earth altogether after resigning her commission. Even though her physical wounds recovered a long time ago, her emotional scars were never actually healed. In fact they triggered abilities that she could only dream of. The ability of teleportation and capable of inter-dimensional viewing with naked eyes were among some of her newly discovered skills. 

Life did not fair well for Callie during the early stage of emerging. Spontaneous teleportation to anywhere to the planet against her wish, seeing odd creatures coming in and out of some portals were some of the aspects she had to face all the time. Callie didn’t want them at all; she just wanted to be a normal person doing whatever she desired. Chaos nearly drove her to the endgame of self-destruction. She finally made peace after an encounter with a travelling Buddhist monk; and with the monk’s guidance, began to slowly fine tune and controls the abilities one step at a moment until she’s fully comfortable to have them around. The healing process didn’t come without a price, her natural jet black hair turned into snow white over time, but in turn the awakening helped her open up to uncharted territory of a whole new realm or existence. Callie took up the name Xarah in memory of someone who has long gone, and has been backpacking around the world ever since. She was somewhere in South Asia when the first salvo of Epsilon League weaponry hit Earth. Her inner calling urged her to do whatever necessary to be part of a quest to save mankind, but in doing so she needs to find others who also shared extra-human abilities. Together then the odd might be on their side to drive the invaders off this 
blue planet.

Shining Tonopah – born Warren Fairchild, was an ex-Special Forces captain whose ancestral roots can be traced back to the Nuxálk First Nation who inhibited British Colombia coast for centuries. Unlike Xarah, Warren knew something’s different since his early childhood. Something that was about to emerge from his body, but was unable to pinpoint what it was. The sensation has subsided gradually as he aged, but the experience has been preoccupying him ever since. Even therapy such as hypnosis was unable to yield any clue. He knew one day it would resurface and he’ll be ready for it. Like many of his families, Warren enlisted into military during his early adulthood. He was severely wounded during a firefight near Pakistani border while on his third tour to Afghanistan. He and others wounded were airlifted to Ramstein, then stateside for extensive rehabilitation. After returning to civilian life, Warren work as an outreach worker for homeless people. It was one of those late January night that he was beaten until unconscious by thugs while trying to held them off from harassing homeless people whom he has been delivering hot meals every week, the incident had left him slipping into coma for the next three months. Then one day he woke up; first thing he asked the nurse was what happened to the homeless people that night, were they all right? The beating incident not only changed his life, but also trigged the extra-human properties buried deep inside his sub-consciousness to resurface. 

Unlike many other Lone Gunmen whose abilities emerged like volcano eruptions and often spinning out of control during initial stage, his emerging was more like a water stream quietly seeping through drought earth. While Warren shares some common traits such as teleportation and remote telepathy with other members; some of his attributes are unique to him. One of them is the ability to harness energy from nature and release it in the form he desires. The custom traditional ceremonial staff passed on from his ancestors serves an amplifier for the raw energy to channel out to its targets, however Warren avoids using it this way whenever possible because of its destructive power. Many years before the League invasion, he started to hear and notice clues that told him to get ready for a future event that requires his service. Though he has no idea what that is, he prepared himself anyway. When the League’s orbital bombardment began on Christmas Eve of 2009, Warren knew from his heart immediately that this was the event the clues were pointing to. The answer to this is rather simple: Make contact with others who possess similar extra-human attributes no matter how far apart they are across the globe, to see what they can do with the catastrophe that the alien invaders have casted upon this planet.

The catastrophe of 2009
After the apocalyptical catastrophe of 2009, humanity was nearly wiped out by the invading alien forces later known as the Doshken League in Earthling lingo. Honourable namesake when in fact is a loosely-lied of at least half a dozen different aggressive alien species each have their own agenda while conspired on mutual interests. Most of their origins remain a mystery, but at least two factions were known from salvaged records of destroyed alien crafts. The almost human-looking Zenkathi alliance came from the region of Gamma Eridani, 150 light years away. The silicon-based T’Quaa’n Conglomerate however, originated from the vicinity of Cat’s Eye Nebula, at a vast distance of 3200 light years away from earth. Both are dictatorship in different skins, Zenkathi runs a brutal police state while T’Quaa’n in essence is an intergalactic corporation governed by an autocracy structure. Both have been rapidly expanding their territory and resource gains. When the mysterious entity behind the League’s formation called for an incursion into backwater region where Earth is located to broaden the area of influence, and callously branded it a “joint venture”; the two regimes along with half a dozen other species signed on. The incursion inflicted terrible loss to every world that it came across. Some have their entire planetary resources stripped within weeks. Some were occupied by the League forces. Others were simply destroyed by mammoth planet killers because they are simply standing on its path. Earth was under the responsibility of Zenkathi & T’Quaa’n. Sol system was occupied as staging star system for further incursions deeper into the region. Giant Zenkathi construction ships began arriving on orbit, and building orbital shipyards and command stations while T’Quaa’n ships conducting mop-up operations on the surface. 

Survivors of the invasion from arcross the globe scattered into every possible place they can find shelters. Some went into hiding deep in the wilderness, hoping to prolong their existence a little longer. Some even have the naïve thinking of hoping the invaders would stop looking for them or train their weapons elsewhere. While some others refuse to bow to the harsh reality and took up arms; determined to fight to the last breathe, and took as many invaders with them as possible. Attacks were staged everywhere, both in the wilderness and urban areas. One such group was fleeing after their successful attack on a League supply drop in the desert. Most of the retreating group were killed while repelling the counterattacks. When the last remaining members prepare to make a last stand by detonating tactical nukes beneath the approaching league patrol ship and fire every last round of their rocket-propelled warheards; a beam of light coming from the far end of desert dunes ripped through the ship’s armoured hull, internal explosions causing the ship spinning out of control and disintegrated on the desert floor. 

Epilogue
Almost all of the surviving raiders were either dying or severely wounded. One of them, Major Howe thought he saw two figures coming down from the dunes where the beam was originated, but in a blink of an eye they were already standing in front of him. A woman and a man to be exact; the white-haired woman in her 30s carries an antique rifle, the long hair man stood in the distance where Howe could not make out of his appearance. The woman knee down and gave Howe a much needed seeping of water from her horn bugle canteen. After pointing him to the west a mile and half away that there was a tiny oasis where the survivors could rest and wait out for their pickup, she stood and walked away to the horizon with her companion. Howe thanked her and asked who she was, the woman only uttered the word to the confused Howe: ”Xarah” , then disappeared once again into the desert mirage. That was two months ago, the year is 2011; only a little more than a year away from the perpetrated End of Days according to Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. Are we truly near the closure of our existence or perhaps the end is merely a prologue of a new chapter of human existence? Time will tell……..

 

 

bottom of page