Arachmen Planet
Year 5047 Centrael DieGreich: Uncharted Space/Blue Planet


As we parted from the ship, my heart sped up. We drifted toward the atmosphere of the blue planet below us. I wondered what it had in store for us. I knew that I shouldn’t be on this mission, because the consequences were great, but I so desperately craved to see the beauty that I’d known on Keid that it didn’t matter. I glanced around at the men I was with. There was a Captain on board named Gretkoff, the only man outranking myself. I observed all the other men onboard. Every man being sent out was merely a private. One of the men stood out to me from the rest. He was cleaning his gun. He wiped it very thoroughly with a cloth and then, holding it up in front of him, inspected it from top to bottom. His facial expression grew into dissatisfaction at which time he began cleaning it again. His nametag read L. Clume.
The cockpit grew warm as we came into contact with the atmosphere. I felt the exhilaration build inside me. For the first time in months I felt my load of stress lighten. I was anticipating a welcome of cool, fresh air, flowing streams, and the tragically uncommon site of trees that would be all around us. I couldn’t wait to feel real ground beneath me again. I yearned to hear the chirping of the birds and the rustling leaves of the branches.
All the men around me sat with naïve expressions. I could only assume they’d never seen combat. I didn’t feel worried though. My only thoughts were that the planet would hold great and wonderful things. As we neared the ground, thrusters fired slowing our descent. We touched down softly.
“Set up boys!” Called out the Captain. “Establish a secure zone! Let’s go! Let’s go!”
The men rushed out of the ship and began setting up the perimeter weapons barriers. I stood next to Gretkoff and observed the hustling soldiers. Automatic machine gun turrets protected our perimeter in no time at all. Laser sensors would be triggered if anything tried to enter. Every inch within the perimeter was observed and secured. Afterward they built tall tents around a center point at which we made our fireplace. I had my own tent, which was the same size as the Captain’s tent. I looked about and saw the planet I’d dreamed of. The golden yellow was quickly becoming pink and orange in the sky. A beautiful haze created a wonderful distortion of the light and all its colors. The leaves on the trees seemed to glimmer as they moved and reflected the light. I was overcome with happiness. I felt at home.
As darkness fell upon the base site we started our fire. The Captain stayed in his tent and I sat around the fire with the other men. A private by the name Jerry Luoard made dinner as everyone laughed and spoke of their future aspirations. As we talked and eventually ate dinner the fire faded down and as it did so did we. I wished everyone a good night and went to my tent. I was excited to see the next morning.
As light filled the air around my tent I slowly opened my eyes and stretched out of a deep sleep. I heard the other soldiers walking around outside the tent. I could hear the sizzle of breakfast on the skillet and smelled the appetizing scent that it gave off. I got up and stepped outside. The light was brilliant and I squinted a bit before my eyes adjusted. The sight was more beautiful than I remembered it.
“Hey Nef, come have a bite to eat,” called Jerry. He was the one doing the cooking. While I sat and ate, the Captain began to speak.
“Gentlemen,” He began, “We will take a few samples around here for a few hours and then journey toward the mountains reading southward on your compasses. It is a long journey, but between here and there is where we gained a good response from our probes.” His eyebrows rose. “Any questions?” Everybody stayed silent. “Good then. We start in an hour.”
Two men were assigned to stay at base while we journeyed. I carried enough supplies to last for about three days, a small tent for myself, and my gun. We were each given radio transceivers to keep good communication. It seemed like we walked miles before the Captain gave the order to stop and take samples. As the two scientists in the group took their samples a young private sat beside me.
“What’s up?” He held out his hand to shake. ” Private Larizon Clume,” he said and then took a drink of his canteen.
“Lieutenant Kennith C. Nefroidak.”
“Nice to meet your acquaintance sir,” He said as we shook hands.
“Same here,” I said as I received the gesture.
“What brought you here?” He asked. “Never saw you in the first briefing.”
“Well, I needed a vacation,” I responded, smirking slightly. “Got to come along.”
“A vacation huh? This doesn’t seem like what I’d call a vacation, but alright.” He smiled. “Where’d you come from?”
“I’m a pilot with the Drayvan Fleet.” I said hesitantly.
“Ah, our escort?”
“Yes.”
He scratched his head as if in amazement. “Highly qualified aren’t you then?”
“I’ve gone through all the basic training for ground combat, but I’m probably no better than any other man here. Never seen action on the ground really.” I thought about Keid as the only fighting I’d ever seen, if you could call it that.
“How long have you been a pilot?”
“About six months,” I said.
“Centrael DieGreich is my first mission. I just came out of training about a month ago and underwent SCOUT training,” he said. “It seemed like an interesting line of work.”
I couldn’t help but feel the vast difference between our mentalities, even though only six months of experience separated us. He seemed very excited to be here. I felt tired and exhausted from dealing with the reality of war. “What planet you from?” I asked.
“I’m from Kierov in Yulagro. Boring place.”
Kierov was a planet consisting of valuable ore, gray dust, and biodomes sustaining human miners. No life could exist outside them. It was merely a colony of factory workers and their families. His desire to see something a little more than just gray dust everywhere was understandable.
“Alright, let’s get goin’ again!” Shouted the Captain.
We began walking again and this time we marched until darkness began to fall across the land. Soon the men in front of me were silhouettes. They were visibly tired, I thought, watching them hunch under the weight of their heavy packs.
“We’ll stop in about another half mile from here,” spoke the Captain.
As we walked it became darker and darker. Two or three men pulled out lights and held them as we walked. I couldn’t wait to sit down again and have a much-needed bite to eat.
“Hold up men!” The Captain said raising his hand into the air. It motioned for us to kneel. I readied my gun with shaking hands. My adrenaline began to pulse hard through my veins. Clume still stood next to me. He appeared to be eager. The same words kept going through my mind, ‘I hadn’t come here for this. I had planned on a vacation.’ Suddenly the cracking of sticks under advancing footsteps shot into my ear. It was frighteningly local to us. My finger lightly brushed the trigger of my gun waiting to clench. Rustling of leaves and what sounded like a distant heavy breathing caught my ear. I glanced toward Clume. His expression was hard to make out. The men in the group had turned their lights off which made it eerily dark. We all seemed to be anxiously waiting for whatever lurked around us. I jerked my gun in the direction of every sound. It got louder and louder accompanied by my nerves becoming tenser and tenser. I felt small beads of sweat begin to form on my forehead. ‘Why doesn’t it show itself?’ I kept wondering. My uneasiness began to grow out of control, but then, all at once, the noises stopped and silence filled the air. All we could hear was each other’s fear filled breath. Where had it gone? We stood a few minutes when I began to question whether everything I was hearing was just merely the wind picking up and in my mind. We sat for a few minutes until the Captain began quietly speak.
“Keep your guard up men, we have to keep moving,” he whispered. We obeyed and began to walk again, guns raised.
“Turn some light on,” said one of the men. As light switched on in the middle of our line almost instantaneously a thing concealed in shadow jumped from the darkness. Its roar broke whatever silence we endured. The light was only lit for a second, but it was just enough for us to vaguely see this creature. I only saw teeth. It must have landed on the light causing it to shatter. It had pounced on Lt. Charles Tray.
Charles’ screams echoed off the trees and rocks nearby as the attack came all at once.
“Find cover!” Came the yell of somebody in the group. The horrifying creatures were cloaked by the darkness. It seemed like hundreds of them were in our midst. Gunfire rang out and the flicker of light from the gun presented a strobing slide show of lunging creatures, still unidentifiable. “It’s too dark! I can’t see them!” Came another voice. The cries of these animals filled my mind and made my heart pound. I backed against a rock nearby to Clume. Whenever something approached me I fired on it.
“Down here!” Shouted Clume. I peered through the darkness toward the sound of his voice. “There’s a cave over here!” He called again. I lunged forward toward the sound of the voice and landed on the ground. The running footsteps of the animals around me broke out close to my ear when a hand grasped me and pulled me. It was Clume. We both crawled into the small opening in the rock. “They’re all dying out there,” he said as he spied outward from the hole. “They won’t survive it, there are too many of them.” I placed my hand on his shoulder and pulled him down away from the opening. The shouts and cries of the men outside faded into silence. The gunfire stopped and the sounds went away. I didn’t know what the creatures were, nor did I care, my only thought and motivation were to escape the planet.
“Tomorrow we’ll need to figure our way back,” I said, trying to change his mind’s focus. “We need to find the ship and get out of here.” All we had were our guns at that moment. Our compasses, our bags, our food, and our radio transceivers were dropped outside in the ruckus. I knew we’d need to find our way back in order to survive so I hoped we’d be able to find at the very least a compass. The plant life outside, I had noticed, was unfamiliar to me, which meant that we didn’t know what was poisonous and what we could eat. We needed to get back before dark as well, since it would seem the creatures attacked by night or because we invaded their territory, which was also incentive to leave. It grew completely quiet outside, which was not a comfortable feeling to me. The cave we occupied went on downward. I couldn’t make out how far, but it went farther than I could throw a pebble. It held its nerve taunting noises as well. As best I could tell, I heard ten or eleven times a howling from within its depths along with splashing of water occasionally and the sound of what I equated to footsteps through the sand of the cave. I merely held my gun tight and told myself that it was only in my mind. We sat for hours through the darkness until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. I fell into dreams of home.
I couldn’t tell how long I’d been asleep when a nudging from the butt of Clume’s rifle awakened me. He motioned with the tipping of his head to look into the cave. As my eyes adjusted from sleep to awake I saw a figure in the black of the cave. It was motionless, seemingly staring at us. I had experienced enough excitement for the night and was not in the mood to have to fight, run, or die. We stared at it through the darkness for nearly an hour completely motionless. I was nearly convinced our eyes were playing tricks on us when it began to move in our direction. I raised my rifle slightly to fire if needed and it stopped in response. It’s form looked human from the waist upward, but below its waist I was surprised to see what I decided were six or eight legs. I was very uneasy about this new life form. It wasn’t hostile I concluded, but curious. I decided to say something finally.
“Hello,” I managed to get out. I felt Clumes shoulder next to mine tense up. He looked at me as if shocked, but then immediately looked to the creature for its response. The creature had stepped backward away from us. I gathered that I had startled it.
“Huthwyer miuh iteh,” It whispered. “Huthwyer frauht.” It pointed to the mouth of the cave.
“It sounds like Frix,” said Clume.
“Frix?” I inquired.
“It’s an ancient language. I learned it in school,” he said as he stood. The creature took another step away. “He said ‘Go away from here. Go home.’” I was utterly amazed at the situation. “It’s slightly different sounding, but incredibly similar to Frix.” He turned toward the creature and began to speak. “Ugat Hian Loaughoan ese foturehn.” He turned back to me. “I told him our party of explorers was attacked.” I nodded. “Ug tregul graunch.” He turned back to me again. “I asked for help,” he informed me.
“Huthwyer fraught! Truh!” The beast roared. Clume backed away. I assumed he was frightened.
“He said go home. Now!” He told me. As we looked back toward the creature we were stunned to see nothing. The beast had gone. “What do we do?” Asked Clume.
“We leave in the morning,” I said as I leaned back into the cave wall. “Rest easy comrade.”
The next time I opened my eyes I saw light entering the cave. Clume slept soundly beside me. The cave still faded off into darkness it went so deep. I stood and walked to the spot the spider creature had been. I studied the footprints, which were merely dimples in the cave floor. They trailed off deep into the tunnel.
“Wake up Clume,” I called. His eyes opened slowly and he began to stretch.
“Everything alright Nefroidak?” He asked.
“As good as can be expected,” I said. “Let’s go.”
We left the cave and looked around outside. No remnants of the previous night’s attack were visible. There were no weapons, blood, supplies strewn about, or footprints. It was as if it had never happened.
“Those monsters cleaned up pretty well,” said Clume.
“Yeah, they did,” I said.
We left the cave behind us and started back in the direction I thought we had traveled from the day before. My heart was sinking the farther we walked. We didn’t see anything familiar. All we could do was keep moving. As we wandered I surveyed the area. Caves opened their mouths everywhere I turned.
“Judging by the angle of the sun, I think we’re navigating in the right direction,” Clume said after we’d been walking for over an hour. We moved more swiftly because we had no packs to weigh us down which encouraged me.
“I couldn’t tell you where we started from this morning let alone figure the angle of the sun,” I said and smiled a little.
As we journeyed I could tell Clume was heavy with thought. His face was much more solemn than I had gotten used to.
“Talk to me Clume,” I said finally.
“Huh?” He was startled by my sudden intervention into his thoughts.
“Tell me what’s on your mind,” I told him.
“I was just thinking,” he started. “Those men were all alive yesterday. They were alive and joking around. They loved life and they had plans. Jerry was just married a couple weeks ago and Charles had a kid on the way.”
I placed my hand over his shoulder and gave him a reassuring pat. “My friend, it’s best not to think about the tragedy each loved one faces, or the way those men died, but better to remember the people they were. The happy times you shared with them. Jerry’s wife isn’t going to want to hear about the details of his death, but how fondly he spoke of her in his last days and how happy he seemed. Tell her good things and tell yourself good things. Don’t replay in your mind the way they left this world. Instead, bring to mind your uncontrollable laughter after Jerry got done re-enacting your drill sergeants funny walk,” I explained. We both chuckled a little and the conversation ended momentarily.
“Why did I live?” Clume finally asked after a few minutes had gone by. “Me, one of the only men to walk away. Why me?”
“That is the same question I often ask of myself.” I gave him a half-hearted smile and then promptly looked away avoiding his glance while holding back the harsh emotions brewing inside me.
“I just don’t understand. I wasn’t the first one attacked, or one of the others that got jumped immediately. I managed to get all the way over to that hole in the ground. And I stumbled onto it accidentally!” He said throwing his hands into the air in disbelief. “I was calling out for everyone still alive to come to the hole. You came. The two of us survived. I’m glad you survived Lieutenant Nefroidak. I don’t know what I’d have done if I were the only one,” he dropped his head as if fatigued with the emotional impact of the whole thing.
“Yeah, it’s you and I Clume. That’s all there is now and we need to survive. We need to live on to tell the families of these men what they will need so much to hear. Don’t worry though. We’ll find our way off this planet, I promise you,” I assured him.
As dusk came through the sky we finally caught site of our base camp. It wasn’t far off, so we began to run.
“There it is!” Shouted Clume. “There it is!” I ran after him as fast as I could until we finally reached our destination. Our jaws dropped and our eyes filled with tears as we beheld an empty perimeter. The two men, Privates Jason Combrell and Reggie Hurrick, had quite obviously aborted the mission. This signified to me that radio contact was made and the Captain gave the order for evacuation. After about thirty seconds of disbelief, movement at the other end of the perimeter startled us. A person approached us covered with blood. As he neared, I identified him as the Captain.
“Captain!” I rushed to his aid as he limped toward us.
“Lieuten…Lieutenant…” He uttered.
“Captain, you’re alive!” Cried Clume. He quickly ripped his sleeve off and wrapped it around a laceration on the Captain’s arm. “Sir, how long have you been here?” He asked.
“It was horrible…” He began until he was overcome by a coughing fit. As he coughed his legs became weak and he fell to his knees. “All of…” he attempted before coughing again. “All of them…dead…” he managed between coughs.
He began coughing again and this time he let himself collapse completely to the ground. “Told them…” his coughing increased. “I said evacuate…” He began throwing up blood at that moment and afterward continued to cough, but it began to weaken. His wheezing between coughs became quieter and quieter for about fifteen minutes until he stopped moving and then no sound came from him. Clume knelt beside him propping up his head. Tears streamed down his face. I stood up and looked around, wondering what to do. I couldn’t believe that this little vacation of mine had gone the way it had. I could only think to stay inside the turret perimeter. My mind raced with regrets and then with desperation. I had to think quickly about how to get us off the planet. There was a possibility of another, more heavily armed mission, but it wouldn’t come for days, maybe weeks. We would need to survive in this place until then.
Clume laid the Captain’s head to rest on the ground and stood up. “Now what?” He asked impatiently.
“Now we wait,” I said coldly.
“Wait! With those things out there?” He pointed. He was about to become hysterical. “Those things are going to kill us! There are thousands of them!” It crossed into hysteria at that moment. “What are we going to do? We’re dead men! We don’t know what plants are foods and what plants are poisonous! We’ll starve!”
“Calm down Clume. Get a hold of yourself. We can figure this out. The darkness is already falling now, so we sleep here the night and we figure out what to do for food in the morning. We’re going to need to stick it out here until they send another mission in. It will be done,” I scolded grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. “We’re going to get off this planet! I promise you.” I let go of him and stepped back. He stared at me in amazement.
“Yeah,” he said. “They’ll send another mission.” He half-heartedly reassured himself.
“Get some sleep,” I said, punching him in the shoulder.
I managed sleep that night. I couldn’t speak for Clume, but I didn’t wake up once that whole night. I only woke after the light filling the morning sky fell on my thin eyelids.
I exited the tent I was in and glanced around. Everything appeared to be the same as it was the night before. I peered into the tent Clume was in and saw him still asleep. I decided that I would attempt to find food for us, so I picked up my gun and began to walk away when I heard a sound very similar to thunder. I directed my sights to the sky where I observed an all too familiar site. My heart sank and I felt as though I had no hope at that moment. Battle was going on upstairs with an enemy.
“Clume!” I yelled.
“Yeah?” He answered stumbling out of his tent a moment later. He glanced upward after understanding my object of interest. “What is it?”
“There’s a war going on up there.” I sadly stated. “We’re being attacked by someone up there.”
The explosions in the air couldn’t captivate our attention for too long, because our hunger began to rule us. We set out and began gathering fruits and any leaves that smelled similar and looked similar to what I recognized as edible plant life on Keid. We would take a chance in order to nourish ourselves. As it turned out, we didn’t become sick.
As night fell on us we could see more of what was going on in the war. I recognized what I was certain were laser fire from Jovian origin canons.
“They’re Jovians.” I said grimly.
“What does that mean?” Asked Clume.
“It means that they now think that we held an interest in this planet. They’ll scout it out themselves now. We’ll be killed along with everything else they find. When they send missions down, it’s nearly a thousand of them.” I prophesied the coming events based off a knowledge of their past.
“What can we do now?” He questioned hopelessly.
“Pray that the Drayvan Fleet can take them.” I became less and less reassured as I saw node after node open up from the hostile side. Finally we witnessed a large node crack open, which I knew was the Luguathar exiting Centrael DieGreich. Gunter had made the call to abort mission. I lost all sense of confidence. I closed my eyes in denial. “We’re done Clume. We have only a few weeks or even days before an assault is launched on this place.”
“So we die?” He asked shaking his head.
I thought hard as to what to do. Finally I said, “We’ll warn the people of this planet.”
“The ‘people’ of this planet?” He exclaimed.
“We’ll journey into a cave until we find them. Maybe they can help us in some way,” I faithlessly stated.
“For all we know, that creature we saw could be one of many in the depths of this place. The others are more than likely hostile!” He looked up again into the now quiet and dark sky.
I turned and began walking outward from the perimeter.
“Where are you going?” He cried.
I stopped and glared into his eyes. “What choice do we have?” I yelled back. His expression grew cold, but he finally let his head drop as if defeated in the argument.
“We’ll go. At least we’re not sure if we’ll die going into the caves,” He regretfully conceded. “But let’s wait till morning,” he pleaded.
We left the perimeter the next morning as the first rays of light began to fill the sky. We walked until we found one of many openings. As we ventured in the darkness deprived our eyes from seeing anything. The tunnels we traveled descended deeper and deeper into the planet’s crust. After walking for nearly an hour feeling our way along the walls I spotted a subtle illumination in the tunnel. It was green tinted, but light.
“Do you see light?” I asked Clume.
“Yes, I do.”
We walked more swiftly and went around a corner in the tunnel. Around the other side the tunnel walls revealed glowing green veins all through them. The farther along we went the more veins there were. Soon, the green light lit our path brightly.
Our footsteps stopped abruptly as Clume and I both heard a sound approaching. We backed against the wall next to a tunnel that split off. It was down that tunnel that the sound came from. We held our guns ready for an attack of any sort to come around it. As the creature came into our view I recognized it as one of the creatures from the night before. I nudged Clume to speak up as it walked opposite our direction.
“Guhera!” He nervously yelled. The creature turned around startled by our presence. I assumed this meant ‘hello.’
“Yurado din fao?” Said the creature.
“Dago din Loaughoan yen skite. Dago wugah set creeaysha,” responded Clume. He looked at me. “The creature asked, ‘Who are you?’ I told him, ‘we are explorers from space and that we come peacefully.’”
Clume spoke with the creature until he understood what our situation was. Clume then tried to present to him the great problems that were to come to this planet. The creature became unsettled at what Clume said and began to lead us through the tunnels.
“Where is he taking us?” I asked.
“To their home,” he stated. “They have an underground city. It is one of many.”
We went through many twists and turns until finally we came across what appeared to be a large, bullet shaped vessel. It seemed as though this transport went along a sort of tube through the wall. There was an opening in the wall behind it, and an opening, which it was aimed at in front of it. The creature waved his hand and its door floated open inviting us to climb in. The sleek thing shot off leaving Clume and I quite stunned at its fast acceleration. As we traveled, the tunnel began to widen and as we turned a corner it opened up into a gigantic cavern of which I couldn’t see the end. It was lit all the way around with trillions of the glowing veins. Buildings like triangles protruded from the walls, pyramid like buildings were everywhere from the top to the bottom. Other vessels such as ours traveled across tracks all throughout. Pathways connected every building, one to another. In the center from the ground up stood huge buildings that reached thousands of feet upward. Green lights decorated the entire area. The spider like people trafficked everywhere through this massive underground city.
“Wow,” whispered Clume.
“Do glut diterus Barah,” Said the creature.
Clume nodded and then told me, “He said, ‘I will show you to Barah.’ That’s apparently their leader.”
We stepped out and into an elevator in the cave wall and went up level after level until we reached the top of the cavern. We stepped out and walked down a bridge to a hanging building. Its appearance was very attractive. It had pillars stretching downward all around it to a point under the building. It resembled an upside down pyramid. All around the building were huge windows. It sported three floors from the top of the cave to us. The two doors we faced were huge. They were decorated intricately with the green glowing material. We walked inside after the doors were opened by two of the spider people. I presumed they were guards of some sort. We stepped in on a glass floor. Below I could see all the way to the floor of the cave and above I could see the levels to the top. The walls were lined decoratively with the glowing material.
We stepped into the elevator and began to ascend to the top level. I was surprised that they never confiscated our weapons. That was unsettling to me. I began to think that these people didn’t know what weapons were, so they saw no threat. The doors to the elevator drew away revealing an elaborate office. Its very appearance took my breath away. The walls held large viewing windows; within them were appearing and disappearing green streaks, a decorative touch I presumed. The ceiling was decorated elaborately with dark colors and green glowing veins reaching all the way up to a point. The glass floor had occasional green streaks of light passing through it, not unlike the windows. The walls themselves were dark. As we walked through toward the far end I noticed one of the creatures was sitting in a seat that was suspended from the angled ceiling. The seat dropped down in pyramid shape. It was anchored on four sides by poles that traveled upward. The creature sat in front of a large desk or something like it, which jutted outward at its base allowing for the creatures eight tremendously large legs to fit underneath. His eyes were fixated on a holographic screen suspended in front of him. His hands reached at it pressing into the air. We stood in front of him for a moment, still holding our guns. He reached toward the hologram and extended one of his three fingers at it; it disappeared.
It looked at us as if to inquire. I glanced toward Clume and nudged him to begin speaking.
Clume spoke to him and then relayed what was going on in the conversation to me.
“We are explorers not of this world, abandoned after a catastrophe in space. Our expedition was attacked in space by a race called, Jovian Bounty Hunters,” said Clume.
“What do ask of us?” Questioned Barah.
“We know that these Jovians will come to your planet. They seek your planet’s riches and will force your race into slavery.”
“What is this slavery?” He questioned. His naïve nature was not encouraging. Clume explained.
“They cannot force us into this slavery!” Cried Barah.

“Then they will kill you all.”
“We do not know of this kind of people; those that would be so evil as to subjugate my people who have done nothing to provoke them. We are innocent and unfamiliar with the like that would slay a people and enthrall us as petty animals!” Barah exclaimed.
“They are those that harbor no emotion, no compassion, and no affinity to anything other than bloodshed,” Clume responded.
“Are you able to help us?” Asked Barah as if very confused by Clume’s statements.
Clume looked at me, his eyes questioning. “Yes,” I finally said. “We can help them.”
Clume and Barah spoke for a while. Clume explained to Barah how we had come to the planet and what had happened to us. It was apparent that the creature we had seen in the cave the night of the attacks was a trusted member of Barah’s council. He was warning us that we would need to leave or be attacked by the creatures that killed the rest of our group. And once we had informed him of our present situation he began to speak of the ensuing attack described, at great trouble, by Clume.
“What of this onslaught? How is it that you can help us?” He asked.
“Do you know what this is?” I asked, holding out my gun.
“No, I do not.”
“It inflicts serious harm on whoever I point it at while pulling this trigger.” I pointed to the trigger and looked into his eyes searching for his understanding.
Barah’s expression grew burdened with thought. “Will you demonstrate?” He asked.
I raised my gun toward a small statue and looked to Barah for approval. He nodded. I adjusted the gun and pulled the trigger and the gun fired. Its IPP, or Intensified Plasma Pulse, melted and shattered the statue to pieces. Barah was visibly startled.
“You will need to make these,” I said. Barah nodded again. “Do you have fighters?” I asked. Clume translated and tried to explain to him, but had to attempt explaining what fighters were. He had a hard time.
“No, we have no such thing, nor do we have need for such a thing.” He drooped his head. “Until now. We are very unprepared for this thing you speak of.”
“Then you must manufacture these weapons. We must work quickly and efficiently in order to be an effective force. We will set up traps and lures. We will organize your soldiers and teach them about war.” This word ‘war’ was a very new word to Barah. An assistant took my gun from the room.
Barah set to work. He stood immediately and began spouting out words. As he did holograms floated into our sight around the room. He was calling together some sort of council meeting. He began to speak and cast orders. Throughout the ensuing hours he organized his people from that room to ready themselves for this previously unheard of thing called ‘war.’ “Your ‘gun’ will begin to be produced tonight I believe,” he confidently informed me.
After he had done all that he could do, he invited us to eat. We were very grateful for this. We were starving. We left his building and walked down pathways to another upside down pyramid suspended from overhead and as we did I noticed the green veins fade almost to darkness. Lights around the huge city flickered on and noises of cave doors closing rang out. ‘The veins must fade when the light topside fades away,’ I thought. We stepped into what was a sort of restaurant. Clume and I sat on seats suspended from the ceiling. The round table in front of us was almost immediately loaded with food after we’d sat down. What lay across the table was mostly unfamiliar, though I saw familiar looking fruits and vegetables. Meat was present on the table, but seemed much like chicken and normal food. Clume and I were happy to eat something.
Barah sat between his two advisors Taragon and Ruegled. Clume and I sat next to each other. “How are you feeling about all this?” Clume whispered leaning toward me.
“I’m doing my share of worrying right at the moment. I don’t know if this war can be done with the naïve groundwork we have to start from,” I reluctantly stated.
“Do you think it’s possible?” He asked.
“We must believe it is possible and will happen. Keep optimistic,” I urged him. He nodded and went to his food. “Clume, translate for me.”
“Alright,” he said.
“Barah, what is the origin of your people’s existence on this planet?” I asked. I had been wondering for a while now.
“The Gods brought the Aztlans here over seven thousand years ago from their homes,” he began, taking a deep breath. “We are the remnants of the Aztlan. The Aztlan were our ancestors, which appeared, according to our records, the way you look. In the settlement they began to change themselves and we were created. They altered their genes and gave birth to the Ugatlan, or keepers, which is we, and also gave birth to the ‘night men,’ or Carnulus, the species that attacked your group. A call to the skies came for the unchanged Aztlans from God and many left. After most had gone, there was a terrible mistake in security which lead to the escape of the far from perfected Carnulus. These barbaric ones overtook the remaining Aztlan during one night. The ones that took to the skies never returned.” I figured the planet was forgotten as the amnesia prone war pressed on. Settlements were often forgotten, which left the beginnings of many civilizations. Most kept alive a religion of worship to the ancient Atlanteans, figured to have been the Creators and Gods. The Arachmen, or ‘Ugatlan,’ along with the Carnulus were obviously creations from genetic engineering for purposes of war, but were never exploited. The Aztlans called to the skies by God were more than likely fighters that left to fight a battle that was lost.
“After a thousand years had passed, the age of ice set in. Seeking warmth, the Ugatlan ventured inward, into the cave-ridden crust of the planet in which they found the green glowing rock, Ustella, which lit their way into the future. From sticks and stones and sleeping on the cave floors, they came along to construct computers and massive cities. The cities were modeled after the settlement buildings of the Aztlan.
During the age of ice the Carnulus fled to the caverns of the hills where the green glowing rock was not present. They were driven from the glowing rock because of their sensitivity to light. They also sought their prey during the nights because of their lack of sun endurance.
After coming from primitive beginnings, the Ugatlan came forth to build into a great civilization. And so, here we stand,” he concluded.
“Interesting,” I began. “What became of the Aztlan ships and settlement?”
“The ‘chariots of the sky’ and the original settlement were lost in the age of ice and believed to be submerged underneath the crust and compacted. They are lost.”
“I assume that the Atlanteans had come in hopes of establishing a species development plantation, where they could create their new human weapons. They most likely left because a war broke out near the planet. I conclude that they lost and the settlement was long forgotten,” I told Clume.
“I agree. Ironic isn’t it, that their weapon turned into their destruction on this planet,” he sighed.
“Sounds all too familiar,” I said, thinking of the ancient Earth.
That night I slept restlessly. My stress became great as it finally sunk in. I was destined to either create the end of a great civilization, or to become a kind of savior to the people. My heart sank as I considered the less favorable option. I couldn’t go back on any of the decisions that put me where I was. The Drayvans retreated after being overwhelmed and my only regret was not being able to help them when they needed me most. I was however, the reason the Arachmen people now knew of the impending attack. Clume, I knew, looked to me to save him also. I could only continue to do what I thought would remedy our situation. In school I took an interest in learning militaristic history and strategy. I always admired military geniuses such as the famed Ericans, the infamous Quaislo Keid, and numerous Generals throughout history.
A favorite and most intelligent general was General Markus F. Tahlo of the Corbinchoughus Quadrant. His achievements were much admired amongst the people and other military in the Empire. His mark was made during the battle of Yetfa Rieux. The odds were not in favor of the young Captain Tahlo. His escort encountered an ambush of massive size. His men were outnumbered vastly, but because of his training programs, which were sometimes called ruthless and impossible, his pilots carried out orders and strategies flawlessly. He and his squadron pulled back into an asteroid field. He set three of his men to protect the escorted ship from the drifting asteroids. As the massive onslaught followed into the storm of asteroids, Tahlo’s squadron flew effortlessly around, hiding behind the rocks, pulling dangerous maneuvers, and allowing the asteroid field to do the work for them. The force that started out huge and impossible to take control over seemingly cried out helplessly, unable to withdraw their mistake of attacking. Their ambush turned into an obvious ill prepared engagement that fell into failure. They ultimately tried to turn back and run, but all died from the showering asteroids. Tahlo and all his men survived. After his triumph he and his men humbly accepted the gratitude of superiors. Tahlo was eventually promoted to General and birth was given to his Cor Elite. The Cor was a squadron in which pilots were trained the same way Tahlo trained his men. It was named Cor after his squadron, who received their name as a shortened reference to Corbinchoughus. I not only admired Tahlo, but also every pilot that ever went through the Cor Elite. Their legacies went down in history all the time.
I admired and studied the thoughts of every one of these leaders and came to my own conclusions. I felt comforted by my reassuring knowledge and was able enough to fall into sleep.
I slept for a mere three hours when I was awakened by the bright green light flowing in through my windows. Rising from bed I was met with holographic casting, which displayed words in front of me, with touchable buttons floating in front of my eyes. I couldn’t understand it, so I simply walked past it.
As I walked from my room onto my balcony I caught site of Clume, who was walking down the balcony toward me. He was drinking something.
“Hey, you want something to drink?” He asked.
“Sure. What is that?” I questioned him.
“My friend, I do not know, but it’s good and hot. Want some?” He smiled.
I nodded. “Petlu,” Clume said. A holocast drew itself on thin air. He pressed a button and it disappeared. He walked to a hole in the wall of the building where a cup, much like his, rose into view. “Here you go,” he smiled.
I sipped on the hot liquid, which tasted very much to my liking. Our morning had begun.
“Look at them all,” said Clume. I hadn’t caught site of it when I first walked out, but was now stunned to behold the thousands of Arachmen lining the cave floor below us. They gathered around a central point at which I made out Barah. He was speaking to them.
“He’s telling them that you and I were God-sent. He has explained that the Ugatlan people are to trust us, listen to us, and even die for us. We have been declared saviors of the world,” he sighed happily. “I’m amazed Lieutenant. Just yesterday I thought we’d be eaten alive by those Carnulus. Now we’re about to command thousands of soldiers in war.”
I was completely amazed myself. I couldn’t have imagined any of this the day we set foot on the soil. I was now heading up a war. My only concern would be training men that had no concept of war.
As the morning drew on, I found myself in front of a few hundred Arachmen about to try to explain to them what war was.
“Alright! War is,” I began. “War is a state at which one side fights another. We are one side and the Jovians are the other.” I said. Clume had a tough time translating.
“Nef, I can’t do it. You’ll have to figure out some way to get them to understand what fighting means,” Clume, frustrated, finally said.
“You,” I pointed to an Arachmen. He looked at me as if confused. “Come here.” Clume translated to him. As he stepped up to me I felt frightened for what I was going to do, but did it anyway. I threw a very hard punch into the stomach of the Arachman. He crunched up in agony of the sudden pain. “That is fighting!” I yelled. “Hit me now!” I yelled at him. I motioned for him to do what he could. “Defend yourself!” I hit him again in the stomach. He cowered and stepped away, but I followed. He backed into a corner. I knew what I was doing was traumatizing this poor creature, but I knew it had to be done. “Clume,” I said and held out my hand, “throw me a gun.” I knew that the Arachmen knew of the Carnulus, but their remedy for the animals was to lock down the caves and prevent their entrance during night. I had to find a way to activate this creature’s defensive instinct. The Atlanteans would not have created them unless they were useful in a fight.
Clume tossed a gun and I caught it. I set it to stun and fired on the creature. It was a painful jolt that made the creature scream in pain. I knew this seemed cruel, but I did it again. He was shielding himself as much as possible from even seeing me. After firing twelve times I almost gave up, but decided to fire one more shot at him. I set the gun to a higher setting than stun, one that would burn him. I pointed and fired at his arm. As the IPP hit his arm he suddenly lunged toward me. His massive weight was all it took to take me to the ground, but as I went, I used his momentum to throw him with my feet. He flipped onto his back, but was immediately to his feet charging at me again. He swung his massive arm, hand open, and claws extended. A swift movement on my part dodged him and caught his arm. In no time at all I was behind him, still holding his wrist, forcing him to the ground.
“Clume,” I said, “tell him that I will stop this now. He has learned his lesson.” Clume translated and the Arachman stopped struggling. I let him go. As he stood and turned he huffed his breath at me in an attempt to intimidate me. I was satisfied. The entire group of Arachmen had seen and understood.
At the end of the day Clume was working hard training our new soldiers. Our intent, now that we had finally brought them to an understanding of fighting and war, was to train the hundreds that stood in front of us so they could train their own hundreds and so on. Our training would be brief, but ruthless. We gave them all a taste of pain as we taught them fighting techniques. They picked up and understood quickly, which encouraged me. At the close of the day each Arachmen we’d trained began training his own students. We were surprised to see that the new teachers began refining our lessons and techniques. They developed what appeared to be styles of martial arts. Training went into the night.
Clume and I developed plans according to the geographical maps Barah gave us. The hills could be used as look out points. The caves could be utilized as trap doors and the thick jungle could provide excellent cover. Attack plans would be executed only when the Hunters touched down, so as to avoid attracting attention in the air. We wanted to avoid letting them know that we were on the ground waiting for them as long as possible.
Once we gained control of the landing site, the ship would be analyzed for flight development. If we could dissect the propulsions systems and get off the ground and into space, we’d own them. We could control everything that went on at that point. We could pick them off as they jumped to our coordinates. We would have position to our advantage.
After night became morning Clume and I decided to stop our work and eat.
“We’re doing incredibly well Nef,” Clume said as he ate.
“I know,” I said. “But I still can’t help wondering if the first drop is what we expect.” We had planned on the first drop only being about two or three ships of Jovians, but if it happened to be more, then we’d be in trouble.
“We haven’t gone topside, so perhaps their scans wont have picked up any movement that would cause alarm,” Clume said optimistically.
“Yes, that’s true, but the Carnulus run rampant during nightfall. I’m sure their scanners have seen them. I merely hope that they will be seen as wildlife and not a serious enough threat to send down multiple missions,” I said. Multiple missions meant that they’d be coming down in numbers and that those numbers would be reinforced with weapons and spread all over instead of in one concentrated location. “I just don’t know Clume. We can only hope for the best.”
I sat and drank my drink going over the scenarios in my head.
“Nef,” Clume said suddenly. “Are you happy with your life?”
“Am I happy?” I repeated then paused for a moment to think. “It comes and goes Clume.”
“What do you mean by that?” He asked.

“I mean, it comes and goes. You’re tired Clume, quit asking questions or get some sleep.” I responded, assuming that this would quell his inquisitive mood.

“I’m serious Nef,” he persisted.

“All right Clume, yes, I’m happy. Does that satisfy you?” I told him sarcastically.

“C’mon Nef,” he said, frustrated.

“What do you want? Why are you asking this?” I said, frustrated as well.

“I just want the truth. I want to know if your life is happy, or kind of a lost journey into the unknown, like mine,” he said quietly. “Never mind.”

There was a long pause. “It comes and goes, with every heartbeat it changes. Every breath seems to draw back a different memory and every other breath is drawing back a painful memory. That’s what I mean,” I told him. “Right now, I’m worrying more about what’s happening though to be very sad.”

“What happened to you that gave you so many bad memories?” He asked.

“You don’t want to hear my story,” I said confidently.

“Yes,” He said. “I do.”

I looked at him unenthused and burdened. “Well,” I began reluctantly. “I lived a pretty normal life on a planet named Keid. I had a simple, happy life. I had a beautiful girl friend, loving parents, and a cute little sister. My biggest dislike was writing essays in English. I made straight A’s, played football, and loved life. My Dad and I went fishing for fun, took care of the fields and animals, and got along great. My mom was an incredible woman.” I paused after spouting all this out as if memorized from a script. I felt a sudden shroud of sadness fall over me as I began to visualize my story. “She took care of my sister and I no matter how she felt, or what her pains and sorrows were. She and my father always had joy in their hearts for us and never showed us when they were going through troubles. My mom cooked so wonderfully. She always made me my lunch every day. It was always a different and new surprise to see what she packed me. I cherished every morsel because I knew of the care and thought she put into it. My little sister was only seven. She was the cutest thing you ever saw. I loved my little sister.”

“It all sounds very nice,” said Clume. “What do you mean ‘was?’

“It was,” I said and began to stand and walk from the table.

“Wait! Where are you going?” He asked.

“I can’t tell this story,” I said, holding back tears. I didn’t have it in me to say what I had to say. My lip quivered just thinking about it. I didn’t even want to think about my family in any other way than how I remembered them when they were alive.

“Okay my friend,” Clume said quietly as he stood and put his hand on my shoulder.

“The Jovians came,” I said anyway beginning to let loose of my emotions, but choking the tears back again. “I can’t do this,” I finally said and marched away.

•


Year 5047 A.H. Solar System/A.H. Orbiter



“So that is your final report on the subject then?” Came the solemn words of Colonel Rutwar.

“Yes sir,” Gunter said.

“A sad thing that all those pilots died,” Rutwar stated. “Don’t you think?”

“Sir, I tried everything I could. We were outmatched,” Gunter said.

“Captain, I’m aware that you allowed yourself to remain for too long. I’m also aware that you’re the only one fully responsible for that decision,” Rutwar said, coldly.

Defeated and unwilling to fight his case any longer Gunter spoke, “Sir, may go?”

“Yes, Captain,” Rutwar motioned for him to leave. “Your transport to the Hiritamn Fleet will be arriving shortly. There you will be officially stripped of your Captain’s rank. So long First Lieutenant.”

Gunter left the room and stormed down the corridor. His pride was no longer intact. He only had his rage. He went to the level transporter and descended to the bottom level of the ship. He stepped out and swiftly walked to his room. He grabbed his belongings and threw them into his bags. As he put his last belonging into the bag he caught site of the large transport docking with the A.H. Orbiter. Ancient Home Orbiter had been Gunter’s home for nearly two years. He wouldn’t miss it however.

As he glared at the dreaded transport he studied the beam weapons and rapid-fire lasers mounted on it. It was a formidable force. He noticed the fighter escort lingering next to it. They, along with the weapons system on the transport, insured the well being of the ship and guaranteed it’s safe arrival at its destination.

Gunter would be headed to Luguathar. Luguathar was an area, rich in resources and heavily populated, which required a large amount of military presence. It was home to many political figures in the Empire. The death rate required one hundred thousand new pilots a month to defend it.

Gunter knew his death was near as he boarded the ship. He could feel the cold feeling of darkness nipping at his heart. He felt overwhelmingly uneasy about his journey. As he and three other pilots made themselves comfortable for the lengthy flight to the nearest node area he observed that the transport was carrying boxes of cargo marked with the War Machine logo. The War Machine was the largest manufacturer and provider of weapons in existence. They produced nearly every ship in the Force. The W and M on the box stared Gunter in the face as though it were enticing him to break it open. At first, Gunter didn’t understand why he was so drawn to it, but after straightening his thoughts a bit, he realized that he wanted to hijack the transport and the weapons in that box would be his lucky break. He began to study the other individuals in his presence. They appeared just as uneasy as he.

He decided to introduce himself saying, “I’m Gunter.”

A rugged, unshaven, tired looking young man spoke up. “I’m Sik Zohma,” he said, smiling, as if amused by Gunter’s attempt at socialization.

Another man, looking at Sik as if his initiating conversation was his cue, began to speak to Gunter saying, “Aren’t you that guy? You know, the Captain guy of the Drayvans or whatever?”

“Yes I am, or was I should say,” he said, reflecting on his failures.

“You getting demoted too?” Asked the last of the men.

“Yes,” he reluctantly conceded.

“So are we,” said Sik. “We are now to be Second Lieutenants.”

“First Lieutenant,” Gunter informed them raising his hand and identifying himself. “What’d you guys do?”

“We’ve been blamed for the unfortunate death or our Captain,” he said, sarcastically. “Captain Timo. We just didn’t get his back one time like he always demanded. He was always jumping into the middle of the enemy. We finally had our share and decided to let him figure it out for himself. He always put us in danger when he would battle.”

“That’s very unfair,” said Gunter. “And do you know where you are all going right now?” He prodded.

“Some place called Luguathar,” said Sik innocently.

“Oh, my dear men, not just ‘some place,’ but a certain death,” Gunter said.

“What do you mean, ‘certain death,’” said another man.

“What’re your names?” He asked of the two yet unnamed men.

“I’m Brock Cybrin and this here is my brother, Ryne,” said Brock.

“Well, Brock, Ryne, and Sik, the place we’re going offers a few statistics,” Gunter began. “On Average, one hundred thousand men a month are sent to replace dead pilots.”

“No, not us,” said Ryne. “They said that we’re getting desk jobs.”

“Are you kidding?” Gunter questioned him harshly. “There are no desk jobs there! There are only pilots and soldiers. Consider this your termination. You’ll die, your families will be notified, and your body will be incinerated right there in Luguathar. They aren’t shipped out because the cost to transport so many dead would become ungodly.”

“I believe you sir,” said Sik. “But what do you plan to do?”

Gunter toiled for a moment over his decision but finally took his chance. “How good are you with a gun Sik?”

“I, was the best shot in basic training,” he hesitantly said. “Why?”

“These boxes in front of us have lots of guns in them. Take your pick, cause we’re going to hijack this transport,” and there it was, plain as day, Gunter had committed. He now awaited a response.

“Finally, a guy in this sorry excuse for a space force with some backbone!” Sik said enthusiastically.

After seeing the approval of their friend Sik, Brock and Ryne decided this was an appropriate maneuver. Their lives would surely end in Luguathar, but if they were successful with the hijack, they could live.

“How do you want to do this?” Sik asked, seeking his newfound leader’s instruction.

Gunter stood up and opened one of the crates. Inside were high power IPP guns. “Follow my lead men,” he said and walked toward the pilot’s cabin. The men followed. Before he opened the door, he looked at Sik very hard. “Are you sure you want to do this?” He quietly whispered. Sik nodded. “Take your gun and hold it to the back of the co-pilot’s head. That’s all you’ll need to do. Leave the rest to me.”

Gunter and Sik opened the cabin door quietly. As Sik let his gun press against the head of the co-pilot Gunter began to speak, with his gun firmly pressed against the Pilot’s head. “Alright, coms off, if you send a distress call of any sort, you will be killed. Slowly stand up with your hands where I can see them co-pilot! Then go into the back!” The co-pilot stood, very frightened, and marched through the cabin door where Brock and Ryne pointed their guns. “All right Jason,” Gunter said, eyeing his nametag. “You will radio for the two fighters to dock and for the pilots to come in for a code twenty-eight. Is that understood?” The pilot nodded. A code twenty-eight was for an evaluation of the electrical systems of the ship. The pilots were trained for maintenance of this sort. It wouldn’t warrant any suspicion.

“Escort one and two, do you copy transmission?” Said the pilot. There was a pause. “Roger that. Request that you dock for code twenty-eight. Repeat. Request dock for code twenty-eight.” Another pause. “Roger that.”

“Good, now into the back.” Gunter ordered. “I’ll open the doors only when both pilots are docked and ready, so we can time their demise without warning to one or the other.” He told Sik.
As the doors slid open and the fighter pilots stepped onboard they were greeted with plasma fire and killed without knowing what hit them.

“Brock and Ryne, the two of you will pilot the fighters.”

•

Year 5047 Centrael DieGreich: Uncharted Space/Blue Planet


It had been seven days and no Jovian ship had been sighted. Our defenses were in place, the men were well trained, and we had enough weapons to supply every man. Our plan would be to slaughter the first Jovians down and then to take apart the landing ships and transport all components to a research facility two cities away. The city was called Traharah. It was deeper than the city Budar, where Clume and I resided. I was informed that Traharah was well equipped with the necessary tools and facilities to do what we needed to do. Barah’s researchers in Budar were amazingly efficient and able when it came to the gun, which encouraged me since Barah made it clear that advances could be made much quicker in Traharah.

In the past days I had been drawing up rough designs of the ships I wanted to construct. They were sleek, maneuverable, and powerful. I tailored the cockpit to be most efficient with the Arachmen biological structure, however I also drew up plans for a ship suited to my liking. I planned to be the front-runner in the space fight.

“I feel like it could happen any hour,” I responded to Clume after he’d asked when I thought they might arrive.

“I’m excited, eager, and terrified all at once Nef,” Clume admitted.

“I feel about the same, Clume,” I was terrified because I kept replaying the horrible scenes of my last days on Keid. I was about to encounter my worst fear, and only possibly conquer it.

“Some vacation wouldn’t you say?” Clume asked sarcastically, catching me off guard.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You said when we first met that you came here as a vacation. I just thought it was some kind of bad luck that this was your idea of a vacation at first,” he said innocently.

“Clume,” I hesitated. “I’m not supposed to be here.”

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“I mean, I wasn’t permitted to be in this group. Gunter, my Captain, knew Captain Gretkoff. Gretkoff pulled a few strings so I could come along. I just wanted to see a green planet again. It reminded me of home,” I confessed.

“Wow,” said Clume in amazement. “This really is a trip gone sour for you. Now, if you actually do make it out of this place, you’ll be in trouble back home.”

“Yeah I,” I was cut off by the warning alarms in the cave. Shouts and battle cries sounded as men flooded to their positions. Clume and I ran as well. We picked up weapons and empty packs. The empty packs would serve to hold components of whatever ship we found.

“Natga Lowe!” I shouted, which meant ‘Let’s fight!’ in Ugatlan language. I had picked up quite a bit during my seven days among the people. Clume was very surprised that I was so adept. Lowe is the word they assigned to fight. The actual meaning was ‘to take life.’ I ran next to Clume as we made our way through the sea of Arachmen. We soon rose to our designated cave opening, where I could see five ships barreling down on us. I imagined the unsuspecting Jovians sitting onboard. I thought again however, just how well trained they were regardless of how unexpected the attack would seem. The Jovians had a deep routed history of ruthless slaughter against overwhelming odds. I could only assume we’d be better though.

“I only see five,” said Clume. “That’s good right?”

“Yes,” I said confidently.

The ships dropped behind the tree line escaping our visibility. I knew they had made touchdown. “Fortuah!” I yelled. The Arachmen suddenly appeared. We all moved rapidly in the direction of the fallen ships. When in the immediate vicinity Clume and I, along with every other on our side became absorbed once again into the invisibility of the environment.

Sounds echoed around me as I listened. I knew the Jovians were approaching. I whistled like a native bird to signal the first stage of our attack. This meant that those that were closest would each aim at one target and fire. The coordination of effort meant that not one Jovian would be left standing after the second’s worth of firing. This also left no time for a distress signal to be sent. The firing commenced and everyone nearby stood and ran to begin disassembling the ship.

In Ugatlan tongue I spoke, “Status on all other operations?” “Good” and “Successful” came over the band numerous times. All parties had had positive results. The ship began coming apart quickly, but I knew the Jovians would soon realize that the radio silence was unnatural, which meant a larger mission would soon be on its way. “Let’s go! Let’s go!” I urged to Arachmen. Pieces began leaving the area. More and more of the Arachmen disappeared from the site, but the ship still stood, very much intact. “Status on number one?” I requested over the band.

“One is thirty percent complete sir,” came the response from the team leader in team one.

I continued to ask for updates on the other teams as I watched our own disassemble at an alarming rate. I became very nervous however when nearly an hour had passed. Many Arachmen were on their tenth and eleventh trips carrying the materials back and forth into the caves. Three men were given the specific duty of documenting the previous placement of every piece as it was taken off. We wanted to make sure that we knew what everything was and how everything fit together.

“I’m really nervous Nef,” said Clume.

“I am too,” I assured him.

“What are the other teams looking like?” He asked.

“They’re almost completed. We’re all moving at about the same rate,” I told him.

As the last few pieces were loaded into packs and we took our own pieces I looked to the air only to become severely frightened. There were fifty or a hundred ships coming down. I couldn’t count for sure how many, but it became very imperative that we get back into the caves.

“Let’s go Clume!” I yelled uneasily. “They’re striking back.”

“In under two hours! It’s amazing how quickly they can put together an assault!” exclaimed Clume.

This was the point at which all our training would come into play. All the placement of traps would be tested. The effectiveness of the different selected vantage points would show itself able or unable. And the newly battlefield oriented minds of the Arachmen would be tried. As we descended I could hear the beginnings of war from above. Booms and bangs echoed throughout the corridors of the cave.

“They’re here! They’re fighting!” Clume cried.

“Keep your fingers crossed,” I said. “It’s a race against time.”

I decided to call across the band. “What’s the status up there?”

“We’re gaining ground sir. The element of surprise is ours. The Daking technique is working well sir,” came my response. The Daking technique developed and named by me was to set up sensors on each gun to register if one was already aiming at a specific target or enemy in order to allow each man to fire and kill his own target, thereby getting the maximum killing effect in the shortest amount of time. Visibility would only be for a moment and most, if not all enemies, would be dead within that moment.

Once into the city we made our way to the large Zetrabules, which were the bullet shaped transports that shot through the cave tunnels. As we unloaded the last pieces into it and stepped inside with Barah, I heard a piercingly loud boom, which led me to turn around. I witnessed a huge ball of fire filling the entire city behind us. It filled, from top to bottom, the entire cavern that was the city. Exasperated my jaw dropped. My only thought, as we shot away from the chaos and toward Traharah, was that the Jovians had developed a devastatingly powerful weapon of mass destruction.