Iii Wars Trilogy: Book 1: Visions

By John E. Thompson

It was the last image however, taking shape just before the entrance to his treasure room, that shook Thirds very soul and filled him with more terror and dread he had ever felt before. An imposing human warrior stood barring Thirds entrance into his destiny of power and fame. The man stood resolute in his battle ready stance, and Third felt as though he was seeing death incarnate. The warrior held a metallic rod in one gauntleted hand and a shield at the defensive ready in the other. A single stonework battle tower was emblazoned upon the circular shield. Somehow, Third knew that he would forever remember this warriors determined face.

Third tried to focus his mind to remove the vision, but it remained. He tried to slow his drifting approach toward the warrior, but he couldnt. Some force was compelling them to each other.

With calculating eyes the warrior sensed his presence and raised his battle rod to strike. An aqua-blue hue enveloped the metal rod as it shimmered, transformed, and lengthened into a long sword. Flames burst to life over the entire surface of the gleaming blade as the terrifying warrior raised it high overhead. With his shield held in perfect defense he lunged forward and slashed the blazing sword downward into Thirds mind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 19, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452015415

John E. Thompson

Born and raised in the quiet Midwestern town of Flat Rock, Michigan, John is the youngest of four children of James H. and Gaetane T. Thompson. Blessed with an interesting heritage of horse liberating Confederates from his fathers family and hearty French-Canadian stock from his mothers family, John developed a love for history, reading, the outdoors, and travel, just to name a few. As an enlisted machinist mate in Uncle Sams greater canoe club (the US Navy), John sailed the high seas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans onboard the USS Hector AR-7. It was during some of his down time at sea and ashore, in which he enjoyed hilariously rousing D&D adventures with several of his shipmates, chief among them his best friends Tim and Matt (Digger). John later served as an Infantry Officer in the Michigan Army National Guard and received his Bachelors degree in Business from Eastern Michigan University. With travels to over twenty countries and almost all of the states, Johns civilian work experiences include some of the following; newspaper boy; a swimming instructor, custodian, security (bouncer) at some local watering holes; traumatic brain injury facility house manager; selling cars; a computer software instructor; chaperoning international travel groups; manager of a law office; a restaurant manager; and a building facilities supervisor. Currently, John resides in Michigan and is a supervisor with the University of Michigan Hospitals Security and Entrance Services Department. This is his first novel and it is a mixture of all the above, along with some other life experiences and a generous dose of imagination, that are the basis for his tales. Enjoy!

Book preview

Contents

Visions

PART I

CLOUDS OF WAR

War Cry

Rumors

Endings and Beginnings

A Friend In Need

Shields

PART II

PYRES OF DEATH

Business is Business

Skirmishes

Ways of War

Baptism of Fire

Forest through the Trees

Trackers

WHITEOUT

TARGETS

PART III

WINTER’S WORK

Hunters & Hunted

Storm Fronts

Swirls of Battle

Realities

Dawn’s Early Light

ORC WAYS

Vengeance

HIGH TIDE

CHANGING TIDES

REVEALED

GLOSSARY

FORWARD

It has taken me a very long time to write this first novel of mine and without the help and support of my family and friends, it would have been so much longer.

Foremost to thank are my mother and father, Gaetane and James Thompson. Your common sense upbringing and steadfast support have been the foundation of my very being and the source of my imaginative and outgoing nature. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for always being there. I’d also like to thank my brothers, Charlie and Jacques for their support as well.

Next are my two boon shipmate companions, Tim and Matt (a.k.a. ‘Digger’). Our hilarious adventures, both onboard the Hector and ashore, are memories I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. Tim, you are my dearest ‘Brother’, best friend, and one of my most treasured wellsprings of inspiration for my stories and for life. Thank you for all those countless conversations and seemingly endless re-reads, and especially for your wondrous knack for ‘breathing’ life into some otherwise ‘dusty’ scenes. ‘Digger’, your slightly different take on life is energetically contagious and always brings a warm smile to my face.

Lastly, but certainly not the least, I’d like to thank my companion Deborah. It took me nearly half of my life of searching and hoping to find you and I’m so glad I waited. My only wish is that we’d have found each other sooner. Thanks for the licorice.

PROLOGUE

The blare of collision alarms wailed repeatedly as clusters of multicolored lights flashed their urgent warning throughout the massive spaceship. Scores of ultra thin computer monitors, mounted on the walls of the ship’s Command and Control (C&C) compartment, efficiently displayed a vast multitude of the ship’s systems.

All were performing as designed. The alien numbers, symbols, and text on two of the blue-screened monitors were much larger and were urgently pulsing, as they displayed the course, speed, and estimated impact time of two rapidly approaching asteroids.

The data would have been viewed by the ship’s crew, but they were all in deep sleep in their individual hyper-sleep chambers. Life-sign indicators above each egg-shaped pod displayed bright solid green bars, signifying that the hosts were alive and well as they slept away their long voyage back to their home world.

The crew of the enormous reconnaissance vessel was an aggressive race of mantis-like insectoid species called the Claktar. Their delicate, almost fragile looking appearance belied a powerful and superior hunter-killer race. A rugged armor-plated exoskeleton covered their entire body and a natural patchwork of brown and green patterns provided them an innate camouflage. To a Claktar, these distinctive shaded patterns individualized them from each other, not unlike differing human facial marks or fingerprints.

A fully-grown claktar stands about two meters tall, roughly seven feet. They prefer to walk upright on a pair of multi-jointed legs, with three pairs of similarly jointed arms. When they choose to, however, they can run swiftly on all eight appendages. A pair of retractable wings on either side of their spine enable them to fly for short distances; giving them yet another survival advantage.

Their eyes are multi-faceted and protrude like jewels from under a rippled bony plate that frames their wedged-shaped triangular head. This provides superior visual data to a highly developed and perceptive mind. A pair of mandibles protrudes from the front of their slightly undersized mouth. Surprisingly, these menacing looking appendages are not only extremely efficient at tearing flesh from bone; they are also capable of a complex and resonant language. To human ears, their speech sounds like a combination of dry rustling leaves and branches scraping against each other in a brisk fall breeze.

Similar to many other insectoid species, the Claktar have a hive-like society with a dominant matriarchal ruling queen and subordinate workers. Earlier in their evolution, the rival Claktar hives waged savage and bloody wars as rival queens fought for supremacy. Their world was ravaged for many dozens of centuries, as one by one each hive was annihilated until only two remained. These two mighty hives squared off against each other with modern technologies and fought a devastating global war for more than a hundred years until finally only one ruling queen stood alone. This victorious bloodline has ruled supreme for the past four centuries.

While the crew slept, the ship’s complex array of systems continued to operate smoothly on automated mode. Still, the systems were monitored and maintained by an assortment of robots. Forged on distant worlds and composed of highly advanced polymer metals, silicon, and plastics, these thinking machines had a wide array of sensors and multi-functioning digits sensitive enough for the most delicate surgery, or the complex computers and cryptic control systems throughout the massive ship.

The many models of robots defied any uniform description. Some were smaller than the palm of a small child’s hand, intricately designed for specific functions. Others towered over their creators. Larger than the fabled Ice-bears of the northern climes, these massive constructs could manage a multitude of functions, including such duties as security and combat.

Throughout the massive ship, robotic optic sensors tirelessly and efficiently scanned every workstation. Those in the C&C compartment methodically plotted the necessary course changes to avoid the two massive bodies of rock and ice that were on a collision course with each other just ahead of their spaceship’s current course. The two colossal asteroids would collide 521.61 kilometers to the starboard of their survey vessel.

Other Claktar vessels had recently charted this far-flung sector of space and had identified several diverse solar systems. This ship’s mission was to survey two of those systems and collect bio-samples for study back home. Having completed their mission, they had just started their long voyage home with hundreds of cargo chambers filled with thousands specimens of exotic creatures, plants, and minerals from multiple worlds. Most of these were still alive and would remain so in the protective environment of deep sleep stasis.

The ship was passing through another single star system with eight orbiting planets and well over sixty satellite moons in all. The four distant planets were large gas giants, while the two closest to the blazing star were scorching barren rocks. The third and fourth planets, however, were both ‘M’ class Blue Worlds. They both had suitable gravities with habitable climates and breathable atmospheres of twenty percent oxygen and other gases. Each planet had a single large satellite moon in orbit around it. Both contained several large landmasses with fresh and salt-water environments, offering a wide spectrum of climates and ecosystems. The Claktar’s galactic charting system had registered them as worlds 52160 and 52161, respectively.

The auto focusing optic sensors of one of the robots in the C&C compartment was scanning the incoming data on the illuminated computer screen. Its electronic brain took less than 0.003 milliseconds to calculate that the ship’s best course of action would be to skirt the edge of the fourth planet, registry 52161. The planet’s gravity and its orbiting moon would act as shields and draw away most of the projectiles from their ship.

With dazzling speed and precise timing, a pair of the robot’s angular arms quickly punched up relative data on both planets just as an adjoining set of arms flipped a series of toggle switches that cut the power to the main engines. A third pair of appendages extended and depressed a long bank of ignition buttons for the starboard booster jets, turning them from red to green. Brilliant orange colored explosions blossomed from the starboard side boosters as they all blasted to life, shifting the vessel violently to port.

Had their insectoid creators been awake, their armored bodies might not have been able to withstand the brutal course change, but their robotic servants easily maintained their positions. Brilliantly designed magnetic stabilizers and sturdy metallic claws kept them firmly attached to the grilled deck plating, while those models with grav-units reacted with minor adjustments milliseconds faster than any biological construct would have been capable of.

After a precise 10.1355 second burn, the starboard boosters were shut down and a second later, the main engines blasted to life with a sun-like eruption, hurtling the ship forward on the crest of a massive wave of fire.

As the ship maneuvered to avoid fatal contact with the incoming meteors, critical data of planets 52160 and 52161 rapidly scrolled across the screens, detailing information necessary for survival. The robot’s unblinking optics recorded the list and transmitted the information electronically to all other robots, as well as the antennae receptors on each crew member’s hyper-sleep chamber. The information would be subliminally implanted in the subconscious of the sleeping crew, each fact as easily remembered as their crèche-lot numbers and identification symbols. Though it would be of no immediate use to them, the data would still be sent as a precaution.

Third Planet - Claktarian classification 52160, a.k.a. ‘Ear’

• Full spectrum of known elements and minerals, present in massive quantities.

• Planet inhabited with wide range of ecosystems, vast quantities of both salt and fresh water, and a profusion of organic life, both plant and animal.

• No superior intelligent species observed.

• Reptilian species have been dominant life forms for more than one hundred million years.

• Recommend long-term study of evolutional acceleration of reptilian species.

• CURIOUSITY: One of the planet’s seven continental land masses resembles the hearing appendage of several of the more intelligent species on planet 52161, what they commonly call an ‘ear’.

Fourth Planet - Claktarian classification 52161

• Full spectrum of known elements and minerals, present in massive quantities.

• Planet inhabited with wide range of ecosystems, vast quantities of both salt and fresh water, and a profusion of organic life, both plant and animal.

• Multiple superior intelligent species present.

• Dominant cultural status is at pre-industrialized medieval stage and most species are in conflict.

• Majority of inhabitants considered very aggressive. Treat as dangerous until proven otherwise.

• New unknown energy identified. Intelligent species of this world commonly call this energy, Magic.

• This magic energy is used by many of the planet’s species through a multitude of methods, including mental and physical manipulation.

• CURIOUSITY: Use of element called magic results in a distinctive color spectrum, which is directly relevant to user’s core beliefs. Example, someone whose core belief is rooted in righteous law and order would display a white color with any magical use.

• WARNING: Magic element is non-compatible and harmful to current Claktarian technologies. Dangerous malfunctions and corrupting viruses highly probable. Direct contact with planet is strictly prohibited.

The two huge asteroids smashed into each other with cataclysmic force. A massive spherical-shaped shockwave streaked out in all directions. The rogue wave raced through the void of space at more than twice the speed of sound and struck the ship’s defensive forceshields on its lower front starboard quarter, enveloping the entire vessel and rocking it violently, nearly flipping it over. Inside the vessel, automatic damage control doors and hatches sealed shut and internal containment force fields were activated at critical locations on every level.

The collision completely pulverized both asteroids and sent tens of thousands of fragments streaking away in every direction. Most of the projectiles sped away from both the ship and planets.

One mountain-sized meteor shard hurtled directly for the reptilian dominant planet 52160, ‘Ear’th. Caught by the planet’s gravity, the massive meteorite tore through its atmosphere and slammed into one of ‘Ear’th’s vast oceans, vaporizing trillions of gallons of water and punching into the planet’s crust. A gigantic mushroom-shaped cloud blossomed up through the uppermost layers of the atmosphere, nearly reaching outer space. The impact sent massive tidal waves surging nearly all the way around the entire planet. Countless islands and vast shorelines were literally wiped away while innumerable creatures were killed. The deep impact caused scores of volcanoes to erupt all over the wounded world. Huge forest fires covered most of the landmasses. Within hours, the entire planet was enveloped in a shroud of thick dark angry clouds of dust, debris, and smoke. The sun’s life giving light was effectively shut out.

Several thousand fragments from the asteroid collision - some the size of huge boulders - raced toward the still reeling spacecraft. One of the C&C robots calculated that some of the research specimen chambers could be used as crude shields to absorb the incoming projectiles if they penetrated the ship’s powerful energy forceshields. A flash command from the robot sent dozens of its counterparts, stationed on the starboard side of the ship, into action. With amazing speed they began detaching the latch points that held the specimen chambers on that side of the ship, sending them drifting slowly away from the ship’s main body.

Throughout the ship, teams of maintenance and repair robots were positioning themselves at critical points - ready to repair any potential damage. Armed security robots stationed themselves at vital intersections to deal with any dangerous research specimens that might get loose from the other storage chambers located on the port side of the ship.

Seconds later, the hurling chunks of meteor slammed into the ship’s force fields. The initial stone shards exploded against the energy shields creating a spectacular fireworks display. Many of these fragments were reflected back onto other incoming rocks, impacting them and creating a cloud of debris that quickly enveloped the shields.

This class of deep space research vessel was equipped with civilian-style shielding and consequently was not designed to handle such impacts. Another robot in C&C that was monitoring the ship’s forceshield strength was rapidly transferring power from unaffected sections to help strengthen those being weakened by the storm of meteors. Had the besieged vessel been one of their combat ships, with their more powerfully designed military shields, they would have easily handled the impacts. Unfortunately, this civilian craft was on a mission of scientific study and its shields were not rated to withstand the galactic maelstrom it was now caught in. Despite the robots’ efforts, the shields quickly reached their maximum absorption capacity and began to shut down. Hundreds of meteors passed through the overwhelmed shields.

Spectacular explosions blossomed all along the starboard side of the ship as the meteors slammed into the dozens of specimen chambers. These crude ‘shields’ were shredded into twisted wrecks and their precious cargos hurled into the surrounding black void. Most of the lower brain functioning specimens died a slumbering death, but some silently wailed or screamed as they were sucked ferociously out of their pressurized chambers into open space. Mercifully, they died quickly.

The higher functioning specimen creatures had been stored in more secure hyper-sleep pods. Those pods that hadn’t been destroyed from the initial impacts or explosions continued their deep sleep as their pod tumbled away from the hellish scene to some unknown fate. More than a score of these pods eventually drifted into the gravitational pull of the third planet and in time disappeared into its broiling clouds. Two shattered pods contained creatures that were somehow able to exist even in the void of space. After drifting in space and orienting themselves, they generated some yet unknown internal propulsion system and headed for deep space.

With the shields down, hundreds of rocks streaked into the ship’s main hull with devastating effects. One rock, over six meters in diameter, tore through the hull at a key companionway intersection. The kinetic energy of the meteorite vaporized all of the robots stationed there and demolished two other specimen chambers as it blasted out from the port side of the ship.

The mortal wound to the massive vessel came when a particularly large fragment hit the C&C center. The impact tore the entire compartment completely away from the ship. A maintenance robot equipped with tools instead of digits, stationed in a corridor one level below the C&C center, reported that compartment inoperable – even as it commenced welding repairs to the exposed area. Without delay, all command decisions were automatically transferred to Engineering. More maintenance robots arrived at the destroyed site to commence with what repairs they could.

The meteor shower pulverized every external communication dish and antenna, instantly cutting off all communication with their home world. More rocks riddled the main engines and peppered most other areas of the ship as well. All internal artificial gravity was lost and even the robots’ magnetic stabilizers couldn’t help them maintain their balance as the ship shuttered in the maelstrom.

As suddenly as it began, it ended. The meteor shower quickly passed by the ship and continued through space. Explosions continued to rock the ship as almost all breathable air gushed out of the stricken vessel. Debris from damaged and destroyed robots, specimen and crewmember body parts, electrical wiring, and other equipment tumbled crazily within the ship’s remaining chambers, passageways, and corridors. Electrical sparks flew from exposed wiring and danced wildly in the zero gravity, and with the main engines off-line the battered ship descended into planet 52161’s atmosphere.

The still operable robots re-attached themselves to whatever surface they could and immediately began to make repairs. Using whatever debris they could grab hold of, they began plugging the holes and gashes in the ship’s hull. Maintenance robots stationed on the exterior of the hull were busy making critical repairs, while they meticulously reported on their progress and the condition of the hull. Within seconds of receiving this new data, the engineer robots computed which essential functions would provide the best possible survival for the ship.

Friction with the upper atmosphere began a new assault on the ship. The underside of the hull was soon glowing bright red. In several exposed sections, the atmospheric friction was melting interior compartments and corridors.

This new threat caused most of the repair robots to focus their efforts on re-establishing control of the forceshields. Within moments, partial power to the lower forward shields was re-established just as the exterior robots, working ceaselessly in the intense heat, became hunks of molten metal composites.

Commands were sent to robots not involved in engineering or other vital structural repairs to converge on the crew’s hyper-sleep chambers. Those arriving late assisted the other robots who were busily transferring the sleeping crewmembers into escape pods. Medical robots moved among the multitude of the pods. They scanned the sleep chambers for those with life indicator readings in the green and tagged them for removal to the escape pods. Those with indicators in the red were to be left behind.

The robots worked smoothly and within minutes several escape pods were full to capacity, including two of the larger royal pods. It was lost on the passionless workers that most of the other escape pods remained empty.

The standard Claktarian escape pod was spherical in shape and contained enough space for three claktar and essential survival equipment. The royal pods were considerably larger and had more powerful shields. These pods could hold one royal female sleep chamber and up to a dozen more spaces for the other claktars.

An engineering robot with one limb missing, another partially damaged, and one side of its angular metallic head dented, was stationed at a tattered but still functioning computer. It promptly transmitted the coordinates of their now very distant home world to each of the sleep pods. Next, it tried to bring up a display of the planet to plot accurate landing sights for the pods, but the dish designated to complete the task had been demolished. Without any fanfare, the robot reported this fact to the others.

The once shining research ship continued to deteriorate as it dipped lower into the atmosphere. Damaged pieces of the huge craft continued to break off and spin dizzyingly away. A single command from the damaged engineering robot instantly jettisoned the first royal pod and twelve of the smaller pods. Unaware of their intended target, the sleeping crew plummeted downward toward a sizeable, pale-brown land mass – miles upon miles of burnished sand forming one of the larger desert regions of this new world. The pods traced fiery golden trails in their wake as they streaked across the night sky. Moments later, the other royal pod blasted away from the stricken vessel, along with another dozen of the smaller pods. However, the incredible speed of the ship, and a critical miscalculation from the damaged engineer robot, jettisoned this second wave of pods just as they were coming over a vast body of water. Fiery trails marked their path through the sky until they plunged down into an immense ocean.

Back in the beleaguered engineering section, surviving robots were still diligently repairing the ship. They managed to get the main engines back on-line just as the vessel emerged from the lowest level of clouds. Blasting back to life, the ship shuttered out of its steep dive and lurched upward into a painfully slow ascent. Violent shudders rocked the ship again and again as it fought to stay in the air. With controls tenuously re-established, the remaining robots onboard computed the landing coordinates for a position somewhere between the two clusters of escape pods. Their next seemingly impossible task was to keep the ship together long enough to complete a full orbit and reach their carefully computed location.

The quivering mass of steel raced around the planet and was almost through its orbit when two of the hyper-sleep chamber’s life indicators switched from red to green. Programmed to serve, the robots nearest the sleep chambers halted what they were doing and dutifully rushed back out to transfer the two slumbering crewmembers into a functioning escape pod. As they struggled to save the two sleeping claktars, engineering reported the main engines were jammed and would go critical within seconds.

With the sleeping claktar secured in place, the pod was quickly jettisoned. A partially damaged security robot had also been loaded into the pod to provide more protection for the two isolated claktars when they reached the ground. As the small pod plummeted away, a lingering robot back onboard the main vessel focused one of its optic sensors on one of the escape pod’s egg shaped windows. Through the tempered glass, it observed sparks flickering from the security robot’s randomly waving appendage. It dutifully reported its observation.

Not fifteen seconds later the main engine exploded in a brilliant flash, completely vaporizing the back half of the ship. With a massive trail of smoke, the front half of the vessel was sent into a crazy twisting spiral, crashing into a desolate island mountainside. The ship’s bow burrowed into the ground, then angled upward when it glanced off a large formation of hard granite. Somehow most of the structure remained essentially intact as it came to rest. The majority of the vessel was buried except for a fifteen-meter section of the nose, which protruded up out of the ground at a sharp sixty-degree angle.

The shockwave from the detonating mother ship hurled the last jettisoned pod through the arid skies above a vast desert. As it neared the ground, the pod smashed through several enormous sand dunes, blasting the sand high into the air. It bounced over several more dunes before finally rolling to a stop at the base of another. The settling sand nearly buried the sphere, leaving only the escape hatch barely visible.

Inside the buried pod, the security robot detached its limbs from the securing mounts. Its dual sensing optical cameras had been knocked out of alignment, giving its facial features a somewhat confused appearance. Methodically, it began to examine the two sleeping forms with its malfunctioning arm, but when the whirling limb extended its pincer it accidentally bludgeoned one of the unconscious creatures in its thorax. It instantly retracted the limb as the life preservation chip of its programming kicked in. The security robot recalibrated its remaining arms as best as it could with the now dysfunctional ’eyes’. Observing that both indicators were still reading in the green the robot remained still, except for the flopping manipulator arm, and watched over its masters. Occasionally it emitted a crackling Pp-zik…..Ping! as overloaded fuses tripped and reset to contain the flow of power running along the damaged circuits.

The abrupt landing caused the Emergency Automatic Recovery System on the two sleep chambers to activate, rousing the two creatures from their death-like comatose state. Moments later, both pod’s seals cracked open. A loud hiss of cool pressurized air gushed from the chambers and instantly turned to mist in the warmer surrounding atmosphere. The lids split open and quickly recessed into hidden folds.

Most beings emerging from such chambers might have needed several moments to orient themselves, but not Claktar. They were instantly alert and quickly removed themselves from their beds. They chattered and clicked excitedly to each other as they slipped their six arms into web-like vest harnesses and secured the straps around their torsos. Next they clipped a variety of smaller dark colored packets and several other devices onto their vests. Finally, they strapped utility belts around themselves, slapped several small charger packs to their belts, and grabbed several tubular shaped metal weapons. The larger claktar ordered the ungainly robot to prep the hatch for opening while the smaller claktar read the computer display screen to gain vital information of the immediate area.

Spinning to comply, the security unit’s flailing arm narrowly missed the larger claktar’s mantis-like head, sending the large insectoid backpedaling in the confined space. Carefully the claktar edged toward his partner as the wild-eyed robot unfastened the hatch. Attention, T’chakkitt! This S-9 unit is unstable…..beware its actions! The larger claktar gingerly probed his thorax where a small crack in the carapace throbbed in pain.

The smaller claktar swiveled its head to peer intently at the robot. One convulsive eye on the unit looked unnervingly back at him as it clumsily used its two pincers to detach retainers, and another pair to try to capture the flailing arm.

KK-Pt-Pinnnnng!

T’chakkitt nodded once to his towering companion, and returned to scanning the flickering information screen.

* * * * *

CHAPTER I

Visions

A young boy crouched just below the crest of a cooling sand dune, his ears alert for sounds of possible danger. His sturdy legs were huddled close to him in an effort to keep warm against the cold desert night. Occasionally, he rose up to scan the area beyond his dune for predators, both natural and man-made. Spring time had come early this year and many creatures were certain to emerge from their winter dens, ravenous for a meal.

A river of twinkling stars filled the clear night desert sky above him and a bright full moon was just above the horizon, casting long deep shadows between the dunes. On the ground, an occasional gusting wind howled over the dunes, whipping the shifting sand into tiny swirling sandstorms that hovered just above the surface.

In a year, perhaps this dune would be gone, pondered the boy. Not gone, he corrected himself as he watched the swirls, just moved to another part of the desert.

Third glanced over his shoulder down to the sheltered campfire light glowing near the base of his dune. Four of his fellow tribesmen were huddled close to the fire. They passed around an old weathered skin of sunwine and conversed in low tones. Though the wind chilled him, Third was glad for the breeze. The gentle pressure against his skin made him feel less alone and it occasionally whispered to him the words of his tribesmen’s voices. He couldn’t quite hear all of their conversation, but he could hear a few. He was sure they were making fun of him again. It was one of their favorite pastimes.

Being the third son in the ruling family of his village he had no real power and he never would - certainly not as long as his older brothers lived. His birth order would never allow him to be in charge of the family business. He would always be relegated to working for his father and then his older brothers, when their father passed.

He begrudgingly accepted his lot in life. Since before his first steps it had been beaten into him to submit, behave, and do as you’re told. Early on, his brothers had even ignored his true name and began calling him Third.

As he matured Third noticed that his body was different than his brothers. While they all had the typical thin sinewy frames of most desert folk, his body was thicker and more muscular, like many of the barbarians who lived in the colder realms. Because of this, his physical strength was far superior to his slender brothers. This strength also helped him with the many laborious chores he had to perform. However, such a stocky build tended to be a handicap in the desert. In such a hot and unforgiving environment most thick objects retained more heat and thus drained one’s stamina more quickly. The desert could only be endured, never defeated.

Third kept to himself as much as possible. When contact was inevitable, he rarely used his superior strength to fight back against their oppression, preferring instead to use his razor-sharp intellect. He would evaluate, discern weak points, and use his mind like a scalpel to dissect his aggressor’s ego. He would then use these weaknesses to assault his opponent with a soft, yet seemingly innocent, observation or remark. It was not uncommon for the young Third to send a potential abuser away bewildered and confused, with angry tears in their eyes.

* * * * *

Another sentry sat bundled up in a blanket atop the dune on the far side of their small camp. Between him and Third slept one of their clan’s herds of muscot.

Similar in both size and shape to their more northern species, muscot had the usual four legs and large curved ram-like horns. While their northern cousins had long black to brownish woolly fur, desert muscot were hairless and instead had a thick tough leathery hide and armor-like plating over their shoulders, back, and sides. They vaguely resembled a giant armadillo. Much like camels, desert muscot could go nearly thirty days without water, but unlike the more temperamental camel, muscot tended to be much easier to manage.

* * * * *

When Third reached the age of discernment, he secretly tried to become an apprentice to the tribe’s wizard, but the shaman already had three youths under his tutelage and would take no more. When his father found out, he beat Third for days for embarrassing his family, then assigned him to cleaning the animal stalls for a year – a task usually assigned to slaves.

One day, a priest from a distant land wandered into their village looking for food and shelter. The clan folk were civil to him, as was the custom, but when this god-fearing man decided to stay awhile, the villagers began to ignore him. He had strange ways, even for an outsider, but these ‘oddities’ drew Third to him like a moth to a flame.

This unlikely pair struck up a friendship. The priest thrilled Third with stories of his Deity and how his god supported and rewarded his faithful followers. Third’s passions were stirred like never before. He became an eager pupil and quickly picked up on the teachings about this god, Tezcatlipoca. The days and months passed quickly with the priest sharing everything he had learned and Third showing himself to be a worthy receptacle.

One day a caravan of merchants from the north came through and the wandering cleric decided to move on. Third vowed to go with him but the priest gently ordered him to stay and continue his mysterious studies. Before the caravan departed, Third swore his allegiance to the foreign priest’s god, forever changing the course of his life. The gifted youth was instructed that Tezcatlipoca would send him a sign as to when to go out and spread the teachings. As a parting gift, the clergyman gave the young boy a single religious token, a thin golden necklace with a pendant depicting a blazing black sun within the center of a blood-red triangle.

Study hard, keep the faith, and watch for the sign, instructed the priest. I see greatness in your future. He also handed Third a small, ornately carved hand mirror. You have the gift of sight into men’s souls. You know their strengths and more importantly their weaknesses so use your gift well and bring more followers to our path.

As the caravan moved out, Third watched his mentor trudge away alongside one of the wagons. Not wanting to wait for the caravan to fade away into the distance, a gloomy Third headed back to his family home. Something told him to look into his gilded hand mirror. In it he saw a miniature reflection of the caravan departing over the dunes and to his amazement, where the priest had been walking was a thick, dark pillar of smoke churning alongside the wagon. As Third lowered the glass, the image disappeared and he wondered what could possibly come next.

* * * * *

High in the sky, a flash of light interrupted Third’s reminiscing. The brilliance lit up the entire skyline and landscape.

Smoking god! thought the young herder. What in the hell… Gaping up at the brilliance overhead, and without thinking, Third slowly rose to his feet. The flash quickly faded and the night sky returned to normal. It took a moment before he realized he was standing with his head looking up in amazement and his mouth slightly open. Embarrassingly, he glanced about. Did I imagine this? Suddenly, his hair blew back slightly and he involuntarily swayed as some invisible force from above washed down over him. The ground all around him for as far as he could see appeared to shudder as a low echo rumbled across the landscape. The rumbling quickly faded and it took him a moment to register the restless baying and moaning of their herd below. Looking to the camp, he saw the others were also standing and nervously chatting. His fellow sentry was also up and had his hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword as he scanned the herd.

One of the men from the camp shouted, See anything? Both Third and the other sentry shook their heads in the negative.

Hushed words drifted to Third’s ear from them, Strange and Yeah…so’s Third, followed quickly by laughter.

With a silent harrumph and narrowing eyes Third settled back down on his haunches and glared at his tribesmen. Moments later, hundreds of small streaking lights appeared in the sky as if someone had dumped a giant basket of falling stars. The entire sky came alive with arcing fingers of fire. Many fizzled out but some came crashing into the ground. Most of the potentially dangerous ones crashed in the distance with a dazzling display of fireworks, lights, and distant rumbling booms.

Every fireworks display has its finale, and this one ended with the appearance of an enormous flying tower of red hot burning metal and a fiery trail as it blazed from the eastern horizon to the west. With astounding speed it disappeared over the horizon taking with it the amazing light display.

Third wondered, Is this the sign the priest had referred to? Nervously, he looked to his fellow herders who were also watching the strange display. They chattered amongst themselves for a bit and then settled back down to their little campfire, continuing to speak in nervous hushed tones. Keep watch on the herd! one of them shouted to him.

Third smiled silently back at the man, May the fleas from a hundred camels find a new home on you, he mused as he resumed his watch.

As the creatures were hunkering down for a third time, another object arose from the same spot in the eastern horizon. This one resembled a flaming shield as it streaked through the night sky, the blaze reflecting off the backs of the muscot as it ascended. A much smaller bullet-shaped object exploded away from the mass heading right toward the herders. As it veered off, the ‘shield’ passed far overhead, soaring even higher until it too disappeared over the horizon.

Third’s eyes widened as a voice boomed in his head, Your quest begins. He felt it burning deep within his bones, filling all of his senses at once. Suddenly, his world exploded around him.

* * * * *

The raiders had finished spreading out east of the herd when the night sky went crazy and then later began to fall. A large fiery object slammed into the ground close to them, missing them but causing an alarming shockwave under their camel’s hooves. As the mounts shuffled nervously, the outlaws arrogantly took their near miss as a good omen.

Now! yelled their leader.

With vicious kicks and shrieking battle cries, they charged their camels up over the screening dune. Racing down the other side, shock replaced the battle frenzy on their faces as they suddenly reined in their mounts. The landscape before them was devastated. The herder’s camp was buried beneath sand and smoking cinder. Many of the herd lay dead and more than a few of the closer ones were partially buried. Some of the lucky ones were struggling to crawl out, baying in terror.

Both disconcerted and amazed at their good luck, the thieves hardly paused to discuss this miraculous event; it could wait for later. They hustled the surviving muscot off to the south. Within minutes they were all gone, leaving only hoof prints to mark their presence.

* * * * *

Third’s mind swam through a sea of fleeting images, strange events, and unfamiliar faces. He seemed to be effortlessly floating through time when a cloudy vision came into focus.

A strange insect-like creature was standing beside him. Together they were walking over a sand dune in a vast desert with the sun just beginning to rise behind them.

The vision faded as more images floated through his mind, only a few of them making sense. Colorful images drifted in and out of his consciousness. A dreamlike sequence of scenes began to take shape in his mind.

A throne of pure gold gleamed at the end of a long hallway. On one side of the throne he could see huge chests filled with precious gems and jewels. On the other side rested several incredibly beautiful women in silken garbs. Third’s chest surged with pride and lust.

In his mind, he began to slowly drift down the hallway. As he did, more faces and images began to appear before him. Most of them were vague and hard to view clearly but, several in particular stood out.

A large fortress came into view, deep in the middle of a vast forest of towering trees. Armored warriors lined the battlements and a wide clearing surrounded the fortress. The distant tree line of the forest seemed to be shaking. It took Third a moment to notice the countless dark shadowy warriors moving about beneath the tall trees.

The fortress scene faded as the image of a stunningly beautiful woman with shoulder length silky black hair and creamy pale skin came into view. She wore a long clinging gown, grey in color, and thick, as if made for a colder climate. Still, it complimented her form, accentuating her shapely curves. A delicate silver chain around her neck held a small rose-colored crystal, which rested between her supple breasts. Her gaze however, troubled Third for her eyes were filled with smoldering hate. She began to weave mystical incantations with her hands and horrible creatures rose up out of the surrounding haze to grasp at Third with their powerful outstretched claws. Third twisted and ducked away from them until he somehow realized the terrors were only illusions, and could not harm his dream-self.

The breathtaking woman faded as another image took shape. It was a dark shadow-laden man bereft of any features. He seemed to fill the scene before him with his hulking presence, yet no sound accompanied him. The silence was terrifying to the young boy. The dark human stood in a narrow alley, seeming to drift in and out of view within the shadows of the surrounding buildings while a succession of sinister looking eyes appeared deep in the murky darkness. Blackness filled Third’s mind until another vision formed.

Huge billowy white clouds took shape in a bright blue sky. Sea gulls drifted through the clouds and a fleet of ships appeared on the horizon. As the ships faded away, a lush green tropical forest came into view. Exotically colored animals and birds moved about. Looking closer, Third spotted large strange looking metal spheres partially hidden within thick foliage. Sunlight glittered briefly off them and crouched nearby were more of the strange insect-like creatures. These images were soon replaced with another scene.

Third saw a warrior standing triumphantly over a wrecked, smoldering village with slain bodies lying all around him. It took him a moment to recognize that the figure was standing in his own village. Looking more closely, Third realized that the triumphant warrior was himself, though much older. He was very imposing and grasped a wicked looking scimitar in his strong, blood-drenched hands. Thick black hair framed a handsome well tanned face and unfamiliar symbols were drawn across his shoulders and back. He looked down at his feet to see his older brothers lying dead in a crumpled heap. The blood draining from their bodies pooled into puddles that quickly turned into a dull brown patch of rust as the always thirsty sand soaked it in.

It was the last image however, taking shape just before the entrance to his treasure room, that shook Third’s very soul and filled him with more terror and dread he had ever felt before. An imposing human warrior stood barring Third’s entrance into his destiny of power and fame. The man stood resolute in his battle ready stance, and Third felt as though he was seeing death incarnate. The warrior held a metallic rod in one gauntleted hand and a shield at the defensive ready in the other. A single stonework battle tower was emblazoned upon the circular shield. Somehow, Third knew that he would forever remember this warrior’s determined face.

Third tried to focus his mind to remove the vision, but it remained. He tried to slow his drifting approach toward the warrior, but he couldn’t. Some force was compelling them to each other.

With calculating eyes the warrior sensed his presence and raised his battle rod to strike. An aqua-blue hue enveloped the metal rod as it shimmered, transformed, and lengthened into a long sword. Flames burst to life over the entire surface of the gleaming blade as the terrifying warrior raised it high overhead. With his shield held in perfect defense he lunged forward and slashed the blazing sword downward into Third’s mind.

His eyes shot open as he screamed in bloody terror. Cold sweat poured up his face as he looked about in confusion. Nothing looked right. Gathering his wits, he realized he was lying upside down against the far side of the dune he had been on. It was still night and his gear was strewn all around him. Clearing his head, he half turned and rolled over to position his feet under him then staggered upright.

With great effort, he weakly climbed up to the crest of the dune. He expected to see his campsite, but could find nothing. The other herders were nowhere in sight. At a glance, it looked as if the area had been wiped clean but after the initial scan it dawned on him that something wasn’t right. Peering more closely he slowly noticed that the dune he was on no longer cast a shadow. In fact, the dune was now shorter than the others nearby, as was the dune across from him, the one the other sentry had been on. That’s when he realized that the depression between the two dunes where the campsite had been was now completely filled in. Only then did he recall the memory of seeing a flash of something streak past dangerously close over his head and strike the dune behind him. It must have caused a sand slide, he reasoned, trapping his unsuspecting tribesmen and their tethered riding camels. Looking closer Third spotted a piece of leather cloth sticking out of the sand in the smaller depression. He carefully entered the area and dropping to his knees, dug out a small hole in the sand to expose more of the cloth. It was a sash of the same color as Marco’s sash, his fellow sentry. The youth was the same age as Third and he fondly remembered that he had been somewhat friendly toward him. Now he was dead - drowned in sand.

Still, being a wily desert survivor, he knew not to waste an opportunity. He dug out the body and stripped it of any valuables. His efforts got him a small dagger with his tribe’s markings on it, three worn copper pieces, a couple of thin strips of dried muscot meat, a soft rabbit’s foot and a small animal bladder water skin, still partially filled.

Third stashed the items in his pouches and tossed the rabbit’s foot aside. No luck left in this thing, he smiled cleverly to himself. He shook the water skin and examined it for any clumps of wet sand in unusual places, indications of a possible leak. He found none. He couldn’t find any other weapons, but he did remove the boy’s footwear, cloak, and sash which he stuffed into his small backpack.

Finding nothing else of value Third went looking for the missing herd. Their tell-tale tracks indicated they had run off toward the south. As he followed the trail, he soon detected other sets of tracks. These were from camels - ten or more. Raiders! he reasoned. Now what am I supposed to do? he wondered miserably to himself as he feebly handled the pommel of his sword.

Without thinking, he began to trudge after the herd. If he returned home without the animals, he would surely be beaten and further ridiculed. They might even cast me out of the tribe for losing the herd, his troubled mind reasoned.

As he continued tracking, he was starkly aware of his aloneness and torn about how to continue. He could never survive by himself in the vast desert. Better to slit my own throat now and spare me the agony of dying of thirst, he moaned glumly. Plodding along, Third’s mind changed gears as he focused on what tricks he might use to free his herd, if he somehow managed to catch up with the raiders. None of the outcomes he envisioned were brimming with prosperous endings.

* * * * *

On command, the robot pushed the hatch out, extricated itself from the pod, and promptly fell over onto the sand. With no sense of embarrassment, it slowly rose up as sand poured from its body and began scanning the terrain with its mechanical eyes. Switching through the entire light spectrum, its optical sensors scanned a precise three hundred and sixty degrees. As it searched, it reviewed the statistical data about the planet, particularly the wide variety of potential predators. It detected no immediate threats.

With the immediate area confirmed secure, the robot moved out at a jerking pace around the craft. Three of its six upper limbs smoothly extended three tubular projectile devices, ready for action, The one malfunctioning ‘arm’ randomly jerked and twisted about as the sentry completed three widening revolutions around the escape pod, until it reached the top of the dune, where it stopped. Another quick efficient scan found no other immediate threats to its masters. K-Pingningning, sounded the robot in a shrill tone.

At the base of the dune, the two claktar cautiously emerged from their escape pod. The larger one was first to poke his head out of the hatch. He blinked furiously in the bright sunlight as he climbed out and took up a position to the right of the hatch. Crouching low, he alertly pointed one of his two lethal weapons into the shadowy ‘V’ shaped base between the two dunes. The other weapon was pointed at the top of the dune opposite from them. His small wedge shaped head was tilted slightly, slowly swiveling from right to left. The creature’s eyes shifted through several spectrums of light selecting the best continuum with which to peer into the dark shadows created by the dunes.

Seconds later, the smaller claktar emerged and positioned itself on the left side of their partially buried craft. Both of their third pair of limbs remained tucked at their sides, claws twitching and flexing smoothly. At the peak of the dune, the robot chirped again as it rose to its full height. Tilting forward, it began weaving off in a northerly direction along the crest of the dune. The two claktar followed.

The three of them cast long shadows across the desert as they traversed atop the dunes on this alien world. They maintained their positions as best they could in the resistant sand, with the two claktar moving along the base of the dunes, using the shadows as much as possible, while their impervious drone, still unable to control one of its arms, struggled along the crust of the dunes.

The robot’s sensors continued to perform within normal operating parameters, even though an increasing number of electrical malfunctions were occurring. So far, the robot’s programs were managing to cope with and correct the strange interferences.

They had been moving for several hours when the robot’s radar, for the third time, detected movement coming in their direction. The first two such detections had turned up nothing and they had almost disregarded this one when the ground actually started shaking. Something was definitely moving up ahead and was coming their way.

The two claktars scrambled up for high ground just as the loose sand gave way underneath their feet. Nearing the top, they suddenly jumped to either side as their robot began flailing its arms wildly and slid some twenty feet down from atop the dune. Just as it was finally slowing and regaining traction, a large number of quadruped creatures came into view and were moving rapidly toward them. Almost instantly, the robot switched into combat mode, leveling its weapons. Its computer brain recalled the caution warning about most of this world’s creatures. The safety of its creators was paramount.

Sensing the danger, the two claktars took up flanking positions behind their robot just as the drone opened fire. Three melon-sized emerald-green globules of pure ionic energy belched from its weapons. The interstellar bullet, launched from the malfunctioning arm, seared a smoking hole into the sand immediately to the left of the rolling security unit. The other two shots streaked precisely into the lead creatures of the fast approaching threat. The ensuing explosion enveloped everything within two meters of each hit.

Screams of surprise and terror mingled with the horrible sounds of sizzling flesh as the creatures crashed to the sand, writhing in agony. The robot rapidly fired six more volleys of the deadly emerald blobs into the still onrushing pack with the same devastating results. One of the shots, fired from the wildly flailing arm, arched high into the night sky and disappeared behind a distant dune with a faint splat.

Four of the raiders riding at the front of the herd had their camels running full out and couldn’t avoid the blobs, when the emerald death struck. All of them were all enveloped in the green energy jells, along with the lead muscots. Those immediately behind, confined as they were between the two dunes, could do nothing but continue forward over the dying and into the deadly fire. Creature after creature melted into smoking gelatinous goo. The muscots along the flanks began to veer up and run over the sides of the dunes to escape the carnage. They surprised several of the flanking mounted raiders, trampling them, before scattering out into the desert.

The two claktars opened up with their weapons. Without any warning, two of the robot’s plasma pulse-rifles exploded. Shrapnel from the weapons and most of the robot’s metal limbs flew in all directions. Several pieces penetrated the robot’s torso, slicing vital internal connections as others tore into its face, shattering its optical sensors. Immolated in green flames and out of control, the robot accelerated to maximum speed into the desert night. Its single remaining arm, the malfunctioning one, continued firing wildly into the air and ground as the robot emitted an unintelligible high-pitched screech.

A chunk of the flying shrapnel from the exploding weapons struck the larger claktar as he rose to fire his own weapon a second time. The hit spun him completely around and knocked him flat to the ground. The shrapnel tore through one of the shoulder joints on its wounded thorax, completely severing one limb. The claktar screeched a long, high-pitched wail as he thrashed about on the sand.

The younger claktar, taken by surprise but unharmed by the blast, dropped his weapon as if it were some traitor and rushed to his companion’s aid. Pulling a sealed packet from one of his vest pockets, he ripped it open, draped the slimy gauze-like substance over the gaping wound, and then gently pressed down on it. The material sealed itself over the wound and instantly bonded to the creature’s outer shell.

The injured claktar stopped shrilling as the bonding substance numbed the entire area around the wound. He rolled over and got back up on his feet as if it never happened, ready for action again. The wound healed completely, the missing limb being the only clue that something terrible had happened.

* * * * *

The raiders at the rear of the herd maneuvered to a safe position before they came under fire. From the cover of a dune, they watched in shock as most of the herd was slaughtered before their eyes. The sniping came from a dune ahead of them and to their left and as they watched, the same dune exploded with a parade of blasts. An inferno on wheels burst into view, charging toward them and shooting a frenzied burst of the horrible green energy blobs.

The raiders heard a scream of "Ning Ning Ning,’ from the flailing monster. Behind it, two bizarre looking creatures were silhouetted in the green light.

Perceiving this hellish scene as a threat, the flustered leader of the raiders shouted a simple order Kill those infidel creatures! as he drew out his deadly curved sword.

The flailing monster charged down the dune as three of the leader’s men drove their camels around to the right and charged the robot. They drew out sabers, yelling their battle cries as they charged across the night sand, while three others did the same maneuver from the left. The four remaining raiders, including their leader, waited until the others had flanked the green flaming monster then charged up the front of the dune.

The robot blindly met them. Zah-ging Ning Ning, cried the S-9 unit as its flailing arm suddenly swept around and tore one of the marauders in half. The lower torso and legs remained in the saddle as the camel continued to gallop off into the desert. The other two raiders cried in shock as their sabers shattered or rebounded violently off its metal hide. Seconds later, the robot was past the desert thieves and rampaging further into the darkness with a fading, Woop Oop G-ning! Within moments it was out of sight, though a distant G-ning-ning-ning and scattered blasts could still be heard.

* * * * *

Sounds like S-9 is finally threatening someone besides us, announced T’chakkitt with a series of clicks and chirps as he helped his larger companion to his feet.

Clacpicoc quickly studied the native creatures, which were now swiftly advancing toward them. Each one was as tall as a full-grown claktar, smoothly galloping on four legs while displaying four more limbs near the top of a hump in its body. Amazingly, the monster had two heads, one with two eyes, a long snout, nostrils, and a toothy mouth at the end of a long shaggy neck, and on top of the hump above the four limbs was another head. This one also had two eyes, a much smaller snout, and a flat mouth with very small teeth. The two uppermost limbs held what looked like either weapons or crude shields, while the other two limbs seemed to grip either side of the main body’s hump. The majority of the beast was covered with hair, but some parts of it wore obviously crafted garments.

T’chakkitt, destroy the creatures to our right. I’ll take care of those to the left and we’ll converge on those between us, Clacpicoc commanded his much younger and smaller companion in their click, clack, and chirping language.

As the senior claktar reached down for his plasma rifle, T’chakkitt clicked a warning.

Don’t use the rifle! Remember your hyper-sleep messages? There’s something about this world that affects our electronics. I think our drone and our weapons are malfunctioning because of it.

Then we will use our chikots until we can grapple with them, responded Clacpicoc with a tone of utter confidence.

T’chakkitt pulled loose six chikots from his vest with each of his arms, as Clacpicoc did the same. Chikots were thin, triangular shaped black weapons; each one looking as if three spearheads had been fused together with their points facing outward. They spun at an accelerated velocity as they were thrown and shredded anything they came in contact with.

T’chakkitt hurled three of the deadly missiles at the two marauders quickly closing the gap between them. The pair of the whirling missiles embedded themselves into the outstretched neck of the beast with the third striking dead center between the four ‘upper’ limbs. To his amazement, the force of the throw ripped the uppermost part of this odd creature completely off the rest of its body. With calculated efficiency he noted blood gushing from the neck wounds as he watched the top section take a lifeless bounce. T’chakkitt’s additional set of missiles pierced the hairy chest of a second beast causing it to crash headlong over itself, and again, the upper section detached itself from the rest of the body. The smaller piece tumbled several times before rising wobbly on two of its limbs. The ‘lower’ body remained motionless on the ground.

The final beast charging at T’chakkitt veered off at the last moment and rushed past his right. One of its upper limbs swung a bulky looking object with surprising speed at his head. If it had not been severely shortened from its strike on the security robot, the slender weapon might have met its target.

T’chakkitt just barely ducked out of the way. Whirling around, he slashed at the underside of the beast with three of his powerful clawed limbs. Two of the razor-edged claws tore deep ragged lines into the creature’s belly and internal body parts began to spill out. The beast bleated horribly and crashed in a heap, but this time the upper section remaining attached. The gored lower section rolled over on top of the upper section in