Episode One: The War

 

Chapter One

 

The year 2261

Five Siektons, three males and two females, were returning home after a very rewarding expedition. The Siektons were travelers, explorers one might say adventuresome creatures always looking for the next big find. They were not large creatures standing a shade under 5 feet tall. They were humanoids, fairly pinkish in color, with a ruddy complexion, and just slightly on the portly side. The males had reddish hair while the buxom, hourglass shaped females' hair was more cotton candy colored. Although jovial and fun loving, they were skilled navigators and very serious about exploration and finding what was out there. They were discussing the numerous and very profitable artifacts they recovered when one noticed a slight glitch in the navigation instrumentation. He ambled back to the cargo section of the ship where there were two large containers. One container stored the artifacts they had discovered and the other the spare equipment. Each of the containers had three sections to separate their contents. The first section could be opened from the top while the other two sections could be opened from the side. The instrument he was seeking was in the bottom section of the container and he would have to crawl inside to retrieve it. He had to wear his headlamp to see inside and was crawling around when a large thud hit the ship, causing the container door to close. Another large thud rocked the ship and he could hear some faint screams and then silence. After a brief moment, he could feel the top part of the container being opened, heard some grunting, and then silence. He remained motionless. Not long thereafter, he felt the tingle of being transported. It seems that the marauders had decided to take the containers to sell at the market in "No Man's Land."

After he was transported, he could hear very little and remained silent. It seemed that hours went by when he felt the transporter again. This time he could hear some moving around in what he perceived to be in the distance. He heard some faint cries and loud grunting. He carefully opened the side panel and stuck his head out to see if he could see anything. What he saw shocked him. He could not clearly see his captors. He could only partially make out some figures in the shape of bowling pins. He was able to see his shipmates near a big cage. He switched on his recorder attached to the headlamp making sure not to turn the headlamp on. What he witnessed was so horrifying he could barely move. The screams, the grunting, the savagery were too appalling to be believed. When they had finished he somehow pulled himself back into the container and passed out.

During his period of unconsciousness, the marauders in their attempt to sell their booty tried to take a shortcut through a corner of the Gultron territory on their way to the market. Their cargo ship was not well armed and upon being discovered by a Gultron patrol was quickly disabled. When the Gultrons boarded the cargo ship, they found two dead Zog and their cargo. They carefully examined the cargo, found the unconscious Siekton, and transported him back to one of their ships. They towed the cargo ship back to one of their ports. After unsuccessfully trying to treat the Siekton, they notified the Krylons and asked if they would take him and turn him over to Siekto. The Krylons agreed and had some success in reviving the Siekton but determined that his mind had witnessed something so horrifying that it completely shut down. Only through a regimen of medication and hypnotic therapy were they able to piece together a small portion of the incident. However, they found the recording.

Two years later, 2263, Earth outpost 12.

Lieutenant: "Sensors are picking up three large incoming vessels. No response to hails."

"Notify Command. Continue hailing."

"Yes, sir. Still no response from hails, sir."

"Try one more time and then shields up."

"Yes, sir. No response, sir."

"Shields up, Ensign."

"Shields up, sir." Boom! Boom! Boom! "We're under attack, sir." Boom! "Shields obliterated, sir."

"Send SOS to command."

"Message sent, sir." Boom!

At Command: "Sir, message received from outpost 12. They are under attack. No further response and nothing from hail."

"Who do we have in the area?"

"Checking, two fighters each about two quadrants away."

"Send them both."

"Yes, sir. Command to Ranger, Command to Savant. Outpost 12 under attack. Proceed ASAP to outpost 12."

"Ranger to Command, we're on our way."

"Savant to Command, ditto."

Both cruisers arrived at Outpost 12 within minutes of each other. Both saw the destruction of Outpost 12.

"Shields up."

"Shields up. Scanners detect nothing.

"Jeff", from Gerard aboard the Ranger. "Good to have us together on this"

"Hey, G, likewise."

"I'm going in, Jeff, watch my back."

"You got it, buddy."

Gerard beamed in in full suit.

"Jeff, you won't believe this. There is a ten foot hole in the portside wall. There are no personnel here. Total destruction, but there's nobody here dead or alive."

"Roger, G. Scanners still show nothing. I'll send a report to Command."

"OK, Jeff. Why don't we do a deep scan to see if we can come up with anything?"

"Roger Jeff. I'll take the high road and you take the low road."

Their deep scans revealed nothing. Both reported their findings to Command and returned to their sectors.

Back at Command, Admiral speaking: "What the hell is happening? An Outpost destroyed, all personnel missing, somebody find out something." Later, after a flurry of communications and inquiries:

"Sir, I reached out to Krylon. They're missing a scout ship in their Z sector."

"Do they know anything?"

"No, sir. They sent two ships to investigate"

At Earth Central Command: "Outpost 12 destroyed, all personnel missing, Krylon is missing a scout ship, what does that tell us? Well, we're not going to wait and see what happens next. Where's Hank Cody? Get him."

Horatio 'Hank' Cody is the 6'6" Captain of the Military Defense Team. He is a superior tactician, fierce warrior and competitor who hates to lose.

Later: "Cody here, Brad [Vice Admiral]. What's up?"

"Hank, we need you to patrol the K sector. Outpost 12 was destroyed and all personnel are missing. In addition, the Krylons lost one of their scout ships in their Z sector. Something's going on. Find out."

"OK, Brad. I'll dispatch a squadron to cover outpost 11. They're really remote out there. No sense going to K if there's nothing left to attack. Will keep you posted."

"Do it and let me know."

"Cody to Commander Christiansan "

"Go ahead, Captain." Commander Sean Christian was a superb fighter pilot in charge of the main squadron. He was the only pilot in the fleet whose flight maneuvers and hot dog capabilities were superior to Hank Cody's.

"Sean, take a squadron and head to Outpost 11. Outpost 12 has been attacked and 11 is vulnerable."

"Will do, on our way"

Meanwhile, two explorer ships from Siekto were returning home when, "Salus, sensors are picking up three ships, do you see it?"

"Hamus, they're coming fast. Put your shields up. Hailing unidentified ships. We are explorers and are unarmed." Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The two Siekton ships were destroyed and left adrift with large holes in their hulls.

Also, on a far outpost of the Gultron empire:

"Scarbus, sensors detecting three large vessels approaching."

"Hail them to identify themselves."

"No response, sir."

"Shields up. Ready defenses."

"No response, sir."

"Fire all weapons." Boom! Boom! Boom! Both sides exchanged fire. The outpost was destroyed.

Gultron Command: "Commander, we have not received the report from outpost Remus. No response from the hail."

"Send two fighters to investigate." When the fighters arrived, they received no response.

Fighter 1: "The outpost appears to have sustained heavy damage. I will dock and investigate. Fighter 2, maintain security around the outpost."

Fighter 1 after entering: "There's nobody here. Heavy damage to the station, but there's nobody here! Just a big hole in the wall."

"Fighter 2 to command: "Outpost destroyed. All personnel are gone."

"Command to fighters. Set your sensors for long range and sweep the entire sector. I want who did this"

After their arrival was long overdue, a search team from Siekto was sent out. The two explorer ships from Siekto were located. The rescue team was shocked at their discovery.

"Rescue to command, both ships located and are badly damaged. Both crews are gone. Eight personnel are missing."

"Understood. Tow them to port."

Earth Central Command: "What's the status, Hank?"

"I'm reaching out to my friends on Krylon. Will let you know" Hank contacted Kal, his longtime friend, and former Krylon Defense Commander and explained the situation. Within minutes, Kal had been updated and shared that the Siektons and the Gultrons had also been attacked. Hank told Kal, "We have a problem. Can we meet with your Defense Team?"

"I will arrange it. How soon can you get here?"

Hank and Kal met with the Krylon Defense Team. When he arrived, Hank said to Kal, "I thought you retired from the Defense Team. How come it looks like you're still calling the shots?"

Kal just smiled and said, "These are my friends." Kal then introduced the team to Hank. There were six team members. "This is Captain Hank Cody. He is the Commander of Earth's defense forces."

Hank greeted the members and was particularly stricken with one tall, incredibly beautiful, Krylon named Leika. Leika instantly sensed Hank's attraction to her. Could a hint of a smile be detected? The Krylons surmised from their locations that the Zog were responsible for the attacks. They also feared that for the Zog to make such bold moves, they must be planning an all out attack for the purpose of total dominance and control.

Hank: "I think you are absolutely right. Let me throw this out to you. What if our four worlds banned together, an alliance so to speak, for the purpose of a multiple show of force against the Zog? I'm pretty sure they are not prepared for our combined forces."

"An interesting proposition," Kal stated. "I believe we can make that happen."

"Great," Let me contact my Central Command and get the ball rolling."

"Captain Cody to Central."

"Brad here Hank, what do you have?"

"We learned that the Siektons and the Gultrons have also been hit. The Krylons surmise that the Zog are behind this and are planning an all out takeover and I agree. If you mucky mucks concur, I proposed a four world Alliance. If Zog's plan, I won't use the term strategy, is to pick us off individually, our combined forces just might screw them up."

"Hank, that's why you belong here and not out there."

"Brad, I belong where I can do the most good. Right now I'm where I belong."

"All right, Hank. I'll alert the President and issue you the formal orders. He can handle the political crap."

"Yes, sir Admiral. Over and out"

Kal: "Hank, I think you should see this." Kal showed Hank the recording recovered from the Siekton.

Hank: "I can't believe this. This is so atrocious and disgusting it is not comprehensible. When we propose the alliance to Gultron and Siekto, make sure they get a copy of this. May I take a copy back to Earth?"

"Sure, take this one," Kal said.

"Also," Hank said, "We should make sure that all our pilots and outpost personnel are equipped with an implanted suicide device in the event of capture. No one should ever have to go through this savagery."

"Agreed, Hank. Be safe my friend."

Meanwhile, on another remote outpost in the Gultron empire: "Sir, three large ships detected closing fast."

"Hail them to identify themselves."

"No response, sir."

"Notify homeworld! Shields up and fire!" Boom! Boom! Boom! After a brief exchange of fire, the outpost was destroyed.

"General, we have a report that outpost Glum is under attack"

After much swearing, "Dispatch two warships. Notify all outposts and all worlds to go to red alert." A lot more swears. When the two warships arrived at the outpost, they found the outpost destroyed and the crew gone.

"Warship One to homeworld. The outpost is destroyed and the crew is missing."

More swears. "Search the area. Find me something."