One Wrong Turn-1
***** ***** ***** ***** PROLGUE ***** ***** ***** *****
On the day that it happened, Adric seemed oblivious to the fact that today was his last day on Earth.
It was dark, and near dawn as Adric Listin drove home for the Holidays. It was on a clear early Thursday morning, as he passed through the hilly deserts outside of Phoenix. He had just 46 miles to go before he got back and was looking forward to seeing his family again. He was driving an old tan Saturn, a hand-me-down from his parents that had seen better days. The heater was on and the Radio chattered a stream of early morning news over the Public Radio station he was tuned too. Adric himself leaned back as he sped down the mostly empty Highway. He always enjoyed driving late at night or early morning, despite the hassle of time, he found it so much more pleasing not to have to worry about Traffic till he reached the city.
Adric was just 26 and looked forward to taking this break from college life. He had been attending Arizonans Northern University for about three years now and had met with varying degrees of success in his studies. He was a short lad, just about five and a half feet. His pale skin making no attempt to hide either his German or Scottish Ancestry; his hair was long and black, his eyes dusty and brown, and currently, the only thing on his mind was thinking of the biggest highlight from his time at college. Skimming through a few, he guessed it would have to be getting to fly the radio-controlled blimp at Basketball games. It was probably the closest he would get to flying the real thing, a dream he gave up long ago considering the lack of any large market for such pilots.
His thoughts were distracted as he noticed a soft glow in his rear-view mirror and soon he could see the first glints of light coming up from behind the mountains. The faint flickers of sunlight reflected off his rear mirror distracted him slightly from a, something, that was beginning to form in front of him. There was suddenly a terrible illumination.
His car came to a screeching halt, as he was nearly blinded by the light in front of him. He got out of his car, suddenly wondering what had nearly blinded him. As he got out, his face was met with the chill of the outside air. His breath came in puffs of condensed moisture as he scanned the horizon, looking for any low-lying craft, perhaps an early morning pilot who had buzzed the car. But nothing other the soft light of the sun illuminated the otherwise dark dessert terrain. . He turned to get back in the car when yet another burst of light came forth, then another, then another, then a sound that would have made a thunder clamp seem quiet. He was knocked back into the street, and when his eyes re-adjusted, his heart raced.
Before him was a wholly unearthly sight. A sphere like object hung in the air, it gave off a warm feel to it as an eerie blue fire seemed to dance and leap about it's surface. He found himself rubbing his eyes, wholly captivated by the sight. So captivating was it. that Adric didn't here the din of the truck's horn until it was right on top of him, till he remembered he was standing in the middle of the street,. He panicked and did what anyone would have done, lept out of the way as fast as he could; an instant later the Semi smashed through the car and Adric was never seen again.
***** ***** ***** ***** CHAPTER ONE ***** ***** ***** *****
Far far away, on the 3rd planet of the Shandary system, was Trathala. There was a war on, and it was caught in the middle.
Two turns ago a fleet of alien star ships was detected moving into their sector. At first the people of Trathala ignored them. They knew all too well the trouble caused when dealing with aliens. Soon after this, the alien fleet invaded and seized a mineral rich asteroid field inside their own system. It was then that they first met the Tajlan Empire. And it was then that their troubles began.
It wouldn't have caused so much chaos, had it not been for the fact that the Alliance was already mining them. The Alliance, as they called themselves, was a union of three close by civilizations who had made contact with Trathala some thirty turns ago. For a long time they had kept away from the small world, respecting their wishes of privacy. However as time passed, the Alliance increasingly requested permission to mine TrathalaÃs valuable asteroid belts. Eventually Trathala gave in and agreed to a brief diplomatic exchange of only one representative. This was mainly due to TrathalaÃs already sceptical view of the Alliance. No one would forget how the Alliance handled their first contact with them. Landing in a massive ship, declaring good intentions, trade and friendship to all the backward people of Trathala. It never occurred to them that maybe their good intentions wouldn't be wanted.
After mining the asteroid belts for nearly two turns, the Alliance was completely stunned when the Tajlan Imperial battle fleet swept through. Unlike the relatively peaceful contact with the TrathalanÃs, the first time the Alliance met the people of Tajlan, it was to be a violent affair. After a quick retreat from their mining installations, the Alliance endeavoured to understand their new foe. After some time, however, their knowledge was relatively limited. What was known was that their world, Tajlan, was home to two intelligent races, the Qwintoni and Tejlini, it was they who had worked together to build the Empire and its vast armada. With this knowledge, fear swept through the Alliance as war quickly erupted between the two powers, (an interesting feat, considering that neither side could speak the language of the other.)
To the Empire, Trathala was the strategic key to controlling the wealth of the asteroids. It had everything they needed, fresh food for their army, new resources, and lots of manual labour. It was theirs for the taking, and they took it.
A tall figure looked out from high atop a cliff. From his house in the tall grassy hills he could see the lights from Qwintoni ships from Tajlan against the pale night sky. He watched for some time from his vantage point on the cliff as one of the Tajlan Imperial cargo planes landed to transport supplies to their new base.
For twenty-five days since they came to his world he had watched. Watched and planned for some way to get rid of them. He had spent hours meditating, searching for some peaceful way to expel them. But after two disastrous attempts, he quickly ruled that out. It would seem that the fates had forced him to choose the most hated and barbaric option available. The one option that was the cause of most of the problems he and his world had ever dealt with. Armed conflict.
"How did I ever get started in this?" Darnethlil grumbled deep in his throat. "And why, under the stars, did they have to come here? Not that they don't have their excuses. We ask and they say they have ‘the right'. After all, they are the Tajlan Empire, powerful and mighty! Let those primitives they meet remember and serve them in all there glory!" The Trathalan finished sarcastically, as he struggled to keep his composure. Calming down he snorted indignantly as he waved his wings in an obscene gesture of anger and frustration. "Yes! Let us look and remember them, for how can one forget a race so utterly arrogant and barbaric"
He sighed, letting his wings curl in a depressive fashion. As he walked away from the cliff to the grassy field outside his home, he remembered vividly when the invasion began.
It was just past noon as the sky was a beautiful dark blue. Darnethlil had been watching clouds pass in front of their massive moon, Hurn, when something else caught his attention. They were black, winged ships, looking bloated with a horrible cargo. They were drop ships, and across his world hundreds began to descend.
He scoffed at their brutal methods of war. The manner in which the invasion was carried out was completely wasteful! The alien armies first landed near the capital city of the Orin Clan, on the southern continent. By the end of the day, reports were being relayed of Qwintoni solders tearing through the lands, pillaging and destroying all that stood in there way.
Darnethlil thought, wondering how could they take over a world when they were destroying all its beauty in the process? Shrines were defiled, temples destroyed. Ancient structures annihilated by explosive fire that had stood for hundreds of turns. And for what purpose did it serve? It wasn't as if his people were able to put up any sort of aggressive opposition to the invaders. How could they, when you considered the beliefs held dear by all Trathalans?
He pushed these thoughts away for the moment, trying not to let them weigh upon him. He looked up and sighed as he stopped in front of his home. It was a miracle he had a place he could still call home, since his world belonged to another. He paused under the moonlight, the night at it's peak contemplating its aesthetics and structure and gave a Blessing for such a place to live. It was piece of art inside and out. Like much of what Trathalans built, designed to be as lovely to the eye as it was lovely to live in. The Trathalan gave an additional blessing that it had been over looked and untouched by battle when the Empire invaded. It was because of that invasion that he owned the house now, his fathers' house, and the one he received when his father was executed...
He stopped suddenly as he fought for control of that painful memory. For a moment, he was shocked it had come upon him so suddenly, and that the anger that came with it was still so vivid. It was near the end of the Invasion when the rest of the Empire's armies had begun to meet up with the first few forces that had invaded. As leader his Father held responsibility over all those in the Lonti Clan. Most of the other thirteen clans had given in rather than risk armed conflict. But his farther was odd for a Trathalan, brash and emotional. He would never sit still and give in willingly. As much as it went against every thing he believed in, he had felt compelled to order the proud Lonti Clan to actually fight against the invaders.
The fighting however was less than what may be called a real battle. It lasted less than a day as TrathalanÃs who had spent their lives quietly living in peace and meditating on controlling aggression were forced to pick up arms and fight. Many ran as soon as they were confronted by the armoured Qwintoni solders. Others promptly surrendered, mostly from the mental shock of actively engaging in the violence of war. His Father however would never yield or submit peacefully to their rule. He had been the only one on the planet who was known to have not just attacked, but killed one of the attackers.
He was captured, brought before the General of the local garrison, and humiliated. The Officers mocked him, tortured him, and then put him on display in the town square of their capital as an example to others. Even shackled, he wouldn't give up, and began speaking to all who walked by, urging them to resist. Given the lack of understanding of Trathalan language, the Tejlini Officers, rather then try and figure out what was being said, finally had him executed, before the eyes of hundreds.
Darnethlil shuddered; he could barely comprehend the thought of actively murdering another intelligent being, let alone forcing others to watch. How he wanted to destroy every last Qwintoni for that act. To maul and rend there bodies apart as violently as possible. He closed his eyes; he knew how impossible such primitive behaviours would be. Revenge would not bring his father back from the dead.
He reached the circular doorway to his room, as he finally suppressed his emotions. Now that his farther was dead, he would have to be Clan leader. Not that it meant much. The Empire had quickly abolished their 500 year old clan system and reduced the thirteen clans of Trinasaki to simple territories dictated by the landmasses of their world. He tried to not to dwell on the constant negative emotions he was besieged with. He needed his control during these difficult times, and anything less wouldn't be Trathalan.
As he headed inside, he heard lighting began to crackle about him. He saw not a storm in the bright night sky and yet he could feel his skin stand on end with electricity. Suddenly he was knocked on his back as a blue-green hole erupted in front of him. Before he had time to think about it, something was hurled forth. As the hole shut the Trathalan looked at what had come through, his eyes growing wide.