War of the Kingdom of Zankhar

CHAPTER ONE

"Zaltarus"

As night falls on the Zannikan sky, the two moons of Trikken make their respective orbit in the blackened backdrop of the starscape expansion, spread out like a diamond-studded blanket as far as the eye can see. All is quiet, as the Citadel is on blackout. The entire township is on alert. The war has taken its toll on the planet's inhabitants, and we have suffered heavy losses due to the brutal nature of the enemy. How long we will be able to hold out is the question on everyone's mind. My Lieutenant Hatzi appears at my balcony during his routine surveillance rounds on his personal security aero-drone.

"Everything alright, my Lord?"

"Yes, Hatzi, everything's fine," In an assuring voice,

Hatzi does the loyal Zankhar salute by placing his right hand on his forehead, palm facing me, and running off to continue his lockdown & safety check. A security vessel flies over the urban abodes, completely silent, shining a beam of light onto any movement they observe and then quickly shutting it off to continue in black-out mode. We've managed to protect our critical positions, but the word is that a vast force of Zerkanians are getting ready to attack at any moment. As my people's ruler and King, I must do everything I can to protect the noble Kingdom of Zankhar against the evil tyranny of one of the worst alien races of warmongers this Galaxy has ever seen. I pick up my communicator, but the red light is off. We are keeping contact silence during the blackout. Our force fleet is on standby, and the entire protection force has ramped up, gathering all the able-bodied fighters left on the planet, about 12,000 in number.

Planet Trikken has always been my home, and its inhabitants have always been peaceful and gentle people, inclined to the arts and the more spiritual matters of our traditions. We are a proud people and have always maintained good relations, even with the Federation of Humans. But this race of thieves and murderers has destroyed countless worlds by ransacking and obliterating everything or anyone in their path. They are relentless in their quest for Universal dominance. I'm afraid we will have to destroy the entire race of these people. There have been talks with some of the humans. They are as interested as we are in defeating this malevolent force from among us. We must find a way to unite our forces and put an end to this evil empire. The formation of strong Alliances will be the key to our success. Suddenly! The alarm breaks the dark and crisp night air as hundreds of aerial reflector beams light up the Zannikan sky in search of the enemy's flying destroyers. Dozens of force fighters take to the skies in a deadly dance of lasers and explosions as both sides suffer significant casualties. But the enemy's force has our fleet outnumbered ten to one. Still, our young and courageous pilots fight vigorously to protect our heritage and the planetary inheritance that's rightly ours, even to the death.

"My Lord, we are being attacked," yells Hatzi.

"You have the keenest eye for observation, Hatzi? Everyone to the fighter ships," I yell out the Command from my Royal balcony, which is on the highest tower overlooking the Citadel. Hatzi climbs off his aero-drone and, pulling me onto it yells:

"Come, my lord; we have to go now! Come, my lord!" frantically pulls me onto his flyer.

We take off and fly to the fleet's landing pads, in a hail of laser attacks. As we touch down quite forcibly, we jump into two Force Fighters and take off to join the resisting fleet.

"Hatzi, why are you flying right in front of me? Dammit, move!" my voice sounded in his helmet speakers.

"That's alright, my lord, follow me. I will plow through a path of safety for you; stay behind me!" frantic yet still courageously frightened.

"No, Hatzi, just look out for your own safety; I can defend myself; just look out for your blind spot."

No longer had I finished saying the word; his flyer got hit with a powerful burst, and his ship exploded into a thousand pieces right before my very eyes.

"Nooo, Hatzii!" I yelled as my eyes welled up in tears,

I lost all sense of self-preservation, only wanting revenge. I went on a shooting rampage, blowing up destroyers left and right, but the one I pursued was still getting away. I followed it madly, not letting it out of sight; the Zerkanian destroyer evaded dozens of attacks, and his flying skill was impressive. I still proceeded to pursue him. I dodged, twirled, and blew up dozens of Zerks in daredevil-type moves. I lost all self-control; I only wanted to get that destroyer and the Zerk who destroyed my good friend.

"Come here, you ugly Zerk; I'm going to make myself a nice Zerk puree with you; come now, closer, closer,"

as I finally locked him on target. I fired two lasers straight at his engine until, finally, his ship blew up in a fireball of melting ship pieces, then finally had its last explosion before crashing into the ground.

"Yeah, Yeah there, you son of a bitch!... yeah!" I yelled.

I celebrated when suddenly my fighter got hit. I wrestled hard to control the ship and keep from getting hit again, but I was losing control with every passing minute. The ship went into a complete swirling nosedive. I tried to eject in my rescue pod, but the latch wouldn't budge; the hit had damaged it. I fought hard to keep my fighter in the air, but I had lost too much cabin pressure, and then everything went black after that, I lost consciousness. My ship landed in a heavily forested, unpopulated part of Zannikan. The thick, heavy vegetation covered the wreck from the Zerks as their destroyers laid waste to our Citadel and all the urban dwellings of our once beautiful and peaceful settlement. Many of my people, survivors of the attack, were taken prisoners and forced to work under the harshest conditions. There's even mention that our people, particularly women and children, have occasionally been used as food sources.

Because the Kingdom of Zankhar exists no more, I was the last free man of my people and the last ruler of the Kingdom of Zankhar to survive the ruthless conquest of the scorn of the Galaxy. The perilous evil race of the Zerkanians. I must find a way to make our people live again. I must see what's left of my kingdom and find help within the human Federation if possible. I must find a way to bring back the spirit of Zankhar and bring to justice those who have brought so much death and destruction to our world. But for now, I must rest. I must hide, get strong, and then leave my home planet in search of a new beginning for our race, heritage, and destiny as worthy stewards of the truth of justice. (Zaltarus slowly remarks as he falls unconscious.)

Meanwhile, a Federation Star Cruser nearby notifies Headquarters of a detected disturbance in the Galaxy sector where the planet Trikken is located.

"This is Star Seeker Unity requesting confirmation of disturbances registered in the sector Xlb12; confirm, please."

"S.S. Unity, this is Command Control. That's an affirmative, confirming the detection of high energy disturbances in the sector X-Ray, Lima, Bravo 1, 2. The coordinates place it coming from the planet Trikken. By the intensity of the energy readings, it appears to be a full-scale attack on the population of the Kingdom of Zankhar." Command responds.

"Understood; requesting permission to send a reconnaissance team to survey and report status." Captain assertively requests.

"Permission granted, but you are to avoid any intervention with the inhabitants of Zankhar or with their local skirmishes at all costs. Their Kingdom is not part of the Federation of Galaxies and historically has a record of declining membership. They are a proud Kingdom and reject any form of external rule or governance." Command responds.

"Affirmative control: We have been briefed on the sector's situation and regional problems. We will avoid engaging at all costs." Unity responds.

The young and gorgeous Captain of the S.S. Unity (Capt. Arianna Steel) quickly swings around in her elevated Captain's chair and faces the rest of the crew. Excited, she calls out,

"Alright, now I'm going down to check this out; I'll need a couple of volunteers and two medics. It's a vicious battle, apparently, and we've been given permission to survey and report status only. No intervention was ordered."

"I'm in, says Johnny Ray (her first lieutenant)." A young up-and-coming officer within the fleet ranks, handsome, brave, and loyal to the mission of exploration and expanding the Federation of the Seven Galaxies.

"I'll go as well, says the CMO (Chief Medical Officer Joe Montes, nicknamed Doc-man.). I'll be needed for impact analysis and any wounded survivors." he adds.

"Alright, but remember we are not to engage these people, just observe and report. They're not members of the Federation." Captain retorts in a stern tone.

"Yes, but if wounded survivors are down there, we will answer distress calls, right?" Doc-man questions?

"I will assess the situation, and yes, I will make that call if necessary. lieutenant Rogers, maintain an orbit around Trikken and prepare two falcons for our descent. You're in charge until we get back." Captain orders.

The Falcons, competent fighters and top spy observational vehicles are the pride of the Federation security forces. They fly over the Citadel and settlement ruins. After several minutes, they find no signs of life coming from the smoke-covered ruins and are about to call off the search.

"It's like destruction down there. It looks more like an extermination than a battle." Johnny Ray remarks.

"Doc-man, do you scan any signs of life coming from the surface?" Captain Arianna asks.

"That's strange; there's a faint signal coming from about three miles south of the settlement." Doc-man remarks. Sitting up straight, Johnny says,

"Let's check it out."

"The signal seems to be coming from that downed fighter," Doc-man adds as they slowly fly over the wreck. Landing cautiously beside the vessel, they exit with weapons drawn and slowly make their way into the ship. After searching through twisted metal beams and debris, they find Zaltarus.

"I found him," says the Doctor, as he scans his head and chest area with his vital signs scanner wand.

"Wait, he's a Zankharian, he seems badly injured, but our orders are not to get involved," says the Captain.

"I'm going to have to move him to sick bay; he'll need more care than I can give him here if he's to survive," Doc man adds with a look of disdain on his face.

"OK, I'll allow the transfer, and maybe he can tell us what the hell happened here," The Captain remarks.

"Are gonna need any help getting him back to the ship?" Captain asks.

"That's OK, I have a couple of medics here, We'll get the job done." Doc-man confidently responds.

"Alright, team let's fall back and look alive. Keep your eyes open. We don't need any surprises on our way back. Lieutenant, cover the rear." Captain Arianna orders her team as they cautiously retreat to their fighters.

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