Winning Days Book I: Black Metallic - Part 1 By Purrsia Kat
“Great news,” came the Commander’s
radioed reply. “Once the other teams report, I’ll relay the news to
Galaxy
Garrison.”
“Yes sir. Over and out.”
Jeff guided his conical star ship
around the last outcropping of rock, which marked the end of a
particularly
mountainous region, with expert skill. He was then greeted by a
breathtaking
panorama of lush green forests stretching to the arc of the horizon.
Despite
the beauty and promise of the planet, experience had taught the young
captain
of the Voltron Force a degree of cynicism. “It’s too good to be true,”
he
muttered while checking the various gauges and sensors in his craft for
any
sign of the Alliance’s perennial enemies, the Drule Empire. True, they
hadn’t
clashed with the Drules in weeks but instead of taking solace in that,
that
fact actually had Jeff more on edge.
Jeff was distracted from his
negative thoughts by the appearance of Land Team leader Cliff’s image
on his
telecom. “Jeff, everything down here checks out okay. Plant and animal
life
seem compatible with human settlement. We may have found the perfect
world.”
Jeff forced a smile in an effort to
keep his cynical comments to himself. “Sounds great, Cliff. But keep an
eye out
for the Drules. You never know when they’re going to show up and ruin a
perfect
world.” Ever the vocal member of the team, Jeff found he couldn’t hold
in his
doubts for long, though Cliff seemed much less concerned.
In fact, Cliff laughed. “Honestly
Jeff, we haven’t encountered the Drules in weeks. You need to relax. If
the
Drules were around we’d have picked them up on radar by now.”
“Maybe if I was as naïve as you, I
could relax,” Jeff shot back playfully. What worried Jeff most was the
Drules’
chameleon-like ability to adapt to the Alliance’s technology and find
ways to
block or skirt their radar and other devices that would give the
Alliance fair
warning.
“Ha ha. Maybe if you’d relax for
even one moment, you wouldn’t be the person solely responsible for the
depletion of the Explorer’s supply of antacids.”
Jeff cracked a grin at his
teammate’s exaggeration. “No way, we all know it’s Sammy’s cooking
that’s
responsible for that.”
“Fair enough. See you back at the
Explorer. Over and out.”
That evening, Jeff watched a
brilliant sunset from behind one of the many great glass panes of their
command
ship, the Explorer.
“It’s beautiful,” Sea Team leader
Cric remarked.
Jeff simply nodded without taking
his eyes off the sky, his expression giving away no surprise at the
quiet
appearance of his teammate by his side.
“I heard Commander Hawkins sent news
of our find back to Galaxy Garrison. Once we finish thoroughly
exploring the
southern hemisphere tomorrow it will be a done deal…a new world for the
over-populated people in the Alliance to colonize.”
Jeff sighed. “That’s the mission.”
After a brief silence, Jeff turned to look at Cric. He hesitated
because part
of him didn’t want to confirm his worst fears. Cric, an alien whose
skin was as
pale a blue as the water world he hailed from, had a gift – a sixth
sense – and
if anyone could confirm Jeff’s fears it would be him. “What’s your
feeling
about this place, Cric? What’s your gut feeling?” Jeff’s gaze was
unflinching
as he searched his friend’s face for a reaction.
Cric cast his eyes downward as he
uttered two simple words. “Not good.”
“Damn,” Jeff cursed. “I was afraid
of that.”
“Something’s going to happen
tomorrow, so rest while you can tonight.”
Jeff shook his head. “After news
like that, how do you figure?”
“I confided in the Commander about
this feeling,” Cric explained, “and he’s got us on heightened alert.
It’s all
we can do for now with nothing but a vague premonition to go on.”
“I guess,” Jeff conceded with
flagging confidence for he knew as anyone else on the ship that Cric’s
feelings
weren’t to be taken lightly. Jeff had a pretty good idea who would be
responsible for the coming trouble, too. “I’m just so sick of the
Drules coming
along and taking things from us.”
“You have to remember, to them we’re
interlopers in their corner of the universe. Maybe they think if they
destroy
the fruits of our labor often enough, we’ll tire of it and move on. And
now
that we’re edging into what is believed to be the galaxy of their home
planet,
we can only expect the attacks to be more frequent and vicious.”
“Fear and ignorance is no excuse for
what they do,” Jeff decreed. “Besides, why does anyone need a whole
galaxy?
It’s big enough for everyone, damn it.”
“I wasn’t making excuses for them –”
“Besides, we know what their game
is! They’re rotten imperialists!” Jeff thundered interrupting Cric, for
when he
got on a roll about the Drule Empire there was no room for calm,
reasoned
discussion. “How many of your people have they enslaved, Cric?”
Despite the rhetorical nature of the
question, Cric sighed and replied, “Too many.”
“That’s right. They’re driven by
power and greed which is all the more reason we should stay right here
in this
star system and not give up or run away.”
“Still, getting upset or angry isn’t
going to help matters, Jeff.”
“Aw, don’t you go making antacid
jokes, too,” Jeff replied, softening somewhat.
A wry smile crossed Cric’s lips.
“You should leave some for the rest of us. We have to eat Sammy’s
cooking too,
you know.”
Jeff couldn’t help but chuckle, the
tenseness of the moment before diffused. “Well, I’m going to turn in
early. I
have a feeling I’ll need all the rest I can get…”
“Good idea.”
As twilight fell upon the planet and
the Explorer gently settled into the calm waters of a bay, Jeff made
his way to
his sleeping quarters. Unsurprisingly, he found sleep elusive, only
coming and
going in brief spurts. So as dawn broke it was no small wonder Jeff was
the
first to jump to his feet when the alert sounded. At least the
adrenaline rush
was enough to make him feel more than awake as he wriggled into his
uniform top
while racing down the hall at the same time.
“They didn’t waste any time,” Jeff
remarked as he passed by Cric, who was just emerging from his own
sleeping
chambers.
“Nope,” was all Cric had time to
offer before each team rushed to reach their docking stations.
Slightly disheveled, Jeff sat in the
cockpit of his ship awaiting orders, which finally came when Commander
Hawkins
spoke over the teams’ telecom. “Unidentified objects have been picked
up on
radar approaching from the southern hemisphere. Teams check it out but
proceed
with caution…we can’t rule out the possibility of a Drule attack fleet.”
“Yes sir,” Jeff replied, his lips
set in a determined line. This wouldn’t be the first time the Drules
were able
to mask an attack force on a planet the Alliance was exploring. Ambush
attacks
were their deadly specialty, after all. “Every time,” Jeff muttered
angrily to
himself, “they do this every time.”
The fifteen units of the three teams
launched and covered the distance in no time. They were coming into
another
mountainous region, and judging by radar indications Jeff observed, the
ships
in question should come into view any minute. “Teams, be ready…”
Sure enough, a half dozen of the
Drules’ large star cruisers awaited them beyond the ridge. “It’s them!”
Jeff
shouted, his finger hovering above the button that triggers his ship’s
lasers.
“Hold on, Jeff,” Cric responded, his
image appearing on Jeff’s console. “There’s so few of them. Something’s
not
right.”
“Oh yeah? Well I’m not going to wait
to find out what dirty trick they’re up to.” With that, Jeff fired a
laser that
struck the lead ship squarely, resulting in a brilliant explosion as
the Drule
vessel went into an out-of-control nosedive. An all-out firefight
began, the
remaining Drule ships returning fire. That is, until Hawkins radioed
with a
startling revelation.
“Hold your fire!” Hawkins barked.
“Those aren’t Drules.”
Jeff’s jaw went slack. “Sir?”
“I just had a teleconference with
them – the natives of this planet are in those ships, not Drules,”
Hawkins
explained.
Jeff’s mind reeled. “Natives? But –
in Drule ships?” It had to be some kind of wicked Drule trick…didn’t it?
Then, as Jeff flew over a valley he
saw it – a sprawling city below, its dusty streets and modest white
buildings
contrasting clearly with the dark forest surrounding it. “Shit,” he
softly
uttered.
“I was as shocked as you, Jeff. But
when I radioed to try to reason with the Drule commander, frightened
natives
greeted me instead. We may be able to explain things and make amends,
but you
have to stop fighting,” Hawkins continued.
“Easier said than done, Commander.
We’re under heavy fire here.”
“What do you expect?” Cric
interrupted, his tone unusually angry for such a normally reserved
member of
the team. “You fired on them without provocation.”
Jeff felt his face glow hot with a
mixture of embarrassment and anger. “They’re in Drule ships! How was I
supposed
to know there wasn’t Drules in them?”
Time for righteous indignation was
cut short when a robeast emerged from one of the Drule ships. And on
top of it,
more Drule ships were launching from the city below.
“They may not be Drules, but they
fight like them,” Cliff remarked.
“We’ve got no choice, Commander.
We’ve gotta form Voltron,” Jeff reported. In the city below, hysterical citizens
scrambled for
shelter as fiery shrapnel rained down on them. But one young woman
stared up at
the sky, so in disbelief she was able to move only to sweep her
wind-swept hair
from her line of vision. She watched the group of alien ships that had
attacked
her people combine into a giant with human-like characteristics. She
was almost
hypnotized by the way the early morning sun cast shadows on the
behemoth that made
a large area of its metallic skin appear black in hue. It was then
Keira
couldn’t get out of her mind the cryptic prediction by one of the
town’s
council members years ago. She’d been too young to attend the meeting,
but she
clearly remembered listening in on her parents’ hushed discussion on
what the
seer had revealed then – their world’s days were numbered and a giant
with skin
of black metallic would seal its fate. “Black metallic,” she uttered in shocked
wonder. The accuracy of foretold events was unfolding
so
vividly, Keira’s mind reeled with all the events that lead to it. So,
those
strange blue-skinned aliens who had come to her people over a year ago
were
right as well. There would be alien invaders who would descend upon
them one
day – war-mongering imperialists, they warned, that wanted nothing but
to take
over planets or else destroy them. They claimed to be struggling
against this
bane of the galaxy for years and, out of shear concern for their
planetary
neighbors, saw fit to give warning. Coupled with their own seer’s prior
prediction, the council not only took heed but also accepted these
people, who
called themselves Drules. They helped them prepare for this day in the
form of
donating technology and training so that they could at least stand a
chance in
case the Drules themselves could not arrive in time to lend aid. Keira hoped it was enough or the seer’s words
would
become unfortunate reality. Keira was just glad the old psychic was no
longer
around to see the horrific prediction come true. She didn’t want to
believe
their lives were about to be shattered but here it was upon them, their
day of
reckoning. Keira was numb with disbelief. “Keira, come on! Take cover!” An urgent tug on her arm brought her somewhat
out of
the trance. “Huh?” Keira gazed dumbfounded into the wide eyes of a
woman she
recognized the local innkeeper and friend of her parents. It was then
that a
distant thought in her head reminded her that she had no idea where her
parents
were or if she’d ever see them again. She’d left them at home on their
farm
when set out for town earlier, hoping to beat the crowds to the market.
However, she was too overwhelmed to panic over it. “Come on!” Keira felt like everything was happening in
slow
motion as her gaze slowly moved away from the terrified inn keep’s face
and out
beyond the woman at a group of rioters who were in the process of
looting the
shops across the street. Most of the rioters were women because the
majority of
the men were in those strange Drule ships trying to fight off an even
stranger
enemy. This made the sight seem all the more surreal to Keira. Utter
chaos
swirled around them and yet, Keira remained rooted to that spot in the
street. “I’m coming,” Keira murmured. However, in her
state
of shock she didn’t even notice she was talking to herself for the inn
keep had
already abandoned her. “The end…” she finally said in a distant
monotone.
“This is the end.” Meanwhile, safely tucked behind one of the
planet’s
moons, was a true Drule attack fleet. Nerok sat in the command ship
with a
satisfied sneer on his face, watching on the ship’s various monitors as
the
situation ignited into an ugly battle far below. Things couldn’t be
unfolding
more perfectly if he’d wanted them to. He’d let the Explorer drift in
relative
peace in recent days just hoping they would happen upon the sparsely
populated
planet Rilo. When they did, the year’s worth of resources used on the
natives
was paying off in spades. It was so easy to play on the fears and
ridiculous
superstition of the simple people of Rilo so that they would believe
the
Alliance was the enemy. What’s more, Nerok couldn’t believe it was the
Alliance
who had the itchy trigger finger – which worked out more to his
advantage than
he ever dreamed. Now, with the Rilons dying and fighting for
the
Drules, Nerok was confident that one way or another the Alliance’s
winning days
would soon be over. And when the Alliance and the natives got done
destroying
each other, he’d simply swoop down and claim the planet for the Drule
Empire without
losing a single Drule soldier! But if something were to go awry – and
experience had taught Nerok that the Alliance had a seemingly
unbelievable
amount of fortune on their side – he had ways to ensure there would be
no
chance of the Voltron Force emerging from this skirmish looking the
least bit
favorable or righteous. |
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