Flidoring The Early Wars (11 page)

The Bancy star is a bright white star that outshines every other star in the Nebula region. The Maceonians, Mechs and Zanars all came from Maceon, which is the closest planet to Bancy. Over the centuries, they spread out to Mech and Zanar—the
second and third planets from Bancy. Over time, each world developed their own culture and each is uniquely different from the others. The three worlds trade with each other but they no longer consider themselves related to each other.

Bellmus had called together Timsssack, Slabriel, Huglam, Peckenson, Antamus and Crusher to discuss the future of their mission in light of the outburst from the previous night. The Volkran was just about to enter the Bancy system and they needed to decide if the relationships could handle meeting three more worlds. It did not take long for Bellmus to realize that emotions were still strong, as the meeting quickly turned into a shouting match. Each leader, caught up in taking sides with either Lyemad or Tessslan, was disputing which worlds were peaceful, religious, superstitious, or logical. Much to Bellmus’s dismay, he was realizing that their mission could not continue. The future of all their worlds was at stake and they reluctantly decided to call the Bancy worlds and inform them that another time would be better for meeting them.

The journey back to drop off all the Ambassadors was long and quiet, as they all realized that uniting different races and cultures was harder then anyone had imagined. Lyemad and Tessslan had to be on the bridge together at times, but they never spoke a word to each other during the entire trip. Bellmus spent much of the voyage sitting in his captain’s chair starring into the colors of the Nebula, trying
to figure out how he could salvage his reputation. He had determined to keep his log focused on all the positive events, and he thought that history would still remember him as the one to start interstellar travel. He still had strong support from the Angelians, Platonians and the Furzonians, and he was bringing back new technologies that would bring him fame. Still, he felt his dreams of greatness had slipped into something less than he had envisioned.

The Volkran was feeling very lonely to Lyemad as they approached Graznos and the final stop before returning to Electerus. He felt partially responsible for the mission coming to a short end, but he also felt like he had foiled any schemes that Tessslan might have been plotting against them. His side was still sore from the blow of Tessslan’s tail and a part of him wanted to get even for that. He was getting some small amount of gratification knowing that Tessslan was receiving as much—if not more—of the blame for the early return. Still, he was dreading having to say goodbye to him. His father wanted him to sacrifice his pride for the sake of diplomatic appearances, but it did not seem worth it to him.

Tessslan had spent most of his time on the bridge during the voyage back. He spent days replaying in his mind the events that had made him feel angry enough to hit Lyemad. He knew it was wrong, but he also felt that Lyemad deserved it. He had treated him with disrespect and rudeness in front of the Lipkians and others. Tessslan was starting to see Lyemad as something less than civilized and more spoiled than a child. As far as he was concerned, they should forbid Lyemad, Bellmus, all Electerians and anyone that supported them from Graznos—even if it meant using force. He believed it was sacrilegious to allow any further polluting of their culture from beings that could not even comprehend something as basic as the Flidoring. Nevertheless, he had determined that he would do as his father asked and be polite when saying goodbye—once they were on Graznos.

Realizing that it would be the last time he would be giving the next command before returning to Electerus, Bellmus sighed and said, “Tessslan, take us down.”

“Yesss sssir, he replied.

With the Volkran on the Graznosian landing pad, Bellmus, Timsssack, Tessslan and Lyemad made their way to the hatch. Bellmus and Timsssack said their farewells and hoped for a quick return to the Bancy system. Lyemad and Tessslan were each waiting for the other to say something, until Bellmus said, “Lyemad, it is time.”

With a deep inhale, Lyemad said, “Well Tessslan, it has been an interesting trip. I hope there are no hard feelings.”

Somewhat surprised by his choice of words, Tessslan said, “Hard feelingsss, isss that what you call being disssressspectful?”

“Hey, I am just trying to be nice to you,” Lyemad replied with a frustrated tone.

“What do you know about being niccce?” Tessslan replied. “Where wasss your niccce when you were embarrasssing me on other worldsss?”

“Alright, this is exactly what your problem has been all along. You think everything is all about you and your needs,” said Lyemad, getting more frustrated every minute.

“No. You are the problem! You are like a ssspoiled child that hasss to have everything hisss way,” yelled Tessslan. “If you are not in control then you have a sssevere outburst of temper.”

“Temper? You are one to talk about temper,” shouted Lyemad, “and stop flapping that forked
tongue at me and spitting all over me like some kind of animal!”

Just then Bellmus stepped in to break up the yelling as Tessslan—again out of anger—swung his powerful tail at Lyemad, but struck the unsuspecting Bellmus, sending him flying into a bulkhead and knocking him unconscious. Looking down in shock at his father lying on the steel floor grating, Lyemad started to shake in rage. The situation had become surreal to him and he could not think straight. His head started hurting increasingly more as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Then, in an instant, he ran into his quarters without saying a word and grabbed the handheld laser that he had built for the science fair when he was twelve. Moving slowly back into the corridor, he lifted the laser up; pointed it at Tessslan; and fired without hesitation.

The laser hit Tessslan in the shoulder and burned clean through his thick skin. As he shrieked in pain, Lyemad pointed the laser right at his head when Timsssack jumped in front of him and looked at Lyemad just as he squeezed the trigger. It was as if the beam was moving in slow motion as Lyemad watched it stream down the corridor and hit Timsssack right in the throat. With his eyes still fixed on Lyemad, Timsssack slumped to the floor right beside Bellmus.

Tessslan, still clenching his shoulder, yelled, “Father! No! Lyemad ssstop!”

Lyemad started to realize just what he had done as he dropped the laser and ran to Bellmus, saying, “Father, can you hear me? Father!”

Tessslan had knelt down by Timsssack and discovered that he was alive but having trouble breathing. Helping him to his feet, they hurried off the Volkran and down the ramp to where many of the Graznosians had gathered for the homecoming. The other ambassadors had left the ship before the confrontation had started, but when they saw the wounds in both Tessslan and Timsssack, they started to make their way back to the Volkran.

Lyemad saw the angry mob of Graznosians coming toward him and, in a panic, he shut the hatch and raised the ramp. He knew that Bellmus was alive but hurt badly, so his first thought was to get them out of there and back to Electerus. There were a handful of Electerians on the ship and Darkel was the replacement pilot for Tessslan. Lyemad pushed the intercom button and yelled, “Darkel, get us out of here now!”

With that, the Volkran blasted off Graznos—leaving behind a crowd of angry and confused Lizard-people. The laser wounds in Tessslan and Timsssack did not bleed because the beam had cauterized the vessels as it burned through the flesh. Tessslan watched as the Volkran took off into the sky and faded into the colors of the Nebula. His pale-green skin turned almost a reddish-brown from the anger that was boiling up inside, as he thought about Lyemad shooting him and his father. In his heart, he knew that whatever it took, he would get even for the unwarranted assault.

“Bring her in nice and slow, Darkel,” ordered Lyemad as the new Electerian “Fighter Class” space ship rendezvoused with the Electerian “Super Space Station”—or the SSS—as they liked to call it. “I would say that she performed her shakedown cruise very well.”

“Yes, Sir. She is a beauty,” replied an enthusiastic Darkel. “I bet she will fly circles around anything that the Graznosians have.”

“I wish I was that confident. With the Wicterians and the Drewlayians backing the Graznosians, I think we will find our technology evenly matched,” Lyemad said, with a concerned sound to his voice. “I never wanted this to get so out-of-control. For the past five years, since that failed voyage to the stars, we have lost far too many good men fighting over some religious thing.”

“Yes, Sir. But Tessslan was the first one to strike,” rebutted Darkel. “We are just defending our honor now.” Then realizing he might have been too forward, he said, “If you ask me, Sir,”

“It is hard to see any honor in blasting a ship apart in the freezing darkness of space,” replied Lyemad. “Right now I am just looking forward to getting a good meal of Tilkner and Kabla leaf with some Ritnum root. I cannot remember the last time I had that combination, but I sure am craving it now.”

In the time that had passed since the Volkran had left Graznos—the day that Lyemad had shot Tessslan and his father—the various worlds built or acquired many warp-capable spaceships. In all the traveling back and forth between them, the different worlds quickly separated into two groups. With the Electerians were the Angelians, Furzonians, and the Platonians. Siding with the Graznosians were the Wicterians and Drewlayians. The Lipkians and the Bancy system planets decided not to get involved in any disputes and even the Platonians were limiting their involvement.

Bellmus had returned to Electerus badly-wounded, with internal bleeding and many broken bones. He spent nearly a year in the hospital and had to relinquish his power to the counsel. Once the fighting had started, the council decided to suspend electing any new Supreme Ruler until they could establish some kind of peace with the other worlds. Bellmus felt worse about losing his title than he did about his injuries. From the confines of his hospital bed, he watched his dreams of greatness crumble right before his eyes. It was not much comfort to him at the time, but he did make it into the history books as the one to start interstellar travel. They also noted him for bringing the technology of cold fusion to Electerus and for developing the Tasley Tea Elite. They had already started carving out tunnels on Playzorus Prime to build an experimental cold fusion plant and a communication facility to monitor the other worlds.

Tessslan spent weeks in rehab with his father recuperating from their laser wounds. He spent the entire time plotting how he would get his revenge on Lyemad for what he had done. The “Way of the Flidoring” became more of a battle cry to him
than a philosophy of peace. Peace was not something that he thought about except when he was preaching it to the Wicterians and Drewlayians. Both of those worlds made numerous trips to Graznos to learn more about the Flidoring and the Creator, but they were more interested in power than they were in enlightenment. Tessslan drank up their attention like a cool Matia drink—the only thing from Electerus that he did like.

One day, less than a year after the Volkran had left Graznos, an Electerian shuttle piloted by Lyemad was making a supply run to the new space station in orbit around Electerus. Just as the shuttle was about to dock, a Graznosian impulse drive ship started shooting at it. Lyemad struggled to keep control of the shuttle, but the attack had damaged the lateral controls and the shuttle was spinning away from the station. As Lyemad and his shuttle hurled into the atmosphere of Electerus, Tessslan radioed to him and said, “That wasss for my father.” Lyemad regained just enough control of the shuttle to make a bumpy landing that ruined the shuttle but saved the lives of fifteen crewmembers.

After that incident, the Electerian counsel decided to bring sanctions against Graznos and to beef up their planetary defenses. The sanctions led to the Wicterians developing fast cargo ships that were equipped with blaster
cannons capable of shooting through the embargo blockades. The Wicterians were trading with the Graznosians for the Tasley plants and its longevity properties. They destroyed or severely crippled many Electerian, Furzonian, and Angelian ships before the Electerians lifted the embargo. The Furzonians retaliated against the Wicterians by hunting down the cargo ships, which brought the Drewlayians into the picture. They developed fighters that outmatched the speed and power of all the other worlds.

Within four years, the Electerians built the SSS (Super Space Station) and had the new fighter class prototype in the works. Their fighter was the most advanced weapon in the Nebula region. They designed it to hold only two people—the pilot and his navigator/gunner. It was fast, maneuverable, and had laser cannons that could penetrate the toughest hull plating. After showing great skill in landing the badly damaged shuttle, the council chose Lyemad to pilot the new fighter and he requested Darkel as his navigator. Darkel had gained favor with Lyemad the day he got him off Graznos without asking a bunch of questions.

On the SSS, Lyemad was just about to take a shuttle down to the planet when an announcement came over the intercom, “Alert, Alert, incoming Drewlayian fighters. All hands to battle stations.”

“So much for that nice dinner tonight,” Lyemad said as he turned and started running back toward the fighter. “Hurry along, Darkel. I want to get out there and engage those Drewlayians before they have a chance to destroy any of our ships.”

“I am right there with you, Sir, “ replied Darkel. “Lets get them. Maybe once they get a taste of our technology they will not be so anxious to attack
us.”

“Let us hope you are right,” replied Lyemad.

Once they were in the fighter and on an intercept course, Darkel said, “I have three fighters coming in at bearing 015 mark 2. Intercept time—two minutes.”

Lyemad engaged the Drewlayians and disabled one of their fighters before they even knew what hit them. The other two were out of commission within a couple of minutes and sending rescue signals back to their home world. Lyemad was very pleased with the way the new fighter had performed in battle, and he was happy that they were able to disable the Drewlayian fighters without destroying them.

“Darkel, open a channel to the Drewlayians,” ordered Lyemad.

“Yes, Sir,” he replied with a less than sure voice.

“Drewlayian fighters. Can we be of assistance to you?” Lyemad asked.

“I think you have done enough to us for one day,” replied one of the Drewlayians. Our life-supports are functioning and we have sent for a rescue.”

“Alright, then. I hope you will let the rest of your world know that we are prepared to defend ourselves and we request that you stay out of our space. Lyemad – out.”

Lyemad was certain that things would now start to change for the better. He knew that the animal worlds would not want to engage the Electerian fighter again. Moreover, because he had not destroyed them, he was certain that his gesture of goodwill would start to bring peace to all the worlds.

“Darkel, let’s head back. I still have that craving for a fancy meal,” Lyemad said with more pep in his voice than usual.

***

“Tessslan, how long are you going to hang on to thisss hatred towardsss Lyemad?” Timsssack asked as he walked into the communications room on the Graznosian space station.

“Father, look I wasss monitoring the Drewlayiansss asss they were attacking Electerusss. Three of their bessst fightersss are sssitting out there completely disssabled by one Electerian fighter, and Lyemad isss the pilot,” said Tessslan.

“How can that be?” Timsssack asked, as he looked closer at the sensor screen.

“The readingsss on hisss fighter are like nothing I have ssseen before,” Tessslan answered.

With a serious, yet somber voice, Timsssack said, “Tessslan, you need to let thisss bitternesss go. We cannot win a war againssst their technology. Besssidesss, we are a peaccceful raccce and should not be fighting with other created beingsss.”

With anger and frustration, Tessslan responded, “What good isss peaccce if othersss can take it away from you? Lyemad ssstarted thisss a long time ago becaussse he wasss jealousss of our waysss. It isss not my fault that he cannot underssstand them. I will not sssit back and let him dessstroy any more of our cussstomsss, and I will make him pay for the damage he hasss already causssed.”

Before he had even finished talking, he spun around and walked out the door. He knew in his heart that his father was partially right, but no one was going to talk him out of his perceived role of being the guardian of the Graznosian faith. He sacrificed too much already, and he truly believed that the fate of his world was in his hands. He knew that Graznos was not safe until he could eliminate the evil Lyemad and his technological world.

Within minutes, Tessslan was in a cargo ship headed towards the disabled Drewlayian fighters to see if he could assist them. He also intended to return to Drewlay with them to discuss his plans with Crusher about building better fighters. Furthermore, he wanted to get Antamus involved, because the Wicterians were by far the best natural pilots and he wanted their participation on the new fighter designs. His plan was to build a huge armada of ships and overwhelm the Electerians and the Furzonians, along with the Angelians—if they were foolish enough to get involved. He calculated that within nine months, his three allied worlds could assemble a secret fleet and make a surprise attack that would end the threat to his world.