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This is the prologue to something I have been working on for a while.
Prologue
My name is Tharos. My home is the planet Daro. My race is my family. My friends are the humans, and my foes are the Lyres.
Dating back countless centuries, my race has lived on Daro. The entire surface is covered in swamps and algae-filled oceans. Massive tree trunks, between five and ten feet in diameter, rise a hundred feet or more into the cloudy sky, spreading their foot-long leaves in a shadowy canopy. Below this forestry ceiling, smaller plants and ferns grow, competing for whatever sunlight they can get from my home star, Alpha Centauri. On the ground large rocks lie covered in vines and mosses. Scattered on the marshy floor are structures made of wood, vines, rock, and metal. Some are even built in the trees. Around the smaller buildings, the homes, are marsh apple plants and other fruit vines. Swamp birds, small, brown, flightless birds can sometimes be seen in the distance. They waddle here and there, eating scraps of fruit or chasing each other.
The Daro are a reptilian race, “lizards” as our human friends call us. We take no offense, for their name is somewhat accurate. Although having a humanoid body, a Daro’s head, shoulders, back, legs, and tops of the arms and fingers are covered in dark green scales, more like a giant crocodile that lives in Daro’s freshwater ocean than anything else. The front and under the arms and fingers are gray or white underbelly. Daro do not have tails, we are warm-blooded, and females give live birth. There is very little difference between a male and a female Daro, both are equally strong, and both are equally smart.
The humans of Earth are the great saviors of our race. They have settled many of our useless conflicts over petty things, given us helpful technology, perfected our farming and irrigation methods, and been our loyal ally. No one knows how or when our races met, but the day they did was a turning point in Daro history.
The Lyres are the scourge of the galaxy. These creatures have spread from planet to planet, slaughtering entire populations of sentient life and destroying many planetary colonies of both the humans and Daro. Lyres are built for killing. Four razor-sharp claws, ranging in color from dark pink to blood red, curve inwards to form a small, flat, central area perched four feet above the ground. Atop this is a semi-humanoid body; rising from the center a dark green chest, small arms, and neck rise. The neck curves up slightly and then angles down. Lyres have small mouths with tiny serrated teeth, and their eyes are red and lack pupils. It is these creatures that the Daro and humans boldly fight.
From the Ashes
Below me, the fires burned. Sirens blared, voices yelled, artillery fired. The surface of the planet Tirrus glowed with the light of warfare.
I was aboard a B-35, a standard ground-to-space transport used to ferry wounded soldiers from the battlefield. Now, however, every ship on the ground was being used to get people off the surface. As I looked the small window, I saw several ships racing up into the sky. We had lost the battle terribly.
The transport I was on was small and cramped. It had two levels; an upper one, the one I was on, was where the two pilots sat. They were located in the front, their hands hammering on controls and constantly changing trajectories for the quickest exit. In front of the pilots were windows that allowed us to see into space and down to the blunt nose of the ship. Behind the pilots was a tiny bench attached to the wall, and it was on this bench that I, along with another soldier, sat on. Across and opposite me was the small window on the right side of the ship.
On the lower level was a slightly bigger space. There were three other soldiers down there. Also down there were some medical supplies.
As the transport left the atmosphere, a bright explosion of green and red lights flashed before my eyes. Dead ahead of us, fighters darted in and out of view, attempting to outmaneuver the enemy. Suddenly the ship jerked, and I was almost thrown out of the seat. The pilots engaged evasive action, and at the abrupt change in direction I almost fell over once again. I began to worry a little. Everyone on the ship, including me, was incredibly lucky. We had taken a hit, but on a vital point or system. I was scared, not of dying itself, but of dying helplessly. If I die in the army of Daro, I want to be killed defending it.
The pilots steadied the ship, and now I saw our destination, the assault frigate Star Pride. She was a medium-sized ship, with the same blunt nose as the B-35, except on a much bigger scale. Also, towards the back, the sides bulged out, making the rear thicker than the front, allowing increased engine size, which produced higher speed and increased weapon power. She was colored a bluish-black hue, barely visible against the deep spread of space.
The transport angled to a point about halfway down the length of the sip. A voice on the transport intercom said we were cleared for landing. The Star Pride got bigger and bigger, and in only a few seconds I was safely inside the hangar of the assault frigate. Well, safer than I had been in the transport. Following the other soldier down the ladder to the lower level and out the small exit doors, I took my first step onto the Star Pride. The other soldiers were already outside, looking around and examining the hangar. I followed suit.
The room I was in was vast; it was probably a couple hundred yards wide and long. The ceiling was about fifty feet above my head. The entire room was a dull gray color except for the floor, which was decorated with yellow and white to direct ships when landing or taking off. Scattered around the floor were other transports, including some other B-35s. A few of them were being repaired or attended to by a mechanic or two. However, I did not see any other soldiers standing around, and other transports had yet arrived. This worried me slightly, but I knew it was only a matter of time until there were other survivors. I continued to look around.
Along all three walls a narrow catwalk stretched. Set at intervals were doorways, and where there were doorways there were staircases leading to the hangar floor. The fourth side of the room consisted of the forcefield that served as the entrance/exit of the hangar. This barrier was powered by the power regulator, which nestled close to the forcefield.
While I was looking around, I noticed that smoke was wafting through the air. On closer inspection I realized that the landing gear had been damaged. B-35s landed by extending four plates, two in the front and two in the back, and lowering them to the ground. The support of the back-right plate had almost been snapped by a couple of lasers. Smoke billowed around the hot piece of metal as I tried to examine it more thoroughly.
Running footsteps approached. I turned and saw an officer running up to my group. He was dressed as any normal Daro soldier would be; his torso was bare, but on his legs he wore battle leggings and armor that held a small array of weapons. A soldier’s rank was determined by the number and color of stripes on his or her combat leggings. The officer had two red stripes running down his armor, alerting us that he was a captain.
“Have a fun flight?” he asked.
“I’m afraid not, sir,” I replied. “What’s our status?”
“Only two of the original seven frigates are left. Our capital ship is holding, but she can’t take much more.”
“And the planet?”
“Lost. The Lyres took us completely by surprise>”
A voice suddenly shouted out from the catwalk on the far side of the hangar, “Captain, get up here to the bridge and tell the guys to get us outta here. The survivor’s need to follow me to the briefing room.”
The captain left for a side door, and the other soldiers and I headed to the back of the hangar. We followed our guide through a dimly lit hallway to an elevator. We ascended a few levels and then continued through another hallway.
I apologize for the lack of light, but all power that can be put into the shields is being used,” our guide explained.
The ship shook from the shock of Lyre lasers as he spoke.
“The briefing room is through this door,” our guide continued, indicating the door in front of us. He then turned and left.
After he had gone, one of the soldiers opened the door and walked through. One by one, the five of us entered the room.
There were five rows of chairs in front of us, and there was a walkway on either side of these chairs. There was a small space in front, a blank briefing board in the back, and in the middle was a table. And seated at this table was none other than Commander Grufner, the finest pilot on Daro and the bravest soldier around. Even sitting down, the commander was tall and broad, with huge muscles and a certain aura of strength just emanating from him. On his combat leggings were two gold stripes, one on each side.
All five of us were immediately at attention, raising our rifles’ barrels to a vertical position with our right hands.
“At ease, men,” the commander said in a deep, rough voice. “Come up here and sit down.”
We did.
“Let me inform you of our situation. Three of our original eight ships are still fighting: us, our capital ship, and the other assault frigate, the Comet Tail. Anyway, the general wishes to speak with you five.”
“Us, sir?” exclaimed another in my group. “Why us?”
“Because you five are the only survivors from Tirrus.”
A deep silence swept over the room.
“But there were other transports, other ships…”
“Yes, but they were destroyed as they left the atmosphere. Anyway, the general is coming here. I want all of you on the bridge immediately. Just go back to the elevator, go all the way up, and walk down the hall.”
“Yes, sir,” the five of us said simultaneously.
Standing up and turning, we left the room. As the last person closed the door quiet but excited chatter erupted in the group. It was very rare for a general to leave his ship to talk to five ordinary soldiers.
We arrived on the bridge after following Commander Grufner’s instructions. In font of us was a large room. To and left and right were rows of computers, Daro engineers monitoring ship system status and flight trajectory. A wide wall separated these two aisles, and on top of the wall was the observatory deck. The ladder was right in front of us. A gigantic window stretched across the front of the ship. I could see fighters darting in and out of sight and some of our capital ship, but I could only see to the left and right of the window; the observatory deck blocked my view of the center. One by one the group made their way to the ladder and climbed up.
A grand sight met my eyes as I climbed onto the landing. I walked all the way up to the front of the deck, taking in the sight before me. Previously blocked from my sight was a Lyre core ship, a huge monster with four giant prongs extending from its front, one from each side, one from the top and one from the bottom. These prongs were a deep red hue, and their tips met at a point in the center. Jutting behind these prongs was a block of dark purple metal, where undoubtedly Lyres were stationed, ready to unleash the horrible but awesome power that the ship they crewed possessed. When the four prongs opened, death struck.
I also saw many fighters from both sides. The Lyre fighters looked almost exactly like core ships, only much smaller. Small, red lasers shot from between the prongs, wreaking havoc on enemy fighters. However, the fighter prongs were locked in place instead of opening to fire a death ray.
Daro fighters were longer and thinner, with fins running down the top and bottom. Each fin had one turbolaser gun mounted on it. The front caved in like a big mouth, and behind this was the cockpit. Turbolasers filled the mouth, sending green pulses into Lyre ships.
Our capital ship was a glorious behemoth with a flat, wide top that sloped up to the back to form a thick block where the bridge was located. The bridge curved downwards to form the engine area, where a small but bright blue light was visible. The bottom of the ship was a long, convex curve that met the flat top of the ship at a point.
One of the soldiers pointed out an armored transport that had just left the hangar of the capital ship. It was moving toward us quickly. Suddenly another soldier, pointing at the Lyre core ship, exclaimed, “That thing’s gonna blow!”
I looked. The four prongs were opening up. A huge ball of energy was being concentrated in the center, and shortly thereafter a red streak flashed into being and hit the block on the back of the ship. The entire bridge exploded and fires ran down the length of the sip as flammable liquids ignited. However, even as the blazes were started, they were extinguished as the little oxygen in the ship was used up. The remnants of the ship and the transport were engulfed in a dark, dusty shroud filled with twisted chunks of metal and other debris.
The intercom erupted into a huge amount of noise as the capital ship was destroyed, but I did not hear it. A choking feeling clawed its way up into my throat as the loss hit me. The general was more to me than the others. He was my hero, my role model, and most importantly, the closest thing I had to a father. After both of my parents died fighting the Lyres, the general took me in as his own. He sent me to military school, where I learned discipline and responsibility.
“Look.”
A soldier pointed at the now thinning clouds of debris. The transport had survived! It flew beneath our visibility as it reached the hangar. I ran to the ladder, climbed off the observatory deck, and headed to the elevator. I descended to the hangar level, and as the doors opened, I saw the general and two bodyguards walking, taking worried breaths and sighing in relief.
The general was shorter than Commander Grufner, but he was still taller than me. His combat armor was decorated with the highest military stripes possible: three golden stripes on either side of the armor. Hanging down were a few pistols and an edge rifle. The bodyguards also carried edge rifles, holding them in their arms, ready to fight off an entire horde of Lyres.
I went to the attention as the general approached. He stopped in front of me.
“At ease, Tharos.”
I lowered my weapon.
“That was too close,” he remarked casually.
“Yes, sir, it was,” I replied.
“Take me to the bridge.”
“Yes, sir.”
I led him back along the way I had come, relieved that the general was still alive. In a couple of minutes we reached the bridge. Commander Grufner awaited us and began talking as soon as we reached him.
“We have the five survivors. The Comet Tail is awaiting your orders.”
“Tell them to get outta here.”
“Yes, sir.”
The commander walked to the communication station, and the general turned to me.
“Where are the others?”
“On the observatory deck, sir.”
We climbed the ladder, and there we saw my four fellow survivors. They were silently gazing at the remains of the capital ship as they burned in Tirrus’s atmosphere. The general ordered me to tell the others to come to the briefing room and that I would lead the way. I slowly walked across the floor and informed the group. We turned and reached the ladder, but as I began to lower myself, I heard a sharp, sudden cry of dismay that echoed around the bridge. I looked and saw metal and dust engulf the Comet Tail, traveling from engines in the back all the way up to the nose. The ship’s intercom came on.
“We have lost the Comet Tail.”
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Two Kinds of Nerds
Lower-Class- Nerds who read their textbooks all day and have no life.
Upper-Class- Nerds who don't study at all, do well at school, and actually do things.
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Last edited by Dwarf_Moria on October 5th, 2008, 1:41 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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