The Priests of Syrics
It is the year 5020. The Earth has been abandoned. The Sun moves closer by the second. All life that once populated the planet has
fled, for the Earth had reached the apocalypse.
The polar ice caps melted, causing a devastating flood throughout the
continents. Earth was now all under
water, except for the tip of Mt.
Everest
~CHAPTER1~
Ziphon always was different
than the other droids. Unlike the
others, Ziphon had steel-blue eyes, while the others were iron-gray. Another thing about him was the way he was
shaped. He had longer legs, arms, neck,
and fingers, while the other droids were shorter. They constantly looked up him and how he was
the newest upgrade from the priests.
Ziphon had no idea who the Priests were, but he did know that
they ruled the world of Htrae. It was
said that the Priests lived in the great Temples of Syrics. It was also rumored that the Priests had the
greatest technology in the entire planet inside the walls of the Temples of
Syrics. Ziphon had always wanted to
meet the Priests, but at the same time he was ultimately frightened of the
authority of the Priests.
Across the planet, Srythic
and the rest of the Priests held their monthly planning session to deal with
upgrades, the Seers of each town, and last of all, adding some droids to the
Syrics Guard. The Guard was always the
biggest debate in the Temple
CHAPTER
2
Three
weeks later, Ziphon was working at the factory were new droids were
created. Suddenly, his arm screen
flashed, meaning that someone needed to talk to him. He looked down at the screen… and was
confused at what he saw. Why does the
Boss want to speak with me? Ziphon wondered.
He touched the “talk” button on the screen. “Yes, Boss?
You wanted to talk with me?”
“Ziphon,
just the droid I wanted to see! Can you
come up to my office? We need to talk
about you.” He said signing out. No bye,
no nothing. That’s how boss was.
Ziphon
came to the offices at last. He knocked
once, twice, but before he could make the last knock the door was flung
open. “Ziphon! How good it is to see you! Please, come in, come in!” The Boss was a
short, squat man, with a large waist. He
always had a large cigar sticking out of the side of his mouth, emitting a lazy
spiral of smoke into the office.
“So,
Boss? What do you want to speak to me
about?” Ziphon asked, still confused about the Boss’s attitude towards
him. The man was not normally this
friendly to anyone, especially droids.
“It’s
about the Priests. They want you to become
part of the Syrics Guard. I can’t
believe it! One of my own workers… a
Syrics Guard! I’m so thrilled to have
taught you all I know…” the man went on, trailing off.
“Wait, Boss. I don’t understand. Who are the Syrics Guard? Why do they want me? What did I do?” Ziphon was totally lost. I’ve never done anything wrong! I don’t even know who the Priests are! Ziphon
barely listened to what the Boss was saying.
There must be a mistake!
^CHAPTER
3^
Many
miles away, Srythic watched the whole conversation on a huge screen in his
private quarters. The camera in the
office was well hidden, so none of the residents of Htrae knew that they were
being watched. He is still young. Srythic thought. He has much to learn. Not to worry, young droid. You are in no danger now, at least not for a
while. Srythic grinned. He called his other guard into the room.
“Yes,
my Lord?” Sinter said, bowing respectfully.
“I
want you to take a trip to Westona. I
will send a map to your arm band,” Srythic stated, eyes back to the
screen. “I also want you to bring back
this droid,” He motioned to the screen.
“How
will I know it’s him?” Sinter inquired nervously.
“Easily. He is the only droid with the newest
upgrade.” Srythic stated coolly.
“Yes
my Lord. I will do all you say.” Sinter
said, bowing again then exiting the room.
Srythic
looked up at the giant picture. I
wonder… how well he will do, considering the brutal training required for
Guards, especially for my Guards…
Ziphon
was shocked. He had stumbled back to his
living quarters and locked the door. He
now was lying in his sleeping chamber, going over the conversation he had just
encountered in the Boss’ office. I don’t
get it. I know I’m the only one with the
new upgrade, but that shouldn’t make a difference! Why me…?
Ziphon
was awakened hours later by a loud knocking at his quarter’s door. Who the hell could that be? Ziphon thought groggily. He unlocked the latch to his sleeping chamber
and stepped out. He walked slowly
towards the sliding chamber door, and unlocked it. As the door slid open, Ziphon wondered who
had to interrupt his nice nap. He was
confused. The droid who stood before him
looked exactly like Ziphon; tall, with steel-blue eyes. The only difference was that this droid had
more advanced equipment and a large gun at his side. He also had more armor than the normal
droid. The thing that caught Ziphon’s
eye besides the sidearm was the symbol on the droid’s chest. There was a great pyramid with an Egyptian
crook that had a Christian cross in front, but they looked like they were the
same thing.
“Excuse
me,” the droid stated, startling Ziphon.
“Is this the living quarter of Ziphon the droid?”
“Y-yes. Wh-what do y-you want from m-m-me?” Ziphon stammered, intimidated by the other
droid’s authority.
“Good. Come with me,” the droid said, turning to
leave.
“W-Wait! What do you want from me? I didn’t do anything wrong!” cried
Ziphon. “Who are you, anyway? Who do you work for?”
“My
name is Sinter. I am a Syrics
Guard. I work for the great Srythic,
leader of the Priests of the Temple
of Syrics
CHAPTER 4
Ziphon’s
jaw dropped. He knew that this droid was
someone else, but the Guard! Everyone
knew who the Guard was, but to actually meet one in person was a great
honor. They want me to a part of the
Guard? “But why do you want me? Why not someone else? Not that I don’t want to, but I don’t think
I’d do a good job,” Ziphon said nervously.
“it’s
already been decided. Now please come
with me.” Sinter replied coolly. The
only thing Ziphon could do was follow the guard down the hall, through the big
doors, and out to the parking cubicles.
What greeted him there was beyond Ziphon’s wildest imagination. In the two biggest cubicles were two one-man
Banshee flyers. Ziphon had seen these
great aircrafts in old movies he had watched, but he never imagined that they
actually existed. They were huge,
purple, with cockpit window curving from
the bottom to the top then fanning out so the pilot can see up, down, right,
left, and any which way he needs to look when he’s in a dogfight so he isn’t blindsided.
The blasters were stationed on the end of the wings, while the laser
cannon was positioned on the belly of the great machine. The cockpit was the only thing that was
really strange. To control the aircraft,
the pilot must first crawl in on his stomach, then grasp the joy sticks that
help the Banshee turn. Ziphon was
confused.
“Why
are there two Banshees?” he questioned.
“Because,”
Sinter said, sounding annoyed. “You’re
going to fly one,”
“Me? But I barley now how to drive an airloom, let
alone a Banshee!” Ziphon exclaimed, scared but a little excited.
“Oh,
that’s quite all right,” Sinter said.
“You see, all you need to know is in this chip,” the droid opened his
compartment on his arm and pulled out a small neon chip, about the size of a
flash drive. “Just insert this into your
arm band, and you will know exactly what to do.” Sinter handed the chip to
Ziphon, whom looked at it suspiciously, but did what he was told and inserted
the chip into his arm band. Immediately
he felt a difference. Without hesitation
he entered the Banshee and put on his helmet.
He then closed the door, trapping him in the great machine. Suddenly Sinter’s voice was in his ears.
“Hey,
kid. Can you hear me?” he asked.
“Loud
and clear, Sir,” Ziphon replied.
“Good. Now, I’m going to give you the coordinates
for the Temple.” Sinter said. Ziphon was
barely listening to the Guard now. He
punched in the coordinates on the main computer, and then he grabbed the
controls.
“You
ready, kid?” sinter asked, unable to control his excitement.
“Yes,
Sir!” Ziphon said, though without the chip he would have never been ready.
“Alright
then, let’s go!” Sinter said.
With
a loud whoop, Ziphon roared the engines and rose slowly out of the top of the
cubicle. Sinter’s Banshee rose up right
next to Ziphon’s and then started out slowly, but was picking up speed. Ziphon eased his Banshee forward, pushing the
controls further and further out until he was flying right alongside
sinter. Wow, I can’t believe this! Ziphon thought. I’m actually flying a Banshee!
CHAPTER 5
Across the planet, Srythic
and the other Priests had just woken up.
The high priest was a little nervous.
He had sent out his guard to find a droid that is to be his second bodyguard. That was three days ago. Now, Srythic felt that somewhere, there were
people out there, plotting against him. Where the hell is Sinter? He should have been back by now! Srythic was in a state of panic. He got up and walked to the window. What
shall I do? Why hasn’t he called
me? Srythic’s thoughts were
interrupted by his temporary guard, Xenon, knocking at the door. “Come in, Xenon, come in.” Srythic said
absently.
“My Lord! Sinter and the other one are here! Their Banshees were just reported flying at
Mach 2 over 51.43 kilometers away! They
will be here any minute now!” the droid stated loudly.
“Xenon, there is no need to
shout.” Srythic replied as evenly as he could.
“Thank you for your report. You
may go.”
With a nod, Xenon bowed and
moved quickly out the door.
Srythic turned back to his
window. So, Sinter. Let’s see if you got
the right droid. He turned and
strode across the room towards the door.
Ziphon and Sinter just
passed the little town of Foible, and now they were speeding towards the great
Temples of Syrics. In his whole life,
Ziphon never would have guessed he would be able to become a Syrics Guard. Now he was really here, at the Temple of
Syrics, home of the great Priests of Syrics.
This is unbelievable. Ziphon thought in awe. I’m
actually here, at the Temples of Syrics!
This has to be a dream. The
Temples were huge; with seven great Aztec-like towers surrounding another,
bigger tower in the middle of them all. It’s
so beautiful. Ziphon thought to himself. Together, Sinter and Ziphon touched down in
the landing zone right inside the walls.
As Ziphon removed his helmet, he instinctively reached towards the lever
that released pressure from the over-door.
Before he could reach it, Sinter’s voice blasted from the helmet. “Wait, kid!
Don’t touch that lever!” Sinter sounded scared.
“Yes Sir. Is there something wrong?” Ziphon inquired a
little unnerved by his superior’s fear.
“There’s something over the
horizon,” the Guard stated, his voice quavering. “And it doesn’t look like a welcoming
committee.”
“Then what…” Ziphon started
to say, but his question was answered before he could ask it. Suddenly, the sky darkened a few kilometers
ahead of them. The wind began to howl,
and the darkness inched forward towards them.
“Holy crap.” Sinter
breathed. Then he shouted, “Kid! Get ready!
Here they come! Let’s go!”
Sinter radioed the main
Guard Database and requested reinforcements, then revved the Banshee’s
engines. He and Ziphon rose into the
air. Behind him, he heard the roar of
several other Banshee engines. Good, more banshees. We’ll need all that we can get. Enlightened, Sinter and the others eased their
Banshees forward, until they were all in a straight line. They hurtled forward towards the enemy and
began to unleash a fury of fire on the darkness. Sinter’s hand went wild on the blaster
trigger. Surprisingly, the shots made
wide gaps in the advancing cloud, but it did not stop the darkness. It kept advancing towards the Temples, little
by little. Other droids were making the
same realizations that Sinter had made earlier.
“The blasters aren’t having
any effect, Sinter!” “What do we do,
Sinter?”
Finally, Sinter ordered in
a commanding tone, “Droids, retreat!
There are too many of them!
Retreat back to the Temples!”
“Yes Sir!” the droids
responded strongly. With that, Sinter
tipped the nose of the Banshee down, and then yanked the controls backup. This caused the aircraft to flip a lazy back
flip; before the flip ended, Sinter slammed the controls to the left, causing the
Banshee to turn in midair, creating a show-offy u-turn. After completing the stunt, Sinter hit the
thrusters, jolting the aircraft into Mach1in 8.01 seconds. Looking to his right then to his left, he saw
that the other Banshees were close to his tail.
That’s when he heard them. The
cries of “Help” and “Noooooooo! I’m
going down!” filled his helmet, followed by explosions. Sinter had no clue what was going on, but it
sounded bad. “Sinter, what is
happening?!” Ziphon asked desperately, wondering if Sinter had been taken down
like the others. That’s when something
caught his eye. Banshee’s main computer
flashed on the helmet’s screen. The
screen was somewhat see-through, so the pilot could see what he was doing in
combat. The screen showed radar in the
top left-hand corner, a 3-D map of the battlefield in the top right, and the
main screen showed an overlay of Sinter’s Banshee. What Sinter saw on that screen confused him
for a second. What’s that creeping dark spot?
What a minute…! Sinter suddenly knew what the spot
was. Something’s
infiltrated into my ship! Sinter was
reaching for the laser rifle that was stored in a cargo section underneath him,
when everything suddenly went black.
Back at the Temples, the
Priests watched as their Guards were swallowed by the darkness. Srythic was frightened and angered at the
same time. Whoever did this must be incredibly powerful. Srythic thought in awe. We must
find them and destroy them. Those who
challenge the Priests of Syrics have no chance.
Srythic turned and motioned for the other Priests to follow
him. “Come. There is nothing we can do.” Srythic said in
a smooth voice. “We must strike back
soon, but not without a plan. Come, we
have much work to do,”
The other Priests turned to
leave, but one looked back at the advancing cloud. Suddenly he saw something that made his heart
skip a beat. Could it be? Yes, it is! “Srythic! Quick!
Come quick!”
“What is it, Comdex?”
Srythic asked in an annoyed tone.
“My Lord, you will never
believe me if I told you, so come over here and see with your own eyes,” the
young Priest managed only a whisper.
Srythic walked calmly
towards the excited young human, confused at why he would be this happy if his
own Guard was just eaten by a huge cloud of darkness. When he arrived at the window, what met his
eyes was astounding. Shooting out ahead
of the growing darkness was a lone Banshee, left wing inoperable and windshield
shattered. Srythic suddenly felt a buzz
on the inside of his robe. He reached in
and grabbed the buzzing private phone that was also a portable talker. Srythic held the phone out in front of him
and pressed a button. A holographic
picture of a pilot materialized in front of him. “Who are you?” Srythic demanded, hoping it
was his guard.
“My Lord, this is
Ziphon. The darkness is moving
fast. I am pushing my plane almost to
the limit.” The droid responded. “I will
be at the Temples in 2. Out,”
Chapter
6*
Across the universe, millions of
creatures gathered in an underground room, anxious to see their leader. He had called for a war preparation
meeting. They had no idea what their
great leader was going to say, or what he was going to address. When everyone finally gathered into the room,
the beast who was supposedly the leader, unsheathed his sword, silencing the
dull roar in the room. When all was
quiet, the chief of the creatures spoke.
“My friends,” the ruler said in a rasping voice. The leader was abnormally tall, with blue
eyes, which was unheard of for his race.
He was the most ferocious in battle, and a strong chief. “For centuries
we Cretonnes have been brutally attacked and kidnapped because we were weak and
could do nothing for ourselves. That has
all changed. We are now strong enough to
be able to destroy anyone who stands in our way!” A loud roar of approval arose from the
Cretonnes. “We have already taken care
of four of the five races that ridiculed us.
All that is left are the Humans that live on Htrae.” A low growl arose from the crowd as they
recalled the battle that forced them underground years ago, leaving their
cities in ruins above them. “We will
kill them all!” A roar erupts again from the gathered creatures. “We believe in you, Cryptyk! Lead us to them!”
“Follow me my friends! We will kill the Humans!” Cryptyk cried.
“KILL THE HUMANS!!!” The Cretonnes roared, thrusting their swords
into the air.
~Chapter
7~
Ziphon was in the meeting
room of the Temples of Syrics. Everyone
was hushed and astounded at the tale Ziphon told. He explained the battle as best he could,
because his voice was still a little shaky.
“I was towards the end of
the line of Banshees we had created. Not
long into battle, I noticed that the shots I was firing were not having a
lasting effect on the enemy. Suddenly,
the windshield was blasted open, and the darkness swarmed in. I felt a million little pricks all over
me. I did not know what was happening
until one of my attackers buzzed right in front of my eyes. The thing was muscular for its size, and it
was waving a sword above its head. The
creature had wings like those of a dragonfly and was darting around, looking
for a place to enter my helmet.” Ziphon paused for suspense, and then
continued. “I was surprised. How could things this small destroy my thick
windshield? I took my hand of the
controls and swatted at the creature, knocking it to the right and hitting the
side of my Banshee. That’s when I
thought of a great idea. Flipping my
Banshee upside-down, I climbed as high as I could, then did a nose dive while
doing a death spiral. All of the little
attackers were knocked against the sides of the ship and out the
windshield. That being done, I pulled
out of the spiral and flipped a u-turn and thrusted the ship forward as fast as
it could go.”
There was a shocked silence
as the Priests let this new knowledge sink in.
Srythic was astounded. Six-inch creatures that can blast apart a
Banshee windshield? This is insane! I have never even heard of such a
race... Srythic thought harder than
ever before. Never has a situation been
so difficult. He had always thought that
he would know everything he had to so he could be able to run the Priests’
meetings and other important things.
Now, the Chief Priest felt as though he wasn’t providing anything for
the Priests cause and was failing at his job.
“Ziphon, run and get my computer,” Srythic said suddenly. “I know what to do,”
CHAPTER
8*
Cryptyk and the rest of the
Cretonnes gathered around the raised platform, looking, yet not believing what
they were seeing. On the platform stood
seven machine-like humans tied to chairs.
“My people do not be
afraid. These are the things,” the chief
spit out things. “That have ridiculed us from the beginning of
time,” a loud jeer arose from the crowd.
“So these things think they are stronger than us?! How dare they!”
“This is the thing that
makes them stronger,” Cryptyk said, holding up one of the droid’s battle
rifles. He pointed the gun at one of the
Cretonne criminals in the back of the room.
Guards at either side of the outlaw pushed away the other creatures
around them. Then, Cryptyk pulled the
trigger on the rifle. Three rapid shots
rang out. The Cretonne in the back cry
out in agony, blue blood spurting from the bullet wounds in his chest. He slumped in the guard’s grasp, stone dead.
“You see, this is how they
destroyed us years ago.” Cryptyk roared over the screams of terror and confusion. “Now that we have this, we will create more
so we can keep up with the humans. We
will destroy the humans! Who’s with
me?!”
A loud roar arose from the
gathered Cretonnes. “We will destroy the
humans!!”
Srythic was doing some
major research in his private quarters.
He had called off the meeting and sent Ziphon to the blacksmith’s to get
his new armor installed, then to the weapons master to receive his battle rifle
and mini-shotguns. Now, he finally found
what he was looking for. He tapped the
“print” icon at the top of his portable template. The printer in the fake closet roared to
life. In about two seconds, it spat out
the page Srythic was just looking at. He
smiled. Could it really be so easy? He
thought to himself. This could be easier than I thought.
Down in his private
quarters, Ziphon felt a surge of power. I can’t believe this! I’m now an official Syrics Guard! I never would have imagined this in a million
years… His thoughts trailed off,
leaving him to think about his life before the Priests entered it. His daydreaming was interrupted by the sound
of his arm band, saying that he had someone that wanted to talk to him. He tapped the “talk” button on his screen.
“Hello?”
“Ziphon, its Srythic,” the
voice on the other end replied. “Listen
carefully. I want you to come up to my
private quarters. We have a lot to talk
about,”
“Yes Sir. I’ll be right up. Out,” Ziphon said, saluting. I wonder what he has to tell me. He wondered to himself. Oh well, no matter. I finally get to visit Srythic’s private
quarters!
~CHAPTER
9~
After a few minutes, Ziphon
finally made it to Srythic’s private chamber.
When he arrived, he couldn’t believe what he was looking at. The door to Srythic’s chamber was huge; it
was at least six feet high and had the Temple’s emblem carved into it. Nervously he knocked once, twice, thrice in a
row and waited timidly for an answer.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Srythic came to the great
door and pulled it open with ease.
“Good evening, my lord. You wished to speak to me?” Ziphon said as
evenly as possible for his voice was shaking slightly.
“Ah, yes, Ziphon. Come in, we have much to talk about.” Srythic
stated, beckoning Ziphon to come in.
What greeted his eyes in Srythic’s private quarters was more breath
taking than the Temples themselves.
Elegant tapestries hung from the walls, and there was a huge fire place,
with a crackling fire already lit. There
were huge crossed spear-like torches that were also lit, giving of a warm glow
of light. Off to one side was another
door, which Ziphon believed lead to the chief Priests’ sleeping chamber. Off to another side of the huge room was
again another door, but this one was open, showing huge office space. But the biggest thing that caught Ziphon eye
was the huge picture frame that had nothing in it. He asked Srythic, “My lord, what is that
empty frame over there?”
“That, my son is no normal
frame,” the Priest said, chuckling.
“That is the big screen TV that I first saw you with,” with that being
said, Srythic flipped a switch on the wall next to him, and the empty frame
exploded in color, “You see Ziphon,” the
leader said. “I can see anything in the
world that I want to and the computer locates that particular camera on the
planet, and I am able to watch whatever is going on there,” Then, Srythic led
Ziphon into the office on the far side of the room. “So, my Lord, what is it you wanted to talk
to me about?”
Across the universe,
Cryptyk and the Cretonnes were making more of the droids’ battle rifles. The Cretonne technicians found out how the
rifles worked halfway through dismantling the first battle rifle. Now, they had almost enough to give to the
whole race, not including the females and the smallest children. Cryptyk called together all the males, from
sixteen moons old and up. When they had
all gathered together in the huge meeting rooms, Cryptyk pulled out a small
mini shotgun that the technicians had confiscated from one of the droids and
fired a shot into the air, silencing the room.
“My friends, we are almost ready to face the humans!” a triumphant howl
arose from the gathered demons. “I have
called you all here to discus battle plans,” Cryptyk said, looking out at the
beasts below him. “Here is a map of
their planet,” with that he pulled out a small circular device, yet another
thing taken from the droids. The leader
tossed the device into the middle of the room, where it landed with light
thud. The gathered males that had moved
away from the middle of the meeting hall looked down towards the strange
thing. Suddenly a huge holographic globe
erupted from the device, startling the circled creatures and making some jump
back. “This is the human’s main headquarters,”
Cryptyk said, zooming in to the large Temples of Syrics. “We are going to attack smaller cities around
the capital. We will start on the
opposite side of the planet, and then engulf the rest of the world from there,”
Cryptyk stated evenly. There was a
mummer of approval. “Good. We attack the humans at dawn!”
A mighty roar arose from
the males, “KILL THE HUMANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Across the universe, the
Priests of Syrics were devising a battle plan of their own. They had just dismissed the meeting when a
droid came running down the hall.
“Master Srythic!” the droid shouted when he was within hearing range.
“Yes Xenon? What is the problem?” Srythic answered in a
calm voice.
“There’s a large mother
ship traveling at light speed under three light years away. The radars in Gingival picked up their signal
about five minutes ago,” the droid responded.
“How the hell did they get
so close without us knowing?!” the chief Priest exploded. Xenon was not ready for that kind of
outburst. He started to stutter and his
hands began to shake.
“W-well sir, we, uh, we
d-don’t really k-know h-how this-s happened,” the droid stammered, rubbing the
back of his neck nervously. “The
Gingival d-database just radioed us, saying that they did not have enough
forces to fight them by their selves, so they were requesting back-up from us,”
Srythic, still a little
ticked off, said to the droid, “Well, send some droids out there,” the head
Priests responded with a wave of his hand.
“How many droids exactly
should we send to Gingival, my Lord?” Xenon asked, his voice quavering.
“I don’t know! Just as many as you think we should
send! Not a lot, just enough to help
them destroy the invaders,” Srythic explained carefully.
“My Lord,” Ziphon now spoke
in a calm and collected tone, “Do you want me to go with the forces to
Gingival? Or shall I stay here?”
Srythic thought for a
moment, then replied, “No, Ziphon, I do not want you to go. Your post is here, at the Temples. This is your new home. But I do want you to help organize the droids
who will be going. Go with Xenon here
and assist him in gathering the troops,”
Ziphon’s face brightened at
the thought of helping somehow with the undeclared war on this vengeful
race. “Yes my master. I shall make the Temples proud of my help
towards the fight,” with that Ziphon and Xenon turned and strode down the hall
towards the barracks.
XENON
Xenon couldn’t believe what Ziphon was
telling him and the other twenty droids gathered in the briefing room. Cretonnes? Who the hell are they? Xenon thought to himself. He looked around and saw the other droids’
faces twisted in puzzlement. What do they want from us? What did we do to
make them vow such revenge? Sure, we
bombed their villages and forced them underground, but that’s no reason for
them to hate us… oh, that’s what they are so mad about. God I’m an idiot… Xenon could see the others are making the
same realizations he was. So if we let them continue on, they will
gain more knowledge from captives and collect more weapons and maybe even
bombs? Wow, that’s some kind of
revenge.
“So, do we understand the
course of action?” Ziphon’s clear voice rang in Xenon’s ears.
“Yes, sir!” the droid’s
response was loud and clear.
“Good. Now I am going to assign you all positions,
but if you do not want that particular post fell free to let me know, got it?”
“Yes, Sir!!” the droids
response was louder than before. Wow. Xenon
thought to himself. He is a wonderful leader. He
listens to the droids comforts and works with them. For a moment Xenon pictured Ziphon as the
head Priest, leading them against all the world’s troubles, but he banished the
image immediately. What was I thinking? Droids
cannot be a Priest no matter what skills they posses. The Priests hammered that into each new
droid’s head, repeating the rule over and over again. As each assignment was given out, Ziphon went
over the positions again. “So, we got
Micron and company flying the Banshees, Skytel and his group as light infantry,
Dytrel and friends as heavy infantry, Ityelyk manning the Armadillo tanks, and
Gyro and his buddies on Warhogs. This
leaves Xenon, Wytry, and Qityk controlling the Hornets. Is that all right with you guys?” Ziphon
said.
“Yeah, that’s awesome!”
Wytry said, pumping his fist in the air.
“I agree with Wytry. I love the hornets,” Qityk said, nodding.
“What about you,
Xenon? You want to fly the Hornets?”
Ziphon questioned.
“What?” Xenon said, as if
coming out of the trance. He shook his
head, like he was shaking water from his head.
“Yeah, I’m good with that.”
“Great. Well it looks like you guys are ready for
battle. What do you say, soldiers?”
Ziphon yelled.
“Yes, Sir! We are ready to serve the Temples!” the
droids shouted back.
“All right then! Get out there and make the Priests proud!”
Upstairs in Srythic’s
private quarters, Srythic is watching the whole briefing from his giant screen
in his living room, if that’s what you want to call it. The head Priest was sitting in an elegant
throne- like chair, stroking his calico cat, Tyrell. “So, Tyrell,” Srythic said to the cat. “What do you think of this droid Ziphon? He seems like a good leader. He is my newest guard, and he is a fine one
indeed,” the cat started to purr louder.
“Yes I do enjoy having him around.
Some of the other Guards I have had were pretty boring and didn’t do the
best of jobs protecting me. But this one
I have no doubts in. he is trustworthy,
loyal, and very helpful,” the cat in Srythic’s arms purred again, only
louder. The head Priest chuckled. “Oh, so that’s where you like to be
scratched, eh? Oh yes, right behind the
left ear,” the feline closed his eyes and purred like mad.
CHAPTER
10*
Xenon pushed the joy- stick
control in his Hornet forward. The
Hornet was like a modern day helicopter, but instead of a single propeller on
the top, there were two wings on either side of the craft. Each wing had on opening which a small prop
rotated to raise the chopper into the air.
The wings rotated forward and back, enabling the plane to back up of fly
full force ahead. Automatic machine guns
were docked on the sides of the Hornet, under the wings, and they had a laser
cannon on the bottom of the chopper.
Now, the three Hornets were ahead of the rest of the Temple army. Ityelyk, who was manning the one Armadillo
tank, looked huge next to the Warhogs and the two layer infantry. The tank was huge, even without the big
laser cannon undone at the top. They had
the biggest array of weaponry out of all the Temples’ vehicles, next to the
lumbering Elephants. The Armadillo tank
had a giant laser cannon mounted on the top, with two light blasters on either
side of the great machine, and two automatic machine guns on top next to the
laser cannon. The tank also had the
ability to “fly” short distances and land on an enemy’s infantry. The tank had no wheels, which helped the big
vehicle not leave any tracks in the sand around Gingival. The Warhogs were two man ATVs, with a man
handling the turret on the back and a guy driving. The guy driving the Warhogs could put the
machine into “auto pilot” and shoot out the window. When the small army arrived at Gingival, they
saw that the giant mother ship of the Cretonne army had landed about
twenty-five kilometers outside the city.
Wow! That ship is huge! Xenon thought to himself. It was big indeed. The two giant thrusters on either side had
three large fins circling it. The plane
was a rust like color, showing signs of rusting and barley any use for
years. It was long as it was wide, and
it looked like it did not have any guns on the plane. But Xenon soon realized that the big ship did
have weapons, because the great plane suddenly fired at the walls of Gingival,
shaking the walls violently but not bringing them down. So instead of going to the front gates, the
little Temples army moved out of the line of fire and went around to the back
gates. All the planes landed and Xenon
and company went towards the great doors.
As they neared the gates they were practically thrown open and the whole
city of Gingival rushed towards the band of fighters. They gathered around the droids. One ragged man stepped forward and addressed
the party, “My friends, you are none other than the great droids of the
Temples, if I must say so myself?” the man was shorter than most, but obviously
had not been well-fed or properly dressed.
“Yes sir we are the droids
of the Temples of Syrics. I am Xenon,
the commander in chief of this small party,” Xenon said with as much importance
as he could muster. “How long have you
been at siege, because you obviously you do not look well-fed or clothed,”
Xenon questioned, motioned to the man’s terrible looks and clothes.
“They have shut down our
trade and scared away all the other cities from coming to our aid,” the man
said, looking like he was about to cry.
“Quick, get your people inside the cities’ walls. Be careful about flying to high so the demons won’t see you,” the man said,
spitting out the word “demons” like it was a fire on his tongue. At Xenon’s quick signal, the droids hurried
back to their vehicles, and started up the engines. They flipped the switch that caused the
engines to purr softly and not make the noise they would normally make. Then the Hornets and the Banshees hovered
into the city’s gates and into the hanger were the planes will wait while the
leaders come up with a battle plan. When
all the vehicles were stored safely in the hanger, the party went with Xenon to
the city hall to meet with the man they had talked to earlier. Looking around at the city, the droids were
baffled by the filthiness and the carelessness that the city’s inhabitants had
abandoned the thought of general hygiene.
The windows of the houses had been shattered and the tallest buildings
were falling apart. How can they just live in a city of ruins? I just don’t get it… Xenon thought in disgust. Well,
they are under siege, so the health of the city takes a back seat. But this!
Xenon swung his arms around him.
This is a little crazy!! Finally, they reached the city hall. The dome on the top had a huge gaping hole in
it, like it had been shot. Well, considering the Cretonne’s range, that
should be an easy shot. Xenon
thought to himself. He knocked on the
huge iron doors once, twice, three times and waited. Xenon was about to knock a fourth time when
the doors were thrown wide open and the man they had met earlier looked up at
the droids. “Oh my! How good it is to see you again!” the man
exclaimed. “Do come in, lads. Come in!
Don’t be shy about it!”
They followed the man into
the hall, listening to him chatter on about how honored he was to have them in
the city. “Sir, we are gracious for your
thanks, Mr.…” Xenon said, cutting off the man in midd-sentence.
“Oh, my! Yes, my name is Malcolm Moclov, the mayor of
this city,” the mayor said. “Sorry I did
not introduce myself earlier,”
“Oh no, it’s a pleasure
meeting you,” Xenon bent down to shake the mayors’ hand. By that time they had reached Malcolm’s
office. The mayor offered the droids to
have a seat. Xenon sat in the one chair
in the office provided, while the rest of the droid party stood in the back of
the room.
“Good, good. Now that the formal things are out of the
way,” the mayor said, straightening the things on the desk. “Let’s get down to business,”
About twenty-five
kilometers away in a huge rusted ship, Cryptyk and the rest of the Cretonne
males were thinking of their own battle plan.
They had no idea that the Gingivalians had some reinforcements. Although small, the Temple’s party included
five Warhogs, ten droids in the light infantry, ten in the heavy infantry,
three Banshees, three Hornets, and an Armadillo tank, along with the 250
Gingivalian solders. All that the
Cretonnes had was 300 males armed with battle rifles, mini-shotguns and
swords. All though the Cretonnes had
the numbers, they had no clue what they were up against.
“My friends,” Cryptyk
addressed his solders. “Get a good
night’s sleep, because we attack at dawn!”
A mighty roar arose from
the males in anticipation of the next day’s battle.
“What are doing tomorrow?”
Cryptyk roared.
“KILLING THE
HUMANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” The males roared back at the leader.
~CHAPTER11~
The next day, Xenon rallied
up all the solders that Mayor Moclov had given him command over. He gathered the men into formation, putting
his droids on either side of the humans for protection. He had the humans have helmets so he could
talk to them and give them instructions from his Hornet. He and the other Hornets would fly a
spread-out V-formation. The Banshees
would be in their own formation right in front of the Hornets. The party was about ready to head out when
the mayor gave a farewell address. After
the mayor spoke, Xenon stepped up and told the army of about 287 the battle
plan for the upcoming combat. He told
the infantry, droid and human, to go straight at the mother ship with the
Warhogs and the Armadillo tank covering them while they charge. The Banshees and the Hornets would swing
around and bombard them from the sides.
The Cretonne army would be surrounded and forced to retreat. They would stick around after the battle and
help the Gingivalians rebuild their city to its former greatness. Then the party turned and got into
formation. Xenon got into his Hornet and
ordered the people not in the army to open the gates, then told his men to get
into their vehicles and start the engines.
The other two Hornets and the three Banshees were manned and revving
their engines. The gates were slowly
opened and the army’s infantry moved out, followed by the Warhogs and the
Armadillo tank. Xenon flipped some
switches and pushed the Hornet up, along with the other aircrafts and moved slowly
out. When they cleared the gates, the
Banshees moved out towards the left, while the Hornets went to the right. When they got into position, Xenon opened his
helmet’s main screen, which was exactly like the Banshee’s; radar in the top
left, 3-d map of the battlefield in the top right , and an overview of the
Hornet with a side, top, and bottom view of it all. Then he spoke to the whining infantry, “Hold
on a second, men. The Cretonnes are
ready to go, but are probably scared to death of the show we’re putting on,” he
heard nervous laughs from the men, like they were afraid that the enemy was
going to burst out of nowhere. As Xenon
watched, the bottom hatch of the great ship creaked open, but nothing came out. Xenon was confused. Then he realized what the Cretonnes were
trying to accomplish. “Everyone, watch
out! They’re trying to catch us off
guard! Keep those guns ready!” Xenon roared. His finger was tense on the trigger, ready to
start raining a hellish fire on the demonic beasts. As he was waiting for someone to emerge from
the ship, one of his light infantry humans suddenly screamed in agony, clawing
at his chest. What the hell…? Xenon
thought to himself. That’s when he heard
the hellish roar and the charge of the Cretonnes. Six of his infantry went down, but the
gunfire from the small army cut down the unprotected beasts. Xenon yelled into his mike, “NOW!” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the
Armadillo’s laser cannon lift up and start to charge. His fingers held down the trigger on his
controls, slaughtering the Cretonnes left and right. He turned in time to see the laser cannon on
the tank finish charging and unleash a huge blast of power that killed fifty
Cretonnes on the spot. Suddenly there
was a triumphant shout from the Gingivalians.
“Xenon, the demons! They’re
retreating!”
“Great work team! How many did we lose?”
“About
eight all together, Sir,”
“Good. Thank you for the report, Major Grover,”
Xenon said. “Gentlemen, let’s head back
to Gingival!”
With that the troop
retreated back to Gingival, where a grand party ensued in the homes and
buildings of the once grand city. Little
did they know that the Cretonnes were far from being beaten.
In the ship not far from
the gates of Gingival, Cryptyk and the 269 Cretonnes that survived the
slaughtering during the battle of Gingival were planning another attack on the
Gingivalians. “We must wait until the
big crawler and the flying metal birds leave, then we shall proceed to destroy the
people who live inside the walls of that village,” Cryptyk said to the growling
Cretonnes. “When the metal crawlers and
birds are gone we will easily destroy those puny humans!”
~CHAPTER
12~
Finally after two days of
constant partying, Xenon and the Temple Guards said their goodbyes and started
the short trip home. The party moved out
shortly before noon, getting home around three o’clock. They thought that the Gingivalians would be
able to clean up their city since the Cretonnes were defeated. They didn’t know that the Cretonnes were far
from being beaten, and as soon as the city of Gingival was dark as the night,
the Cretonnes would sneak in to the city’s gates, cut the power, and slaughter
all the humans except the mayor and the women.
They then moved on to other cities and do the same thing with them. The Priests did not know about the raids
because the Cretonnes cut the power to all the cities so they could not radio
for help. When the y captured the women
the Cretonnes did whatever they wanted to them, and when they were done with the
girls they disposed of them as uncleanly as possible. The bodies were scattered so no one knew who
killed them.
After two long months, the
Cretonnes came into view from the Temples of Syrics. It had been a long journey. The Cretonnes touched down sixty-five
kilometers outside of the range of most attacks from guns or any type of
weaponry. The Priests had no clue that
the Cretonnes were there until they started firing shots at the Temples. After the first few shots rang out the Guards
in the database organized the whole Temple army, about 2000 droids, seventeen
Hornets, twelve Banshees, forty Warhogs, and five Armadillo tanks. The droids believed that this would be an
easy victory because of the major victory at Gingival. What they didn’t know was that the Cretonnes
had their own artillery consisting of ten Elephants and sixty Mongooses. This would be the most epic battle of Htrae
in the whole history of the planet.
CHAPTER12
Srythic knew this day would
come. He knew that one day the power of
the Priests would be tested, and the Priests would either be over thrown or
saved be the narrowest of margins.
Srythic was pondering over a huge decision that would either destroy the
Priests or win the war for them. He made
up his mind and went down to the meeting hall were the rest of his brothers
were waiting.
Down in the barracks,
Ziphon was holding a meeting with the other bodyguards who represented all of
the droids to see what they wanted to do to rid them of the threat of the
Cretonnes. All most all the guards
believed that they would easily defeat the Cretonne army just as they had
before.
“They won’t know what hit
them, the bastards,” one of the droids said.
The others except for Ziphon burst out laughing.
“All they do is charge out
of the ship, begging to get blown to pieces!” Xenon replied, leading the rest
in uproarious laughing.
“Men, they may be stronger
than the last time we met,” Ziphon said calmly.
“Are you serious, Ziphon?!”
Xenon said, shocked at the leader’s words.
“How can they get any better?
They are like Neanderthals compared to us!”
“Well then how did they
destroy all those cities and slaughter the people like pigs during a ham
shortage?” Ziphon retorted. “Think,
Xenon! Those creatures out there are not
idiots. To kill that many people in that
amount of time takes practiced skill and great knowledge of radio waves and
technology,” mutters spring up around the table.
“Well, I uh, I mean, umm,”
the droid said, nervous by the confrontation.
“Exactly. We need to be able to fight whatever they
throw at us,” Ziphon continued. “Who
knows? They may have grown bigger in
size and have more advanced technology.
We must be ready for anything.”
Just then one of the
Priests came in and said in a calm voice, “Ziphon, you are needed at the
meeting hall. Srythic has lost his
mind,”
Out in the giant ship far
from the Temples, Cryptyk and the rest of the Cretonnes were deciding how they
were to attack their enemy.
“Remember what happened
last time when we went straight at them,” Cryptyk said to the creatures. A growl met the leader’s words. “We must do what we always do and attack at
night. The human’s eyesight is poor during
that time so it will be easy to kill them,” A loud roar from the Cretonnes
voiced their want for blood. And blood
they will get.
In the Temple’s meeting
room, Ziphon was trying to talk his lord out of his crazy decision.
“But my lord, you can’t!”
Ziphon said. “We need you here not out
there!”
“I have already made up my
mind, Ziphon. I will fight alongside the
Temple army. I got us into this mess,
and I intend to help your forces destroy the Cretonne race,” Srythic stated
evenly.
“Alright, master, if that’s
what you feel you need to do, then I am not going to stop you. I will say that you have no need to be on the
battle field. Your place is here,”
CHAPTER
13
That night the Cretonnes
snuck towards the Temples, wearing the stealth-cloaks and bullet proof armor
that they had stolen from the raids on the different Htrae cities. All of the Priests were in their private
quarters, some asleep, some not. Srythic
was one of the few who stayed awake that night, but he was the only on putting
on the battle gear that he had not used since the Universal Wars. He had been young and quick then, but now the
he needed help walking. Yet a funny
sensation washed over Srythic as soon as he placed that first piece of that
armor on. He felt young again and ready
to fight. He quickly fastened the rest
of the gear to his frame, and then grabbed the laser rifle that had not been
used in decades. He strapped on the
other mini shotguns to his sides and one of the least-used guns now-a-days, a
plasma sniper rifle with a scope, to his back.
He hefted the laser rifle in his hand, getting use to the feel of
it. Suddenly, the door to his quarters
was flung wide, and in stepped Ziphon. “Good evening, my lord…?” the droid’s good
mood fell into despair when he found himself staring down the barrel of a laser
rifle. “Um, something wrong, my lord?”
Ziphon said uneasily.
Srythic burst into
laughter, lowering the rifle so Ziphon did not faint from shock. Ziphon failed to see the humor in a
near-death experience.
“I’m sorry Ziphon,” Srythic
gasped between breaths. “I thought you
were a Cretonne warrior. What did you
want?”
“I wanted to let you know
that the army will be ready at sunrise.” Ziphon said.
“Good, good. I don’t want us to be surprised in the
morning.”
“One question my lord,”
Ziphon asked, looking at the Priest puzzlingly.
“Yes, Ziphon, what is it?”
“Well I was wondering why
you were wearing that armor,”
“Oh that. Well I was trying it on to see if it still
fits.”
At that exact moment, Xenon
rushed into the room, almost knocking Ziphon over. “My lord!
The Cretonnes! They are here!”
the droid shouted. He had a wild look in
his eyes and there were blue spots on his once-clean armor that looked
fresh.
“What? How did that happen?” Srythic burst out. “How the hell did they get past the security
cameras?”
“I do not know, but you
need to come with me,” Xenon said, rushing Ziphon down the hall. “Stay here, my lord!” Xenon yelled back at
the Priest.
Cryptyk slunk away from the
battle, throwing his cloak over him.
Now, all I need to do is find that cowardly leader of theirs and kill
him, and they will sink to their knees and surrender to me! The leader thought to himself, smiling under
his cloak. Up ahead of him in the corridor, Cryptyk heard the sound of hurried
footsteps. A few moments later, two
droids rushed past him. Cryptyk flung
himself at the wall, hitting it and digging his long claws into the stucco rock
wall. The droids took no notice of the
violent shaking that rattled their guns on their sides. He jumped down, and kept moving down the
hall. Now he knew that he was going in
the right direction. He moved along the
corridor, looking for the door to the head Priest’s room. Finally, just when he was about to give up,
he saw a beam of light ahead of him. As
Cryptyk got closer, he saw the outline of a huge doorway. This must be it! Cryptyk thought in triumph. Silently he reached for the handle.
Down in the lower part of
the Temples, Ziphon and Xenon emerged from the black to find the barracks
blasted apart and the grounds around the air field were covered in blue blood
and the circuits of destroyed droids.
Without hesitating Ziphon unlatched the two mini shotguns from his waist
and rushed into battle, guns blazing, war cry ringing out. A few Cretonnes looked over at the rushing
sight of the droid and managed only a short cry of terror before all three
dropped dead on the spot. Xenon came
charging down right behind his superior, battle rifle roaring. He was confronted by two huge Cretonnes with
large hammers that had a curved blade on the other side. Where
the hell did these demons get energy hammers?!
Xenon thought to himself. Those weapons are forbidden from use by
anyone besides the Guards! The
beasts circled the droid, shifting the hammers from one hand to the other. A scheming smile spread across Xenon’s
mouth. He dropped his rifle, fumbling
with it then half tossing, half dropping the gun. The two Cretonnes were confused for a split
second, which was all the time the droid needed. Xenon quickly unstrapped the two mini
shotguns and fell to the ground just as the two beasts crashed into each other. Xenon jumped to his feet and smoothly took
the life of the Cretonnes. He restrapped
the guns to his sides, and then retrieved his battle rifle. As he passed the slain creatures, he grabbed
one of the energy hammers and slid the weapon into the straps on his back. Xenon then turned and charged back into the
battle.
Back in Srythic’s private
quarters, the head Priest stood over the slain body of the Cretonne leader,
Cryptyk. He was covered in the
Cretonne’s blood and some of his own.
Srythic’s chest heaved, his mini shotguns out of ammo. He dropped the two guns and made his way to
the door and out to the hall. Srythic’s
mind was racing from the encounter. He
was preparing to leave his room and find the battle that he needed to fight
in. as he reached the door, it was
suddenly inched open and the Cretonne leader made his way in. “So, you’re the one who forced my people
underground years ago,” the leader spoke in a raspy voice. “It’s time I destroyed you for the damage you
caused our race!” The Cretonne chieftain
raised his own battle rifle and charged at Srythic. The Priest fired the first shot and brought
the beast to his knees. Srythic had
lowered his rifle when Cryptyk fired, hitting the head Priest in the middle of
his chest. Srythic dropped the gun and
reached for his torso. As he did so, the
Cretonne leader unsheathed a hidden dagger and flung the blade at the human,
catching him in the unprotected
neck. Blood spurted from the gash, and
Srythic gasped in pain. The Priest fell
on his back, writhing on the floor in agony.
Cryptyk was on top of Srythic in seconds, holding the battle rifle
inches from the head Priest’s face.
“Good night, human,” Cryptyk sneered, putting his finger on the
trigger. Without thinking, Srythic
reached for the two mini shotguns on his belt, unsnapping the holsters with
ease. With a great force, Srythic heaved
towards the heavens, flinging his tormenter into the air. The head Priest jumped to his feet just as
Cryptyk hit the ground. He wasted no
time with firing his weapons, causing the Cretonne chieftain to shake violently
as his body was torn apart by the guns in Srythic’s hands. He shook his head, as if trying to rid his
mind of the bloodshed he had experienced.
He had left his battle rifle and mini shotguns in his room, for he had
no need of them anymore. Srythic removed
the plasma sniper rifle from his back and loaded it, feeling the weight of the
gun and checking the scope to see if it was damaged in the fight. By that time Srythic had reached the
airfield, where the last of each army were still fighting, stepping on the
fallen warriors. Srythic got behind a
wall that was half-way blown apart and took aim at a Cretonne that seemed to be
getting the upper hand on one of his droids.
With the silencer on the sniper rifle made no noise when firing, so the Cretonne
warrior didn’t know who shot him, and neither did the droid he was
fighting. After killing the first
Cretonne, Srythic moved on and took the life of another warrior after the
Cretonne had killed his droid. Srythic
did not need to fire another shot, for the rest of the droids had slain the
rest of the Cretonnes. Wearily, the last
ten droids searched for others that were still alive yet wounded. They found twelve more droids and three other
Cretonnes that had not yet been killed.
The Cretonnes were killed immediately, while the Syrics technicians
tended to the wounded. As Srythic stood
up, he felt a light tapping on his shoulder.
He turned to see the seven other Priests in the maroon robes they wore
over their sleep clothes. “Srythic, is
that you?” one of the Priests questioned.
“Yes
Comdex, it is me,” Srythic replied weakly.
“What is it that you wish to…” the leader trailed off, suddenly feeling
alarmingly exhausted. It was like the
life was slowly draining from his body, and he felt the tug of the heavens,
beckoning him to join them. Srythic had
a feeling that he was sliding to the ground, because the Priests grew taller
and their cries of surprise grew fainter until Srythic could hear them no more.
CHAPTER
14
Two
days after the battle of the Temples, the great Srythic, the head Priest of the
Priests of Syrics, died of heavy blood-loss.
The whole Temple guard and the seven Priests held a Mourning Procession
in honor of the fallen leader. Ziphon
was in a daze and left the grounds as soon as Srythic was lowered into the
grave underneath the only tree on the Temple premises. Xenon went with his depressed leader to the
barracks and lifted his spirits. But
soon the Priests called Ziphon forward into the huge Ceremonial Hall and
crowned him as the new head Priest, breaking the old tradition of not allowing
droids to hold a Priest position. Ziphon
went on to become the greatest head Priest next to Srythic himself. He held office for 129 years, then
short-circuited while he was
sleeping. The Priests buried the droid
right next to his old master, underneath the great oak tree.
FIN
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