Chapter 2: Chapter 1

Star People

Chapter 1

Checking Out the Neighbors

June 4^th, 11 AE…

Merdov Continent, Kingdom of Vereles…

Flying high above the ground at an altitude of 3,000 feet, the Sky Knight named Rykor Dusat guided his war bird on his daily patrol. Due to the limitations of his mount, he was only wearing a metal chest plate and helmet, while the rest of his attire was basically made out of leather and cloth. War birds were quite agile in the sky, but each could not carry much more than one rider, a saddle, and a small amount of gear. Wearing a full suit of plate armor would have been too much for Rykor’s bird to carry. Aside from the war bird’s talons and beak, the only other weapons the Sky Knight had was a lance, a short sword and a bow with a small quiver of arrows. His saddle bags also contained some food, water and some signaling gear.

The Kingdom of Vereles was neither a very large nor a wealthy nation.  As a result, they could not afford to have wyverns as their air force.  So they had to make do with war birds. The birds were about the size of pickup trucks and were relatively easy to raise and train. However, they didn’t have the offensive capabilities of wyverns, such as being able to launch fireballs from their mouths. Furthermore, they lacked the tough scales of wyverns, making them more vulnerable to enemy fire. Lastly, at a top speed of 90 mph, the war bird just couldn’t compare to a wyvern’s speed of 135 mph.

Wyverns were harder and more expensive to raise and train, but their benefits more than justified their cost. A nation with an air force consisting of wyverns had the right to be proud. Nations such as the Kingdom of Realte, and the Empire of Sath had large fleets of wyverns. In fact, the Empire of Sath boasted the strongest and largest wyvern air force in all of the Merdov Continent. The Sath also boasted an incredibly strong army and a naval force that could not be matched by any other country in this part of the world. To fight the Sath would mean certain death and destruction to any country foolish enough to challenge them. At present, the Sath Empire covered more than 60% of the overall area of the Merdov Continent, which was about the size of Africa.

As he began to fly back to his home base, Fort Aldegas, Rykor caught the flicker of light glinting off a metallic surface, just above him. He looked up to see something spherical, hovering in midair with no visible means of how it kept aloft. He saw two, shiny, flat and square appendages, sticking out of its sides. He assumed they weren’t wings since they didn’t flap and remained immobile. As he urged his bird to fly higher to get a closer look at it, he wondered if he was encountering some new kind of magical beast. He saw what seemed to be a giant, crystal eye in its center.

As he approached it, the object let off a buzzing noise, and then suddenly zipped upwards at a speed that was unheard of. Rykor urged his mount to chase after it, but the metallic thing moved in impossible ways, making sharp, 90-degree turns and reversed its directions almost instantly. Even if it hadn’t been weighed down by its rider and equipment, the war bird had no hope of matching the thing’s moves and speed. Finally, after three minutes of fruitless chase, the object seemed to lose interest and accelerated away at more than 300 mph, disappearing over the northern horizon.

The Sky Knight could only stare in puzzlement. What the heck was that?

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Alder Continent, Free Land, Surveillance Station #4…

“So did you think it was amusing to buzz that bird rider?”

“Hey, like they used to say on Planet Earth, ‘No harm no foul.’ It’s not like he could damage the drone, let alone keep up with it. And the council did ask for some vids of the local inhabitants, right? Well I did just that.”

“I suppose.”

“So from what the drone’s sensors picked up, that bird rider was the standard humanoid.”

“Identical to Terrans?”

“Not exactly. He’s basically what we used to be a century ago. That guy had the basic DNA blueprint for humans, but we Earthlings fully unlocked the potential of our genetic coding, and evolved to the next stage at end of the 21^st century. Our physical and mental abilities took a huge leap forward; strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, visual acuity, immunity, overall health, senses, memory, calculation, etc. The average life span of a human on this world is around 65-70 years. Our average life span is around 120. To us, sixty-five-years old would still be the equivalent of thirty-years old. That bird rider could probably do the 100 meter dash in 12-13 seconds. I could do it in 6 seconds.”

“That’s quite a difference. So it’s like comparing a freighter to a starfighter.”

“I guess. Hey, it’s almost time for lunch.”

“Your treat?”

“Sure. I’m in the mood for some pasta. You?”

“I could really go for some Garboria.”

“Watch yourself buddy. I’ve noticed you’ve been packing more fat in that tail lately.”

Both Terran and Velor operators stood up from their stations and let the next shift take over for the afternoon as they headed toward the cafeteria.  The Velor was a species of humanoid reptile that resembled walking iguanas. They had joined the Star Alliance a year after the Kyteeri, along with the humanoid felines called the Catians and the miniscule Nemonians.

-------

June 8^th, 11 AE…

Free Land Capital, Polaris City…

In the Council Hall central chamber, the five Prime Directors of the Star Alliance met in order to discuss the massive accumulation of data and surveillance recordings over the last 6 months since coming to this world. Each director was an elected representative of his/her race. They sat around a large, circular conference table that had a holo-projector at its center.

The combined races of the Star Alliance had accomplished much during the last six months. They had decided on the largest landmass in the northern hemisphere, what the natives referred as the Alder Continent. It was uninhabited by intelligent life, due to the large numbers of wild and dangerous beasts that frequently roamed the area. However, the indigenous wildlife was easily handled due to the Star Alliance’s advanced technology. Within the first month, more than twenty colony ships had landed and settlements started to spread across the southern regions.  A month later, these settlements became larger and interconnected. There were a few colonies that decided to settle on several islands near the continent, with one being set up underwater. There was even one that was set in the clouds.

As for the massive Star Alliance Fleet that had defeated the Cryterian menace, around 90% of it still remained in distant orbit around the planet. Some of the smaller destroyers, light and heavy cruisers were able to descend down to the surface. Only a few of the larger capital ships were capable of operating within the planet’s atmosphere, though the others were being adapted to do likewise. One ship in particular was perfectly suited for the wide expanses of oceans that covered the planet’s surface. That was of course, the Missouri. New air, land and oceangoing vessels of all shapes and sizes were being constructed for future use and exploration on their home. As for the space armada, they had set up a network of 56 surveillance satellites in permanent, geosynchronous orbit around the planet. Even though the native technology level was low in comparison, there was always a chance that a stargazer or astronomer might catch a glimpse of a satellite or a ship through a telescope, or pick up a signal through primitive radar systems. As a precaution, every ship, station and satellite was equipped with special cloaking devices to prevent detection.

On the Alder Continent, the colonists settled mostly on the southern half, equal to twice that of the United States and Canada combined. The total population of Terrans, Kyteeri, Velor, Catians and Nemonians was roughly more than 1.6 billion, with 80% living on the continent, while the rest were scattered about island, sea, sky and space colonies. Thanks to their advanced technology, it didn’t take long for large cities to form and the surrounding areas adapted to support the different races. As for government, a united republic was formed, with each race being represented by a Prime Director to form a Supreme Council. In honor of the unity between the different races, it was unanimously decided to name their new nation as Free Land.

In the discussion and debating chamber, the five Prime Directors started their review on the planet surveillance logs.

“I must say, we have quite a few neighbors.”  Benjamin Rodera commented. He was the Terran Prime Director and a former admiral of the Star Alliance Fleet. He was also a good friend and mentor of the captain of the Missouri. Though he was in early seventies, he was still as fit as a man in his early forties.

“Indeed. This world is teeming with other races, including the human race.” Nerto agreed.  He was a member of the lizardlike Velor and the Prime Director of his race. He was an intellectual type and had a hobby of studying Earth ancient history and culture. He was considered elderly by Velor standards. Of the five races of the Star Alliance, the Velor had the longest life-spans, with an average length of 500 years. Nerto was around 420-years-old at the time.

“Well, the human beings here are a bit cruder than present-day Earthlings. And there seems to be a race of beings with pointed ears. I believe they are called elves or the elven race.” Anida remarked. She was the Kyteeri Prime Director and was just reaching her 80^th birthday. The Kyteeri lived a bit longer than humans and had an average lifespan of about 125 years. Like all Kyteeri, she had gold-colored eyes, light blue skin and pointed ears. Unlike Reelan, she had light, platinum blonde hair. And despite her age, was still fairly attractive.

“I am very interested in the various beastkin races on this world.” Nasaak added. He was the Prime Director of the Catians. He was an old veteran with more than 50 years of space and terrestrial combat under his belt. Catians were like humans but feline characteristics such as cat ears, some fur and tails. Nasaak was like a big, two-legged lion and sported a small beard. His race had lifespans similar to the Terrans with an average length of 110 years. Nassaak was seventy-eight and was a retired admiral of the Star Alliance Fleet, just like Benjamin.

“I am very interested in the fairy folk and dwarven races.” Viska stated. She was the Prime Director of the Nemonians, a humanoid race, with translucent wings and pointed ears. On average, her race’s lifespans were around 300 years and didn’t exceed 2-3 feet in height.

Benjamin touched a control at his console and manipulated the image on the holo-projector, showing a 3D map of the planet. “This world would be classified as a standard M-Class, much like the Earth was before it was destroyed. It’s quite capable of supporting various forms of life, and has many sentient species living here.”

Nerto nodded as he used his console to change the image. “There are 5 major continents on this planet. The natives refer to this planet as the World of Istaria. The continent in the northern hemisphere, where we are, is what the natives refer to as Alder. To our south, more than 4,000 miles or 6,400 km is the Merdov continent. On the east side are two smaller continents, the Bisra to the north and the Excra to the south. On the western side is the Vardo continent. Each continent is separated by large oceans. There are also various other land formations such as islands, archipelago, and such of various sizes. The main language spoken here is similar to the Fundamental Language we use, or English. Written dialects vary, depending on the regions, and our Linguistic Department is busy with translating their writings into Fundamental. They use a common unit of currency they refer to as a Neublin. How it would compare to our standard credit unit is unknown at this point.”

“Out of the five major landmasses, the Alder seems to be the only one that is not inhabited by sentient life. “ The Kyteeri Prime Director mentioned. “The reason could be because of the large numbers of dangerous beasts that roam here.”

“The drones that we had sent to the other continents have revealed that the inhabitants of this world have various levels of technology. “ Nerto added as he changed the image to display a medieval castle. “For example, this nation in the Merdov continent is called the Kingdom of Vereles. They seem to be around what the Terrans refer to as the ‘medieval period’ or the feudal era. I believe that was 14^th to 16^th century on your world, Ben?”

“That’s about right. So we’re looking at pre-industrial technology and mostly manual labor. Metal forging is done by hand and their method of land transport is mostly horse or beast-drawn. “

The images then changed to the scene in which a Sky Knight was being buzzed by a drone.

“Is that really someone riding a giant bird?” Nasaak asked. “So these people actually have an air force?”

“Of a sorts.” The Velor Prime Director pointed out as he changed the images. “This nation on the northeastern side of the continent is called the Empire of Sath. They have knights who ride winged reptilian beasts called wyverns. Unlike that giant bird from before, the wyverns are faster, more agile and have greater offensive capabilities, like breathing fireballs.”

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To emphasize Nerto’s point, the display then showed a wyvern releasing a ball of fire at a nearby settlement. All five Prime Directors frowned at the image as the Sky Knight directed his mount to continuously attack innocent and defenseless people.

“I take it back.” Anida said. “These humans are FAR MORE cruder than Terrans. They’re basically barbaric.”

“According to what our drones have gathered, the Empire of Sath practices an extreme expansionist attitude and focuses on aggression.” Benjamin stated. “Their main source of revenue is the conquering and brutal exploitation of other nations’ people and resources. Enslavement of non-human races is a very lucrative business. Through their immense military, they’ve subjugated other areas, using the conquered nations’ people and resources to further strengthen their military. And the vicious cycle continues. The countries they’ve annexed have extremely low levels of economic and social growth. The government is basically a tyrannical monarchy.”

“All the more reason to not come into contact with them.” Anida remarked.

“Easier said than done.” Ben stated. “Our people want to explore and experience the rest of this world. Many businesses have expressed interest into expanding past the Alder continent. And since the Merdov continent is our closest neighbor, it’s only a matter of time before the Sath or the other countries will come into contact with us. We’ve managed to keep to ourselves for the last six months, but we can’t hide forever.”

“Hmmm, that’s a bit of a problem.” Nasaak grumbled. “Militarily speaking, there’s nobody on this planet that can come close to our level. But the surveillance logs indicate that the nations of this world are constantly in conflict with each other. And I’m not talking about minor skirmishes or tribal wars. Think of how the balance of power would be tipped if they got their hands on a single piece of our military hardware. Heck, even if we refuse to export any of our tech, I’d imagine several nations going to war with each other and us for a single Battle-Mech or Starfighter.”

“Not to mention the civilian market.” Viska added. “One of the main reasons why we are so cautious into letting those businesses expand into other nations is the fact that some civilian tech could be repurposed for war.”

“Right. We’d better draw up a New World Technology Share Law in order to restrict export of certain areas and levels of technology to other countries. It’s not a question of if but WHEN our technology will be used by the natives.”

“The Empire of the Sath is somewhat above the early stages of hand-forging metal ores, and has started using primitive firearms, such as flintlocks and cannons. Aside from riding wyverns, other modes of transportation include riding other land animals, beast-drawn carriages, and sailing ships.” Anida stated. “One interesting thing about this world is the inclusion of psion-related phenomenon. What was originally termed as ‘magic.’”

“Magic? You mean what the Kyteeri are capable of doing?”

“Yes. As you know, we Kyteeri are able to manipulate free psions from the environment, what the ancients used to call as mana or ether.” The blue-skinned woman demonstrated, by making a glass of water levitate a foot off the table for a few seconds. “Of course, as you know, psions only exist on planets that are able to sustain organic life, and are very scarce in the vacuum of space. This particular world has a higher-than-average amount of psions in its atmosphere, which in turn allows for greater feats of psion phenomenon. This continent in particular has large deposits of gemstones with high concentrations of psions. I suppose the natives of this world call these psion events as spells and these gems as magic stones. We’ve even found the same stones within the giant beasts of this land as well.”

“Is it possible to combine psion-ability with science?” Nerto asked.

“We’ve been looking into that possibility.” Anida admitted. “However, there are several drawbacks. First of all, there is a need for a psion-sensitive individual to be present. Other than the Kyteeri, only a few individuals among the Terran, Catian and Nemonian races have shown to have the same ability. I’m sorry, but the Velor seem incapable of manipulating psions. No offense.”

“None taken. And what are the other drawbacks?”

“Psion events or spells, require a great deal of concentration and preparation. We’ve observed on this world that magic needs to be invoked by chanting or some kind of ritual. We Kyteeri have no need for such archaic processes, but it still requires great focus. These days, we only use our psion ability for self-defense. Technology is far superior in terms of speed, power and utility. Third, the efficiency of ‘magic’ is low. It’s far more economic to use science for day-to-day living that to rely on magic.”

“So using psions or magic as an alternative energy source is not feasible?”

“Not for daily, constant usage. As an emergency measure, perhaps, but not much else.”

“Let’s table the discussion about magic for a later time and move on.” Ben suggested as he changed the holo-display’s image again. “Now to the east of the Merdov continent, we have two smaller continents, each about the size of Australia. On the northern continent is what is called Bisara. We have discovered that the level of technology is equivalent to late 19^th to early 20^th century Earth. They’re using fossil fuels such as oil and gasoline and have discovered the internal combustion engine. They’re also utilizing steam engines.”

“Have they discovered flight technology?” Viska asked.

“Yes they have. In fact, here’s an example of one of their flying machines. On Earth, we called it an airplane.”

The projector showed the scene of a biplane flying through the air. It made a series of turns, dives and even a loop showing off its aerial acrobatics. The pilot was sitting near the double wings in an open cockpit.

“I don’t see any g-force nullifiers or inertial dampeners.” The Catian Prime Director remarked.

“Airplanes don’t have them.” Ben simply said.

“Huh? So how the heck is it able to fly?”

“Early aircraft used a principle called lift.” Nerto explained. “The top of the wing is curved so the air moves faster below the wing, thereby generating more pressure underneath. As long as the plane moves forward to keep the airflow going, the craft will fly. That spinning device in front is called a propeller. That’s what’s generating thrust and forward motion.”

“I’m amazed they managed to get off the ground.”

“Yes, well the aircraft you are seeing here is an ancient biplane type, which has two sets of wings for greater lift. On the downside, it has greater drag and less speed. I doubt this device could fly faster than 200 mph or 321 km/hr.”

“So basically it’s nothing but target practice to a starfighter.”

“Nasaak!” Anida chided.

“Well it’s true.” The feline Prime Director countered. “Basically everything in their military is target practice. No threat whatsoever to us.”

“I have to agree.” The Velor Prime Director said. “Their navies are steam-propelled, but rely on coal-fired boilers to keep them going. Their land forces do have projectile weapons, artillery and armored vehicles similar to Earth’s during the early 20^th century.  I would best place them around the 1920s.”

“And what about the southern continent?” Anida asked.

“The continent below Bisara is called Excra.” Ben explained. “Their technology is similar to Bisara’s, though their societies and economies are different. Bisra is more industrial while Excra is agricultural. Bisra focuses on factories, while Excra focuses on farms. However, unlike the Empire of Sath, both Bisra and Excra are very tolerant of non-human species. “

“Interesting.” Viska remarked. 

“Finally, in the west, we have the continent of Vardo.” Ben commented as he changed the display again. “It’s about as large as Asia was back on Earth and the technology level there is mostly magic or psion-based.”

“So they managed to make psions… er, magic as their primary source of energy?” The Kyteeri Prime Director inquired.

“Yes, well… sort of.”

“What do you mean?”

“We have confirmed through surveillance that they have achieved a technological level equal to about what Earth had during the mid-1930s, but their magic-powered devices do not compare to our technological ones. For example, they have developed jet-powered aircraft, but they seem underpowered and less efficient. We haven’t seen much evidence that they have developed computing or calculating devices. Their devices are generally slower and seem to waste a lot of energy.”

“It could be because magic takes more time and preparation to invoke.” Anida suggested. “After all, that’s one of the major drawbacks I mentioned before in our research to combine magic with science.”

“Again, we’ll have to table that discussion for another time. In any case, the continent of Vardo is home to a very large and mixed population of all races, and where the highest concentration of non-humans dwells.  As for all smaller landmasses and nations, it’s a varied mix of species and technology levels.”

“So if we need to interact with the inhabitants of this world, who would be best as a first contact?” Viska asked.

“Right here.” Benjamin replied as he focused the holo-display on a small port city at the northernmost edge of the Merdov continent. “This is a port city named Greval. It is not part of the Empire of Sath and allows for humans and non-humans to dock there. The city belongs to the Kingdom of Vereles. I think it will be ideal for first contact.”

“A port city means ships, right? So does that mean... ?”

“That’s right. We’re going to make a really big impression, by sending in the Missouri.”

To be continued…

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