Joh-Peah's Secret

JOH-PEAH’S SECRET - PREVIEW

50,000 segmarqks (km approx.) above the planet Gizmok - Gizmok space - Earth year 2042.  

Gizmok Date; 27th of the month Tuu-kei, year (79)885 - hour 15

PROLOGUE

Joh-Peah stared out through the tiny viewport.  She couldn’t understand it.  Their entire invasion fleet, as well as the floog chasing them, were suspended in the black void, dead, unable to further their mission.  Not that she minded it so much.  She was only along for the ride to get to Gizmok.  But, she shook her head as she thought, This may not go as I originally planned.

Her mind went back to how it had all started.  Out one night, she was just trying to relax with some friends, a little difficult, considering they lived on an ice planet.  In spite of the fact that Joh-Peah was a kribbldabler, who should have been well adapted to the harsh climate of her home world, she hated the cold.  The ice, the snow, and the constant biting wind penetrated her hard outer shell as nothing else could, and it seemed to freeze her very essence.  Encouraged by the few friends she had, she tried to make best of things.  But, it just wasn’t working.

On this particular evening, after a time inside their favourite meet-house deep inside the ice cavern built in the centre of town, someone new came in who captured everyone’s attention.  He seemed to be enthusiastic about whatever it was he was clicking on about, and Joh-Peah edged nearer to where he was sitting.  Out of curiosity she began to listen, to find out what was so exciting.  

Nothing dramatic ever happened in these parts unless the Struulkor, those beasts from the neighbouring planet, Kruptaar had been at it again.  They’d come through periodically, into the planet’s outer regions, rounding up the more daring citizenry who thought they’d never get caught.  The Struulkor were arrogant beasts, and people were glad to see them leave the planet when they were done.  Citizens were well aware that Kruptaar’s dragons used the people from Friggerkeld  as slaves. For them it meant that there was safety only within the town’s limits.  Step out of it at your own peril.

She listened with interest as this kribbldabler clicked about a beautiful planet they could take.  There was a plan afoot that allied them with the Struulkor, and gave them a chance for a better life in a more agreeable climate.  There was a planet in their own system that could give them that.  Gizmok, with its perfect position relative to their sun, Loo, was ideal, and beautiful as well.  The Struulkor had promised they could all live there in comfort.  

As a bonus, the Struulkor had also guaranteed that kribbldablers would no longer serve as slaves for them, if they’d help capture Gizmok.  The floog who lived there now, were weak and puny creatures, doing nothing with their world.  It was a waste of a planet full of resources.  The taking would be easy.  All one had to do was sign up to be a soldier and help in the invasion.

She signed up, in spite of having reservations about being a soldier.  Fighting wasn’t in her nature, but she was desperate.  She hated living on Friggerkeld, hated the cold, and everything it entailed.  

“I’ve made up my mind.  Where do I sign?” she approached the speaker, along with so many others.  

“Here, just tap this spot right here, and sign with the stylus.” he instructed them, holding out a flat, square device and a pen of some sort.  A small shiver of apprehension tickled up her spine as she signed.  

*****

She’d barely made it through training at novice camp, barely learned to hold and shoot a weapon, and avoided making friends with any of her squad mates.  She didn’t plan to stick around with them once she got to Gizmok.  

Afterwards, the recruits, along with the entire fleet of beautiful, newly-built, Attackorbs had relocated to Kruptaar for a little more drilling, practice and manoeuvres. Their summer season was far more pleasant.  Were it not for the Struulkor, she would have stayed there.

Inexplicably, on the morning of departure to begin the grand invasion, everything seemed to go wrong.  More than half of the Attackorbs would not start.  The engines were dead.  Fire-Breth, the Grand Dragon, insisted that, with his additional Battlespheres, they were still easily able to overpower those weakling floog. The Kruptaar Leader ordered everyone to press forward. 

As they passed the Kármán Line from their atmosphere into outer space, fifty-eight of the one hundred Battlespheres simply could not go any further.  Her orb-mates speculated that some sabotage had been carried out.  Someone didn’t want them taking Gizmok, and they wondered who.  Still, Fire-Breth insisted they continue on, and they entered the utter black cold of infinite space, positive that those floog creatures would be no hindrance to their mighty forces.

*****

Watching their fleet hang dead in space, her Attackorb Lead-Soldier, LS Fendu-Wat clicked furiously at them, “This is only a small setback! This is normal.  Stay the course soldiers!”  He stared hard at the three of them, and then continued looking out the ports at what was going on.

Common-Soldier Premdor-Tok turned and raised his fist. “We are strong, we are the mighty kribbldabler detachment.” he spouted, trying to bolster his own resolve. All three soldiers began to click on about what their brave acts would be in the upcoming conquest.

One teammate with the rank of Common-Soldier, whose name she’d forgotten, also stood taller, and boasted he’d personally blast any floog that stood in his way.  “I will overrun their villages, round them up and present these carssinfiem to the Struulkor for disposal!  They will recognize my bravery and promote me to Lead-Soldier in no time!” he announced. 

“Not without the help of my great leadership!” Lead-Soldier Fendu-Wat laughed, “But you can try!  If you can do that, I will personally recommend it.” 

Acting engineer, CS Premdor-Tok clicked his own boast, and then turned to CS Joh-Peah, “and what about you, Common-Soldier?  What will you do to further the great cause?”

Joh-Peah stood frozen for a moment, so unexpectedly put on the spot that her mind was suddenly blank.  What could she do, or say? She opened her mouth and began clicking at them, while imagining anything she could think of that might be appropriate.  

“Yes!  I will … I will … run them down … burn their hovels … my laser will … will … burn through everything!”  She swallowed hard, hoping she sounded like them, all united as one.  She hoped fervently that they could not detect the falseness of her statements.  She had many plans in her head, but none of them included burning and pillaging.

Chapter 1.

Like a spring wound too tight, Supreme-Captain Tikkard-Ka did a slow, controlled burn, as his kribbldabler fleet valiantly tried to coax their orbs to respond.  Nothing was working.  They were suspended, helpless in space.  He’d already ordered his engineer to examine the drive again to make absolutely sure no more tampering had been done.   Of the mighty fleet that had arrived on the Struulkor planet a week ago to practice, only a paltry twenty-eight orbs were left untouched.  Whoever had done this had also managed to disable fifty-eight Struulkor Battlespheres.  

The internal comms were down.  He couldn’t even message any of the orbs to pass commands or instructions.  He hoped that the others had followed suit in checking their drives, and somebody could come up with an answer.  It was imperative that some solution presented itself.  

He couldn’t believe that after all the effort, the training, and the dedication of his troops, their war machines were not only decimated in number, but now also hanging here, helpless, unable to go farther. Unbelievable!  The only comfort he had was that the five floog Ketters and a very small Runner, that had been following them from Kruptaar, were also hanging there dead.  That, at least cheered him a bit.

He could see Gizmok in the viewport, a beautiful glowing purple and turquoise sphere just waiting for them.  As he looked longingly at the planet, willing his fleet to move again, he saw something that chilled him.  The rest of the floog fleet were headed their way from the planet.  He could see them now as far away glints heading in their direction.  Unless they could get the weapons arrays back online, the invasion was over before it had even begun.

A voice clicked from the other side of the orb.  “SC Tikkard-Ka!  I see some movement …” there was a pause, and Tikkard-Ka waited to hear the rest, “… but it is not one of ours!”

“How are they moving?  They were just as disabled as we were!” exclaimed the captain, as he moved to look out the opposite viewport from where he’d been standing.  He stared hard, willing some answer to come to him from out there.  He could see that it was the little Runner, and it sidled up to a Ketter.  They were docking with each other.  Somebody on the little craft had found an answer!  He turned to the engineer again, just as the kribbldabler rose up from the conduit under the floor, where he’d still been poking around.  

“Our drive is completely intact.  Even the thicacitrate is still locked in place.  There should be full power to all arrays!”

“That may be, but whatever is stopping us,”  Tikkard-Ka indicated the enemy outside, “.. they have the same problem!  And it looks like they have found an answer.  What is it?”  The engineer could only stare helplessly at his captain.

They continued to watch, as one by one, the Ketters began moving again.  The Runner had docked with each one in turn.  They had the answer to the mystery, but the captain was pretty sure they wouldn’t be sharing it with the invading fleet.

One of the kribbldablers was beginning to gasp, fighting to suck air into his air-sacs.  Was the atmospheric module also not working?  He hadn’t even thought of that yet, so focused was he on the approaching enemy.  

“Quickly, check the Atmod!  Is it still on?”  He commanded the bridge monitor.  The monitor checked, tapped a few keys and pulled a toggle.  

“No!  We have diminishing atmosphere!  We are slowly running out of air!  Those rotten floog!”  

Tikkard-Ka knew then, it was over.  He began to feel the effects of the compromised atmosphere now as well, and slid to the floor, breathing heavily.  There was a good chance they’d die before any floog ever reached their orb.  Maybe it was better this way.

Before long the large fleet of Ketters approached, and began docking with and boarding the Attackorbs and Battlespheres.  There were more than enough to round everyone up.  It was just a matter of time before his own command would be breached.  The three other soldiers that were with him began making plans.  Their hand weapons still worked, at least they thought so.  It was hard to check, since firing a weapon inside a small orb was a little dangerous.  But, once the floog came on board, air or no air, they’d fight.  There would be nothing left to lose.

Eventually, it was their turn, as a boarding tube was attached to the outside of the airlock.  The captain was not sure how they’d been able to fit their tube to the configuration of his orb’s opening, but it didn’t matter now.  They been able to do it and invade his space.  He, and the others lay on the floor, weak and gasping.  Two had pulled up their weapons, vowing to die before they’d be taken.

As the first floog trooper entered wordlessly, they both fired their lasers, without result.  Even the weapons would not work.  Tikkard-Ka began to laugh weakly at the irony, as he lay there, waiting to be picked up like so much garbage.  He continued to laugh all the way through the boarding conduit, as a trooper carried him through to wherever it was they’d dump him.