Star People

Chapter 66

Trials Part 1

Oct 30^th, 15 AE…

The newly rebuilt, Naran Palace…

In a secret chamber just next to the throne room, a certain group of schemers were having another one of their meetings around a very large conference table. All were dressed in robes and hoods, except for their leader, Number One.

“Number fifty-two… report!” Prime Minister Haykin ordered as he sat at the head of the table as his position was Number One of the Dreenat.

The one designated as Number 52 nodded as he picked up a file and began reading. “Our sessions with the former rulers of the Empire of Sath are nearing completion. Garres Lorcra and his son Vexor have been fighting less and less against the drugs and spells. I was quite surprised they had such a high resistance towards debuff and mind-control spells, as well as potions. It could have something to do with the Sath royal bloodline.”

“I have often heard that direct descendants of the original hero who founded the Empire, were able to shrug off assassination attempts through poisons and lethal death spells. That was one of the powers of the one known as Sath.”

“I suppose that the bloodline has been diluted over the generations, if the spells and potions are affecting them, even though they are resisting far greater doses.”

“I heard that he was a hero from another world, who was summoned to Istaria two hundred and fifty years ago. What was the name of the world he was summoned from… the E-urrth?”

“I cannot precisely recall, Number One.” The subordinate shrugged his shoulders as he continued with his report. “Nevertheless, our work with the former Emperor and the Prince is coming close to fruition. Soon, they will do anything we command, which includes admitting to assassinating Shenshirine.”

“Excellent!” Haykin then turned to another subordinate. “And what is happening on the Excra and Bisra continents?”

The subordinate, who was designated Number 31, nodded as she read her report. “After the dismal performance of the Battlebreaker tanks, the Kingdom of Atlans had decided to go back to the drawing board. They’ve decided to follow the example of the dwarves and have begun their first attempts to building a true Battle-Mech.”

“Interesting.”

“What’s even more intriguing is the fact that the Atlans engineers are using the magitech of a golem that they had excavated in Excra, as the basis for their Battle-Mech research.”

“Golem magitech?” The Prime Minister exclaimed with a bit of surprise. “The golems we have in Naran are barely functional. They don’t even come close to the Steel Soldiers, let alone the Battle-Mechs of the Star Alliance.”

“The golem they found was from the Era of the First Ones.”

“The First Ones, eh? Well now, that is most interesting.” Haykin stroked his chin and pondered for a bit. “Let them study it and do some experiments. If they come up with something worthwhile, then it shouldn’t be too hard to steal it.”

“Number One?” Another subordinate raised his hand, this time it was Number 107.

“What is it, Number One Zero Seven?”

“Speaking of new Battle-Mech technology; through our long-range, magitech drones, we were able to determine that Free Land is experimenting with a new combat machine.”

“What kind of machine?”

“It seems that they have taken inspiration from the Dwarf Nations.”

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Nov 2^nd, 15 AE…

Andromeda Base, Testing Grounds #20…

“Damn! That thing is pretty fast!” Jeremy Crittons commented as he watched the new machine being put through its paces.

His new wife, a Kyteeri researcher named Farena nodded. “We were inspired by the dwarven Diaraga mech and thought, why not have a non-humanoid shaped mech? The Catian engineers were a little hesitant to make something that resembled a Mechanoid, but they soon became enthusiastic once they saw the general blueprints and realized the challenge.”

The machine they were referring to was about 18 feet in height and was roughly five times the size of a Scrapper. Its general form was like that of a crab or spider. Its body was composed of four, segmented sections, each connected by a narrow articulation joint. It could be piloted by one person, but had enough seating space for three more passengers. It moved about on 4, slender legs, each of which terminated in a kind of pointed tip or claw. The front two forelimbs terminated in wide pincers, which can act as shields. Each claw possessed efficient vibro-blade edges that could slice through thick armor. Each one also possessed twin concussion blasters plus a few other devices. Just behind the head, mounted on the dorsal side, was a large turret that sported twin, long-barrel particle beam cannons. On the rear abdomen, twin forceps protruded from the sides. In the head where the pilot sat, there was a large, emerald windshield and sensor emitter.

“How fast is it going?” Farena asked.

Jeremy looked down at this console. “I’m clocking it at 90 km/hr or just over 55 mph… pretty damn good for something on four legs.” He then turned on the communications system. “Hey, Pete! How’s the ride?”

“It’s really smooth!” The test pilot replied. He was a recent transfer from 450^th Battle-Mech division named Peter Partenson. “I love the suspension on this thing! I can’t even feel the bumps! It feels like I’m driving my hovercar than a basic mech!”

“So that means the equilibrium compensators are working.” Jeremy’s wife remarked.

“Hell, yeah! And I can do maneuvers like this!”

Pete demonstrated by making the machine do some sidestep motions and making sharp turns. He then made it dash towards a tall, metallic wall that was more than 30 stories high. The new mech crouched down low and then used the force of all four legs to propel itself upwards. He also engaged the thrusters embedded on its ventral side, causing it to rise even higher and faster. It managed to clear 25 stories before beginning to fall towards the wall. However, it dug its four, pointed tips into the wall and used them to score footholds into the surface, allowing it to quickly scale up the wall and over the other side.

The spider-crab mech then headed towards a muddy field. Normally, having so little surface area on the ends of the feet would have made the landscape a complete quagmire. However, the ends of the mech’s legs glowed with a white light, and the machine had no difficulty running over the unstable surface.

“The molecular bonding field on each leg is working perfectly.” Pete announced.

On each leg tip, there was a kinetic, energy field generator which caused all the molecules in the ground to momentarily solidify, giving each leg a stable surface to run on every time they came into contact. Once the foot left the ground, the molecules would return back to their natural state. Each generator can also be used to increase friction between surfaces, allowing the mech to scale walls if it couldn’t pierce the surface.

As it neared the last third of the course, Jeremy decided to engage the combat tests as he activated several hidden turrets and let them fire upon Peter.

The test pilot didn’t even flinch as he easily sidestepped all incoming projectiles and energy bolts. He used the claw shields to block a few bolts. He then engaged the targeting computer on the twin particle beam cannons and let loose with a barrage of bolts that took out the turrets. As he passed by a trench, several targets popped out. Not even breaking his stride, he continued to move forward as the cannons rotated about and fired with pinpoint accuracy, taking them all out without missing. Finally, as the machine approached the finish line, a large barrier wall popped out from the ground.

Engaging the vibroblade claws, he ripped through 20 feet of reinforced quintanium alloy and finally came to a stop at the finish line. The mech lowered itself until the belly was only a few feet off the ground. On the underside of the head, a small hatch opened up and the entire cockpit dropped down, allowing the pilot to disembark.

Peter stood up, took off his helmet and he waved to both Jeremy and Farena as they walked up to him.

“So how was it?” Farena’s husband asked.

“It was awesome! Now I can see why the dwarves created the Diaraga. You have a lot more maneuverability on a walker-type then you do with wheels or tracks. That’s the first time I’ve ever driven a ground vehicle sideways!”

“So do you think the design is good enough to be used in war and peacetime?” Jeremy asked.

“I don’t see why not. Its center of gravity is low to the ground, which makes it very stable. It’s fast and agile, so I can definitely see it being used for scouting missions. Its smaller size allows a person to get into places the larger mechs can’t. Those particle beam cannons have good range and pack some decent firepower, so it would be a really good support unit for the Slammers and Bullseyes. And I freaking love those claws! I can really see it either tearing apart Mechanoids or doing demolition jobs. So what are you going to call this thing?”

Jeremy looked up at the new mech for a long moment, before addressing his wife. “What creature was this machine inspired by?”

“The basic shape is similar to that of a Velor insect that is sort of a cross between a spider and a crab, but only has four legs for movement and the front forelimbs used for grasping. They’re about the size of a rhinoceros beetle. They’re fast, nimble, able to climb sheer rock cliffs, jump high relative to their size, and can shrug off heavy impacts due to their armored shells. In the Velor language, they are called atacs, though the slang term among the Velor call them as little buggers, since they have a nasty habit of digging under their scales and make them itch.”

“Atacs, huh?” Jeremy pondered for a moment and then nodded. “Then that’s the perfect name for the machine. We’ll call it the ATACS… A… T…  A… C… S… All Terrain Armored Combat Scout.” He briefly turned to Peter. “You said that it would be good for scouting, right?” He then turned back to his wife. “Since we nicknamed our Mini-Mechs as Scrappers, we can nickname this thing as the Bugger. I can imagine a small ‘swarm’ of these things causing havoc behind enemy lines.”

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Nov 18^th, 15 AE…

A secret chamber, hidden near the rebuilt Naran Palace…

“Say it again.” The hooded figure commanded.

“I had planned to assassinate Emperor Shenshirine and take over the Kingdom of Naran.” Former Emperor Garres stated with an emotionless tone. “Once I had Naran under my control, I would use the Deriaton battleships and my Steel Soldier Army to attack Free Land.”

“Very good, Garres Lorcra. You’ve finally achieved the level of compliance like your son has.” The figure gestured towards Vexor, who was sitting nearby with the same expressionless appearance on his face.

“Number Forty-Eight, report!” Prime Minister Haykin commanded as he entered the room.

Number Forty-Eight gave Haykin a bow and nodded. “I believe that both Garres and Vexor will require no more treatments. The spells and potions have completely enslaved them and they will follow your orders to the letter.”

“Excellent! Having these two as the scapegoats for Shenshirine’s untimely demise will go quite far in expanding our relationship with Free Land… and perhaps allow us to get a hold of more of their advanced technology. You are certain that the drugs and spells will not be detected?”

“I am one hundred percent certain!” The subordinate affirmed. “We have spent long hours entrenching the spells and potions into their bodies and mystic flows. We have been very careful to make them seem as if they were a natural part of them. You would need scrying spells on the level of the First Ones, in order to detect them, let alone determine them to be unnatural.”

“What about the advanced technology of Free Land? Would they be able to detect the spells and drugs?”

“There would be nothing for them to detect. Both shall be wearing concealment bracelets which will hide the control spells and potions, and give out false readings of normalcy. Nothing will be seen as unusual.”

“Excellent! The upcoming trial for these two will be quite the spectacle. Once they are found guilty and executed, (which again will be televised), then I shall fully take over as ruler of Naran.”

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Nov 25^th, 15 AE…

As they sat in their cell and waited for their show-trial and inevitable execution, the former rulers of the Empire of Sath fumed in total silence. Although the spells and potions were in full control of their bodies, their minds were still free. Although they could not resist any order given to them, they could still think independent of what their bodies did.

They wanted to kill Haykin in the most excruciating and painful way possible. They had given the Dreanat the plans to the Steel Soldiers and this is how he repaid them. Of course, they should have expected the possibility of the Dreanat and Haykin backstabbing them, but they had been too wrapped up in getting revenge on the current ruler of the Empire of Sath, Lexina Lorcra.

After that kidnapping and forced labor debacle with the dwarves during the Zedan war, Garres and Vexor had been with the Dreenat. Since they had duplicate plans of the Steel Soldiers, they had thought that the clandestine society would give them the means to construct their Steel Soldier Army. This would allow them to forcefully take back what they believed was rightfully theirs. As Prime Director Sierg had pointed out, both father and son were not exactly the sharpest tools in the forge. They were mostly driven by pride and anger. They felt that Garres’ daughter and Vexor’s sister had betrayed them when she staged the coup and had them exiled from the Merdov continent.

And they had also wanted revenge against Free Land after that disastrous war with their hyper-advanced technology; technology that they, the Dreenat and the former Nation of Euracon had sought to steal. So it made sense to pool their resources with the Dreenat after the fall of Euracon. However, both father and son were again betrayed and were now going to be held responsible for the death of Naran’s ruler.

They had resisted, and their bloodline to the original hero of Sath made it quite difficult for the control spells and potions to take effect. However, after many weeks of torture and administration, they could no longer resist and their bodies became their prisons. They could still think, but they could not resist any command Haykin and the Dreanat gave them. Now they were commanding Lexina’s remaining family to admit to murder and to die.

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Dec 1^st, 15 AE…

The Council of Prime Directors…

Sitting at the Conference Table with the leaders of Free Land, Shenshirine were discussing the upcoming events that would be occurring in the Kingdom of Naran. At this point, the capital city of Shenshirine’s nation was nearly rebuilt and would soon begin repopulating. And the event that would herald the rebirth of the capital would be the very public trial of Garres Lorcra and Vexor Lorcra, the so-called masterminds of Shenshirine’s untimely death.

“I said it before, and I’ll say it again. I can’t believe they expect us to swallow this pile of Mud Whomper excrement!” Nasaak growled as he, his colleagues and Shenshirine watched the live magitech-video news report, announcing the approaching trial.

“What is a Mud… Whomper?” The elderly elf asked.

“It’s a species of fish from Nasaak’s homeworld that’s able to walk on two legs.” Anida explained before turning to the other Directors. “I must say that Haykin is putting on quite a show. I suppose this display of bringing Shenshirine’s… er, murderers to trial and execution is his path to cementing his legitimacy to the crown.”

“That blasted traitor!” Shenshirine growled as he reached for a small pouch from his belt, opened it and took out some biscuits and started eating them.

“Yes, he and the Dreenat are quite despicable.” Nerto agreed as he looked at the ornate pouch with some slight interest. Something about that container intrigued him.

“So why don’t we expose them now?” Shenshirine asked impatiently as he finished off the snacks, reached into his pouch to pull out a silver-colored flask and took a swig from it. Nerto’s right eyebrow arched a bit. The flask was about the size of a 20 ounce water bottle, and yet the pouch was slightly smaller than that. Perhaps it could stretch a bit?

“We couldn’t expose him before because we were too busy contending with the Planet Ravager Deriatons.” Benjamin Rodera explained. “And we’re not too certain it would be safe for you to expose yourself. Prime Minister Haykin might just try to kill you if he finds out that you’re still alive.”

The elf ruler let off an annoyed sigh as he tried to take another swig, but realized that his flask was empty. He shrugged, put the flask back into his pouch, rummaged about for a bit, and then pulled out a copper-colored flask and took a swallow from that. He also took out a bottle of medicine, along with two napkins and a case which contained his reading glasses, so he could see the reports on the console viewing screen.

At this point, Nerto was not the only one who was staring at Shenshirine’s pouch. Ben, Anida, Nasaak, Sierg and Viska were also perplexed at how the pouch had not changed its size or shape, but seemed to hold far more than what was possible. After a long stretch of silence, the former ruler of Naran looked about in confusion.

“What is it?”

“How… did you do that?” Ben asked.

“Do what?”

Nerto spoke up. “We just saw you take out some biscuits, two flasks, one pair of reading glasses with its case, a medicine bottle, and some napkins…”

“So?”

“Exactly how much stuff in that pouch?” Viska asked.

Shenshirine tilted his head to the side with a bit of surprise and shrugged his shoulders. “Not much… a few snacks… three flasks of my favorite brandy… some gold… a few magic stones… some emergency gear… a change of clothes… and few miscellaneous items… I don’t see what the issue is. This is the utility pouch that has been passed down through my family for generations.”

There was another stretch silence as the Prime Directors took in what Shenshirine had just nonchalantly revealed to them. Finally, Sierg broke the silence.

“By the gods! He’s got a Relic of the First Ones!”

“What?” Shenshirine wondered, and then realized what Sierg was assuming while waving a hand. “Oh no! This is not the legendary Item Box! It’s just a very pale shadow of that marvelous invention! My ancestors were unable to duplicate the infinite capacity of the Item Box. The best we could do was to increase the space within a given container to about oh… a thousand times the original volume… nothing really special.” He let off an embarrassed chuckle.

The Prime Directors’ reactions all came together in one shout of disbelief.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!”

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A little while later, when the Council had calmed down…

“Are you saying… I had the means for Naran to honestly apply for Star Alliance membership?” Shenshirine asked in confusion as he clutched his pouch close to him.

“To put it bluntly… yes.” Benjamin admitted. “We’ve been trying to make something similar to the Item Box as well. We haven’t succeeded. However, to be able to carry a huge amount of things in a smaller, portable storage unit… that’s something that could interest the Star Alliance.”

“Indeed.” The Velor Director nodded. “The Teleportation Portal System or TPS, has already greatly increased logistics and shipping. Now think of how much more cargo we could transport per trip!”

“I can see the advantages for our military.” The Catian Director remarked. “Soldiers would be able to carry more ammunition, rations, and equipment. Vehicles, Starfighters and Battle-Mechs could carry more fuel, weaponry and equipment as well. The same thing goes for starships. Civilian applications can also benefit from having increased storage.”

“The medical field can also profit.” The Nemonean Director added. “We’d be able to have more vaccines, antidotes and anti-toxins on hand for disaster relief and epidemics. The possibilities are quite… mind-boggling.”

After hearing all of that, Shenshirine became silent for a long time, and then started to chuckle. This soon became a series of giggles, and eventually burst out into full-blown laughter.

“HA HA HA HA HA HA! Oh, what an idiot, I’ve been! If I hadn’t listened to that traitor Haykin, I might have already had a seat at the Council of Directors! To think that the little bag I used to carry my snacks would be such a precious treasure!”

“Slow down, your Highness.” Benjamin said as he tried to calm him down. “I’ll admit that you’ve caught our attention with your bag, but there’s still the matter of the upcoming trial of Garres and Vexor Lorcra and stopping Haykin from occupying your throne. We can discuss your bag once we have finished with that matter.”

Shenshirine composed himself and nodded. “Yes, of course.”

The trial would occur within a few days…

To be continued…

Author’s Notes

The ATACS was inspired from building a new model kit from the 30 Minute Missions line: Extended Armament Vehicle Multiple Legs Mecha

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_849526-T1/images/I/613hzHll8EL._AC_SL1500_.jpg