The Gantronese Race

The Gantronese are a humanoid life form on the world of Debac. They have humanoid features that could easily be mistaken for other races in various parts of Calorn, another planet that is close to their world. Although Gantrons may look similar to humanoids in Calorn, up close tells a different story.

Debac became the foundation of their expanding Empire that spread across other worlds. The Gantronese are very imperialistic and will stop at nothing to continue their conquest. These expansive aliens control many planets located near the planet of Calorn. What makes these humanoid aliens different from other humanoids besides being form another planet is their behavior, attitude, culture and appearance.

The Gantronese display a strange way of hospitality. Their hospitality for guests is shown to other Gantronese. Non- Gantronese are enslaved immediately, turned away or led to a dangerous area and left there to die. Gantronese attitude corresponds to their culture, which their hospitality shows the treatment of other races. Superiority is the central idea of Gantronese culture. Everyone who is not Gantronese are inferior and nothing more than herds. Conquest is the main part of their imperialist culture. After a conquest they are brutal to the conquered population at times. Other races  are like herds of cattle to them. The Gantronese will occupy a region, enslave the people, or simply wipe them all out. How they enslave people depends on what resources there are, and how easily they conquered the region. There are times when the Gantronese did not have to force people into submission especially after tales of their brutality reached the ears of many peoples. As conquerors the Gantronese establish their rule over the region and demand servitude, tribute, submission, and obedience even without the need of owning people as slaves or pets. 

In warfare they show too much honor to their enemies they fight with certain rules barring them from advancing unless there are forces present. This custom was eliminated by the Vearxalls who gained some control over Gantronese forces when the alliance with Aliscar was forged. In many occasions they are ruthless towards their enemies once they engage them in battle. They will stop at nothing to kill the enemy even if it means wasting the lives of thousands of their own soldiers. The Gantronese will take prisoners unless they are unscathed in any way after the battle or when they surrender. Prisoners are treated as slaves and given tasks as soon as they are captured. It is not in their nature to surrender or give up unless they are more human.

There is a hierarchy within the Gantronese race, the Royalty, Elites, Greater Gantronese Lesser and the Gantreins. The Gantreins are the ones with a pleasant skin tone and look more like the beings of Calorn. The others are more hideous in appearance. They have scarred-greyish skin, soulless black eyes and shark-like nostrils. They share a certain aspect with their Nazdar counterparts and allies, sharp teeth. When one would come face to face with a Gantronese they would think this alien was a demon.

The Commando

            Silence consumed the ancient battlefield, not sound was mustered to disturb the quiet. No sound existed in the cloudy calm day. The guns were silent, no birds or aircraft in the sky. Only the sound of the commando’s heavy breathing existed. He was alone no one to aid him while deep in enemy territory. His heart pounded against his ribs like a battering ram. In the field he hid in a hole to conceal himself from the enemy. The hole was small but still big enough to keep him hidden from hostile eyes. The hole was filled with ammo and weapons up to his heels. He was ready for a fight, a long bloody fight. The hole was within the ruins of a house, bombed months before. The house was based on a hill with a clear view of the road at the base of the hill. He kept his head low from view of any snipers skimming the hills with their keen eyes. The commando sat in waiting for any convoy or patrol to roll on by. Whatever came his way he would ambush it himself.

            Peering through a hole in the wall the commando observed what he saw at the bottom. There was an enemy post at the bottom of the hill. It was heavily guarded by dozens of troops. Two towers on both sides the road and a gate in between blocking the road. A garrison was built beside the post to house the troops. He watched the guards marching around back and forth. Others went in and out of the garrison. With his eye he observed the enemy’s patrol patterns. Cautiously the commando waited for the time to strike. It concerned him whenever a guard walked or even looked in his direction. He did nothing to draw attention.

            Several vehicles drove by going through the gate. The commando slowly crept along the side of the hole. He positioned himself in view of the post. Luckily, he hadn’t been seen. Preparing himself he took a deep breath and prayed to the Goddess Ipsul. He pulled himself back into the hole to ensure that there were no enemy snipers. Through luck there were none to be dealt with. Poking his head out he continued to spy on the post once again. Taking time to act he waited until only two remained standing guard at the gate. He took aim at one of them and fired. The guard fell to the ground, dead. The Commando hid in the hole expecting return fire. It did not come. Propping up once more he nailed the second guard in the head. He vanished once more into the ruins of the house. The entire garrison were going to hunt him down.  

            Sirens of the alarm echoed loudly in the mountains. The noise certainly warned any patrols coming this way that rebels were attacking. Guards scrambled out of the garrison. The commando watched as the enemy foolishly gave him clear targets. Throughout the confusion he shot another and hid. He killed seven more repeating this move. He shot one of them in the gut. After dropping back in the hole for the eighth time, the commando waited for return fire. The commando expected the guards to shoot in his direction. There was none, he waited sometime. Silence took over the air again save for the sirens. The sirens continued their shrieks of panic as they called in for reinforcements.

            He listened to the noise of screeching tires, knowing more had come. He reloaded his weapon, preparing to attack again. As he climbed back to the hole in the wall, the commando pulled out his pistol. The enemy would be climbing up the steep hill. He was right, the commando saw over a dozen, not guards, but elite soldiers. Before the elites could get halfway up the hill the commando shot at them with his pistol. He picked up his rifle and shot more down. He focused his sights on them one at a time. Some elites rolled down the hill. One came within feet of the commando. He reacted with such swift movement that he was oblivious to his own actions.

            He grabbed the elite and pulled him by the arm. The commando tossed the elite into the hole and shot him in the back three times. The elite's body lay in the hole full of weapons and ammunition. This lone commando grabbed a machine gun from underneath the corpse, turning it over on its back. With the heavy machine gun, the commando turned to the hole in the wall. He placed it on the ledge of a stone. He saw more elites climbing up.

Abduction Crimes

I woke up with a blind fold over my eyes and ropes held me to a chair. I heard voices, but I could not see where they came from. I was confused ‘what was going on? Where was I and who was there?’ I wanted to know.  I felt powerless tied to this hard chair.

I heard a familiar voice in the room. “Under whose authority do you sons of bitches have the right to kidnap us?” I heard the sound of a fist hitting someone in the face. It repeated as more fists beat the poor soul without mercy. Painful grunts came from the person each time they were hit. The violence stopped as they begged the assailants to seize the aggression. This voice sounded mature, male in his mid-forties. Footsteps left the room and the doors slammed shut. I realized I was in a room with another captive. Everything went silent no whisper or sound of movement emerged in the silence.  I sat in silence with the other captive.

Out of the silence I heard “Psst…psst…psst.”  

            “Who’s there?” I asked.  

            “Quiet down Verin, they’ll surely kill us if you don’t shut up!” the man whispered. 

            “Hreiden is that you?” I asked hoping he would be there.

             “Yes, it’s me, your old friend.”  I heard him say.

            “Where are we?” I asked. He fell silent. “Hreiden, Hreiden!” I said quickly expecting him to answer.

            “Quiet…” someone hissed “they’re coming back.”

            “Who’s coming…?” I asked, but it was too late for anyone to answer. The doors opened again and several footsteps came into the room. I grew nervous as they came further into the room. Were these men going to kill me? Why would they kill me? What did I do? I had done nothing! I thought to myself.

            The blindfold was pulled from my eyes. A Vestrisian Colonel stood before me with a pistol in his hand. What did a colonel of the Vestrisian Army of the Vestrisian Republic want from me? I soon recalled the day when the Vestrisian Army gained control over several nations who willingly joined the Vestrisian Union. It was founded by New Valorum, and Naatidra. The Kingdom of Zedarkhaand joined shortly after it was formed demanding their people be exempted from being slaves. Afterwards both Geverin and Ezodel joined in for protection against the Castarian Empire. The Castarian wars shook my bones when I heard it fell to the new Vestrisian Union.

            Memories of the Vestrisian Union’s purge of slavers and slave owners still in the area circled my mind. Then it occurred to me that I was in the purge against slavers. It had been decreed that all women and girls were under the protection of the Vestrisian Army against enslavement. Somehow my name got in the mix of things and they believed I was enslaving people. I knew I had to get out of here, but how?

             I looked around the room and searched for the door. My eyes found two doors one behind the Colonel and the other to the side. I was in a small conference room with the table pushed to the side against the second door. They had us tied to the chairs of the conference room we were positioned in a half circle in the conference room. I was in the far end of the room with the window next to me, which was bolted shut. There were eight other men around me tied to chairs as well. Four soldiers stood at attention against the door with rifles and sub machine guns. Several interrogators stood next to the colonel. The colonel strutted back and forth across the room observing his captives.

            “So…” he snarled “You think you can get away with human abduction?”

            “What are you talking about you ass? I’d never do such a…” one of the captives said to the colonel.

            “SHUT UP!” the colonel commanded, and kicked the suspect to the floor.

            “I will be the one asking the questions. So I expect clear and straight answers! Where are those girls?”

            “You’re out of your damn mind surely there are no girls missing!” I said. I did not understand no one to my knowledge were smuggling people around nor abducting anyone? Was there? To me this was something new. It never occurred to me that anyone would abduct children nonetheless young women. I was always a pious man who treated women fairly despite my faith in Vullan, a deity that called for the women of Vestrisian to serve all men dutifully. Of course I said something to offend this Vestrisian Colonel.

            The colonel shot his pistol at me. The bullet skimmed across my face. It stung as blood trickled down my cheek. “You damn well know what I mean you swine!” He kicked the fallen captive in the gut. It was enough for him to harm me, but kicking the fool on the floor made me feel the pain from watching. Was I really at the wrong place at the wrong time? They had forced me from my temple and into a car? This all came back to me after being out for so long.

            “Where are they?”  The colonel demanded. “Do you realize, those teens have families concerned for their safety? Everyday their parents come into my office asking where they are and if we have found them yet. I had one mother taken out of my office by force, because she wouldn’t leave. You have no idea how hard it is to see a crying mother be dragged out of a building all because she refused to leave!”

            A younger man next to me mocked the Vestrisian Soldiers. “What do we care, you’re losing the war. Those whores are probably in Nymres by now!”

            He shot his foot in response. The young man wailed out in pain. Hreiden criticized the idiot’s foolishness. “Aklire you moron you’ll get us all killed! We don’t want to be hung for crimes we didn’t commit!”

            A man across from him criticized Hreiden. “Really Hreiden you expect them to believe you and kill us, while you run off with the money?”

            “Shut up Gors, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have no affiliation with slavers.” Hreiden grew nervous as sweat went down his face. He looked at the soldiers then at Gors a few times.  

            The colonel smiled at Hreiden. “Well, now Mr. Hreiden is there anything you’d like to share with us?” Hreiden did not speak. His lips were shut, never to open again. The room fell into silence with the clock making a ticking noise to break the silence.

             “Enough of this we’ve waited too long for an answer.” The colonel snapped his fingers. A dozen armed soldiers marched into the room. They took us out of the room with their weapons fixed on us as we were released from the chairs. We did not dare struggle, fearing for our lives. They forced us out of the room. We were aggressively moved to another location. There were trucks waiting for us. Once again we were blindfolded and shoved into the trucks. The only sound we heard was the engines rumbling. It felt as though an hour had passed sitting there in the cramp space of the truck. We could barely breathe in the airless dungeon.

            The truck suddenly stopped. I sat there listening for something that would tell us where we were. I heard the doors swing open as voices shouted at us.

            “Get out you bastards!” We obeyed as they pulled us from the trucks. I could not see, so I only felt someone drag me on my feet. The blindfolds were taken off for the last time. Our surroundings were too dark for us to tell where we were. Flashlights were turned on and the beams illuminated our surroundings. They had us lined up along the edge of a bridge over a river that flowed through the city. The river’s current could take anything down the river beyond the city limits.

            The soldiers continued to question us, still asking us for the whereabouts of the missing girls. Hreiden was as stubborn as ever. He mocked the soldiers asking him questions.

     “Ha, you fools must have me mistaken. I have never abducted anyone before. So why should I tell you anything?” He said to their faces.

            “You assholes don’t know anything, I am a Minister! How could I be a part of an organization that abducts humans?” He spat at the colonel’s foot. It was a dumb thing to do when there are seven guns fixed on you. The colonel reached into a pocket on his uniform jacket and pulled out a bracelet. 

    “This bracelet belonged to Celestine Night-Hunter. It was found at the steps of your temple Minister Hreiden. She hasn’t been seen since she was last seen at your temple.”                                  

            Hreiden fell silent unable to say anything else. The colonel lit a cigar. “We could do this all night you know.”

            A motorcycle drove up to us. The biker stopped next to the colonel. He handed a letter to the colonel after they exchanged salutes. Once the letter was handed to the colonel the biker took off down the road. The colonel opened the letter. After he read it he paused staring at it. He looked up from the letter at us. He muttered something and without warning the soldiers opened fire.

 

 

 

 

Leaving for War

            I stood there looking at their blank faces. They looked dumbfounded and mute. All were staring at me with wide eyes. Some of the children had tears in their eyes. My mother sat in her chair not looking at me. She only stared at the floor. The men held their pipes in their hands staring right through me as if they expected me to come home any minute. My cousins looked at me with an expression that pleaded for me not to go. As I picked up my suitcase, my mother burst into tears. It was final; I would leave them for the last time, forever. My father stood up as if to say something, but only stood there silently. I felt the atmosphere of mourning, and pain in the room.

            I stood before them in uniform, suitcase in hand, rifle and helmet by the door. Turning around slowly I could hear the shivering of crying from the women. I heard the creaking sound of the armchairs being grasped by strong hands of the men. I placed the helmet on my head. There came the rushing sound of someone running up the stairs angrily followed by wailing cries. I dare not look back at this family of mine. It would only hold myself back, chained to the house psychologically. Before my hand touched the door knob a bony finger tapped me in the back. It was a gentle touch. My body froze as though paralyzed or turned to stone. I turned around regretful of the action. Before me was our withered old housekeeper, Shiva. She was such a passionate woman who cared for us for many, many years. Shiva was very old, older than she looked, and ancient.

            I looked at her old, friendly face. She smiled at me and held out her hand. In her hand was a top piece of the fence outside. Rusty and old it was. It was part of the house for many generations until I as a child broke it off by accident. I stared at it about to take it but hesitated. She urged me to take it. Taking it I put it in my pocket. I did not face anyone only the door. Opening the door, I hesitated again and said, "good-bye". I walked out with the door shutting behind me. At the end of the sidewalk was the army truck, waiting for me to serve my country, my people. I continued toward the gate and stopped, taking the fence piece from the pocket I placed it on the grass. I did not need anything nor wanted anything to remind me of precious home. It would only kill me in combat if I had a single thought of home.