Zan’s World Story: (8 months earlier) “Heavy cargo 479-N, you are clear for orbit, turn to heading 125.3, slow to 18,000 and maintain low orbit at 175, switch to Customs Control frequency 889.43, and welcome to Dara Prime,” the planet orbital controller instructed the incoming freighter. The POC watched on his vid display as the freighter captain began the maneuver to comply. “Thank you Control, we’ll be glad to have our feet on the…” the freighter captain began and broke off in mid-sentence. The POC checked the transmission connection; the captain had left the transmitter open and could hear background sounds from the crew in the freighter’s cockpit. “…STARBOARD THRUSTERS, FULL ENGINE REVERSE,” the POC heard the freighter captain yelling and then heard the distinct sound of ripping metal and sudden decompression followed by a metal door slamming shut. The cockpit had sealed itself from the rest of the ship. “This is Heavy cargo 479-N, we are declaring an emergency,” the captain said. “What is your emergency, Heavy 479-N?” the POC responded to the distress call. “Captain, look,” the voice of the copilot interrupted. “May the ancestors receive my soul,” was the last thing the POC heard the captain say before the transmission ended in static. The POC watched as his control vid lit up with countless thousands of unknown signatures. He looked up at the other controllers work stations and could see the same on their control vids. The POC switched to an all channels frequency and heard hundreds of ships declaring emergency at the same time. The POC didn’t have long to wonder what was happening. Seven minutes later he, along with the control center and the city around him was vaporized by a 100 megaton nuclear explosion. Lord Hawk, the head of the current ruling House on Dara Prime, was enjoying a game of billiards when his protection detail barged into the room and swept him off his feet and carried him to a waiting Comet ship on the palace lawn. Lord Hawk’s guards shoved him into the Comet ship and two of the guards climbed in with him. The Comet ship pilot launched and headed out of the atmosphere toward the waiting Hawk Carrier in orbit. It had been sheer luck of the planet’s rotation that it had been night and the palace was on the opposite side of the planet from the invaders “What’s going on? Where is my son?” Lord Hawk calmly asked the Carrier Commander when he had reached the ships bridge. The Hawk Carrier Commander was reviewing reports when Lord Hawk arrived on the Bridge. The Commander looked up and began a briefing of what he knew so far. “An invasion force of alien warships came out of light speed on the day side of the planet thirteen minutes ago,” the Commander was reading from the paper in his hand. “They have attacked and destroyed everything in their path and have been launching nuclear weapons at the planet. Master Hawk was at the Avolian Prep Academy at the time the attack began, but we have word that his protective detail got him to a Comet ship before the Academy was destroyed.” The Commander paused to review a new report a communications officer handed him and then continued. “We just got a transmission, Master Hawk’s Comet ship didn’t have time to make it off the day side of the planet. His ship was hit and went down on House Sparrow’s estate. Lord Sparrow went out and pulled him from the wreckage personally. They are now in House Sparrow’s emergency command bunker.” Lord Hawk’s eyes narrowed. It would be just like Lord Sparrow to risk his life in a dangerous rescue of an opposing House’s child, thought Lord Hawk. That man has too much honor, he should have taken the opportunity to crush his enemies House by disposing of it’s heir. “Open a channel to House Sparrow,” Lord Hawk commanded. A communication technician punched in the command codes. “Channel is open, sir,” the technician stated. The vid displayed a wall with House Sparrows crest; a sparrow soaring in flight across a blue field of clouds. A moment later Lord Sparrow walked into view. His expensive suit was torn and he was covered in dirt. There was a fresh wound above his eye that had been hastily bandaged. That would play well in the senate and would swing votes over to House Sparrow, thought Lord Hawk, the hero that saved his enemies child. “Lord Hawk,” said the middle aged man that was Lord of House Sparrow. “You are holding my son, Sparrow?” Lord Hawk said tersely. “That’s your style, Hawk, not mine. The blood feud is between you and I, not your child. I will protect him with my life,” Lord Sparrow stated, annoyed at the innuendo that he would take the blood feud out on Lord Hawk’s son. Lord Hawk paused a moment, his expression softened slightly. “I know, Lord Sparrow. I know your kind. You are an honorable man.” Lord Sparrow was surprised at this new stance his nemesis was taking. He had fought Lord Hawk time and time again in the Senate over almost every subject imaginable. Lord Hawk only cared about furthering the power of his own House. Lord Hawk could see dirt falling from ceiling in the bunker as missiles exploded nearby. “Can you make it to orbit?” Lord Hawk asked. Lord Sparrow shook his head and replied, “Sparrow Space Port took a direct hit, it’s gone. They don’t know where the bunker is yet, but they are closing in fast. There are a bunch of old Dart ships down here and I’ve given your son one of them. I understand he is one of the youngest pilots ever licensed on a Comet ship. I’ve got a pilot familiarizing the boy with the Dart controls now. If we can get a few minutes reprieve from the barrage of missiles hitting us, we can stay low to the ground and cross over the Arctic Circle to the night side of the planet and then head into orbit from there.” “I can give you the time you need, but I want something,” Lord Hawk said. Ah, now there is the Hawk I know, thought Sparrow, always a deal in there somewhere. “What do you want, Hawk?” Sparrow asked, amazed at this man’s ability to strike a deal while his planet was being destroyed. “Take care of my son, tell him..” Lord Hawk paused for a moment. “You know what to tell him. Raise him to be the leader our people need.” Lord Hawk broke the connection and tapped out a command on his wrist implant. Lord Sparrow looked down at his wrist implant as a command message arrived. He had just been named as Regent. Lord Sparrow looked at the blank vid screen and said softly, “With what you are about to do, Lord Hawk, you redeem the name of House Hawk for your son, may the ancestors be with you.” Lord Hawk turned to the Carrier Commander, “Commander, you are promoted to Fleet Admiral. You will take this Carrier, three Battleships, and the support ships. You are to collect as many refugees as you can and head to the mining colony on Sara 4. From there you will maintain radio silence and build up the fleet; retrofitting every possible ship to a warship. Once all ships have been retrofitted for war, contact the Alliance Fleet.” Lord Hawk walked to the Bridge view port and looked down on his dieing world. The planet would be uninhabitable for half-a-million years, if the eco-system wasn’t completely destroyed. This may very well be a dead planet now. “Over-ride all vid transmission on the planet,” Lord Hawk ordered. The technicians complied and Lord Hawk faced the camera. “I am ordering the evacuation of Dara Prime. Rendezvous with the Hawk Carrier where you will receive further instructions. I will command the remainder of the fleet and engage the enemy from the Battleship Phoenix. I am asking that every House with a warship remaining, launch now and follow me so that your Houses and our people, have a chance to survive. May the ancestors be with you.” Lord Hawk left the Carriers Bridge without further word and transferred to the Battleship Phoenix. The Hawk Carrier’s Admiral Commander watched as Lord Hawk’s Battleship pulled away with the remaining fleet. He turned and began giving orders to prepare for the incoming refugees. One-hundred forty three warships lifted off from the planet and joined Lord Hawk’s Fleet. Most were Frigates and Destroyers, but five Battleships that had been secretly built by various Houses had been waiting in hiding for the moment to further the power of their House. Those political plans had evaporated with the arrival of the invaders and those Houses had joined their Battleships with the Fleet to buy the people of Dara Prime a few more minutes. Fifty-five minutes later, every ship in Lord Hawks fleet had been destroyed. The Admiral watched a transmission coming from the last remaining satellite as the Battleship Phoenix, burning and venting oxygen, turned, fired it’s main thrusters and rammed the largest of the enemies Carriers. The enemy Carrier broke in half. Lord Hawk had found honor above power in the last moments of his life. The Hawk Carrier’s Admiral Commander called out the order from his command chair, “Make thrusters at full, secure all transmissions, light speed in two minutes.” The Carrier pulled away from the planet with nearly two million refugees from a planet that had, only an hour ago, a population of six billion. Ships capable of light speed followed the Carrier and three Battleships. The ships without light speed had been booby-trapped and left behind. “Sir, the enemy is moving into the trap,” a technician called out. “Now,” the Admiral ordered. The booby-trapped ships were detonated. Six enemy ships were destroyed and twenty-three more took heavy damage. The enemy fleet stopped following and the Daraian refugee fleet went to light speed. (Eight months later) Dart and the other ships released their charges from the forced sleep period. Zan started to head for the lift that would take him up to the Carrier Bridge to report to Admiral Reox while his foster brothers went to the Mess to get some food. “Hey Zan, look at this,” Talur called out. Talur was looking at a Dart ship none of them had seen before. The ship was patched in several places and had blast burn marks in many places on the hull. The wings had been retrofitted to hold missiles and a laser pulse canon had been fitted into the nose. “I want one of these,” Bali said while inspecting the pulse canon. “Yea, let’s talk to Chief and see if we can get ours fitted out with one,” Bezil was drooling over the canon. “Where’s the pilot?” “I’m sure we will meet him eventually,” Zan replied, “but I need to get to the bridge.” Zan told his brothers he would catch up with them later and left them to drool over the canon. “Whoever he is, he has seen some serious combat,” Karu was running a finger down a deep etch in the canopy that looked like it had been made by a direct hit from a small canon round. The Darts had been invented and built on Dara but the clear steel for the canopy and the hulls had been made from Demonian metal. “The combination of the perfect angular Daraian design and the legendary metal workers of Demonia saved this pilot a few times,” Talur added. “But then, who else but the Avian world would know how to make the best flying machines.” “I’m hungry, lets go,” Karu left off his inspection of the battle hardened Dart and headed for the lift. A pretty ship wasn’t about to deter him from a meal. He had an appetite like fathers and was constantly eating. Zan arrived on the bridge and reported to Admiral Reox. The bridge was a nest of chaotic activity and Zan wondered how anyone knew what was going on. “Good morning, sir,” Zan said cheerfully. “Did you have a nice nap?” the Admiral asked dangerously. Zan ignored the Admiral’s mood and asked, “Anything new?” “Yes, a lot has happened,” Admiral Reox paused and decided to just drop the nap issue. He wasn’t going to accomplish anything. The Dart ships were sentient and were going to continue protecting Zan and his brothers as if they were their own children, despite anything he said. “A pilot arrived several hours ago, goes by the call sign Sparrow,” Admiral Reox continued. “There are Daraian survivors and they have a fleet consisting of a Carrier, three Battleships, and a half million Dart fighters.” “What!” Zan’s jaw dropped open. “Where did they get that many fighters?” “The Dart ship was manufactured on Dara, there were still quite a few of them sitting in peoples garages,” the Admiral was explaining. “When Lord Hawk gave the order to evacuate the planet, every remaining Dart carried evacuees.” “How many survivors?” Zan asked. “Almost two million made it off the planet,” the Admiral replied. “Their fleet headed to deep space and hid at an old mining colony. They refitted every ship they had to warships and have been running hit and run missions against the enemy. As I’ve been told, every man, woman, and child fights.” “I can understand,” Zan said sadly. “Only two million out of six billion survived. They are angry.” The Admiral looked at Zan and gauged the moment. He won’t like this, thought the Admiral, and handed Zan a data disk. “This is an account of the Battle of Dara, review it and go meet your newest Bone Skull pilot, Sparrow.” “What?” Zan was startled. “I don’t want another pilot, no matter how good he is.” “That pilot flew through enemy territory for a month to bring us news of the Daraian Fleet and.. well, you will find out the rest when you need to,” Admiral Reox stated. “He has orders to stay here with us until further notice.” “I’m not taking on another pilot,” Admiral. Admiral Reox came around the battle table where he had been studying star charts and grabbed Zan by the throat and put his other hand on the blade at his side. “You will take that pilot, and you will make him a Bone Skull,” Admiral Reox growled, “Do you understand?” The bridge was suddenly silent and all eyes turned to watch the Admiral. They had seen Admiral Reox deal with Demons before, but it was always an amazing thing to watch. “My father told me you were the one Kitsune that knew how to talk properly to a Demon,” Zan smiled, ensuring his fangs showed. “Yes sir, I understand.” The bridge crew remained quiet and watched as Zan turned and headed for the lift off the bridge. They knew the fun wasn’t over yet. The younger a Demon was, the harder it was to deal with them, but Admiral Reox was a master at it and this young Demon was about to learn. At the lift Zan stopped and turned around. “Oh, Admiral,” Zan began, “If you had pulled that…” The Admiral spun, pulled his blade and pointed it at Zan, interrupting him. “You don’t have enough time as a warrior to be allowed to make a retort. Now get off my bridge you snot nosed, wet behind the ears, lava puppy.” Zan dropped his head and eyes submissively, backed into the lift and pressed the button to the flight deck. Wow, thought Zan, what an incredible officer, no wonder father has continued to serve under his command all these years. Zan was in a good mood when he stepped out of the lift. In Demon culture, you only follow the strongest and if Admiral Reox had not asserted his dominance over him, then Zan would begin to doubt the Admiral’s ability to be a worthy leader. The Bone Skulls were waiting at the bottom of the lift for Zan. Karu had filled his pockets with sandwiches and was munching on one. “We have a new pilot,” Zan told his squadron. Karu mumbled between bites on the sandwich, “We are short a pilot, Rogue needs a wing man.” “I don’t need a wing man,” Talur protested. Zan waved his hand dismissively, “Well, you’re getting one. Let’s go find him. His name is Sparrow and that Dart we saw earlier is probably his.” The Bone Skulls walked the flight deck back toward the section where the Darts were all lined up. Maintance crew’s would salute occasionally at the famous Bone Skulls and Zan would give a salute back; the Demonian salute was a closed fist over their two hearts. “What’s this?” Bali said to his brothers when they got closer to the line of Darts. There was a slight framed boy leaning against the Dart with the nose mounted pulse canon. The boy had his arms crossed and had the bird-like features of a Daraian. He also had an air of arrogance around him as well. “Children aren’t allowed on the flight deck,” Zan had stopped in front of the boy. “You need to head back to the family deck.” The boy stepped toward Zan, put his fists on his eyes, rubbed, and replied sarcastically, “I can’t find my mommy and I’m lost. Can you help me mister pilot sir?” Zan looked down at the boy. “I’m sure that’s very cute and all, but I’m serious, this is the flight deck and can be dangerous.” “Ohhhh.. whatever will I do?” the boy replied. “You mean dangerous like taking a 20mm canon round dead center of my canopy during a 4g roll while threading through an asteroid field?” Zan glanced up at the deep groove in the Darts canopy. “My call sign is Sparrow,” the boy stated. “No, No, No, No,” Talur burst out, “this is not my wingman, no, no, no,” and stomped off towards his own Dart. “I’ve been to the ship library and looked up all your records,” the boy said smugly, “and I have more kills then all of you put together.” The boy put his hand on hips and looked up into Zan’s eyes. “Any more questions, mister pilot sir?” “Can we just eat it?” Karu asked. “I hear birds are good eating.” “I say we just throw it out the waterlock and be done with it,” Bali added. “I like him,” Bezil stated. Zan bent down and put his face an inch from the boy, bared his fangs and then carefully lit his forbidden flame around his horns. Zan had practiced controlling how much flame and where he lit it at. The boy swallowed hard and took a step back. Zan followed him until the boy was pressed back up against his Dart. “Okay, Sparrow, you’re a pilot. I get it. They destroyed your planet and now every Daraian fights, no matter how small.” Zan hissed. “I have no doubt that you have an impressive kill count. But, first, we don’t track our kills, ever. That is the fastest way to jinx the squadron, not to mention screw your head up.” The boy was whipping his head back and forth looking for the best escape route. Zan placed his hands on both sides of the boy, flat against the Dart and lit the forbidden flame on his hands. The boy’s eyes were wide now. He had heard the stories about the Demonians ability to light themselves on fire but hadn’t believed them. “Second,” Zan continued. “You will show respect to me, to the squadron, to the crew, and most of all, to yourself.” Zan extinguished his flame and stepped back. Sparrow remained backed up against his Dart. “I don’t want to have this conversation again, do you understand?” Zan asked “Yes,” Sparrow nodded. “Very good, then let me introduce you.” Zan spoke in a kindly tone and the boy started to calm back down. “That’s Karu, call sign Whip Tail,” Zan motioned to his oldest brother. “And those two are the twins, Bali and Bezil, call signs Imp and Beast, and the one sulking over next to his Dart is Talur, call sign Rogue.” Sparrow nodded at each of them and the brothers all nodded and smiled back, except Talur who was still busy sulking. Zan noticed they were all showing a bit more fang then needed. “And now the ships,” Zan started to say but Sparrow interrupted, daring a small laugh. “You’re going to introduce me to your ships?” asked Sparrow. “I like my Dart too, but isn’t that a little weird?” “Our ships are alive, Sparrow, just like you and me.” Zan explained. “They are not A.I.’s, they are aware, thinking, free beings, just like any other sentient creature.” The boy looked at Zan like he had just lost his mind. Zan ignored it, he would understand in a moment. “That one is Dart, I’m her pilot.” “Hello Sparrow, I’m sure we will be great friends,” said Dart. Zan thought for a moment that he detected sarcasm in Dart’s tone. Sparrow’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “It’s a trick?” Sparrow asked. “No trick, Sparrow,” Zan explained. “That one there is Blaze, Bali his her pilot.” Zan continued introducing the ships, “And that one is Brim, Bezil is her pilot,” Zan pointed at the ship. “Hey there Sparrow,” the spirited female voice of Blaze sang out. She had listened to the drama the biologicals were playing out and didn’t really care. She was busy playing chess with Brim. If that boy tried to bother her, she would just step on the little bug. “You’re cute Sparrow,” Brim said and Sparrow smiled shyly. She was being extra nice, Bezil had said he liked the little worm but sometimes she had trouble picking up on biological’s double talk. She would have to check with Bezil later. “That one over there is Dragon, Karu is her pilot,” Zan stated. “A pleasure Sparrow,” Dragon said pleasantly. “Perhaps I can take you for a flight later?” I’ll dump the slosh maggot in a lava flow, thought Dragon, they’ll never find the body. “The last one on the end is Star, Talur is his pilot.” Star was at the far end and launched an optic sensor that flew over to Sparrow, circled him twice, hovered and said, “Hey bud, you’re a small little thing. Don’t worry, we all stick together, you’ll be ok,” The sensor returned to Star and reseated itself. “The boy is a spoiled brat, I vote for Bezil’s idea to throw him out a waterlock,” Star transmitted to his sisters on the private channel the ships used to talk among themselves. “What’s your real name, Sparrow?” Talur asked as he returned to the group. He had finished sulking for the moment. “I guess I’m Lord Hawk now.” The boy replied with a hint of sadness. “Then why “Sparrow” for a call sign?” Karu asked as he hunted through his pockets for another sandwich. The boy shrugged, “Lord Sparrow risked his life to pull me out of my Comet when it was shot down and then again to help me escape before the planet was destroyed. His House was House Hawk’s sworn enemy but he didn’t care, he saved me anyway. It just seemed right to carry his name some way.” Talur almost felt sorry for the boy for a moment, but one look in the boy’s eyes showed the deceit he was hiding. Zan’s display of dominance would have, to any Demonian, resulted in submission or challenge. Either one would have been proper. But to pretend submission was deceitful and not the Demonian way. This lava bug didn’t belong in the Bone Skulls. “I’m sorry for the bad start.” Sparrow smiled at the group and then finished his sentence silently in his head, I hope you all drown in the ocean, stupid lizards. “Well then,” Zan clapped his hands together. “We are all getting along now.” Zan patted himself on the back for his excellent leadership skills. This isn’t so hard being leader, Zan thought to himself.