Kingdoms End
Chapter 21

Planet: Setuh

Person(s): Marco, Meliss and Tenna

The hour was 07:00. At the Hergonesse siege camp which surrounded the city of Ronat from which Marco and his family had fled. Things were going on as they usually would in a siege camp, several were guards on watch and the rest just entertained themselves one way or another. It was a boring day day as usual, but things were about to get very interesting.

A vessel of glossy black material was sighted lowering toward the ground, close to the part if the siege camp west of the the surrounded city. All soldiers were immediately called to arms. Flying vessels were manned, vehicles with weapons mounted on them were brought forward and every soldier was falling into formation.

The vessel continued to descend until it came to rest just 20ft away from the Hergonesse army’s frontline. A part of the vessel pulled open and dropped to the floor to serve as a ramp. The commanders of this side of the camp stepped to the front. “We already claim this city in the name of the kingdom of Hergon and the alliance of kings!” one commander said into a microphone and his voice was projected through a vehicle-mounted speaker. There was no reply from the black vessel, nor was there a sing of life aboard it. The open part of the vessel showed nothing moving about within.

“I need all air vessels airborne now!” the commander said into the microphone once more and the Hergonesse air vessels began rising. Just when the first vessel was exactly 50ft off the ground, a powerful rocket shot out from within the glossy black vessel and struck the front part of the Hergonesse vessel, blowing it open and sending both the debris and the craft itself crashing down on the soldiers below. A very tall woman stepped out of the glossy vessel with a very large rocket launcher on her left shoulder. The weapon was definitely what had fired the ticket that brought down the Hergonesse vessel. “A giant woman?” one commander thought aloud. “Fire!” ordered the commander next to him.

The Hergonesse army released several shots in the direction of the tall woman and her vessel. The shots all struck their targets, but by the time they were done blowing up, all they saw were dents in the vessel and the woman herself was unscathed. “By the gods!” one soldier exclaimed.

The tall woman stretched out her hands and two of the Hergonesse assault vehicles were hoisted into the air. As the soldiers killed ul at their floating ground assault vehicles, several more rockets flew out from the opening in the glossy black vehicle and slammed into more of the Hergonesse air vessels. Just then, men and women as tall as the first to step out of the strange vessel, poured out of it now. The Hergonesse captains saw the charge and gave their own orders. “Attack!!”

The Hergonesse soldiers surged forward, then the tall people from the strange vessel vegan transforming into a shape with armoured skin and two extensions on their backs, each with a blade at its end. The second forms did little to scare the Hergonesse, but what did scare them greatly was when all shots and cuts they took at the semi-giants did them no harm at all. This was the master race and they had come to take Setuh for themselves.

As the Hergonesse fell at the hands of the mantis men, their commanders believed these were allows called upon by the Queendom of Meridor for assistance. The commanders called to other Hergonesse troops camped on the other side of Ronat. All commanders’ communications had the same same meaning, “The Queendom of Meridor has called on strange giants for assistance. They cannot be harmed by anything we have. Flee while you still can.”

The Hergonesse believed the mantis men allies of Meridor, but that changed when several rockets were fired at the walls of Ronat by the semi-giants, bringing it down when all attempts by Hergon had failed. The tone of their messages changed now. “The giants are allies to none, flee while you can.” The mantis men would decimate the army outside, then proceed to visit the same fate upon the citizens of Ronat.

The time now was 08:11, two medium sized space vessels had just touched down in a large, but fenced in landing bay inside the city of Kullup, the capital of the Holydoma, Halo-bir. The rear doors opened and dropped to the ground to form ramps. Lord Haavik and Linus rushed down from one of the vessels, Bruttites following behind them, while from the other vessel, a big, armoured, four-door, exotic sedan vehicle was driven out, Bruttites following behind it. Four armoured SUVs were brought out after the sedan. “Prepare the vehicles to move out,” Lord Haavik ordered. “I shall go and see if anyone has seen her.

Though the landing bay was a private one, it was right in the centre of a Kullup’s largest space vessel terminal and the largest in the entire Holydoma. As he stepped through the archway leading to the private landing bay, six Bruttites following behind him, the first people Lord Haavik saw were a beautiful, red-skinned fairy lady, seated next to an equally beautiful human lady on a bench opposite the archway. These two were Tenna and Amisha, but the Sanelin lord knew not the faces, for he had never seen them since the day of his birth. Tenna’s exotic race and skin pigmentation drew the lord’s attention.

“Please, I seek a young girl of fifteen years, she has my skin and hair colours, have you seen her?” Lord Haavik asked the ladies, but Marco and Meliss immediately rushed onto the scene, bags if snacks in their hands. “We ask for no trouble, soldiers,” Marco spoke.immediately. “We have our own money and plan on paying for our transportation off the planet. We harassed no one and......” “Marco, they are asking about Lizandra,” Tenna stated, cutting her brother off. “Lizandra?!“arco exclaimed, looking angrily at Lord Haavik now. “You know where she is?!” the lord asked, very agitated. “You must be Lord Haavik, she told us about you and how you insulted her ceaselessly,” Marco stated.

“Please tell me where my daughter is,” Greg begged. “I have wronged her in the last, nut I am a changed man now.” “We ran into her on the open trails and begged her to come with us, but she wouldn’t,” Tenna explained. “Tenna?!” Marco called in a reprimanding tone. “If her father apologises to her, then she just might return with him instead of continuing out there in the dangerous trails,” Tenna stated. “She is right,” Meliss agreed with her sister. “Please,” Lord Haavik pleaded once more, now noticing that Marco was the one in charge of this group. “I have two vessels with me,” the lord added. “You may take one as a gift. It will get you off the planet and when you get to wherever you wish, you may sell it for alot of money if you so desire. I shall even give you a pilot, just please help me get my child back.”

A scream rang out and everyone looked in the direction from which it had come. They saw a woman with a large blade sticking out of her stomach from behind. The blade belonged was attached to the a long extension sticking out from the back of an abnormally tall man. The man actually had two of such extensions in his back, each with the blade at its end. The man let the woman drop off his blade and as he took a pole which hung at his side, it generated a blade which was of a strange blue light. The man moved and killed another person, a Vinish man this time. Then Lord Haavik and the others noticed even more men like the first. They were all over the place, just massacring people........The mantis men were inside the Halo-Bir capital now.

“What are those?” Tenna asked. “I have never seen them before,” Marco replied. “Follow me to my vessels fast!” Lord Haavik half-ordered and the others did not argue. They all ran toward the archway leading to where the landing bay where the vessels waited. As they went, Marco noted that bullets did nothing to harm these strange men, neither did magic, or swords. He didn’t see one of them go down, but all who went up against them was cut down.

They got to the landing bay now and found a convoy with Halo-Bir royal guards around the cars. Also present and in a state of shock was Priestess Holeh Vitis, ruler of the Holydoma, Halo-Bir. She was forty years of age, but her ageless beauty made her look but thirty. She was regal and dressed in a flowing white gown with a tall, white crown on her head.

“Lord Haavik, I only just received message of your arrival. Why was I not informed of your coming?” “Priestess,” Lord Haavik said with a quick bow. “I come seeking my daughter and your city is under attack by some semi- giants who seem to be immune to all forms of killing methods we possess,” Greg explained. “You must get on one of my vessels with these people and leave now. I shall have the pilot stop by your palace and pick up your family. “But who are these people, Lord Haavik?” the priestess asked. “I do not know,” Greg replied. “I must replace my daughter, please hurry into the vessel.” “You have a daughter?” the priestess asked. “I will yell you of it when we meet again,” Greg replied, then turned to Marco. “Tell me where my daughter is and you and your people may leave with the priestess,” he told Marco.

Marco looked at his sisters, he knew what he was going to say next would not please them. He let out a sigh, then turned to Lord Haavik. “Your daughter made quite the impress on my family and I in the short time we knew her, sir,” he told the lord. “She must be long gone from the last place we saw her, thus I shall lead you in the direction she went because I want her back safe.” “What?!” Meliss, Tenna and Amisha exclaimed in unison. “If you are going, then I go with you,” Tenna stated. “We need not even risk it at all,” Meliss pointed out, “The man only said to point him in the right direction, not take him to her.”

“I cannot leave that child out there. You saw her. She is too weak and innocent and you three cannot come with me,” Marco stated, all Linus needed to hear. Linus signalled three Bruttites to cuff the ladies from behind and they were moving slowly to carry out his orders. Marco saw the Bruttites take out handcuffs and close in on his sisters and lover from behind and hd kept silent. “You girls need to understand,” he spoke, then stepped up to in between his two sisters and placed a hand on each one’s face. “I do this because I love you,” he said, just as the bruttites locked the cuffs around all three ladies’ wrists.

All three ladies complained and struggled, but Bruttites dragged them into the vessel. Meliss was the one kicking the most, while Tenna just stayed silent. “Unhand me!” Meliss screamed, dragging against the Bruttites, but they were powerful soldiers, quite equal to her. “May I just say one last thing to my brother before we leave?” Tenna gently requested. “Let me hear her ,” Marco replied and the Bruttite holding the fairy stopped leading her away.

Marco came up to Tenna. “Lean closer,” the fairy said and her brother leaned forward. Tenna stood on her toes and kissed Marco on the forehead, chanting something as she did so. Her lips printed themselves on Marco’s forehead, then the print vanished. “Be careful,” she whispered, then turned around and walked up the ramp without any Bruttite assistance. Marco watched Tenna until she went through a door within the vessel. All his three ladies were safely within the vessel and the Halo-Bir priestess was rushing in now, her royal guards going with her. Marco returned to Lord Haavik’s side.

“Secure all entrances to this landing bay, Linus,” Greg told his friend. “I need this vessel here when I return with Lizandra. Not even any civilians should get through. Shoot if necessary, but I need this vessel ready to take my child off this planet.” “What?!” exclaimed Linus. “I am not coming with you?” Greg walked up to Linus and put his hands on his friend’s shoulders. “I need you here, Linus,” he spoke. “Lizandra needs you here. I might not return, but at least I shall know that my daughter is safe in your hands.” Linus opened his mouth to make an argument, then he shut it once more. “This vessel will be here when you and Lizandra return, even if my life need be given, my lord,” the P.A. said. “Thank you, my friend,” Greg spoke, then hugged Linus.

Greg turned to Marco. “Follow me,” he spoke, then moved toward the exotic sedan vehicle that had been brought aboard one of his vessel. “All guards stay here and guard this vessel with your lives!!” Lord Haavik yelled. “Yes, my lord!!” the Bruttites replied in unison. “You should take some Bruttites with you,” Linus stated. “That was an order, Linus,” Greg replied, then got into the driving seat of the exotic sedan. Marco got into the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Just as Greg drove out of the landing bay through the archway, the vessel bearing Marco’s family and the priestess of Halo-Bir, lifted off the ground.

“Okay, soldiers,” Linus said once Lord Haavik and the second space vessel were gone. “I need two armoured SUVs blocking that archway and all soldiers ready for combat. House Haavik wants this vessel here and ready to leave upon their return and we must make it so.” The Bruttites moved to do as ordered. Linus turned to one Bruttite. “You get me a sword and gun,” he ordered, then turned to another Bruttite. “You go and tell the pilots. I want this vessel running and ready to leave at all time,” he ordered the second Bruttite.