When it was in full flow, the single Star-Tower would suck Earth dry of the adventurous, the stupid, the poor and the desperate. People would eventually wonder if what had happened was part of some devilish Alien plan...
It would be many years until the terrible truth came back from the stars.
However, Prime Minister 'Teflon Tony' as he would always be known and his cronies worldwide did very well under the largess from the Krells.
It was the rest of us that 'paid the piper'.
#
On my sixteenth birthday I received my last important letter. To be more accurate, it was actually the last letter of any kind that I ever received!
I had left school six months before and with the poor economic situation in the country there had not been any further-education, training or work available, not even for someone with an Electro-Organic Calculator!
That fateful morning I entered our threadbare and chilly kitchen hoping to consume a warmed-up Basic-Sustenance-Bar with some 'Krelly-Jelly' before the electrical power went off for the day. The central heating hadn't worked for ages and so Father sat at the table wearing his favourite, but now very tatty, pullover for warmth. He didn't have much hair left now and held his empty pipe in his mouth out of habit because tobacco products had become unobtainable along with many other things.
Mother was drawn, grey-headed and prematurely old.
As soon as I picked up the letter saw the ‘Krell World Technologies’ over-stamp, I knew what it was. My stomach clenched as I looked at my parents and realised I would be leaving them soon.
Opening the envelope the body of the missive confirmed my worst fears;
Dear Sir,
We note that you are A) Unemployed. B) Not in Further Education. C) Over sixteen years of age.
Under the Compulsory Terms Section of the 'OffWorld Labour Supply and Taxation Bill’ (2026) you are ordered to report to the OffWorld Contract Assembly barracks at the Krell Star Tower no later than four days from the date on this communication.
Failure to comply is punishable by not less than two (2) years hard-labour on a Krell Asteroid Mining Ship: the exact destination to be decided by 'Krell World Technologies'.
Auto-signed on behalf of K.W.T. Ltd. (Recruitment-Enablement Section).
I grew temporarily faint with the shock. Mother and Father tried to make the best of it saying that at least I would get some Technical or Agricultural training that would stand me in good stead when I came back.
Responding in kind, I forced a smile and said, "At least you'll both get regular payments on my behalf from K.W.T. that'll make life a bit easier!"
To each other we kept the cheerful charade going right up until the day I kissed them both goodbye at the front door and walked down the garden path, not daring to look back.
All three of us knew that not one O.W.C. (OffWorld Contractor) had ever returned home.
#
Inside the Krell Star Tower was hectic and very busy. As we OWC recruits waited in line for our physical examination, large alien vehicles trundled past us loaded with goods from the massive transport elevators. What luggage we had brought with us had been thrown haphazardly into a pile by the Krells at the Tower entrance and we were told we would be reunited with it once we boarded ship. I never saw my suitcase again and no one else was reunited with their personal effects either. It was the first deception of many.
This was also my first opportunity to see a real live Krell close up. They had an average height of a little over seven feet. Of humanoid form, their skin had a greenish tinge, no bodily hair was evident and their heads were covered with short green snake-like fronds. The eyes twice as large as the Earth norm were mounted over a delicate nose and a lipless mouth filled with lots of sharp canine teeth. As a result most earth people, excepting 'Teflon Tony', found them repulsive and frightening.
A very bored Krell Medical Officer sat by the Health Monitor. The machine consisted of a large portal that we each had to enter and stand in for thirty seconds to be analysed. The Krell struggled to stay awake and groggily directed the OWC's forward to the Mining or Agricultural embarkation elevators.
Up ahead there was a shrill alarm from the Monitor and a short mousey-looking girl was pulled to one side. Quickly, what I learned was a Senior Krell Medic appeared and one look at the readout was enough. The girl was ushered none too gently through a side door. It was the first time I ever saw Jella, the only girl I have ever loved.
My turn came and the alarm sounded again. I experienced a hope, soon to be dashed, that I was being rejected by the machine and would be soon home with my parents!
I too was pushed through the side door and found myself in a passageway where military personnel hustled and bustled by, some carrying equipment, and some carrying weapons. Next to me was the mousey girl, Jella and across the corridor stood a grim looking Krell Prefect who glared at us. He was armed with a Stinger Wand, an unpleasant device that all OWC's would be familiar with before they even reached an alien world!
"Hello," I said and held my forearm next to hers where two Electro-Organic Calculators shone side by side, "Look, snap."
We both laughed and it was then we experienced the unpleasant electrical stimulus of the Stinger while the Krell Prefect barked, "Silence Savages!"
At the time it looked like we both had been singled out because of the Calculators but it wasn't that, the technology was crude and primitive to the Krells. It was the Nanos that teemed in our blood and the resulting physiology made us suitable for other work far more useful to our new Masters than Agriculture or Mining.
#
OffWorld Contract WilTho26Terra. Year 1.25 Location: Messier 33 Globular Cluster. Loran Solar System, Asteroid Belt.
The Loran solar system consisted of a single planet orbiting one of two binary suns. The Lorans were humanoid with a short yellow fur covering most of their bodies. How they told each other apart I could never understand! Their civilisation was very advanced by earth standards and promised much for their future. Unfortunately, orbiting both suns in a rough figure eight was one of the densest and richest asteroid belts the Krells had ever detected. And what the Krells couldn't buy, they took.
After experiencing the aggressive and threatening First Contact of the Krells the Lorans were aghast and forbid the Krells further access to the solar system. The Lorans then rapidly established forward weapons posts amongst the asteroids to ensure that access was prevented and it was to one of these that my Attack Group was sent. It was also where I would first experience the horrors of fighting for my Krell Masters.
Our twenty-four-man Attack Squad had been inserted by a series of small transports that the Lorans had not been able to spot with their inefficient radar technology and we now lay scattered inside a crater. Nearby the Aliens banged away with their anti-aircraft guns at our approaching carriers, occasionally scoring a direct hit with the solid, explosive projectiles that made them clap each other on the back with satisfaction. They didn't know we were about to spoil the party.
Inside my spacesuit readouts gave me the countdown from our section leader. It also gave me the position of my fellow soldiers. I was at the end of the line, being the New Boy, and next to me was Jella the mousey-haired girl with the Calculator. Using our Nanos to support their technology, the Krells had given us both a plasti-steel body-coating and her Calculator, like mine would never be accessible again.
My earpiece came to life, "Wonder if our luggage has arrived yet, Will?"
It was Jella, as Irreverent as ever. I had made the mistake of trying to correct her once and insisted that my name was Wilson. Bad idea! 'Will' it would forever be.
The loud ringing voice of our Overseer screamed over the Squad-Net, "Silence Earthies, prepare to move!"
The hairs on my neck stood up as I thought of the despised Krell Overseer behind me, eager to use his Stinger.
In unison we stuck our antiquated laser rifles over the crater wall and took aim. The Lorans immediately saw us but t
here were only a dozen or so and our twenty four lasers managed to despatch them in one fusillade. The main problems with the lasers were that they had been discarded as obsolete by the mainstream Krell military and required two seconds to recharge. The modern pulse-rifles were not given to non-Krell personnel. After all, there were plenty more Earthies where we came from!
We climbed from cover and ascended the small incline where the big gun was mounted. It was a disgusting mess of dead Lorans, some of whom had died as their suits exploded. It was at this point we realised that our Section Leader hadn't moved and it turned out that he'd caught a Loran projectile. His visor was internally painted by frozen blood and he was quite dead, the only experienced soldier we had, not counting the Krell Overseer.
Moving the dead enemy out of the way we proceeded to carry out Normal Operating Procedure that entailed planting demolition charges on the enemy gun. Abruptly the ComNet informed us, "Enemy troop-carrier approaching on vector Blue 54. No time for extraction, sorry. Good luck!"
The shock to us was palpable; each of us wondered what do we do? Totally inexperienced we could see that we would be slaughtered. The Overseer suddenly went to pieces and we heard him screaming over the ComNet demanding that someone come and get him. He lashed out with his Stinger to clear a way as he attempted to leave the gun emplacement and our second-in-command received a fatal blow.
Before he reached another trooper and before I realised what I was doing, my laser burned a hole through his helmet. The despised Krell stopped screaming, flopping lifeless to the ground.
Jenna shouted to me from the Loran Gun Control, "I can't understand how to get it going!"
Quickly, I knew what to do. "Use your laser to cut the electrical and control cables. We'll rotate it by hand."
Several lasers lanced out and the gun was free to be moved.
We knew from which direction the Loran vessel would approach and it took all of us to swivel the heavy weapon to face that way. We would have only one shot. The declination I guessed would be at just above the asteroids nearby horizon and I shouted for the rest of the squad to spread the remaining cannon shells over any flat spaces nearby.
Swapping the useless lasers for Loran Projectile Rifles, we lay in wait pretending to be dead. I hid next to the cannon with one hand upon the firing lever, one eye on the horizon and one heart hoping our plan would actually work!
Soon the hovering shape of an enemy troop carrier appeared over the horizon, its troop bay doors open and troop pods dropping. Its weapons lashed out with hot plasma, seemingly at random and too close for comfort! Inside my suit Personnel-Lights winked out on my Attack Group display as the plasma weapon found its mark.
I pulled the firing lever and the recoil passed into the ground and threw me vertically several meters. But we were lucky! The shell disappeared into the Loran vessel and detonated. The ship began to burn internally and to slowly settle onto the jagged rocks, all the while still dispensing hundreds of burning troop pods to the asteroids surface.
We were well outnumbered when the surviving Lorans appeared and attacked. We fired into the shells we had purposely littered about and soon we were alone in the smoking, glowing silence.
There were thirteen of us left.
In due course a Krell transport arrived to pick us up and it was loaded with Military Police who demanded to know what had happened to our Overseer. They were not concerned at all over the deaths of eleven Earthies. We OWC's said nothing.
Before we boarded, they then demanded we throw the Loran weapons back and retrieve the despised Laser rifles. At this juncture we told them in succinct Krell-Gutterspeak what they could do with their Lasers. This was when there were a few scuffles and I received another Stinger wound.
#
OffWorld Contract WilTho26Terra. Year 1.9 Location: Messier 33 Globular Cluster. Loran Home World.
After capturing the asteroid belt the Krells didn't waste time. From far orbit, they decimated the major Loran cities, thus destroying the social cohesion of the civilisation; the end result being starvation and lawlessness. Then, as they had on hundreds of subject worlds before, they landed their 'Recruitment-Teams' that would feed the Lorans into the ever hungry maw of the Armed Forces of Krella, Empire of the Green Sun.
With the remnants of my Attack Group I found myself overseeing security for the food dispensers and Medical staff at a Supply Station that ministered to Loran Refugees. I was now the Group-Leader.
We also had a new Overseer but he was wary of us and more or less kept out of our way because it was rumoured that his predecessor had came to a suspicious end.
The conquered Lorans were a sorry bunch, half starved and beaten. Some wore the tattered remnants of their uniforms and defeat shone from their eyes. Although we Earthies dare not show it, we felt sorry for them and not a little ashamed of our part in their downfall. As a result, rather than sit idly by as they queued for food we patrolled the long line and brought the more desperate cases to the front.
About halfway down the line Jella knelt alongside a Loran Trooper who had collapsed in the dust. His comrades were grateful for the attention she gave him as she ministered to a nasty Pulse-gun burn on his chest.
"Let's get him to the medic and he should be alright," said Jella.
"Stretcher bearers, here," I shouted but was nearly knocked over by the arrival of an Intel-Car containing four Krell Intelligence Troops.
"Belay that, Earthie. Don't waste precious Krell resources on that filth," shouted an obviously drunken Officer. He leaped from the car and gave the unfortunate Loran a hefty kick that threw Jella into the dust.
We had heard rumours that these so-called Intelligence Operatives thrived on torturing captives and killing indiscriminately. We also had heard that they especially preferred Earthie subjects.
The Krell swayed drunkenly and said, "I am Commander Gastor, Earthie. Stand back whilst I teach these Lorans some manners!"
Gastor probably had never seen a shot fired in anger and could pretend to be brave with prisoners who could not fight back.
He pulled his pulse pistol from its holster and pressed the 'arm' switch.
The pistol was dropped into the dirt for Jella to retrieve when my Loran Projectile rifle rammed into the alcohol-flushed green skin of Gastor's face. By this time the rest of my Group had arrived and the other three drunks sat in the car, not moving. They realised that they were out of their depth and death waited for them nearby.
Gastor began to bluster and shout in outrage at the humiliation he was experiencing. I pulled the muzzle from his plump face and sent him to sleepyland with a tap on his chin from the stock.
The car disappeared in a cloud of dust and I noticed that word was passing down the line about the Earthies actually protecting Lorans and people began to stare and point.
They were still pointing when the Krell Military Police heavy cruisers arrived complete with heavy weapons and over eighty troopers.
The fact that Gastor had been drunk was the only thing that saved us from summary execution. However this particular Krell was not the type to forgive loss-of-face, even if he brought it on himself.
In a matter of hours we found ourselves ordered to the Trill System where the valiant Armed Forces of Krella were being fought to a standstill and experiencing severe attrition.
#
OffWorld Contract WilTho26Terra. Year 2.3 Location: Trill System, circa planet 17.
The Trills had watched the Krells for over eighty years and were ready for them.
Many times they had watched as the Krell Battle Fleets had by-passed their system on their way to subjugate races living on planets with more valuable assets. The tales had come back to Trill Homeworld of the total ruthlessness of the Empire of the Green Sun via refugees and from information garnered from secret listening posts near the warzones.
When the Krell 34th Battle fleet entered the Trill system no time was wasted by either side on false negotiations. Trill nuclear mines destroyed several large
sections of the fleet and disabled many warships by means of the accompanying Electromagnetic Pulses.
Once the exterior of the convoy-shell was opened, the Trills fell upon the soft unarmed ships within. Jella and I were in one of these and had just enough time to don spacesuits before hull was ruptured by Trill Commandos.
Some hours later my Attack Group was down to eight personnel, our lost comrades floating somewhere outside our punctured hull with their Trill brethren. With the light from a nearby electrical fire, I looked into Jella's eyes and smiled. A warm smile back with the retort, "Guess we'll never get our luggage now..."
CommNet announced, "Stand by to repel boarders."
In the dark tunnel of an access way near the skin of the dying ship we checked our Loran Projectile Weapons and were glad we'd managed to keep them. Strictly speaking they were illegal in most pressurised environments but had proved the most effective weapons we had. The Krells had made the occasional half-hearted effort to make us take the antiquated lasers but it was a dangerous undertaking for the Overseer trying to do it.
Jella and I knew that here in the Trill System the Krells had finally met their match. This was the first time they hadn't been able to steamroller over a foe, even with superior numbers.
I peeked around the bend and several Trills were entering the tunnel via a blast-hole in the fuselage. With any luck they would stay bunched up, just long enough. I signalled my men and we moved into the open to pour fire into what was now over a dozen Trills.
As their spacesuits were punctured I could feel the concussion from the escaping gases and sometimes, I fancied I could hear their faint death screams.
Suddenly from behind hot fingers of Trill Electro-Plasma reached us.
EMPIRE OF THE GREEN SUN Page 6
