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The Traeian Trilogy

Book 2: Guns of Freedom
Those who wish for lasting peace,
Soon sadly find bitter truth in this,
For without pain who will know bliss,
The war is won when all foes perish.
- The Scripts of Ixu

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 CONTENTS
MAPS

Map of Charon i
Map of Damar ii
Map of Terrania iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements iv
Author's Preface v
Prologue vi
Version Page vii

Chapter 1 1
Chapter 2 22
Chapter 3 -
Chapter 4 -
Chapter 5 -
Chapter 6 -
Chapter 7 -

APPENDICES

Glossary ix
Traeian military ranks xiv
Important dates xv

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MAPS

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MAP OF CHARON

i
MAP OF DAMAR

ii
MAP OF TERRANIA

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 THE TRAEIAN TRILOGY
BOOK II – Guns of Freedom
For Africa, continent of great hope

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
When I wrote book one of this trilogy I knew not how successful I expected it to be.
The optimistic ego wanted the book to be a bestseller and be read by millions. The
practical logic just wanted the book to make it to bookstores. When the actual impact
of the book was assessed I knew that I had support. One person reading the book
and enjoying it was enough reward for me. And my first acknowledgement is
therefore to all who read book one - To Higher Ground. Without you all I would
never have finished this book. Thank you all and may God bless you greatly.

I cannot forget the efforts of Scribd who managed the almost impossible task of
putting together a presentable online book from a rather well-formatted PDF file.
They have truly been kind.

Much support and encouragement came from friends who believed in this book
even before book one was released. I can only express the most profound gratitude
for their motivation, without which I would have disappointed many by failing to
complete book two.

As always I would like to thank the one creator who makes us and forgives us
wholeheartedly for our hate, plots and envies against our fellow humans. Each new
day He gives is priceless for it is full of life and life cannot be traded.

This book is dedicated to who support imaginative thinking, for it is from the virtual
world in the mind that most of reality walks out.

Kingsley Ouko Ndiewo

NAIROBI, 2009

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 AUTHOR'S PREFACE
I am Section Commander Ariann Vorcia of the Armed Forces of Terrania's Limedla
Frontier Force (LFF), first child of Governor Biarzi Delawwe of Travorcia Region and
Director-General Luna Vorcia of the Galactic Fleet Research who are now in the
universal heaven. I am of the first generation born on Terrania and I served in the
Armed Forces of Terrania (AFT) during the Vorra wars in the Meliwa Empire which
resulted in our present situation. As a result of my desires as a descendant of Trae I
have presented this report to the Tennsi History Office so that it may be made
available for all the dwellers of Terrania, Trae and other sentients across the
universe. The report is the outcome of many discussions I had with my parents in
which they enriched me with knowledge of past wars and peacetimes that explain
our origins. We Tennsi have grown up in an infant society where cultural changes
occurred every sa; our history is not as long as that of our ancestral lands. I hope that
this report will enrich this youthful history. To the best of my ability I have sought
help to produce translations of this document for each specific sentient race that is
known to us. I have tried my best to write this report as impartially as possible, and if
any section of the report shows any bias towards the Tennsi then I beg your
indulgence.

I give it to you that you may appreciate the relationship between the Tennsi and
Traeians and so that hopefully a union may be achieved between these two great
divisions of our original homeland. The Second Traeian Revolution brought freedom
to Trae but our parents chose to sacrifice peaceful life in their liberated homeland
and take freedom to the oppressed and exploited sentients of the Limedla galaxy
instead. They ceased to be Traeians and became Tennsi which means 'liberator' in
the old Limedlan tongue that we have forged our language from. Now we must seek
to unite again as a species whose lands spread over two galaxies and live as one, as
Traeians.

Denarra Keeping,
Isabel Satellite Territory,
Republic of Terrania,
Aqnel of Nel-1102

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 PROLOGUE
All in great Menuel shall shake,
For the Vorra mean a war to make,
For all including lovely Isabel's sake,
With Trae's help the empire shall quake.

Joran's daughter she oathed to wage,

A war yet youthful it knows not age,
And till the final battle takes the stage,
The Vorran wars fill more than a page.

And lovely Tyrea what will be her fate?

Will she unfurl secrets of her great mate?
Asked of her youth what will she state?
Read on ahead and you'll be up to date!
- Parliani Hurewq

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 VERSION INFORMATION
Target Language: English language
Planet: 3rd Sphere of Fissill-9 Galaxy
Local Name: Earth or Terra firma
Translation by: Kingsley Ndiewo

Short Description:
The 3rd sphere of Fissill-9 Galaxy is fertile and has a surface covered more than 60
percent with a transparent liquid that is vital to life there as aqa is to us. The planet
contains one species of sentients which is dominant on all land surfaces with its
recorded civilization duration being approximately 50 cent-nel long. The species is
known as 'homo sapiens sapiens' or 'man' according to the above named translator.
Latest developments include low-level efforts at developing Class-M nuclear
weaponry which seems to be lethal to man. It is the first recorded incidence of usage
of primitive nuclear technology in weaponry anywhere in the universe. Man, who
respires aerobically, displays a largely inefficient and wasteful use of planetary
resources and geophysical scientists predict that the planet will support the rather
fragile creatures on it for less than 10 more cent-nel if it is assumed that no contact
will be made with Trae.
Earth has two semi-sentient species that are worth mentioning and these are the
'dolphin' and the 'whale' which both live in the liquid medium vital to earth. These
two species have rudimentary communication and social systems and display
spontaneous emotional response which is a basic property of sentient creatures.

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 CHAPTER 1
As you rush to much bloodshed,
Grave wounds afflict many heads,
And past injustices seem heavier,
Tempers are lost so much quicker.

Tricks and ruses turn ground red,

Folly and flaw, the bane of the dead,
Even the skies seem so much darker,
For where there is smoke there's fire.
- Ixu has Spoken

The Great Divide

Luna was hungry and there was little strangeness in that for it was nearing 05:00LH
MMT and in Terrania this was lunchtime. During this Aztesa vacation she was in Kar-
Vorra on a courtesy call to Jokpim-806, the Commander-in-Chief of the AFT. It was
more or less a visit to discuss plans within plans regarding the Meliwa problem; the
Terranian Republic strangely considered the looming war a problem - something
that was merely a matter of solution. And in this particular vacation the Meliwa
problem hung heavy in the planet - the attack was due in a little more than a nel
according to the intelligence that a certain 'piggyback' program had gathered in the
Aqnel of Nel-891.

Possibly even the planet spirit was also snared in this enveloping anxiety that saw
military officers regularly conducting air-raid drills with the wadi in every city. The
air-raid bunkers now present in all of Terrania's cities filled a certain Jokpim-511
with pride simply because they were his idea and that was something definitely
worth some pride. As an extension of this idea by the Terranian authorities, a giant
underground network was in the design stage; intended to stretch in a triangle with
apices at Travorcia, Tennsivorra and Samiroz. This cavernous undertaking would
indeed be a bunker-city of sorts where production of vital supplies could be
continued in the case of a surface devastation. Even the most ignorant of wadi,
unschooled in the art of war would tell you that once production was halted victory
belonged to the enemy. Of course the bunker-city was not intended merely to keep
farms and industries going; a refuge for the inhabitants of a planet - the site for their
final stand - was vital to the prosperous one. In this and other pending plans,
planning followed swiftly by execution was the philosophy that all Terranians still
held dear; to say the truth it was what had carried them so far in such a short while.
However, planning and then waiting for an external hand to make the first move; this
was new. There had been no more spy plane incidents in the heavily watched and
patrolled Terranian sky and since the Meliwa attack was expected to occur
somewhere in Aqnel of Nel-894 there was talk of surprising the enemy in Isabel with
some RECONDAs. It was not wise to fight a war in defensive mode - allowing the

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enemy to invade - and AFT commanders thought perhaps some form of pioneer
attack force might send back a glimpse of what the enemy was planning to fly across
the galaxy borders. In intergalactic war Movozik Weya's strategies of giving ground
would be suicidal; the Meliwa Empire quite probably possessed more troops than
the entire population of Dromin-3.

In Trae, the federation had little concern about war and indeed was planning a third
bridge to link southern Damar to southern Charon - enjoying peace that had been
rather dearly bought in the Second Traeian Revolution. This would require the
significant upgrading of the two potential bridge-cities of Gallkur and Trentes in
Charon and Damar respectively. The land of the blue desert ouiga was feeling very
upbeat about this development which was really only the tip of the iceberg in state
plans. The Traeian Federation had commissioned an exploration of the three planets
neighboring Trae outwards from Solanus to determine the presence of life and
minerals; a substantial source of ryst had to be found for the new bridge.

A new source of ryst would also reduce or even eliminate the amounts imported
from the prosperous one and if gold was also found then Terrania would face
economic irrelevance in Trae's eyes. Of course no one said this openly but it was
part of the plan. As a matter of policy of course no expansionist adventures would be
attempted on any planet settled by sentients; Trae had strict laws against slavery and
oppression. It would be wise to note that the Terranian Republic was not consulted in
this matter which they naturally would have wished to hear about, being part of
Dromin-3 and therefore an interested party. Exploration would begin in early Solnel
of Nel-895 and preparations were already underway to develop hostile-environment
gear which the explorers would use. A slight problem was of course that Terrania
had very efficient means of interplanetary and even intergalactic transport while
Trae only had P-12 Skieters which lacked capacity.

A P-12 could cross over to any of the three planets in question but once there it
would be out of fuel and would only have a maximum of two passengers for a good
fuel-distance ratio. The Dromin-3 Ports Authority was an independent body that was
financed directly from a permanent reserve contributed to by both governments
every nel; though they had long-range ships they would not support any unilateral
moves. The Terranian Republic of course got wind of this matter from their
ambassador to Trae and for the time being chose silence, promising to comment on
the matter after they had dealt with the Meliwa problem. Speaking of whom, the
Meliwa had advanced little in terms of speed even in their new P-13 clones which the
AFT had learnt about two nel ago. Of course the Meliwa did not call their ship the
Skieter; they had named it the Meliwa Isshar. It was well accepted within the AFT that
any large troop movement on the imperialist's part would take a very long time to
cross the intergalactic expanse and there would be much time for the Terranians to
plan a welcoming committee, though not of the type that a certain Biarzi Delawwe
would like.

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It should not be thought that Luna was in Kar-Vorra behind the AFT's back - she was
merely consulting with others of military inclination before the war conference that
was to be held in Altenna during Solnel of Nel-894. There she intended to reveal one
more GFR surprise; the Galactic Fleet Research had not been idle. At Jokpim's house
one could see various signs of the emerging confluence of Vorra and Traeian culture
which we call Tennsi. Of course many aspects of the so called 'Vorra culture' are
indeed Meliwa in origin, for the slave lives as his master commands and dares not
display his uniqueness openly. Simple Traeian wooden furniture had been livened
up with some intricate Meliwan designs - flowers, birds and even an odd dragon. A
rich carpet of dark green fabric lay as testimony of a uniquely Vorra textile craft
which very surprisingly had been retained from their pre-slavery times. As has been
the Meliwa custom for generations Luna was welcomed with a glass of spiced Meliwa
tea which was every bit as wonderful as it sounds.

"We have the operating framework set up. Two hundred RECONDAs can be sent to
Isabel and guided from the space control stations we built. The units might be able
to inflict massive damage on the Meliwa fleet if we use the element of surprise well.
And consider that we already know where exactly the ships will be concentrated."

"But commander, we know what sort of planetary defenses the Meliwa Empire must
have in place and their heightened military alertness before invasion. I was of the
thinking that such action as you propose would inevitably lose us two hundred
expensive T-11s and only serve to delay the attack. I don't think we want them to
know about the T-11's just yet. If we could keep your space stations floating near the
Limedla as an early-warning system then we can attack the Meliwa invasion fleet in
space where it is most vulnerable and probably throw a large radio cloak to prevent
them using their UHF transceivers. There we might even deploy six thousand T-11s
and with their projected kill ratio..."

The question of whether to pre-empt the Meliwa or not was in many ways a technical
question. One might equally ask: Is the RECONDA deadliest in Isabel, in space or
within Terrania? A strategist's way of putting it would be whether war with a large
empire was best fought offensively or defensively. The AFT now had twelve
thousand AFT-11s and this was very justifiably seen as a formidable force even if
used alone. With the war being a real threat slightly over a quarter of the Terranian
Republic worked in the military. The AFT had a fleet of one hundred and forty-three
thousand armed ships, among them T-11s, Agravells, Skieters, Graffs and Umilins. In
addition to this were about eighty thousand amporters which had created a type of
soldier known as hover infantry. The Terranian Republic was now home to one-
point-two million citizens thanks to massive immigration from Trae. However, this
influx did little to dilute Tennsi culture as many had feared but rather reinforced it.
This was largely due to the fact that far from the religious and linguistic aspects the
culture was very much Traeian. A small percentage of Traeians had expressed
support for the Limedlan war and most of these had visited the offices of the
Terranian Immigration Council in Jarien and Xasme with the intent of seeking to join

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the young Terranian civilization. The Terranian Republic of course had strict policies
pertaining to who was allowed to emigrate to their planet and many were turned
down. Only those willing to accept Tennsi culture and renounce some of the things
that constituted Traeian culture were considered. These things touched on
parentage, long-term relationships, Terranian law and Krasnows. Much of Terrania's
constitution was moderately capitalist while Trae's was rabidly communist. This was
a point that new immigrants learnt to accept and live with easily because the
Terranian Republic was dedicated to the prevention of social stratification along
economic lines. Interestingly, communist Trae had struggled with the problem of
stratification for much of its existence; Damar was for much of history poorer than
Charon. Terrania would never allow this to happen to any of its regions even for a
single sa.

All new immigrants had to take the oath of the Tennsi and be bound by it to defend
the Vorra from imperial oppression. This was what turned many away from living the
Terranian dream - one was either committed to the war or not. It was a question of
how much one was willing to do for the sake of freeing an enslaved race more than it
was a matter of patriotism. By the time the deadline for applications expired on the
21st sa, Solnel of Nel-893 the Terranian Republic's immigration computers in more
than six cities were already sifting through at least half a billion applications. These
of course represented Traeians who had recognized the risks involved in sitting at
the fence as a 25-planet empire attacked a planet with little over a million citizens.
Some of them were driven by the fear of Dromin-3's two known civilizations being
suddenly overwhelmed by Meliwa hordes bearing Krasnows and other weapons of
such power. They intended to do something to help prevent this and Terrania
seemed the only place where this opportunity availed itself. Others were pure
adventure-seekers who found life in the Traeian Federation slow and boring - with
good reason. Aztesa arrived when the republic had accepted three hundred million
applications and fifty million would later be added to these lucky Traeians. The
potential Tennsi citizens were required to learn the language and Tennsi culture at
various Traeian universities after which they would be brought into Terrania in
several groups over a twelve nel period. After this it was decided that no more
immigrants would be allowed from the Traeian Federation; the new population
would be allowed to 'dissolve' into Terrania and from there they would leave
population increase to nature.

The official stand of the Traeian Federation - as has been already stated - was that
Trae was not under any threat. And unlike the former TRF soldiers in retirement,
Traeian wadi largely chose to ignore the contribution of Terrania to the Second
Traeian Revolution. Even among the duoplanet's historians it was claimed that the
war would still have been won without the 'exaggerated heroics' of the Terranian
fleet that invaded eastern Charon. This was of course based on the fact that the TRF
had come out of that war with most of what it went in with. This being the case it was
not generally felt in the Trae that they owed the Tennsi or the Vorra anything. While
they did not object to the pro-Tennsi minority moving to Terrania, the civilian

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government would not hear of voyages to the Limedla. And even after the Terranian
ambassador to the Traeian Federation presented evidence to the Traeian Senate
showing that the Meliwa Empire indeed had expansionist ambitions in Dromin-3 he
was simply told that the Traeian Homeland Defense Forces would only defend Trae
from aggression as their name suggested. Military support would be given to
Terrania on a contractual basis - secondment of THDF soldiers to the AFT with full
pay. It seemed that someone had learnt of Luna Vorcia's statement eight nel ago that
Terrania would sell fuel to Damar and was settling the score in kind; that episode
had caused splits in the TRF Command and not everyone thought Luna was right.
When word got out about the Terranian envoy’s audience in the senate there was
little uproar in Trae itself except of course among the Tennsi-in-waiting. This section
of Trae's population which was mostly Damarian went as far as renouncing their
federal citizenship even as the Terranian ambassador insisted that the episode
should not sour relations between the Dromin-3 neighbors. At least in this he found
the Traeian Federation's support. This was on the 38th sa, Aqnel of Nel-893, the same
sa that Luna was busy discussing the Meliwa problem with Jokpim-806.

At the end of the Aztesa vacation Terrania arranged for the Dromin-3 Ports Authority
to ferry all the accepted immigrants to Terrania since they were - by virtue of their
recent renouncement of Trae - illegally in the duoplanet. As the entire available fleet
of the ports authority was employed in ferrying three hundred and fifty million
people at great cost to the Terranian Republic, every single descendant of 'the
ancients of Damar' knew that the chasm had at last been created between Terrania
and Trae. And with this undertaking the Terranian Republic also made a statement
on the intended explorations by Trae.

[It has come to the attention of the Terranian Republic that our honorable Dromin-3
neighbors the Traeian Federation have commissioned an exploration of the planets
Nelgonn, Jamirfe and Haifal with the intent of finding a minerals resource base. The
official position of our government is that any such exploration be done under the
auspices of the Dromin-3 Ports Authority subject to the mutual anti-exploitation laws.
It is not our concern whether the Traeian Federation wishes to terminate trade with
us in the future and we would be the first to wish them success if they found greater
economic independence. However, the Terranian Republic formally protests the
unilateral decision by the Traeian Federation to explore Dromin-3 and believes
consultations should have been done. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
of Terrania, Field Commander Jokpim-806 has already given notice to his Traeian
counterpart Field Commander Meinha Ziwalen that a unilateral exploration would be
an act of war.]

The transport of the very disillusioned Traeians required exactly a quarter of a

million trips of a single 1400-passenger ship. The Dromin-3 ports authority had five
hundred of the ships serviceable and the AFT availed ten thousand P-08 Mellams for
the operation. They would have employed P-30 Agravells (formerly explorer
warships) had it not been for the Traeian Federation's blanket ban on Krasnows.

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Thus each trip of the fleet would have a capacity of one million and seven hundred
thousand passengers and move at an average speed of 45DZ taking at least six
standard hours. The exercise started at 01:00LH on the 7th sa, Solnel of Nel-894 and
ended two hundred and six trips later, on the 12th sa, Aqnel of Nel-894. This was the
single largest migration of Traeians after the settlement of Charon in Nel-202. At this
time the Terranian Republic had fourteen cities with a capacity of nine hundred
million citizens and the new arrivals found ample space for settling in. Perhaps
Kyoshe had at last found the empty cities worthy of his blessing with citizens. Being
citizens who were very annoyed with the Traeian Federation they would definitely
put much extra effort in becoming Tennsi - if only to distance themselves from the
duoplanet of their origin. Even as this large-scale ferrying was going on it should not
be forgotten that there were other events happening in the planet that was the
migrants' destination.

The Terranian War Conference was held on the 35th sa, Solnel of Nel-894 in the city
where all the immigrants so far arrived had been settled - Altenna. It was attended
by the AFT High Command, the GFR executive, the GFR engineering board and
several military attaches from the Traeian Federation. Here it was decided that the
astronomical population increase was very timely and of course the Meliwa attack
had to be delayed somehow as a new military buildup was executed. Factories in
Terrania could now make great expansions due to increased availability of labor and
of course this meant more AFT-11s could be rapidly procured. It was concluded that
at least twelve AFT space control stations would be positioned close to the Limedla
within the next twenty sa as a cloaked RECONDA unit was sent to Isabel. The unit
would be a dark cloud in the Isabelan sky - literally - and send back pictures of all it
saw. Electronics upgrades were to be added to the RECONDA unit to enable it
intercept radio communications. The whole idea of course bore testimony to the
AFT-11's versatility as a military machine. If intelligence received warranted an
attack then a never-before-imagined twenty thousand AFT-11s would be deployed
to arrive in Isabel by the beginning of Aqnel. It seemed the Terranians would be the
ones showing Menuel a sign of power; the Meliwa isshar would find the Terranian
leinnon a worthy opposite, for that is what the pre-emptive strike by Terrania was
dubbed.

Luna Vorcia and her team unveiled a new GFR marvel - the AFT-12. The integrated
defense and holographic operations - IDAHO - unit was a very useful addition to the
inventory of GFR toys which the AFT had. The IDAHO unit was a perfectly spherical
contraption of about twelve meters radius made of reinforced ryst. Its main job was
to produce holograms similar to those that were employed in testing the AFT-11
within the war theatre by Tyrea Reddz and her colleagues. Enemy ships would
therefore be faced with a large fleet of scattered and entirely virtual ships when the
IDAHO was around. The impressive thing about these holograms was that they
actually registered on radar. The point of course was that enemy ships would
expend a lot of ammunition on targets that were seemingly invincible - no matter
how much you shoot a hologram it just won't go away. Anyone with a little

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knowledge of science would probably dismiss this GFR claim as untrue; radio
signals cannot bounce off a hologram. The GFR had to explain their claims before
anyone in the conference took them seriously. Tyrea Reddz was tasked with this and
being a very skilled professional when it came to holograms she was hardly out of
place.

"Let us for a moment consider the hypothetical situation on the screen here. An
IDAHO unit about one billion kilometers from Isabel is far enough to escape
Menuel's attention since its spherical shape gives the radar return of an asteroid.
However, it is close enough to send extended-range P-ray holograms into Isabelan
atmosphere. This is what the IDAHO does as this animation simulates. Notice that for
the 'invading fleet' to be believable the IDAHO's computer randomly changes fleet
formation. These changes are updated so that every single hologram's position is
known at all times. Next is the apparent magic - virtual radar response. We all know
that interference between P-rays and radio waves brings about a 'flare' of infra-red
rays which no one really cares about...usually. This is what the IDAHO unit watches
out for and detects - we all know the Meliwa are particularly fond of the UHF radio
range (laughter). Immediately after a flare is detected our AFT-12 sends a response
to the source, either an enemy ship or a radar facility in Isabel, corrected for
distance and position of the hologram. So the signal doesn't actually bounce off the
hologram, it just gives us a useful IR flare and IDAHO fakes the bounce. That is a very
brief explanation of the first IDAHO prototype's function. We later realized that all
GFR ships should live up to a certain lack of helplessness and added some weaponry
to the IDAHO so that it wouldn't have to stay one billion kilometers away like a
coward."

The IDAHO unit displayed at the conference looked extremely harmless until it was
activated. Then almost everywhere around the ship's equator hatches opened and
ion cannons alternating with Krasnow lasers popped out. The GFR received a
standing ovation and very many congratulations for a unit well made; like the
AMPORTER before it the AFT High Command wanted it in barracks immediately. The
conference ended with a prayer to the gods, a prayer for peace even as Terrania
prepared for war. The conference had most likely given the Traeian Federation's
attachés a few things to think about on the way home. As an old proverb of Ixu puts
it:

When you choose to make friend or foe,

Look first at the odds of victory in war,
And if their guns count above your own,
Make an ally the wise say, lest you mourn.

For the Dromin-3 Ports Authority it was business as usual with exports and imports
even while ferrying the immigrants and on the surface there was nothing to suggest
that a rift had grown between the two Dromin-3 neighbors. In the Limedla the spying
RECONDA unit began sending back images of Isabel on the 41st sa, Solnel of Nel-

7
894 after a journey of nearly six billion kilometers covered in forty-one standard
hours. From above the Kanris protectorate's ship port the AFT Intelligence Center
received images of full hangars and were able to observe the strange weaponry the
Meliwa had built into their ships - the Taksin atomizer. Of course everyone assumed
it to be some form of Krasnow laser and it was quite a joy to see that the Meliwa had
proceeded to build their ships with the Terranian-modified schematics. All over
Isabel there were P-13 clones armed with Taksin ray guns and Krasnows. The Meliwa
had even copied the takeoff style of a Skieter - nose pointed upward. Their ships of
course were made with the endurance of a Meliwa explorer but with the speed of a
Meliwa jet. The Meliwa Isshar could manage a respectable 60DZ speed which means
it could fly to Terrania in thirteen sa. From the training sessions that the RECONDA
stealthily observed and listened in on the AFT learnt more about the Taksin atomizer
ray and more about the Isshar itself. It was impressive but not overly so to the AFT
six billion kilometers away who had AFT-11s and would soon have AFT-12s; six
thousand terrazim is hardly a large sum to one who has twelve thousand. The
RECONDA unit was commanded to move around the five Vorra planets and report
any suspicious ship movements. The Vorra spheres of Shamra, Katandra, Folonika
and Jinnah had so far been ignored and the AFT did not want to bank on Isabel being
the only attack launch pad however logical that sounded. It was from one of these
incursions - into Katandra - that the RECONDA overheard a very vital piece of
information on the 43rd sa, Solnel of Nel-894 at 06:09LH MMT. Katandra was the
second largest of the Vorra spheres and a very beautiful place indeed - largely
covered with virgin forests and plains of lush green grass, with little pockets of
civilization. It was also the planet where Firtin rebels were mostly concentrated,
taking advantage of the light imperial presence. The RECONDA sent back the
recorded conversation to the AFT Intelligence Center in Alentrazi and when the full
import of the message sank in the Terranian Republic's C-in-C was called.

[Commander Jokpim-806, this is Commander Habirq Ziwwa of the AFT Intelligence

Center. The AFT-11 unit we sent to the Limedla has just sent us news that the Meliwa
seem to have postponed their attack until the 47th sa, Solnel of Nel-897. The delay
occurred because their imperial rulers have tripled the fleet they intend to send and
they now also have Trae factored into their attack. I am sending a full download
immediately.]

Jokpim-806 considered the news as it was conveyed to other members of the AFT
High Command. The Meliwa must really want Terrania if they could invest three
hundred thousand ships in war. But then he understood this very well for he was
Vorra and they were Meliwa; very few species understood each other like these two,
not even after Terrapolis was built. At 08:00LH on this 43rd sa, Solnel of Nel-894 he
summoned a meeting of the AFT High Command in Terrania's newest city - Kartia, a
city directly north of Quattra Ocean on the eastern frontier of Terrania. Many
commanders would travel from Tra-Tennsi but they did not mind much; Terranian
inter-city transport was a matter of seconds. Field Commander Arkin Juder of the
newly formed AFT Limedla Frontier Force was one of these. The commander was

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still in the AFT even now, thirteen nel after he had been appointed head of the then
Traeian Hamrahic Forces by Luna Vorcia. With the formation of the Terranian
Republic the post of Commander-in-Chief was introduced and Commander Juder
lobbied the AFT High Command to elect Jokpim-806 to the position in an admirable
show of selflessness. The AFT High Command had voted him in as Deputy C-in-C
and later the post of head of the Limedla Frontier Force (LFF) was almost literally
handed to him. Arkin's deputy was the current director-general of the GFR and
originator of the oath of the Tennsi - Field Commander Luna Vorcia. She arrived at
08:03LH from Travorcia and found the others already there. The two LFF soldiers
represented their force in the AFT High Command when matters concerning the
Meliwa problem arose. They were to depart Terrania soon with the AFT space
control stations that were at present in Tra-Tennsi awaiting the order to fly into
position two billion kilometers from Isabel. These large saucer-like ships were not in
any way GFR products but the brainchild of the AFT's own research centers. The
space control station was officially known as AFT-01 Stramarra and was the mobile,
miniaturized version of the GFR mission control - functionally speaking. Completely
weaponless but packed with communications, targeting and guidance systems for
the job of supervising a force of RECONDAs, the ship had a crew of twenty; a crew
that was tasked with handling the command mode activities of AFT-11s. Consoles for
various functions filled the wall within the AFT-01 navigation bay which took up the
entire saucer-shaped interior. Four nuclear-fission reactors peripherally situated
powered the ship's three heat-exchange engines. The AFT had in this ship proved
that not only the GFR could make dazzling candidates for the Terranian arsenal.

The meeting of course acknowledged the good fortune that had availed itself and
there were praises for Ixu all around. The government would be advised to concern
themselves more with the settling and integration of the new immigrants and less
with air-raid safety measures now that there was more time. Concerning the
increased attack fleet Terrania would simply follow suit and expand their fleet
appropriately. As all the brilliant minds present understood and sincerely believed,
an assault of three hundred thousand Isshars could be crushed by less than fifty
thousand RECONDAs. Even if the Meliwa Empire were to attack on the morrow they
would soon find themselves in very able hands. As a matter of policy Trae would be
notified of the new intelligence but little was expected to come of that - the Traeian
Parliament had only recently sulkily conceded that exploration of Dromin-3 was best
left be to the Dromin-3 Ports Authority.

The AFT commander in charge of recruitment and training was a TRF veteran who
had come to Terrania in Nel-885 when the TRF still sent labor and troops to the
prosperous one. She was now Front Commander Ixian Ares, the younger sister of
Millox Ares who was shot down by Luna in the battle at Gazii. Ixian knew all about
that but she would have done the same in Luna's position, having joined the TRF two
nel ahead of the GFR Director-General. Military allegiances were more important
than family ties; Ella herself had commanded this. At present she was concerned
about the continued use of P-12 Skieters in Terrania which was an issue that AFT

9
technicians in the hangars had raised. It should of course be noted that at present the
P-13 Skieter was the mainstay of Terrania's defense having proved so much more
effective in all respects than the P-12 Skieter. It had the Tennsi P-12's features plus
the Krasnow laser and during the Second Traeian Revolution it had delivered more
than satisfactory performance. However, the republic still had seven thousand five
hundred P-12s which Ixian proposed should be disposed to civilian uses. Their place
would then be taken by more P-13s, the standard attack ship of Terrania. This would
of course increase the air power of the planet considerably and remove the weak
link in the AFT chain; any inferior ship was a weak link open to enemy exploitation.
Ixian was also of the thinking that a piloted version of the AFT-11 should be
considered - a proposal first made by Ariann Vorcia not too long ago. If a fleet of
RECONDAs could have a few piloted ships in their midst then if they were suddenly
to lose contact with their supervising Stramarras they would still be more than blind
savages. This topic was discussed at length and the meeting was closed at 05:30DH
after seven standard hours of conference.

The RECONDA unit in the Limedla was soon recalled to base and another sent. It was
very important that engineers at the GFR observe the effects of the maiden flight into
the Limedla. The SEP had worked well and the ship had not experienced any
problems communicating from the distant Isabel but some things still had to be
confirmed sound, especially the power plants. Though both the GFR and the AFT had
spent most of Solnel looking at the images the spying giant had sent to the spy
center in Alentrazi they had to admit that the Meliwa atomizer ray was not
technology that could be stolen via aerial reconnaissance sorties. Jokpim-806 of
course considered the possibility of making contact with Firtin rebels and in that way
having a very dependable ally. But of course this would require a stealth mission of
sorts into Katandra; one could not just send an AFT-11 to the forests and expect the
Firtin to swear allegiance to it when they distrusted fellow Firtin. The Terranian
Republic's C-in-C realized that an infiltration of the Meliwa Empire would greatly
help their cause and towards this end he decided to consult Tyrea Reddz about the
training of an elite commando unit which could do such work. It also occurred to him
that there was a Meliwa representative in Terrania - the former spy ship pilot who
was captured in Nel-891. If this pilot's allegiance to Terrania was true then he would
be worth all the goldmines the prosperous one had. A Meliwa ally and a group of
Vorra commandos might just be able to get into the imperial realm and contact the
Firtin or even better - they could begin their own cells of Vorra fighters. Any support
from within the empire would be most welcome and of much advantage. Even as
Jokpim-806 mused on these stealth matters he understood that this was an avenue
that would need consultations before it was exploited; the Meliwa are not known for
any alliances with other sentients.

Perhaps it should be mentioned that the Limedla galaxy contains thirty-six planets of
which twenty-five currently constitute the Meliwa Empire. The other eleven planets
are populated by various sentients and in many cases there is more than one
sentient species on a planet. After the Meliwa the next dominant sentients in the

10
Limedla are the Sachem who controlled six planets. The Sachem are a war-like but
severely divided species who live in tribal groupings that are most of the time at war
with each other. Their only reason for unification is when they are threatened by
another sentient species which explains how they have managed to hold back the
Meliwa advance for as long as anyone can remember. But in Nel-890 they were
defeated by a large Meliwa imperial army and lost two of their planets, bringing the
imperial planet count to its current twenty-five. Within the Meliwa Empire the Vorra
are not alone as slaves though according to the Meliwa they were the easiest
conquest. The very brave Zilenji race held on to their seven planets for a period that
is generally believed to be two cent-nel. But Krasnow power has made the dwarfish
Meliwa the kings of the Limedla without having to resort to tactics such as alliances.
It is unfortunate that their iron grip on the subdued sentients they rule does not allow
them any opportunity to organize concerted uprisings; the Meliwa are much wiser
than Trae's perennially unlucky Grand Command.

As Solnel neared its end fifteen Stramarras departed from the AFT base at Tra-Tennsi
carrying a total crew of three hundred. Among them were three field commanders
all belonging to the LFF and among those seeing them off were Biarzi Delawwe, the
governor for Travorcia and Ariann Vorcia. The ships would stay in space for a whole
nel and supplies would be ferried regularly by means of modified Sephans which
were of course designed for endurance. This was, for purposes of historical record
the 54th sa, Solnel of Nel-894. It was not a mission as such but rather a way of
acclimatizing the LFF to life in space; that was a life many of them would probably
live for very long periods within the dec-nel. It was intended that some IDAHOs
would be sent to the fleet at a later date since only prototypes of the AFT-12 were
available at present.

Terrania in the Solnel of Nel-894 was much different from the Terrania Kyoshe had
began leading in Nel-882. Twelve nel had of course been spent in building,
development and agriculture. And a part of this agriculture was forestry - the art of
planting trees that brought rain, provided timber and broke winds. The Terrania
Forestry Authority had been busy since Nel-885 doing what its name suggested it
did. Nurseries in Altenna and Travorcia held Charonian gragwick seedlings which
were just beginning their six dec-nel journey to adulthood. But light forests of
Traeian muzzella had been strategically planted in many places to serve as a good
foundation for larger trees which would eventually be planted. This activity would
encourage rain in Terrania, where no rain had occurred yet even so long after
clouds began dotting the prosperous one's skies. It was predicted that rain would fall
within a few dec-nel if a sustained effort at planting forests was applied. Meanwhile
mechanized irrigation did the job well enough and the prosperous one still had
bountiful harvests. Zili featured very dominantly in the Terranian staple, and with
time the innovative Tennsi had made various recipes for the crop native to the
Limedla. It must be said that though grazing was the traditional Traeian way of
feeding the Tennsi had borrowed the art of cooking from the Vorra. It was peculiar at
first to see cooked dishes in eating houses and homes but everyone soon got used to

11
cooking. Needless to say, the development made seafood very much more popular;
raw meat is never as tasty as cooked meat. Leygiars and Traeian sharks found
themselves out of Quattra Ocean and onto grills and spits where neighborhood
roasts were popularized by a certain governor for Travorcia. Perhaps you might be
interested in a simple Terranian recipe that is guaranteed to hand you the status of a
culinary genius:

SHARK SURPRISE
Ingredients
• 4 medium-sized Traeian sharks (the best are about half a meter and come
from Lake Mez)
• 3 baskets of zili (finely chopped)
• 1/2 basket of assorted spices (I would recommend Kar-Ziten market)
• 1 can of Limedla Surprise! Sauce
Method
1. Clean and cut the fish (everyone has their own style). Leave to drain.
2. The zili must be boiled for half a standard hour unless very tender.
3. Fry the spices in vegetable fat until a deep green. Then add to your zili.
4. Simmer for another half a standard hour. Your vegetables are now done.
5. As your vegetables simmer you should be busy frying your sharks. This
might take a while unless you like the meat slightly raw.
6. Carve your fish and mix into the vegetables. Add the sauce all over the
cauldron.
7. Let the food stand for at least ten minutes for the sauce to sink in – literally.

Arkin Juder reviewed his situation from the navigation bay of his AFT-01 Stramarra,
perhaps with a few wayward but mouth-watering thoughts of Shark surprise.
Eighteen AFT-12s were due this sa to arrive at their location which had been
designated as 'Area 50' for easy reference. Of course the alternative was to refer to
the area by its 3-dimensional space co-ordinates which would be very cumbersome
when one was giving a status report. The IDAHO units were intended to provide
protection to Area 50 which currently had fifteen very impressive but weaponless
ships; the AFT did not want any chance wandering of a Meliwa squadron into Area 50
to result in the loss of fifteen saucer-shaped Stramarras worth at least two million
terrazim each. The IDAHOs would be fresh from the factory and the commander
knew that his deputy would be filled with pride at their arrival. Luna had told him
that the IDAHO had a projected kill ratio of 30:1 in single combat and much more
when they worked as a team. The RECONDA had attained 50:1 in simulation. If these
figures could be substantiated in actual combat then the GFR Director-General had
reason to be proud of the creations. But back to his review, the Stramarras had the
Vorra planets 'bathed' in radar to detect any Meliwa offensive long before the Isshars
left planetary atmospheres. Not that anyone expected any attack, they were here
three nel too early and this was merely a dress rehearsal. The Stramarra had a top
speed of 10CZ - surprisingly fast for a whole space control station. At 10CZ the ship
could cross the over five billion kilometers to Isabel from Terrania in exactly seven

12
sa. It took Comm. Juder and his team roughly four sa to arrive at Area 50 and so far
they had spent a total of seven sa in space. It distressed the LFF commander slightly
that he would be spending Aztesa here. Of course the LFF chaplaincy was around to
take care of them but hanging around in space with nothing happening was still not
the way to spend a vacation.

[Commander Juder, this is LFF-19 reporting from within Jinnah's atmosphere. Sixteen
rather large and slow ships are on their way out of the planet. It is possible that they
are under pursuit from Meliwa attack ships, though this may be a training
maneuver.]

[Acknowledged LFF-19, follow the ships out and report.]

Arkin Juder thought little of the communication from Jinnah. The Meliwa were in no
position to attack them anytime soon; they were always praised by the Vorra for
sticking to a plan. He was more interested in the battle plan for a Traeian checkers
game he was playing with his juniors. His partner was not helping much in terms of
strategy but he didn't complain - she was just a Commander Rank 4 with no
advanced training. The IDAHOs arrived at this time and the game broke up as crews
went to the nav-bays to see the new ships. With eighteen such ships surrounding the
Stramarras and a RECONDA in the neighborhood Area 50 felt a lot safer. Just as
everyone was busy staring out at the orbs that concealed Krasnows and ion cannons
a new communication came in.

[Field Commander Arkin Juder, this is LFF-19 reporting from the Limedla galaxy.
The sixteen ships are indeed under pursuit and their occupants have been positively
identified as Firtin by their pursuers. Please advise.]

Luna Vorcia also heard the communication from the AFT-11 outside Jinnah. The word
Firtin reminded her of a conversation with Jokpim-806 just before she left Terrania,
about plans for the sole Meliwa resident of Terrania. She immediately contacted the
AFT and summarized the situation, adding that her message should ideally result in
quick decisions. Arkin ordered the RECONDA to provide a visual signature of the
chase to them; they had to know whether it would be wise to interfere. The sixteen
ships were unarmed - just as they had expected - and from their average size they
must have had a capacity of one thousand each at least. The visual feedback was
relayed to the AFT High Command in Tra-Tennsi even as Meliwa Isshars closed in for
the easy kill. Jokpim-806 gave the LFF carte blanche to handle the incident as they
would and following this Luna gave a rather unusual order. She ordered one of the
IDAHOs to send a ranged P-ray to each of the pursuing ships. She was grateful that
they were all Isshars; the Meliwa were about to see an invisible sign of power. The
operation in which the Meliwa military database at Menuel was copied by the AFT is
still very much famed within spy circles and the spies who executed 'Operation
Download' never tire to speak of it. Perhaps it should be revealed that the said spies
indeed modified several Isshar schematics with the intent of subtle sabotage. In each

13
of the thousands of Isshars manufactured, the Krasnow laser ports had a ryst
thickness which was exactly equal to the wavelength of a ranged Terranian P-ray.
This means that if a P-ray transmission met the port, the harmonics set up by
sympathetic oscillation would be enough to unscrew the weapon off the port. In the
case of a concerted P-ray transmission to each port the whole ship would be badly
buffeted such that the pilot might possibly lose control. This may sound very
theoretical but in the Stramarras there were three hundred Terranians watching as
invisible P-rays 'disarmed' a whole squadron of Meliwa Isshars. As many of them
were shaken up by the efforts of a single IDAHO the Firtin ships made their slow
escape. Now it was time to make contact with the legendary Vorra resistance
movements. Luna reserved that honor for the Terranian C-in-C who had probably
been praying for such an opportunity.

Jokpim-806 greeted the captain of the Firtin ship in the traditional Vorra way which
was not known even to the Meliwa. Because it is not known to the author of this
report it will probably remain within Vorra homesteads for a while. This of course
was the only way he would be assured of an audience with the leader of this group of
Firtin. And indeed he was soon introducing himself to General Jokamiz-01 of the
Vorra Liberation Army, Jinnah Division. The Terranian Commander explained the
situation briefly and asked the general where he intended to go with his vulnerable
fleet. The general was very grateful to Terrania for their timely assistance and
admitted that there really was nowhere in the Limedla he could land. He was of
course very skeptical of this tale of free Vorra living in Terrania and with good cause
- such things might be thought of only in dreams. Jokpim-806 then revealed that it
was possible to procure a landing area and somewhere to live too in return for trust.
Knowing the cost of trust among the Firtin, Jokpim-806 mentioned that by disabling a
mutual foe he had a right to a temporary trust from the Firtin according to Limedlan
custom. Although the general declared himself and his fleet free of Meliwa customs
he had to agree in the end. Probably the prospect of facing more Isshars motivated
him more than his pride would let him concede. The fleet was guided to Area 50 as
the IDAHOs did the job of creating a holographic replica of the sixteen ships for the
Meliwa reinforcements to find. Being 30DZ machines they were going to take the
best of nine sa to cross over to Area 50 and the only consolation was that they would
at least be safe. It is quite amusing to think of P-ray transmitters as protection but
then that was how the Firtin were forced to regard the IDAHOs magic.

In Jinnah there was a lot of explaining going on as a furious Meliwa commander

made known his suspicions that his pilots had been drinking Imperial Lager the
night before. How else could they explain their wild behavior during a very simply
apprehension of Firtin rebels? Someone had ventured that their ships had lost
control seemingly simultaneously and in addition that all the laser ports had
suddenly decided to drop their weapons. He was instantly sent to the planet
dungeon to sober up from his drinking spree. Three squadrons were immediately
sent in pursuit of the stolen transports which the Firtin had used to escape from
Jinnah. At least they seemed to be making amends for the mistakes of their

14
comrades. The commander had no way of knowing that his squadrons were
attacking holograms which were being modified to look 'damaged' after each strike
and even crashing into the forests. Of course no one was foolish enough to go
checking the crash sites and posing an easy target for the Firtin still within the
foliage. In this way sixteen ships were 'destroyed' and the commander had nothing
but praise for his second group of pilots for a job well done. At Area 50 Luna Vorcia
was among the LFF soldiers who were watching the 'battle' - or 'massacre' if you will -
through the RECONDA unit LFF-19's video cameras. No doubt that part of space was
very entertained by that incident. The Firtin would not be pursued now and the
Meliwa did not suspect their ships were the problem. It was definitely Ixu's hand
blessing the Tennsi against the Meliwa with their abominable slavery and
imperialism. After watching this drama from their ships the Firtin were more than
eager to reach Area 50, if only to see these god-like creatures who made a mockery
of the dreaded Isshar. General Jokamiz-01 was sure that no one in Jinnah would
believe what they had seen; holograms were virtually unknown in the Limedla.
Anyway, he had eight sa to prepare himself psychologically for a meeting with what
were surely spirit-beings.

Biarzi Delawwe was not very pleased with the way matters were going with the
Traeian Federation. A mere misunderstanding about the exploration of Dromin-3
had brought his republic to the point of subtly threatening Trae with war. The
Travorcia governor was sure that there was some way they could eliminate the
sudden tensions between the Dromin-3 governments which had opposing views on
war with the Meliwa. Biarzi was part of the committee of the Terranian Parliament
that was in charge of foreign policy and that committee had been very busy in the
past few sa communicating with their counterparts in Trae to find some consensus on
a treaty. It was clear that without this the Dromin-3 Ports Authority would never
begin its exploration work. But far from the diplomatic problems there was the
request for additional funding by the Altenna Region which now had some one
hundred and forty million citizens - just ten million short of its capacity. City planners
there wished to split Altenna into two sub-regions which were designated Altenna-ra
and Altenna-rin; the suffixes are Meliwa for south and north respectively. That would
ease administration and holding of religious festivals but required eight billion
terrazim to pull off. Though this wasn't within Biarzi's jurisdiction he was still a
Member of Parliament and as such he had to know of such matters before a vote. The
remaining two hundred and ten million new immigrants had been shared equally
between Alentrazi, Travorcia and Tennsivorra. Of course this meant that Biarzi's
Travorcia Region was also going to need some extra finance. Having the immigrants
in only four cities to begin with was a move designed to make them a virtual minority
- since they occupied only a few cities - and thus force them to conform to Tennsi
culture instead of the opposite being the case. The republic was going to spend at
least two hundred billion terrazim within the next six nel in upgrading existent
facilities and building new ones to cater for the population super-explosion; at least
labor would be a problem no more. According to the census held on the 7th sa,
Aqnel of Nel-894 there were now forty thousand Vorra in Terrania and an

15
overwhelming three hundred and twenty-four million Tennsi (if the new arrivals
could be termed Tennsi so prematurely). The situation of course only emphasized
the urgency of liberating the Vorra planets which were approximated to contain
eighteen billion members of the race. It should not be forgotten that Terrania is not
considered by its Vorra citizens as their home but rather as a temporary base from
which they would eventually return to the Limedla. This knowledge should calm all
anxiety about their lowered percentage of the Terranian population.

General Jokamiz-01 of the Vorra Liberation Army, Jinnah Division arrived with his
fleet of sixteen ships at Area 50 on the 10th sa, Aqnel of Nel-894 exactly as expected.
Seventeen modified Sephans were already present awaiting the transfer of the Vorra
from their slow ships. The general himself had with the assistance of a gas mask
been ferried from his ship to the Stramarra containing Field Commander Arkin
Juder. It took quite a while for the Terranians to convince him that they were neither
gods nor spirits and that he should desist from expressing his gratitude in the Vorra
way. In that time Jokamiz had managed to deliver four simultaneous whacks to
Arkin's head which - if it were not the commander's understanding of the
rudimentary Vorra custom - would have earned the general an introduction to TPA-
24 fire. And since the AFT desired to have the Vorra safe in Terrania as soon as
possible - for more than a comprehensive debriefing - the transfer of passengers
was executed immediately. The Sephans had been altered considerably by the GFR
which was now under the temporary directorship of one Tyrea Reddz. The modified
Sephan was no more the P-09 but the P-31 Sephanzim or 'Sephan of value' and could
match the Stramarra's speed. Someone had been thoughtful enough to provide an
abundance of gas masks - Vorra design - which made the transfer very much easier.
After much discussion with Luna Vorcia and Arkin Juder the Vorra general joined his
fellows in the Sephanzims and began the four-sa journey to a planet he had never
seen but already trusted much more than his own. The Firtin were not very particular
about their traveling comfort and had packed the stolen ships with almost double
their capacity which of course meant thirty thousand Vorra were on their way to add
to Terrania's important minority. The Sephanzim was not made with passenger travel
in mind but then these were unexpected circumstances. No doubt the Firtin would
have a lot to share with their liberated fellows in the prosperous one; one might even
say their prospects of actually defeating the Meliwa Empire had increased
considerably.

The 12th sa, Aqnel of Nel-894 found many Terranians in great revelry for it was the
sa when the last shipment of Traeian immigrants landed. The whole exercise had
cost the republic's treasury some six hundred million terrazim; mostly in payments
to the Dromin-3 Ports Authority. That was enough money to finance the GFR's top
research projects for a whole nel. There was also news that a large group of Firtin
had been saved from Meliwa pursuit and was on their way to Terrania. Much was
being done to welcome them to southern Terrania and to more importantly
introduce them to life as the Garzal. No doubt they would be surprised to learn that a
planet largely settled by the Tennsi had a Vorra Commander-in-Chief and was

16
greatly influenced by Vorra culture (which is essentially Meliwa culture adapted for
Terrania). and while still on matters concerning the republic, the jewel of the north -
Mithrin - still captivated thousands of tourists with its ceremonial palace though three
nel after the Terrapolean tower was formed there was still a general hesitation to
actually live in Mithrin or Terrapolis. Sonar soundings on the floor of the Terrapolean
Sea had revealed nothing unusual and there were dedicated geological stations and
laboratories all across northern Terrania. Hesitation was thus baseless but existent
nevertheless; the eruption had been quite a frightening sight. With regards to the
skies there were several observatories in Terrania which were at present
determining the possibility of inhabiting the moon Skieter, though this was not an
investigation that received any priority funding. The Terranian Republic would fill
one planet at a time - even if it was rather unscientific to call Skieter a planet.

Biarzi Delawwe had decided to pay a visit to the old general Movozik Weya in Zixa to
see if he could convince him to talk to the Traeian Federation. Biarzi wished to have
Movozik participating in the compilation of the Dromin-3 Treaty which was now
agreed as a prerequisite for the exploration of the galaxy. Wadi life was interesting
to Movozik and being part of the decision-making machine was something he had
learnt to live without for eight nel now. But he listened to the governor of Travorcia
and asked about Luna who had seemingly decided never to set foot in Trae again.
Movozik was just as disappointed as Biarzi with the Traeian Federation's arrogance
and lack of cooperation but he did not wish to be involved in politics at any level. He
however agreed to assume an advisory role with the federal government in an
informal way; perhaps they would listen to him. Terrania's proposals for the treaty
included the provision that all extensions of boundaries and areas of jurisdiction by
any of the two governments be done with the full knowledge and agreement of the
other. The first provision was of course already agreed upon - all exploration would
be under the Dromin-3 Ports Authority. As regards the Meliwa problem and
campaigning in the Limedla, all Trae asked was that each government be free of
military obligations to the other. This was readily accepted by Terrania and the
matter was laid to rest at last. The Terranian Republic broadcast an announcement
on the 15th sa, Aqnel of Nel-894 stating the dissolution of the Terranian Immigration
Council, effectively shutting the door on any more immigration from Trae. This
action, it was explained, had absolutely no ill intent or malicious motivation and was
merely a matter of Terranian immigration policy and the preservation of Vorra
interests.

On the second last sa before Aztesa began the document that Biarzi and Movozik
both participated in creating was finally released for public scrutiny. The media in
both planets generally found it a shame that two neighbors had been forced to
making treaties in order to live in peace with each other but at the same time
encouraged the wadi to support it in the referendum. Subject to the referendum
results the Dromin-3 Ports Authority would send a delegation to the GFR Center in
Terrapolis to specify what kind of ships and equipment they needed and find out the
costs. The costs would be deducted from Terrania's contribution to the authority. A

17
copy of the treaty is reproduced below for purposes of historical record and
instruction:

BILATERAL PARLIAMENTARY TASK FORCE ON DROMIN-3 FOREIGN POLICY

THE DROMIN-3 TREATY

BOUND GOVERNMENTS:
1. THE TRAEIAN FEDERATION OF CHARON & DAMAR
2. THE TERRANIAN REPUBLIC

TRAEIAN CHIEF ADVISOR:

RETIRED FIELD COMMANDER MOVOZIK WEYA
TERRANIAN CHIEF ADVISOR:
GFR ACTING DIRECTOR-GENERAL TYREA REDDZ
TRAEIAN MILITARY ADVISOR:
FIELD COMMANDER MEINHA ZIWALEN (C-IN-C)
TERRANIAN MILITARY ADVISOR:
FIELD COMMANDER JUNMEA-202 (AFT HIGH COMMAND)
TASK FORCE CHIEF:
SENATOR ALESTA BOFMEK (TRAEIAN SENATE)
TASK FORCE DEPUTY CHIEF:
GOVERNOR BIARZI DELAWWE (TERRANIAN PARLIAMENT)
DATE OF PUBLICATION:
33RD SA, AQNEL OF NEL-894
VALIDATION METHOD:
COMPREHENSIVE CIVILIAN REFERENDA IN ALL BOUND TERRITORIES

PREAMBLE

This document has been necessitated by the growing tension between the named
bound governments above. It is written in the defense of the peace-loving wadi of
Dromin-3 who largely bear the brunt of their governments' actions. Being sworn to in
the temples of Ixu in Xasme, Jarien and Tra-Tennsi and committed to both Aralla and
Kyoshe, this treaty is hoped to guide us to the friendly paths of love and trust and
away from hate and treachery.

TREATY MUTUAL LAWS

1. Any intent of exploration within any of the unexplored planets/territories of the

Dromin-3 galaxy by any of the bound governments will be expressed first before all
other bound governments and the said exploration - subject to the formal and
written agreement of all other bound governments - will be undertaken only under
the auspices of the Dromin-3 Ports Authority or any other mutually agreed upon
independent body. This law must in no way whatsoever be applied to extragalactic

18
exploration unless such extragalactic territories under exploration are conclusively
annexed into the Dromin-3 galaxy either as satellite territories or military zones of
control.
2. Any appropriation of territory, whole planets, resources, aqa bodies and any
other acquisition that may be later added here as a potentially disputable annexation
must be done with the full knowledge of all bound governments. This treaty
recognizes the Dromin-3 Borders and Mines Authority as the only body authorized to
determine the implications of this law.
3. No bound government is under any past, present of even future obligation to
provide military support to any other bound government under any conditions.
Military support when requested by a bound government will be provided by
another bound government at its own discretion and under mutually agreed terms of
secondment.
4. In the event of a simultaneous attack on more than one bound government the
third law in this treaty may be overridden by a mutual agreement for concerted
defense or alliance.
5. All trade tariffs, taxes and other charges related to interplanetary trade will be
handled exclusively by the Dromin-3 Ports Authority. Any other charges are null and
void.
6. All intellectual property rights declared by any bound government will apply
immediately to all other bound governments on the basis of chronological
precedence.
7. Any bound government found to be in contravention of any of the six laws above
by the Dromin-3 Galactic Court will accept the punishment decided unconditionally
and failure to do this will be for all intents and purposes considered an act of war.

CONCLUSION BY PARLIANI HUREWQ

A treaty is but an honorable promise,

That what is written has no compromise,
None should break or dare defy agreement,
This is plain in the seventh commandment.

Trae of the twins has agreed to this pact,

Terrania my love recognizes this as fact,
And where the weizz bird finds its meals,
The blue desert ouiga will not make kills.

END

This was the document that the wadi in the Traeian Federation and the Terranian
Republic largely supported on the 34th sa, Aqnel of Nel-894. The treaty received a
75% acceptance in the republic and a 85% acceptance in the federation, both
impressive figures for planet-wide referenda. Thus it came to pass that both the
planet of the fierce weizz bird and the duoplanet of the royal blue desert ouiga went

19
into Aztesa with their mutual bickering behind them - at least in theory. Biarzi
Delawwe was very happy with the referendum success and as usual called for a
celebration. With the added seventy million residents in Travorcia it was a
celebration worth talking about for several sa afterward. The governor was
extremely popular in his region and it helped very much that he made a point of
meeting people out in the streets to ask them what they expected of him and which
problems they found most pressing. It was very few governors who had developed a
rapport with their citizens on such a scale. He had a very special guest to introduce
to the Travorcians - the legendary Movozik Weya. The general took time to speak
frankly on his views as regarded politics and his hopes for the treaty. Though he did
not know it was his last visit to Terrania Movozik made the most of it by spending
Aztesa in the prosperous one. He was very happy to be in the company of Tyrea
Reddz during this time and the two former spies relived old times by becoming the
Travorcian Traeian checkers champions for the whole of Aztesa.

The opening of Nel-895 was a time of an energetic start to new plans both in Trae
and in Terrania. The ports authority had three planets to report on by Aqnel and this
deadline applied much pressure on the GFR who were supposed to procure a
variant of the Stramarra that would be moderately armed and able to withstand
anything below Class Z weaponry. In addition there were spacesuits to design since
one does not jump into an unknown atmosphere unwittingly - the air might harbor
poisons worse than rosein. In addition to this the GFR was also expected to have a
prototype of a piloted RECONDA ready by early Nel-896. The overworked facility
had received extra funds to build a second GFR Center outside Kar-Insuin and at the
same time expand their facility in Terrapolis. That was exactly what the Tennsi loved
- ambitious plans that were to be implemented immediately. Let us never say that
the Vorra were any less infatuated with this philosophy. Industry in Terrania was
expanding at an alarming rate (one might be tempted to say it was exploding) and
taking advantage of this the AFT had ordered one hundred thousand RECONDAs to
be manufactured. The republic planned more fuel plantations, more ryst and gold
mines, more food agriculture and more educational facilities among other things.
The AFT also intended to recruit at least ten million new soldiers as spying
RECONDA units continued to send images from the Limedla. Jokpim-806 and his
team were confident of crushing the empire's hold on the Vorra planet belt and in
doing so they would liberate more Vorra than the whole population of the
prosperous one. Speaking of the Limedlan race of course brings to mind the Firtin
and their rather dramatic escape. Besides the obvious addition to Vorra numbers
which now stood at seventy thousand, there was the acquisition of valuable
intelligence concerning the Meliwa and their operations in Jinnah and Katandra.
Many of the Firtin were skilled in covert action and most of them were already in the
AFT's spy section doing both a lot of learning and a lot of teaching; it should be
remembered that few in Terrania knew anything about jungle warfare. Generally
speaking, the Firtin were very happy to be in Kyoshe's planet and they looked more
hopeful than the haggard group that had nearly been obliterated in Jinnah.

20
Trae was also busy with preparatory work for the third super-bridge which was
intended to be at least 140,000 kilometers in diameter. Such a bridge could easily
have a city on it and would make Trae look like a weightlifter's dumb-bell; it would
be an extension of the planets more than a bridge. Even as these noble projects
were commenced in Dromin-3 there was much philosophical thought going on. The
planet that had been 'found' by Luna Vorcia and two others was now a success story
of enormous proportion but something was amiss. Tyrea Reddz had thought of
Terrania as being logically part of Trae - of course without meaning a mere resource
base appendage - yet her daughter Luna Vorcia had led it on a semi-fanatic drive to
autonomy and a controversial break from Traeian culture that was still in progress.
Whether mother or daughter was right is immaterial at present but many in Dromin-
3 realized that the treaty meant that there indeed existed uneasiness between their
two governments; friends do not make treaties to live in harmony. Again a fitting
poem to comment on this was provided by the magnificent Tennsi poet Parliani
Hurewq just after the Aztesa vacation:

You think you have finally made peace,

You forget your past dealings with ease,
How your alliance brought good tidings,
To enemies of freedom came sad endings.

Love is not such a thing as to be agreed,

Trust is never born with treaties as seed,
Where did the pure love we had vanish?
Or did our carefree trust indeed perish?

If two cannot their fears and joys confide,

Then in between must exist a great divide.

21
 CHAPTER 2
Put the past behind and look to Solanus,
The mighty orb is Kyoshe's glory upon us,
As we prosper and build a great Terrania,
Let us never forget that great trial is near.

Our friends in Trae have much in store,

A third rystic arm will bind them more,
Though they are awed by our seven moons,
We are red with envy for their lack of dunes.
- Gamazir Tergal

New Frontiers & Divine Encounters

Nel-895 was definitely a nel of planning and meeting deadlines in the prosperous
one when it started out but it eventually became a nel of looking at results and
planning some more. This can of course be attributed to the already well known
innate property of the Terranian Republic - diligence. The nel saw some great
discoveries made and one of them was to very dramatically change the history of
Dromin-3. However let me begin at the beginning; it is a fool who begins a tale
anywhere else. The GFR did indeed manage to make the AFT-02 Federation
Explorer which was named thus as an honor to Trae. For the sake of understanding
let it be known that everyone was quickly tired of the long name and abbreviated it
the FEX. The ship held twenty explorer-officers for crew and was armed with ion
cannons. It was agreed that no Krasnows would be built into the ship in respect to
Trae's laws but the Terranian explorer-officers would be at liberty to carry handheld
Krasnows - as long as they did not get into Trae with them. In the arena of spacesuit
design the GFR again did not disappoint; the GFR designed spacesuits that could
keep away any chemical substance from an explorer-officer until the atmosphere of
the planet being explored was fully analyzed. In addition they regulated
temperature and humidity just in case the explorer-officers found really hostile
environments. All this was done within the thirty sa of Solnel immediately following
Aztesa of Nel-894 and it came to pass that on the 39th sa, Solnel of Nel-895 the
Dromin-3 Ports Authority flagged of a fleet of seventeen FEXs with a crew of sixty
Terranians and eighty Traeians to begin the pioneer exploration of the planets
Nelgonn, Jamirfe and Haifal. Two RECONDA units were sent along from Terrania for
added security and everyone was happy - the two governments were working
together. The fleet was to be known as the Inter-Planetary Exploration Team - IPET
and we will in due course hear much about this particular group of Dromin-3
inhabitants. The journey from Trae to Nelgonn is about 120 million kilometers and at
10CZ the whole expedition made it in about three standard hours; it is still amazing
to many Traeians just how fast trans-CZ speeds are.

22
Nelgonn is a planet slightly smaller than Damar and has little atmosphere to speak of
- at least from what Trae's astronomers make of its appearance. It is a very red planet
as seen from space and has neither cloud cover nor any of the telltale radio signals
that would suggest a sentient species exists there. It should be said that Trae has for
most of its history been ignorant of Dromin-3 as a galaxy and most Traeians know
only that their galaxy contains sixteen planets. Space exploration is hardly a priority
for any government that preaches non-imperialism and to their credit Traeian
leaders have always known this. Perhaps it is a little recognized quality of Traeians
that they restrained from an indiscriminate conquest of a galaxy that for all they
knew would offer no opposition at all save for climatic hostility. At all events it should
be known that the IPET was the first foray of the descendants of the ancients of
Damar anywhere in Dromin-3 apart from Terrania. Rather strange for a species
which had already made some contact with another galaxy - the Limedla. However,
even this contact was to a large extent accidental; no Traeian ship actually went
exploring into that galaxy. But back to present matters which of course involve the
IPET team: Upon arrival, a RECONDA unit was sent in first and made two or three
circumnavigations to provide some visual feedback on the planet Nelgonn. Apart
from a reddish rock surface that seemed to be well perforated there was no sign of
life. The planet seemed much more lifeless than Hamrah had been; at least the
predecessor to Terrania had storms for animation. The RECONDA hazarded a
landing and found itself on pretty solid ground which it proceeded to walk upon. A
cautious blast of an ion cannon revealed that the ground could hold a ship with no
problem; it withstood the fire better than reinforced ryst or anything else as a matter
of fact. The perforations were about seven meters across and seemed to lead into
tunnels of some sort; they appealed to the curiosity of the expedition. After both
RECONDAs had walked around for a bit it was deemed safe to land and for a first
impression ten ships went into Nelgonn. A series of careful tests of particle samples
from both ground and air followed immediately and it was decided that nothing
unusual was present in Nelgonn to necessitate the wearing of the spacesuits.
Explorer-officers emerged without spacesuits though some were still apprehensive
and chose to wear them; one could never be too careful. Radar soundings revealed a
tunnel network that accessed the surface via the perforations and as the rest of the
fleet came into the planet there was still nothing to suggest that the tunnels were
occupied. The red rock had no ryst and it definitely carried no gold but it seemingly
had a rather amazing property that was found out rather unwittingly.

Already convinced that they should leave about four ships here and move to Jamirfe,
Expedition Chief Camil Asstin ordered the collection of samples of the rock which
they would send to Trae and Terrania for analysis. That was when it was discovered
that cutting out the rock using conventional geology lasers would take the whole sa.
The EC grabbed a Krasnow laser and made a nice long slice at the rock. To
everyone's surprise it merely shimmered and then proceeded with its life as a rock.
The EC nearly fell down in his puzzlement; here was a rock that did not give way
under Krasnow fire. Several of the Terranian explorer-officers now took their lasers
and fired away with gusto but the rock just shimmered a bit longer and stayed

23
whole. Just for the sake of experiment an explorer-officer did a seemingly
unnecessary and risky thing - she fired her laser at one of the Federation Explorers.
The craft was made of reinforced ryst and this material was known to withstand all
but the famous Meliwa weapon that she had just fired. The ship however seemed to
have forgotten this fact for it merely shimmered, and the EC's reprimand to the
officer in question was left unspoken. Gaining confidence another explorer-officer
aimed his Krasnow at a colleague's backpack and fired with similar results. Of
course the owner of the backpack took offence at this indulgence and a very
unnecessary altercation almost ensued. After satisfying himself that his back was still
intact the aggrieved party was content with a very silver glare at no one in
particular. It was thus concluded that the atmosphere of Nelgonn had some disabling
effect on weaponry. The EC now ordered that three ships would remain with their
crews in Nelgonn as the expedition proceeded. Their crews would engage in further
testing of this Nelgonnic phenomenon that had of course emboldened several
explorer-officers to the point of firing Krasnow beams at each other. The result was
thankfully only a great deal of warm sensations and shimmering of fur; of course a
few threats of severe action by the expedition chief put a stop to this. It was 06:00LH
MMT when the decision to move on was made and the EC understood enough
astronomy to know any departure before the next sa would cause them to arrive in
an unknown planet at night time; Jamirfe is two hundred and eleven million
kilometers away from Nelgonn and that means a five and a half standard hour
journey. He contacted the ports authority and requested supplies to be sent to
Nelgonn immediately to allow a camp to be established and everyone settled to the
business of billeting.

At around 07:30LH a deep rumbling was heard in Nelgonn, a rumbling so deafening

that it must have been audible at any point on the planet's surface. Leaving half-
pitched tents on the ground the explorer-officers rushed to their ships and within
minutes everyone was airborne. The seventeen FEXs had all their weapons armed
and ready for use when the source of the rumbling became apparent. Nelgonn had a
single inhabitant - a huge snake-like creature with a diameter of at least five meters
and a length that was fabulous. Six parallel ridges of serrated bony material ran
along the whole length of the creature and it was a bright red color - probably to
match its home. From its appearance the frightened explorer-officers could tell it
had made the whole network of tunnels single-handedly. The visible end of the
creature which had just popped out of one of the holes, was terminated in an wide
orifice that we will assume is its mouth. Through this the creature was producing its
deafening roar as more of it came out of the hole; with the aid of its exoskeleton of
drilling teeth it could stay vertical as it emerged. The Federation Explorers stayed
well away from it and the EC began sending a summary of the sa's events up to the
present. Not to be outdone the RECONDAs were sending a five-dimensional video of
the creature to Terrania where you can be sure the AFT was broadcasting to all of
Dromin-3 through Terrania TV and TraeVision. When the creature had exposed at
least eight hundred meters of itself it suddenly dove straight into another hole. As
more of it came out of the first hole more went into the second and by the time its

24
'tail' end was finally seen many approximated its length to be at least three hundred
thousand kilometers with a non-ridged area at rougly every ten kilometers. The
creature had moved all this mass in only twenty minutes or so as the Federation
Explorers stayed motionless with their crews petrified with fear. The tail end was
identical to the 'mouth' end and indeed it was not impossible that this was indeed a
two-headed creature. Many Traeians saw a great similarity between this creature
and a mythical creature from the folklore of the ancients in Damar. Artist's
impressions found along with the ancient scrolls had depicted a long creature
uncannily like the one before the expedition.

Raising its second head high in the air it was soon clear that there was a ring of eyes
just below the creature's cavernous mouth. It did what can be assumed to be having
a studied look at the FEX ships though when you have a ring of eyes you can't really
look in a single direction. Very unexpectedly the creature spoke out in a very fluent
Traeian, albeit a very ancient form of the language.

"So you have returned? (Hha)."

"But what to do little ones? Is there trouble? (Hha)."
"Perhaps you come to live here once more? (Hha)."

The voice was very deep and asked the last question with a slight hint of
disapproval. The addition of the monosyllabic at the end of every sentence was
probably some long lost form of ancient Traeian linguistic emphasis. This was
however not the cause of the surprise of the entire IPET as you very well understand.
The creature was expected by most - if not all - to perform fantastic feats and sorcery
but never to suddenly become conversational. Seeing that a reply was awaited the
EC broke the silence by activating his Federation Explorer's communications
equipment.

[This is Chief Camil Asstin of the Dromin-3 Ports Authority Inter-Planetary

Exploration Team. On behalf of the Traeian Federation and the Terranian Republic I
request further explanation of yourself. I would also like to emphasize that we mean
only peaceful exploration and no offense to you.]

The creature rose to the altitude of the ships which immediately flew higher - pilot
instinct. The quick RECONDAs circled round and kept the creature's eyes within
their range.

"Peaceful exploration you say? Why then do you bear arms and these machine that
bode only ill for my eyes? (Ho!)"

And after a very frightening attempt at a laugh the creature continued unabashed:

"I will also want to learn much from you little ones; it is very long since we parted in
this place. (Ho!)"

25
[We will tell you all you will bear to listen but I think you have made some mistake.
We have never been here before.]

"Listen to the wise and you will shed your folly,

Wisdom is the vise that grips both safe and sorry,
Hearken to my words you little ones and live long,
Shun me and for sa and nel you will sing sad song."

The creature spoke directly from the Great Scroll Of Wisdom as though it were its
own words. Many looked to their weapons to blast this blasphemer to Tra-Creta but
the EC stayed them. He again reached for the mouthpiece. A very peculiar thought
had come into his head that this creature might have indeed conceived the words.

[You know of the ancient scrolls of Damar and recite from them as you would your
own writings. When you do this you offend our planet spirit Aralla and I give you
warning that your great length will not save you from her wrath. All Trae would die
before her name is blasphemed so. Explain yourself Long One.]

Everyone in the IPET admired the chief's bravery and indeed his ability to hide fear
well; Trae and Terrania were of like emotion to be sure. It must not be forgotten that
the RECONDAs were acting as very good journalists for the two planets watching
their first ever impressions of Nelgonn. One of the RECONDA's analyses had by now
confirmed that the creature could be killed with ease by Krasnows. Of course it did
not know that this planet seemed to deaden weaponry. The Long One let out a loud
roar but this time no one scampered away to safer altitude. It then spoke again.

"Very courageous you little ones are indeed! (Ho!)"

"You have mentioned Damar little one; that is the world next to this as Solanus gets
warmer. Those who live there are the ones who came from here many thousands of
nel ago. I can tell you are their little ones many generations over. They were here
when I was but a little one myself and lived with me in a pleasant harmony. As for
blasphemy, I only recite what is mine Camil Asstin; I do not know of this writing you
speak of but I taught much wisdom to the little ones of Damar. They indeed called
me Aralla which in my own tongue means 'the wisest of the wise' and I am pleased to
find you remember it. If Aralla's wrath is what you fear then you are very right in
doing so little one. I am honored that you would shed blood for me because I know
you speak truth. But do not look at me and think that your planet spirit is a monster
for my form I change as I please. I do not speak much myself but I listen well - it is
the way of the wise. Tell me about your Trae little Asstin and speak freely even now
that you know who I am. (Hha)"

The conversation continued along similar lines but now there was much awe and
respect in the speech of Camil Asstin. It was not even imaginable that one as he
should speak to Aralla herself; and to think that he had called her 'Long One' was

26
enough to keep him on his knees as he spoke. The long creature had vanished and
in its place stood the whole audience's idea of Aralla down to every minute detail. A
blue desert ouiga was present at her shoulder looking very cute indeed and the
necklace of flowers contained petals never seen before in Dromin-3. The planet
surface immediately turned from the perforated red bareness to a landscape much
like that of Katandra. Aralla stood in a wide open field of the finest grasses and all the
ships came lower so that everyone could see their planet spirit. It was in due course
discovered that the ancients of Damar originated from this planet which at present
contained one representative of the species that Aralla called the Wise Ones. She
had sent these ancestors of Trae to Damar to begin their own independent life away
from her after teaching them sufficient wisdom for them to do so. Only the
priesthood was allowed the indirect access to her through the oracle. In this way she
ensured she was not tempted - as any mother would be - to interfere in the
development of her little ones by becoming aware of it; this explained how it was
that she knew little of Terrania or the two revolutions. After requesting her
permission to land in the transformed planet the IPET went about setting camp for
the night. The ship from Trae arrived at 10:00LH and no doubt the pilot was well
shocked to find himself face-to-face with his planet spirit; he had not been watching
the news. Even in the failing light everyone could see Aralla very well for she
shimmered as brightly as the Terranian moon known as Xasme. It was she who had
prevented their weapons from injuring the planet which clearly would be of very
much importance to Traeians. Camil knew that his IPET was not the right kind of
delegation to be holding audience with the Wise One and so he sent a coded
message to the Traeian Federation; he needed the High Priestess of Aralla sent to
Nelgonn immediately. He could have spared himself the trouble because seven P-31
Sephanzims were only a standard hour away from Nelgonn carrying the entire
templar priesthoods of Aralla and Kyoshe. In addition there were several
representatives of the two governments. In that time Aralla listened to the
developments of Trae and later Terrania with much interest and attentiveness, never
interrupting once. The EC was careful to state that he only spoke of what he knew
but there would soon be others of greater knowledge than he who would be able to
explain more. As was expected of a planet spirit of over a hundred cent-nel old,
Aralla understood.

Luna Vorcia could not believe her eyes at all. She had been awoken by her LFF
right-lieutenant with the news that Aralla was on the news. Muttering something
about the prospects of promotion for the soldier she rushed to the nearest screen in
the crew quarters. Even at Area 50 the momentous broadcast had already attracted
the attention of almost everyone. As events unfolded in Nelgonn there was much
praying, recitation and simple awe everywhere in Area 50, Trae and Terrania. The
High Priestess of Aralla disembarked from a Sephanzim in her temple adornments -
armbands, headdress and ceremonial jewelry. Aralla waved a hand and a necklace
of flowers appeared on the priestess' neck and she immediately fell to her knees in
respect. The priesthood followed suit. Aralla asked them to rise and looked at them
silently for a while.

27
"My honored priesthood of little ones,
How is it that little ones speak of guns?
I am greatly disappointed in all of you,
You do much but there's still more to do,

Why is it that I hear of war and hatred?

When all I taught was love and peace,
Wander not to ways that are ill-fated,
For the Wise Ones you will not please,

I see the priests of Kyosh here as well,

I am but honored by their presence here,
And hope they serve the Wise One well,
For I Aralla very much respect my peer,

Government officials are servants of all,

And must not seek wealth or adulation,
The Wise Ones never yearn to enthral,
And state must shout out wise direction."

"The Wise Ones are generous with wisdom and only fools will shun this (Hha)."

The chided priesthood knew better than to argue with their host and waited for her
instructions. The present government officials felt rather uncomfortable and were by
no means calm. Aralla had been singing in a sweet voice rather than speaking her
wisdom and by now the Wise One was the only source of light on the planet, all
other illumination had been extinguished in respect. Aralla explained that she was
not going to act as a judge among the living for the Wise Ones judged only at the
end of life. She however advised that the priesthood should ensure that faith in the
Wise Ones remained strong even when she was not seen for eons. And with that she
announced that the priesthood should decide what to do with the planet when she
left and as a gift to all of Dromin-3 she blessed the planet that it would never allow
the use of any weapons whatsoever.

"Well little ones, I must be on my way to places far beyond your minds. Trust the
oracles and do not look for me. I have a special blessing for each planet that you will
discover in the morning. Farewell little ones."

With this Aralla vanished, perhaps until another IPET wandered into her abode again
in the distant future. As she did so the place where she had stood was marked for a
shrine and the High Priestess of the planet spirit of Trae declared that the planet
Nelgonn would be renamed as Lla-Isra which is Traeian for 'the Wise One brings
peace' and this was indeed a perfect name. The night was well worn as Sephanzims
ferried the visitors back to Trae and Terrania to plan the naming ceremony and other

28
modalities. The IPET immediately embarked on the journey to Jamirfe as no one had
any wish to pitch camp on sacred ground. As Area 50 went back to sleep Luna heard
a voice clearly sing:

"Have faith little one, the path ahead is very steep,

Do not live in fear, for it will only ruin your sleep,
Perils always face one who bears a heavy burden,
But your oath the wise did indeed greatly gladden."

She looked around her but it seemed the voice had been for her ears only. Hurrying
to her cabin she immediately settled down to prayer. It had been quite a night for all
of Dromin-3, quite a night.

The next morning the Terranian Republic woke up to a very peculiar sight indeed.
The residents of Travorcia, Samiroz and Farenz reported that a huge forest of the
finest gragwicks had just appeared in middle Terrania. And these were not the usual
sixty meter Charonian giants but two hundred and twenty meter trees of very exotic
appearance. The very dense forest possessed much wildlife and other tree varieties
within it, some of them heavy with strange fruits. The Terrania Forestry Authority had
predicted rain in not less than two dec-nel and Aralla had proved them happily
wrong. At exactly 02:00LH MMT there were crowds outside the new forest looking at
the gargantuan trees in wonder and that was when the heaviest rain Dromin-3 had
ever experienced poured out of the Terranian skies. It was enough to turn all the
dunes into huge cakes of mud and no one minded the wetness at all; this was aqa
from Aralla. Of course Trae heard about all this and were amazed and rather envious
too. But one standard hour after this they also had something to dance like mad
about - the new bridge the Traeian Federation had planned to make had decided not
to wait for them! Gallkur and Trentes were still under upgrading when the builders
suddenly found the markers for the bridge's feet replaced by the bridge itself.
Majestic it was and gold inlays were not spared for the finish of the extremely wide
bridge. Measurement by engineers established that is was exactly as they had
intended it to be as regards size, but no one had been extravagant enough to
suggest a finish of polished ryst along the entire thirty-nine million kilometers. Near
the Charonian end of the new bridge stood the city that would be the only city in
Dromin-3 built on a bridge. Aralla had not been inhibited in her blessings at all. For
three sa after the incident at Nelgonn and its aftermath of blessings there was
celebration and revelry across borders and the priesthood held special prayers of
thanksgiving and an audience with the oracle. Work came to a standstill and nothing
else would be talked about as much as the appearance of Aralla in Nelgonn and her
great building and forestry skills. Biarzi Delawwe trooped around Travorcia with a
rather confused Ariann Vorcia. The little female did not understand what all the
cheering was for or why no one seemed to mind getting wet at all. Her father was too
busy being happy to explain much and she decided she might as well enjoy herself.

The ancient scrolls gained a rejuvenated readership and a new respect everywhere

29
as the priesthood itself was held in a higher esteem. Perhaps in the whole universe
Traeians are still the only sentients to have evidence of their origin, though of course
there is still the question of where the Wise Ones came from. But none of this could
be compared with the joy of the IPET team; explorer-officers who had conversed
with the planet spirit for over a standard hour. They were in Jamirfe doing very little
exploring, for they had found that the planet was a rather oceanic one and possessed
a very tiny continental mass which was roughly the size of Altenna. Let us ignore
their plight a while as we continue with what was happening in more interesting
places. Priesthood records indicated an increased respect for personal spirits
among the wadi; among soldiers personal spirits were well respected since they
were all one had for comfort during the darkest of battles. And charming Luna
Vorcia kept her secret to herself; she did not wish to have anyone thinking of her
differently after her experience. And after the three sa the priesthood announced
that the naming of Lla-Isra would be done on the 58th sa, Solnel of Nel-895 to allow
the Stramarra crews at Area 50 to attend the ceremony. Arkin Juder had already
announced that the LFF patrol at Area 50 would end their nel-long stay by flying
directly to Nelgonn. Little had been seen as pertains to the Meliwa problem to
suggest another change of plans and the AFT High Command would sit again later in
the nel to discuss possibilities of a surprise raid on Isabel. On the 44th sa, Solnel of
the nel the forest in middle Terrania was named Nelgonn Forest for obvious reasons
while the Traeian wonder-bridge was named Hran-Zaha which is equivalent to 'hand
of God' and again was an apt name. The city on the bridge was simply named after
its position - Trahalajia - the city on the bridge. Again for obvious reasons there was
an increased interest in the unexplored part of Dromin-3 but the priesthood was
extra stern in their warning - no one should go looking for Aralla.

Trahalajia was of course not just any city - it was the city of Aralla herself. Its
significance to Trae - which due to its divine origin cannot be over-emphasized -
immediately brings to mind the relationship of Mithrin and Terrania. Mithrin is the
ceremonial capital of the prosperous one; a city in which the inhabitants of the
seven-mooned planet draw pride. It is the embodiment of the thirteen nel old Tennsi
civilization which after the Terrapolis precedent could more accurately be referred
to as the Tennsivorra civilization. The Traeian Federation now commenced the
construction of a giant temple complex to Aralla in Trahalajia since their greatest
work had been done for them. This would in effect make that particular city the most
beautiful in Dromin-3. Of course in gratitude for the giant forest in middle Terrania
the Republic also embarked on similar plans - to have a temple complex dedicated
to the planet spirit of Trae in Samiroz. Perhaps to counter the threat of Trahalajia on
Mithrin's tourism or for some other reason, the Terranian Republic also
commissioned an ambitious expansion of the ceremonial palace of Terrania into a
ceremonial citadel of sorts. But one thing that would always draw tourists to Terrania
still stood tall and proud west of Mithrin - the majestic Terrapolean Tower. And still
within this part of Terrania there was work going on to convert a few of the Dromin-3
Ports Authority's 1400-passenger ships from their slow 45DZ operating speeds to
something a bit more exciting like 25CZ. This was necessary for the transport of

30
those who would attend the naming ceremony in Nelgonn. The job was rather
difficult since time was limited and of course a 45DZ ship isn't designed for travel at
anything as fast as even 15CZ. The ships had to be disassembled and some parts
replaced with stronger ryst components. Engines were completely replaced with the
sort of engines that the FEX had. In about sixteen sa the GFR finished the job, only
three sa from the naming ceremony. The Terranian delegation would of course have
to travel much more than their Traeian counterparts - a ninety million kilometer
difference. With five converted ships there was a lot of traffic between Terrania, Trae
and Nelgonn on the two sa before the ceremony. Priesthoods and parliaments were
the first priority and then a substantial representation from the militaries of both
planets. Lastly but in no way inferior were the wadi whose delegation outnumbered
all others by ten to one. By 02:00LH MMT on the 58th sa, Solnel of Nel-895 there was
a population of one hundred and sixty thousand in Nelgonn, including twelve
thousand Vorra. The priesthoods began the ceremony that included prayers and
countless incantations. There was no building on the planet yet and the only
structure was the pre-built shrine that had been carried in four Sephanzims to the
planet where a Wise One had dwelled. The shrine was very large when it was
assembled - it stood at thirty meters - and was made of the finest ryst and gold with
the skilled hands of Vorra sculptors. The shrine was in the likeness of Aralla which
was known to all Trae and Terrania - not the snake-like creature that had frightened
the IPET team. With all of Dromin-3 watching every minute detail of the ceremony
which was reminiscent of the one held in Terrania in Nel-882, the planet Nelgonn
was renamed as Lla-Isra. If anyone thinks these great events happened in Dromin-3
and escaped the notice of the two greatest poets in the universe then that individual
had better seek help from their personal spirit. Gamazir Tergal of Trae and his rival
Parliani Hurewq of Terrania both released their artistic comments on the various
incidents. Since I wish not to be biased I will write both down in this report - of
course with the poets' kind permission.

Oh, would that I were a fast ship,

With ceiling high and dive steep,
For I would have flown to Nelgonn,
And in Aralla's breath I would be borne,

Oh, would that I were a flower,

One in Aralla's paradise bower,
If she would pick me for her garland,
Mine joy greater than any in air or land.

Aralla is come to us for a while,

Her wisdoms she sings with style,
And as Mithrall herself has well foretold,
The Wise One's words best not be ignored.

For my Trae she built lovely Hran-Zaha,

31
A billion grand praises and thanks to her,
Yet she added Trahalajia the bridge-city,
To bind our twin planets tighter in unity.

For great Terrania she was only very kind,

Gave gragwicks too big to dream in mind,
Even where the desert was yet to be slain,
She looked with love and gave them rain.

Now Lla-Isra teaches us a great lesson,

That we should try by all possible ways,
To emulate its peaceful divine protection,
Our weapons to lower and hearts to raise.
- Gamazir Tergal

The poem of course was an instant hit even in the Terranian Republic where Parliani
Hurewq had already hinted that she would soon be releasing a poem. Gamazir
Tergal used the term 'Mithrall' which is a rare variant of Aralla directly translating to
'jewel of the wise'. Though this development caused a lot of ill-advised bragging on
the part of Traeians for the better part of two sa, Terrania was not disappointed by
their star poet when she finally published. Which poem is better is for all to decide
for themselves; the wise say beauty is created in the eyes of the beholder.

The wise have always said this,

He who seeks wisdom soon sees,
That there isn't need to look very far,
Such things, hidden very close they are.

Nelgonn we rushed to with arms and fist,

For Trae secretly sought a source of ryst,
And Terrania wished not to finish least,
But again the wise thought best to say,
Seek not the end till you find the way.

Why should we look for new woes,

While what we have is a heavy dose,
Aralla wishes us to have love and peace,
Breed trust not treaty and live with ease.

Trae of the paper, spices and herbs trade,

Has new bridge for her citizens to tread,
If the truth be told the Hran-Zaha's skin,
Is of the most beautiful gold I have seen,
And dear Mithrin has found good company,
In Trahalajia of Aralla's architectural mastery.

32
You who thinks you have gazed upon beauty,
Escape your foolish pride with hastened step,
For Lla-Isra is the world of great tranquility,
With the mind to consider her changed shape,
I must declare "tis beauty" in mine eyes sure,
For even Ella notices her grand flowery allure.

Terrania was not forgotten I am sure,

And what evidence would be any truer,
Than a forest standing at two-twenty meters!
Coupled with a rain of easily a billion liters!
For this and very much more I will praise her,
And may Kyoshe bless Trae each and every sa.
-Parliani Hurewq

One might wonder what happened to the IPET team in Jamirfe when they found a
small continental landmass. One might wonder this for a fleeting moment and then
go back to the business of reading Dromin-3's finest poetry. Indeed, when the IPET
team flew out of their adventure in Nelgonn they very likely flew out of most minds
and only regular reports by the media houses of Dromin-3 reminded everyone that
they still existed. On Jamirfe they did what any good team of explorer-officers would
do and left a small armed research camp on the planet while they went on to Haifal to
finish their momentous undertaking. Jamirfe might have some aquatic resources
worth investigating and Camil Asstin was well aware of this, though Jamirfe was also
the planet where the spacesuits came in handy since its atmosphere had high
concentrations of poisonous gases and corrosive elements. On the 45th sa of Nel-895
the expedition chief requested the Dromin-3 Ports Authority to send supplies and
possibly labor to Jamirfe to construct a research station - an outpost of sorts. Being
wary of the Dromin-3 Treaty the authority decided that permanent structures would
only be set up after deliberations between all concerned parties. However, a
temporary base was allowed; a ship-like contraption of substantial size that would
allow the crew in Jamirfe safer living quarters than the tents they were currently
using. I can personally testify that wearing a spacesuit for sa on end is not very
comfortable to any furred creatures. Naturally, the GFR was called upon to build the
mobile base that would feature climate control and light defenses. As this was being
done the majority of the IPET ships were on their way to Haifal, six hundred million
kilometers from Jamirfe. The gap between these two planets was the biggest
between any Dromin-3 planets and was a fifteen standard hour journey for the
fourteen FEXs and two RECONDAs. Thus it was early in the morning of the 47th sa,
Solnel of Nel-895 that the IPET arrived at the largest and last of the three planets they
were mandated to explore. Haifal has a diameter of approximately one hundred and
ninety-four thousand kilometers which secures second place for it as pertains to
Dromin-3 planet sizes; just slightly smaller than the prosperous one. The gigantic
planet has very much cloud cover and a relatively dense atmosphere; of the three

33
planets in the IPET's itinerary it was the one that had the greatest possibility of life.
Scientists in Trae were very anxious about this particular planet because radio
signals of weak magnitude had severally been noticed to originate from Haifal.
However it was possible that this was the result of radioactive emissions or some
other similar process. At all events the entry into the planet by the IPET team was
cautious and of course full of ill-concealed expectation. They were hardly
disappointed though at the same time they did not much expect what they found.

Haifal is home to Dromin-3's most primitive sentient species - the tChan. Of course
no one outside the large planet knew this until IPET came calling. One cannot begin
to imagine the surprise of a species that still uses animals for transport and has
Class-B weaponry when a RECONDA suddenly invited itself into their planet.
tChanes scattered and rushed into their underground burrow-like dwellings while
others chanted what seemed to be protective incantations that were meant to ward of
the intruder. Their shock was greatly increased by the fact that the RECONDA flew.
Haifal has no birds or flying insects; as a matter of fact wings are alien to Haifal. IPET
EC Camil Asstin was for the second time in his life pushed beyond his wits end and
this time no tough talk would hide it; it was very unlikely that the tChan understood
either Traeian or Meliwa. Quickly getting the RECONDA out of the planet, he
radioed the Dromin-3 Ports Authority and reported the situation, explaining that any
further sightings of ships might cause further panic. Perhaps I should mention what a
tChanek looks like; in case it is not clear tChanes is plural, tChanek is singular and
tChan is the noun used to refer to the species. I suppose one could draw parallels
with the Vorra appearance in that the tChan have two legs and are generally
slender. And indeed they possess the same peculiarity of more arms than legs with
two 'normal' arms like a Traeian and a third arm jutting out of the chest. Something
that the IPET team found very queer was the proliferation of sharp spines on the
tChanek body. Even through the RECONDAs eyes the tChan looked like formidable
weaponless-duel combatants. The short-lived incursion of the AFT-11 into Haifal had
afforded the IPET team a view of semi-arid grassland with sparse and scattered tree
cover. The planet reminded many of the rural scenes of ancient Damar that were
simulated in many Traeian museums.

In Trae the Dromin-3 Ports Authority was consulting with Traeian sociologists who of
course understood that introduction of what must be 'impossible' technology to a
planet of Class-B weapon technology might lead to chaos. The best course of action
was of course to send in a delegation to convince the tChan somehow that the
intrusion was peaceful. Caution would be observed to avoid inadvertently giving the
species an astronomic leap forward in technology. This was duly communicated to
Camil Asstin who proceeded to order one ship to go in and land first. Once the
tChan decided that the ship was not some creature of fabulous properties and
methods then perhaps they would make some headway as ambassadors of the
technologically advanced part of Dromin-3. The ship landed in an area that had been
previously populated by tChanes and of course its very presence is what led to their
sudden migration to safer ground. Once it was on the ground the FEX disgorged

34
twenty explorer-officers who stood apart from each other all around the ship. Thus
they would stand until the tChan decided to venture towards them, whether this took
one standard hour or the remainder of Solnel. The elders of that apparently
cowardly race observed the crew and the 'flying beast' with their wise eyes and held
counsel with tChan warriors who were gathering at a safe distance. After at least four
standard hours - 06:00LH MMT - there was a group of bored IPET explorer-officers
standing next to an idle Federation Explorer with equally bored crews watching
from space as at least four hundred tChanes who we will assume were warriors
approached the solitary ship. Explorer-officers kept TPA-24s and Krasnows within
easy reach and returned to alertness. The warriors were armed with sharp-looking
swords and some form of crossbows; one could not help noticing their long and
sharp grey spines. Their manner was very eloquent of their determination to interact
very violently with the intruders.

As with many of the species we have so far encountered, the tChan had no body
coverings attendant on their skins. Traeians had battle arm-bands and various
standards but with adequate fur had no need of clothing. The Vorra were not furred
but were naturally resistant to low temperatures and highly adaptable. The Meliwa
were similar to Traeians in their use of standards and bands, and also employed
helmet devices. With this situation in mind it might be easier to understand why
textile industries made none of the garment-related products that might be
commonplace in other galaxies either in Dromin-3 or in the Meliwa Empire. Cloth
was woven for upholstery, machine parts, carpets and furniture and of course for the
many temples in these parts of the universe. Speaking of which we might as well
mention that the Meliwa were not godless people - an empire is usually united under
some religion and culture of sorts. Their god of war is Vitta and judging by the
success of their imperial campaigns so far and the extent of their empire one must
assume he is either very powerful or his priesthood know how to please him. For
society and love they have Simiha and her record must be rather soiled if she is
indeed a Wise One, for the Meliwa have little of the qualities she allegedly
champions. The Meliwa have three other gods, one each for navigation, agriculture
and economy who are Sinqu, Kulim and Odo respectively. Ruling over all is Rubi-
Lana with whom the powers-that-be claim to be in constant communication and
counsel. It is not for us to imagine what goes on at the meetings of the Wise Ones (if
indeed such gatherings exist) when their 'little ones' are at war. I will only venture
that following Aralla's own explanations it would seem that the Wise Ones do not like
to directly interfere in the activities of their 'little ones' choosing rather to implore
them to follow certain principles of living.

The tChanek closest to the IPET ship voiced an inquiry that was lost on the IPET crew
who had absolutely no understanding of the tChan tongue. Only the intonation of the
words suggested it was a question and an explorer officer ventured an explanation
in Meliwa and Traeian. It was soon clear on both sides that there was a very strong
language barrier and indeed this substantially prevented the tChan from attacking.
One does not attack a perceived foe without first ensuring that this 'enemy' means to

35
try strength. The tChan might not be the 'advanced' sentients that the Traeians are,
but they are extremely practical and can innovate whenever necessary. Seeing the
dilemma facing them they summoned what they called a shabbra who was roughly
equivalent to a scribe adept in hieroglyphics. The shabbra stepped forward and
drew a very accurate representation of an IPET explorer-officer on the ground with a
pipe-like contraption which was no doubt made for that purpose. The tool was filled
with a black oil that flowed out of the bottom tip somewhat like a very poorly crafted
pen. For the present it served the intended purpose beautifully and when the
shabbra was done he (or she) stepped back and beckoned a Traeian to observe.
The explorer officer immediately understood the diagram as a question which on
one hand showed a Traeian driving a sword into a tChanek and on the other showed
a Traeian doing what we can only imagine was tChan greeting. He pointed to the
second image and with his TPA-24 muzzle circled it to make things clear. The
shabbra considered for a moment then shouted something to the lead warrior. The
warrior summoned another who stepped forward, bowed low before the IPET
explorer-officer and proceeded to drop his weapon and walk over to the ship. The
shabbra looked at the IPET officer expectantly and seeing the concept of quid pro
quo the explorer-officer summoned a colleague - taking care to pick on one who had
his TPA-24 well-concealed in a back-holster. Thus the exchange was completed as a
sign of peace and the explorer-officer motioned to the shabbra to hand over the
stick. Mildly surprised at first the tChan scribe procured another and handed it over.
It would seem that he (or she I must insist) was amused that a visitor of unknown
status should want his drawing-tool which was obviously reserved for professional
use.

With the second drawing-tool the explorer-officer did his best to draw the arrival of
thirteen FEXs and two RECONDAs as a series of diagrams. The oil medium was
surprisingly enough for a lot of drawing and when he was done the 'oil-pen' was still
heavy. The shabbra observed the diagram and with his characteristic quick drawing
produced another set of images explaining or emphasizing that there would be
another exchange if more of the Traeians came. And so it came to pass that as
Solanus went down in Haifal there was an IPET camp with fourteen ships and two
RECONDAs and while five explorer-officers spent the night underground in the
tChan underground burrow and tunnel network, six tChanes spent it within the
confines of a Federal Explorer which they had to be persuaded for several standard
hours was harmless - at least in the intended context.

On the 5th sa, Aqnel of Nel-895 the AFT High Command held a meeting in
Tennsivorra to discuss the long pending question of whether to execute a lightning
strike on the Vorra spheres or even better - Menuel. At the same time the Terranian
Parliament was discussing the funding of the excavation between Travorcia,
Tennsivorra and Samiroz for the tunnel network that was an extension of Jokpim-
511's aerial bunker plan. As usual the legislators were meeting in their underground
building in Travorcia where our favorite Tennsi was governor. In Tennsivorra there
was a map of the Meliwa Empire projected onto a screen in the AFT base where the

36
meeting was taking place. This map was provided by the Firtin rebels who had
escaped to Terrania and where appropriate intelligence data from Operation
Download was used to update missing parts. The Terranian arsenal was now
considerably stronger than it had been the last time the Meliwa paid a visit to the
prosperous one, which was of course in Nel-886. That battle had indeed been the
very cause of the isshar that was to be shown to Dromin-3 by the furred imperialists.
If indeed the Meliwa reached Terrania they would have a great fleet of P-13 Skieters
- which were the brainchild of their own slaves - to contend with. Missing from such a
battle would be the venerable P-12 Skieter that was still the main attack ship of the
Traeian Homeland Defense Forces; Ixian Ares had much faith in the P-13 while Trae
had only pure hate for the Krasnow. Amporters would be in plenty and this too
would be new. But strategists were still not satisfied with matters; attacking an
empire of great size needs some form of inside help. At the inevitable review that
precedes any such meeting the following were observed:

Total weaponed troop population: 130 corps

Size of hover infantry: 20 corps
Size of core land troops: 57 corps

Total ship population: 257, 000

P-13 Skieter 100, 000 (4, 000 squadrons)
P-14 Umilin 12, 000 (480 squadrons)
P-15 Graff 20, 000 (800 squadrons)
P-12 Skieter 1, 700 (68 squadrons)
AFT-01 Stramarra 250 (10 squadrons)
RECONDA AFT-11 80, 000 (3, 200 squadrons)
IDAHO AFT-12 900 (36 squadrons)

Luna suggested that they should make Area 50 a permanent forward base and even
make more such areas all around the approach to Dromin-3. That indeed was the
official position of the LFF and would require an increment in the number of
Stramarras the AFT owned. When at last the meeting was at an end there were
several resolutions that were made. First and foremost there was going to be a
lightning strike on the Vorra spheres with RECONDA's, IDAHOs and Sephanzims full
of troops. The epicenter of the strike would be Jinnah where the Vorra Liberation
Army still had many troops - according to General Jokamiz-01 who would be leading
a whole seventeen corps of Terranian troops in an attempt to set up a base in the
planet. The Firtin general was sure that with the support of enough RECONDAs they
could easily capture the planet and defend it. Of course at present the AFT could
give very many RECONDAs to the worthy cause, having taken into service over
three thousand squadrons since the Solnel began. An active base in Jinnah -
hopefully the whole planet under Terranian military control - would allow the
training of a Vorra army where there was a substantial Vorra population. The attack
date was set at 30th Nel, Solnel of Nel-896 which would be little more than a nel
before the Meliwa invasion.

37
Another resolution of the meeting was that a forward area of defense would be
organized under the auspices of the LFF such that there would be Area 50 all the way
to 120 forming a defense, early warning and intelligence array within the region
between one and half a billion kilometers of the Limedla's nearest point. This area
would very soon be home to a very awesome thirty thousand RECONDAs and
sixteen thousand IDAHOs. It should be clear by now that the Terranians did not
intend for anything to cross the intergalactic void without their leave. The GFR was
requested to begin research on the possibility of a space-based ship port but this
was not a high priority due to the low chance of anything coming of it. Not that
anyone had lost faith in Luna's fleet research; some things have to be considered
with a good deal of sobriety. And as we speak of these great numbers of troops and
ships that Terrania was busy churning out perhaps we should spare a thought for the
wadi who indeed made it all happen in their labors every sa under the light of
Solanus. Terrania's factories have received more than enough attention since that
planet hosted a tiny colony from Trae's larger twin. However, agriculture too was an
industry in its own right and with so much more labor we might say the prosperous
one's harvest for Nel-895 was stupendously huge. Many still suspect that the Wise
Ones blessed the Terranian soils in that nel, for never has there been a harvest such
as that even in the most fertile regions of Charon's plains. State granaries and
agricultural companies reported that they had to procure extra storage space from
adjacent warehouses in various cities - such was the bounty. If there is a goddess
who we can safely say was beaming in Aqnel - though the priesthood should know
more - then I would put all my money on Figr.

By this time the IPET team and the tChan had largely got along and with the
concerted effort of both sides the team had learnt a bit of the tChan tongue. Camil
Asstin had met with the Ez-Dur - the tChan overseer - who was in many ways a fusion
of a political and religious leader. His palace was deep in the Haifal burrow network
which was known as the sikkam and as burrows go it was indeed majestic. The
overseer only granted audience to Camil after the IPET EC had grasped the basic
grammar of the language. This was not very easy since the tChanes communicate
with a mixture of words and incoherent grunts that are not too easy to produce.
However, with fifteen sa of determined training the expedition chief was very much
at home with basic tChan banter. He explained his purpose and as much as he could
of Trae, Terrania and everything in between. This was the second time he was doing
this; the first had been for Aralla's benefit, and he couldn't help wishing the tChanek
he stood before understood Traeian. The IPET team had been given roomy quarters
and their ships were under a constant surveillance by tChan warriors who still
maintained great caution about them. Within the IPET's burrows of course there was
contact with Trae every sa and a comprehensive report always arrived in the
federation regarding progress made. The ports authority had decided that apart
from sending a delegation of social scientists to the planet to study the culture, the
language and other things of interest to such professionals, there was nothing more
to be done in Haifal. Terrania was interested in learning the methods the tChan had

38
used to tunnel into their planet; the prosperous one still had some tunneling of its
own to complete. Meanwhile the GFR had not disappointed the explorer-officers in
Jamirfe, for on the 8th sa, Aqnel of Nel-895 the said officers took possession of two
AFT-22 Galapagos which were indeed just what was needed on the rather
inhospitable planet. The AFT-22 is a mobile research station with all sorts of mini-
laboratories within and looks very much like Sarcan Otterzia's MCV. It however
exceeds the MCV in size and of course it is both amphibious and capable of flight.
The GFR really outdid themselves with this particular craft but broke with tradition
and made the ship weaponless. This is chiefly because they were making something
for Jamirfe which evidently had no hostile creatures to consider. However, the
Galapago is equipped with an arsenal which can be stocked with TPA-24s and
handheld Krasnows. The IPET crew in Jamirfe was very grateful for this innovation
which now allowed the close exploration of the great ocean that was the planet. The
AFT research center in Tra-Tennsi was not so easily outdone for in the same period
they invented the submarine - a craft that had never been needed in Dromin-3
before save for the rock-harvesters of the Quattra Ocean. Three AFT-03 DeepDivers
were also sent to Jamirfe aboard a Sephanzim and indeed the IPET crew was now
well placed to have Jamirfe mapped entirely in no long period.

Nel-896 sneaked in quietly with so much activity going on in Dromin-3 with the
break of Aztesa as a small relief to soldiers and wadi alike. With less than twenty sa
to the attack that had long been planned there was feverish activity; once the Meliwa
were surprised by RECONDAs there was little doubt that there would be quick
retaliation. The project of piloted RECONDAs was shelved by the Terranian
Parliament who were not convinced of its relevance. The GFR which had a prototype
ready on the very first working sa of Nel-896 was not amused. Tyrea Reddz who was
now for all purposes the director-general visited the legislative assembly and made
an appeal against what she and many others felt was an ill-advised decision. In her
televised comments to the nation the speaker of the Terranian Parliament gave the
impression that the GFR was some sort of military funhouse where the republic
sporadically did some impulsive shopping. Such aspersions about the Galactic Fleet
Research made the dedicated and overworked Terranians of that facility take offense
and it was very well that the speaker was not a very frequent visitor of Terrapolis;
someone might have been inclined to do her a violence by way of welcome. On the
subject of an underground network the parliamentarians allocated a handsome
amount which ensured that by the time RECONDAs woke up the five Vorran planets
to war there would be somewhere to hide from the powers-that-be if it came to that.
The AFT were ready to postpone the attack until the matter of the GFR and
parliament was resolved since they too were party to the plan of piloted RECONDAs.
Ixian Ares as of course as disappointed as Tyrea and was also in Travorcia taking
issue with this decision of Biarzi and his fellows. Meanwhile in other military
developments Luna and Arkin were again in space, this time with a very great
armada. Area 119 was the forward base that was closest to the Limedla at only four
hundred and fifty million kilometers of Isabel. The LFF had fifty thousand RECONDAs
scattered between Area 50 and Area 120 with twenty thousand IDAHOs adding to

39
this deadly fleet. The Stramarra count was one hundred and fifty and it is very
accurate to say that the entire LFF was housed within. If there was any doubt in the
Tennsi's minds that the war with the Meliwa would actually begin then this mustering
near the Limedla quelled it. Seventy thousand more RECONDAs were still in
production to boost the offense and the very core of the mission was still in
Tennsivorra awaiting orders to move into space. Twenty-three corps of Terranian
troops were ready to move in a total of one thousand two hundred and eighty
Sephanzims, many of which were still deep in the bowels of Terranian factories.

As things stood it seemed the prosperous one was spoiling for war while Menuel was
blissfully ignorant of the scheming going on in Dromin-3. Out of factories in the
empire came Isshars and eight-winged variants of the craft that carried more
Krasnows and Taksin atomizers. No one in the Limedla knew of the LFF lying in wait
so close to the inter-galactic border. This state of affairs would have continued to the
advantage of the Terranians and the rather great handicap of the Meliwa Empire if it
hadn't been for a very unfortunate coincidence. Now it must be remembered that the
LFF intended to strike on the 30th Nel, Solnel of Nel-896 and this was still twelve sa
away when a Meliwa spy ship - on a whim of the powers-that-be - was detected by
the LFF approaching Area 119. Very quickly things began moving towards it, things
that had very unfriendly intent towards the ship. But this time the Meliwa had made
their ship a little like the RECONDA in that someone in Menuel could see all the pilot
saw in real-time. Stramarras tracked the ship on radar as two RECONDAs circled
round to suddenly appear between the pilot and his galaxy of origin. The AFT
Command in Terrania was already aware of this development courtesy of Arkin
Juder and was indeed putting the matter in the proper perspective; the Meliwa might
indeed not be caught entirely unawares after all. The AFT-11s made quick work of
the spy ship and at Luna's orders went ahead with five IDAHOs to stand sentry just
within the Limedla. The Field Commander and Deputy Head of the LFF had a feeling
that the Meliwa must have noticed their spy ship suddenly go off radar or otherwise
noted its abrupt vanishing.

With the proximity to war that everyone involved with the LFF felt it was little
surprise that the Terranian Parliament was soon under siege even by interested wadi
who felt that the GFR should be given every support to develop their products. This
was understood to be essential in the effective execution of duties by the LFF and
many saw parliament's stingy action as synonymous with sending soldiers to war and
then denying them guns. Such demonstrations as were held in Travorcia left Biarzi
and his colleagues with little option but to give in and allocate terrazim for piloted
RECONDAs. This was one sa after the spy ship was destroyed and the AFT finally
began preparing twenty-three thousand troops for transport to the Limedla. The
force consisted of fourteen corps of hover infantry, a single corps of spies, light
infantry, engineers and Vorra commandos, seven corps of heavy infantry - also
known as core land troops - and ten divisions of miscellaneous fighters - under
which fell most of the soldiers under Jokamiz-01. Firtin fighters were all-rounded
soldiers who were a very great asset since they knew the terrain that the force would

40
be operating on very well. They were of course trained by the AFT on Class Z
weaponry since their whole life they had known only the occassional Krasnow and
the Class K guns that the Meliwa did not seem in a hurry to declare obsolete. At the
forward area of defense nothing happened for a while and Luna pushed the two
RECONDAs deeper towards Meliwa territory. In any case they were going to attack
anyway so her hunches did not carry any risk. Meanwhile the LFF took delivery of
fifty thousand more RECONDAs bringing the total AFT-11 force in the forward area of
defense to one hundred thousand. The remainder were going to be delivered the
very next sa though such a great armada of RECONDAs was already astronomical in
both size and power. The IDAHO population was still at twenty thousand and this was
not going to be increased as indeed the militarization so far done had left the
prosperous one rather poor.

The tChan which I am very fond of forgetting all about were still very much as we left
them. Various social scientists from Trae and Terrania had been conveyed to Haifal
to exchange information with the tChanek shabbras. There was the intention of
possibly establishing cautious trade relations and learn about tunnels from the
burrowing species. The planet itself had been noted to have little trace of ryst or
gold which meant that the IPET had failed in the objective of finding minerals.
However there was very interesting news from Jamirfe; the DeepDivers had
discovered sunken cities of great size in various stages of decay. It would seem that
not very long ago the planet had indeed been host to a civilization of some kind
though no organisms - dead or alive - had yet been found. At the very least Nel-896
was going to be a very great nel for archaeology, social science and hopefully the
military. The IPET team left Haifal with the satisfaction of having accomplished a
peculiar mission and Camil Asstin insisted that they stop over at Lla-Isra where they
gave thanks to Aralla at her shrine. The priesthood of Aralla had commenced work
on a giant temple complex in the sacred planet; the matter of whether settlement
would be allowed in the planet was at present left undetermined. Also as war
loomed large the temple complex of Aralla in Samiroz was completed on the 13th sa,
Solnel of the nel with a similar structure in Trahalajia nearing completion. It is not
that Traeians build slower than Terranians but rather that their temple complex was
far larger. Around this time the ceremonial palace of Terrania was re-opened as the
Terranian Ceremonial Citadel and judging from how all sorts of wadi flocked to visit
it one would say that indeed Mithrin was still very much the jewel of the north and
perhaps of every other direction besides. Trahalajia was regarded more as the city
of Aralla than as a mere tourist attraction and thus related intimately with the
priesthood. Try as they would, Trae could not get the Terranians to credit them with
the beauty of Trahalajia; it was not their architectural skill anymore than the size of
Nelgonn forest was Terrania's forestry skill. And without meaning offence to anyone,
Trahalajia is just a city like any other - only that it was on a marvellous bridge.

At 04:00 LH MMT on the 20th sa, Solnel of Nel-896 the two RECONDAs that Luna sent
to scout ahead in the Limedla simultaneously reported a great flurry of activity in
Isabel and radar consoles everywhere from Area 50 to 120 showed a great number

41
of dots moving around seemingly from elsewhere in the Limedla towards the five
Vorran spheres. It was soon clear that a great host was converging on especially
Jinnah and Katandra - perhaps due to the fact that tiny Isabel was already full of
Isshars. There was no doubt now that the destruction of the spy ship was probably
not the brightest idea. Without delay there was a general movement forward led by
the pilotless ships of the LFF and followed by Stramarras. Comm. Juder's order was
that they advance to within one hundred thousand kilometers of the Limedla and
then wait for further developments. I must say that the excitement of battle had
gripped everyone in space that sa and perhaps this was not altogether healthy. The
AFT was now in constant conference with the LFF and had already agreed to
mobilize the troops as soon as hostilities began - the LFF fleet would provide them
with cover as they advanced to Jinnah. By 07:00 LH MMT it was clear that their spy
ship was very likely not the cause of the increased activity in the Limedla. The
RECONDAs, one in Jinnah and the other in Katandra were reporting that the heavily
forested areas of the two planets were under attack. It would seem the Firtin had
managed a concerted offensive spanning two planets and evidently the empire had
overreacted. Arkin theorized that the powers-that-be had most likely connected the
attack on the spy ship with the Firtin attack and were probably wondering where the
Firtin had procured such a powerful ship as they indeed must have thought the
RECONDA. This was plausible and it meant that the LFF still had surprise in its
arsenal. AFT Sephanzims began moving immediately and an advance fleet of twenty
thousand RECONDAs made their way in haste to the two planets where Firtin rebels -
it was later discovered - were well sheltered in underground tunneling not very
different from that in Haifal. The Isshars were well engaged in firing away at empty
forests and dealing death to innocent trees. IDAHOs moved into action with
holograms and an incessant emission of ranged P-rays that indeed allowed the
RECONDAs to get in unscathed. It was then that Arkin began to realize that though
very heavily disadvantaged, the Isshars were seemingly limitless. Jinnah must have
held at least seventy thousand Isshars that sa, most of which were eight-winged. The
ranged P-ray chorus from the IDAHOs sabotaged four-winged craft and a few of the
eight-winged ones but well over forty thousand were of sound, unaltered design. In
Katandra none of the eight-winged Isshars was present which was a relief. The war of
the galaxies - in a manner of speaking - had begun.

{END OF PRE-RELEASE}

THE END

42
APPENDICES

viii
 GLOSSARY
-Linna: The Traeian word for central.
Acoustic pulse cannon: A very powerful Class X weapon that is a requirement in
Traeian military bases for security. The cannon uses sound waves to disable an
intruder or escapee.
AFT: The Armed Forces of Terrania.
AFT-01 Stramarra: A saucer-shaped ship that is a space mission control station. It
carries no weapons but much equipment necessary for communications and control.
AFT-02 Federation Explorer: Better known as the FEX, this ship is armed with ion
cannons and designed for exploration of the Dromin-3 planets by the IPET team.
AFT-03 DeepDiver: A submarine craft designed for exploration of Jamirfe, built by
the AFT research center.
AFT-11: The military designation of the remotely-controlled attack unit, or
RECONDA for short, which the Galactic Fleet Research developed for the war in the
Limedla. It is structured to have both land mobility and flight capability.
AFT-12: The military designation of the integrated defense and holographic
operations unit, or IDAHO for short. Developed by the GFR, this spherical ship is
chiefly used for producing holographic decoy fleets to deceive an enemy.
AFT-22 Galapago: A mobile research station with amphibious capabilities as well as
flight. It does not carry weapons and was designed and built by the GFR.
AMPORTER: The amphibious personnel transporter – a GFR product that carries a
soldier over any terrain at a respectable speed.
Aqa: A translucent green liquid that Traeians need to survive.
Aqnel: The second semester of the nel which runs from the 60th to the 99th sa of the
nel.
Aralla: The planet spirit of the duoplanet Trae. By virtue of this position Aralla is the
supreme deity in the duoplanet.
Aztesa: A Traeian vacation from the 35th sa, Aqnel of a nel to the 5th sa, Solnel of the
next nel. The term also refers to the ‘sa of resolution’ which is the last sa of the nel,
when Traeians make resolutions for the next nel.
Cent-nel: 100 nel or a Traeian century.
Charon and Damar: The two planets that due to two super-bridges joining them are
considered a single body which is the duoplanet Trae. Charon is the smaller planet
but is highly developed in infrastructure compared to Damar. They both belong to
the galaxy Dromin-3.
Dec-nel: 10 nel or a Traeian decade.
Desazil: A large quadruped creature which roams the planet Hamrah in herds and
photosynthesizes for energy.
Dromin-3: The galaxy in which Trae and Terrania are part.
Duoplanet: A planet that is physically two individual planets but due to some
association between them they are considered as one planet e.g. in Dromin-3 the
planet Trae is a duoplanet made up of Damar and Charon.
Ella: The Traeian goddess of society and love.
Ez-Dur: tChan supreme leader – both a political and cultural leader with religious

ix
authority.
Figr: Traeian goddess of the land and agriculture.
Fiqra: Political opinions and leanings.
Firtin: The Vorra freedom fighters who sporadically attack Meliwa outposts in their
five colonized planets.
Garzal: A Traeian word that means ‘furless one’ and is in general use in Terrania
with respect to the Vorra.
Grand Command: the highest political authority in Trae, made up of 12 members
who are usually military commanders.
Gragwick: A large tree that is indigenous to Charon, standing at an average of 60
meters. A new kind introduced to Terrania’s Nelgonn forest by Aralla, stands at 220
meters.
Haifal: A planet in Dromin-3 that has a sentient species, the tChan. Haifal is the
second largest planet in Dromin-3.
Hala-Kim: An artificial bridge that was built to link the two planets Charon and
Damar in Nel-201 and made it possible for Traeians to tame and inhabit the planet
Charon; thus the duoplanet Trae was created. It stands on the two cities of Xasme
and Silima. Since its commissioning it has been severally repaired and renovated. It
has gravity generators to simulate planetary conditions such that transport pods can
drive along it exactly as on any road.
Hamrah: The largest planet in the galaxy Dromin-3, Hamrah has no surface aqa but
the planet's interior is about 40% aqa. Due to a welded volcanic rock structure very
little aqa is able to reach subsurface levels. The name Hamrah means 'the dead
world'. The planet was later named Terrania.
Hira-Jinn: Commissioned in Nel-235, the Hira-Jinn is slightly longer than the Hala-
Kim and has a great number of parallel rails for attachment of transport pods instead
of gravity generators. It stands on the two Traeian cities of Awasan and Gismisz in
Charon and Damar respectively.
Hran-Zaha: Literally ‘hand of God’. The third super-bridge linking Trae’s twins,
built by Aralla as a blessing to the duoplanet. The bridge has a city on it near the
Charonian side, also built by Aralla.
Inferyst: A material derived from ryst by the process of cryogenic ion interchange
which exists in any one of 5 stable states.
IPET: Inter-Planetary Exploration Team. A joint team of Terranians and Traeians
tasked with the exploration of designated Dromin-3 planets in search of sentients,
life and natural resources.
Ixu: The Traeian god of war.
Jamirfe: A planet in Dromin-3 that is largely oceanic with a very tiny continental
landmass. Jamirfe has several submerged ruins of cities suggesting a civilization
existed there previously.
Krasnow laser: A Class Z weapon that can slice through almost anything. Krasnow
technology in Trae is believed to have originated from Meliwa prisoners.
Kulim: Meliwa godess of agriculture.
Kyoshe: The planet spirit of Terrania and within that planet – the supreme deity.
Leinnon: A phenomenon in Terrania where all the seven moons arrive at full-moon

x
phase in coincidence, causing a very bright moonlight. The word is Tennsi for
‘bright light’.
Leygiar: A Traeian oceanic fish that is long and very heavy. Leygiars are an
important source of food in Terrania due to the many water bodies.
LFF: Limedla Frontier Force. The branch of the AFT tasked with conducting military
operations in intergalactic space and within the Limedla galaxy against the Meliwa.
M7: A Class Y medium range missile that is usually carried in Skieters.
Manazil: Creatures that Figr allows for consumption.
Muzzella: A quick-growing and medium sized tree that is common in Trae.
Nel: A Traeian year; equivalent to 100 sa and is the time in which Trae makes a
complete revolution around Solanus Eriut.
Nel-#: The Traeian calendar year; the reference point is the accepted birthday of
Aralla which is Nel-0.
Nelgonn: A planet in Dromin-3 where the IPET encountered Aralla. Nelgonn was
later renamed Lla-Isra and has been blessed by Aralla such that all weapons are
disabled within the planet’s atmosphere.
Odo: Meliwa god of economy.
Ouiga: A small feline creature that has sharp claws and is carnivorous. The blue
desert sub-species of the ouiga is the planet mascot of Trae.
P-08 Mellam: A large transport ship that is used for quick deployment of
paratroops. It usually carries one hundred paratroopers.
P-09 Sephan: A large rectangular ship that is used to carry machinery and military
equipment that cannot be collapsed and packed in crates e.g. artillery pieces.
P-12 Skieter: Considered the best attack ship developed in Trae and features very
powerful air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles of Class Y rating. It has four wings each
having missile bays, and three engines.
P-14 Umilin: A Traeian attack ship that is similar to the P-12 Skieter but is less agile.
It has a special role as a secondary bomber.
P-15 Graff: A large and slow three-winged bomber developed by the Traeian
Revolutionary Front that can manage secondary attack roles in an offensive.
P-30 Agravell: The Terranian designation for the modified Meliwa Explorer which is
also known as the Vorra warship.
P-31 Sephanzim: Literally ‘Sephan of value’, a modification of the P-09 to allow for
intergalactic travel. The main difference is speed, where the P-31 matches the
Stramarra’s speed while the P-09 is too slow for intergalactic travel.
P-ray: Rays discovered in Nel-888 by a Traeian engineer named Golinn Marconez
and enabled much more efficient interplanetary communications than radio could
achieve and eliminating need for boosters.
Rosein: A gaseous Traeian poison that is not too popular among the assassins but
works well on aerobic creatures.
Rubi-Lana: The imperial god of the Meliwa Empire.
Ryst: The main building material in Trae; used both in constructing dwellings and
machinery. It is mined chiefly in Damar and has an abundance of properties which
make its uses limitless.
sa: A Traeian day; the time it takes for the duoplanet to rotate 360 degrees about it's

xi
axis.
Sachem: A warlike species that control four planets in the Limedla, second only to
the Meliwa in imperial expanse.
Sarriu: A short shrub that has wide yellow leaves and was known to revive victims of
many poisons. It grows within the Great Forest of Charon.
Sentient: A creature that possesses an intelligence level that is above instincts and
has ability of abstract thought and a social structure that involves communication of
complex ideas through generations.
Shabbra: A tChan scribe, adept at hieroglyphics.
Sichinna: A liquid extract of a Traeian plant that changes colour when almost any
known Traeian poison is introduced in it.
Sikkam: The Haifal burrow network where the tChan live.
Simiha: Meliwa godess of society and love.
Sinqu: Meliwa god of navigation.
Solanus Eriut: The star closest to Trae which is its main source of heat and light.
Solnel: The second semester of the nel which runs from the 1st to the 59th sa of the
nel.
Taksin atomizer: A Meliwa weapon that reduces anything it comes into contact with
to atoms. As such it is considered much more effective as a weapon than the Krasnow
laser.
tChan: The dominant species on Haifal. tChanes live in burrowed tunnel networks
and are relatively backward in technology. They have 3 arms and 2 legs, with bodies
that are covered in sharp spines.
Terrania: The new name for the planet Hamrah. The name means 'the prosperous
one' in Traeian.
THF: Traeian Hamrahic Forces was the initial name of the independent branch of the
Traeian Revolutionary Front that is based in Hamrah. This was later changed to the
Armed Forces of Terrania.
TPA-24: Traeian Planetary Army weapon type 24, a lethal electromagnetic ray-
based pistol that is rated Class Z, the highest rating for a non-experimental weapon
in the TPA. It is usually standard issue for Rank 0 Commanders only.
TPA: Traeian Planetary Army. The defence forces (or military) of Trae, loyal to the
Grand Command.
Tra-ixu: The lands of Ixu. These are barren lands where wars are fought.
Tra-Llali: Traeian heaven where good souls go after death. It is believed that all
soldiers killed in battle go to Tra-Llali since they give their lives for others.
Trahalajia: Literally ‘city on the bridge’, the city that stands on the Hran-Zaha
bridge in Trae.
TRF: Traeian Revolutionary Front which is a rebel force that opposes the Grand
Command and is fighting for a freer Trae.
Vitta: Meliwa god of war.
Vorran planets: Isabel, Katandra, Folonika, Shamra and Jinnah. Five planets in the
Limedla galaxy that are under Meliwa oppression.
Wadi: civilians; any Traeian with no military training.
Weizz: A red-brown bird of prey that dwells in the eastern Great Forest of Charon

xii
and is also the planet mascot of Terrania.
Yresa: An arboreal Traeian creature with six limbs that swings from tree to tree. The
yresa is a pure herbivore.
Yuwzil: A bird of prey native to Trae that hunts small creatures for food.
Zilenji: A courageous race in the Limedla who controlled seven planets until they
were subdued by the Meliwa.
Zili: A luxuriant orange herb with thick, wide and succulent leaves that is a native
plant of the Limedla.

xiii
 TRAEIAN MILITARY RANKS
Non-Commissioned
Private Rank 3
Private Rank 2
Private Rank 1
Private Rank 0
Senior Private Rank 1
Senior Private Rank 0

Commissioned
Sub-Captain
Captain Rank 3
Captain Rank 2
Captain Rank 1
Captain Rank 0
Junior Commander
Commander Rank 7
Commander Rank 6
Commander Rank 5
Commander Rank 4
Commander Rank 3
Commander Rank 2
Commander Rank 1
Commander Rank 0
Section Commander
Front Commander
Field Commander
Grand Command Member (phased out after Second Traeian Revolution)

xiv
 IMPORTANT DATES
Birth of Aralla: Nel-0
Commissioning of the Hala-Kim: Nel-201
Commissioning of the Hira-Jinn: Nel-235
First attack of the Meliwa in Trae: Nel-235
Second attack of the Meliwa on Trae: Nel-380
The 1st Traeian Revolution: Nel-760
Founding of the Traeian Revolutionary Front (TRF): Nel-781
The exportation of Joran Vorcia: Nel-799
Luna Vorcia joins the TRF: 13th sa, Solnel of Nel-881
Luna, Haki and Biarzi arrive in Terrania (Hamrah): 39th sa, Solnel of Nel-881
First TRF expedition to Terrania (Hamrah): 8th sa, Aqnel of Nel-881
First battle with Meliwa in Terrania (Hamrah) and subsequent capture of the Meliwa
settlement: 8th sa, Aqnel of Nel-881
Founding of the Traeian Hamrahic Forces (THF): 30th sa, Aqnel of Nel-881
Second battle with the Meliwa in Terrania (Hamrah): 37th sa, Solnel of Nel-882
Naming of Terrania: 45th sa, Solnel of Nel-882
Conquest of Damar by TRF: 11th sa, Solnel of Nel-885
The TRF splits into 3 factions: 12th sa, Aqnel of Nel-885
Arrival of Lomin Libera in Terrania: 20th sa, Aqnel of Nel-885
Luna is poisoned: 12th sa, Solnel of Nel-886
Third battle with the Meliwa in Terrania: 15th sa, Solnel of Nel-886
Luna wakes (from poisoning incident): 18th sa, Solnel of Nel-886
Vorra & Tennsi invasion of eastern Charon: 30th sa, Solnel of Nel-886
Defeat of TPA; 31st sa, Solnel of Nel-886
Launch of the AFT-11 RECONDA unit: 57th sa, Solnel of Nel-891
Volcanic eruption in Terrania; formation of Terrapolean Tower: 20th sa, Aqnel of Nel-
891

© 2009 Kingsley Ndiewo

All Rights Reserved

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