In the Rage of War (Juicy & Haldir)

[Juicy Fresh]

For thousands of years, the Korlus planet has been nameless, unknown, and long thought as abandoned. But the planet's sacred lands held more history and life than anyone would have ever predicted or known, except for the very own indigenous peoples; the Korlusinzo. The Korlusinzo have been living among the thick forests of the Korlus for countless generations, and have always been classically known to live within their means – but when a solar flare exploded from the sun's surface, Korlus was the unfortunate target of mother nature's sheer strength. The brutal flare cost Korlus most of it's vegetation, burning the roots of the planet to a black crisp. Only a small population were able to survive from that devastating event, and ever since that wave of hell, the planet has been struggling to maintain any form of nutrient-rich soil and plantation. With only 10% of water left on the planet deemed fit to drink, the Korlus have adapted to nourish themselves with little water, and little food. In result, their lifespans have stretched and they are able to live for up to 150, even 160 years. T are very wise creatures and use experience and determination as the core to their survival. The Korlusinzo are more vastly known for their golden or bronze tinted skin – but more uniquely seen transitioning skin tones to silver when angered, frightened, or anxious. Their mouths are fitted with perfectly straight teeth, with the exception of thick, almost monstrous fangs. Their hair comes in a variety of colors, but mainly charcoal, onyx, shades of green, white, and at times; even blue. As of Sith and Jedi records, no Korlusinzo has ever completed training with the force, or even have submitted to the force. Their average midichlorian count is one of their held mysteries. The least is known about this strange species, who choose to live secluded, isolated, and without contact from other planets. Their interest lies in their own survival, and they have little ties to the outer universe, and are even discriminated as ignorant to modern society. But they could not be further from the truth. The knowledge and observations of the Korlusinzos are their greatest strength against invading forces. Though their army is juvenile compared to the average military, their technique overrules their size. Alone, quiet, and separated from the rest of the universe, the Korlus has spent years observing, studying, analyzing, and learning from the behaviors and mistakes of other populations, especially that of the Sith and the Jedi. In fact, they might just be some of the most knowledgeable creatures in the entire universe. You can call the Korlus population crazy, strange, but the one thing the Korlusinzo were not... Stupid.

“Queen Xylaziagkurokmia*...” A servant called for me in a soft, almost nervous tone as he entered the tower that stood football field high. I knew immediately something was wrong by the sound of his voice. He was an anxious little fellow to begin with, but there was a certain tremble and insecurity in his voice whenever he had to tell me something he knew I would not enjoy hearing.

I resided at the very top, where I had access to the crow's nest, the a view of the entire kingdom I claimed as my own. It also gave me sight of the sky, which I often watched for enemies, meteorites, or Torklurs; ugly tempered over-sized vultures that roamed the clouds like dragons and often swooped in to scavenge for garbage and to pick at small children. I was standing on the edge of the tower's balcony. The sun was just beginning to awaken from it's 20 hour sleep. The light from the sun slowly pealed the thick layer of shadow from the city below. My hand were crossed behind my back as my eyes peered outdoors. I was staring intensely an extremely bright and rather large star in the sky. It flickered and blinked; that concerned me. “Soorgu, what is that?” I pointed it out, stretching my lithe delicate arms and used my finger as guide to the star. The little man of 4'8 stumbled over his long fur coat to get to my side as soon as possible. He looked up but his eyes were weary and worn out. Quickly slipping binoculars from his inner pocket, he gazed up at the blinking light in the sky. He gulped nervously, dropping the binoculars before throwing himself on the ground to pick them up in a hurry. “Don't tell me.” I retracted my question; I already knew it wasn't a star. It was a ship; a BIG ship. No star blinks, unless it's supernova. But even then, this star was strange. “Break me the news. Fast and hard now, I haven't got time to waste.”

“It's the Sith, your highness.”

My expression of distress leaked from my eyes. My skin glittered a flaky gold to the sound of that news. It was worse than what I had expected. We had ships passing in and out at all times – most fly by without even taking note of the planet or even recognizing it as life. On the outside, it looks like a planet that was held under a flamethrower and torched to death. It was a battered pattern or a rusty red, orange, and black. Black were the areas that were completely burnt, red and orange were the areas of mainly desert. There were some faint spots of green and blue, they were most likely non-existent from afar. We try to rid our guests as quickly as possible for the sake of protection. With a population striking barely half a billion people, we couldn't afford another attack on our nation nor could the soil of our lands take another hit.

I fell into a deep silence, staring long and hard at that blinking star, watching it as it grew bigger and bigger. “They're on radio. Erm...” He paused, “They are seeking emergency landing.”

My head whipped back to face him. I looked down at him, frowning with confusion. “The Sith? Seeking landing? Are they out of their mind? Do they think WE are out of our minds? What absurdity have you brought me, Soorgu!” I hissed in disbelief. “You lie to me! What could the Sith possible want from Korlus!”

“The man is requesting to speak to you, your royal highness. He seems eager to speak to you milady.”

I glanced back up at the sky. “Permission not granted.” I growled, my eyes trailed back to Soorgu, who was glowing silver in fear of both my tone of voice and my answer.

“But, but, your highness, they are the Sith!”

“SHUSH SOORGU!” I waved my hand up, pacing back and forth. “If we allow them to land, there is no telling if they turn their backs and murder our natio-” A man interrupted my speech, it was our own commader in flight, he was huffing and puffing, having rushed all the way up the tower to personally speak with me. “Did I give grant you the yes to speak with me?”

“My dear, Xylazia...” That was my nickname. The man speaking to me was my brother. He always denied me of my highness. He didn't care much for my rule – as long as I listened to his military advice, he complied all dandy. “Sister, you MUST let them land. If we do not clear a strip for them, they will all die on impact.” The land was made up of broken rocks and sharp edges from left to right. Without proper navigation, there is no where to land but in a field of earthly horns or right into our city. “Their ship is big – No, huge. But I think I am capable of making room for them on district 6. The strip is our largest driveway, and with proper guidance, I can make more room, but I need time, and we need to act quick because they are coming in fast!” My mind was blown away. This was an on-the-spot decision of life and death on both parties and there weren't many satisfying options. “Please, sister! Regardless of your decision, their ship is assing on your land, the only difference you can make is if their landing is lethal or life-saving.”

“How much time, Dorion?” I asked him, bluntly.

“Until their landing? Precisely 45 minutes, but their ship may gain speed while entering our atmosphere. From then on, there is no telling how fast and how long it will be before they reach ground.”

I bit my lip nervously, “This could be a trap... A nasty trap...” I shook my head. Everything about this situation was wrong to me. The Sith were in the middle of their raging war to gain control of the Republic and defeat the Jedi. They will kill and destroy anything that stands in their way. Red flags were being tossed up from left to right in my mind. Something was deeply wrong but I couldn't pin-point what it was. I had to decide fast. “I will speak with this Sith who screams to me SOS. No enemy will shit on my people without having a good reason for it.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​

Both my brother and I rushed down to the Skyline Tower, which controlled all of the intteractions between planets, and connected Korlus to the rest of the universe. The tower was huge, with different floor packed with technology. I was brought to the very top where a giant window wraps around the towers tip to give a dashing view. The front table, a long, U shaped stretch of high-tech flight equipment encircled the tower. My brother, Dorion, opened up the connection to view the other ship. The Sith's Strike Force airship was under turmoil, the screen was spitting colors before going completely blank. No visual image could be seen of neither our control panel, nor theirs. Only an audio was now functioning. “Commander, you are speaking with the Imperial Queen of Korlus, do you read me?” I paused, “What are your current coordinates? What is the state of your ship?”

*[ her name is pronounced Z-eye-laz-e-ag-ku-rock-me-ah]

 

[Haldir]

The Sith Battlecruiser Unending Fury ad seen far better days, as it shakily moved through space, fires raged inside compartments, and entire decks lay depressurized. It was wonder the ship had been able to escape it’s engagement, the Republic’s ambush had decimated them, and if it wasn’t for the cruel tactic of their Commander, Vadrien Sirone, they would all be dead. No one dared say a word of objection as he deployed all three fighter wings in a suicide rush of the Republic flagship, their ship barely making it out of the way as the last of the fighters exploded from gunfire, or their suicide runs into the bridge of the Republic capital ship. With a slip of a finger, the Navigation officer had taken them from the well travled route to Dromund Kaas, to a planet that wasn’t even charted. One slip, and now, it seemed they were only prolonging the deaths they should have faced at the hands of their Republic adversaries….

Vadrien growled under his breath as the voice crackled through his helmet. He had directed the ship’s crew to uplink him directly to the people on the planet below, but the distraction was still unwelcome as he stood in the center of the bridge, his vast store of energy focused on keeping the broken ship around them from disintegrating from entry into the alien atmosphere. He looked to his right, staring at the terrified Comm. Officer, he snarled at him, his words coming out in short bursts, the amount of concentration he needed was physically draining. “Tell them whatever the hell you have to! We won’t survive this unless I keep this hulk together!” He closed his eyes, his arms shook beneath the dark blue uniform he wore, he expected he could hold it together just long enough to survive the impact, but once they hit the landing pad? Well. The barracks and cargo bay was a few dozen decks below, the back of the ship was…useless. Thousands would die, but that wasn’t really his problem.





The terrified Comm. Officer nodded, he looked to his right, and the two remaining pieces of the Navigation Officer that had gotten them into this mess told him all he needed to know. He quickly got to work, placing his headset over his ears, and responding. “This is Communications Officer Rein Odva, our commander has requested I speak on his behalf, seeing as he is the only reason we aren’t fragmenting in your atmosphere at the moment. Our current coordinates place us at ZX1324 by our standard graphs, and about 100 miles from your large city, which my computer is telling me will be the crash site, unless you give us a landing strip. Our ship is heavily damaged, status is critical, In about twenty minutes, your city, and our ship will be dust. I suggest you move quickly.” He sighed, he looked to the commander, her merely nodded, his eyes still closed, his limbs were shaking, and the groan of metal grinding and bending against each other could be heard. Rein was a simple man, he knew nothing but the whispers of their commanders, they could generate unseen forces around you, kill you with a look, and carried the dreaded weapon that gave them a near god-like status amongst his crewmates.

 

[Juicy Fresh]

I blew out a mouthful of air to the sound of the critical state of your burning ship. My decision was made. I had no choice by to allow the landing. It seemed the situation was a lose-lose case, but if I acted correctly, perhaps this could be used to our world's advantage. “Mr. Rein Odva, was it? You listen to me, and you listen hard and well. We are opening a landing strip for you to the far right of your coordinates. The driveway will be lit up like a shinning hoard of fireflies. There is no way you can miss it. By the ratings of your ship, the strip is rather small, so it will be a tight landing and it must be placed with precision or your ship will disintegrate on landing. Ships will be ready on stand-by to assist your ship and your passengers. I will have my air force prepared to shower your ship; assuming a flame will be set with admission to planet. But there's one thing that you must listen closely. It is still dark on our planet. It is difficult to navigate through the night – but the worst problem you are currently facing are the Torklurs; gory creatures that lurk in the night and are attracted to fire. They will attack your ship predictably in a pack. I am assembling my military to prepare to destroy the threat of Torklurs, but if you fire and attack our ships; you stand no chance against these large animals on your own. I ask you disable all form of weaponry and leave the attacking to my men. Is that understood, Mr. Odva?”

While I discussed the current situation, my brother was quick to get his army up on foot. “CLEAR DISTRICT 6! MOVE ALL FIGHTERS TO DISTRICT 11 AND GATHER AID ON DISTRICT 6! MAKE WAY FOR LANDING. LIGHT UP THE RAIL, FIRE THE DOLKENBU, CHANGE THE BULBS TO THE SUNLAMPS. Let's get this track ready for landing! Move, move, move!” Everyone was scrambling to their feet. Preparing everything they had been told to do. The Dolkenbu was a mist of chemicals that burned the skin of the Torklurs. They weren't toxic enough to kill the animals, but they were strong enough to keep them away. Since the sun had yet to fully rise, our city was still in dark; the Torklur were roaming around, waiting for a new target to come in their path. They were hungry, clearly, and they have the jaws to rip a ship apart to get what they want. Clear carnivores, the only reason they had yet to eat our entire city was because of the Dolkenbu mist, which isn't all that healthy for out people either. But it was the only contraception against an attack. It has been a long-hard battle against these murderous creatures since they began to emerge 167 years ago. They mysteriously began to roam the air, something never seen and strangely appearing across the planet. Were they genetically created? Naturally mutated? Purposely placed on our planet by another species? It was a mystery. The only thing that saved us was the sunlight, but even that was limited.

Ships dispersed and parked on District 5, the strip parallel to District 6. They were ready, after only 14 minutes, to assist the Sith once they arrived. Ambulances, firefighters, and truckloads of supplies were assembled in just 20 minutes. It was enough to help until more supplies were flown in. A dormitory was already being set-up in the University of Rakrendistk, across from the hospital, on my command, to host the Sith until they received help from their Empire. The University had hundreds of empty rooms ready for use. Out of sheer luck, the University was empty due to, conveniently, intersection school break of 6 weeks. Students, after every semester of school, were obliged to move out of their dorm; despite return 6 weeks later. Dorms were usually switched nevertheless. The dorms are clean, but food and full bathroom supplies would not be available for another hour or so, but that was just something they would have to live with.

District 6 was prepared and ready. The track was lit up and the blasters were prepared to attack the Torklur. I could already see the Sith ship entering the atmosphere and coming in fast. They were already on fire, battered clearly, and that fire would be quick to spread. The Torklur were already licking their lips to the sight of the ship. They could smell the blood, breathe the fire, and would not miss out on this chance. “Pilots take your stance. Launch in 3, 2, 1.” The sound of a loud blast shook the ground in the command center. The ships were off into the air; prepared to do what it takes to chase the savages from attacking the Sith. The fighter-crafts were equipped specifically to battle the Torklur. They had blasters that fired a plasmic formula, consisting a powerful Dolkenbu, sunlamp solution which was hot and bright, and a mixture of natural ingredients that melted the skin of the animals. But these blasters were not easy to formulate. They used a lot of energy and a lot of formula in order to bring down a Torklur – and took months to create a proper solution that is effective. Despite the difficulties, we hadn't had a need to use the fighter-crafts for a couple of years. We were luckily equipped with plenty of formula to attack. Let's just hope it still worked.

The Torklur had already begun to approach the Sith. They were the size of a foot-ball field – ultimately huge. Their mouth could fit a fighter ship easily and there were at least a dozen in the sky that night. They had started to form into their pack to attack, but my army's fighters were already all over them. Blasting them from left to right. Swerving from side-to-side in order to dodge them and to avoid impact with the ship itself. One by one the Torklur fell from the sky, one or two fell dead, but the others just flew away into the distance in fear. But there were a couple that would not give up. One of them taking an aligator snap onto the side of the ship. “BLAST THE TORK, BLAST THE TORK! SHE'S GOT A MOUTHFUL OF THE SHIP! BLAST HER!” Shots were being fire and after a few moments she let go and squirmed in pain as her skin melted off of her faces bone. “They're pulling back! Brace the driveway. Water the ship and flash the lights.” The lights were flashed as told. There was no way anyone could miss the track. It was the brightest piece of land for thousands of miles. When the ship came close to the ground, hoses of water spat out gallons of water to cool the ship and extinguish the flames spitting out the sides of the plane.

I bit my lip nervously, bringing my thumb into my mouth to bite on in order to calm my shaking nerves. I regained confidence and shook off my jitters. I walked, surrounded by guards and armed men, towards the exit of the complimentary building. There was one complimentary building for every landing strict, and they were all attached to the Commander Center, a monstrous building that indoor-parked all important ships and controlled all flights in and out of Korlus. The entire air force was managed in that building. The doors opened and I exited. A large gust of gold wind greeted me as I walked outside, watching the very ship that could be the hell of me land it's giant ass on my property. All I could do now was hold my head up high, look confident and beautiful, and hope for the best.