“The alternator is not charging the battery. We will give you a ride to the gas station,” you say.
Danny says, “You two have had quite the day, your car breaks down, a bear attacks and you meet us. What else can happen today?”
Helen smiles, “you aren’t that bad now.”
Alicia says, “I think you are one of the bravest men I’ve ever seen,” looking at you.
“Maybe the dumbest. I didn’t think, I just did,” you say.
“I gotta admit it was cool Michael. Crazy. But cool,” said Danny.
You all get into your car and head back to civilization. The radio, which was playing hip hop music stopped for a special announcement. The International Space Station has been receiving descriptions of a planetoid sized object making its way through the asteroid belt. The scary thing is that it has changed its position twice.
“Its the Arkanian Empire Danny. Their scouts and spies are already here. They are slavers Danny, and they will enslave the entire human race. Their main force is that planetoid, and it will be here within two year’s time. We need to find the family and evolve them,” you say.
“Can we fight them?” Danny asks.
“Of course we can. We are the Lords of Fortune and Travel,” you say.
“How much time do we lowly humans have oh mighty lord of fortune and travel,” asked Helen with a smile.
“They are here already. And we are not lowly humans. Our technology is the most advanced of all of the slave worlds which number in the millions. We will actually are behind them in one thing, and that is they have space gates.”
“Ooo space gates,” the girls said giggling.
“They allow the folding of spacetime. Still, we have technologies that they don’t. We also have a lot of designs that they don’t. For the most part, we are smarter than them, stronger than them, better than them in every way save one. They have eons on us as a civilization. They are advanced though stagnant. We can …” You are interrupted by the radio.
The International Space Station was just destroyed, all lives were lost. Satellites are being destroyed one after another. There are other, wartime, communication structures being put into place. Moments later arrives the announcement that the country is at war but didn’t know who with. They were thinking it was a terrorist attack.
You nod showing your understanding of the tactic, “now more spies, scouts, and saboteurs can come to earth. And we won’t see them.”
Helen said, “guys this isn’t funny anymore. What do you have on now a DVD? What’s really going on?”
“Helen don’t be afraid, you are now at the safest point on this planet. You are with us. And yes, we are at war. The thing is the government doesn’t know who they are at war with yet, but we do. And it will be only a few hours before the government is given an ultimatum. Ah here we are, we are entering the town,” you say.
“Stop Danny,” Alicia shouted. The car stopped and we all got out. On every TV in the window of stores was the destruction of the Space Station and satellites. Alicia holds your hand. Helen is crying.
“It’s true,” said Danny as if believing it for the first time himself. The streets were filled with parked cars and people looking at cell phones, bar TVs.
“What are we going to do?” asked Helen. You smile.
“We’re gonna kick their asses, take their transport technology, and kick them out of the Galaxies. We will then rule the Galaxies through commerce and legislature. We will be fine,” you say.
“Those poor people up in that station are not fine,” said a woman with tears in her eyes. All around us were people talking and tearing.
“What the hell? Hey everybody, look at that!” A man shouted pointing into the sky. There were five flying objects that looked nothing like planes. You know what they are though they look like curved boxes wrapped in pulsing veins. Three airplanes streak towards them and within seconds all of them are lost. But also within seconds, four alien craft blow up and one crashes.
“Come on Danny, we got techs to get,” and with that, you jump in the car and turn around. You head towards the crash site. The girls jump into the back of the car and Danny in the front.
“Coming with us eh ladies?” Danny asks.
“Despite the fact that we are going towards the aliens, I feel safe with you. Fortune Lords and Travel Lords you called yourselves. Alicia here is a lawyer, but I am a reporter and I smell a story here,” says Helen.
“I guess there is a story here. What are a lawyer and reporter doing in the backroads of this state?” Danny asks.
“We are sisters and we are visiting our parents grave,” says Alicia.
“I’m sorry to hear about your parents passing,” says Danny and you ride on in silence. It is a short time after that you see it. It is huge and stands at least fifteen feet high. You know that it is riding an animal bred for high gravity worlds. Danny stops the car. In the distance, you see the crash of a spaceship. There is a green light shining into the sky coming from the spaceship.
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“OK Danny, you stay in the car and protect Helen and Alicia. I will take that guy down,” you say.
Alicia grabs your hand.
“Don’t worry ladies, he can take care of himself,” Danny said and continues with, “and so can I.”
You get out of the car and run toward the creature and its rider. The rider raises its arm and a crossbow folds out. Bolts are automatically loaded and three are fired quick enough to make you breathe heavily as you dodge. The shots are wide as you close the distance. The rider is not used to this gravity despite powered exoskeleton he wairs. He will get acclimated if you don’t kill him first.
The beast though is more dangerous. It snaps at you with its bite. You grab its head and swing onto its back in front of the rider. The rider pulls out a dagger and stabs at you. You grab the wrist of the humanoid-like creature and twist with all your might. You hear a pop as the creature screams.
Danny is out of the car with a shotgun as you hoist the rider above your head and slam him to the ground with a sickening crunch. You jump off the beast and Danny opens fire. The creature roars and charges Danny while you snap both arms and legs of the rider who passes out from the pain. The smell of gunpowder fills the air as a loud pop is heard. The beast falls. You hear helicopters in the distance. You take a flat card off the rider. You run and jump into the car and drive to the ship as Helen puts away her camcorder. You hear sirens.
At the ship, you slide the card in an opening and the door opens. You enter. The door closes behind you. You remember the schematics of the ship and make your way to the control room. You hear helicopters outside. You hear shouting. You turn off the distress signal. You visit the computer console and take the equivalent of the harddrive.
A slave. It looks like a bear cub with a work suit on. It was a member of the Kaldone race. The Arkanian Empire enslaved and ate them for thousands of years.
In the Arkanian language, Arkani, you address the slave, “Who are you?”
“This lowly slave is Baka Teen. Are you the new overseer?” It replies to you.
“I am Michael Tanner and I will train and teach you about your new life. It is best that I carry you, it may be dangerous outside. Do you now communicate with the Krasha slave?” You ask pulling out the fleshy hard drive.
“Yes I do,” said Baka.
“Good cause I can’t,” you say.
“What is the Krasha’s name?”
“Kinto my lord,” said Baka.
“OK, it is time for all of us to go.” You say.
“Yes, my lord overseer.”
Hefting both of them we exited the space ship to find a crowd of people, soldiers, and the police.
“Whatever you do don’t shoot. I’ve come with gifts. I do advise you to move that ship as fast as you can in order to study it. These two were slaves aboard the ship and want asylum.”
Reporters, including Helen, were taping this for the whole world to see.
“Please send your photos and videos now or we are all as good as dead,” you say.
“Actually no!” said a man in uniform, army uniform.
“This is now a top-secret site, all of you are …”
“It’s out Michael. It is up on youtube and my publishers site as well as emailed to several bloggers. The word is out and it will stay out,” said Helen.
“You are under arrest Mr. Tanner,” said the soldier.
“You don’t have the jurisdiction Major,” said Alicia.
“I’m the highest-ranking officer at the moment ma’am, and that …” he began.
“Means nothing as he is not in the military, my client refuses to speak with you, you speak with me.” Alicia began a few minutes of arguing.
“Men stop them, use deadly force if necessary. Turn those smartphones off me!”
There was a phone call. The soldier spoke for a moment and handed me the phone. He identified himself but you don’t know the name. You gather that he is a very important person in the government.
“How can I help you sir?” you ask.
“I want that alien and the ship.”
“There are two aliens sir and I am taking care of them. Don’t worry though, they will be making momentous contributions to science. But they won’t be dissected,” you say.
“How much is it gonna cost boy?”
“Sir, trust me, my family and I can get anything we want,” you proudly state.
“Don’t snow me, boy, I don’t have all day.”
“I can, and will, give you what you want sir, but just not the aliens themselves. I will give you the first call on all tech that comes out of the aliens. The little fleshy blob is a computer sir, it has access to most of the information on how to maintain and repair the craft. And more. However, these are under my family’s protection,” you say.
“Your family? This is the damn US of A boy and we are much more powerful than your family boy. If you don’t hand over those aliens we will take them from you.”
“You can’t sir,” you say.
“Oh yes I can boy, you just watch me.”
“I’d advise you to move that ship before they come and blow it up. The pilot is a member of the Arkanian Empire and you can have him. I can and will teach you their language. I will be a consultant to the US government. But I must warn you. Do not harm my family in any way shape or form. Or you will have hell to pay,” you say.
You and Danny, Helen who was still filming, and Alicia, make your way to the car.
“Everybody in the car,” you shout, they all comply. You stick your head out the window and shout, “we are on your side. We are all brothers and sisters here,” you shout at the crowd.
“You got a phone?” you look at your brother who looks back with a are you insane look.
We were both in the hospital with hospital gowns, when did I have time to get a phone?”
“How close are we to the closest family house in this Universe?”
“Cousin Katherine is two hours away by plane, about a nine-hour drive.”
“I am going to open all of the family powers in each of them. We need to contact them as soon as possible or they will freak out. We need phones.” You say.
“You can use our phones after we charge them,” said Helen.
You start driving out when you pass where the maimed Arkanian was Baka went mad.
“Overseer, the master, the master. We will be killed. Overseer” shouted Baka.
“Relax Baka, you are safe now,” you say in his language.
“How do you know that little guy’s language?” asked Danny.
“Yes, how do you know that language,” asks Alicia.
“Growing up I spent time in a hyper-advanced universe. The Family controlled it. I learned science, history, and comparative cultures there,” you say.
You select eight options which takes several hours, summon a die and roll. You get into the closest city and first stop at a department store for luggage bags, and then you find a hotel. You smuggle the two aliens in the luggage and Alicia pays for the rooms. This was over your objections.
It was the next morning when Alicia and Helen began to glow.
Name
Michael
Abilities
skills
Characteristics
Char Values
Fortune 14
Arkanian Culture
Strength
9
Travel 1
Arkanian Tech
Intelligence
16
System 0
Mythrian Sci
Knowledge
15
Mythrian Tech
Dexterity
10
Kung Fu
Constitution
9
Human History
Charisma
9
Human Sci 3
Luck
27
Human Tech 3
Wisdom
12