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Contact Us:
General
Family Album
Holiday Diaries
Andy
Amateur Radio
Archery
Computing
Professional Details
Role Playing
Art Narrative (MGH)
Ken
Tom
Trudi
The words and artwork on this page have been prepared and created by Mark Hirst. Full information and additional examples of his work can be found on his website.
The origins of the narrative were inspired by a few of the early pictures and reminisences of our role playing college days. Now tempered by more recent science fiction offerings the orignal worlds of Marks Traveller™ creation see life some 20 or so years since we adventured there in this continuing storyline. The cycle is now complete as the storyline serves as an inspiration for the artwork which originally spawned the story.
ATTENTION ALL CITIZENS OF THE GATEWAY SYSTEM
ATTENTION ALL CITIZENS OF THE GATEWAY SYSTEM
ATTENTION ALL CITIZENS OF THE GATEWAY SYSTEM
These were the opening words of the extraordinary communiqué that sealed our fate, the beginning of a story that would last generations.
The chance to understand the actions of the Lazloi in the Gateway system was in the first few days. Nobody could have conceived the magnitude of the catastrophe that was soon to unfold, nor could they have imagined the aftermath.
One day and one chance to understand, but untold years to suffer the consequences.
The blockade by the Lazloi had only lasted a few weeks, bringing traffic between the Candor subsector and the body of the Imperium to an instant standstill. So far as our records go, we believe that ships going to the Imperium stopped immediately, while those coming into the subsector were chaperoned towards Gateway and not permitted to return.
We can only imagine what our friends in Argus must have thought when the flow of ships and couriers stopped so suddenly. Our logs show that two naval ships were sent to Gateway, no doubt to investigate the strange absence of traffic. They were prevented from returning like other ships, so we must conclude that nobody in the Imperium knows what happened, or the role that the Lazloi played.
Few who survived the apocalyptic events will forget the arrival of the Lazloi known as Alisandra Zilaerion, believed to be the architect of that terrible day.
The tear-streaked face of the Lazloi dominated the view screens of every ship and habitat in the Gateway system. She declared to the stunned crews and public that the entire system was off limits, and that all ships and stations were to be evacuated immediately. Since Gateway has no habitable planet and is comprised entirely of artificial habitats, there was no viable alternative or defence against Zilaerion's threats. She further declared that no ship would be permitted to leave for the Imperium.
The second shocking image was the arrival of a new kind of Lazloi ship, a vessel of entirely unknown configuration. Its firepower was amply demonstrated against a lifeless moon, a public reminder that the Lazloi intended to enforce their orders. As the fragments of the moon spun away, it triggered an explosion of panic and fear amongst the population. Many must have died in the stampede and the fire fights for the last remaining ships.
As Zilaerion warned of an impending battle, the ships left one by one for Seven Sisters, each carrying back the warning to the Candor subsector, her fateful words that would echo for years to come.
"In this and other things, we have assumed control."
-- Professor Alain Holsworthy, Mirokat University
Thunderbolt is a fast ship by commercial standards, with agility and weapons that makes it more than a match for the casual pirate and raider. Fast enough and dangerous enough... But not today. In less than a minute, a group of ships had surrounded us matching our speed and direction.
The mother ship clawed itself out of the pit opening below us, disgourging small craft that swarmed about it like insects. Igniting our main drive was like a stick pushed into their nest. Wave upon wave peeled off from the main group and flung themselves towards us. Siccorra rammed the thrust selectors hard into their slots sending Thunderbolt hurtling into the sky.
As I watched the rear sensors at my board I could see the Alien craft climbing towards us gripped by the sick realisation that we could not out run them. "These frakkers are all over us!!" shouted Siccorra. On the Engineering screens green lights were being replaced by red ones, marking the slow and inexorable set of malfunctions gripping engine number 5, the outboard J17-A on the starboard side.
"I count ten ships distance about 50 metres. Frak, we're boxed in Captain!" shouted Siccorra
"They've surrounded us! What can we do?" demanded Tara.
"The only thing we can do." replied Rhand. "Something unexpected..."
We had travelled here because of an obsession, a belief that something lived here in the void. Rhand told us of voices that spoke to her, about her conviction that they were the inheritors of the ancient race that spread humanity and other sentient species across known space.
An engraved monument on Hycaron II had guided us across a wilderness of destroyed star systems, an ancient map of intricate lines and alien mathematics. Rhand gave me access to old Lazloi data to help decode the stone. It was her belief that we would uncover something that might help the dying matriarchs.
In spite of her apparent prescience, I believe now that she was greatly mistaken.
My research is incomplete, but I believe that the structure we have uncovered is unimaginably old, while the aliens we have encountered are merely the latest squatters to appropriate it. I believe that these aliens, far from being benign, are the great enemy that the Lazloi fear most, the darkness that eclipsed their creators and who introduced the flaw that is destroying the white haired race. These are the aliens who now pursue us, and who have encircled our dying ship.
I'd never heard an alarm like that before. It was a piercing scream that had everyone working frantically at their screens and cursing profusely. The lights in the bridge flickered off for a moment before coming back again. Behind us, the sound of tearing metal echoed through the corridors, a groan that sent a chill down my back. In a few moments, the ship stabilised but was mortally wounded. Whether it was a catastrophic failure or aggressive actions by our pursuers, we may never know.
The alien behemoth was starting to lower itself back into the pit. Whorls of plasma and light leapt up from the interior and began playing off the sides of the ship. As a scientist I should have been excited, but instead I was consumed with dread. I imagined that we were easy prey for these predators, but the alien ships peeled away and returned to their mother ship, satisfied perhaps that we were no longer a threat.
Even with our wounded ship, we were able to change course and fly over the Megastructure. While we peered down into the shaft, we saw a shifting pattern of light, distorted and reflected like the patterns of a child’s kaleidoscope. The ship shuddered as though caught in an unseen current or eddy and our course and altitude changed suddenly. In a flash, the giant craft had vanished.
"They travel the ancient ways, built when the galaxy was young." Rhand's whisper cut through the silence that filled the bridge. "Something a Lazloi said to me once." She fixed us with those bright blue eyes, "We go forward, never backwards."
Rhand took the controls and used the last of our motive power to push us downwards into the maelstrom of light. I was overcome with space sickness as strange forces began to grip the ship, threatening to shake it apart. We passed the line of the surface and plunged deep into the planet, with the strange beacon of light ahead of us as our guide.
Now we are falling into darkness, a darkness without end.
-- Cyana Bristo, scientist, formerly with the Imperial Scout Service.
The first of our probes jumped into system yesterday, its plaintive cry announcing the arrival of the enemy at Hycaron II. It confirms what was feared for many years, that an ancient gate lay hidden there.
Like water ripples radiating from a falling stone, a wave of fear and darkness now spreads across the Candor subsector. As the enemy jumps from system to system, the dormant dust is activating and begins to control and consume its hosts. Fortunately, only Illaria was thoroughly contaminated, while other worlds have only received dust through physical contact and sabotage. Nevertheless, each world in its turn will experience horrors and civil breakdown as the mutations begin.
The darkness spreads with one objective in mind, to make its way out of the Candor subsector and into the main body of stars. Only my aunt and a breakaway group of ships stand in its way at the Gateway system. Those of us who subscribe to the Gathering of Ravens pray that she is successful.
I pray also because fifty standard years ago my aunt went to Hycaron II seeking the gate and found nothing. At the time, she moved amongst the lesser humans and fell in love with a human man. She conceived a halfling child, an event both miraculous and shameful to our clan.
That accursed world killed my mother, and I fear that my great-grandmother was responsible. She was too timid and afraid, and did not commit the forces necessary to deal with the menace that has crossed the divide.
On our chill home world, another conflict looms. The Ravens have defied our ruling council by committing forces to the fight. There is talk of civil war, sister against sister, the dissolution of an authority that has served us for thousands of years.
These troubled times leave little time or attention for a grieving youngster. When I asked Kyraenia for help to find my mother's body, she fixed me with a scornful frown.
"My grand-daughters have been a disappointment to me, what possible interest could I have in their off-spring?"
"Your mother was weak and soft, your aunt, arrogant and headstrong. I have no time for a child with that heritage."
I have to admit that in spite of myself, I cried, angry at her words. Her laugh was hollow and brittle. "How weak is the daughter of Kleneptra, the clan of Zilaerion is truly spent! The inheritors of my line are a weeping child and a monstrous hybrid that lives in defiance of the ancient code."
"Take a ship and pursue what ever mission you wish. If you fail it will be of no consequence. We are living in the end of times."
I try and shrug off the despair that pervades our house. I have a runabout and my friend Arborella at my side to help me. We head towards the Candor subsector and the coming conflict, knowing that by the time we arrive, there will be nothing but chaos.
-- Sylenia ny Kleneptra ny Hybritta hept Zilaerion
The deed is done.
A quiet nod from Alisandra signaled the release of the obsidian egg from its cradle. We felt its departure by a momentary tremor that reverberated throughout the ship.
The observation plates tracked its inward course with a thin blue line. The spark at the end of that line moved quickly to meet a hailstorm of lights, the swarm of enemy ships that entered Gateway hours earlier.
Satisfied that the orb was safely away, the word went out. Our warships left first, followed by our other sundry craft. In less than an hour, it would appear that the Lazloi had retreated and fled the battlefield.
Only The Screaming Fist remained, a solitary speck of light standing before the darkness sweeping across the Gateway system. Since there is no gas giant at Gateway, the abandoned habitats and asteroids of the humans were precious fuel for the enemy to complete its journey.
We waited in silence as the blue line swept by the enemy ships. It was easy to forget that millions of kilometres separated us from the enemy, but nevertheless, the advancing ships chose to avoid the line and continued their advance.
While we observed the alien progress, listening to the screams and chatter over the radio, we also saw the last of the human ships making ready to leave. If we suspected they could travel onward to the next subsector, we would have destroyed them too.
Some of them may survive this, but what they will see, we cannot say. How ironic it is that we, the children of the Creators, will unleash their oldest powers, yet will not be their witness.
There is a palpable sense of relief now our ship is in jump space. We have left Gateway with only minutes to spare, knowing that a great cataclysm is about to be unleashed.
-- Ayana ny Zenya ny Corsiva hept Zilaerion, First Officer of The Screaming Fist.
The news is dominated today by staggering claims that the Lazloi have destroyed the Gateway system. Needless to say, people are a little sceptical and have accused the scientists and reporters involved of scaremongering.
In the studio today we have our very own Lazloi expert, Jai Houdri from the Intersolar News Service. Jai, sounds a little far fetched doesn't it?
Hi Jane, yes it is. You have to remember that the Lazloi are quite few in number, we estimate there are only a few million of them at the most. Even that is probably on the high side. There are claims that the Lazloi are some kind of super race, with force fields, disintegrator beams, teleporters and antimatter power. While it is true that they are little more advanced than we are, you have to remember that space has always had its fair share of legends. I don't think we should be following the hair-brained stories of a grizzled old space dog.
No indeed Jai, so these stories about their ships and technology are exaggerated?
Completely Jane, they are theoretically impossible.
I did hear once that they are genetically engineered?
That's right Jane, we can attribute that to a remark made by a Lazloi some two hundred years ago during one of their visits. There are precedents for this kind of thing across known space, so nothing unusual there.
So Jai, where are these stories coming from? There are other rumours that a small Lazloi ship was sighted on the ground on the outskirts of Tharios, a design not seen before. We've heard stories of gangs of so-called zombies wandering the streets, even alien monsters, it sounds like a bad movie!
Jane, I can summarise it in two words: mass hysteria. We know from recent reports that the Lazloi left the system shortly after a large fleet appeared there. We are still waiting confirmation but I think we can assume that it was the Imperial Navy come to deal with the situation. This kind of tension and conflict is bound to upset people. There's a lot of uncertainty at the moment, a lot of pressure. People think they see things, and before you know it, another story is born. File it under mystic healing and unidentified flying objects.
The breaking of this blockade will be a welcome relief for everyone, especially for traders and commercial transports that have been losing money for months. The prospect of a long-term blockade would have been catastrophic.
Yes indeed Jai, without the route through Gateway, the economy would collapse. So a final thought, is this the last we will see of the Lazloi?
Jane, if you look at the historical record, you'll see that they only appear every generation or so, some fifty to a hundred years. Admittedly this time has been quite exciting, and the authorities are no doubt keeping some of the best bits to themselves, but I think we'll see normality return quickly. People will forget them pretty soon.
Thank you Jai. Next on News Round; the story of the talking dog, and the jackpot rollover. That's right after these messages…
-- KLMI News Round at Six, Jane Tyrman and Jai Houdri, one week after the destruction of the Gateway system.
