The (Complete) Moliskion

The (Complete) Moliskion (Abridged)

The Moliskion

There has been a remarkable find.

From the far, dark history of the planet we call Calypso, a relic has been discovered. Many races have arrived here over the centuries, and earlier than most were the Molisks. They recorded the story of their arrival and subsequent settlement of the planet in a tome called the Moliskion, which has been kept hidden ever since by the leaders of the race, deep beneath the ground, brought out only for new entries to be added. It was said to hold the secrets to many of Calypso's mysteries. Until yesterday, this book was a myth to some, and unknown to others.

Whilst pausing for breath atop a mountain halfway between Fort Argus and Fort Zeus, I was approached by a molisk Scavenger with a unique proposition. In return for passing on the information within the Moliskion to a hopefully understanding and sympathetic audience, (and 20 Papplon, he was hungry) he would furnish me with the passages they considered most relevant (there is apparently a fair bit of waffle in the Moliskion.... the Leaders never edited).
What follows is directly translated from the original Molish.

The Moliskion. (Abridged)

Arrival Log of Sendarin, Admiral of the 1st Fleet .

Year 9 Day 214

Tomorrow we will be inside the atmosphere of the new planet, Zebu. It has been a long trip, and I only hope it is worth it.
Twenty decks below me, a hundred thousand peasant-class Molisks await the end of a nine-year voyage. For security we have a company of eight hundred Warriors, under the command of four of our finest Leaders. It did not help their morale last week when a long-range ship from the home planet berthed with us to take on extra scientists and equipment; in the time since we started our voyage, advances in science had cut the journey time to less than 3 years, and so the new arrivals were able to catch us up. We were all reminded of what we looked like only part-way through our travels, before the effect of living in space had really started to act. Our skin was paler, our expressions less ready to appear on our faces. We were happy to recieve mail and fresh food, so it was not total despair. Early scans seem to confirm the atmosphere is suitable for life, which came as a relief to all.

Year 9 Day 215.

It is a barren place. There is life here, but an uncommon dominance of predators; those animals one does see are both hunter and hunted. Some game animals have been sighted, but they were not of a size to suggest use as livestock. Several of the Warriors have asked to be demoted to Hunters in order to start re-stocking the food reserves, but I cannot allow this until the scientists have made thorough examinations of all they need to see to ensure nothing here will be harmful to eat. Spirits are high.

Year 9 Day 219

Four days here and we have lost over 200 Warriors. Further exploration has revealed the land to the south is infested with enormous eight legged-beasts. All efforts to combat these monsters has failed. It has been decided to halt any attempts to map the area until a solution if found.
We have sighted the rough camps of some kind of nomadic tribe. There is nothing to suggest a comparable intelligence. Contact will be made but we are expecting cavemen.
The camp is in good starting shape; the settlers have had the news of the monsters kept from them by the prudent decision to site the hospital in the adjoining valley. Some have begun to hunt birds, and an armoured worm-like creature that has proved a fine, digestable meal.

Year 9 Day 228

We have now established that there are two indigenous races on Zebu. The Feffoids are large furred creatures, fearsome in appearance but possessed with intelligence and open to doing business. They are not armed as such, but are able to strike coldness into you. Early meetings have resulted in trading of goods and they seem unoffended by our intention to stay. They too fear the beasts in the south, which they call Araneatrox. They have furnished us with the names of many of the creatures here; Atrox and Atrax, two types of running predator, Merps, an annoying dog-like menace, and the birds; Berycleds, Chirpies, Turps and Fugabarba.
We have introduced the Daikiba with great success, indeed they seem to be growing every day.

Argonauts are more of a problem. These sometimes gigantic ape-like beasts have caused nothing but trouble so far; we have assessed that they too have an intelligence capable of communication, but they instead to choose to raid and taunt us.

That was from the early days of settlement. Now we go forwards to a chaotic time for the Molisk colony.

Year 21 Day 7

We have had reports of the landing and departure of an unknown spaceship. We have Warriors heading to the site for examination.

Year 21 Day 8

A new enemy is here. The ship left a scurrillous colony of Umbranoids. Umbranoids we have met before, and I see no good in them. They are the result of the measures taken by some civilisations to enable them to travel in space; ships are sent on two-thousand year journeys, with a crew that is born on the ship, reproduces and repeats the cycle until it reaches it's destination. Depending on the size and morals of the colony, many such ventures result in incest-related deformity or madness. In space, those poor doomed souls are called Umbranoids, and it looks like someone dumped a good long voyage worth on us. We have secured the camp, and troop numbers are stable.

Year 21 Day 44

The Umbranoids have attacked. We are at war....

Year 21 Day 45

The initial Umbranoid assault on our camp has been repelled, although Shimeril, the oldest and most experienced Leader of our forces was mortally wounded and died a few hours ago. He was the first Molisk to act in anger on the vile opposition, and slayed seventeen before being taken down by many more. A valiant force of peasants were able to disperse and kill his attackers and retrieve him from the battlefield, but his wounds were too severe. Warrior Zychion will succeed him. Shimeril was the best of us all; he will be missed.

The Feffoids have offered help only in a supply capacity; it seems they are unwilling to fight unless directly threatened, which they have not been so far. My personal opinion is that despite their size they may not be too daunting a combatant; although they possess the ability to strike with coldness, I predict a healthy Molisk Warrior would fare well against all but the strongest of their clan. The Argonauts remain a menace.

We have assessed the enemy's forces to be around four thousand strong; one can only imagine the size of the ship, and length of the voyage that brought them here. The camp has been strengthened and lessons have been learned; these fiends have no weapons of their own, except those they took from fallen members of our front-line troops, which they wielded to deadly effect. Steps are being taken to ensure this does not happen again, including cut-off devices being fashioned that render the electrical weapons useless once taken from the bearer. All soldiers now carry the minimum of equipment.

We counted eight hundred and seventy-one Umbranoid dead. Our losses were Shimeril, sixty-five Warriors and one hundred and four peasants. Our advantage through weaponry eventually routed the assault, leaving the remainder to flee back to their camp. The full enemy force did not present itself in battle, we can only assume they were testing our defences. I hope their conclusions give them cause to stop.

I imagine the crew who abandoned their unwanted spawn have little concern for them, or anyone they may come across with their hate-filled minds. In the same situation, I suppose I would have done as they did. It was simply good fortune that our civilisation's economy had swelled to a point where we could purchase advanced travel for our journeys through space: left to creating a space program from the sole efforts of our race, we would surely have had to start with the same primitive methods.
We had heard of the ships that flew unmanned, until twenty years before they reached their destination, when embryos, frozen until that moment, would be fertilised mechanically, and babies born, raised and taught by computerised means to run and land the ship. They would carry out the mission required of them, take off again and die on board. We had heard of the crews who froze themselves, hoping the computers would remember to wake them up after a few millenia of drifting towards a far-off star. Then there were the generation ships, those that caused the existence of Umbranoids; none were appealing to a race only wishing to explore in the cause of furtherance. To injure or abuse our own in order to simply explore was not something we could contemplate. It was good fortune indeed that we had ample goods to trade when interstellar contact was first made. The Calamura have proved useful allies.

Year 21 Day 49

A newly formed platoon of Raiders encountered a band of Umbranoids and a battle was fought. Twenty-Nine enemy were killed, and a further four ran from the fight. Not one Warrior perished, and four alone were wounded. Morale is higher than ever, and promotions from the peasant ranks have swelled the armed divisions to nearly three thousand. We anticipate the next battle as the end to this war.

Mention has been made in counsel of contacting the home planet. As Moli lies the other side of an expanse of opaque space, this would mean sending ships. The Cutter which brought the new crew would take a little over three years to make the trip, and many opinions were voiced on the need to send it now, to err on the side of caution. I assume this was mostly hysteria based on the present situation; personally I see an end to this, and cannot be panicked into calling for help. I will listen to a vote, but it has not reached such a stage yet. I assume once the enemy is vanquished the issue will no longer be relevant. Our mission after all is to estabish a colony and await reinforcements, and I see no reason to alter that course for now. We are the only race on this planet with firearms, engineering or experience on alien worlds, and our colony will survive.

Year 21 Day 70

Our armed forces today reached the required capacity. We now stand three thousand, four hundred and eleven strong. One less than the enemy, as honour dictates. Enemy activity has been sparse of late, and we can assume the spies we have seen at a distance have given them indication of our strengths.

Year 21 Day 72

We marched today on the Umbranoid camp. Faced with our full and fearsome army, they immediately surrendered. A minor fight was had between our forces and a raiding party, some distance from the main confontation. We lost two brave Warriors, and sent five Umbranoids to their grave. We hold several of the enemy in cells within our camp.

Year 21 Day 88

An agreement has been reached with the Umbranoids. They are to divide their number between four designated camps, and kept closely monitored. The Feffoids graciously allowed us to site one of the camps on land they feel they own; while good relations continue with these battle-shy allies, they can go on thinking they do. They also agreed to assist in the security of the camp. It is intended to use the Umbranoids as a labour force. Although they age quickly, the disgusting creatures also breed proficiently, and possess sufficient strength to carry out manual tasks.

Year 21 Day 111

A third of the way through our twelfth year on Zebu and things are going well. We enjoy continued good relations with our Feffoid neighbours, who have proved useful in navigating the further reaches of the continent. Aside from the south, we now have outposts in all locations deigned strategic.

Agriculture is progressing, with both the discovery of the Cornundos, a larger herbivore, and the growing of fruit in the constant sun. I'm happy to say the cuisine has improved considerably on the long-frozen space fare we were getting too used to.

Argonaut activity of late has been of little regard, They seem to have moved from our patrolled areas, possibly to the south. One can only hope the beasts down there put an end to their mischief.

Entries of similar nature continue until the 33rd Year.....


Log of Xajorkith, Limnadian Commander.

Year 33 Day 6


Less than a week from our new year celebrations and a new cause for excitement; we have started to recieve signals from the edge of contactable space. This can only mean that ships from home have crossed the opaque expanse between us and will shortly be on their way. At last, some news of Moli, and the reinforcements and equipment we sorely need. The signals should improve and our scientists estimate a ship could be here in as little as three days.

Thirty-three years since this mission left home and most of us yearn for the familiar sights and smells of the places we left behind. Those born here are a new breed of Molisk indeed; we have our memories of a safer place, while they see danger lurking from the start.

Civil development of Limnadian is progressing well. Admiral Sendarin is supervising the construction of our capital city, and many mighty structures have been completed. We have separate projects underway in the North east and the West, but it is here around the lake that the main work is being done. We also aim to have the tunnels finished by the end of this year.

The search for energy sources has been rewarded with a bountiful source in the eastern desert, and methods are being discussed to best achieve its extraction and conversion into useable energy.

Year 33 Day 7

The signals from space have sharpened into a distress beacon. Tomorrow the approaching ship will be in live communicative range. We cannot assume, we can only wait.

Year 33 Day 8

The ship is the Cutter FarFlame and bears Leader Brith, who has come from the home planet with grave news. A robot force has invaded Moli with much aggression. FarFlame was launched as the battle raged fiercely, along with seven other ships sent to outposts and colonies far out in space. The threat was great, and all avenues of action needed to be explored. Those on Moli had to know who could come to help them and where they could run to. As FarFlame reaches us, reports will be sent back to Moli by a new type of automated rocket, at speeds faster than any manned ship could achieve.

The counsel are in turmoil; the news has indeed shattered the calm of my second year of office. A reckoning of our munitions and troop numbers gives enough to crew and arm both cutters with a compliment of twelve-hundred men aboard each. This leaves six thousand ground troops and four hundred Raiders to maintain security here. Work on the armament facility is underway, but for now we service and recondition weapons in their fourth decade of use. FarFlame will land the day after tomorrow. The journey has taken just over a year; we can only hope the full story is more comforting than the introduction.

Year 33 Day 9

With news spreading of the war on Moli, large numbers of peasants, gatherers and scouts are applying for armed duty.

Year 33 Day 10

Brith has told us all he knows. A massive robot force landed in nine locations at once, in huge hovering ships. Many kinds of robot disembarked and wasted no time in advancing on nearby cities and settlements. Troops had been rallied worldwide, and armies were sent to counter the robots at the landing zones. It was a good time to be invaded; relationships with the Calamura, our technically advanced neighbours, were at a high, and our weaponry and defences were the strongest they had ever been. Ships had been sent to Calamura asking for their allegiance in battle, and we outnumbered the landed force by three to one. As hundreds of thousands of fully armed Warriors marched on the robot menace, Brith and his fellow fliers were sent to place the out-lying colonies in readiness and alert. When they left contactable space and entered the opaque expanse, the battle still ran.

Leader Zychion has called for the immediate transport to Moli of all available troops. Many of the warriors agreed, but it was the final decision of the meeting to await further news. We have every reason to believe the battle went well.

Year 33 Day 13

Today we recieved new, busier signals from the edge. We cannot help but fear what may come.

Year 33 Day 14

The signals are those of a hundred beaten, fleeing ships. The worst is confirmed. Moli is lost.

Log of Leader Zychion, Limnadian Commander PreTerm

Year 33 Day 14

I regret to inform the Moliskion of the passing of Leader Xajorkith by his own hand this very night. He led us through times of peace, and this new dawn of war cannot touch him. Fare Well our friend.

We ready ourselves for the evacuees, and only hope our families and loved ones are amongst them. The Feffoids have pledged all the help they can give, which we must assume means they may still not fight. Of the long-absent Argonauts there is no news. We are alone.

Year 33 Day 16

One hundred and twenty-one ships reached us, with news of several more on the way. Many bore the scars of intense battle, indeed some hardly made it at all. Most were packed beyond capacity with countless thousands of our people, but any hope to find our loved ones has been dashed by the obvious chaos that preceded their launch. There had been no time to assign ships or take names, no processing of information. Everybody just ran.

The battle had started well for us, with the invaders being held fast in their landing areas by far superior numbers. Our recently acquired armoured vehicles had proved effective against the laser and plasma-based attacks, and the fight looked over. Then the second, much larger wave of robots came, followed by a third only an hour later. Their numbers had swelled to irresistable amounts, with smaller flying attackers giving them an overwhelming advantage. Those who saw the fighting said that all around was suddenly burning. To these robots it was as though the colours of life were the enemy and all must be black.

We can only assume the Calamura suffered a similar fate. No contact has been recieved.

We are treating the wounded, and a team of workers have been set the task of making as many of the ships space-worthy as is possible. All weapons are being dressed and readied. Troops are being swelled and allocated. We are faced with the very real possibily that the robots will come for us, and we must be ready.

Year 33 Day 20

Eight more ships have now reached us, one with the company flying dead; a last attack while fleeing had rendered the life support systems useless. Their arrival after so many months in space was not good for the spirit of the colony. The last ship to arrive was the Gard , a Calamura Destroyer we had obtained some years before. Admiral Corleth was at the helm and had stark news; there was no-one behind them. The ship was equipped with the best of Calamuran equipment and they knew for sure. They were the last.

Year 33 Day 28

We have taken a census of the Molisks currently on Zebu.

Limnadian Commander: Leader Zychion

Commanders: Fawkrin, Blood, Ithnorn, Sendarin, Corleth

Leaders: Fourty-Eight

Raiders: Seven hundred and Seventy-Five

Warriors: Eleven thousand Four hundred and Nineteen

Hunters: Twenty-Three thousand and thirty

Gatherers: Fourty thousand, five hundred and twenty-four

Peasant Class: Two hundred and eighty-six thousand, one hundred and ninety-one

We have seventy working ships for use in battle. Of these, four are heavily armed, fifty-eight are lightly armed and the remainder carry bombs and other one-use devices. On the ground, the new arrivals brought amongst other things a near-complete armoured platoon. Thirteen black and red Scavenger Tanks are at our disposal with experienced and willing crews.

The Feffoids, should they choose to fight, have thirty thousand soldiers at their command. That they have imparted this information gives some hope.

If the Calamura put up half the fight that our compatriots did on Moli, they might have broken the back of the robot assault, enough for us to resist whatever is left. I pray this is the case.

Year 33 Day 40

Still we wait. Ships have been positioned on the edges of the opaque expanse in order to ambush any robot probes or invasion vessels. Not much is known about their craft or flight characteristics. We do not know what to expect. Every day sees more Molisks get past the training week and into the army. We must do what we can.

Year 33 Day 55

There is no sign. Five more ships have been repaired and assigned bomb-carriers. A mass funeral was held this morning for the casualties that could not be saved, although most of the wounded from Moli are making fine recoveries.

Year 33 Day 112

It has been many weeks since the ships came from Moli, and thought is divided in counsel. Possibly the Calamura, helped by the damage wrought by our own brave forces, routed the robot menace? Might the home planet be free of the unwelcome horde? Consideration was also given to the notion that the robots simply did not know of the planet Zebu, or had no need (if they ever had a need) to voyage here. There has even been talk that suggests those who ran did so too early. I know many of those of who died, and many of those who reached here, and my opinion is that they did all they could do to keep the race alive.

Year 33 Day 140

Work has resumed on the energy project; using new tools and technology from the evacuation ships we have been able to design a suitable method of extraction. A tower is being built in the eastern desert as a test on a small scale. if this proves successful, we shall commence building the full size facility as soon as confirmation of the passing of the robot menace is obtained. We are living in a false peace I feel.

Year 33 Day 307

We picked up signals from the opaque expanse this morning. An hour later the Gard intercepted and destroyed a robot reconaissance rocket. The stillness of the waiting weeks has gone. The entire force has snapped to attention.

Year 33 Day 310

The mechanised demons are upon us. They come with a force the likes of which I have never seen, but we return their attacks with ferocity. We are outnumbered and outgunned but we will fight to the end. We have nowhere to go from here. This battle shall be remembered.

Year 33 Day 311

They have taken the western outposts. Losses in the region are high. The remaining forces have been routed to help defend the north. In the sky and above the atmosphere the aerial battle still rages, our ships finding every way they can to penetrate the robot ships' defences. Of the seventy-five ships we readied some fifty-two remain. Although this compliment of robots alone looks a huge obstacle to climb, we cannot be sure another force does not wait to appear out of the opaque expanse and overwhelm us as we had known them do before. Surely no foe is undefeatable. We will fight.

Year 33 Day 316

Troops from the west, north and north east have fallen back to the base at Limnadian and the new city. The robots have retreated from fierce resistance in the east, and our troops there, under the command of Leader Cruzar, have eliminated two robot landing vessels before they were able to take off. The main camps defences have been strengthened and the perimeter mined.

Year 33 Day 317

The robots attacked the new city and camp with the full force of their landed army. Our defences were soon in tatters, but enough solid cover remained to put up a decent fight. Our tanks fared well against all but the flying machines that dive-bombed them, nearly wiping out the entire armoured platoon. Only sharpshooting from the Hunters halted their efforts. Our weapons are low, and this is only the first fight. At the time of writing the enemy lie to the south, on the hills that overlook the camp. Our remaining tanks are ready with guns trained on their approach.
The men are not scared. Our losses were high, but the robots lost many in return. The skies are now quiet; in the horror of combat no-one noticed when it happened. We have no news from our pilots.

Year 33 Day 318

To our consternation the robots remain to the south. They have neither attacked nor retreated. We remain ready, far safer here than in the open field of battle.

Year 33 Day 322

Reconnaissance confirms that the entire robot force is south of the new city. Leader Cruzar and his men have been returned to the main force from their stronghold in the east. We will need all the good fighters we can get.

Year 33 Day 323

The Feffoids have come through for us. They have pledged to fight by our side.

Year 33 Day 325

Today came the thing we dreaded; confirmation that this was not the full enemy force. No doubt they had waited to see what our forces consisted of once amassed, and simply ordered reinforcements to suit. It was hard to think of these robots' actions as anything but clinical. Before our eyes, the enemy army rose two, four, sevenfold as the reinforcements beamed down. New fears went up for our missing pilots who had held back the robots for so long.
We brace ourselves and wait for the onslaught.

Year 33 Day 326

The Feffoids have dropped their offer of help, instead declaring neutrality.

Year 33 Day 328

The battle has begun afresh. With ammunition running low it may only be a matter of time, but we will try to stop these monsters. Many halted robots lie piled against our defences, the fight is constant.

Year 33 Day 329

We were given brief respite when one of our ships, the Drama came limping back into the atmosphere and strafed the attacking front line. They continued to do this several times, eliminating countless robots in the process, before failing mechanicals forced them to ditch the craft. I am happy to report that neither Leader Brith or any of his crew were hurt in the landing, although several carried wounds from the initial conflict. Despite our best efforts, they continue marching from the south. The battle line shrinks around us again.

Year 33 Day 330

Losses are high, the defences are weakening. All we can do is fight on.

Year 33 Day 331

Our lives are forfeit to blood and steel. Still we wage war.

Year 33 Day 333

Today we have hope. As the relentless mechanoids pushed ever closer to destroying us, on the fifth hour of the morning a commotion was noticed at the rear of the robot assault. From behind, the robots were being attacked, and heavily so. As this news travelled though the mechanised army, more and more were leaving the fight with us to turn and fight their new enemy to the south. We cheered so loudly when we saw who it was. The Argonauts.
Taking their lead and assuming their needing all the help they could get we left our defences and helped encircle the robot horde. We barely noticed each other in the heat of battle, only to witness the ferocious capabilities of these beasts. Armed with only crude tools, they were frenzied in their attacks, ripping limbs and armour from the robots with their teeth and hands. I could see they numbered easily as many as we did. Where had they been all this time?
The robots buckled and fell under our attack, and the fight rages on. With these new and able allies the fight might well be ours. We end the year well.

Year 34 Day 1

It is late in the day and our efforts seem thwarted. The robots have been reinforced again, and their numbers now are greater than our allied forces combined. Most tanks are now too damaged to use. We fight on.



Log of Leader Cruzar, Limnadian Commander Pre-Term

Year 34 Day 2

It is my sad duty to report to the Moliskion that Leader Zychion was killed in battle. Noticing a new threat, he took a platoon of raiders to the south-east where he confronted and killed several enormous robots armed with terrible blades. A hero to the end, Leader Zychion saved his platoon by trapping a grenade in the casing of the robot that mortally wounded him, destroying the last of the attack wave. He will always be remembered.

The Argonauts gave us something else to remember this day. Soon after the death of our Commander, in the midst of the mighty melee to the end, a huge argonaut warrior sent out a piercing hoot through a wooden pipe he held aloft. With this all the other argonauts backed away from the robots, and so we did the same. We surrounded them now, but the argonauts to the south of the robots split to let that side be open. We were now all out of the range of their guns in a horseshoe around them, wondering what the Argonauts had in store.

To the south we saw movement. At first it was like twinkling stars or sunshine on water. Then we saw the creatures, or mutants. They walked on short legs, their huge elongated torsos bare and blue. They were carrying glowing sticks that trailed a phosphorescence where they passed, and were a strange sight indeed. I estimated their number to be about a hundred. The darkness far behind them I had attributed to approaching clouds, but could not have been more wrong. As the mutants approached, I noticed some devilishly floated above the ground and immediately feared what may happen. There was evil in the air, on our side or not.

The darkness behind them soon became terribly apparent. Such a sight had been seen by the early explorers, while I was seeing it for the first time; the Araneatrox herd. Fear struck all of us, and it did not help to witness similar shock in the faces of the Argonauts among us. They could not help but share our terror. We were looking at the most fearsome sight imaginable. From the south, a multitudinous spiny-legged forest of murderous repulsions was making steady progress towards us. The Argonauts started to widen the horseshoe, and again we followed. The Mutants reached the southern limit of the robots' range and parted their forces east and west. To our amazement, the Araneatrox condensed their sprawling, galloping herd, spear-heading towards the robots with all diabolical speed. If we ever needed reminding how mortal we are, all of us here this day will only have to recall how the robot aggressors that nearly wiped our race from the universe were picked apart like fruit in a monkey's hands by these monsters. The horseshoe widened ever further as the mesmerising battle took place, every ferocious act causing another step away from danger.

Once every robot lay broken and torn, the mutants bade the monsters to stop and gather for return to the south. This they did, to everybody's relief. The fear stayed with us until long after the twitching, clattering mass was over the horizon. What a day.

Year 34 Day 4

The robots are no more an immediate concern. We were all overjoyed to see the safe return of the Gard. Admiral Corleth has reported the destruction of all remaining robot transports.

Communication with our new allies has been established to a degree. The Argonauts Leader is called Mul Vaggar, and he has revealed that his people have explored and found a second continent, which they named Amethera after their Goddess. It was there, after many encounters with beasts fair and foul, that they met the Thorifoids, the saviours of the day. These Thorifoids are able to harness the minds of some of the fiercest creatures of Zebu, and although lacking technology, have a high intelligence. They will be tremendous allies.
I asked Mul Vaggar what made them decide to help us after so long. He said they saw us fight like they would, and that was enough.

Year 34 Day 28

Technology from the slain robot horde has proved useful. Over fourty percent of the munitions have been replaced.

Year 34 Day 41

A ship was sent today to fire a long-range rocket from the edge of the opaque expanse. This will return with surveillance of the current situation on Moli, and from this we can ascertain whether we can send a fleet back there. While we await it's return, rebuilding is afoot.

Year 34 Day 111

The centrepiece of the new city will be the planned Zychion Citadel, named in honour of our fallen hero. Constructed to huge dimensions for all the races of the planet, it shall be a mighty structure indeed. Work on the energy tower is also underway.


Log of Leader Cruzar, Limnadian Commander

Year 34 Day 118

We have brought in several robot fatalities for examination and investigation into their usefullness. It seems many of our adversaries were new to battle; this and the array of different types employed points to the use of prototypes.

Word has reached me of the actions of a group of Feffoids, who after the battle, captured and retrieved a wounded Araneatrox. They aim to exhibit the monster to the public. Although it seems a shame to treat this magnificent beast in such a way after their help in vanquishing our foes, I feel there is nothing we can do. This race has no concept of duty to anything but themselves. The tunnels are almost finished.

Year 34 Day 139

The static on the edge was heard today. We wait as one.

Year 34 Day 140

Today we recieved news of Moli. The rocket has returned to reveal the home world is burnt and gone to us. It seems the battle was final. Examination of space-borne wreckage revealed signs of a massive fight between robot and Calamuran ships. Our allies did come, and it was this fight that made ours the better. As for Calamura, their land was as scorched as ours. We can only hope they got away.
The mourning is endemic. We must make this world our own now. We remain hopeful of contact with other colonies in space.

Year 34 Day 159

The meeting of the races was held in Zychion City today. Elder Sendarin spoke for our people. We were successful in keeping the lands we had laid claim to, and more importantly the lake. The Feffoids shall keep their Port to the West and with our assistance and using Umbranoid labour, they are to build a market town. One can only hope this improves the nature of the place. The Argonauts asked for no land, they wished only to be allowed to roam. This we could not allow, not in every part deigned ours. We agreed mutual exclusion zones; we would not venture towards the high mountains in the North West, and they in turn would respect our ownership of the lake.
The second continent of Amethera was declared the home of the Thorifoids without argument. It is already known that the monsters in that far land are terrible and numerous, so we had no cause to object.


Log of Leader Brith, Limnadian Commander

Year 37 Day 111

Today's third-year celebrations were held in Port Atlantis, the Capital of the Feffoid race. It has been agreed to include these cowards in our celebrations for diplomatic reasons. They are safer where we can see them.
It was my first visit to this pit of iniquity, and it only served to confirm what I had been told. The Feffoids have embraced the order of the time and mean to squeeze profit from it. Everyone in this place is selling something. Only half built yet overcrowded, the effort put on by our hosts to attach some festive cheer to the proceedings was at least in some way effective. What did not impress me was the sight of a once-proud Araneatrox caged and on display. The monster has lost nearly half of it's limbs defending us and these rascals. I could not help but notice it clearly has difficulty standing, but stand it does. Some comfort was gained from the information that Feffoid onlookers have frequently been known to get too close to the "spectacle" and found themselves part of the show.

Year 40 Day 238

Work has halted on the energy tower. It seems the integral energy is proving difficult to manage when extracted, and a solution must be found. We will need the energy tower in order to build factories and forges. The equipment we have is becoming old, and has seen much use.

Year 42 Day 25

Signals are starting to be heard from the edge.

Year 42 Day 26

We have been afforded the honour of the presence of the Emperor Undead. His remains were taken from Moli before the robot attack, to the colony of Berlea, and will travel from there to be kept on Zebu. It is understood this is to be a permanent arrangement. Our colony has thrived where others have failed, and we represent the new centre of our race. It was with relief I was able to confirm to the elders that the tunnels were finished. All Molisk settlements demand "a home for the Emperor" but many an architect has saved time and expense and either built a mere facade or not included the tunnels at all. Given the head start we had from the discovery of the caves, our Emperor's Halls rank among the finest ever dug. The six largest salvaged robots have been supplied with adapted weaponry and implemented as guards.

Year 42 Day 30

Today the Emperor Undead arrived to take his place in the Halls under the Lake. Neither of our allies on this world shall be party to this ceremony. No risk must approach the Emperor. His remains shall rest here untouched, guarded by the highest force.

Aside from quarrels with their neighbours there is little of note in the next sixty-eight years. The story continues from there.

Log of Leader Khobar, Zebu Minister

Year 110 Day 327

Preparations continue for the celebration of the Trionir. Six days remain and the cities are in steady cheer.

Year 110 Day 328

Today a sound I have never heard; Static from the edge.


Year 110 Day 329

The signal from the edge is using the language of the Calamura. Preparations are being made to welcome these honoured guests. That the allies of old should be here to join us in celebration of the hundred-and-eleventh year of this mission makes for good tidings indeed.

Year 110 Day 330

All was not as it seemed. When the ship broke orbit it was obvious that this was no Calamuran vessel. Many words can be used to decribe but only ugly seemed appropriate for this abberation of space. As it landed I was reminded by it's form of an insect that had been stepped on but refused to die. With anxious breath we waited as the access hatch opened, revealing the grinning faces of the Foul. Our surprise over, Counsel went aboard the Foul ship to discuss the nature of the landing, and their use of the Calamuran tongue.

It transpired that the scavenging Foul had encountered the last of the Calamuran race on a planet named Badvoc One. Here they had fled from the war with the robots only to be met with new foes. The evil Kreltin and Formicacida thrived, many areas were dominated by swarms of lethal flying insects, and the air itself contained many pollutions, including gene-altering viruses. For many decades, the brave Calamura pitted themselves at this hostile place in a bid to make a new life for their race; but instead the planet doomed them.

We were taken below. Those we met were not Calamurans. The traces of the physique that remain, the likeness in the eyes leaves no doubt to what these creatures once were, but what stands there now could not ever bear that proud name. Physically and mentally there has been a terrible toll. The distorted, mindless end of a race. Our duty is to their memory, and we will make them a home here.
It seems they left a beacon playing a looped message to potential rescuers. From this the Foul had engineered a welcome signal; they correctly assumed permission would not have been given to land had we known who they were.

The Foul have asked permission to remain here a while. They have been off-world for a long time it seems. As payment for bringing us our allies, it has been allowed that they stay for one month.

Year 110 Day 331

Counsel met to discuss the end-of-year business.

It was decided that the Calamusoids would be given the area north of the Feffoid capital; as mutants themselves, they can have no genuine objection. A moment was taken to mourn what the Calamura once were.

The domestic energy project reports success for the tenth year. The use of the platinum spires has proved efficient far beyond their intended temporary capabilities. More spires are being constructed and clad in the energy-absorbing metal. They will be erected across the breadth of the land to provide localised power for all. Thanks to the mercifully plentiful veins of high-grade platinum found during construction of the Emperor's Halls, we found ourselves with a solution that would otherwise be too ludicrously expensive to contemplate. We have no real facility to produce or engineer, to properly build our world, but we have enough to heat our homes. The work on the main tower still waits.

The Thorifoids have asked for a breeding pair of Daikiba. It seems they like them.

Year 111 Day 70

The Foul are still here.

Year 111 Day 75

Today we heard static from the edge once more. We only hope something good comes through the black.

Year 111 Day 76

Using translators obtained from barter with the Foul, we have identified the signal as a ship from Earth. Preparations are underway for a diplomatic reception. Earth stands outside those worlds we have communicated with, but tales of their travels have brought them to our minds. Tomorrow, we look forward to showing them our world.

Year 111 Day 77

Will space always yield anything but that which is expected? The Earth ship is a Long-Range Gunboat, captained by Chug Manoc, a Lieutenant in the Earth Rangers. The crew are also of Earth origin and number twenty. Theirs is not a mission of exploration and contact, but one of desertion. It was apparent in their stance, and their actions on landing. Confirmation came through cursory enquiries as to the nature of their journey; the crew were not able to furnish us with any believable explanation for their sole excursion to our lonely co-ordinates.

It is reported that they were grateful to be recieved warmly; I believe they were happy to have been recieved at all. Much can be learned from these voyagers, who seem unquestionably advanced yet approachable, but our trust must come with caution. Those who have left their own army can not be expected to pledge allegiance with sincerity.

Year 111 Day 78

The Humans have asked if a place can be made for them on this world. We have agreed to temporarily place them south of the Phoenix plains, where they plan to build a settlement. Talk moved to the energy project, and the Earthmen took to the problems we had suffered, and promise a solution of sorts. Trust them or not, nothing bodes ill from their visit this far.

Year 111 Day 95

A meeting was held to discuss the new findings concerning the energy project. The problem lay in harnessing the integral energy that radiates towards the atmosphere from within the planet. The most obvious method was the building of antennae in prudent locations, to interrupt and concentrate the flow. Platinum was found to be excellent as the shrouding material for these antennae, our existing equipment allowing sufficient power for domestic use to be drawn from this arrangement. The Humans propose we start anew on the large tower in the eastern desert, using components from their ship's engines. It is hoped we can finally achieve the self-suffiency that will allow us to advance.

Year 111 Day 108

The Foul are proving difficult to contain. Several reports of theft and petty villainy have been reported. I fear we are to be burdened by these vermin for some time.

Year 111 Day 111

The day of the Trionir-Niran. Celebrations were held in Ithaca, Limnadian and Minopolis. The Argonauts visited to pay respect, an action recieved warmly by counsel. The savages are no longer savage.

Year 111 Day 133

I personally took Mr Manoc on a tour of the western regions. On witnessing the plight of the Calamusoids, he made much mention of past attempts by scientists of his own race to replicate this condition. It was thought their twisted, spined bodies and malevolent minds might make them good soldiers, and so experiments were conducted using criminals and volunteers, who were then given an equivalent cocktail of viruses and pollutants to those found on Badvoc One. The results were insane and unusable. Chug went on to inform me that the forces of Earth also took many Kreltin from the planet. There was a considerable market for these rare and aggressive beasts among those rich enough to hunt for pleasure. He was involved in the transportaion of this violent and lucrative cargo, and grew more disillusioned with the forces he served with every corrupt and undignified task he was asked to perform. Work has started in the eastern desert. I feel this man can be trusted, but I fear now the encounter to come with the government he runs from.

Year 111 Day 195

A law was passed today that forbids any Molisk from trading alcohol, drugs or weaponry to the now well-established but inscrutable Foul. It is hoped this will bring us some peace from these inter-stellar scoundrels. No wonder no planet will admit to spawning them.

Year 114 Day 40

The humans have built an armament facility and a food processing plant. We await the completion of the energy tower. They have rendered their craft useless; all that remains to return them to their homeworld is an emergency shuttle. For their obvious interest in supporting our endeavours on this often hostile world, we applaud and accept them.

Year 118 Day 277

Today we had static from the reconnaissance rocket sent years ago to establish numbers of Molisk survivors on distant colonies. The news is awaited with considerable expectation.

Year 118 Day 278

Of eight other known colonies, the rocket was able to survey five. Two, Garannia and Klaru, were desolate and empty. Togravan Beta held a small force, estimated at four hundred strong. The distance to this outpost was considered too great for their use to be considered. We can only hope for their survival. Of the colonies in useful range, Johanzir holds fifteen thousand survivors, of whom six thousand are of fighting capability. It seems many armed units found themselves there after the war. Hammerson has the largest colony, at seventy thousand strong, but poor surface conditions have hampered their progress. The colony is still in the throes of merely surviving, but seems free from direct peril.

Year 120 Day 303

Work on the energy tower is completed. Now we can advance. Too long we have existed on the fringes of obsoletion. Using the knowledge of the Earth men we can develop finer tools and weapons. We now have seven cities on this world. Moli has found itself afresh.

Year 128 Day 81

Reconnaisance rockets have revealed a shrinking of the opaque expanse. The cause is not yet known, but the activity continues.

Year 128 Day 88

Our scientists have ascertained the reduction of the opaque expanse is through artificial means. Mr Manoc and his crew assume it is the work of their own forces.

Year 128 Day 130

The Feffoids have reported great success in mining the southern reaches; with the co-operation of the Thorifoids they were able to make an area clear that was previously swarming with Araneatrox.

Year 128 Day 141

Through examination of the rate of decay in the opaque expanse our greatest minds have declared it will be two hundred years before the prying eyes of space are upon us.

Log of Leader Griefer, Zebu Minister

Year 155 Day 232

The opaque expanse that once shielded us is now down to four percent of it's original mass. Contact has been already recieved from beyond. Ships approach. Mr Manoc and his men are to be sent to Berlea with all haste. We know nothing of this race other than what we have seen of Chug Manoc and his men. If the rest of them are near as noble as these we see, then such a race we will welcome.

Year 155 Day 233

We have been hailed for permission to land by the emissaries from Earth. Obeying given protocol we responded positively. They will touch down in a few hours time on the Limnadian lake shore.

Mr Manoc and his men were able to leave atmosphere without incident some hours before the Earth ships arrived.

Year 155 Day 234

We took the humans to our meeting hall at Limnadian. Two were sent, a male and a female, both tall, elegant and sombrely dressed for their kind, in long dark capes over leather suits. Both were armed, as were we at all times, although the side-arms they carried held the gleam of a lurking power we could only dream of equalling. We were told that their race had indeed been instrumental in clearing the opaque expanse, in order to open up trade routes and complete navigation of the area. It was inevitable, from their efficiency and confidence, to assume they thought themselves superior, but in our discussions they trod a line of humility and openness. They have surveyed our land from space and wish to continue, with our blessing. We have agreed. We are not able to stop them doing as they wish, but they have caused no alarm, or taken no liberties to confirm these worries.

Year 155 Day 240

The two humans were taken on a tour of the east and north east today in their own vehicle. Much mention was made of Zebu's wildlife, not least the proliferation of predators and what the Earthers called "fine game animals".
An inspection of the completed energy tower also caused much interest. Particular curiosity was displayed on how much power could be harnessed were the structure to be bigger still.

Year 155 Day 262

Today we signed an agreement for trade and developement with the Humans. They will provide us with the means to expand our energy collection programme and therefore improve facility for expansion through design and manufacture. I applauded the initiative until I learned of what happened in Port Atlantis later this day.

It seems the human emissaries, as part of their introduction to our world, were being shown around the Feffoid capital after the signing of the agreement. Once in the main market square they were present when the ageing Araneatrox kept caged there for spectators to view broke free of it's bindings. It was able to then kill four of it's "trainers" through the bars of it's cage before tearing open the gate and jumping out into the square. The monster instantly ended seven more lives of Feffoid and Foul, then turned to face the humans. This was to be the last action of a proud and defiant beast. I was told of it's humiliation after the part it took in the great battle. Decade after decade it has refused to bow to it's captors, standing tall on beaten limbs for over a hundred years of degradation. It took the humans, with a single, devasting shot from the side-arm the female carried, to finally put the old survivor on it's knees.

A single shot! There is no doubt now. These new associates are to be feared, or at least respected.

Year 156 Day 12

The Humans continue to aid our progress at every turn. They have asked permission to view the tanks and weaponry that remains from the last war. We allowed them a partial viewing; we cannot allow every secret to be told. One Scavenger tank was taken away to their base in the Ares district for examination.

Year 156 Day 201

We recieve news that the fugitive Chug Manoc has been captured in deep space and sent for trial back on Earth. Of his crew there is no word. Their only actions whilst here were those of friends, so our thoughts must be with them.

Year 156 Day 317

We have recieved a direct communication from the head of the Thorifoid race. A meeting is called in the Lake Caves tomorrow. We rarely have cause to deal with these regal mutants, and prepare with anxiety.

Year 156 Day 318

Upon meeting the Thorifoids it has become certain we must be ready for great changes. Their seers have found a darkness behind the humans intent that overwhelms their detective senses. This combined with our knowledge of their advantage through weaponry causes us to act as in crisis.
We have been asked by the Thorifoids if we will guard the most precious of their tribe's artifacts in our tunnels. We did not enquire as to how they knew of the Halls of the Emperor; enough is known of these creatures' mental powers to cause little surprise now in anything they can achieve. We learned that the Human ships that lay in orbit were transmitting around the globe at a frequency implicitly designed to affect the Thorifoids' taming powers. With our greatest weapon muzzled, hope is thin for the future.
Consideration was given to revealing our Emperor's tenancy below ground to our allies, but was swiftly rejected. Talk was even made of waking the Emperor Undead himself; happily it was almost universally felt that to be talking of what is usually the desperate resort of the last Molisk in our race, to waken the Emperor and start the race afresh, was the talk of blind panic.

Year 156 Day 321

The Argonauts have met with us and discussed our arrangement with the Thorifoids. Similarly having no secure places of their own, they have asked us to shield certain items from the pillage of invasion.

Year 156 Day 333

Under cover of the new year celebrations the artifacts, including several of our own, were taken below into the tunnels and stored beyond the First Guard.
The inventory of items taken was:

The Thorifoid Seer's Taming Wand.

The Thorifoid Crowns, and an Araneatrox Antidote.

The Argonauts Slambat, a mighty club of wood and stone, as well as
various precious minerals and gems.

The Raidianfire, Leader Zychion's battle-rifle.

The Molisk-Chug Burrower, a highly-advanced mining system.

These priceless artifacts shall be sealed below and the entrance disguised. The Feffoids have been given no option for inclusion; they have sullied their characters ever further by their continued dealings with the virulent Foul.

Year 157 Day 2

Work on sealing the tunnels is complete. The Thorifoids combined the best of their hampered psychic strength to raise and rotate the Black Rock, covering and blocking the entrance. The relics are secure.

Year 157 Day 35

Today we recieved mass activity on the radar. Many ships come, bearing messages of allegiance and peace. It is Earth and their followers. What defences we have are lowered. We must let fate win our battles now.

Year 157 Day 44

We have been betrayed. We found our energy centre ablaze, our munitions factories destroyed and all existing arms taken while we slept. The humans surround every city. I feel the world is lost to us; the fight cannot be fought.

Year 157 Day 47

All attempts to contact the Earthers have been met with gunfire. We have lost several messengers this day alone, and it is decided we will abandon this avenue. It is as if we are beggars at the gates.

Year 157 Day 51

Dozens of huge transporter ships arrived today and continue to dock here. All bore the insignia of the Earthers. Equipment has been brought here for building on a vast scale. Also seen was the disembarking of thousands of people, presumably human colonists. Most were dressed in the same orange clothes. There seemed few warriors among them. The Feffoids have shown no resistance to the incoming horde and seem to have been rewarded for their co-operation; several new buildings are being hastily erected in the Port Atlantis area.

Year 157 Day 73

Today saw an exodus to the underground. From under the ground we came, and it is here we will find safety for our race. Into the tunnels built on every corner of this land go the bulk of our people. We need only come to the surface to hunt, scavenge food and gain information. Many areas still lie far from the reach of the Humans. We shall live.

Year 157 Day 104

The truth of our fate is worse than feared. We are less than beggars at the gate. We are Quarry.

The guns of the humans fire upon us as if we were no better than the "Fine Game Animals" they favour. The translators are no longer carried or used by these infernal primates, and all attempts to communicate are seen as aggression, or certainly acted on as such. It is seen they have powers of recussitation; once these hunters have been beaten and killed, a global assembler of some kind is able to re-construct their form in one of the facilities they have placed around the continent. Against an unarmed, inexperienced human our Warriors report much success, but they who hold weaponry have an advantage denied to us.

Some levity was provided by learning the first aggressive action of the massed human colony was to drive the Feffoids from their capital and into the Northwest Mountains. We are sure the Argonauts will do their best to make our long-suffered neighbours welcome.

Year 157 Day 122

We have placed all of our people under strict orders to stay underground except for emergency or necessity. Many of our children, pining for the sun's rays, have met their end at the hands of these "Sportsmen". This must be stopped from happening.
We have learned that "Sportsmen" is all they are. They train no army here. Those that come to hunt on our lands, to murder our people, do so for reasons of choice. They wish to become better hunters, or rich by mining the resources we laid rightful claim to. Some have shown mercy, some even dignity in their actions, but most have the dead, glazed eyes of hunters; what is prized is the shot, no matter the prey.

We have reports the Earthers have landed on Amethera. We assume the Thorifoids will cause them trouble, but our hopes are for their lives. They too are un-armed against the Humans, their powers muted from space.

Year 157 Day 310

The tunnels have been extended. The greater part of our armed force is now able to give cover to gathering and hunting parties from many hidden entrances around the north-east and the north. Our fatalities from the Humans have eased; they are becoming more familiar a foe and even our young have managed to defeat them in unarmed combat. More arrive, but inexperience seems no greater weapon if multiplied.

Year 157 Day 333

In the throes of our subterranean New Year celebrations we recieved an unexpected knock on the door. The Feffoids have come to us requesting a secret meeting. We are intrigued, and will comply.

Year 158 Day 01

The Feffoids have proposed war. Before their expulsion from Port Atlantis it was learned that a great meeting of the Earth dignitaries was soon to be held at Zychion Citadel. Certainly a bedraggled and undignified sight, their leader, Clan Overlord Losh has spoken with great passion of their humiliation at the hands of the Humans. He gave no excuse for their actions in the past; he was ready to admit that their dealings as a race were not often conducted with the consideration of others involved. Self-preservation was above all, and came in many ways, he explained. Through valiance and bravery in battle, or through selling souls and truths, it remained all they asked. They have been forced now to their lowest point; they live in the swamps and darklands, repelled by the Calamusoids and Argonauts to the north-west and halted by the Araneatrox to the south. For our part, Molisks venturing above ground have reported less aggression from the predatory beasts towards them; it seems there is a "union of the hunted" for some.

Year 158 Day 03

Communication has been sent to both the Argonauts and the Thorifoids. We plan a mass assault in order to reclaim Zychion Citadel for our people and start a negotiation process with the Humans. It is the plan at this stage to capture and ransom key members of the Earth administration to achieve our ends; we see no future in murder. Our only fight is with those who fire on us.

Year 158 Day 10

Preparations are started. We are to go to war again. I flew with Corleth against the Robots in my youth, and now in my prime I face the Humans. I am ready. We have only the weapons of agriculture, and those gained by robbery. All we can bring is the battle, and our army is strong. We fight with the aggression of the Argonauts, the power of the Thorifoids and the solidity of Molisk Warriors. We will drive them out as one.


Year 158 Day 12

We plot and prepare. Many factors must be overcome if we are to see the end we desire. We have obtained a number of Spaceship Separators from the Foul, who are no strangers to subterfuge and have been able to re-visit their now derelict craft. Those, and the large number of sacks being sewn by our peasants for the Feffoids, will help form the surprises in our assault. We still are unsure of how far we can trust the Feffoids; their humility and enthusiasm gives no clues to treachery, but history has a say.
Of our other allies, the Argonauts promise a fight to inspire legends; it seems the time since the last war has not been wasted. They are stronger than ever, and have made mention of their advancements in the art of battle.
The Thorifoids we have seen, as they arrive at our camps from many directions, have given us some cause for concern. They are not the same; the nullifying effect of the Human's planet-wide broadcast has given them many problems. With no outlet for the energy they channel, they have become less than they were. They lack the dignity of the past, and carry quicker tempers due to the constant headaches they now endure. They remain our coherent allies and steadfastly agree to the fight, but we cannot have high hopes for their future if the Humans' broadcast is allowed to continue. They are slowly being driven insane.

Year 158 Day 15

The plan of battle has been set and preparations are finished. The meeting of the Humans is in three days time. We fear not the enemy; we only fear the end of our race.

Year 158 Day 16

More ships have arrived and docked in Port Atlantis. The Humans carry on with their world-shaping unaware of the undoing we have in store. Surveillance reports came in that confirmed the cargoes to be mostly livestock. More "Fine Game Animals" no doubt. Yet more settlers were also seen to disembark.

Year 158 Day 17

Today I viewed Zychion for the first time since the Human occupation. From the safety of our closest tunnel-mouth I was able to see the change that had been wreaked on our shining city; vast elevated roadways were being built, seemingly in all directions, and the Citadel itself was overshadowed by grotesque, artless skyscrapers. I estimated the growth of the city to be fifty percent in their short tenure. I cursed the decision, made so long ago with the best of intentions, to build the city of dimensions to suit all the races here. To see these callous invaders able to abuse our efforts, as they stub out smoking materials on our sacred walls and laze around our hallways, does nothing but help me detest them.

Year 158 Day 18

The Humans have arrived as planned. Guarding the main group were a new enemy; obviously some kind of elite platoon, this group of around sixty humans wore the same long black coats and berets, and moved with a silent confidence lacking in the majority of their race. Behind them came several platoons of more regular soldiers, still an impressive sight in their armour of shining red. The civillians, or "sportsmen" continue to flood in; it seems the rare presence of these "Company Men" inspires the down-trodden of the race with a fervour, to communicate individual woes and issues with those in charge.
How small their problems will soon seem.

The Feffoids insist we smear juice from the haimoros fruit over our skin and armour on the eve of battle. On seeing the reason why, the Argonauts and ourselves agree.

Year 158 Day 19

To War!

Year 158 Day 20

The fight goes well! The plan has carried us.

Firstly, as planned, the revival terminals in the areas around Zychion were attacked and de-activated by several small bands of Molisks. This left the Humans to be inevitably killed at the city with a long and dangerous journey either from the eastern desert, or Port Atlantis itself, before they were able to rejoin the fight.

Then it was the turn of the Spaceship Separators to do their part; these small drones are little more than an electronic brain attached to a massively powerful hydraulic ram. Their normal use was in freight-yards in space, where they would advance along the hulls on magnetised wheels, get between two space ships that had drifted too close, and push them apart. This was not the task we desired of them. For their intended purpose they are constructed extremely heavily. It was good thinking from Elder Sendarin that gave us the plan to use them to empty the turrets.

Completely as planned, the remotely controlled Separators rolled out to within the range of the Human's automatic turrets. Sensing the CPU aboard each drone and assuming a robot attack, the turrets duly opened fire. The separators were able to move around during the barrage, but it is reported that after the unloading of the turret guns, which took some twenty minutes, most glowed too hot to allow their retrieval.

The Feffoids' part came next. From our vantage point beyond the trees we could see the chaos start to unfold in the city, as the Humans noticed the signs of crisis. The noise, and then silencing, of several different turrets almost at once; and now the sight of several hundred Feffoid Warriors appearing out of the forests, muddied and dread-locked from the swamps, each brandishing a droning, moving sack. I flinched as the sacks were cast in front of them, releasing their hellish contents. Igni are one of the blights of this place, and the Feffoids have had ample reason and opportunity to catch them this last year. Each of four hundred sacks held over twenty of these voracious stinging fiends and their almost total aggression caused them to swarm on every living soul they could see; except those smeared in haimoros juice.
I swear if the humans had not the advantage of revival I would never have sanctioned what the swarm acheived; in seconds the streets and courtyards were a mass of orange-suited bodies. Those soldiers that first came out found themselves quickly overwhelmed and the swarm swept its way around the buildings, dealing rapid death to all in its way. As presumed, those we came for had sealed themselves in.
The soldiers continued to strengthen their positions from the forces inside the Citadel, and eventually took charge of the swarm, but the streets were clear, and many re-assembled humans were waking on unfamiliar, distant ground.

This was the first hour, and already it seems a week away.

Our assault then began. We and the Thorifoids were to break from the cover of the tunnels and trees and take as many of the buildings as possible, with a main force concentrating on the Citadel. With a cry to Zychion we rushed, and the Humans lost many armoured fighters and red-suited soldiers before re-forming their line around the entranceway. We were to hold the Guards as long as we could; we knew reinforcements would come from Port Atlantis, and prayed our plan would hold. The Thorifoids wielded huge clubs in the absence of their powers of animal control, and the fight was fierce and close.

By the time the Humans got their reinforcements, they needed them. We had succeeded in beating them back to the inner halls of the Citadel, with only four chambers to go until the secure vaults that held our intended ransoms. Had we faced the reinforcements alone though, I fear I would not be writing this now. Realising their approach we had fallen back from the Citadel, taking up defensive positions with the Feffoids, who had for their part performed a valiant rear-guard, stopping our force from being encircled. For a race unused to war, today they shine. It was with dread in both our hearts that we gazed upon the approaching army; marching steadily towards us, guns held aloft, came thousands of armoured soldiers, with a following cloud of dust stirred by the fat tyres of the armoured transports behind.
For the first time since the dawn of this day I felt doubt. It took a long, piercing note from a wooden horn to correct my thoughts.
From the hills to the north came the rumbling of hooves, soon louder than thunder as they broke over the ridge. The mounted army of the Argonauts were here, astride jet-black steeds of immense proportions. They were the strongest of their tribes, the newly-formed Argonaut Horsemen. The Equus they rode were found in Amethera at the time of the robot invasion and broken for use in war. The steed beneath Bo Vaggar, grandson of Mul Vaggar and Chief of the Argonauts, was the mightiest of all. Like the others, it carried armour, which although crude in design could resist much that sought to harm the beast. From it's size alone it must have been two hundred years old, and as it led the glistening cavalry into the fray, we could hear the snorts and screams it made, urging it's brethren to carry out what was demanded.
Suitable havoc was wreaked on the advancing Human army; the force of the hooved onslaught was such that it split their forces in two. The armoured division remained halted at the fringe of the city, while the first wave of soldiers broke and fled for cover in the streets. By attacking from within the city, we were able to meet and join with the Argonaut force, their infantry having followed from the south. We remain committed to taking the Citadel and have re-established our hold on the inner halls. The enemy continue to come in from every side, but meet resistance at every turn; our allies serve us well.

The battle continues. News reaches me from Counsel; should events take a turn against us, a contingency plan has been formed. It seems I may have a future in the black.

Year 158 Day 21

We have encountered the enemy's elite troops in the inner chambers of the Citadel. The fight is furious. Reinforcements arrive for Earth from space; I have lost count of the number of times we have looked skywards to the sound of ships breaching the atmosphere. The Humans are starting to return in large numbers from the far outposts we cast them to; We must not be overwhelmed. Our Allies continue to wage war with unshakeable courage.
Those in the long coats carry side-arms of hideous power, and wear concealed armour of doubtless quality, but the huge spiked clubs of the Thorifoids can crush them like a hammer to a hazelnut. Only the confinement of the building stops us from taking them by weight of numbers. They are dug in and well defended. We have taken advantage of every pause, every change of magazine, but still only inches are gained. Such is the power of the enemy's weaponry we have retrieved few wounded from the inner chambers, mainly the bodies of those instantly killed.
In the streets the Feffoids and Argonauts present a wall of tooth, axe and claw to the swarming Humans. We are taking heavy losses but we must win this day.

Year 158 Day 22

A reprieve was granted us by the apparent malfunctioning of the desert outpost; soon into the day, the entire compliment of Humans killed in battle started to revive only in Port Atlantis. The chaos and disorientation slowed the arrival of re-inforcements considerably, and we were able to accept the help of the Argonauts to push further into the Citadel. Once inside the range of their pistols, the Argonauts led the charge into a grand melee. Hard was the fight, but the long coats were cut down to such a degree that their presence was no longer a barrier. With the leading fighters pushing back the remaining Humans, the rearguard found it's way though, and reached the sealed doors of the main chamber. The Humans had murdered our people and stolen our cities, as if we were never here. They should remember that we built this place. If they remembered that, then perhaps they would not choose to feel safe behind a locked door we owned the key to.
We encountered short-lived but fierce resistance from guards inside the main chamber, and have captured the eight "Company Men" who held the meeting. Two, we noticed, were not of Earth, although humanoid in appearance. No demands have yet been communicated until our advantage can be properly assessed.
We continue to hold back the troops in the streets, although weariness has us all in it's grasp.

Year 158 Day 23

We have informed the Humans we wish the city to be ours, and for our race, and those of our allies, to have rights of co-existence on this world. We allowed them to relay these demands to their highest authority, the heads of the Corporations of Earth. The fighting in the streets continues, but the Citadel is ours. News comes of an intercepting force of unknown species who are causing havoc for those returning to the fray from Port Atlantis, and easing the flow of Humans into the city considerably. An enveloping tiredness has taken hold.

Year 158 Day 24

We are being poisoned. Around us, our comrades and allies fall to the ground, as do those Humans most susceptible; it seems certain we are all to follow. Plans have been formed for our retreat. We cannot fight against this.

Year 158 Day 25

Today the poison took deadly effect. We fell back to the tunnels, but lost many men on the way. Not one of the Humans survived. They killed their own. Our allies suffered great losses, as terrible as ours. They shelter with us deep beneath the surface, out of reach of the diseased air above. It is a darker day than any.

Year 158 Day 26

We have lost nearly half of our race to the poison. The Argonauts were not so badly affected, but many hundreds are seriously ill. The Feffoids' and Thorifoids' losses were severe. The tunnels are full to capacity with the sick and the beaten. We dare not venture above ground. I have been summoned to meet with Counsel for discussion of the contingency plan. I can imagine no plan that could give hope now.


Log of Leader Dasgo, Zebu Commander Pre-Term

Year 158 Day 30

Today we recieved unexpected visitors. We were notified of approaching unknowns, and were surprised to be met at the eastern tunnel entrance by a large tribe of the Foul. They pulled on many ropes a huge covered load on wheeled bogies, and had obviously been exhaustively involved in this endeavour for some time. On removing the covers from the offering, we could not help but laugh, even in as dark an hour as this; it was the eastern desert Revival Terminal. For the first time in my life, I admired the Foul. They had been the reason the terminal had ceased to operate; they had stolen it. The object has been taken inside the tunnels for evaluation. The air proves clear now, much as expected. From what we know of the Humans' desire for occupation we could not imagine this barrier to both our causes would last long.

Leader Griefer shows no further signs of poisoning and can be considered ready for the mission.

Year 158 Day 31

The revival terminal can indeed be used; all it requires is a power source and a local assembler. The power we have already. The Foul believe they can construct an assembler and have already started work. To learn more of the Foul is to feel you have misjudged them it seems. These creatures are orphans of space, born to the void. Little wonder they chose to help the only race to offer them a home, however begrudgingly it came. We mourn a world lost, but they have never had one.

Year 158 Day 33

Reconnaissance has confirmed the lack of security around the Ithaca Launchpads. We plan the mission for tomorrow.

The Thorifoids have told us more of their race, of the fate of their highest maturities. It seems they reach an age where their rank becomes that of Deity. The Thorifoid Deities do not abide with the rest of their clan, but travel the ocean to the far north. There, on a group of islands known as the Endless Chain, they live out the rest of their lives tending the enormous Eomon. This creature is amongst the largest and most fearsome of this world; little wonder that those few that have historically reached these shores have met with a hostile reception. This information has proved to be of great interest to the Argonauts.

Additional Log of Leader Griefer, Mission Chief

Year 158 Day 33

I came to the Halls of the Emperor as ordered. The mission may be the last gesture us mortals can make. With selected members of counsel I was shown the entrance procedure. In the event of either my failure to complete the mission to satisfaction, or the extermination of the Zebu Colony, I had to know how to gain entry to the most secure of tombs. I might be the last; the one to wake the Emperor. I felt honoured to have been shown the procedure; only a few share this knowledge, and the circle is expanded rarely. It was my first sight of the resting place of our Emperor, and what a grand sight it was. The Sarcophagus lay at the far end, surrounded by sculpture and finery. The artifacts of the races lay along the wall. Where I expected to see phials of medicine stood instead a rusty-coloured suit of Armour, too big for a Molisk, yet too small for a Thorifoid. It seems the "Araneatrox Antidote" was translated as well as it could be from the Thorifoids' unconventional tongue. This armour was taken from the wreckage of a stray ship some eight hundred years ago, and was found to be made of material of incredible resilience. The Moliskion should remember this better as Antidote Armour, for the correction of the inventory. I gazed long upon the Raidianfire, and tried to picture the battle I flew and fought above so many years before, where the shots fired from that dulled, scarred barrel saw the end of seven towering robots. Six were salvaged and armed ever further and towered over me now, the final guardians of the Emperor Undead. Thankfully they had been de-activated during our approach.

The mission comes tomorrow. With nothing left to try, it seems a good enough plan.

Log of Leader Dasgo, Zebu Commander Pre-Term

Year 158 Day 34

The mission starts well. A mixed force of Molisks and Argonauts under the command of Leader Griefer led an assault into the pilot's quarters at Ithaca. Spaceship identification passes were obtained after a reasonable struggle, and no Molisks or Allies were lost. Leader Griefer, our most experienced remaining pilot, was able to take control of a Freighter and left orbit successfully with his full team. The Argonauts have returned to the tunnels with various parts required for the assembler, and we await confirmation from Leader Griefer that he has reached the spaceship graveyard.

Year 158 Day 36

We recieved contact today from Leader Griefer. He has found the graveyard, and is now searching amongst the battle-wrecked hulks to find the Gard. De-commissioned half a century before, it had been taken to the cluster left from the robot war, hanging in orbit as stark reminder of the scale of the conflict. There were nearly a thousand ships, all torn, twisted, and far more unsalvageable than the Calamuran Destroyer we mean to re-unite our race with.

Year 158 Day 37

Leader Griefer has docked with the Gard. Repair work has begun in earnest.

The Argonauts have elected to transport the beleagured Thorifoids back to their homeland, where it thought some shelter from the Humans could be found for them. It has also been proposed that the Argonauts will attempt to cross the ocean, albeit without the Thorifoid Deities' ability to glide, and make a report of the creatures there, particularly the Eomon. The Thorifoids agree their elders should be told of the Humans before they encounter them unprepared.

Year 158 Day 39

The Argonauts and Thorifoids left today for Amethera. We wish them well in the trials ahead. We are left with Feffoid and Foul, which even in this new time of inter-racial solidarity could never be a perfect situation. The Feffoids take up far too much room and the Foul simply smell.

Year 158 Day 50

The Foul have built a working assembler, and even now are still killing each other and reviving through it, overjoyed as they are with the sheer novelty. Nine Foul were lost, including several of the team that designed it, until it was made clear that only those whose DNA Picture had been recorded in the terminal could be revived. When calmer, the remaining Foul Scientists pronounced they were confident they could reproduce the mechanisms involved, with suitable looted equipment. Hope shines from the darkest of holes.

Year 158 Day 64

Leader Griefer has started up the Gard. A glorious day!. He and his crew are to set out into the void with the quest of re-uniting the lost Molisk colonies. However long it takes, we shall wait here on Zebu for their return. Using the local revival units will slow the losses to our race; our efforts in combat while above ground will slow them further. We plan to have a race left here for Griefer to return to.

Year 158 Day 101

The Feffoids, happy with the revival units they now possess and hopeful for the future, have left the tunnels in search of a new base to the North.

Year 158 Day 239

The Foul are still here.

Year 163 Day 111

Much has been learned of the Humans, and a balance has indeed been reached. Still we want them gone, and still we fear for our race, but valiance proves our ally more than any other.
Since their occupation, we have witnessed two further robot attacks on Zebu, with the humans being the main target. Although the invasions were smaller than the war we once fought, the fighting was heavy and widespread. The humans defeated both invasions, displaying a tenacity we could not help but admire. They have evolved; many hunters are now closer to soldiers than ever before. Of the "Company Men" we see little; the planet is left to those who live here it seems. More building has been completed in Minopolis and Nymphtown, the Humans' name for the southern lake settlement, and much has been done on Amethera. Their empire spreads, but still we harry them. Our Warriors can now compete with the best of them.

Year 163 Day 144

Today a long-range rocket made it through the void. Leader Griefer has landed on Hammersan. Hope has been given new wings. We still know no time to prepare for, but we shall be here.

Year 164 Day 12

The Feffoids have asked us if we will hide an Egg for them. We said no.

Year 164 Day 66

Scavenger Ryla came to me today in a state of high stress. He talked of sympathy within the Human settlers, an idea he has long tried to promote through Counsel to little effect. His words had passion, and I couldn't help but hope that there are some Humans who act as he described, with compassion and humility. He went as far as to ask to see the Moliskion, which I refused to open; if he persists in his obsession I will consider storing the Moliskion behind deeper walls than this.


The End.



(In that that's all Ryla gave me.... it's all he could steal. We talked for some time over the finer points of the translation and the details of some of the incidents in there.... if anyone needs the gaps filling in feel free to post your questions on the discussion board.)

New Edition of this historical text

Hi, this is the edited and hopefully typo-free Moliskion, the tragic and inspiring tale of oppression and glory that should cause all of you to think twice before going after those shogun thighs


As I've had a load of reads logged for Battle Drums, I think you are ready for something weightier

Hurrikane

soooo loooong adding to fav. so i can read when im in the pilot line

Looks like an interesting read, though it will take awhile. Nice job!

Nice job indeed though I do have one small suggestion...

Can you put the sections in spoiler tags so that it is easier to read little bits at a time?

Too easy to lose your place at the moment lol

If you check the rest of my little bit of the Forum, there is also the less-edited, more serialised version, in 5 parts, as it was first written.

Cheers for reading it though

Hurrikane

Wow.....I read it all, what a great story!!!

Loved it!
excellent read my friend

By far one of the best!

Great story. But you should add some updates about the Furor,Boorum and how they communicate with other races. also who are those Bow and arrow using bug tribes?

I hope in real storywise we will see the molisk as our allies.

But as for present situation I hope molisks will keep great loot for us.

awesome read, thank you very much

Just re-read this...Excellent work Quake. Thank you.