Date: Thu, 21 Sep 1995 14:02:09 -0500 Reply-To: "Robert A. Gansler" Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: "Robert A. Gansler" Subject: Rulers of the World (Part 6 of 16) Rulers of the World (Part 6 of 16) A Highlander/War of the Worlds Crossover A ContiNEWity Story * 1995: The warehouse Inside the warehouse, Duncan was having a relatively easy time with his opponent. For someone who had been alive for centuries, Martan (whom Duncan thought his adversary was) was a very poor swordsman, in Duncan's opinion. Every attack that Mordex tried was easily countered by Duncan's swordsmanship. Mordex did seem to be uncommonly strong, much stronger than his appearance would suggest, but his skill was lacking. Mordex swung with two hands at Duncan's head, but Duncan deftly parried it. Mordex seemed to becoming increasingly frustrated as his incessant attacks resulted in no damage to his opponent. Just when Duncan figured Mordex's rage had reached its peak, Duncan began to press his own attack. He feinted at Mordex's heart. Mordex fell for the feint and moved to block, but Duncan instead drove the point of his sword into Mordex's hand. Mordex yanked his hand away from Duncan's sword, blood streaming from the wound. Duncan continued to attack and Mordex did his best to defend despite his sword hand shaking very noticeably. Duncan locked blades with Mordex and both swung their blades, still locked, in large circles trying to disarm the other. Duncan felt an opening and broke out of the circling and drove his katana deep into Mordex's chest. Mordex screamed in agony and dropped his sword. Duncan pulled the sword out and Mordex screamed again. Duncan still could not figure out the strange sensation that Martan emanated, but it did not matter anymore to him. Soon, Duncan would not feel it and Martan would not feel anything at all. Mordex dropped to his knees. The pain was growing weaker due to the human's recuperative powers, but he knew that it would not be soon enough. Duncan poised over him with the katana at the ready; Mordex thought about all that had happened to bring him here... ** 1990: Morthrain Base Mordex stood in a group with the rest of the Third Wave. Even the members of the Advocacy were there, draped in their cooling suits. Someone was screaming at the them. Mordex could not be sure of who it was since the Fourth Wave had adopted humanoid form, but the feeling that he received indicated that it was Council member Malzor. Mordex remembered that Malzor was next line to succeed Tallok as leader. Perhaps Malzor was the leader now. Mordex strained his ears to hear the conversation. Malzor continued screaming at the Advocacy, "Where is Teela? What happened to my wife? I know that the bacteria did not kill you of the Third Wave, only put you in suspended animation. Where is my wife? Who put you three in charge?" One of the members of the Advocacy draped in a brown, leathery outfit responded, "Commander Teela was destroyed when her war machine crashed. Most of the scientific leaders were destroyed as well. We of the Advocacy assumed command in her stead." Malzor would not accept this, "Lies! Lies! You plotted against her and killed her. You failed in your mission. You of the Third Wave are an affront to the Eternal. You must be purged from the Morthrain race." Malzor motioned and two aliens dressed and masked in black hurried to his side. He told them, "We'll execute the traitors, all of them." #Malzor turned to face the assembled members of the Third Wave. "You failed the Morthrain race. You failed the Eternal. You are condemned to darkness. The Eternal casts you out!" # It seemed as if the Fourth Wave was going to show no mercy. Some more guards appeared and were organizing the Third Wave into a single-file line. Mordex could see that they were all being slowly filed through to an execution chamber now. Mordex grumbled to himself, "We were supposed to have two more years until they arrived. That was the deadline. They can't execute us. We had more time." Mordex was brought into the execution chamber by the guards. The hooded Executioner repeated the same droll sentence that he had given to each Morthrain before, "For betraying the Morthrain race and failing the Eternal, you are sentenced to death. The Eternal casts you out." With that, the Executioner activated the device. As the energy pulse passed through him with excruciating effect, Mordex saw his life passing before his eyes... *** 1898: Mordex's home, Morthrai A youthful Mordex eagerly watched the video screen. The invasion fleet had finally reached Earth. A base had been established on the surface of the system's fourth planet. The transport rockets were launched from there to the Earth. Mordex asked his parents why they were invading the Earth. They told them that Morthrai was running out of resources. Within a century (or the Morthrain equivalent thereof), Morthrai's resources would be depleted. They also told him that the Earth was capable of becoming just like Morthrai, with a few minor changes to its environment. It was all too confusing to Mordex, but he was interested in how the invasion was going. [Military officials confirm that the invasion forces have disembarked from the fourth planet of the Terran solar system. A launching base had been established there a few years prior. Transport cylinders began launching towards Earth earlier today and military officials estimate that the entire force should be on the Earth in a very short order. Stay tuned for further reports ...] [Reports of the First Wave invasion just in. The planet is defenseless against our military might. In a matter of days, our forces have captured what appears to be the Earthlings' mightiest concentration of power. Conquest of the rest of the planet is expected to soon follow.] Mordex smiled. He hoped that they would show footage of the slaughter, but none was forthcoming. For a few days, there were no reports about the progress of the invasion. Everyone was expecting an announcement of triumph, but no such announcement appeared. Instead, the Morthrain populace was shocked by this report: [In an unbelievable turn of events, our invasion effort of earth has failed. All Morthrain troops have been killed. Information is sketchy about how the Terrans accomplished this. Current conjecture is that the planet is protected by some type of radiation with which we are unfamiliar. Observation satellites were put in orbit as the invasion commenced and will transmit information back home for researchers to analyze. Top military officials are calling this only a minor setback.] [On the political front, Defense Minister Aurtark has resigned and Lord Daltar has named Tallok to serve as the new Defense Minister.] *** 1938: Mordex's home, Morthrai Mordex's father said his farewells to the family with a slightly despondent look upon his leathery face. He was wearing a uniform that denoted the Morthrain military "Father, must you go on this invasion of Earth?" Mordex had grown but was still quite young by Morthrain standards. "Yes, I must, my son. Earth must be ours. I have explained this to you many times. Look over the reports stored on the console. They will explain it to you in detail. Study them carefully. You will join attend the military academy soon, and I want you to be prepared." Mordex's mother intertwined her arms with those of her husband. "How long will you be gone?" Mordex's father replied "I'm not sure. With the new protective systems, we should be able to overrun the planet in a matter of days. I will send word to you as soon as I can." Mordex's father left the house and boarded the military transport that was waiting for him. As Mordex's mother watched her husband leave, Mordex activated the console and loaded up the reports about the impending 'Second Wave.' That was the term that the military had developed to describe this invasion. Even a youngster like Mordex could recognize this as political doublespeak. The military was trying to make it seem that the first invasion was not a failure but rather a part of a larger plan. Mordex turned his attention from his thoughts to the video screen. [Morthrain scientists determined a number of years ago that the casualties suffered in the First Wave were the result of Terran bacteria. New protective systems have been incorporated into all the vehicles of the Second Wave fleet. Orbital satellites have confirmed that numerous areas of the planet are undergoing civil war. Tactical analysis of these outbreaks has determined that Terran military technology has not advanced very far from the time of the First Wave. Military officials predict swift victory now that the only threat, the Terran bacteria, has been neutralized by superior Morthrain technology.] [The original launching base on the Terran system's fourth planet has been used once again for the delivery of Morthrain troops to the Earth. Military sources report that the spearhead of the invasion will be directed at a different point of the globe in the Second Wave. A larger landmass, to the west of the island upon which the First Wave centered, has been deemed the most vital location in the Terran military scheme. The invasion will begin along its eastern coast.] Mordex listened gleefully. His father was in command of the lead transport cylinder. His father would be one of the glorious heroes. Mordex stayed glued to the video screen for days on end, greedily absorbing every bit of information that was reported. His spirit was crushed when he heard the final military report. [Military sources confirm that the Second Wave has been destroyed. Initial reports suggest that the new protective systems incorporated into the invasion fleet were inadequate. Anonymous sources indicate that insufficient testing of the protective systems was performed. These sources also say that the systems were approved by Lord Daltar despite his knowledge that the protective systems might fail]. [This just in from the Ruling Council - Lord Daltar has been deposed and replaced by Defense Minister Tallok.] Mordex was heartbroken. His visions of glory for his family evaporate in an instant. His father was dead, and the Earth was still not under Morthrain control. Mordex silently vowed that it would not happen again when his turn came. He swore by the Eternal that Morthrai would rule this new world. *** 1945: Military Command Center, Morthrai At the military command center, whose ranks he had rapidly ascended, Mordex read the report about the War Ministry's latest findings. "The Earthlings are developing rapidly in terms of technology. Recent sightings by observatories report that they have harnessed atomic power. Their continued progress could pose a threat to our conquest of their world if they continue at this pace. A Third Wave of invasion will be launched soon. We must conquer Earth soon. Morthrai's resources are ever- dwindling. After analysis of the reports of the First and Second Waves, scientists have identified the weaknesses in the Terran microbes that were responsible for the destruction. New warships with special magnetic shielding are being developed to protect the Third Wave. "Meanwhile, enviro-engineers are producing some machinery that will be transported to the Earth with the invasion fleet. This new technology will enable us to transform the Earth into a Morthrain-like environment. In related news, bio-engineers are working on techniques to adapt the Morthrain people to be able to survive on Earth as it currently is. However, this research is, in this reporter's opinion, unnecessary since the invasion fleet will have ample time to transform the planet to a habitable state before it becomes necessary for us to leave Morthrai. Current estimates are that the exodus must commence in approximately 50 years." *** 1953: Launching Base, Morthrai Mordex stood in front of the war machine that we was to command. Like his father, Mordex was in command of the lead machine. An entire division of war machine personnel was being spoken to by the War Minister. Mordex began to think about how easy this invasion would be. The large transport ships would be loaded with the war machines. The transport ships would carry the war machines to the base on the fourth planet that had been used in the previous invasion attempts. From there, the war machines would travel to Earth and easily subjugate the planet. It was a very simple and effective plan in Mordex's mind. His thoughts were interrupted by the War Minister's speech "Soldiers of Morthrai, you are about to embark on a glorious endeavor. Twice before have we invaded the planet whose inhabitants call Earth, and twice before we were defeated not by them, but by their environment. With these new warships, you will have sufficient power and protection to bring that world to its knees. We, on the homeworld, will begin preparations for an exodus to Earth. After we have collected sufficient biospheric energy from Morthrai, we shall depart. Current projections put our arrival date at 1995. By that time, you will have overrun the planet and have completed its transformation into a new Morthrai. Good luck. May the Eternal guide your way, and stay true to the Trinity.." Mordex thought about the long occupation that he and the rest of the military would have to endure - fifty years. Still, it would not be all that long. The Morthrain life span was approximately a thousand years. It would not be that great of a sacrifice. He mentally reviewed his orders. His war machine along with two others would be transported from the base on the system's fourth planet in the first cylinder. They would be landing on the same land mass as did his father, but its western coast. The Eternal had made a visitation unto Lord Tallok and presented him with the revelation of the Trinity. It was the holy word upon which the entire Third Wave was based - three cylinders per group, three war machines per cylinder, the triangular sweeping attack plan. Even the military's term for the invasion, the Third Wave, fit in with the revelation. It was a divine sign of their impending victory. The Eternal had shown the Morthrain people the way to rule the planet Earth. ** 1990: Morthrain Base As he slumped to the floor, Mordex's last thoughts were, "They must have been successful in transforming our people into these hideous human forms." The Executioner dragged Mordex's body over to the pile of other executed victims. "Failures all. How could they not conquer this world?" he mocked and walked back into the heart of the base. It was deathly quiet in the execution area. A few moments later, Mordex's body stirred. He was sure that he crossed over into afterlife. "Is this the life Immortal?" he wondered. He opened his eyes slowly, expecting to see the brilliance of the Eternal all around. Instead, he found himself still in the complex, buried in a pile of his fellow Third Wave members. "I live?" He asked himself under his breath. "By the Eternal, I still live." He tried to assess his situation. What did it all mean? Was this a sign that he was to lead the Morthrain?" "No," he concluded. "The Fourth Wave has betrayed the Morthrain birthright and betrayed the Eternal by callously murdering the loyal soldiers of the Third Wave. They do not respect the tradition of the trinity. They are not deserving of life. In the end, I will be the only one!" That last phrase leapt into his mind unexpectedly. It must have been from this human's memories. Terms like "the Prize" and "Quickening" seemed to be floating around in his head, but Mordex could not comprehend what they meant. What he did comprehend was his mission. It was very clear to him: "I will be ruler of this world!" Mordex slowly crawled out of the pile of his dead comrades and made his escape from the facility. "They must all be destroyed. _I_ will create the new Morthrai!" Bob G. EPRI HVAC&R Center rgansler@facstaff.wisc.edu "Reality - a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there." "dS >=q/T : It's not just a good idea, it's the law!" =========================================================================