CHAPTER 2

THE WINGED MENACE

Did you ever have the eerie feeling that you were not alone—when you were alone?

Did you ever have the feeling that someone was in the room with you—when you knew there was no one else there?

Our senses can play tricks on us sometimes, but at other times…mystery prevails.

On Ares, the planet that I now call home, I have encountered many strange peoples, weird menaces and been involved in many furious battles. Nevertheless it was a world made up of wonderful people and a way of life that sang to my warrior’s heart. It was my world now. My home.

I also found a woman I dearly loved, the lovely Lady Sirah, my Empress.

This latest narrative of my adventures on an alien world so faraway from Earth—and so different—tells the tale of one of the strangest and most dangerous encounters of them all. It began one year after my first interplanetary adventures chronicled in my earlier report entitled The Winged-Men.

This time, my adventures on Ares continue in the city of Tarcos, the capital city of the new Green Empire I have founded. I, Jon Kirk, American and Earthman, have forged an empire through bloody warfare and against the treachery of an implacable foe. As Emperor I take my responsibilities very seriously, for it is a matter of life and death for myself, my beloved Lady Sirah, my friends, Zaor, Sahn Jor and all the other green people of Ares.

This day in my new role as Emperor, I was holding a special meeting with two of my most trusted advisors in a large chamber of my sumptuous apartment in my palace in Tarcos. The three of us sat there silently with dour looks upon our faces, for we were all worried by what we had just learned.

Present were myself; Sahn Jor, my First Minister; and Zaor, my brother-in-law and the commanding General of the Imperial Army, and leader of my elite personal bodyguard, the Black Dragons. Zaor and Sahn Jor sat there silent but grim until I began to speak.

“You both know we are still having trouble with hidden bands of renegade Winged-men,” I began carefully, looking from face to face at the two men before me. They were not only high government officials of the empire, they were my good friends and most trusted advisors. Zaor is the first person I met when I came to Ares one year ago. He is a valiant warrior and my best friend on this new world.

Zaor made his thoughts on the matter quite plain to us. He plainly said that he wanted them all hunted down and killed, and I could not argue with him when I thought of all the evil the Zaran monsters had done to the green people of Ares. The things I had seen them do were truly terrible, barbaric, certainly evil.

Sahn Jor counseled more wisely, perhaps. He wondered if there might be some way to come to terms with our defeated enemy. I did not think it was possible, but I was willing to consider the idea. At least I was willing to listen. Zaor, I knew, would hear nothing of it.

I continued, “It is estimated that at least five thousand of the creatures have escaped our dragnet and are now hiding from us in the far off land of Sfol. I have had word that Bedar, the king of Sfol has been trying to route these invaders out of his country but as yet he has not succeeded. Last night the city of Sfol was attacked. This morning I have heard alarming reports that Tor has also been attacked and now been taken over by the Winged-men. These are small cities, weak, with small populations, but how could the enemy mount such an attack and attain such a victory on two of our free cities?”

“This is bad news, indeed,” Zaor growled in anger. “I had hoped the threat posed by the winged menace was over and done with since the battle for the continent of Cos last year, but apparently that is not so. In that huge battle our green warriors defeated a force of five times our number of Winged-men in a bloody battle before the very gates of the city of Tarcos. That battle broke the back of the Winged-men of Zar and their military occupation. But apparently it was not the end of their threat. Honestly, I do not understand it.”

Sahn Jor nodded knowingly, “These new developments are most perplexing. I believe you must take action soon, My Lord.”

I sighed, nodding to Sahn Jor, for I knew that fact already. Then I said, “The thing is these monsters prove to be much more devious and relentless than any of us ever thought they would be. We killed so many of them in battle but there seem to be far too many of them left. The numbers do not add up, something does not seem right. How can there be so many left alive? I don’t know what to make of it. I realize that the Winged-men alive now are fighting for their lives, for their very survival, so perhaps powerful resistance is to be expected from them, but I wonder… In any event, it is a bad situation and seems to be growing worse. I know I must address this threat immediately.”

“Bad is hardly the word for it, My Emperor,” Sahn Jor stated seriously. “Our victory over these winged fiends must be complete for the green people to feel safe and secure in their own cities, in their own homes.”

Zaor nodded, adding, “Of course, and I agree, but we should have killed every last one of them when we had the chance. With Tor in their hands, now they have a base they can use against us. If they act quickly, they could use that base to put your fragile empire into complete chaos, Jon Kirk.”

“Our empire, Zaor,” I replied, reminding him with a firm look that we were all in this together. “You and others may have forced me to reluctantly take up the mantle of Emperor after freeing Tarcos, and placed me at the head of our army and nation to fight for our freedom from the Zarans, but we are all part of this new Green Empire we have forged together, and we are building it together, my friends. Let us never forget that. What we have done here will echo in eternity.”

Zaor nodded, Sahn Jor allowed a thin smile. Both men were totally loyal I knew and they considered themselves my good and fast friends. That feeling was much reciprocated by myself. We had been through much together over the last year, tested and tried in the flames of battle and war. There is truly no better way to test a man’s mettle. These were two brave and noble warriors and men I trusted with my very life.

“Then we are in agreement. I will send a powerful force to hunt down these renegades once and for all and crush them.” I stated, waiting for their input. “Patrols will scour the countryside, search every hiding place to root them out.”

“Definitely, I heartily agree, My Lord!” Zaor responded forcefully, now excited by the prospect of action against our enemy. I could see that my friend wanted to be in charge of such a mission. He might be the perfect commander for such an action, Zaor could be relentless.

I nodded to Zaor, but then looked to see what my other advisor had to say on the matter, the man I considered to be a wise sage, Sahn Jor.

“It would seem to be the best action to take, My Emperor,” Sahn Jor added with some reluctance, for he was not a violent man, nor a true warrior by trade, but still he was a brave man when it came to a fight. He sighed softly, “My concern is… I am afraid it will mean another bloodbath. We will lose many of our brave warriors—warriors we can not afford to lose. There may be another way. Perhaps we can try another tack, reason with these remaining enemies, after all they have been defeated and know it now. If we seek negotiations, they may listen to what we offer. Maybe we can come to terms with them?”

“Impossible! They are our sworn enemies, vile creatures with no nobility—they are flesh-hungry cannibals, Sahn Jor! Surely you can see there is no way to deal with them other than with the tip of a very sharp sword,” Zaor argued intently. “They all must die! Every last one of them!”

“What terms?” I asked Sahn Jor curious now.

“We can allow them to live, but only in a restricted and guarded zone of land, without any weapons, and no birthing or reproduction will be allowed,” Sahn Jor offered. None of us wanted to think of the horrid way the Zarans used green slave women as hosts to reproduce their vile species.

I shook my head dubiously.

Sahn Jor continued, “They may accept that offer—rather than the alternative.”

“I like the alternative better,” Zaor stated seriously, “a fast death—and they deserve it.”

“They do, Zaor is right,” I stated without any doubt.

Sahn Jor nodded, then shrugged as if it was of no account to him if every winged monster on the planet Ares ceased to exist immediately, but I knew he was of a more practical mind in such matters. He shrugged once more then got up and made ready to leave my apartments, “I have spoken my thoughts and made my feelings known upon the matter. It is for you to decide, My Emperor. Of course, I will go along with whatever you decide.”

“Thank you, Sahn Jor,” I said in a soft tone. It was a lot to think about.

Zoar and I did not agree with his idea for negotiations with these monsters, but I knew Sahn Jor had given us his honest thoughts on the matter and I respected him for that. I knew he could be counted on to do what needed to be done when the time came.

Once Sahn Jor had left the room and Zaor and I were alone, he spoke up firmly, “Sahn Jor is a good man, but if we listen to an old woodworker, you will make the wrong decision, Jon Kirk. He is an honorable man, and an able administrator, but perhaps too honest and decent a man for dealing with the likes of our winged enemies. You and I know what they are—none know better than you—and while even one of them lives our people are in danger. You have made the decision and I know it is not an easy one for you, you are not a blood-thirsty man, Jon Kirk.”

“No, while it is true I do not like shedding blood for the sake of shedding blood, I am a solider, my friend. On my old world of Earth I was a soldier, and proud of it. I am a solider here on Ares too, though some insist on calling me Emperor.”

“You are Emperor, Jon Kirk,” Zoar replied firmly. He was serious but he was annoying me by his over-use of my title, and he knew he did so, allowing a tiny grin.

“Anyway, what I am trying to say is that sometimes you have to fight for the things that are important—and the most important thing now is survival. Our survival.”

“And regarding those winged monsters survival is the only alternative we have—otherwise it is death. It will mean our extinction,” Zaor stated the truth with stark clarity.

“Sahn Jor is a great man who I respect,” I continued carefully. “I see his point. If we pursue the war we will have many Greens killed in battle. These are men we need for what I have planned in the future. For we need to build up the army, build up our forces and defenses.”

“Yes, I understand. There is another war coming, a bigger war. I know that. We will be ready, Jon Kirk, My Emperor,” Zaor said and he looked at me with a smile and a nod of agreement. “You have made your decision then. There is none other that could be made.”

“Yes, there is no other decision that I can make under the circumstances. I do not like it, but it must be done.”

“I understand, My Emperor. I would like to lead our force against the Zarans.”

I nodded my head, “I thought you would, but I don’t think I can ever get used to that ‘My Emperor’ term from you, my friend.” Zaor just laughed in sympathy, “Yes, well, you had better get used to it. You are Emperor now, it is your title and your honor.

You are our leader, accept it.”

I reluctantly nodded, “I know, all right, my friend, but I am troubled. What of Sahn Jor’s suggestion of negotiations? He is a good man, devoted to peace and his ideas are usually sound and wise. He is one of my most important consular’s since Tar-gool left us—save for you and my beloved Sirah, of course.”

“I agree he may well be a wise man but he is very much mistaken in this situation,” Zaor said more forcefully now. “He is no military man, as are we. We are in a military situation with a military problem and a military solution always works best. My Emperor, we know what we must do.”

“Yes, of course,” I sighed, the decision had already been made by me, but still I hesitated. I just felt it was distasteful to me. What we were planning now would wipe out the Winged-men to the last creature upon the planet Ares. They call such a thing genocide back home on my native Earth, a terrible word for a horrible action, but here on Ares, it just made good sense for the survival of the people I have sworn to protect. Still, wiping out an entire species was a hard decision for me to accept—though I had to remember these winged monsters lived to feast upon human flesh.

I knew the Winged-men. They would never keep any terms of peace, even if they agreed to them. Peace was an idea diametrically opposed to their way of life—to their very existence. I had to remind myself what they really were—they ate the flesh of the green people I loved and I had sworn to protect. There could be no peace with such creatures, negotiations were a waste of time. These grim thoughts nevertheless weighed heavily upon me when my mind was suddenly overcome by a strange feeling. The hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stood up and my eyes stared intently at a corner of the large palace room.

It was weird but something all of a sudden did not seem right. I saw the color leave Zaor’s face now too, and tiny beads of sweat began to drip from his temples and forehead. It was not overly hot in the room. He was sweating nervously. Zaor looked confused, almost haunted, not like him at all. Something was bothering him.

“Zaor?” I asked in a whisper.

He shook his head nervously. Uncomprehendingly. Something was up.

We looked at each other curiously, for now both of us seemed to feel some strange and mysterious presence of unknown origin in the room there with us. It was uncanny, mysterious, nerve-wracking. And it was unseen.

“So you feel it too?” he whispered softly.

I nodded carefully, concern making my nerves jitter.

“What is it?” Zaor whispered, and I could see he was tamping down the nervous feeling growing within him.

“I do not know,” I replied in a low whisper, looking around intently but seeing nothing out of the norm. As far as I could see there was no one in that room with us at all. Zaor and I were alone. And yet…

Zaor also looked around carefully, saw nothing untoward, finally he just shrugged, gave out with an awkward laugh, “It is strange. It is almost as if… But no, it can not be. There is no one here, My Emperor.”

“I know that. I mean I know there is no one here except you and I,” I muttered trying to think this mystery through, but I said it as if I did not believe my own words. “There can not be anyone here. And yet?”

“Yes, and yet?” Zaor asked firmly. I saw that his hand now rested firmly upon the hilt of his sword. “We should be ready for anything.”

“We are, but this is impossible. I have the same eerie feeling you do. The feeling that someone or something unknown and unseen is here in this chamber with us,” I said this to my friend in a low tone. The room was an enormous palace chamber so there was plenty of space, you could fit two dozen men in there with room left over. My eyes darted around us once again, carefully examining every nook and cranny where anyone might be able to hide, looking intently at all shadows and into dark corners. Could it be some spy, or an assassin? We looked carefully. The chamber was vast, but there was no one in sight.

There was also no sound but our own. My ears strained to hear any sound not made by us, the clanking of weapons or other accoutrements, breathing, footfalls. There was nothing to be heard, and yet, I thought I heard something. It was eerie.

“I have the same strange feeling, My Emperor, I can not understand it,” Zaor replied softly, suspicious and nervous. He did not like unseen dangers.

Carefully we checked the entire chamber once again and then the outer windows, ledges, and we opened the thick heavy wooden door to the outer hall. Nothing was amiss and we saw that in the outer hallway my Black Dragons bodyguard still stood quietly at their posts. The men were still on duty, calm, almost bored.

I motioned to Zaor to check with the bodyguards regardless. Zaor nodded and went through the doorway to my Black Dragons bodyguard posted in the corridor, “Guards, have you seen anyone pass this way?”

“No, commander,” the officer said firmly, saluting smartly. “we have seen no one, except of course, His Excellency Sahn Jor, who left the room some time ago. Other than he, we have seen no one enter or leave this room since you and the Emperor first entered.” Zaor nodded but I could see he was still perplexed. These were trusted, hand-picked, battle-hardened men, warriors of my Black Dragons, who would never lie to him or their emperor. If they said they did not see anyone, then they did not see anyone. They could be trusted and they saw nothing amiss. However, I knew that just because they did not see anything wrong, did not mean that nothing was wrong. Of course, I was just naturally suspicious, but the mysterious planet Ares will do that to you. However, perhaps we were just being paranoid?

The thought stuck in my mind. Were Zaor and I just being paranoid? These were troubled times in Tarcos, and upon the planet Ares, so anything was possible. Danger did lurk everywhere. It gave Zaor and myself bitter food for thought day and night.

Zaor looked at me carefully, gritting his teeth in menace. He was disturbed.

“There is nothing amiss, My Lord, and yet I feel…something”. “Something is indeed wrong here,” I stated, my hand moving to the hilt of my sword in instant reaction.

“I still feel it, it grows closer, My Emperor. I have looked everywhere but can find nothing, and yet…” Zaor stated nervously in a low voice. He shook his head negatively, for he did not like this spooky turn of events. He was not a believer in the ghosts of the dead, or the return of those from the Afterworld, but something here seemed very wrong. Zaor could feel it like a palpable thing. I know such an unreal feeling stuck in his craw, him being a fighting man and used to hard reality. This feeling smacked of some kind of dark magic, or…

“We are used to enemies we can see, not ghosts and phantoms. Whether they are real, or just figments from the depths of our minds, I like them not,” I stated in frustration.

“Jon Kirk, we have checked everywhere. There is nothing. No one here. No spy. No assassin. However, I still have that uncanny feeling in my gut, something here is seriously amiss. We should leave this chamber immediately. I fear it may be haunted…”

I allowed a grim smile at his words, I did not agree with the haunted part of his statement, for I did not believe in ghosts, but I nodded nonetheless. His words made sense. It would be best if we left this room right away. I spoke my next words carefully and in a low whisper, “I know what it is, Zaor. There is someone in this room with us. The room is so large, he could be anywhere and we might never find him.”

Zaor nodded, then whispered, “But I do not see anyone.” “That is just it. Nevertheless someone is here, my friend. I am sure of it.”

Zaor looked at me carefully, fearful of what my words might mean. Were we just imagining things? The pressure of great power and stress of great responsibility? I could not imagine this to be true for my own psyche—and I knew Zaor well. But could it be true? Were our minds playing tricks on us? For surely no one else could be in that chamber except for Zaor and myself.

I smiled nervously, looked at my friend, and with a light laugh I shrugged it all off, “I am not going mad, my friend. But if I am going mad at least I am not alone in that feeling. That is all I need to know.”

Zaor nodded and let out with a grim but nervous laugh in response to my bold words. He was about to answer me when I heard a loud resounding whack and I turned to see him suddenly collapse to the floor to the right of me.

“Zaor!” I cried out. I was about to run over to help him but stopped myself.

I looked at my friend’s prone form in shock and surprise, quickly realizing what had happened and I drew my sword. Now I knew something or someone had to be in that chamber with us. Some unseen force. I waved my sword around me, cutting though the empty air seeking contact with our invisible enemy. There was nothing. I could not tell where he was, the room was big, there was much furniture, he could be hiding anywhere.

“Show yourself!” I growled in frustration, wildly swinging my sword hoping that Providence would allow my blade to strike flesh or bone. “Coward! Show yourself!”

I worried about Zaor but I could not help him now. Now my blade furiously cut into the empty air around us, seeking to make contact with whatever was there. It was most disconcerting, for it could apparently see me clearly enough to stay well out of the way of my blade. Even as I could not see it. It anticipated my every move, my every sword stroke. So I decided to change my tactics. I would make a sword strike that could not be anticipated. I feigned left, then quickly struck right. Suddenly I was astonished when my blade stuck something unseen but definitely solid and firm. I was sure it was living tissue. A body? The intruder? Now that I had a location on my foe I was moving in for the kill, when I suddenly felt a sharp and sudden blow to the back of my head. The last thought I remember was that I may have made a fatal mistake, for there must have been more than one of them. Then I too fell to the floor my mind obscured by unconscious blackness.

* * * *

First Minister Sahn Jor of the Green Empire sat quietly in his own well-appointed chamber for a long time in deep thought. He had mixed feelings at having walked out of the meeting with his Emperor, Jon Kirk, and General Zaor, both of whom were his good friends. Now he decided to go back to the Emperor’s chambers and apologize for his dark mood. He walked down the long palace corridor and then neared the door to the emperor’s private apartment. He noted the two Black Dragons who stood guard so rigidly at their posts. All seemed proper and correct.

“Is the Emperor still inside with General Zaor?” Sahn Jor asked the guard officer.

“Yes, My Lord,” the officer replied, saluting and stepping aside.

Sahn Jor nodded, ordered the guard to open the door and when the guard opened the door for him, he entered the large apartments of the emperor. Immediately Sahn Jor noticed something was wrong. The room was cold, quiet, and empty. Too empty. His Emperor, Jon Kirk, as well as General Zaor, were nowhere to be seen. Sahn Jor stood there astonished for a moment, then called loudly for the guards. As the warriors entered he shouted at them in dark anger, “Where is he! Where is the Emperor?”

The two guards were aghast, totally perplexed at what the First Minister had just told them. They looked around but no one else was to be seen.

The guard officer said, “We saw General Zaor and the Emperor only moments ago, My Lord. I swear it!”

“Did they seem ill or in danger, perhaps troubled?”

“No my Lord, but… They did ask us if we saw anyone in the hallway. Perhaps an intruder? But we told them we saw no one.”

“Come with me!” Sahn Jor ordered.

Then Sahn Jor and the guards began a rapid but detailed search throughout the large apartment, going through each and every room. They called out for Jon Kirk and Zaor but there was no reply to their pleas. They were astonished by the absence of the Emperor and General Zaor. First Minister Sahn Jor was positively frantic, for he knew there was some evil treachery afoot.

“Call out the palace guard and alert all the Black Dragons,” Sahn Jor ordered the guard officer briskly. “I want a thorough search instituted throughout this entire palace at once!”

“Yes, My Lord!” the guard officer responded quickly and then left to follow his orders.

To the remaining guard Sahn Jor said, “You, go to the Empress Sirah, tell her what has happened and have her come here at once. Be sure to bring more guardsmen with you and make sure the guards protect the Empress. We have intruders in the palace.”

“Yes My Lord!” the guard shouted and ran to perform his mission.

Now Sahn Jor stood alone in the empty chamber, the room in this apartment his friend and Emperor, Jon Kirk, often used as his private office. He stood in helpless anger and frustration at what had happened. How could this happen? Then he wondered, what exactly had happened? He wondered about that most carefully and with growing nervousness. Was it a spy or an assassin? It did not seem likely. It seemed to him that the Emperor and General Zaor had just simply disappeared. They were gone. Which was utterly impossible! The room was closed off, with armed guards posted at the door out in the hall who saw, nor heard, nothing unusual. Their word was incontrovertible. Windows were closed and locked, so there had been no entrance from any winged invaders, which was always a fear. It was most perplexing to Sahn Jor and he feared for his two good friends. Where were they? What had happened to them?

Sahn Jor waited for the arrival of the Empress Sirah. He knew she would be frantic at this news and at her wit’s end. Lady Manalia as well. General Zaor’s wife. But Lady Sirah’s welfare was first in Sahn Jor’s heart. For it was her husband and brother who were missing. Meanwhile the First Minister tried to figure how two men could just disappear without a trace from the royal palace in Tarcos of all places? How could they disappear from a guarded room without being seen? Sahn Jor feared for his friends Jon Kirk and Zaor, and more so, what would the Green Empire do without Jon Kirk and Zaor to hold things together in the coming battle.