The Chronicles of Silverwolf: The Dawning of a Hero (2 page)

“He has already begun the negotiations, my Lord.”

“Very well. Is the seventh fleet ready to invade Roodare on my order?”

“They will be soon, my Lord. Admiral Hish estimates two months once they leave the Muzane star system,” answered Dragonaur.

“Excellent. Keep me apprised of their progress,” he said with an evil grin.

“As you wish, Lord Callosaur,” complied Dragonaur and then left Callosaur once again alone in his throne room.

Chapter 4

It was a planet much like Earth only more advanced in many ways such as space travel and holographic technology, yet still flawed with a power structure that was in place. Secrets were kept from the people by the governments’ of the world who were still in control and one man among the populace decided that many of the secrets that were kept hidden from the people were doing more harm than good.

Hidden beneath the planet of Roodare, a secret global government meeting was about to take place in a large circular conference room with a large screen hanging on the wall behind a podium. Chairs with built in tables encircled the room and officials from every government on the planet were occupying them waiting for General James Fitzgerald to begin the lecture.

When he was ready, the General got up from his seat, walked up to the podium and began to speak. The room quickly fell silent.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming. As you all know we are here to discuss the upcoming trial of Peter Stone which will take place in just over a week in Werner City. His skills as a computer hacker have allowed him past our firewall and into our computer database to retrieve information on our secret ties with the Draconan Empire led by Lord Callosaur. We must ensure that this information he has tried to leak out to the public by means of the internet remains within our grasp and that he be given the harshest jail time for his crimes.

“We must ridicule him and spread as much disinformation amongst the populace as possible to ensure they are clueless about the upcoming events in the near future that involve the Draconans plan to invade this planet and to enslave the population. Of course we will be given full immunity as promised by Lord Callosaur.

“So there is nothing for us to worry about. We have promised to obey them and follow their orders by keeping the people from learning the truth about their demise. As you know there is nothing we can do to oppose the Draconan Empire. Lord Callosaur has conquered over 300 galaxies and commands an empire of close to six billion Draconans. We have no choice but to do as we are told.”

“With all that being said, I want to thank you for coming today. This meeting is adjourned,” Fitzgerald said.

***

Peter Stone was a brilliant young scientist in the field of nanotechnology and computer science. He was considered an intellect by those who knew him. According to his government, he committed a very serious crime by hacking into their mainframe and in doing so found some valuable but troubling information about the secrets that have been kept from the people of his world.

His troubles began when he first stood trial in a court of law being accused of the crime he committed. The courtroom was filled with people along with his parents who watched and waited for the trial to begin. His defense attorney, Karl Turner, sat next to him and leaned over to give him advice on how to act and what to say when it was his turn to talk.

The prosecutor, Adam Phelps, who sat across from them, was a Captain with the planet's Space Defense Corps. It was highly unusual seeing someone from the military act as a prosecutor. But Peter was told that Phelps had also studied law and was qualified to speak on the government’s behalf.

Peter noticed that the jury was surprisingly absent. He figured the government didn’t want the trial to be fair. After all, the secrets they were holding would undoubtedly cause outrage and most likely panic among the public. That is something the government certainly would’ve liked to avoid at all cost.

“All rise,” the trial officer said as the judge entered the room. “The honorable judge Judy Visser presiding.”

Peter and his attorney, along with everyone else, got up from their seats while the judge took her seat in front of the courtroom. “Please be seated.”

After taking their seats the judge continued. “This trial will now come to order for the case concerning the government versus Peter Stone. The accused is charged with hacking into the government’s mainframe system and retrieving information that is highly classified to our country’s national security. I will not speak of the information that he gained access to.” The judge looked at Peter and said, “Does the defense wish to enter a plea?”

“Your honor my client admits to the crime he has committed but believes the information he gained access to should be made available to the public,” Turner said.

“I’m afraid that is not possible. That request has already been denied Mr. Turner,” she said then turned to the prosecutor. “Mr. Grainger do you have anything you’d like to add that I have not said?”

“I do your honor,” he said standing up. “Regardless of how Mr. Stone feels about what he found, it is undeniably clear that what he did is considered unlawful by our standards of conduct. We do not approve of any unauthorized entry into our mainframe system no matter what the reasoning is. The government demands that Peter Stone be locked away in a federal prison for his crime,” he said.

“Thank you Mr. Phelps,” the judge said. “Because of the seriousness of the crime I’m afraid I have no choice but to sentence you to twenty years in our federal prison Mr. Stone. Hopefully during that time you will come to your senses and think twice before doing something like this again. This court is adjourned.”

Chapter 5

It wasn’t paradise but it wasn’t hell either. The prison Peter Stone was sent to seemed very clean. Even the cell he was assigned to didn't seem that bad. The entrance to the cell was blocked by a beam of energy that shocked anyone who tried to pass through it.

Knowing their wasn't anything more he could say or do to expedite his release
after two months of imprisonment, Peter was asleep in his cell when the sound of rumbling woke him up. He could feel the wall vibrate when he placed his hand against it. At that moment the alarm went off waking up everyone in the prison.

He could hear explosions in the distance which deactivated the energy beam blocking the door way. Since he couldn’t see what was going on outside he could only guess what was
transpiring. The government files he found on their mainframe suggested that the planet was now under attack by an alien race the conspiracy theorists had come to call The Draconan Empire.

Rumors abound on the net that they showed no mercy and were ruthless warriors who only cared about conquering other races and ruling over them if they resisted. Their technology was far superior to the people of Roodare, which is why Peter knew his people wouldn’t stand a chance against them.

Stone had to think of way to get off the planet so he wouldn’t be found among the dead.

“Peter, we need to get out of here,” his friend, Joseph Locke said entering his cell. “This whole place is falling apart. There are spacecraft outside that appear to be tearing this place apart.”

“We need to get off this planet or we won’t survive,” Stone suggested.

“Their is an airbase close by. If we can make it there and commandeer one of the underground vessels we might have a chance,” said Joseph.

“Let’s do it then,” Peter smiled.

As debris continued to fall they made their way through the confines of the prison. The prison guards were too busy trying to avoid getting hit from falling pieces of rock instead of worrying about Locke, Stone and the rest of the inmates. When they finally reached the front entrance everyone was making their way outside but was getting slaughtered by large reptilian soldiers carrying advanced laser weapons far superior to their own.

“We can’t go that way,” Stone said.

“Wait, I just remembered there’s an underground tunnel system that runs from here to the airbase,” Joseph said.

“Lead the way,” Peter said and proceeded to follow him.

After finding the entrance to the underground tunnel they were relieved that it was found empty of Draconan soldiers. Only a few inmates and guards were seen heading in the same direction towards the airbase as them. They obviously were only concerned about their own safety and not the breakout of the prisoners.

It didn’t take long before Stone and Locke reached one of the hangars at the airbase only to find several craft inside. Luckily for them the Space Defense Corps was busy trying to fight the enemy in the air leaving several craft to spare on the ground.

Stone and his friend picked a craft that wasn’t being used. Once on board they started up the engines. Since Stone wasn’t a pilot, he took the co-pilot’s seat leaving Joseph to do the flying. His background as a pilot made him qualified for the task.

“We’ll head for Vega. It’s the closest planet to us in this star system,” Joseph said after cloaking the ship then blasting off into space.

With the Corps battling the Draconans it was miracle they slipped through undetected. When the coordinates were punched in, the ship entered hyperspace through an artificial wormhole on its way to Vega.

Chapter 6

The Annual Planetary Peace Convention was packed from wall to wall with patrons enjoying the various booths and spectacles that were on display. Stone, who had already settled into a nice home while Locke had found himself a girlfriend and moved in with her, was wandering up and down the aisles observing what was being presented at the tables he walked past. Many were very intriguing but none had yet to catch his eye.

Since arriving on Vega he felt safe after realizing the planetary defenses
in place were more than capable of defending the planet from a heavy attack than that of his own home world. It comforted him to know that if an attack would come, which still might be likely, at least Vega was well prepared.

As he continued his stroll passing
the different tables, occupied by mostly humans, he glanced at one ahead of him that seemed to be presenting a species he had recognized all too well.

Approaching the two males dressed in what looked like military uniforms, Stone saw the name of the species being displayed above them.

“Draconan,” he mumbled to himself in disgust, remembering how his planet was nearly wiped out.

Curious, he approached the man who was the first to greet him.

“Hello,” the man smiled. “I’m Captain Jonathan Wolf of the Elite Space Corps Division.”

“Sounds important,” he said.

“As a matter of fact, it is. I am part of team that goes on solo mission for the corps. Would you be interested in joining?”

“What is all of this?” Stone asked, looking at all the information on the table. Booklets were spread out across the table
along with several holograms showing the different uniforms worn by the corps. Stone picked one up as he listened to Wolf.

“We represent part of this planet’s main planetary defense system,” Wolf explained. “Currently
our main threat is the Draconan Empire. I’m sure you’ve heard of them.”

“Too well I’m afraid,” Stoned said, tensing up.

“I don’t follow,” he said.

Hesitant but willing to trust Wolf, he said, “My planet was just wiped out by that empire. I was imprisoned for trying to warn my government of an attack that was inevitable.”

Now, seriously focused on what Stone had said, Wolf seemed sympathetic by saying, “Are you serious?”

“I’m afraid so,” he nodded.

“What’s your name?”

“Peter Stone,” he said, shaking his hand. “On my world I was a renowned scientist and activist before escaping with my friend
aboard a spacecraft,” he told him.

“You should consider yourself lucky,” he told Stone.

“Yes and you seem to have some success in defeating the Draconan’s considering that your planet remains unharmed,” he pointed out.

“
For the moment we are still in one piece but that could change. Let’s take a walk,” he said. Confused, Stone followed him as he started to explain while walking away from the table.  “There are many planets currently under Draconan rule while many more like ours continue to fight them. But we are quickly losing the war because our numbers continue to be diminished.”

“Are you certain of this?” Stone asked as they stopped to b
uy a couple of drinks at a nearby concession stand.

Wolf nodded his head. “There is still hope but achieving a desired goal I’ve had in mind won’t be easy.”

“Tell me. Maybe I can offer my assistance.”

They sat down at an empty table enjoying
their drinks while continuing their topic of conversation.

“Have you ever of a planet called Earth?”