The SkyPath Crusade

A Note Of Explanation

The SkyPath Crusade is an epic poem created by Daniel Schilling for enjoyment by science fiction and fantasy audiences. My writing is not meant to be profound. It is intended for common folk like myself who just want something enjoyable and reasonably easy to understand. I hope it will inspire and entertain many for a long time to come.

Note: The SkyPath Crusade is not intended for children. Parental disgression advised.

Synopsis

The SkyPath Crusade tells the tale of two English knights, one Norman and one Scottish, who travel to outer space around 1100 A.D. to help fend off an alien invasion of the solar system. For many centuries empires from Earth’s past have fled to the other planets to escape complete annihilation on the home world. Now, deep in space, they face a still greater threat: the horrible Klaron Empire which seeks to subjugate the entire human race on all the planets.

Prologue

This brief introduction to the poem explains that many European knights traveled throughout the solar system and even the galaxy at great peril to their lives during the early second millennium A.D. Their mode of transport was wooden vessels carried aloft by ether streams. The magic of the ether streams will be explained in more detail later on.

 Chapter One

A Scottish warrior named Alfred returns home from the crusades to face the wrath of his once young and beautiful wife. Still upset over his leaving, she angrily predicts that he will disappear again on some idealistic mission before the week’s end. Her prediction comes true. Before much time has passed he leaves her once more, this time, en route for the moon.

Chapter Two

Meanwhile in outerspace, a swarm of renegade aliens have invaded the solar system with spaceships. They quickly subdue the four largest moons of Jupiter, which are inhabited by the descendants of the ancient Persians. Next, they plan to attack the other planet-sized worlds in our solar system, all of which have humans living on them. These worlds quickly plan an emergency meeting to deal with the threat. They know they are outgunned, but they still have one advantage: the ether streams. These pathways between the planets protect their wooden sailing ships from the Klaron guns.

Chapter Three

As the Klarons invade the moons of Jupiter, a human pirate ship watches wistfully from the distance. This vessel is controlled by the dreaded buccaneer of the skies, One-Eyed Jim. Jim has perfected a method of sailing his wooden sailing ship outside of the ether stream in order to take Persian convoys by surprise. Now that the Klarons have come, however, he must stay within the safety of the ether stream in order to escape destruction. He is very angry about this. So angry in fact, that he is planning a daring attack on one of the Klaron strongholds.

 Chapter Four

As Pirate Jim plans his revenge on the Klarons, the interplanetary council of humans meets in a castle on the Earth’s moon to discuss the impending danger. The council is stuck in gridlock from the very beginning because the Roman ruler of Mars and the Chinese king from Saturn’s moons cannot get along with each other. The other rulers from less populous kingdoms trust neither of them to lead. Finally their argument is interrupted by an Englishman from Earth who warns them of the consequences should they fail to reach an agreement.

Chapter Five

The Englishman named Travers Grey continues his tirade and explains that he has been sent from Earth by the ruler of the Byzantine Empire to help maintain unity in the interplanetary alliance. He tells them that the ancient civilizations of Earth are all but gone, and soon earthlings will no longer travel to space to visit their human brethren. As a final gesture of good will between Earth and the other planets, the Byzantine ruler has sent his only daughter to the moon with Travers to form a marriage alliance with one of the other planets. Even as Travers explains this, the door to the council chamber bursts open and in walks the princess Shelah escorted by Alfred the Scotsman. She is so beautiful that everyone is left breathless.

 Chapter Six

The first person to greet the princess is Caesar Marcus, the ruler of Roman-controlled Mars. Next, in an extensive display of class and chivalry, the Chinese Chen from Saturn’s moons escorts her across the length of the floor. Finally, she is seated in a place of honor at the head of the assembly as the diplomatic proceedings commence once more.

 Chapter Seven

Meanwhile far away from Earth’s moon, One-Eyed Jim and his pirate crew execute their plan to attack the Klarons. Using a magnetic meteoroid to block their signal, they slip out of the safety of the ether stream towards the nearest Klaron space station. They find the station empty of ships: its entire fleet is out looking for them. Pirate Jim makes short work of the defenseless space station by catapulting an uranium core meteorite straight into its center. The Uranium is triggered by the Klaron power signatures and explodes in a massive mushroom cloud in outer space. The Klaron outpost is completely destroyed.

 Chapter Eight

The Klarons do not wait long to respond to the horrible catastrophe brought down on them by Pirate Jim. Unable to catch the brigand himself, they accelerate their plans to lay siege to the other planets. They quickly mobilize the enslaved Persians to barricade all the ether streams around Jupiter against their human brethren (their own cruiser ships, of course, like all technology, cannot enter the streams). Now the solar system is virtually cut in half since there is no way for the humans to travel between their two most powerful worlds: Mars and Saturn. Meanwhile, the council on the moon is forced into action and decides upon a quickly-crafted plan to reinforce Mars, since it is the closest of the besieged planets.

 Chapter Nine

Far away from the moon where the council has just adjourned, a lonely Roman sentry stands on the northern frontier of the habitable part of Mars. He sees a landing pod of sorts crash-land in the frigid desert, and he goes to investigate. He knows that this ship belongs to an enemy who must have snuck past the ether streams circling Mars at very high speeds in order to have escaped getting catapulted down by the Roman triremes protecting the planet. As he investigates, the pod’s escape hatch opens, and a large, hairy alien emerges. The alien and the Roman size each other up and prepare for combat.

 Chapter Ten

The Roman soldier and the monster fight each other among the Martian dunes. As they each struggle for a superior position, the soldier recalls a legend he had heard his father tell of a horrible race of assassin monsters that come from a solar system 26 light years away. He suddenly realizes that this monster, who is obviously not a Klaron, is one of them: perhaps hired by the Klarons to perform some nefarious deed. Being hit with this realization, the soldier is tempted to give up fighting, but his inner soul reminds him that he has a responsibility to those he loves to fight his very hardest, regardless of the outcome.

Chapter Eleven

Back on the moon again the council breaks up and the various dignitaries and their escorts return to their ships on the side of a lunar mountain. The ships are floating above the ground at the end of an ether portal, and after casting off they float up into the inky blackness until they reach the orbit stream. They sail along this route until they approach the light side of the moon, at which point they diverge on another ether stream towards Mars. As they leave the moon behind, the men take on last nostalgic glance at Earth. Most of them have never set foot on it, but wistfully hope that someday they will.

Chapter Twelve

Princess Shelah has trouble sleeping her first night on the voyage through outer space. She has never left Earth before, and the strange sights are troubling to her teenage mind. She has a dream that she marries Caesar Mark, and then another one where she marries Chinese Chen. Both dreams are nightmares. She wakes up depressed, worrying about what her future holds.

 Chapter Thirteen

While lying in despair on her bed, Princess Shelah is visited by a being from another dimension. This “angel” assures her that she will find true love, but warns her that her husband will die young.

Chapter Fourteen

Princess Shelah parts with the angel after it heals her clogged artery. Once it disappears, she wanders outside her cabin and notices that the deck is covered in comet dust. She also notices large meandering foot prints leading to a boat near the rail. She walks over to the skiff to find Alfred inside bawling his eyes out. He is crying over his wife whom he has left behind on Earth.

 Chapter Fifteen

Meanwhile the fleet of ships draws near the tail of a large comet. As they get closer, the leaders hold a council to decide whether or not to stop and let the comet pass. They are unable to reach an agreement, and a fight breaks out between Chinese Chen and Caesar Mark. The fight quickly spreads until virtually everybody present is covered in bruises. Finally, Princess Shelah enters the room and yells at them. After she leaves the men organize themselves and start discussing the immediate problem again.

Chapter Sixteen

As the fleet flies deeper into the tail of the comet, the leaders finally make a decision. They elect to continue through the comet at their current speed in order to arrive at Mars as soon as possible. It is Chinese Chen who convinces the others to adopt this dangerous course of action, and in order to convince the rest to take the risk, he volunteers his ships to take the lead through the comet. This turns out to be a costly move. The storm gets bad and many ships are destroyed or damaged. Eventually the going becomes less hazardous, but the visibility gets worse, until the helmsmen cannot see a thing. Very carefully, they try to keep the ships within the ether stream lest they wander into open space and their occupants depressurize.

Chapter Seventeen

The convoy travels deeper into the gloom as the blackout continues. When hope seems all but lost an albatross appears flying in front of them down the ether stream. Such birds often migrate to the outer planets from Earth and give off a mystical glow that allows them to be seen even when there is no light. The ships follow the bird in order to keep from sliding out of the ether stream. They line up single file to keep from colliding with each other. Finally, they escape from the grasp of the darkness into open sunlight.

Chapter Eighteen

Now that the ships have made it out of danger back into the sunlight, they suddenly notice that only ten of the original twenty Chinese craft are left. At first it is assumed that the missing ships, including the one Chinese Chen was on, were all destroyed. Shortly thereafter, however, one of the missing ships is discovered in perfect condition, lost and off course, sailing the wrong way down the ether stream. Eventually a total of four surviving craft are found and recovered, but Chinese Chen is presumed dead. He finally appears alive and well along with all his crewmates at the very moment that the rest of the fleet is holding a memorial service for him. When the final count is taken, only five Chinese ships have been destroyed.

Chapter Nineteen

Princess Shelah is so excited by Chinese Chen’s survival that she allows him to kiss her in front of everybody. Caesar Mark is so outraged at this that he initially wants to pull out of the treaty, but eventually his temper cools down. The days move slowly by, and in the meantime Caesar Mark grows more and more nervous worrying about the fate of his home planet Mars. He doesn’t know what he’ll find when he gets there.

Chapter Twenty

Meanwhile not too far away, Pirate Jim’s ship is cornered by the Persian fleet that is working for the Klarons. The Persians think they have their quarry trapped against the edge of the ether stream, completely unaware that the pirates have developed a way to fly outside the ether stream unharmed. The pirates activate a stable uranium core in order to immerse their ship in a bubble of ether, and slip out of the stream into open space. Once the Klarons find out about it, they send out their fastest ships who quickly locate the pirates on their scanners. As the Klarons close in, Pirate Jim steers for a nearby ether stream. He is too late however: his ship is destroyed. He and fifty other survivors have just enough time to jump on the lifeboats which are equipped with their own ether bubble. They get very close to the ether stream, just as the Klaron ship is turning to fire again. By random chance this is the very ether stream that the fleet from the moon is traveling on. The human kings immediately launch a barrage of missiles at the Klaron cruiser. Some ancient Greeks make a well-aimed hit with some spears causing a leak in the pressurized fuel systems, which blows up the Klaron ship. The Pirate captain and his crew are welcomed aboard amidst cheers; however, Jim himself has to be confined to the brig after he tries to stab one of his rescuers.

Chapter Twenty-One

At long last the allied fleet approaches Mars and discovers to their relief that the Klarons haven’t conquered it yet. Roman ships are clearly in control of the ether stream that orbits the planet. The planet is under siege however. The Klaron cruiser ships have it surrounded at a safe distance, while their Persian allies control most of the ether streams leaving Mars. The only stream still open is the one which the allies entered by. As soon as they make contact with the defenders, Caesar Mark boards one of the Roman ships. The occupants quickly recognize that their king has returned. They take him down to the planet right away.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Caesar Mark returns to Mars to find large crowds waiting for him in the central city. A throng of lower class citizens escorts him up to the capital to greet the senators. Upon setting foot on the marble stairs of the citadel, he is required by Martian tradition to adopt some needy, parentless, child from the crowd to be his heir. This is necessary because he has returned from his first off-planet mission since he has become king and is still unmarried. Marcus quickly realizes, however, that he is being set up. The children in front of him are neither needy nor necessarily orphans. Instead they are privileged children disguised as poor street urchins in order to secure the crown for their politically connected families. Caesar Mark sees right through their charade and realizes that a special plain-clothed squadron of soldiers is hindering the genuine beggars from coming near. Unable to do anything about it himself, he makes eye contact with Alfred, who is in the back of the crowd. The gigantic Englishman spots the disguised soldiers, and charges through their human barrier, creating a hole for the beggar-children to rush in after him. The mass of kids rushes up to where Marcus is, and he chooses one of them to be his son: a small baby boy brought in the arms of his ten-year-old sister. He adopts both of them and gives the baby his signet ring as a sign of his choice.

Chapter Twenty-Three

As Time passes Marcus fears more and more that his planet is facing an imminent attack. It is only a matter of time before the Klarons and Persians attempt to break through the defense perimeter. Unfortunately, he has very little battlefield intelligence on which to rely. In desperation he plans to embark on a risky mission alone through the Martian desert in order to find answers.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Marcus’ attempt to leave the city alone is thwarted when Princess Shelah discovers what he is up to and demands to go with him. He agrees to let her cross the desert with him on horseback, but before he knows how it has happened, he also agrees to marry her.

Chapter Twenty-Five

As soon as they are finished kissing, Marcus and Shelah continue their journey deep into the forbidden regions of Mars. By early morning they are forced to leave their horses behind and continue alone on foot. After several hours of climbing the side of a treacherous mountain, they enter a cave that leads deep into a subterranean palace. They are caught up in a vortex of light that splits their souls and bodies apart and magically transports them somewhere hundreds of miles away. Then the supernatural forces put them back together again on top of a distant mountain.

Chapter Twenty-Six

After waking up, Marcus and Shelah are greeted by a strange apparition created out of the dust of the mountain. Marcus immediately recognizes the new comer as his father the king who died last year. Marcus tells his father about the war and about his engagement. His father tells him that his prayer has been answered and a way to defeat the Klarons will be revealed to him. However, he will have to pay the fore-0rdained price. After delivering the message, the king dissappears back into thin air, leaving the couple to continue their quest alone.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Marcus and Shelah continue up the mountain, searching for whatever it is they are supposed to find. Finally, they make it to a volcanic chasm that opens at the mountain’s peak. Marcus is accidentally knocked inside by a mountain goat and he falls hopelessly into the inky black depths.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Marcus falls deep into the mountain but is miraculously stopped before hitting the bottom. He finds himself in a large chamber illuminated by shafts of light entering through glass-filled crevices. These shafts focus the beams from outer space, serving as a telescope to create holographic images of what is taking place far away. Marcus is able to study the Persian blockade in great detail, and watches as the Klaron fleet masses itself to make a move on Mars. At first he despairs, but then he sees some good news: a large army of Chinese ships flying down the ether stream that connects Saturn to Mars. Before long they would be in position to hit the Persians from behind. As his eyes wander across the star map he notices something else: a complex web of ether streams going from star to star. Apparently they exist in more than just our solar system. Theoretically one could leave our system completely and travel to another star. He doesn’t have time to finish his thoughts, however, before he is attacked suddenly by the monster from chapter nine.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

After being initially wounded, Marcus valiantly defends himself against the monster’s onslaught. Despite his bravery, however, he is slowly losing. Each time one of his blades touches the monster’s spikes, a jolt of electricity rushes through his body further disabling him. As his strength wanes, he makes an interesting observation. Some of the rocks scattered on the ground are nothing more than holographic images of other rocks lying nearby. Taking advantage of this new information, he charges into a stream of light, causing twenty or more holographic copies of himself to suddenly appear around the monster. Surprised, the monster faces the wrong foe, turning his back on Marcus. The young ruler quickly rushes out of the shadows and kills the fiend. Once this is done, however, he begins to despair of his life, expecting to die in the mountain. That’s when he notices a shiny gadget in his victim’s fur.

 Chapter Thirty

The shining device that Marcus has just obtained is the remote control for the monster’s landing pod. The Roman king quickly learns how to direct the hovering craft, and uses it to fly outside of the mountain where he stops to let Shelah embark. Afterwards he tells her what he saw inside the telescope as they zoom to the Martian capital at full speed.

Chapter Thirty-One

Marcus and the princess rush back to the city in their newly-captured flying saucer, much to the surprise of the men guarding the ramparts. After landing, Marcus rushes to the palace to convene a meeting of his generals and allies. Pirate Jim is forced to attend the meeting, and is called on to disclose the secret behind the success of his legendary pirating career. He tells his spell-bound audience that the right kind of meteorite with an Uranium core can be induced to produce an ether canopy around a sailing ship that allows it to leave the either stream. The Uranium can also double as a weapon. If launched against an electrically powered target, it will cause a nuclear explosion. The kings at first thing that he is lying, until Marcus verifies his story. He tells the crowd that he and Alfred have come up with a plan to use this new secret to their advantage. A fleet of fifteen ships led by a volunteer (Chinese Chen) will leave the ether stream in a bold attempt to take out the Klaron mothership.

In the meantime the rest of the fleet will be challenging the Persian invaders, who will attempt to conquer the slip stream. It will be up to them to defend Mars until the surprise Chinese reinforcements arrive from Saturn. These are the men that Marcus glimpsed in the holographic mountain. At that moment, when the tide of battle changes, Chinese Chen and his men will attempt to go after the mothership.

Chapter Thirty-Two

After the meeting Marcus rushes to a doctor to get his wound looked at. The physician, who has already been told by Shelah that he is coming, greets him warmly and applies a healing gauze that closes the gash. He tells Marcus that he will be healthy for the meantime, but he cannot escape the consequences of the magically cursed dart that pierced his skin. It will eventually kill him… after a hundred months or so.

After being healed Marcus rushes out and marries Princess Shelah right before the battle.

I’m sorry, but synopses for Chapters 33-39 have not been written yet.

Sincerely,

-The Author