The SkyPath Crusade

The SkyPath Crusade

A Science Fiction Epic Poem

Copyright © 2007 by Daniel Schilling

All Rights Reserved

Prologue

Those were the days when boys were men

One thousand years ago

When the grass was green and the cows were clean

And the mountains filled with snow

When able knights rode back and forth

Across Earth’s dusty face

And the very best who passed a test

Went straight to outer space

*

Their ships were built from bygone days

With masts and sails so white

They knew no fear, they left our sphere

For passage through the night

On ether streams they sallied forth

Across the heavens’ breadth

On cratered moons and Martian dunes

To die a distant death

*

They fought with kings and cyber lords

When ancient worlds ran dry

With watchful sights on meteorites

They sparred across the sky

They learned to hide in comet dust

While fleeing from the fray

The only law within the jaw

Of half the Milky Way

*

But his’try now has passed them by

For very few returned

And tales told grew very old

While manuscripts were burned

But if our modern probes can spy

Their castles still on Mars

We’ll then be sure we never were

The first ones to the stars

Chapter One

The moonlight in the silver sky

Shone down the Scottish glen

When Alfred on his loyal steed

Came trotting home again

A giant hunk whose gnarled trunk

Had drunk the dregs of life,

Had now come back to face the flack

For parting with his wife

*

Her face was tough as iron bars

Her hair was free but gray

The strands came down behind her frown

And scared his smile away

Her dewy brow was ever now

Like ivy near her eye

The gleam of hope had left the slope

That ran her tear-drops dry

*

“My gentle dove I’m dreaming of,

I’ve missed you all these years”

She answered him in a voice more grim

“I’ve kept the time with tears

Each night you lack to come right back

I’ve slept with hollow dreams

Our ghostly bed has often bred

The sleep of midnight screams”

*

“I know,” he said: “I know although

My soul just had to leave

My heart as well has tasted hell

Without your arms to cleave

But now I’m here, through wind and fear,

Such slaughter I’ve survived

The last of twenty Island men,

The only one alive”

*

“Of course,” she said, “I knew you’d be,”

When others’ luck ran out

You always were the kind of cur

To turn the odds about

I did not think that you would fall

And yet I can’t deny

I’d hoped you’d come home sooner though

It meant you had to die”

*

“But now you’re here so drink your beer

And soak your wounds in mud

In half a week your sword will squeak

From rust and want of blood

You’ll soon be gone when trumpet sounds

Re-echo through the glen

You’ll take that battleaxe of yours

And hit the road again.”

*

And thus she said and so he did

And this became a fact

He bargained with an Englishman

And entered in a pact

For brightest gold his arm was sold

He left one afternoon

That’s how she found her husband bound

For passage to the moon

Chapter Two

Across the void of open space

The dreaded Klarons came

The Persian moons of Jupiter

Were easy worlds to tame

The golden ring of Persia’s king

Was mounted on a clip

Above the console on the bridge

Of Jarga’s mothership

*

The aliens had skins of green

Their eyes were scarlet red

The only noses on their face

Were holes in their head

The king himself was something else

A beast beyond compare

Whose love for war compelled him more

To spread it ev’ry where

*

The Klaron Lord was not adored

But what else could be done?

The point was moot; he took their loot

And then he had his fun

This nomad race from outerspace

Was wicked at the seam

And yet for such they could not touch

The ancient ether stream

*

These paths that ran from planet Earth

Were built by men of skill

Whose ancient ways had seen their days

Whose works persisted still

The magic web would never ebb

While justice had its hold

No pulsing gun could catch the son

Who surfed the magic road

*

But since the moons of Jupiter

Had quickly all been sacked

The other worlds of humankind

Were soon to be attacked

The Klaron cruisers grew their fleet

With captured Persian ships

Whose human crewman now enslaved

Would serve on other trips

*

And so the fight would soon ignite

Each orbit of the sun

The worlds at rest would face a test

For keeping what they won

Their stupid wars and petty sores

Would never make them strong

The only way to save the day

Was learn to get along

Chapter Three

Beyond the moon called Ganymede

A human vessel lurked

Her decks were filled with pirate scum

Ill-fed and overworked

For ever since the Klarons came

Their catchings had been slim

Their captain was an ol’ sky dog

Whose name was One-Eyed Jim

*

Now Jim was not the kind of thief

Who set his victims free

For ev’ry five he kept alive

He slaughtered ninety-three

He had a sport of making port

While Jupiter was nigh

He’d force each rank to walk the plank

Above the planet’s eye

*

But now he could not catch his fill

Since Persian ships were rare

And Klaron cruisers fully gunned

Were flying ev’ry where

The quickest way to capture prey

Was jump from stream to stream

But if somehow he tried it now

They’d catch him in-between

*

For seven months he stayed upstream

‘Till most his food ran out

And half his fold was in the hold

With sickness, chills, and gout

He yelled and swore the Klaron war

Was wicked at the brim:

How dare they face a peaceful race

Whose loot belonged to him?

*

He sat and stewed, He spat and chewed,

He snarled at his mate

He ground his knuckles in the wood

And cursed his sorry fate

Until one day his temper turned

And put him back on track

He then began to make a plan

To get the Klarons back

*

He made his servants clock the ship

To see how fast she flew

He mounted scopes above the ropes

To give him better view

He had them test the catapults

And hone the gears with care

He told his mate to calibrate

Their windings to a hair

*

And while these changes all took place

His brains convulsed inside

He sent his scouts on all the routes

And half their number died

He did not care, he knew that there

Were cruisers there for sure

The time was nigh when he would try

What none had tried before

Chapter Four

A hundred million leagues away

Upon the moon of Earth

The council of united worlds

Had met for all its worth

They all agreed they must impede

The alien attacks

With candor bold their blades were pulled

From all the others’ backs

*

The Roman king of rosy Mars

Presumed to be in charge

But China’s chief from Saturn’s reef

Was also still at large

The two of them had not been friends

And now with Persia gone

They had to know who had control

Before they’d get along

*

Their lesser peers from other spheres

Were equally enraged

For they’d be first to face the worst

When battle was engaged

They had no heart to play the part

Of nonessential pawns

Whose weak abode would soon implode

Between the giants’ yawns

*

Upon this sticky stage of doom

The course of fate seemed clear

The council in its present state

Was choked by hate and fear

Then from the shadows of the room

A hefty hulk arose

The very air began to tear

And half the nobles froze

*

The giant was an Englishman

Whose name was Travers Grey

With such a voice they had no choice

But hear what he would say

He gave a yell that cracked a bell

And shattered half the cups

The jousting joes assumed the pose

Of lactose-drinking pups

*

“A curse on you, you motley crew,

I’ve witnessed many things

I’ve seen such rub in many ‘a pub

But not a court of kings

Your proudest guys have drunken eyes

Your leader is a sot

I came through space to witness grace

And this is what I got”

*

“They told me I would see great things

Within these halls of mirth

The remnant of each golden dream

That vanished from the Earth

I find instead, the world I fled,

Is never far behind

The human race from Earth to space

Is sick, demented, blind!”

Chapter Five

“My name is Travers William Grey

I come from down below

I bear a message from the king

Whose name I’m sure you know

His kingdom is from ancient days

On Earth, the only one:

I’m speaking of the Sov’reign Lord

Of old Byzantium”

*

“My men and I have flown the sky

On orders from the same

We come from Britain’s wooded coast

The land of Arthur’s fame

As soldiers from the mother-world

We urge you to avoid

This present trend that will not end

‘Till Earth has been destroyed”

*

“The tidings that my party brings

I fear are very sad

The wars below against the foe

Are faring rather bad

The ancient strength has now at length

Been weakened at its core

The time draws near when none will hear

From Earthlings any more”

*

“But now my master seeks to prove

His last eternal will

That human heart though worlds apart

Should be united still

And thus he sends his greatest gem

The daughter he once knew

To grace the skies above his eyes

And marry one of you”

*

When this was said he bowed his head

And fell upon a knee

The hall went still; a gentle thrill

Ran through the company

The door that stood of sturdy wood

Beneath a frame of birch

Began to shake as though ‘twould break

And gave a sudden lurch

*

A sweet surprise met all their eyes

Like sugar on the tongue

As summer’s storms her eyes were warm

Her skin was fresh and young

A Scottish knight was on her right

Still grunting at her side

His mighty punch had caused the crunch

That threw the chamber wide

*

The whole crowd at once was cowed;

The kings began to melt

Each blushing prince could not evince

The passion that he felt

The gleaming sweat that swiftly set

Upon each royal nose

Endangered all to quickly fall

And stain their silken hose

Chapter Six

The moments fled, the room was dead

When princess Shelah came

The men who saw her grace those steps

Would never be the same

Her evening gown threw lace around

The sandals that she wore

Her dress embraced a gentle waist

Like none they’d seen before

*

The Roman king in scarlet robes

Sprang lightly to his feet

He gently fixed his signet ring

To let his knuckles meet

He slowly took his helmet off

And gave the girl his arm

His friendly smiles filled the room

With diplomatic charm

*

He walked across the ancient hall

His hand attached to hers

His Latin chin was bold as sin

His hair was soft as furs

For fifty seconds no one spoke,

But stares began to flow

‘Til Marcus with his eyes still raised

Was forced to let her go

*

The Chinese Chen with fourteen men

Advanced across the floor

Each wore a blade with metal made

From Titan’s distant core

His Asian skin was gold yet thin

In lamplight from the walls

He bore a scepter in his hand

Adorned with seven balls

*

The Princess curtsied with respect

And let herself be led

The fourteen warriors formed a line

With Chen still at their head

With tassels starched they slowly marched

Upon the marble stair

They placed a throne of precious stone

And left the princess there

*

Then all the courtiers stood as one

While Shelah took her seat

The Scottish Alfred stood behind

With Travers at her feet

They shifted clockwise on the steps

And took her left and right

Then all the men sat down again

And some began to write

*

The court was open for debate

The ancient torch was lit

Some eighty scribes from different tribes

Engulfed a marble pit

The chronicles they wrote that day

Are valued more than gold

And some still say they hold more sway

Than any story told

Chapter Seven

From far beyond the lunar walls

Where Princess Shelah sat

A Klaron Cruiser took some scans

To find where Jim was at

The Pirate ship had given slip

At half past one O’clock

The crafty team had left the stream

Behind magnetic rock

*

The Cruiser sent a coded pulse

And talked to head command

The closest port would send support

With ev’ry ship at hand

Some twenty space ships filled the skies

With ten more on their way

While time was killed the void was filled

With ev’ry kind of ray

*

But Klaron rays could never phaze

The rare metallic ore

That floated past their quarry on

The sea that has no shore

Their pirate foe proceeded slow

At twenty thousand knots

Which left them undetected by

The Klaron astrobots

*

The Brigand ship was just a blip

On Klaron radar screens

The spot displayed could else be made

By floating lima beans

They made no wake for safety’s sake

They dodged each grain of dust

Their chains were stowed within the hold

To keep from shedding rust

*

At ten to nine they made a line

Straight to the nearest base

The bays were bare, the cruisers there

Were still out giving chase

The Klaron crews which could not lose

Were eager for the fray

They did not know their deadly foe

Was also tracking prey

*

At ten o’ two a note came through

To all the Klaron craft

They thought (it said) the Pirates fled

Along the ether draft

It told them wait ‘till ten O eight

If news would be the same

But when the time was on the dime

No message ever came

*

Tomorrow for that Klaron base

Would not forever come

They could not dodge a brief barrage

Of rich Uranium

The pirates knew what it could do

If launched by catapult

Their little stock encased in rock

Had given quite the jolt

Chapter Eight

The shards that blew apart that day

Were more than chunks of flesh

The wound that stung the Klaron pride

Was deep, and wet, and fresh

It vaporized their mascot of

Impregnability

And left their weakness naked for

The universe to see

*

The news of their catastrophe

Was spread beyond the rim

At Kuiper’s Belt the shock was felt

Where days are long and dim

On planetoids beyond the voids

Where Pluto’s orbit ticked

Each girl and boy was filled with joy

To see the Klarons licked

*

But now the gloom of pending doom

Was starting to descend

For Klaron pride, though shattered wide

Was quickly on the mend

The Klaron fleet was on its feet

Before a week had passed

They cut in half the ether draft

So no one could get past

*

They filled their captured Persian ships

With captured Persian crews

But Klaron Captains took the bridge

And fed them Klaron views

They barricaded all the streams

So there could be no breach

And Klaron Cruisers lurked nearby

Just barely out of reach

*

So now the bars on rugged Mars

Were filled with refugees

And in the shades of barren glades

They slept beneath the trees

On Titan too, it was a zoo,

The moon of Chinese Chen

With watchful eyes they combed to skies

To see him home again

*

But Chinese Chen was far away

Upon the Lunar crust

Where ancient castles stood above

The crumbling Lunar dust

The council stayed in session as

The time was getting late

‘Til the need for speedy action put

An end to their debate

*

Some questions stayed unanswered as

The players took the stage

Would new resolve at once dissolve

Before the Klaron rage?

They had a plan to make a stand

Before the time ran out

But when the rubber hit the road

Would it become a rout?

Chapter Nine

Upon the Martian desert front

A Roman sentry stood

He watched the cold lands of the north

And shivered in his hood

He cooked a cautious meal with

A faintly gleaming light

While the purple skies above him

Glimmered back their globes of white

*

A glowing shell from heaven fell:

He grabbed his plated spear

He crouched below a shelf of snow

And perked an eager ear

A gentle thud like falling mud

Was all the noise he heard

Except for quakes from seismic snakes

And flittings of a bird

*

The landing site was on his right

A thousand meters hence

The wind aloft was slow and soft

Yet still the mood was tense

Across the pocket-cratered sand

He crept on stealthy toes

Prepared to tend a helpless friend;

Prepared to battle foes

*

The landing pod was caked in sod

The crashing point was deep

The impact vector when it hit

Was very fast and steep

It fell so brisk it took the risk

Of crashing into stone

But with some luck instead it stuck

Where healthy grass had grown

*

The Roman soldier quick deduced

The ship was not a friend

This lonely spot was surely not

An ether portal’s end

It seemed instead the craft had fled

Attempting to sneak by

The ether orbit up above

Where Roman galleys fly

*

The outer plate began to grate

And opened up a hatch

The spaceship’s guide from down inside

Had just released the latch

The Roman stared as something haired

Began to apparate

Its biped form was more than norm

Its height was six-foot-eight

*

The Roman in his ancient garb

Removed his outer cloak

He drew a sword without a word

And faced the other bloke

A plate of polished metal glit-

-tered on his chiseled chest

For his muscle-bound exterior had

Been primed to look its best

*

The creature took his challenge and

Proceeded to its spot

While its lungs exuded vapors

Filled with acid cooked and hot

Then a plate of bony armor quick-

ly grew upon its fur

As the tips protruded minerals

That formed a deadly spur

*

The Roman nodded to his foe

But neither left his ground

For both combatants took the time

To quickly glance around

The Martian breeze embraced the trees

That dotted cratered dunes

The stoic knight prepared to fight

Beneath the double moons

Chapter Ten

The seconds fled the time went dead

And all of nature paused

The creature inched the Roman flinched

But neither’s gaze was lost

Expectantly they had to see

Whose move would seal fate

The moment fell when heck and hell

Could not much longer wait

*

With moves rehearsed by minds well versed

The deadly sport commenced

With fatal skill and strength to kill

The two combatants fenced

With sword to claw and helm on jaw

They fought to gain the ground

But though they pressed from foot to chest

No weakness there was found

*

The Roman parried back and forth

His body filled with sweat

He stuck and stabbed, he jumped and jabbed,

But still could not forget

An ancient fear he once did hear

While on his father’s knee

About a distant monster race

Who came from Vega Three

*

“So long ago when time was young,”

-His father’s words returned-

“They had to leave their mother world

Whose surface had been burned

With wounded pride and hate inside

They tried to make things right

By killing guilds on other worlds

To thus extend their plight.”

*

“But now their race has reaped disgrace

To such a great extent

That any honor they once held

Has surely all been spent

To love and kiss and nurture bliss

Is far beyond their skill

They’ve sold their soul and all they know

Is how to loot and kill”

*

The Roman took another look

Upon his hated foe

The face he saw from nose to jaw

Was painted black with woe

It’s drooling fangs and mangy bangs

Were thick with smells and lice

The angry beast to say the least

Looked anything but nice

*

Before he blinked or stopped to think

The Roman soldier knew

The stories old his father told

Were all correct and true

The legend stood before him

In the stillness of the night

Unsheathed in all its evil as

A trans-celest’al blight

*

He yelled a word, he raised his sword,

The awful fiend drew near

The Roman stooped, his shoulders drooped,

Engulfed in darkest fear

He gave a cry, he knew he’d die,

As surely as it came

But in his heart he felt the dart

Of deep unvarnished shame

*

His inner self began to melt

And pecked him with its beak

The bird inside of righteous pride

Had now begun to speak

“How dare you die, you have to try!”

Implored the tender dove

“This thing you do is not for you

But others whom you love”

*

“The truth speaks clear: your help is near

If only you will trust

For faith and love and things above

Will never turn to rust

You’ll live or die, or sing or cry,

But keep this truth in sight:

Though demons cheat there’s no defeat

For those who do what’s right”

*

The soldier knew that this was true

As quickly as it spoke

Like crystal streams in sunny dreams

His will to fight awoke

He hacked and sawed, he kicked and pawed,

He felt his strength return

For loss of breath and fear of death

Were none of his concern

Chapter Eleven

But while this secret battle raged

Upon the Martian dune

The famous council disengaged

Its meetings on the moon

The humans flocked where ships were docked

Upon a cratered mount

They formed themselves in battle cells

To take a final count

*

Along the road the soldiers strode

Up to the chasm’s edge

They threw their ladders down the cliff

And clambered off the ledge

The ships below were set to go

And soon were cast adrift

They floated softly in the air

And then began to lift

*

The cruising craft could taste the draft;

Their sails shuddered tight

They played a tune above the moon

and rose into the night

The lunar scars were lost in stars

As farther up they rose

From deck to hold the air was cold

And half the rigging froze

*

But as they reached the orbit stream

And slipped beneath the sphere

They made an arc around the dark

And broke into a cheer

The sun came out there was no doubt

That glowing face was hers

The men in glee were all stripped free

Of outer cloaks and furs

*

‘Midst sunny beams they left the streams

That hugged the lunar face

They steered their craft into a draft

That headed deep in space

With heavy thoughts and stomach knots

They backward glanced to Earth

For very few had smelt the dew

Where humans had their birth

*

With silent sighs they glued their eyes

Upon the fertile ball

They marked the place each ancient race

Had lived from rise to fall

Egyptian Lords and Roman hordes

Could glimpse their continents

While Chinese Chen and all his men

Could see the Asian fence

*

They slowly breathed and inward seethed

To watch it slip away

They felt a yearn to once return

Perhaps this time to stay

But down inside their ancient pride

Recalled them to their quest

The things they knew they had to do

Were for the planet’s best

*

So resolute and sad and mute

They paid their last respect

Though passion hurt they stayed alert

While Earth became a speck

The kingdoms past they knew at last

Had suffered each its death

But human pain and human gain

Had drawn its second breath

Chapter Twelve

They say the air in ether streams

Is nectar on the tongue

The magic draughts will give you thoughts

That make you feel young

A hundred ninety seven ships

Made up that famous fleet

To ev’ry crewman on the trip

The taste was bittersweet

*

The path that lay before their sprits

Was paved with dying hopes

A dreadful sadness seared the souls

Of those who manned the ropes

They had to face a fearful race

Like none they’d ever tried

They’d have to fight the Persian knights

Who served the other side

*

The princess in her state of mind

Could hardly sleep that night

In space they say it’s never day

And yet the sun is bright

The ion streams can mess with dreams

Of those whose hearts are soft

It hits the worst the very first

A person flies aloft

*

Throughout the night she slept in fright

Her mind besieged by cares

Her frantic brain was under strain

From inter-stellar flares

She tossed and turned, a fever burned,

Her bosom heaved with sighs

The hopes and fears of future years

Went flitting past her eyes

*

In mental states she saw her fates

Of many kinds appear

She walked beside the boiling tide

Where hazy thoughts are clear

Inside each life she lived as wife

To diff’rent sorts of men

Each man she tried was full of pride

But no one was her friend

*

The Chinese Chen with all his men

Was first to grace her dreams

He fed her torte—a rich dessert—

And filled her mouth with creams

He marched her up and down the streets

To make their presence known

But in the night he took his flight

And left her home alone

*

Her second fad was just as bad

She married Caesar Mark

He combed her hair and called her fair

But never after dark

That Roman flirt would wear no shirt

When courtyard girls were near

To find his charms in other arms

Became her lifelong fear

*

Some eighteen more, an even score,

Embraced her with a kiss

But ev’ry life as someone’s wife

Was anything but bliss

Each manly face could not erase

The failure of the last

Each rotten dream contained a theme

She never could get past

*

The promise of each wedding day

Would always go awry

She spent her years condemned in tears

To watch her passion die

She could not pin her inward sin

And yet she felt the guilt

She could not halt the taste of fault

Each time her love was spilt

*

With all these thoughts inside her head

She suddenly awoke

Ensconced in gloom she scanned the room

As if her mind were broke

A subspace cleft had surely left

Her neurons all abuzz

She gave a shake and with an ache

Remembered where she was

*

Alone in pain and half insane

She moaned upon her bed

While figments of desired love

Went dancing through her head

Adrift in space she had to face

A life with none to guide

She missed the mirth she felt on Earth

Where friends and folk reside

Chapter Thirteen

She thought she heard some whispered words

Supined upon her bed

In ancient Greek she heard them speak

And this is what they said

“Oisato gar, theon atar,” (variation on the Odyssey I.323)

It mumbled through her hair

Her gentle youth perceived the truth:

A spirit now was there

*

A glowing light of crystal white

Cascaded near her side

She quickly saw that nature’s law

Had surely been defied

The heavens’ reach had sprung a breach

The seconds seemed like months

She strongly felt the creature dwelt

In double realms at once

*

The being saw a part of her

And her a part of it

The band of air beside the chair

Began to warp and split

The face she spied had never lied

Its lips were linked to truth

Their lofty lore would now restore

The fountain of her youth

*

“Oh daughter of the Earthling king

You know why I am here

To show to thee what soon wilt be

To quench thy inner fear

The planets’ chores and coming wars

Are not the news I bring

But rather now I’ll tell you how

Your soul shall laugh and sing”

*

“You have a fear inside of you

That’s part of human fate

The curse proceeded from that tree

Of which your grandma ate

You have a need to love and breed

Or else you’re incomplete

But if you try to love some guy

You fear that he may cheat”

*

“The burden cast upon your soul

Has plagued your whole race

Each girl and man since time began

Has borne it all their days

The only way to make love pay

Is never to reverse

The choice you take your best to make

For better or for worse”

*

“But now my dear expel your fear

That’s got you in this slump

I bear a gift that’s bound to lift

Your spirit from the dump

No other soul may ever know

If those they love are true

But yet the monarch of my realm

Will give this gift to you”

*

“I sing this promise in your ear

That you will surely love

A man so true he’ll cling to you

Until you’ve had enough

I won’t decree who this may be

Or how or when or where

But when you weep or fall asleep

I promise he’ll be there”

*

“Throughout his years he’ll wipe the tears

That drip beneath your eyes

He’ll wield the passion of your love

Across these sparkling skies

The things he’ll do in love for you

Surpass what others say

Though brief in speech his heart will reach

To guide you through each day”

*

“But you will have to pay a price

For winning such a man

In turn for this, a time of bliss,

He’ll live a shortened span

For mortals know the pain and woe

That living must provide

He’ll miss the worst by sailing first

Across the great divide”

Chapter Fourteen

The pounding blood in Shelah’s heart

Was sloshed inside her chest

The scarlet lanes that marked her veins

Were visibly compressed

The glowing man upheld his hand

Above a reddened spot

She quickly felt a vessel melt

That just began to clot

*

A grateful sparkle in her eyes

Was all the thanks she gave

Her lips, though weak, would love to speak

Her tongue was not so brave

The space distortion burst apart

In shreds of magic light

The angel raised a feathered wing

And flew into the night

*

The glimmer of the spirit’s form

Had ceased to glow and burn

The grimy gloom that filled her room

Took seconds to return

She fixed her fingers on her face

Her eyes were red and sore

She slipped her sandals on her feet

And scampered out the door

*

She pattered past the pinioned planks

That propped a painted scow

She kneeled down upon the ground

And made a private vow

Her words were lost; the ship was tossed

In eddy streams of jade

But heaven’s ear was swift to hear

The promise that she made

*

A ghostly gust of comet dust

Compelled her to her feet

The pearly paste had sugar’s taste

The flecks were soft and sweet

Like flakes of snow they cast a glow

Upon her pallid neck

She raised an eye and saw nearby

The footprints on the deck

*

The trodden pairs implored her stares

They covered half the floor

They scattered flecks across the deck

A hundred feet or more

The mark of boots like parachutes

Proceeded to the barge

The tender teen had never seen

A pair of feet so large

*

The Princess Shelah quickly cleared

A pathway to the boat

Her skin was wet from comet sweat

That melted on her coat

The frosted skiff convulsed as if

It sailed a windy lake

With pupil’s wide she climbed the side

To see what made it shake

*

The Scottish Alfred sat within

His hands before his face

His fickle fingers fumbled forth

A faded piece of lace

A row of tears like Triton’s spears

Had pierced the dust with spots

A silver whisp both thin and crisp

Alighted from the dots

*

He smiled at his little charge

And helped her climb inside

He moved his feet to share his seat

And tried to stem the tide

She dried his tears below his ears

Until he found control

And in the end he told his friend

Of all that plagued his soul

*

She listened hard when as a bard

He told her of his wife

Who sat at home, depressed alone,

Unhappy with her life

She tried to cheer her giant peer

And yet she felt inside

She’d rather die than ever try

To be that Scotman’s bride

Chapter Fifteen

The sight of comets in the sky

Is like a feathered spark

For those adrift who catch a whiff

It smells like maple bark

The pleasant smell will seem like hell

When trapped within its wake

When days are marked by endless dark,

The heart begins to break

*

That fateful day in early May

The famous fleet drew nigh

A sphere so vast it shed so fast

It blotted half the sky

The tail fell just parrelel

The course they had to take

It drew so near it made them fear

Of drowning in its wake

*

The kings at once were called from lunch

To meet on Traver’s ship

He said the disk posed quite a risk

Of strengthening its grip

The English knight exposed their plight

As truthful as he could

He said unless they stop to rest

Their chances weren’t so good

*

The kings agreed to slow their speed

Until they asked how long

The Briton smirked, his shoulder’s jerked,

He said he might be wrong

But at this rate he’d calculate

They’d have to wait for days

Because –he said—the comet’s head

Was melting from the rays

*

The Chinese Chen with sev’ral men

Sprang madly to his feet

He made a bray that Travers Grey

Was calling for defeat

He said his ship would keep its clip

When up jumped Caesar Mark

Who punched the Asian in the face

And knocked his head out dark

*

The guardsmen of the Chinese king

Had scarce the time to gasp

When Alfred jumped them from behind

As quickly as an asp

Then Travers charged into the fray

And Marcus punched some more

In half a sec they made a reck

Of all the Chinese corps

*

The Roman smiled with delight

And offered up a drink

His British host proposed a toast

That turned his man-flesh pink

The murky air produced a pair

Of swinging Roman fists

But Alfred tore a two-by-four

And smacked him on the wrists

*

But good ol’ Alf would soon himself

Be made to taste the floor

A Hittite Lord who dodged his board

Expelled him through the door

Egyptians and Phoenicians

Chaldeans and a Hun

Endeavored all to join the brawl

Though no one cared who won

*

As minutes flew a very few

Were all who had survived

But many knights rejoined the fights

The moment they revived

The Chinese Chen and all his men

Felt many knockout blows

While Caesar Mark fought like a shark

‘Til someone cracked his nose

*

‘Midst all this din there entered in

the royal girl herself

She gazed around and cast a frown

On good ol’ brother Alf

She stopped to park by Caesar Mark

And wiped his bloody face

But then she kicked him in the ribs

And left them in disgrace

*

At once the crowd was quickly cowed

For seconds no one spoke

The leaders mumbled to themselves

As if their tongues were broke

Their private war was fun no more

Since Shelah balled them out

So then the men sat down again

And worked their problems out

Chapter Sixteen

The sun shrank sharply in the sky

As comet clouds advanced

The fleet flew in on gusts of wind

Where plasma surges branched

Since days ago they’d seen it snow

Enough to make you numb

But nothing there could yet compare

To what was still to come

*

The kings and such stayed out of touch

Aboard the English ship

They sent no news to all their crews

About the coming trip

For half the day they talked away

They couldn’t make up their mind

If they should stall to skip the squall

Or else to enter blind

*

But in the end the Chinese Chen

Convinced the other guys

That urgent need should supersede

Their fear of stormy skies

Though ships are lost it’s worth the cost

As long as most escaped

He knew that they could change the way

The coming war was shaped

*

So when at last their votes were cast

The Asian motion won

They’d point their spars to Rosy Mars

Before the storm was done

The Chinese Chen and all his men

Agreed to lead them through

So they’d be first to taste the worst

When ships were blown in two

*

With inward sighs and sunken eyes

The Asians took their leave

Afraid inside they took their pride

In what they would achieve

The English crew paid homage to

The crew of Chinese Chen

With thoughts depressed they silent guessed

Which ones they’d see again

*

The Princess Shelah shed a tear

Alone so none would know

The Chinese Chief compelled her grief

So bravely did he go

A man that strong could do no wrong

Who tested death so bold

She hoped that he could somehow be

The one who was foretold

*

And so the fleet made haste to meet

The storm that blocked their path

The comet shell was blown to hell

Before the sunlight’s wrath

The melting shocks blew giant rocks

Apart like tire-treads

Inside the draft some fifteen craft

Were swiftly torn to shreds

*

And then the jolts from plasma bolts

Destroyed a couple more

These deadly streams of ion beams

Impaired another score

The man who felt his atoms melt

Had scarce the time to shout

Before his flesh became a mess

That sizzled inside out

*

But when at last the worst was past

They saw the mist increase

It grew so thick a wall of brick

Would fade with much more ease

Though thermal shock and flying rock

Had ceased to be a theme

Each sightless ship could swiftly slip

Outside the ether stream

*

The English craft embraced the draft

As light became more dim

Their cunning guide steered well inside

The stream’s concealed rim

They still could clip another ship

Within the ether node

At least they’re safe from open space

Where body parts explode

Chapter Seventeen

Beneath the lashes of her lids

The Princess’ pupils shook

If there’d been light she’d be a sight

To make a friar look

A maiden’s face is filled with grace

When living is in doubt

The heightened stakes is what it takes

To scare her beauty out

*

She walked across the snowy deck

And gazed into the gloom

Then all around she heard the sound

Of men in dreadful doom

She heard the woe from ships below

She heard the ships above

She heard the names of distant dames

Who shared some sailor’s love

*

Through all the groans and awful moans

Her fingers dripped with tears

She wiped their tips against her lips

And stuck them in her ears

She strained her eyes to pierce the skies

To find some kind of break

Her teenage brain now half insane

Had more than it could take

*

When all seemed lost an Albatross

Came flying from nowhere

The men had heard this kind of bird

Could breathe the ether air

Each century these birds would flee

From Earth to Planet nine

It now appeared a chick they reared

Had gotten left behind

*

It shimmered soft at ease aloft

Unhindered through the storm

Each ship astray though far away

Could glimpse its feathered form

No beam of light was yet in sight

But still the bird shone clear

Each helmsman’s eye was glad to spy

This star by which to steer

*

The sailors laughed and joked at aft

For once the mood was calm

The sparkling wraith restored their faith

Massaging hopes with balm

The ships behind were placed in line

As helmsmen gained their heart

From sprit to mast the ropes were cast

To keep the ships apart

*

For half the day there was no ray

Of light from sun nor moon

The clouds stayed strong all morning long

And through the afternoon

As ev’ning came it seemed the same

Until they saw a shaft

That rose across the albatross

And lit the ether draft

*

The sun came out with all its clout

To greet their longing stares

It shone so bright into the night

It took them unawares

The warm display was strong as day

Infusing dust with rays

This sudden spike was nothing like

The dark of outer space

*

The glowing reef spelled soft relief

For danger now was gone

The pumping blood had slowed it’s thud

To let the sailors yawn

The inky black came floating back

As skies became more clear

For now at last they’d made it past

The remnant of the sphere

Chapter Eighteen

Sometimes a lucky stroke of fate

Will blind your eyes to see

That other men may not have been

So free of tragedy

With hearts aglow they did not know

Until they glanced around

That Chinese Chen and half his men

were nowhere to be found

*

His royal ship had given slip

With many its Chinese kin

The plasma shocks and walls of rocks

Had doubtless done them in

The stately ship had made the trip

With twenty at its side

Some ten were left, alone bereft,

Of those who doubtless died

*

While crewmen wept their course was kept

To leave them well on track

For all the men knew Chinese Chen

Wouldn’t want them to look back

When morning mass approached at last

They all bowed down to pray

‘Twas then they found a vessel bound

Off course the other way

*

The Chinese craft blew through the draft

At ninety thousand knots

They turned around and chased it down

By banging metal pots

Though torn and tossed, alone and lost,

The ship had kept its speed

The loss of light could not affright

That gutsy Asian breed

*

When this was done another one

Was spotted off port bow

It hurried past so slick and fast

They could not figure how

To play the cop and make it stop

Before it clear escaped

But slowing down it turned around

As English faces gaped

*

They found two more, a total four

Who managed to survive

Their reckless pluck combined with luck

Had got them through alive

But due to fate the ship of state

Was not among the four

The Englishmen sat down again

To weep for Chen once more

*

An ancient priest whose brow was creased

Commenced an eastern dirge

The gathered throng all sang along

As many got the urge

With heads in shrouds and hearts like clouds

Their inner weight was purged

But while they cried the helmsman spied

A place where streams converged

*

The ether bands are made of strands

Like hairs that intertwine

They split apart across the chart

And afterwards combine

The Chinese Chen with ninety men

Had entered one of these

But once again around the bend

He came with awful ease

*

While this took place upon each face

A piece of fabric lay

A king who dies upon the skies

Is honored in this way

The clothe is borne by men who mourn

A leader in a war

It signifies that he who dies

Is seen by us no more

*

But Chinese Chen would once again

Appear before their eyes

His swift return would quickly turn

Their grieving to surprise

While heads were stacked in stinking sacks

Believing he was dead

His ship and crew came into view

A furlong overhead

*

This happy news at first confused

The men who could not see

Bemused and blind they tried to find

A way to struggle free

The silken threads were pulled to shreds

To free their stifled hosts

As starlight beamed they saw what seemed

A ship of Chinese ghosts

*

A Chinese mate stood by the gate

Another took the mast

The men at aft guffawed and laughed

As they went sailing past

The Brits were sore, they yelled and swore,

They looked so stupid then

A smile reared across the beard

Of good old Chinese Chen

Chapter Nineteen

To see a perished friend alive

Is such a precious gift

No other thing will ever bring

The same supernal lift

For Travers and his Scottish friend

The inward pain went slack

But someone else was hearing bells

When Chinese Chen came back

*

She groomed her neck and crossed the deck

to put her hand in his

And then her face with courtly grace

Surrendered to his kiss

The standers by all raised their eye

And made some quaint remark

But disbelief was turned to grief

In jealous Caesar Mark

*

The Roman king could taste the sting

Each time their lips came close

He wandered off to sulk and scoff

Before his temper rose

He left the ship to get a grip

And purge his rising steam

He thought perhaps he’d take a nap

Aboard his great trireme

*

But once inside he felt his pride

Exhort him with its case

The Chinese knight had no man’s right

To kiss the angel’s face

Not him alone but ancient Rome

Was slighted by this act

This grave mistake would serve to break

The lunar treaty pact

*

But idle threats like idle bets

Are easy to forget

And after lunch and bowls of punch

It’s hard to stew and fret

He inward swore the Chinese corps

Would pay both one and all

But by the night he’d made it right

With loads of alcohol

*

The Chinese Chen was still his friend

The balance of the trip

And once or twice when feeling nice

He let him on his ship

And yet he still would get a thrill

As he remembered when

He knocked the blaggard on his butt

In front of all his men

*

But as the days became a haze

The trip sped swiftly by

The famous fleet remained upbeat

Across the ether sky

The Chinese Chen and all his men

Were anxious for a fight

But Marcus’ soul was loath to know

If Mars was still alright

Chapter Twenty

As Caesar Mark lay in his bed

Before the coming day

The Pirate Jim felt much like him

Not very far away

The Pirate King had learned one thing

While Batt’ling Klaron scum

That though he’d aced a Klaron base

The worst was yet to come

*

The Pirate craft had left the draft

While running for its life

The Persian teams infused the streams

And gave his men some strife

The pirates knew each Persian crew

Could never leave the node

For if they’d chase through open space

Their flesh would soon explode

*

But one-eyed Jim and all his kin

Could live outside the breeze

The dreaded cold could not take hold

To stifle them or freeze

Around their hull they had somehow

Diffused a canopy

Of ether gas that let them pass

Where space was clear and free

*

Their Persian foe at first didn’t know

The pirates had this edge

The Klaron lot somehow forgot

To tell the Persian heads

So when at last the Pirate mast

Had nowhere left to go

They simply turned their ship around

And slipped outside the flow

*

Throughout that night they set their sights

And final hopes on Mars

The Klaron crews with naught to lose

Went searching for their spars

No special rock this time would block

The scans from all around

It wasn’t long until that throng

Had tracked the pirates down

*

An hour’s trip from safety’s grip

The Pirates glanced about

That’s when they found a cruiser bound

Intent to take them out

They maxed their speed but lost their lead

As ev’ry minute passed

Their frantic flight that fateful night

Would doubtless be their last

*

As blood grew hot a target shot

Gave off a greenish gleam

But one-eyed Jim whose face was grim

Could glimpse an ether stream

He yelled though hoarse to change their course

As pulsar beams drew near

But as they turned the guns returned

And hit them in the rear

*

The beam of light shot through the night

And hit the center beams

From stem to mast they felt the blast

Between the dreadful screams

Amidst the din the deck caved in

And vanished in a jiff

The Pirate Jim seemed twice as slim

While jumping on a skiff

*

The landing boats remained afloat

Though all the ship was lost

With throbbing fear they each steered clear

Where wreckage burned and tossed

Some fifty crew had made it through

Aboard some seven craft

And while the Cruiser scanned the wreck

They sprinted to the draft

*

The Cruiser picked their signal up

And turned to give them chase

Before their eyes it tripled size

So dreadful was their pace

It made a lunge and aimed its guns

Intent to spell their doom

‘Twas then a flock of giant rocks

Came pounding from the gloom

*

That moment sweet the famous fleet

By luck had been nearby

They dropped their jaw when ere they saw

The pirates sailing by

They made a bolt to catapults

To give the Klarons hell

Their deadly aim was just the same

As famous William Tell

*

The Cruiser dodged the first barrage

But spun out of control

The later strikes contained some spikes

That stabbed the plating full

The spears from Greeks caused pressure leaks

Behind the manifold

The Pirate crew waved one “adieu”

And watched the ship explode

*

The many craft who lined the draft

Responded in a cheer

And Pirate Jim no longer grim

Implored them for a beer

But when his horde was safe on board

He bolted from the boats

And charged his saviors with a sword

And tried to slit their throats

Chapter Twenty-One

A pirate king who’s lost his ship

Is like a mother bear

Whose little cubs get belly rubs

From someone by her lair

In such a state was One-Eyed Jim

And swearing like a pig

That Chinese Chen with lots of men

Confined him to the brig

*

But all the other pirate scum

Were treated to a drink

And someone sent a barrel down

To Jim still in the clink

With just one try he sucked it dry

While breathing through his nose

Then as he swore and yelled for more

He fainted in that pose

*

But other men like Mark and Chen

Would dare not touch a drop

For very soon that afternoon

Their lengthy trip would stop

For rosy Mars against the stars

Had grown to apple size

The planet’s fate would soon relate

Before their very eyes

*

But as they burned the final turn

The sight spelled sweet relief

The orbit stream was safe as cream

Throughout the outer reef

For Roman craft patrolled the draft

Awaiting Mark their liege

But coming near it soon was clear

That Mars was under siege

*

For Persian galleys blocked the paths

That left the orbit streams

And scores of Cruisers lurked nearby

And scanned them with their beams

The only route that still went out

Was headed straight to Earth

From on this street the famous fleet

Had now just issued forth

*

The orbit draft was filled with craft

That entered double-paired

Amazed and shocked the Klarons flocked

As closely as they dared

A laser shot though all for naught

Was fired near their rear

They watched the beam attain the stream

And quickly disappear

*

A Roman ship at steady clip

Made haste to meet the fleet

The Asian barge which seemed in charge

Was first to come and greet

The Chinese Chen and twenty men

Paraded from the dark

But right behind with flasks of wine

Came lofty Caesar Mark

*

The Romans stared their teeth were bared

Their mouths fell open wide

They made while mute that grand salute

That gives the Romans pride

Their fists were pressed against their breast

Unfolding in the air

Then Caesar Mark did re-embark

And hugged their captain there

*

With hand held high he waved goodbye

To good old Chinese Chen

Upon his word to cut the cord

The ships broke free again

The men in place with stately grace

All kneeled to the crown

Then turning spars to rosy Mars

They took the galleys down

Chapter Twenty-Two

Across the stretch of time and space

No other sight equates

To grand parades by senates made

To honor Roman greats

You can’t compare their pomp and air

To things American

For we are free to disagree

And do it ‘cuz we can

*

But when a Roman hero comes

He’s cheered by one and all

Both men at arms and men from farms

Will answer to his call

The girls for days will weave bouquets

And hang them up on pegs

But bigwigs in the U.S.A

Receive a gift of eggs

*

So Marcus on his special day

Was cheered by many crowds

Amidst their sighs above their eyes

He floated from the clouds

The sky was blue when he broke through

He left a misty wake

His ship still green with ether sheen

Fell softly on a lake

*

A gentle splash and minor lash

Was all the shock he felt

With utmost care he breathed the air

Rememb’ring how it smelt

The people roared, they all adored

The ruler of their rock

The royal guard was all that barred

Their wish to charge the dock

*

But when he stood on bolstered wood

He waved the soldiers off

The people ran to greet their man

And carried him aloft

Along the street on other’s feet

He flew with zealous haste

But men of worth from noble birth

Objected with distaste

*

Up to the Senate’s stately halls

The cheerful people trod

The bureaucrats paid dull congrats

To him they called a god

So stiff and stern they tried to spurn

The men who bore their king

But Caesar Mark with eyes aspark

Was loathe to leave their ring

*

But in the end he had to send

His new-found friends away

Traditions made must be obeyed

On this, his vict’ry day

With royal grace he took his place

Upon the pillared mound

Where restless groups of senators

Were milling all around

*

Now Martian form has made it norm

The first time kings come back

They must make safe some orphaned waif

Whose hope is running slack

He must give voice to his own choice

While on this marbled stair

Since now he stopped he must adopt

Someone to be his heir

*

The normal crowd was then allowed

To gather at his feet

But those in fact who joined the pack

Were friends of the elite

A plain-clothed guard covertly barred

The poor from coming near

And those in need were forced to plead

Assistance from the rear

*

But Marcus would not stand for this:

He saw what they had done

He looked around and nowhere found

A soul to be his son

Not far away stood Travers Grey

Who saw him in his plight

He let him know by nodding slow

He’d make the problem right

*

The English hunk removed a chunk

Of gravel from the road

Inside his hand it turned to sand

So mighty was his hold

He tossed it square into the air

The dust began to fly

Each eager buck was forced to duck

Or get it in his eye

*

The hefty Brit now filled with grit

Blew swiftly through the throng

The hidden troop was forced to stoop

‘Ere Travers came along

He rushed the men and vanquished ten

Who made the human rope

Their secret trap formed had a gap

That gave the people hope

*

The starving whelps were glad for help

And swiftly filled the breach

The solid line was snapped like twine

Left soaking on a beach

The kids in want, both young and gaunt,

All struggled for their chance

As Travers Grey deployed a way

To let the kids advance

*

The urchin crew ran swiftly to

The stairs at Marcus’ feet

With legs of speed and eyes of need

They left the dirty street

His royal ear rejoiced to hear

The chatter of each voice

With gentle ease they bowed their knees

While Marcus made his choice

*

With inward eyes he searched the skies

For guidance from above

He fought to kill his human will

And fill his soul with love

The thoughts of vaults that stored his faults

Had lately caused him fear

But now the grace from heaven’s face

Was whispered in his ear

*

While Marcus prayed a gentle maid

Was first to catch his eye

Just ten years old her eyes were bold;

Her hair was brown like rye

She had a tawny dimpled cheek

That filled her face with charm

She held a baby brother boy

Upon her tender arm

*

His course now clear, he called her near

And asked her for her name

She said that “Dinah” was her mom’s

And hers was just the same

Her mom and dad were always glad

Content though they were poor

But both fell sick aboard a ship

While fleeing from the war

*

Then Caesar Mark the young and dark

Embraced her like a dad

Then after this he placed a kiss

Upon the little lad

He held the tiny baby up

It smiled at the king

Inside it’s fist with half a twist

He placed his signet ring

*

The noble men in gallant robes

All grumbled with distaste

But when they saw his angry jaw

They changed their tone with haste

Like hungry swine they jumped in line

To pay their first respects

For they all knew that homage due

Was all that saved their necks

*

But Marcus would not harm a hair

No matter that he could

This was a date to celebrate

All things both right and good

For up to now his sov’reign brow

Was something to be feared

But now his face produced a grace

That made him more endeared

*

His chiseled cheek seemed warm and meak

His hair was soft as flax

His spark’ling eye induced a sigh

That made the girl relax

He held her arm so safe from harm

And kissed the little one

Upon that ground with crowds around

A fam’ly had begun

Chapter Twenty-Three

Throughout the night the air was bright

With firework grenades

The orphan girl observed a drill

Of Marcus’ best brigades

The food she ate seemed more than great

From living on the curb

Her welcome feast to say the least

Was perfectly superb

*

For sev’ral days the grand displays

Continued near the dome

It seemed indeed they might exceed

The height of ancient Rome

The city’s core cried out for more

They partied to the leas

But in the slums they shook their thumbs

At all the revelries

*

But Caesar Mark was feeling dark

To see them make such waste

He told his corps to plan for war

And work with double haste

His soul was seared that no one feared

The Klaron barricade

He had a vibe That Jarga’s tribe

Was planning to invade

*

The Chinese Chen with all his men

Assured him they were set

To fight beside the Romans’ pride

When battle lines were met

His fifteen craft patrolled the draft

That orbited in space

And those on land would make their stand

Upon the planet’s face

*

And Travers Grey from London’s bay

Was also set to kill

And brother Alf his sullen self

Was ready for a thrill

The English knights had set their sights

On cleaving Klaron skulls

They hoped to pin some Klaron skin

As trophies on their hulls

*

But Caesar Mark was slow to hark

to sudden calls to arms

A fatal blow concocted slow

Will always do more harm

He told his crews to send more news

Of battle incidents

To counteract their current lack

Of good intelligence

*

His nights and days became a haze

Of planning for the war

Each new report seemed awful short

He always wished for more

But in the night he took respite

In watching Dinah sleep

He hoped that when she woke again

Her gentle dreams would keep

*

As darkness loomed her cozy room

Became his nightly haunt

He left the malls and crowded halls

When fears began to taunt

He’d sit and stare upon a chair

Or listen by the door

It made him glad when days were bad

To hear his daughter snore

*

It gave him hope to see her grope

The blanket by her chest

It made him proud she hugged the shroud

That bore his fam’ly crest

If covers slipped below her hip

He quickly pulled them up

And if she coughed while breathing soft

He filled her water cup

*

For ‘hours on end he watched her wend

Her way through happy dreams

His beating heart was pulled apart

By little, smiling, beams

But thoughts of woe began to grow

That made his bosom sore

He thought what fate she might await

If he should lose the war

*

He wondered when the time would end

Before his foes advance

Each moment lost could quickly cost

His world its final chance

This simple fact devoid of tact

Harassed him with its clout

It’s probing prong inquir’d how long

Until his time ran out

*

So ev’ry day it ate away

Like cancer at its host

Until he knew he had to do

The thing he feared the most

He took a nap then found a map

And charted out a course

That very night he planned his flight

Upon his royal horse

Chapter Twenty-Four

It’s often said the male mind

Is easiest to breach

No secret plan that’s made by man

Is out of woman’s reach

So Marcus followed after suite

That ev’ning at a ball

Where Shelah sat across the room

And quickly guessed it all

*

He had no clue how much she knew

While planning his escape

It took him blind that night to find

Her waiting at the gate

He tip-toed out with ne’er a doubt

His exit had been clean

When from his right at shoulder height

She came just like a queen

*

She wore a coat with hair of goat

Contrived for work and wear

With lustrous silk the shade of milk

She fastened up her hair

She had a steed of swiftest breed

She stole from Marcus’ stall

She’d bribed the guard who roamed the yard

With liquor from the hall

*

Young Marcus’ mind was in a bind

To know why she was here

But in his soul he felt a glow

That helped to ease his fear

He made a grin then rubbed his chin

To keep his smile hid

The princess’ eyes made soft replies

By batting each its lid

*

She said: “I want to ride with you”

He said: “What do you know?”

She said: “You have some task to do”

He said: “You cannot go,”

She said: “I know you’re facing death,”

He said: “I am a king,”

She said: “If you will let me ride,

I’ll wear your wedding ring.”

*

Her face grew soft and Marcus coughed

While stumbling in retreat

But then at length he found the strength

To stop his wayward feet

He said “the path is filled with wrath,

I go to meet the dead:

To grant my lief a short reprieve

And pay his dues instead”

*

A moments pause restrained their jaws

It seemed like half a week

But when at last the silence passed

The girl was first to speak

Her tender throat released a quote

That sparkled like a gem

“If you are there,” she said with care

“Then that is where I am”

*

“Then that is where you’ll always be,”

He said without a start

“To be my bride you must reside

within my very heart

I can’t expect the least respect

From one who walks away

The only face I dare embrace

Is one that comes to stay”

*

Her cheeks grew dark and Caesar Mark

At first thought she was mad

But when her lips did backward flips

He knew that she was glad

The starting kiss was half the bliss

He thought it would be then

So with a sigh he winked his eye

And kissed her once again

Chapter Twenty-Five

The gentle touch that meant so much

Was felt on both their tongues

With sighs of rest they breathed the breath

That left each other’s lungs

But Caesar Mark, the young and dark,

Was quick to back away

For well he knew his love so true

Could wait another day

*

He bade her stand and took her hand

And helped her to her steed

She stopped to wait beyond the gate

And let him take the lead

Then as he’d planned they crossed the land

That led into the plain

But at the mouth they headed south

Into a mountain chain

*

Throughout the night they made their flight

Where few but gypsies roam

The Martian air was thinner there;

The soil turned to loam

They rode so high into the sky

That both began to yawn

Though eyeballs hurt they stayed alert

‘Till twilight turned to dawn

*

At break of day the ground gave way

And started to descend

They had to forge a jagged gorge

With lava at one end

Beyond its edge they climbed a ledge

Where air was filled with soot

They then unhorsed now being forced

To make their way on foot

*

As muscles strained it gently rained

Upon the stricken land

The Roman king was forced to cling

The princess by the hand

Both numb and cold they had to hold

Each other very close

They gladly used this new excuse

To snuggle in their clothes

*

For many yards they dodged the shards

Of pointy jagged rocks

Until at last they reached a pass

Above the flying hawks

They squeezed between a small ravine

That ended by a door

Whose inward depths resolved in steps

That formed a rocky floor

*

A pillared room began to loom

With torches on the walls

The trembling two walked straight into

The dazz’ling crystalled halls

Their ghostly glitter scared the king

So much he inward swore

He did not know his lovely beau

Had seen its like before

*

She watched the way the patterns fell

In globes of purest white

The thoughts returned of how they burned

One fateful anxious night

They seemed to grow like flakes of snow

That ripen in the air

Whose fall through space creates a lace

For each of them to wear

*

But as they looked the castle shook

And rocks began to fall

And then the light became so bright

They could not see at all

They heard the snapping crackling sound

That’s made when atoms fray

Their souls were frisked and they were whisked

Five hundred leagues away

*

Condensed like glue their spirits flew

Across the Martian crust

Their heightened sense was so intense

They saw each grain of dust

They saw the lice on tiny mice

That scampered in the huts

They saw the worms that writhed and squirmed

Between the wagon ruts

*

But soaring high through purple sky

Their hearts were saved from fear

For softer words were never heard

Upon their inner ear

They quickly knew the words were true

That both of them were blest

For angels wings would swiftly bring

Them safely to their quest

*

So when they stopped their souls were dropped

A hundred feet through air

Until they meshed within their flesh

That already was there

Awake, alive, they had survived

An out of body trek

But still the trip had left them sick

As if they’d passed through heck

Chapter Twenty-Six

Upon the weathered crest they lay

How long? They did not know

But Mark was first to clamber forth

And take a glance below

He found that they were near the peak

The Martians called the horn

Whose ancient ash had turned to glass

When Mars had just been born

*

He then approached the sacred spot

Where princess Shelah lay

Her eyes still danced as if the trance

Had stole her soul away

But when he grabbed her in his arms

And kissed her rosy cheek

She pressed her lips against his mouth

And never let him speak

*

But as their moistened lips combined

A great event took place

A mound of clay began to sway

Before their very face

It stood up right in broad daylight

Before they counted five

And as they stared its skin repaired

And quickly came alive

*

Then Caesar Mark the bold and dark

Approached the living thing

He had no doubt both in and out

This person was the king

His soul was glad to see his Dad

Who perished yester year

The friend who’d left his soul bereft

At least for now was here

*

“O pater I have much to say,”

-His father smiled wide-

“So much has changed and been arranged

Since ‘ere the day you died

There’s been a war and what is more

I’ve found the girl to be,

My heart and pride, my cherished bride,

To share my life with me.”

*

“I know,” the aged man replied,

“I know what you have done

I often tell those rats in hell

I’m proud that you’re my son

For unlike us they’ve put their trust

In what they thought was might

But you and I were glad to die,

For what we knew was right”

*

“And that is why you’ve brought me nigh

I know the weight you bear

Your heart is brave it wants to save

The ones for whom you care

It’s hard to choose which parts to lose

When all your heart is strained

But you must plan to understand

That choices are ordained”

*

“For now at last it’s come to pass

The visions are fulfilled

You’ve ventured forth to raise from earth

My body which was killed

You know that from this fateful day,

You’ll die to save your peers

That in return for what you learn

You’ll lose some forty years”

*

“But now my son make haste and run

To find the thing you seek

It lurks below the ice and snow

That sits upon this peak

The quirks of chance will guide your pants

Each time you think you’re stuck

The pleasant charm of heaven’s arm

Will make it seem like luck”

*

When this was said he bowed his head

And waved a quick goodbye

His skin and bone turned back to stone

And vanished in the sky

But Caesar Mark the young and dark

Was glad to watch him leave

For now he knew the truth was true

For those who dare believe.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“For those who dare, for those who dare”

These words I dare repeat

For ev’ry time they match a rhyme

Their taste is always sweet

The hope they tell can conquer hell

When days are filled with strife

These fabled themes and fancy dreams

Are pulled from part of life

*

But now the famous warrior-son

Rose up to ransom time

He knew that there was none to spare

To stay would be a crime

He moved his feet in constant beat

Intent to keep his pace

He did not know which way to go

And so he chased his face

*

The princess followed at his back

‘Till both were dry with drought

It was their hope to climb the slope

Before the sun gave out

The harsh demands of rugged sands

Were murder on their toes

The dryness stung their tender tongues

And added to their woes

*

They fought to bridge the final ridge

That kept them from the top

But when at last they made it past

They both were forced to stop

The air was thin: it chilled their skin

Their legs were wobbling slow

For they were right at apex height

With nowhere left to go

*

The snow-filled mound descended down

On either side of them

As Marcus tried to quick decide

His larynx filled with flem

The land was bare and nothing there

Seemed worthy to explore

He wondered how their legs could now

Continue any more

*

He paused to rest and filled his chest

With frigid mountain wind

But Shelah frowned and faced the ground

As if he’d somehow sinned

He said “I know not where to go,

So pardon if I stop,

I can’t go on without a yawn,

Or else I’m due to drop”

*

But as he quipped his footing slipped

And shale gave away

He gave a yelp and called for help,

But slithered far away

His clothes were snagged upon a jag

Atop a gloomy shaft

And hanging there he churned the air

Above the stale draft

*

That moment next as he felt vexed

A mountain goat approached

Despite its age it seemed enraged

Its space had been encroached.

He told it off but as he coughed

It staged a quick revolt

It gave a shrug and with a tug

Expelled with his coat

*

So Caesar Mark that handsome shark

Went falling straight through space

Now upside down he wore a frown

That covered all his face

He yearned to shoot that clumbsy brute

That knocked him in the pit

He swore that when he rose again

He’d roast it on a spit

*

Be as that may there was no way

For him to get it back

As mem’ries flashed his flesh was cast

Into the inky black

In dire need he maxed the speed

For airborne entities

He gave a yell and fell and fell

Into the mountain’s knees

*

But back outside his future bride

Was staring down the rim

With half a thought she formed a plot

To jump right after him

But well she knew this would not do

Her fear of heights was great

On second thought she scrapped her plot

And kneeled down to wait

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Into the mountain’s inner depths

The Roman leader sank

The sights he saw made nature’s law

Appear to be a prank

The jeweled halls with crystal walls

We’re filled with things afloat

Just like as if a heavy skiff

Could cruise an empty moat

*

For as he watched his sight was blotched

with sparkling bands of light

They turned and bent, they came and went,

They switched from day to night

The objects there, upon the air,

Did really not exist

From skin to core they were no more

Than holographic mist

*

Since long ago that ancient flow

Had once been filled with ash

But then the muck in ev’ry duct

Congealed into glass

Their prism’d vents and crystal stents

Were clearer now than air

And as they merged their light converged

To show what was not there

*

Now all these streams enhanced the beams

That filtered from the sky

And things that lay so far away

Appeared before one’s eye

As Marcus gazed his brain was dazed

So much he hardly knew

That he had stopped and lightly dropped

Upon a floor of blue

*

He slowly walked across the ground

And stared at what he saw

The grand charades of glowing shades

Unhinged his steady jaw

He recognized the Klaron ships

That flew before his face

He saw their fleet combine to meet

In nearby outer space

*

He saw their deadly squadron groups

He saw their mother ship

He saw what course they planned to take

It almost made him flip

He knew they planned on Mars to land

Straight past the orbit stream

If only half surpassed the draft

They’d still be quite a team

*

But Marcus would not sit for this

There must be something more

His greater Friend would somehow send

A way to win the war

At first he mused that he would lose

But then regained his hope

That’s when he took a broader look

Within the telescope

*

He saw what seemed to be a dream:

A host of Chinese craft

From far behind the Klaron line

They sailed down the draft

The Asian force was well on course

From Saturn’s distant reef

With pointed spars to rosy Mars

They’d come to get their chief

*

This welcome sight spelled sweet delight

He now knew what to do

He’d time his ships to meet their clips

The moment they broke through

His bosom friend the Chinese Chen

Would be so glad to know

His fabled troop had put the dupe

Upon their hated foe

*

With grateful sighs he moved his eyes

Across the stellar chart

‘Till one more thing aroused the king

And stirred his inner heart

He saw the graphs of ether drafts

Throughout the solar bay

But to his awe he also saw

They filled the Milky Way

*

These paths that ran from planet Earth

Had not been built by us

Far older still than human will

They spanned the stellar dust

How far they roamed was still unknown:

As far as he could see

His watchful eye at least could spy

‘Bout half the galaxy.

*

He had no doubt they traced a route

To other friendly worlds

Whose solar ways in ancient days

Were home to famous guilds

Perhaps some ship could take a trip

To probe these foreign shores

If people there might know or care

About the Klaron wars

*

But as these plots and hopeful thoughts

Discharged through Marcus’ brain

His Roman ear was quick to hear

A gentle sound like rain

A slender crust of crystal dust

Was falling in a spread

His eyes could tell the pieces fell

From just above his head

*

That monster swine from chapter nine

Was springing from the roof

It hoped to wring the Roman king

Beneath it’s heavy hoof

Before he saw it’s fearful jaw

He jumped as he’d been trained

But he could not escape the shot

That long had been ordained

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The birthing sounds of darkest fate

Rose up from Marcus’ throat

The deadly dart had missed his heart

But pierced him through his coat

Across the Martian mountainscape

His dreadful scream was heard

The sonar shocks distressed the rocks

‘Til peaks were chafed and blurred

*

A surge of hate conjoined with fate

Allowed him to strike back

The greasy troll received a blow

That stopped it in its track

The Roman sword had cleaved a cord

Of muscle in its thigh

So now the twain resolved in pain

To make each other die

*

The monster’s furs were filled with spurs

With nasty metal tips

But Marcus flayed the deadly blades

He’d drawn from both his hips

They danced and dodged; the air was lodged

With thunder from their strikes

There gleamed a spark when Caesar Mark

Lopped off the monster’s spikes

*

But as he swung his arm was stung

With voltage through his sword

Each severed scrap released a zap

That pained the Roman Lord

It hurt so much at ev’ry touch

He quickly realized

His present course would make it worse

And leave him paralyzed

*

He had to find a way to bind

The monster in one blow

A lucky jab or well-placed stab

Before the fiend could know

His arm went slack; he staggered back

Before its stiff advance

But as it charged his thoughts enlarged

And then he saw his chance

*

He saw a beam of crystal light

Refracted near his left

He saw the way its odd display

Was filtered through the cleft

He saw a stone that seemed alone

The closer that he came

But on the floor were twenty more

Exactly just the same

*

Into the light he made his flight

Beneath the sunny draft

Some twenty sets of duplicates

Exploded from the shaft

The monster mused, it’s faced confused

Unsure where Marcus posed

It turned its side and made a stride

That left its flank exposed

*

Then Caesar Mark the young and dark

Rebounded from his place

And gave a thrust that split the dust

Upon the monster’s face

The ugly bloke received the stroke

Straight through its fiendish skull

Whose giant size was just the prize

For staking to a hull

*

The creature fell, no time to yell;

Already it was dead

The Roman’s pride welled up inside

For cleaving through it’s head

His face was floored: he grabbed his sword

And shook the steel free

He sliced its coat now free to gloat

Upon his victory

*

He pranced around and struck the ground

And yelled ‘til he was hoarse

His fabled feat was so complete

He need not have remorse

A soul this lost seemed worth the cost

It takes to stop its breath

The awful beast deserved at least

The sudden stroke of death

*

But now the price for saving lives

Came knocking like a pest

For Marcus lungs were filled with tongues

Of fire in his chest

His mouth agape implored escape

From out these vaulted depths

He searched to find a way to climb

But he could see no steps

*

He had no hope to climb the slope

That had him jailed in

It seemed the fight he’d won by right

Had been a pointless win

He’d die alone entrapped by stone

And perish due to thirst

Unless of course his wounds were worse

And they destroyed him first

*

Then with a sigh he stopped to cry

Not knowing if he should

For he was mad the plans he’d nabbed

Would not do any good

But in his heart he felt the dart

Of promises received

For he was wrong that now so long

He felt he’d been deceived

*

The sacred pledge remained his hedge

It saved him from despair

He made a choice to quench his voice

And search again the lair

That’s when he found upon the ground

A thing he’d missed before

A gadget which his vanquished foe

Was hiding in its fur

Chapter Thirty

He stooped to pick the bauble up

It glowed within his hand

The tiny screen was bright and green

With dials near the band

It made a noise like magic toys

He’d seen near Neptune’s shore

Upon whose moon he’d been marooned

In last year’s Chinese war

*

He scanned the gadget’s ringed displays

And played with the controls

He wondered how a thing so “wow”

Was built by ugly trolls

The glowing knob performed its job

And beamed a coded pulse

That gave a shock that pierced the rock

And made the cave convulse

*

A landing pod still caked in sod

Descended from a cliff

It gave a whir that seemed demure

When gears were forced to shift

The metal sphere came just so near

That he could touch its side

And when he did the hatchway slid

And let him walk inside

*

He gave a grin as he went in

And quivered in his knees

For ev’ry man since time began

Has wanted one of these

He played around until he found

The way to make her go

And made her fly a mile high

Outside the lava flow

*

Now right outside his future bride

Was laying down to rest

Her pretty eyes were twice their size

When Marcus topped the crest

He should not scare his lady fair:

That would not be so nice

And yet he could not stop himself

From circling once or twice

*

In twenty clicks he stopped his tricks

And dropped her down to land

When Shelah saw him disembark

She ran to grab his hand

They stopped to kiss, she made a wish

That ev’ry thing was right

But when they clasped she dropped her grasp

And drew her fist with fright

*

Her hand was red with blood he shed

That trickled down his arm

His skin was splayed: the poisoned blade

Had done his flesh some harm

She stopped to weep; it was not deep,

But still it looked quite bad

She cleaned his skin and bound it in

A handkerchief she had

*

She said: “You look to be in pain,”

He said: “but I have won”

She said: “That might not be the case

Before this day is done,”

He said “You do not understand,

I’ll win although I die,

I mean to say I’ve found a way

To liberate our sky”

*

He then with speed pronounced each deed

He done beneath the slope

The fights he’d fought and sights he’d caught

Within the telescope

He knew for sure the plan of war

The Klaron lot had made

He also knew the Chinese crew

Would come and give them aid

*

But now a surge of dreadful urge

Compelled them to depart

They had to run before the sun

Had made another start

At least their steed would never need

To stop for drink or rest

This metal sphere devised for fear

Would now fulfill their quest

Chapter Thirty-One

Within the lofty palace walls

The deans were frightened green

A whole day had passed away

Since Caesar Mark was seen

A rumor spread that he was dead

On this, his day of birth

Or captured by that princess girl

Who sailed here from Earth

*

But as they yawned the morning dawned

To show a great surprise

A metal ball some ten feet tall

Came rolling through the skies

It stopped to wait outside the gate,

Then hovered for some time

Then cooling down it touched the ground

And settled in the grime

*

When Caesar Mark did disembark

The soldiers gave a shout

And some who learned he had returned

Came quickly rushing out

But Marcus yelled a clear command

And called his body guard

Who quicker than the shifting sand

Withdrew him from the yard

*

Though partly dead the ruler sped

Through tunnels underground

He sent some men to summon Chen,

Or anyone they found

The English knights asleep in tights

Were roused by husky squads

And Pirate Jim, who hated him,

Was brought with cattle prods

*

The summoned troops all came in groups

To fill the meeting hall

But Marcus did not wait for form

He quickly faced them all

He said his forts obtained reports

From some well-trusted source

Who warned them that the Klaron fleet

Would soon attack with force

*

But in the mean another scene

Was breaking out in space

The Klaron rear would face the spear

Of all the Chinese race

From Saturn’s rings the Asian kings

Had fin’ly made their move

The time to fight would be just right

When they were in their groove

*

So now he made his strongest plea

And charged them with their task

He seemed so sure and yet demure

They hardly dared to ask

He faced each doubt with so much clout

They somehow knew he’d win

With greatest speed they all agreed

To put their trust in him

*

The Chinese Chen and sev’ral men

Were next to take the floor

They briefed the board how Asians scored

Their victories in war

He drew a draft of Chinese craft

Attacking through the stream

But Caesar Mark grew tense and stark

Like one trapped in a dream

*

Some English necks were speaking next

They planned the main assault

If at the close they still had foes

It would not be their fault

For Travers and his Scottish friend

Were strangers to defeat

The victory they had in mind

Was sure to be complete

*

But one more person had to speak

Whose mouth at first was mum

He had no heart to play his part

Until they offered rum

The Pirate Jim just rubbed his chin

Until he got his drink

But then he etched a simple sketch

That turned their pupils pink

*

He showed them how a special rock

Diffused an ether shade

That let their craft desert the draft

The moment it was made

This greenish ore could do much more

If launched against a base

It blew the blasted thing apart

A mile wide through space

*

The leaders gaped, their mouths we’re shaped

Like mouths of tiny tots

But then they grinned and quickly pinned

These stories on his scotch

“‘Tis just a whim of Pirate Jim”

‘But Marcus stopped their cries

He said the claim was not a game:

He’d seen it with his eyes

*

He now produced a plan he’d used

In secret talks with ‘Fred

Who’d just come by a lost supply

Of light bulbs in his head

He said if they could break away

‘bout halfway through the fight

They might blow up the mother ship

And cause a gen’ral flight

*

For well they knew the Klaron crew

Would keep her far away

Somewhere outside the ether tide

Where it could not be prey

But if their craft could leave the draft

Like Jim had said they could

A speedy dash might let them smash

That space ship once for good

*

So now they searched for volunteers

To lead this brave attack

For those who chanced this bold advance

Would likely not come back

Their only store of precious ore

Could barely fill a ream

To thus equip some fifteen ships

To fly outside the stream

*

The Chinese Chen and all his men

Responded with a shout

There was no way by night or day

That they could be left out

Their fifteen ships could make the trip

Unaided by the fleet

For if their craft were sent by halves

They’d all be incomplete

*

To all the gents this claim made sense

There was no time to fight

For all the men knew Chinese Chen

Would do his mission right

But Caesar Mark made one remark

Directly to his friend

He said that he would like to be

Beside him at the end

*

But Chen said: “You don’t understand,

You cannot board my ship

For if somehow I live this out,

I’ll start the homeward trip

I point my spars away from Mars

And memories of Rome

Then Titan’s shore will glow once more

As I go sailing home”

*

He dropped his face as if disgrace

Compelled him to depart

But as he paused he slowly caused

A change to take his heart

He said: “You can not go with me,

The grounds I gave are true

But be assured my heart is gored

By what I took from you”

*

The words swam out like graceful trout

Upstream to Marcus ear

Though short and brief the hoped relief

Came charging strong and clear

The leaders stopped, their eyes were dropped

Like diamonds in a dish

But then they came, with hearts the same

And greeted with a kiss

*

When men embrace right face to face

A change occurs in both

The bond that’s made must be obeyed

Because it means the most

But that is why when guys kiss guys

The rest try not to stare

For well they know this kind of show

Is better when it’s rare

Chapter Thirty-Two

Throughout the Roman realm of Mars

The news was spreading fast

The waiting war would wait no more

Before the day was past

In all the frontier garrisons

The ships were raised on cords

Whose knots, well latched, would be detached

When Marcus gave the words

*

Within the walls of palace halls

The ruler marched with speed

The face he wore was red and sore

Like one in dire need

His throbbing wound all afternoon

He’d borne without a yelp

But now the pain was so insane

He had to go for help

*

He struggled through the hectic zoo

On either side of him

While looking for a special door

His gaze became more grim

His skin was wet with clammy sweat

That stung like acid sands

Each bead of goo seeped out and grew

From epidermal glands

*

In such a state he found the gate

And stumbled right inside

The air turned dark and Caesar Mark

Felt stiff as if he’d died

But then the noise of someone’s voice

Was felt upon his ear

Whose gentle ring convinced the king

To fight against his fear

*

The voice said: “I know why you’re here

The princess came at noon

She told my kid ‘bout what you did

And how you got your wound

Your father used to trust in me,

So now I’ll save your life

Your fianceé I met today

Will surely be your wife

*

He took a string and bound the king

Politely to a chair

Then grabbed a jar and dabbed some tar

Upon his royal hair

The healing gauze felt sharp as jaws

That sank into his roots

He tried to fight against its bite

And almost lost his boots

*

But Caesar Mark, though still in dark,

Could tell the potion worked

His touch returned although it burned

And ev’ry tendon jerked

The healing herb was quite superb

It healed him in ten

So when his strength increased at length

His eyes could see again

*

The waves of light intense and bright

Were processed by his brain

A stumpy man with shaky hands

Was leaning on a cane

His grizzled beard seemed soft yet weird

In pockets on his chin

When he could tell that Mark was well

He gave a happy grin

*

He told him he would be OK;

At least for now he’d live

He’d be alright to join the fight

With all his strength to give

“Although,” he said, and scratched his head,

“The poison still will kill

This wound incurred cannot be cured

No matter what my skill”

*

“That wicked blade corruptly made

Was built by ancient arts

No antidote can save your throat

From near nor distant parts

But be assured you have my word

You’ve time to fight this war

The curse will keep itself asleep

One hundred months or more”

*

The Roman Lord with speed implored

The man to take his thanks

He must make haste, no time to waste,

To re-inspect the ranks

He bowed and dropped a ruby topped

With diamonds by the door

Then turned his head and quickly sped

Along the corridor

*

He quickly found some captains bound

Directly to the hall

He joined their throng and came along

With others at his call

The mood was tense there was a sense

That carnage would occur

The younger blokes made awful jokes

That showed how scared they were

*

Along the way they stopped to pray

As custom said they ought

As Marcus knelt he strongly felt

His movements had been caught

It seemed at least a hooded priest

Or monk was at his side

But when he gazed he found he faced

The girl who’d be his bride

*

Her teary eyes and hopeful sighs

Were drowned against his chest

He hugged her tight with all his might

And pressed her to his breast

The grateful king then grabbed a ring

And pressed it in her hand

Like closest kin he raised her chin

And made her understand

*

They hurried to the temple site

While soldiers gather’d round

Then making bows they took their vows

Upon the sacred ground

With eyes of mist they paused and kissed

Upon the marble stair

And Marcus’ ran his fingers through

The princess’ golden hair

*

The time stopped dead and worries fled

Their minds combined as one

And Caesar Mark the handsome shark

Was glad it had been done

He felt her charms between his arms

And thought about her hips

For one glad jot he had no thought

Of Klaron Cruiserships

Chapter Thirty-Three

From some where not so far away

The Klaron squadrons formed

Like cyborg bees from buttressed trees

A cloud of Cruisers swarmed

Their striking force again rehearsed

To snap just like a whip

The ships of doom departed from

The Klaron mother ship

*

The polished sheen was white and clean

On cockpits and the wings

Each pulsing gun was primed for fun

With brand new timing rings

The Klaron crews had not touched booze

As they’d been strictly told

Except for Jarga’s private jar

Of half a cent’ry old

*

The Persians too were set to do

The plans the Klarons made

The captive troop had long been pooped

From sitting in blockade

Their wooden craft blew through the draft

No longer holding back

But reinforced they now moved forth

To make the first attack

*

And now the allied fleet from Mars

Rose up to meet the threat

They made it clear they had no fear

They weren’t defeated yet

An irksome sprite began to write

On hist’ry’s boldest page

In present tense they’d now commence

The battle of the age

Chapter Thirty-Four

Within the ancient citadel

The ships began to rise

The great triremes with Roman teams

Flew quickly to the skies

The ether portals came in use

Across the face of Mars

The ships they had would all be glad

To fight amongst the stars

*

But Caesar Mark seemed sad and dark

While standing by his mast

The Roman chief was filled with grief

As houses floated past

From where he stood he saw the ‘hood

He’d lived in all his life

This precious zone would now be home

To daughter, son, and wife

*

The wooden craft soared upward fast

Above the trees and plants

The roads and town were whittled down

‘Till horses looked like ants

The skies displayed a purple shade

They swapped for Martian pink

Then as the ships increased their clips

The stars began to wink

*

Then like a dream the orbit stream

Appeared before their front

They flew behind the forward line

Prepared to face the brunt

For even now the forward scow

Was hit by catapults

The clipper’s heart was pulled apart

By fierce, successive jolts

*

The Persian force was ready first

And rushed the orbit draft

But as they raced the Romans braced

To meet the coming craft

The Martians, staunch, had time to launch

A volley in defense

But those who dodged the first barrage

Came smashing through their fence

*

The dueling sides like ocean tides

Impacted crest on crest

The ranks well fixed were quickly mixed

To form a frenzied mess

Both friend and foe went to and fro

Colliding rear on snout

‘Twould take a fight throughout the night

To sort the carnage out

*

A Persian craft with warriors staffed

Came bearing down like fate

And Marcus’ ship transfixed its lip

Beneath the stranger’s gate

The warrior son had just begun

To turn his startled neck

When ninety studs of Persian blood

Came flying down the deck

*

Their swords came out; they seemed to sprout

Like flowers from their hands

The feuding foes were trading blows

From scattered, warring bands

The Roman blokes made forceful strokes

But could not cause a dent

For Marcus’ men were fewer than

The Persian complement

*

The Roman king commenced to swing

His metal-cleaving sword

He sought to kill the Persian swill

Who dared to step onboard

The tunes they made on Marcus’ blade

We’re chimes of pain and woe

For many notes disjoined the throats

Of some well-meaning foe

*

Upon his knife he took the life

Of five or ten or more

But in the heat this fearless feat

Became a useless chore

For most his men had seen their end

And help was nowhere near

Each foe he aced was soon replaced

By one more volunteer

*

The Persian hordes with bloody swords

Had taken most the ship

They formed a ring around the king

Whose nerve began to slip

He made a vow he would not now

Surrender with a yelp

He’d soon be rot unless he got

Some unexpected help

*

He raised his blade and swiftly made

A bold salute to Mars

In outer space he now would face

His death beneath the stars

Yet sure enough, though things were rough

This would not be his end

Though deep in need his fate decreed

He’d live, but lose a friend

*

For somewhere near, Above the sphere

A British vessel tossed

Sir Travers Grey would save the day

No matter what the cost

This warrior and his Scottish friend

Had seen it all take place

They made a plan to save the man

Who saved the human race

*

They ran like heck across the deck

And yelled a Norman cry

They made a bolt past catapults

To something else nearby

With steel guts they placed their butts

Upon a spear-like shaft

Their British haunch would now be launched

Across the ether draft

*

Their friends made sure the missiles were

Aligned to hit their mark

The British knights who’d soon be kites

Were ready to embark

The gunner laid a heavy blade

Above the knotted cord

He chopped the string and let them fling

When Travers gave the word

*

With talent true the two men flew

Upon the oaken plank

Though almost skinned by heavy wind

They topped the clipper’s bank

The great trireme received the beam

Straight through her sailcloth

It flew so fast it tore a gash

That fluttered like a moth

*

But down below amidst the foe

The Roman ruler fought

He had no clue why half the crew

Stood puzzled in their spot

The English pair bounced from the air

Upon the silken sheet

They surfed the tide to Marcus’ side

And landed on their feet!

*

On left and right they joined the fight

To save their cherished pal

The famous three combined with glee

To give the Persians hell

For Caesar Mark fought like a shark

And Travers earned his keep

And brother ‘Fred dropped twenty dead

Before they raised a peep

*

So now the ship from end to tip

Was free of Persian scum

And those who died upon its side

Were sorry they had come

The three men hugged as crewmen lugged

The bodies over board

But brother Alf’ would soon himself

Be slaughtered by the sword

*

As fate had writ, the hefty Brit,

Would now at last be felled

His clock once wound, had spiraled down

The final chime had knelled

A dying foe had time to throw

A poisoned metal dart

It caught the Scotsman in the front

And sank into his heart

*

He felt no pain, he heard no name,

They yelled as he collapsed

No smell, no taste; his thoughts erased,

His brain no more synapsed

His speedy nerves and blood reserves

No longer did their job

He gave the ghost and left his host

A lifeless, fleshy cob

*

No words can chart nor thoughts impart

The pain in Marcus’ breast

And Travers Grey, that awful day

Felt horror in his chest

Those warrior men had often been

Where death was all around

Yet still the ache was hard to take

When Alfred hit the ground

*

A cloud of dust and powder rushed

To shroud his heavy hide

His lifeless limbs spread out from him

In lines on either side

His sword and axe could now relax

For they would soon have rest

Inside a mound of Martian ground

Upon their master’s breast

*

But back on Earth where death and dearth

We’re eating towns away

A woman sat with sides grown fat

Since Alfred went away

She stood afar and saw his star

Grow bright and glow again

That’s when she knew he’d never view

This lonely Scottish glen

Chapter Thirty-Five

Within the Klaron mother ship

The grunts were taking scans

The beastly scum had fin’ly come

To conquer Martian lands

The battle of the outer belt

Was proving quite the scene

They watched the clips of wooden ships

On ev’ry viewing screen

*

The Klaron crews were quite amused

By what they saw that night

Their jeering flock made haste to mock

That ancient mode of fight

The humans fought with weapons wrought

From old metallurgy

How dare they think their swords could sink

The new technology

*

The human craft and wooden rafts

Appeared to be a joke

Their ships of war were nothing more

Than sturdy chunks of oak

The human race had entered space

Through one outrageous charm:

The magic of the ether stream

That saved their worlds from harm

*

But now at length the Klaron strength

Would catch them in its grip

Their scaly hosts at wired posts

Stood by on cruiserships

The Klaron fleet was now complete

And set to make their run

The real fight that fateful night

Had only just begun

*

The Klaron craft approached the draft

That circled rosy Mars

The fight still raged; the scene was staged

Beneath the gem-like stars

The Klaron ships began to slip

Between the orbit streams

They quickly rushed the planet’s crust

Attacking through the seams

*

With targets framed their guns were aimed

At cities down below

They fired shots each chance they got

And set the towns aglow

But in the mean their ships were seen

By Roman craft above

Who fired back with home-made flack

They’d built with special love

*

These hand-made shafts they dropped from drafts

Were shrapnel mixed in brick

Their pressure caps were primed to snap

When air became too thick

These deadly darts would blow apart

At fifty thousand feet

Their metal strips would pound the ships

With deadly shards of sleet

*

The Klaron flock was filled with shock

As spaceships burst in two

Their forward wave, though swift and brave

Was thin as Elmer’s glue

The planet’s shroud released a cloud

Each time a cruiser died

‘Till clouds of smoke produced a cloak

A thousand meters wide

*

The Klaron crews were quite confused

By such an awful loss

They slowed their gait and stopped to wait

For orders from their boss

The high command with anger planned

To send another throng

Their second force would be much worse

With numbers twice as strong

*

With large reserves and iron nerves

The second group approached

The Roman men stood ready when

Their planet was encroached

But as the ships increased their clips

Their hands we’re all but tied

For Persian craft infused the draft

And kept them occupied

*

The Romans tried to stem the tide

By dropping bombs again

But very few were able to:

They lacked sufficient men

The Persian boats attacked like goats

Without enough to eat

They kicked and bucked and hoped by luck

To stall the Roman Fleet

*

This simple plot was wisely wrought

It ran like foreign cars

The Klaron crew came quickly through

And fell like wolves on Mars

Though some were shot the most were not

And many got away

As moments passed it seemed at last

The scum would win the day

Chapter Thirty-Six

Above the planet’s swirling clouds

The Roman ruler watched

His iron plan to make a stand

At last seemed weak and botched

Throughout the fight he’d known his plight

Was bad to say the least

But now it looked his hopes were cooked

As Klaron ships increased

*

The starlight’s glint released a hint

Of sparkle by each lid:

A thin disguise for teary eyes

And fears he long had hid

The painful tears of twenty years

Welled up inside his soul

His human heart in ev’ry part

Completely lost control

*

He felt his knees begin to squeeze

And slide onto the planks

His men stood by and watched him cry

In stalwart, steady, ranks

He sucked his thumb and cried for mum

In front of all his men

But then he rose and gained his pose

And led them once again

*

He cleared his throat and grabbed his cloak

And draped it on his arm

As fears relieved, his brow retrieved

Its normal stoic charm

His steady hands gave clear commands

To all the men around

He told his force to change their course

And bring the vessel down

*

The sails flapped and thunder clapped

As Marcus’ ship returned

He glanced below the ether flow

As half his city burned

He knew his bride was down inside

With Dinah and his son

He hoped his faith would keep them safe

‘Till all his jobs were done.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Outside the rim of Martian space

A strange procession flew

A thousand ships at steady clips

Came bursting into view

These wooden craft approached from drafts

On either side of Mars

Each helmsman’s light came burning bright

Between the pairs of stars

*

The Persian captains glanced around

And almost croaked in fear

A massive host had come like ghosts

To catch them in their rear

These swarthy men were not their friends

Who’d come to join the fights

These massive groups were Chinese troops

From Saturn’s satellites

*

The Persian fleet was forced to meet

The charging Chinese spear

The Asian crew came racing through

And spanked them in the rear

In constant pace their forward face

Was ready and prepared

Their Persian foe was much more slow

And floundered weak and scared

*

As things grew thick the news spread quick

That help had come at last

The Roman teams throughout the streams

Reformed their lines of masts

They formed a front to face the brunt

And gave the Persians woe

But all the rest attacked with zest

The Klaron ships below

*

So as they stopped their bombs were dropped

With shrapnel as before

The Klaron ships on strafing trips

Were pounded to the core

A very few had gained a clue

Of what had just befell

Before their planes went up in flames

Exploding straight to hell

*

So that is how when things seemed down

The table tops were turned

The Chinese fleet had stopped defeat

Or Mars would have been burned

The Persian troop, now trapped and cooped,

Surrendered with dismay

The Klaron tribes who had survived

Went slinking fast away

*

But Chinese Chen with hand-picked men

Began his bold advance

That whole night throughout the fight

He’d waited for his chance

But now the time was in its prime

To kill the mother ship

His fifteen craft had left the draft

At quite a startling clip

*

His eager team outside the stream

Attacked through open space

Alert and brisk they took the risk

And jumped to start the chase

The Chinese Chen and all his men

Were painfully aware

Their charging fence had no defense

Outside the ether air

*

The Klaron fleet was in retreat

And thought they were alone

Their tired hands took no more scans

As they went cruising home

With hearts like chains they took no pains

To check their rear-view mirr’r

If they had tried they might have spied

The squadron at their rear

*

When Chinese Chen and all his men

Approached the mother ship

They groaned with awe at what they saw:

It almost made them flip

This Klaron base was spread through space

Some seven miles wide

For half a sec’, the Chinese deck

Was wholly petrified

*

But as their ships increased their clips

Their courage was renewed

The sails flapped; the crewmen clapped

And laughter soon ensued

While striking palms they placed the bombs

Upon the catapults

With noisy cheers they set the gears

And greased the iron bolts

*

Then Chinese Chen and sev’ral men

Selected target spots

They’d have to lodge the first barrage:

They’d get no second shots

They set their sights on blinking lights

Above the open doors

Beside the central nexus spike

Of ninety seven floors

*

And so at last the die was cast

Their fate would now be made

With soaring hopes they raised the ropes:

Their flags were now displayed

Their sails white were clear and bright

Upon that jeweled sky

That’s when they cut the catapults

And let their missiles fly

*

With timing true the weapons flew

That awesome, famous night

To Klaron hands who manned the scans

They looked like meteorites

They watched their flight with no more fright

They would an antelope

They never guessed the rocks possessed

A deadly isotope

*

The greenish stones went whistling home

And hit the outer shroud

They burst in two in open view

And caused a mushroom cloud

The shockwave split the mother ship

As though a plasma blade

Had cut a ring inside the thing

And left its carcass splayed

*

So now the base was split in space,

Its systems were destroyed

The Klaron crew without a clue

Were sucked into the void

They wondered why upon the sky

They’re ship depressurized

As seconds passed it melted fast

And quickly vaporized

*

The Chinese Chen and all his men

Were full of jubilee

Their force had dodged the stiffest odds

In all of history

For ne’er before in any war

It’s like had been achieved

Their problem now was planning how

To make the fact believed

*

But as they danced and jumped and pranced

Their faces turned to doom

For cruiser ships at steady clips

Came soaring through the gloom

These orphan craft had dodged the blast

And now were really mad

The Chinese Chen and all his men

Had ticked them really bad

*

What happened next is mostly guessed

The stories disagree

The closest truth I learned in youth

While earning my degree

A flying beast (I think at least)

Flew down the ether stream

And shot a ray from far away

That turned the craft to steam

*

The thing they saw possessed no flaw:

A creature of great strength

Of dragon kin with scaly skin

And tail of great length

It bore a shack upon its back

With men from other worlds

Who’d come from wombs descended from

The ancient ether guilds

*

They set their sights upon the knights

And gave a strange salute

They waved their blades of metals made

While standing on the brute

Then with a shout they turned about

And changed the course they veered

In half a sec, Both beast and deck,

Completely disappeared

*

The soldiers stood with hearts of wood

Unsure of what they saw

The whole scene they just had seen

Immersed their souls in awe

The Chinese Chen and all his men

Would tell this tale in bars

‘Bout how that day they got away

With help from other stars

*

They laughed like heck across the deck

And roared in disbelief

No Asian knight had seen such sights

From here to Saturn’s reef

The Chinese Chen and all his men

Felt trapped inside a poem

They all agreed they’d never be

Believed by folks at home

*

But now at last the job was passed

They set for home at once

It made them glad, those men who had,

Been gone for many months

They set their spars away from Mars:

It felt like none too soon.

They sped their craft to catch the draft

That led to Saturn’s moon

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The Chinese Chen and all his men

Had done a major feat

Their ships alone had set in stone

The Klarons’ worst defeat

But if you’ll pack, I’ll take you back

So you can understand

Why Marcus’ ship began a trip

To take him back to land

*

Above the dust and smoking crust

His team descended fast

The Roman king was forced to cling

The sturdy, oaken mast

His eyes were red, his arms seemed dead

His cheeks were cold and grey

But in his heart he knew the part

His fate would make him play

*

Now all around he heard the sound

Of Klaron cruiser ships

Whose speedy craft had passed the draft

To serve on strafing trips

With utmost grief he gnashed his teeth

And plotted his revenge

He caused his ship to drop and dip

Behind a stony henge

*

Without a word he grabbed his sword

And jumped outside the boat

The crewmen cussed and yelled becuz’

His ship was still afloat

They flew so high they thought he’d die:

The drop was rather stiff

But hardly dead, he grabbed instead,

A tall, adjacent cliff

*

With half a flop he climbed on top

And stood with iron will

He sprinted down to save the town

Beyond the tow’ring hill

His spirit freed, he ran with speed

And entered in a cave

He’d risk his life to help his wife

And others he could save

*

He knew the route both in and out

That led him underground

These tunneled halls had special walls

No scanner could have found

The monster’s sphere was hidden here

Within the mountain’s side

And that is why no Klaron spy

Had known it was inside

*

So Caesar Mark again embarked

Inside the silver globe

His forward brights and tail-lights

Began to pulse and strobe

In ecstasy he pushed the key

That made the hatchway shut

The time had come to play his drum

And kick Some Klaron butt

*

Outside the cave, his soldier’s brave,

Awaited his return

As half the town a mile down

Began to flame and burn

They thought perhap their leader chap

Was hurt or scared or lost

But as they spoke they heard him choke

The Engine’s main exhaust

*

The gas was floored; the engine roared:

The Spheroid soared outside

With perfect grace it turned to face

The floating trireme’s side

The startled troops gave scores of whoops

The closer that it flew

They wished him luck and praised his pluck

For what he planned to do

*

He gave a pass then hit the gas

And headed straight to town

Each Klaron fly that caught his eye

Was quickly fired down

His dual gun was having fun

So much you’d never guess

He did not know which things to pull

Or which he had to press

*

Below the clouds, above the crowds,

He fought the war alone

With hope and hate, with thoughts of fate,

He tried to save his home

The Klaron planes now half in flames

Attempted to regroup

But Caesar Mark that fighting shark

Destroyed their whole troop

*

Now in the mean the Chinese team

Had fin’ly come through space

These friendly ships at steady clips

Had saved the Roman Race

And Chinese Chen with all his men

Set out to do their best

To read what passed the chapter last

Will tell you all the rest

*

For Caesar Mark the young and Dark

At last the fight was done

He flew straight down on open ground

And waited for someone

It was not long when through the throng

She came with children too

He stopped to taste the princess’ face,

Then hugged the whole crew

*

As cheers were voiced the crowd rejoiced

Though many had been lost

But loss of kin was worth the win

Despite the dreadful cost

They all were glad that many had

Survived now to the end

And those who died with strength and pride

They’d someday see again

*

But Caesar Mark that sexy shark

Was tired of the crowd

He grabbed his bride and rushed inside

When time at last allowed

On virgin skin it felt like sin,

Though in a better way

They held on tight that whole night

And long into the day

*

A night of fun ‘til morning sun

Put hope within their heart

Though others grieved they were relieved

To be no more apart

They both were sad that Marcus had

A decade at the most

But as it went they’d have it spent

Between their bedroom posts

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Oh, those were the days when boys were men

One thousand years ago

When the grass was green and the cows were clean

And the mountains filled with snow

When able knights rode back and forth

Across Earth’s dusty face

And the very best who past a test

Went straight to outer space

*

Their ships were built from bygone days

With masts and sails so white

They knew no fear, they left our sphere

For passage through the night

On ether streams they sallied forth

Across the heavens’ breadth

On cratered moons and Martian dunes

To die a distant death

*

They fought with kings and cyber lords

When ancient worlds ran dry

With watchful sights on meteorites

They sparred across the sky

They learned to hide in comet dust

While fleeing from the fray

The only law within the jaw

Of half the Milky Way

*

But his’try now has passed them by

For very few returned

And tales told grew very old

While manuscripts were burned

But if our modern probes can spy

Their castles still on Mars

We’ll then be sure we never were

The first ones to the stars

*

*

The End