Nameless Planet
Nameless Planet is a science fiction story written by Maketoys in 2014.[1] It was posted to their web site.[2]
Synopsis
Shensin members Atorasu and Duke Grail investigate a derelict star ship near their secret planet base and discover on it refugees from their home planet. The refugees include Mixer, Mobile Crane, Skidmark, Tusbasa, Wheel Loader, the brothers Bulldozer and Excavator and thirty five others. Although Atorasu wants to turn them away to another planet, Battle Sentinel Gento orders his men to aid them in landing and to help the refugees. Himedic and Sonic Drill help the refugees with repairs, and Atorasu befriends the youngling refugee Tsubasa. The refugees say they are mostly scientists and civilians what left the machine home world to avoid the civil war. They worry that the Shensin have taken their weapons and keep them guarded. The Shensin require the refugees to remain inside the camp boundaries for the duration of their stay on the planet, but promise to protect them while they are there. Excavator, Mobile Crane and Skidmark decide to sneak out to find more energy supplies, but after they leave their absence is discovered...
Source text
Crystal City Chronicle
Episode 1: Nameless planet
“Sorry to wake you, but the ship is in sight.”
Atorasu woke up from a short sleep mode. His companion was pointing to a large starship outside the window. The big grey transport ship was silent. Its main engine was off and the power system was obviously shut down. It was slowly floating in space like a big chunk of rock. One of its wings was fractured.
“So this is a no-‘bot ship.” Atorasu observed the damage and said, “Let’s blow it up and be finished with it.”
“It would be better if we go inside and take a look.”
His partner attached their small shuttle to the side of the floating derelict and opened the shuttle door.
“At least we don’t need to search for an entrance.” Atorasu looked at the gaping hole on the side of the starship that was blown in some time ago.
He adjusted the white wings on his back so his blue body could get through the hole easily. His purple partner followed closely.
It was dark inside. They turned on their night-vision and found they were inside a badly damaged power chamber.
“Looks like they just fled from some sort of battle but obviously this is not a battle ship.”
Atorasu’s partner looked around suspiciously. Atorasu found the door to the corridor and walked directly for it.
“This may be a battle ship, disguised as a cargo ship. Whatever, let’s go and check the bridge.”
They ignored all of the debris and damaged instruments and carefully moved into the corridor.
“You seem to be in a hurry.” Said Atorasu’s Partner
“I don’t think it is a good idea for both of us to leave the planet at the same time. Counting our strength, you and I are second and third, next only to Master. We are short of manpower. If anything happens now, there will be trouble.”
“We’ve been sent here to solve trouble. Don’t worry; we’ll be back soon…”
“Duke, up ahead. Someone in the shadow.”
There was an injured yellow ‘bot at the end of the corridor, big and tall, standing like a ghost. Obviously he was a creature from their homeworld, not unlike themselves – a life form that was machine in origin from head to toe, inside and out, plus a transformation cog. Their race was very famous in the known Universe.
The yellow ‘bot looked like he was completely exhausted. His body was stained with Mech fluid and lubricant. It was not surprising to find thousands of bullet holes and blaster scars on his skin.
“Leave… Leaveeeeee!”
He moaned, and then shot wildly with his gun.
“I think that is my cue.” Atorasu draw his swords for defense and he was ready to fight, but Duke held him back.
“Leave us alooooooooone!” The yellow ‘bot shouted. He attacked and threw himself towards Duke
Duke jumped over the yellow bot’s head gracefully to avoid the attack, then turned around and hit the neck of the mad’bot with his own sword hilt. Some sparks flew and the yellow ‘bot was down.
“He tried to drive us away even though he is seriously wounded.” Duke looked down at the yellow bot with respect, “What a honorable warrior.”
“Be careful. This is not a no-‘bot ship. It looks like we may have trouble.” Atorasu kept his single-edge sword in his hand.
“Look, this poor thing is weak and injured. I don’t think there will be anyone that could threaten us on board this ship.” His partner opened the door at the end of the corridor.
There in the room they saw a large group of ‘bots, timid and trembling with only minimal lighting. Once the ‘bots saw Atorasu and his companion, their scared faces showed they knew this it. This was the end! It seemed that they lacked any energy to run or fight. They just slumped on the floor ready to give up.
“… This is not what I call trouble.” Atrorasu put his sword back and mumbled to himself.
--
“Please don’t hurt us! We are unarmed……..” A yellow-bot stood up and said. “And we have nothing you want here…nothing…”
“Relax, we mean no harm.” Duke replied. “What happened here?”
”You… are you the good guys or one of THEM?”
Atorasu and Duke looked at each other.
“I don’t know to whom you are referring to but I can assure you, we are not a threat.”
“Thank the maker! We finally make it to the neutral zone! ”Another white-bot with large broad shoulders stood up and said.
“You must not have noticed how far you are from the homeworld.”
“We escaped from the civil war…We were attacked by some pirates, we lost power and communication, and our energy reserves are gone…”The yellow-bot said.
“And we only know that we’ve floated into some barren galaxy…Good to see someone finally.“The white-bot interrupted. “I’m Skidmark, the chief engineer of the ship. He is Wheel Loader, our ship’s medical officer. We are the only high-rank officers left. And you are? Where are we exactly?”
““I’m Atorasu, and this is Duke Grail.”
The ‘bot with wings pointed to his purple partner. Red, yellow and white shapes were painted all over Atorasu’s light blue skin. Duke had black and silver patterns printed on his purple body.
“Your ship is floating into a sector that no one can access. We will mount a small rocket booster onto your ship so that you may leave this sector.” Atorasu responded promptly making a command decision.
“What? You are going to do nothing to save us?”
“I am sorry, we just can’t help you. We will direct your ship to a planet that may have some residents, but we must delete your flight record.”
“We won’t make it! Can’t you see there are many of us that need emergency repair?”
“He’s right Atorasu. These ‘bots do need immediate help.” Duke agreed.
“We cannot let them land. You know it.” Atorasu insisted.
“But there must be some way to help these civilians.”
Atorasu looked around.
“There are 19 of them here, not much we can do to help. It’s better to send them to a planet with big city.”
“42…” Wheel loader whispered, “There are 42 of us. There are others in the next two chambers.”
Both Atorasu and Duke were surprised. They hadn’t thought there are so many ‘bots on board.
--
A beep brought Atorasu’s attention to an incoming message through his com-link on his arm. The mini screen showed the silver face and faceplate of their Master.
“Status report?”
“Not good. This is a refugee starship from the homeworld. 42 bots on board.”
“And some of them seriously injured, emergency help is needed.” Duke interrupted.
“How bad?”
“Very bad. It looks like they don’t have much for medical materials and sustenance.” said Atorasu frankly.
“Actually… we have none.” Wheel loader corrected.
“…They’ve used up all their supplies and energy. But there are 42 ‘bots. Master, we cannot risk their landing.”
The face in the screen went silent and thought for a while.
“Atorasu, Duke, we will send you coordinates. Land them there.”
“But Master…!”
“Atorasu, I understand what you are thinking, but helping others is a must for a Bushi. If we don’t save them, it is no different from killing them with our own hands.”
“Yes, Master.” Atorasu nodded his head acknowledging his Master’s teachings, “Duke, I’ll use the shuttle to adjust the direction of the refugee starship, you help with the landing.”
“Sure.” Duke answered with his usual uplifted tone and walked away with Wheel Loader.
Atorasu returned into their small shuttle and received the coordinates from their base. Once he saw the location he was very dissatisfied, but still he operated the remote arms of the shuttle with conviction.
“Duke, I’ll push on its tail. This will be faster than by using only gravity. But this small shuttle will be useless to help the ship land. We are all counting on you.”
“Let me show you the elegant driving skills of a real Mobine knight.”
It was said that Duke was the only one who could keep a smile on his face as the ship began its thrilling decent into the desert.
“Atorasu, you and Duke have done well.”
Atorasu was communicating with his Master through a small screen inside a operation room of the medical center. Once the ship landed, a temporary medical center was set up near the landing spot. Himedic and Sonic Drill were sent to assist the repairing of damaged refugees. They were currently fixing an unconscious refugee on a circuit slab, Atorasu recognized the patient, his was the guard who attacked them when they aboard the ship. Bulldozer was the name on his patient tag.
“Why not choose a place further away?” Atorasu finally asked the question that was bothering him.
“If there was another place that can land a starship as large as this, I would have.” Battle Sentinel said. “And, we are short on manpower to move them away from the crash site.”
“This is exactly what I’m worried about, they are outnumbering us. This is far too dangerous.”
In his heart Atorasu preferred to see pursuers of evil trying to land their battle ship here so he could just cut them all into pieces without hesitation, and the problem could be solved easily enough. But now… this problem was much more complicated, and he really didn’t like that.
“You are correct, so we must not let them know our true numbers.” Battle Sentinel nodded in agreement with Atorasu,
“It will be very difficult to help them and still carry on with our mission. But this is the reason why ‘Shinsen’ must have training. We cannot sacrifice people in need just because of difficulties.”
“Yes, Master.” Atorasu bowed his head with shame.
“Your concern is also an important factor that we need to consider. I am going to meet the refugees’ representative to see if we can arrange a relocation of the camp, ask for their cooperation. We may have to end up restricting their movement. At the moment, keep an eye on the refugees until we find a better solution.”
The communication was cut off.
“Himedic, what is their status?”
Himedic finished what he was working on and turned to Atorasu.
“37 of them are injured. 21 are seriously damaged, and 3 will need to have their whole body rebuilt.” Himedic was a ‘bot with purple and silver colors, he was the only professional medic in Shinsen.
Sonic Drill continued with the report. “We have all of them stabilized but we don’t have enough resources on hand for the whole body rebuilds, unless we use some of our resources that we have reserved for war. These 3 bots are currently off-line.” Sonic Drill was a red and white ‘bot. He was a scientists but he also processed limited professional medical knowledge. He kept operating the circuit slab as he spoke making it look like he was not paying attention to Atorasu.
“How about their ship?”
“Seriously damaged. Preliminary inspection shows it may be recoverable, but it will take time. If we have everybody working on it, it will take about 20 solar cycles. But we cannot put all of our manpower there.“
“We can’t let them stay that long. It is far to dangerous to keep them on this planet.” Atorasu seriously warned. ”They are too close to the ruin.”
“Most of them are wounded, I think everything should be alright.” Sonic Drill sounded very optimistic.
“And if we can keep them busy repairing their ship, I think there would be no problems.” Himedic added.
“Don’t forget they are outnumbering us. If they do try to resist or take over our ship, it could get out of hand very quickly.” Atorasu retorted.
In fact, Shinsen only had thirteen members right now.
”That’s why we cannot let them know we have a starship.” Duke entered the room and continued. “And we must never mention anything about the Ruin. Atorasu, Metalstorm needs your help.”
“So….how is the patrol doing?” Responded Atorasu
“Tough. Kind of difficult to contain forty bots with less then ten, Blindfire is getting mad and Metalstorm is being overwhelmed with the refugees’ questions and requests, that’s why he needs you there.”
“Fine, I am going.”
“Please stay claim and try not to create more injuries.” Himedic waved his laser cutter with out turning around. ”We are busy enough.”
--
Atorasu left the medical center with Duke and headed towards the refugees’ main camp. A youngling sitting outside the camp site catches Atorasu’s interest. Atorasu had not seen any newbie of his own kind for a very long time. It seems like the youngling was waiting for them.
“You are the one who saved us, right? I believe I should say ‘Thank you’.” The youngling stood up and said.
Atorasu looked this white ‘bot up and down. He had some red parts on his absurdly simple body.
“You are NEW, right?” Although some scars and dirt were on his skin, Atorasu could smell the freshness from his body just like an Alpha Unit. All of his equipment was also very basic.
“Yes, I was built only 20 cycles before leaving the mother planet. It seems that I won’t have chance to receive my primary programming any longer.”
A brand-new bot without primary program. Interesting.
“So why did you leave the mother planet with these people?”
“I have no problem knowing what is right and what is wrong, such as this neither-enemy-nor-friend war! I feel everything within myself telling me to just go. I am better off leaving this civil war and its participants far behind me.”
This little guy even spoke like an Alpha Unit. Basic, simple, and filled with curiosity, Atorasu thought.
“What’s your name?”
“Tsubasa. I heard they call you Atorasu.” This new ‘bot stared at Atorasu’s single-edged sword curiously, “I’ve wondered, the sword you use is a bit different from the ones I’ve seen back home. Any reason for this?”
Atorasu drew out his sword. The blade was as white as snow, gleaming in the sunlight.
“This is called ‘Katana’, a kind of single-edge sword.”
“Katana.” Tsubasa repeated the new noun, “Can I look?”
Atorasu handed the sword to him. Tsubasa held it with both hands, wielded it in the air for a few times. He gazed at the katana for a while, then wielded again. He then returned it to Atorasu.
“So that is your sword. Since it is single-edged, it should be used for cutting, not chopping.”
“Hum, looks like you have some talent for being Bushi.” Duke was impressed
“Bu-Shi?” Tsubasa replied.
“Same as ‘knight’, or similar.” Atorasu added.
“Oh, knight. A warrior that follows a specific set of rules. I know this term.” Tsubasa nodded his head.
“See? I told you no one in this universe knows the meaning of ‘Bushi’. Why don’t you just say ‘knight’?” Duke laughed.
Atorasu gave him a glare.
“Tsubasa, stay in this area and don’t run around.” Atorasu smirked, “If you keep this rule, I may tell you more about my sword and ‘Bushi’ when I came back.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
With apparent satisfaction this new bot Tsubasa turns and walks away.
“Looks like you’re doing well with that kid.” Duke touched his own chin. “I thought you hate younglings.”
“I don’t know….there is something different about this one….” Atorasu said in thought. “Let’s go.”
The sun went down on the horizon. This planet did not have any moon and therefore was very dark at night. The Refugee ship was now on this unknown planet for three solar cycles.
Wheel Loader was working in the medical center, taking care of refugees with minor injuries.
“You are Mixer, right?” He spoke to a patient lying on a circuit slab. “How do you feel? Is your cog still functioning?” The tall, red patient made some deep and unclear sound. Wheel Loader, unable to hear, bent a little closer.
“Burning cloud… is coming… run…”
“Burning cloud?” Wheel Loader didn’t understand this term.
“You wastin’ your time, bot. That dude has kept saying that for decades.”
Wheel Loader turned around and saw a black, thin ‘bot with a pair of red goggles. Sharply he said, “Crane, what are you doing here? I don’t think you have been damaged.”
“Hey, they asked me to brin’ Excavator out, bot.”
Wheel Loader turned toward the adjoining ward, and saw that the ‘bot named Excavator was laying on a circuit slab as well.
“What are you doing here? It’s your brother Bulldozer that’s damaged, not you!” Wheel Loader inquired.
“This slab is empty anyway, just let me sleep a while. Ahhhh, this is so comfortable.” Excavator crossed his arms behind his head and yawned. The shovel on his left arm was lolling beside him.
“Yo right ‘bot! Outside is as hot as a power reactor. You guys wanna hear some music?” Crane played some noisy soundtrack loudly.
“Enough of this! Get out of here! You two are disturbing the others!”
Crane gave him a thumb down while Excavator gave him several other obscene gestures and the two left unwillingly. Wheel Loader could say nothing more. “Ar… what should we do?” He was upset and muttered to himself.
Skidmark entered the room as Wheel Loader was muttering.
“Did those savages tell you anything? Are they still not going to tell us anything about this place?”
“Not sure. They said they are some kind of training group living in seclusion. Living here on a planet so barren it doesn’t even have a name. I think they’ve been cut off from all contact from anyone, even missing the news about the civil war. They called themselves Shinsen, that’s all I heard. At least they gave us supplies and equipment to fix our people and our ship.”
“Come on, Wheel Loader, you don’t really believe all this crap, right?”
“Talk to them if you don’t believe it. Their leader will meet with us later.”
“They have such perfect medical equipment and resources to refill us. Think about it, they must have some fully equipped resident area, a city perhaps, or maybe even a starship!”
“So?”
“They grounded us in the middle of the desert! I am sure they are hiding something from us….. There must be something valuable….maybe a large energy reserve…..I picked up an abnormal energy signal near-by, perhaps we should….”
“You want to ROB them?” Wheel Loader asked incredulously
“No no, it is not robbery, it’s just borrowing. They are penny-pinching all these supplies for us. All of their equipment is well maintained in good condition, I am sure they must have a great amount of resources hiding somewhere.”
“No kidding! We are very lucky they were able to rescue us. We have many patients in their care. Don’t be such a fool!”
“Ah… Strutless coward.” Skidmark muttered a few other choice words before walking away.
---
“My name is Battle Sentinel, the leader of Shinsen.” An extraordinary ‘bot with blue and red color patterns spoke to the refugees’ representatives. Wheel Loader was among them. They were resting in an open area near the Camp. ”I have come to hear of your needs. According to Atorasu, most of you are scholars and scientists, Correct?”
“Most of us, and some other civilians that didn’t want to get involved in the War.” Wheel Loader answered, obviously in awe of this leader of Shinsen.
“So, the Civil War has begun.” Battle Sentinel murmured to himself.
“We are very thankful for your rescue, but why there are there guards keeping watching over us…” and took away our weapons, as if we were prisoners. But Wheel Loader did not dare to finish that sentence aloud.
“Because you know nothing about this place. We will do everything we can to help you, but please respect our rules here. It’s very dangerous outside the perimeter. My companions will make sure you are safe in this area.”
“Our navigation system was down for quite some time. Can you tell us the approximate location of this planet?” Another refugee raised the question.
“This is just a negligible and ordinary planet when you look at it from space.”
“We have left the mother planet as well. It seems that we all have something in common…so maybe…”
“We have nothing in common. We left the home world a very long time ago. For us, this is now our mother planet, and you are the outsiders.” Battle Sentinel said in a very severe tone, and then repeated, “We will do everything we can to help you and protect you, but this promise only applies within in this area.”
Wheel Loader thought of the things that Skidmark said to him earlier, and he was getting a very bad feeling.
The Refugees broke out with questions and statements all at once.
”We need more energy supplies….”
“Hey everyone here is dog-tired. Who would have energy to run around aimlessly in the desert?”
“We want no guards!”
As the refugees clamored about their needs, Battle Sentinel received an incoming message. Atorasu very nervously checked his own mini-screen.
“What happened?”
“Master, three refugees escaped the perimeter during a disruption, and we lost their signal! We’re not too sure which direction they are headed……”
“Calm down! Did you get the identities of these escaped refugees? Someone must know their intention.”
“I have their names……Excavator, Crane, and the last one is Skidmark”
Wheel Loader stood up and with a shocked voice said. ”I think I know which way they are headed………..”
Cast
| Shensin | Refugees |
|---|---|
| Atorasu | Bulldozer |
| Duke Grail | Skidmark |
| Himedic | Wheel Loader |
| Sonic Drill | Tsubasa |
| Battle Sentinel Gento | Mixer |
| Metalstorm | Mobile Crane |
| Blindfire | Excavator |
References
- ↑ Nameless Planet. Maketoys. 2014.
- ↑ http://maketoys.jp/stories/story-1/about-swords-of-warriors-spark/chapter-1-nameless-planet/
