Moem The Beginning

It relished in his blind hatred and bathed gloriously in his merciless acts of torture. Growing stronger the evil gave all of its power to this servant of darkness. At long last this thinking source of malefic energy would have its greatest wish come true. The destruction of all that was good in the world. The end of the human race forever.

As the Verboten hurtled through space, the captain worried whether the ship would survive the journey with the extensive damage to her hull and to the electrical system. Captain Bingham purposely kept a deadpan expression upon his face while his insides quivered like everyone else's. Katchwari was their last hope.

The ship rattled and shook for several long minutes. Sparks flew from the gaping torn wiring, while coffee mugs rolled precariously back and forth on the floor. Suddenly acceleration slowed and they were out of the warp and moving along at a normal speed.

Sighs of relief were heard throughout the cabin. They had made it with no signs of further destruction to the ship's hull.

"Captain sir, request permission to contact Katchwari regarding emergency landing instructions." The radio operator was a tall slender man in his forties. A veteran who had been with Captain Bingham from the first assignment aboard the Verboten.

"Request granted, Mr. Winston. Do not give our co-ordinates until you are granted entry and they have removed the electromagnetic shield." Aye sir!" The radio operator replied, quickly returning to his station to begin communication.

Captain Bingham had not been back to Katchwari in many years. He had been young then and had landed upon the uninhabited planet bringing the first group of settlers there. With the way things were going, he may be bringing a lot more survivors to this remote outback parallel world. That is if, they were even granted permission to enter the atmosphere.

Katchwari did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Federation directly. It was a private planet belonging strictly to the Ancient ones, primarily one in particular by the name of Montedesto. At his request, the planet had been closed off to all trade and outside communication. The only exceptions were ships bringing survivors from war torn planets. They were allowed entry long enough to deposit the unfortunate and homeless. As soon as they unloaded their human cargo, they departed.

A pact had been drawn between The Ancient Ones and the Federation. Katchwari was to be left out of the loop of mining ships and other cargo ships looking for resources to glean from the land. To help keep that pact in force, the planet was made impenetrable with the help of a electromagnetic corona of blue white light surrounding the planet.

Any fool attempting to enter the atmosphere without express permission from the powers that be forfeited his life by instant incineration. Thus, the planet remained secluded and protected from mankind and his evil ways.

"May Day, May Day! Request Permission to land , do you copy? This is the Starship Verboten, requesting permission to land!" Our ship is in need of repair as the damage to her hull and aft decks is significant, do you read me, Katchwari!"

"We read you Verboten, request granted, entry time is five minutes from now. State your number codes and begin your descent now."

The badly damaged ship began its descent toward Katchwari. The corona of light encircling the planet disappeared allowing the Verboten to enter the atmosphere unharmed.

Hovering in the clouds above the wounded spacecraft was another ship also waiting to enter. The uninvited ship was commandeered by none other than the Dark Lord himself. He had waited for this moment for a very long time.