We left the Silver Mist world with great sadness knowing that their legacy of strength and courage was soon to end but also hopeful that their tragedy will positively impact other worlds to rethink their destructiveness.

Soon we find a world that from a distance has a very mottled appearance.  It is mostly reds and blues.  Once on the surface we see that there is a mixed terrain and using an invisibility shield we cruise gently across the planet looking for a good spot to land.  Moments after leaving the shuttle, a troop of men marches up to us with guns drawn asking for the leader.  Melin steps forward, explains our mission, the man grunts and threatens everyone with death right then and there!  After showing them our ship and explaining our mission, we prepare coffee and cookies for everyone and they calm down.  After much discussion and accusations, they agree to send someone to answer my questions.

This planet has one sun, one moon and three other planets in this system.  It is rich in resources with plenty of trees, small animals, plants, flowers and a reasonable amount of water with a mild climate and gentle breezes.  After sleeping for eight hours it is still dark, after another four hours the sun begins to peek above the horizon.  At last our emissary from this system arrives.

His name is Menerar; he is 22 cycles, about five and a half feet tall with dark brown skin with a slight greenish undertone.  They have an exoskeleton structure on their foreheads that is somewhat wrinkled, three fingers and an opposing thumb.  Their skin appears to be hard but smooth and they are very broad chested, muscular, and strong.  First, I ask about the planet, each cycle is 36 hours, 18 of light and 18 of dark and they sleep approximately 12 of those.  Their year would be 18 months for earth as they orbit around their sun and the other three planets.  This planet is Tragea and they believe the shortest path to the Creator is through battle and glory.  The second planet is Tragar and they believe that peace is utmost; they are the philosophers and artists.  The third planet is Treet -- they are the craftsmen producing armor, swords, jewelry, trinkets and such.  The last planet, Trengor, focuses on education, history, mathematics and scientific pursuits. 

Menerar tells me, “once when we were a young society we were attacked by others wanting our resources.  Most of the population was used to fight them off using swords, bow and arrows, rocks if need be.  Now, we fight for anyone.  We are known through this sector of space for our legendary skills and prowess in fighting.  Many other star systems call upon us to help them fight off an outside enemy.  They pay us for our help and do not risk their own lives.  I have been on 50 campaigns, I live to fight, there is nothing else for me”.

Next day Melin reports that this planet is in trouble with high levels of DDT and dioxins that are breaking down the soil and polluting the water.  That day Menerar reports that some men are getting sick.  Melin suspects they are receiving radiation poisoning.  We get permission to assist those who are sick.  Their doctors know very little about their bodies as they rarely get sick but we assist them in helping those already sick.  They are very resistant to the idea of illness and we suspect they will continue using the weapons causing the radiation poisoning.  Sadly, there is nothing else we can do but move on.

Next Month:  Ice World