User:Operaghost21/Re:Torpal

= Background =

Re:Torpal was written in early 2006 by operaghost21, creator of the Torpals. His english teacher gave them an assignment to write a short story, and he captivated audiances with his tale of a group of humans stumbling upon a Palymyrian Tower.

= Re: Torpal =

Here is the story in its entirety:

“Upon reaching the Perseus star system today, sensors indicated the presence of a planet suitable for colonization. It is the second planet orbiting Perseus. Reconnaissance teams shall be sent to the surface tomorrow.”

“The sensors were correct! This planet has everything we need; oxygen-rich atmosphere, liquid water, tropical temperatures; basically anything we could hope for. Although it appears to have had quite a disconcerting past…

When the recon teams landed this morning, they discovered something. A tower, to be exact. This tower is the largest structure any of the crew has ever seen! It has not been measured, but it is as tall as a mountain; hundreds of thousands of feet high, and visible from miles away. It’s structure is composed of massive stone blocks, posing a vague similarity to the ancient pyramids.

The recon teams also found remains. Bones littered the landscape; the corpses left-over from some globe-spanning conflict. Not a single living creature, intelligent or wild, was to be found. We also found what was left of hundreds of cities and towns. Although we only know they once existed because of all the remnants of buildings’ foundations. Besides that godforsaken tower, nothing on the planet was left standing. We may not know what ancient race built that tower, but whoever they were, they killed themselves off in some massive war…”

“I decided to dedicate the entire day to studying this tower, being that it is the only surviving relic on this planet… now I hope to God we make it off this planet alive.

Scans revealed that the inner core of the tower was actually some sort of metal, a super-strong alloy, according to the readouts. Not only that, but we discovered a hollow area located at the very top of the tower, indicating some sort of chamber. Visual read-outs also showed what looked like ornate doors which would lead into the chamber. So, I gathered a few of my men, and took a hover-carrier to the top.

Even with our best hover-carriers, the ride up took more than a few minutes, giving me plenty of time to think. I was obviously excited; my palms were sweaty with anticipation. Though, in the pit of my stomach, I was also frightened. After all, what war would be so horrible as to wipe an entire civilization off the face of a planet, yet leave this one tower intact?

Reaching the top of the tower, I regained my composure, as my men and I stepped onto the ledge extending from the tower. Some carefully-placed explosives blew open the large doors, and we walked inside.

The room was large, apparently made by something larger than humans. To our dismay, the room was surprisingly bare, though in the far end of the room, we noticed something. Lining the wall were two panels, one of lights and one of simple, round, buttons; with corresponding colors. Approaching them, one of the lights, blue, flickered on. After a moment, I hesitantly pushed the blue button. Another light lit up. I pressed the matching button, and the this process continued for a short time, increasing into patterns of multiple lights. After a few more minutes of this odd exercise, the lights stopped, and a foggy, blurred, orb appeared in the middle of the room.

As the shape became more defined, I realized that it was a hologram, taking up most of the available space in the room. The hologram before us displayed a small planet. The planet’s surface became larger and larger until it zoomed in on a small, red, creature, holding a spear. The creature began running, as it was frightened by a spaceship descending upon the planet. As the creature disappeared into the horizon, the ship landed on the ground, and a hole appeared near its bottom. A tall creature stepped out.

Whoever made the hologram definitely wanted to place special attention on this creature, as its image was the hologram’s main focus for several minutes. If the hologram’s size was accurate, the being stood at least eight feet tall. Its body was covered in coarse brown fur, though, like an ape, its face, hands, and chest were bare, revealing tough, blue skin. It stood upright, on two legs ending in sharp, curved claws. Its four arms had muscles larger than any human, and it carried a massive sword. Between its four crimson eyes, and its razor-sharp teeth, I saw the creature lacked a nose, though a crest on the back of its head suggested nostrils.

The pure horror this beast instilled made me want to suddenly leave the room; although the hologram quickly continued, reminding me of reality. I was next shown hundreds of these monsters’ ships landing on the planet, where, shown faster than normal time, they proceeded to build the tower we stood in! The hologram suddenly jumped forward, and showed the small red species from earlier, flying some sort of aircraft through a town. This species had obviously become more advanced, and now we saw them venturing into the tower. When one of their kind completed the light game, a wave of semi-circles suddenly appeared out of the top of the holographic tower. As they drifted into space, I realized, those are radio waves! The waves continued off into space, until they reached a spaceship--a spaceship belonging to the four-armed monsters. Upon receiving the signal, the creatures returned to the serene little planet.

The end of the hologram was a dizzying montage of terrifying war machines, and hundreds of monsters massacring the planet’s residents, whose army stood no chance.

When the hologram clicked off, everything made since to me. Those monsters built that tower to destroy whatever had lived on this planet! As shocking as this was, that left me wondering; why did I repeat the light game, and why were we shown a hologram of what had happened?”

“After debriefing the crew, most of my men believe that the architects of that tower are going to return. I’ll admit it sounds crazy, but, deep down inside, I fear I believe it too. Unfortunately, as much as we’d like to get off this rock, we‘re unable to leave just yet. According to Federal regulations, any planet, such as this one, that is such a prime candidate for colonization must be studied fully for at least a week… That gives us five more days here.

Knowing little about the tower-monsters (as we’ve come to call them), no one knows if they’ll arrive anytime soon, but I’m not taking any chances. The crew spent the latter half of the day setting up weapons emplacements around the ship--just in case.”

“A ship was caught on our sensors entering the solar system this morning. I don’t have time to talk; there are far too many things I need to prepare. I’ll report back as soon as I can.”

“They call themselves the Torpal. They fight like hell, and there’s no stopping them! W-we--”

“We tried mounting a defense around the ship when they landed, but it was no use; everyone else is dead. I have currently retreated into the bowels of the ship. This may seem cowardly, but I had to let the UHF get record of these horrible things.”

“Oh God, they‘ve found me! I’ve got no time left…To all UHF forces, I beg you: find these monsters and destroy them before it’s too late! All I’ve got is a pistol, but I’ll hold them off as long as I can…”

“They’ve blown open the doors! Die!!! You mother-”

Reviews
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