The Food War

"Did you hear that General Reid?" asked Queen Cleopatra of clan Bugus, as she heard a

Boom! When the smoke cleared, Queen Cleopatra saw a meteor, a food meteor

smouldering away on an outcrop of rock which had, until recently been a mountain. The food meteor was approximately twenty-five kilometres away from where Queen Cleopatra was standing, causing a heart-thumping shock to all giant ants on the planet 'Elpoeptna'. Reid, Queen Cleopatra's general, was only one step up from the mindless worker ants. He replied, "Yes my queen I saw it and a strange sight it is too, your enemy Queen Annetna and her pitiful general Pich most likely saw it too". And so she did, Queen Annetna was queen of clan Antus and the other army on the primitive world we speak of. Queen Cleopatra and General Reid were enemies of Queen Annetna and General Pich, battling over the last of the food on 'Elpoeptna'. So seeing the food meteor strike, the Queens told their generals to prepare the armies for war and to get them ready to go after the food meteor. As the generals announced they were going to war, they saw hundreds of eyes sunken into heads, hollow cheeks and shrivelled stomachs of worker ants staring back at them.

Meanwhile on a neighbouring planet, a goblin called Nilbog was saying goodbye to his friends, "Are you sure you can't stay here Nilbog?" asked one of his friends.

"You know I can't Llort. I must go through the 'passageways of the worlds' to find food for us or else we will die," said Nilbog glumly, for he didn't want to go.

"Someone else could go instead" persisted Llort.

"I must go Llort. The clan leaders said so. Besides, I know the most about the 'passageways of the worlds' and I am more likely to get back than if someone else went." replied Nilbog in annoyance. His goodbyes said, he transported himself to the square to start his journey through the mystical 'passageways of the worlds'.

The armies of clan Bugus and clan Antus started out, both knowing that this would be the final battle. One army would win and one army would lose. One would eat and one would die. Around ten kilometres away from the outcrop of rock that the food meteor had landed on, the two armies collided and a fierce battle commenced. There was lots of bloodshed and, as abruptly as the battle had started, it finished. Bodies were strewn everywhere. A wailing breeze was all that was left. The wind made torn ligaments flutter and there were eyes everywhere that looked endlessly into the dark, questioning '…why me? why me?' over and over into the night. Suddenly, a pile of splintered wood from a carriage stirred. A broken, golden claw emerged from the wreck and a distorted form followed it. It was Queen Cleopatra. "General Reid, you nincompoop, are you alive?" she called out with difficulty through a ruined mouth, causing three piles of ant carcasses to stir, and spit out the bodies of General Reid and to her horror… General Pich and Queen Annetna. The two generals moved to cover their queens and on an unspoken command, all four clashed in a desperate race for survival. The ants had died so wrongly that day, and on 'Elpoeptna' only one entity was alive.

Nilbog arrived at the tenth world of his search. He saw hundreds upon hundreds of dead carcasses below where he stood. He howled a song. It told of sadness and death. The hopelessness of not working together echoed off the mountain eerily. As he stared at the desolation in front of him, Nilbog's eyes were drawn to a food meteor big enough to save his people from starvation. Nilbog teleported so that he was in arms reach of the food meteor and held on tight. He concentrated on the power inside him to open one of the doorways to the 'passageways of the worlds'. Suddenly, he was in a maze of rainbow coloured light, speeding towards where he wanted to go - his home world.

"Nilbog you are a hero, saving our world from hunger," said Relletyrots, "and because of your bravery Nilbog, I, on behalf of all goblins here, award you your new title 'Nilbog the Great'. This medal signifies your great deed in bringing back enough food to feed all goblins on Gorf. Would you like to say a few words, 'Nilbog the Great'?" asks Relletyrots.

"Good goblins of Gorf I take your gifts with overwhelming gratitude, I hope that the food I have brought signifies a new era for us goblins where food is plentiful and our race can live in harmony." As Nilbog continued to speak, a soft, insistent humming was getting louder and louder. Suddenly in that split-second, everyone looked up. They saw a dark shadow looming overhead, then… nothing.

Prologue

A few years later a fleet officer filed a report concerning a lone planet floating around in space.No life forms inhabited it.