In the vast, silent space, a spaceship was gliding with great hope Horizon Ark, the last hope for humankind to keep their species alive. The crew of Horizon Ark were the elite of humankind, sent into space to find a place where they could settle.
"After 10 years, finally the time has come!"
With an excited voice, said John, the biologist.
"I am as excited as you are, but I can't help feeling worried. The indicators show that there is a high level of technology on this planet. Will the inhabitants see us as enemies, or will they welcome us?"
That is what Mikel said, sighing.
"You are worried because you're an engineer with no experience in war. If they consider us enemies, we will kill them,"
said the ex-military captain Philip with great confidence.
Mikel quickly replied, "We can't be sure. We don't know how advanced their technology is."
As they were having their discussion, they all looked at Kthara, their destination planet, from the bridge window.
Horizon Ark was approaching Kthara, but as soon as it entered the atmosphere, all the equipment started to malfunction.
"Get ready for impact, I'll try to land the spaceship manually," said the captain.
The captain's effort reduced Horizon Ark's speed, but still, they couldn't land safely. Half of the spaceship was destroyed.
John opened his eyes to find himself looking at very tall trees, no tree on Earth could compare to how tall these trees were. But as he was wondering about the scenery in front of him, he thought,
"How come I can see the outside of Horizon Ark? I remember I took a seat in the middle of the spaceship when the captain warned us of a rough landing."
John looked around and saw that only half of Horizon Ark remained, and it was only his seatbelt that had held him from falling out of the spaceship. He released the seatbelt slowly, hanging from the seat, then climbed back into the spaceship and started searching for survivors.
As soon as he took his first step inside, he heard someone say,
"Here you are. So, you're alive."
It was Mikel.
"Out of the 100 people we had, only 44 survived. With you, it's 45,"
said Philip, who was standing beside Mikel.
"We knew that we'd have losses on this expedition, but this is the worst-case scenario,"
said John, shocked by what they told him.
"I know, but at least the main camp equipment is still okay and most of the required lab equipment too,"
said Philip, looking at the land outside the spaceship.
While they were having their discussion and evaluating their next step, they heard a strange sound—like machinery. They looked at the sky and saw some kind of vehicle approaching them.
The vehicle landed, and tall, bulky creatures with rough green skin came out of it.
"Guess we'll have our first contact with the inhabitants of this planet. Prepare the universal translation gadget,"
said John, looking at the tall green creatures.
"Well, I have bad news. The gadget isn't working,"
Mikel quickly replied.
Before they could think of what to do, the tall green creatures reached them. When John took a close look at them, he noticed that their average height was around 3 meters. They looked bulky and strong, stronger than even the strongest human on Earth.
"My name is Khazy of Kai'zuun. Your spaceship has landed on our planet without permission. You will have to accompany us to the ruling council to decide what to do with you,"
said the tall green creature. It seemed he was the leader of this group.
"Wait, I thought the translating gadget wasn't working,"
said John, looking at Mikel.
Mikel replied, looking amazed,
"It isn't working. That's not our translation gadget, that's their technology."
John thought, "It seems they are more advanced than us. I think following them would be the right decision."
"Okay, we will come with you. We don't intend to cause any trouble,"
said John, looking at Khazy.
The human group boarded the vehicle with the Kai'zuun.
"We will take you to the ruling council now, but you have to choose three to represent you,"
said Khazy.
Who should represent them? The captain had been the leader of the expedition, but all the leadership group had been in the front half of the spaceship, which was missing now.
After a discussion among the human group, they decided that John, Mikel, and Philip would be their representatives.
As the vehicle floated in the sky, the green scenery of long trees and rough cliffs shifted to a civilized, high-tech setting, floating vehicles and tall buildings were everywhere. But no building was taller than the one in the center of the city.
They reached the building in the center of the city and saw a side wall open to allow the floating vehicle inside.
"This is the Ruling Tower. The Kai'zuun ruling council governs Kthara from this building. It is the symbol of Kai'zuun authority,"
Khazy said proudly, as if giving the humans a tour.
The humans followed Khazy into a huge hall, with Kai'zuun statues everywhere.
"Only the representatives will follow me from here,"
said Khazy.
John, Mikel, and Philip followed Khazy into another hall.
On higher steps sat three dignified Kai'zuun, elevated as if they were above everyone else.
"Who are you, and why are you on our planet?"
asked one of the three Kai'zuun.
"We should introduce ourselves first, Khazo,"
said another Kai'zuun.
"My name is Khafio, and Khazo is the one who asked you the question. Our third is Khamo. We are the ruling council of Kai'zuun, and we rule over Kthara,"
said Khafio, introducing himself and the others to the humans.
"Nice to meet you. My name is John, and these are Mikel and Philip,"
replied John.
Khafio looked at John and asked,
"So what brings you to our planet, John?"
"We are from a planet called Earth, but our planet was destroyed by wars. So we organized an expedition to search for a planet we could inhabit—to save our race from extinction. That's what led us to your planet, Kthara,"
John explained to Khafio.
The three Kai'zuun discussed among themselves, but the three humans couldn't understand what they were saying.
"So you are coming to our planet in peace, seeking shelter,"
said Khafio, and continued,
"We will let you live on Kthara, but you have to follow the Hierarchy of Kthara."
"Hierarchy of Kthara? What does that mean?"
asked John.
"In Kthara, your power determines your status. You will have to go through a trial to evaluate your power and decide your status,"
replied Khazo.
"What kind of trial?"
asked Mikel, with a curious and worried expression.
With a smile, Khamo said,
"You will have to move this huge statue, without touching it, and without using any equipment. Only using your willpower."
John, Mikel, and Philip looked at each other in shock.
How were they supposed to do that? It wasn't logical.
"That isn't logical! The statue can't be moved with just willpower!"
Philip said loudly.
"That's easy. Show them, Khazy,"
said Khafio.
The three humans were amazed as they watched Khazy aim his fist toward the statue—which moved two meters.
"If you don't know about willpower, that means you have no Kai. You are children of a broken star,"
said Khazo.
"You are welcome to live on Kthara. You will not be harmed. But if you have no Kai, then you are an inferior species, so you can't stay in Kai lands. You will be escorted to the Howling Fields."
"I have a request, can we get our equipment from our spaceship before moving to these Howling Fields?"
asked John.
They needed those pieces of equipment to survive, anyway.
The ruling council allowed them to collect their equipment, and then the humans were escorted to the Howling Fields.
"Remember, you are not allowed to go near the Kai lands,"
said Khazy as he returned to the floating vehicle, having finished his task of escorting the humans to the Howling Fields.
"Now the journey to survive starts and finding out what is Kai would be the key "
said John, looking at the rocky desert in front of him.
"What are you doing?!"
"I am reading the diary of my ancestor. It holds the story of the first days of humans on Kthara,"
said a human boy, replying to a Kai'zuun boy.