The Mistaken Failure is a Demigod Short Stories by D.A. Sanford - HTML preview

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Warning: Contains adult content due to graphic descriptions of any or all of the following:

Battles, Language, Sexual

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The illustrious history of the humming planet. The rise of our Goblin world by Grendx Jumper

© 2024 D. A. Sanford

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the author or publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

for permission from the author contact danielsanford@sbcglobal.net

The illustrious history of the humming planet

The rise of our Goblin world by Grendx Jumper

I sit here in my old age and feel it is my duty, as the one given the solemn task of being the historian of our world, to put pen to paper and permanently record our history for the future generations.

This world was just a lush green peaceful planet. It had no sentient life on it. Abundant plant life due to a very rich soil. The animal life was the usual divide between the herbivores and carnivores. Al the typical insect life. An ideal planet that was one season with a comfortable year-round temperature.

Across other planets in this universe, our goblin race has been exploited as slaves of al sorts. Mostly as expendable physical labor.

Our females were house hold servants with the exception of our most beautiful women.

They were sold as love slaves. Used and abused. They were looked on as property. As I said, we were expendable.

After generations, we were now being used for all the tasks. Our species is capable of learning, evolving so to speak. We kept this hidden with the tradition of using a primitive speech pattern in public. The owners saw that we could be taught, trained like a dog to do certain routines.

This turned to them having our race do al the work, from crafting to construction. They thought of an idea then we worked it out.

There was one rule, do not try to escape. Those that tried were strapped to a block and were beheaded while everyone was required to watch. This was our life.

There were variations from world to world but mostly the same. We had no hope.

I described our planet as devoid of sentient life. That is why our saviors picked it. Out of the way in a forgotten part of the universe. There is a race our there we have cal ed

“Jumpers”. They would go to the worst of the owners and save us. This is how I was introduced to them.

You see, I was tired of my life. I knew it was futile but I tried to escape and was caught. I had given up. Strapped to that block and the overseer’s arm was raised. The owner was on his balcony laying on his lounge. All that was left was the signal to execute me.

As that owner gave the signal and the blade was coming down, the overseer’s arm was cut off by what looked like a silver whip being wheeled by a young human female then she took the leg of the other overseer.

As that was happening, her male counterpart freed me from my fate as he yel ed for us to fol ow him to freedom. Everyone, down to babes in arms fol owed him.

Through out the worlds, there were tales of a race that would go to the various planets and free our people then disappear with them. As I say, tales of unattainable hope. That is what I thought until I was a split second from death.

We ran following the male human to a humming portal that they called a ‘jump point’

then we were told to go through. Without any hope here, we trusted them and grabbed at the slim hope presented to us, we went through.

There were others of our race to greet us as we emerged, in an instant, to this world. To say we were stunned would be an understatement.

The vista that was before us was that of well-made homes. We could see happy and healthy members of our own race coming over to us. They knew the signal. In their own words,

“When the world hums, you are needed to greet the new ones and help them.”

We were shown a large bathing area and each were attended to. Seated like an owner, there were people that scrubbed each of us. Then we soaked in a bath. The first time I was ever allowed.

As slaves, other than the house slaves, we did not have but a limited supply of water.

You could drink it, cook with it or bathe with it but the quantity was the same. Cooking was roasting over a fire. Very little water was used for washing. Usual y the luxury was that, during rain, every bucket, pan and cup was brought out to collect the water. The aroma of soup would permeate the air that night.

Most would scrub themselves and the clothes they had on to get somewhat clean. To sit and soak in water up to your neck, we knew that we had died and gone to heaven.

Our old clothes were taken away and new ones were there for us to choose what we wanted. We were told to make sure that they fit to our comfort. We were not to make due with something too smal or too baggy.

Washed and comfortably dressed, we were led away to the center hall where there was a large spread of food. It was just too much for some. They stood there and cried. Some hysterical y. Each was comforted and reassured that this was real.

Those were taken hand in hand and shown the spread. The comforter would have an extra large plate for those. They would go to each item and ask if they wanted some.

Then how many scoops. The comforter would always take heaping scoops.

Once the plate was full, they would sit by the one and, if necessary, feed that one.

Usually after a few bites, the person would realize that it was okay and would ravenously attack that plate. Most would ask if they could have more. They would be told that they could but were cautioned that too much would cause their stomach to reject it.

While we were frantical y eating out of fear that it would be taken away, we were all told something that was beyond our comprehension.

“Please be aware that we eat three meals a day. Breakfast, lunch and supper. This is what the Jumper has decreed. You do not need to hoard. Please make sure that the things you have put in your pockets are eaten soon.”

Once we were full, they gave us a tour. There was some concern when they separated us. Men went one way and the women went the other. We men were told to sit down on the grass. Their people explained that we were only temporally separated because this needed to be explained to each sex separately.

The male group spokesman said to us,

“The reason we have separated is that we need to talk about respect for basic rules.

First and foremost. Females are not to be assaulted they are to be respected. For most of you this is a given but some of the rescues have been almost feral. Some have been used as sport and were given females as prizes. None of that goes here. If you do there is a place where we hold you until there is humming. When the “Jumper” comes, they have a male planet that you wil be taken to, no females. The females are being given the same caution.”

Then he went into the basics of hygiene and respect for all others. He asked if we had skil s and what they were. For those who could not read or write, they had to attend classes to learn.

“We, as goblins must learn and better ourselves. The “Jumpers” have picked this planet because it was out of the way but have cautioned us that we need to remain vigilant.

There are books from their world that they have given us to teach us how to defend ourselves. You al will learn those books. That is why you need to be able to read.”

The women were being told the same about the defense of this world.

Much to our relief, after the lecture we were reunited with our loved ones. Now we were asked to separate into three groups, families, single males and single females. The families were shown to homes that were vacant and given to them. The singles were brought to large dormitories where we each had our own rooms.

The family’s’ homes were stocked with food and indoors pump water. They would be able to cook their own food. Each home had brick fire cook stoves and fireplaces. The singles were told that meals were in the hal . The strangest thing for any of us was the hand pump toilets, not pits or out the door.

Before we broke into groups, we were to meet again in the morning to give them what our skills were and then we would be placed in that trade. If we did not have a particular skil , we would be assigned to areas for a two week period and then rotate until we found what we are best suited at.

That is how I became a historian. I could read and write. As a slave I would do the book keeping for the master. He would dictate any message and I would write it. Any mistake and I would be beaten. I learned to write as fast as I heard it so the leaders here thought is would be best if I would record everyone’s tales.

I have now been doing this for thirty years. There are files on almost al those who came here. Most of which I recorded myself.

These are my credentials.

The discovery of the planet

The tale related to me is from accounts told to the elders that the first told them on several occasions.

The first was a female who had not found her mate yet. She had seen our plight. She knew that something had to be done to save us from our oppression. There were too many lives lost due to our low value. Worked to death. The one thing was that our owners were training us to do everything.

The Jumper needed to set us up to succeed but first she had to find the perfect place for us. As she told it, there was a long period of time that she spent searching. We were told that she could enter basics and then a jump point would open.

Most of the time, the planet was either in a very early stage of its life or on the opposite end, in decay that disqualified most. There was the fact that there were other planets that had space travel. Some of those had established vacation spots. There was one that they had hunting lodges.

She took almost a year of jumping to find this spot. It did have other occupied planets but all did not come up to the level of air flight let alone space travel. So she claimed this planet as ours. Over the next month, she brought al sorts of tools and provisions to the world so that we could get a running start. She even brought an anvil because she found a rich source of various minerals. There was also weather proof containers for the books.

The firsts said that when they came, there was row after row of what she cal ed tents.

They were so we could get out of the rain and sleep in.

The most amazing thing that she brought was things she cal ed tubs. They were oval, long metal containers that were our sitting depth.

With that she made her first of many rescue jumps, but the first were afraid when they emerged from the jump. They huddled in fear until she told them that they were the only sentient life here. Then she said that this planet was theirs.

She showed them the tools. The skil ed declared that the quality was better than anything they had ever seen. The blacksmith immediately started to make a hearth.

With the leather he made his bellows. Within a day he had some of the ore that was near and was working it into fasteners for the homes. The wood workers were out gathering trees to make houses.

The farmers were ecstatic over the land and seed that were there.

Everything that we needed and some that we never dreamed of was there. Weapons for hunting and defense. She left what she cal ed picture books to learn how to read her language.

Before she left, she gave us our rules with a dire warning. She told us that she would be bringing others like us here. We were to guide them into freedom. Help them adjust but above all, be at peace.. If we weren’t peaceful, those who weren’t would be transported back to the planet they came from. That meant death.

We have since adopted that as a way of life. Now the jumper told us on other occasions that she had found two other planets that were not as good. So, anyone that could not be peaceful would be transported to those planets. One would be all male and the other al female.

This revelation became some mother’s warning to mischievous children. So far it has only been a few that had to be locked up awaiting the humming of the jump point opening. By the time I was rescued, the community was wel formed and branching out.

My first impression was that of disbelief. The single thing that got to me was the fact that this was a very large community, but there was no fecal or urine smell. One of the people that came with my group was going to relieve himself but was politely told to hold on as they guided him to the communal room.

When he came out, he was totally in shock. He shook his head then said,

“I had heard that the master of us had something like this in his mansion. I never thought that I would have the privilege of using one.”

Then our greeters took us all to see the marvel. There was a long row of what looked like stalls for small horses. When he opened the door on one, it revealed a white chair with a hole in the middle. In the chair was water. The explanation was simple. You went in, closed the door and did your business. When done, you stil sat while a stream of water washed your butt of fecal matter.

We each were allowed to try and had the same reaction as the first one. Then we were told that one of the rules was that, unless you were deep in the woods, you must use this at all times. Who wouldn’t. To have clean air, no wal ow. No walking around smel ing like shit. Everyone adapted to this on that first day.

The advances since then have made those look very crude. Effective but crude.

It didn‘t take long for us to settle in being forced as a slave to do something as opposed to doing the same thing for yourself and your family and seeing a benefit. Great incentive to fit in.

The trauma of being a slave was too much for some. In a tribe, someone like that would be cast out to die. As a slave, someone like that would be executed. Here that same person would be paired up with a special person to take care of them and see to their needs.

No, it is not like taking care of the master. This was our people helping our people. Not forced but help given of our own free will. Most of the time, it was a tag along with the healthy. They would take on jobs such as gardening. The traumatized would be shown what to do and they would be guided or just to let them sit and watch. No forcing. Just care.

For the singles there are the gatherings. Not a ruckus drunken party but a intermingle get together where you could interact with other singles. This often resulted in couples finding each other.

Often, especial y when new people arrive, someone finds a relative that the never had any hope of finding. Those were tearful reunions and everyone celebrated because the lost were now found. A joyous occasion. Whether there or not, al would thank the jumpers.

Learning how to govern

In our old lives before we were captured, we were tribal and were ruled under a chief.

That chief was the strongest. Almost every time, the strongest was never the brightest.

That is how a lot of us were captured.

Even under a brute, there had to be certain things recorded. There was always someone there that was a learned person, a shaman and a fool. The first two are self explanatory. The third however, the fool, was to try to keep the chief happy by entertaining him. There was frequent turnover in that job. So much so that tribe members were drafted. You see, life expectancy for a fool is short. One unhappy look from the chief meant that they were tossing out a dead body.

This system left little time for any thought of planning. Any sort of problem solving. Do as the chief says or die. Most chiefs were only interested in one thing, themselves.

In our new life as freed slaves, here was only one thought. Slave owner or chief, what was the difference? Both, we lived under oppression. What we needed was a governing body. Not a single person. We set it up so that there were area members from all sections. Those settled smal disputes between people. If it was larger it went to the governing body of ten.

Local and governing body were a one time office. At term of four years and that Is it.

This way no one becomes a career member. For the governing body of ten, every two years half would be up for elections. This way the new would have the old to help.

Being a peaceful community that is comprised of people, there always are the squabbles. It is very rare cases that actual battles other than words erupt.

Most are just nerves and misunderstandings that a calm talk will solve.

The governing body of ten are there to guide us to our next step.

For instance, we needed to make the shell of the ship we liberated from those unfortunate slavers that mistakenly landed on our planet. The governing body had discussed the probability of this happening and decided that the insides would be handled but the shell would require large pieces of metal.

Upon consulting with the books left to us they found our about rol ing metals into sheets.

They had the plans drawn and the machinery made. We were using it to make metal safety bunkers for just such occasions.

When a slaver showed up the general population would go underground and be behind large thick metal doors that were deeply anchored into the bedrock wal s. We planned to be quick on the offensive so a barrier only needed to hold for a day.

This rolling machine was able to make smal er panels that were used to make the shel .

As we gained the original ship, we were able to gain the power and equipment to weld the shel s air tight.

Al this because of the foresight of the governing body.

There may come a time when we may need a single spokesperson for the world but until then we are okay. The ten always make sure that they discuss that. There is a thought that maybe we can convince other worlds to join in a peace council of planets. A sort of mutual cooperation with non-slavery worlds. Then a single voice would be needed but they would be the mouth of the governing body.

The first invaders

The warning from the first Jumper was taken very seriously. “Train to preserve your peace. They will find you one day.”

She had given us weapons to hunt with and told us to use hunting game as training to ambush those who would want to enslave you. Make them the game. Game can be hunted or trapped. When we considered what she said and what was written, we knew what she hinted at.

Though the Jumpers were general y gentle, were very passionate when it came to our planet.

They made sure that we could and would prevent any one of us from becoming slaves again.

She warned us, “Once even one of you gets taken from this planet, the rest wil be vulnerable. Protect yourselves.”

Over and over the Jumpers would tel us that they were not gods. They were only humans that respected all life. They most likely could not come to our rescue. Their rescue of us from slavery was a completely planned operation. Our defense of that freedom lay entirely on our shoulders.

With those dire warnings, we practiced and practiced our defense and offence. We sat for strategy meetings until everyone did not even have to think about it. Traps and ambush points were set up and routinely gone over.

The expectation was not if but when this planet is found. The plan was to have a group play panic and lead the slavers away from the community and more importantly, away from their ship. Our plan was rehearsed with someone guarding the ship and the ship’s crew thinking that the intel igence level is low and all pursue us, leaving the ship unguarded.

It was around the twentieth year that our planet was stumbled upon. It was a slaver ship. Fortunately for us, it was a loner. Slavers never share their finds or course.

Because we have a wel developed vil age, we have a typical goblin village made far away from the developed area. All outward appearances were that this was a feral site.

A slaver would not be going into a modern vil age, they find the feral one.

The people that man the feral village are to be commended. They are all volunteer. To go from clean to a pig stye takes a special dedication. We make sure that they are rotated regularly.

One big difference between a real goblin settlement and ours is that there are built in hides. Some in the village but also quite a few in the field near it. A ship wil land in the clear area and then the crew would go to catch the helpless goblins.

True to form, the ship landed in the field. We had a few people there and they threw rocks at the ship. Sure enough, the crew spilled out and chased them the way we wanted them to go. The ship’s crew had only one problem, they did not know where the traps were. We did.

Al of us had, at one time, been abducted and sold. We were not going to be caught again.

Those traps were deadly. Figuring that the slavers would slow down or even stop after one or two of the traps, there were ambush teams.

By the time they realized they were in trouble, between the traps and our snipers, there was only a third of the crew left. They decided to retreat to the ship. Bad move.

It was discovered that all the crew left to chase us. They had almost a ful load of slaves.

Again’ bad move. We entered the ship to the cheers of the captured goblins. They were released. It turned out that most of the maintenance workers for the ship were goblin slaves. They showed us how to lock the ship down so when the remainder of the crew made it back. They were locked out. Fatal for them. The sad thing was that we did lose four of our citizens.

The slaver’s bodies were gone by morning. The animals of the forest need to eat.

We welcomed the captured slaves into our family. It did not surprise anyone when they al wanted to stay. Most were tired of running scared. The captive maintenance goblins It wanted nothing more than to feel the earth under their feet.

The maintenance goblins were able to show us how the systems worked. They had all the spares needed for our research teams to study and they were eventual y replicate al the parts but with major improvements.

The only problem was duplication of the shel . Thanks to the library that the Jumper brough to us, there was found a metal urgy book. The Jumper had chosen this planet well. Al the minerals needed were in great abundance. Soon we had a small fleet of ships and well trained crews.

These ships have been armed. Among those books there was one book that went into great detail on new weapons that were used in space. When asked, the Jumper said that it was from a very advanced dual planet system that had caused mutual self-destruction. She said that the first female jumper’s mate had written about one of them

he visited. He called it a news planet. When the new Jumper visited it it was almost completely destroyed. Only a military library was partial y intact. She said she knew that we would eventual y need it.

Our first task was to communicate with the other planets in this system. At first they were afraid. They did not have the space capabilities. Most have heard of the slavers.

Some recognized the ships and thought that the slavers were here. It was explained to them that we had destroyed them and duplicated the ship.

After some negotiations’, we came to a treaty. The goblin ships would defend this system from intruders. In return, they would trade us some livestock or minerals that we needed. Our planet is now the guardian planet of the system. There have been challenges. We overwhelm them. Now it is our practice to confiscate ships. We have made a fleet of shuttle ships that wil accommodate those crews that surrender their ships. Low tech but they are advantageous for spreading the word. Don’t mess with this system. You wil lose.

Eventual y we became wel respected. The word had spread. We became known as the fair but feared fleet. The warning was that if you wanted to enter our system, stop and wait for us. Any peaceful ship will be met in peace all others will either lose their ship and return in a shuttle our just become so much space debris.

From those books, there was one on the war planes of their world. One picture of a plane became our ship’s identification. Al our ships are painted the same. All green but at the front of each ship are a pair of angry red eyes and a very large open snarling mouth ful of teeth.

It was told to us that when a shuttle was found, al the survivors would say was that it struck fear in them at the sight of those eyes and teeth.

With that reputation, we have not lost one citizen to the slavers only those first four who have gone on to be seen as hero’s that made the ultimate sacrifice for the good of our planet.

The other planets under our protection are now accepting escaped slaves of other races as free citizens. We get goblins drifting in space, in some of those shuttles. The will tel us that our shuttles are just left drifting or taken back to other planets and used to transport slaves. A great many of them had the crew tossed into space and then flown to our space.