The Translocator

It was a bright blue day filled with the warmth of the sun and the cooling breeze of the Eastern sea. The people of Azleroth couldn't see the vast ocean that separated them from lands of Oblivion. It was the faint hint of salt in the air that was a constant reminder. To the north was the imperial village Salent. The cottages and homesteads fit in perfectly with the grassy fields of wheat that bordered a lush green forest. The imperial banner flew high above the village. The silver sword on a YELLOW background.

Most of the people were busy with work, tending the fields or caring for their herds that grazed on the grassy expanse. In the distance a sky ship lazily floated across the sky. It's float bladder was made of a dark material and it held what ever the gasses were that kept the ship aloft. The solar panels absorbed the sun's rays and converted them into fuel. The ship could travel for as long as the crew could tolerate. Rumor was if you looked directly at the solar panels in the sunlight you could see a small RAINBOW.

Azar watched the people working and the sky ship sailing from the inside of an ancient monestary converted into school. He watched with longing as he had been cooped up in these classes since he scored second highest in the sector's imperial exam. He WISHED he was on that sky ship headed anywhere. His patience with the lecture and the room grew thin as the musty cold of the monastery pressed on him like a wet blanket.

An imperial regimen appeared, marching quickly towards the village of Salent. They wore power armor fueled by the mystic rites of the ancients. Their armor was manufactured in the highly secretive constructicons of the Industro-tech or IT guild. The IT guilds were the keepers of the technology of the ancients and the eldritch magic that powered those devices. The soldiers held their lance-casters and bio-shields with pride as the people made way for the cohort to pass.

Azar let our a sigh. He wished he was somewhere else. He wanted to score high on his exam and go into a field of his choosing but when the high regent saw hos score he took the boy as tax. The town of Salent would be free of their obligation to pay their imperial tax in coin because they had paid it with Azar's future. He worked for the Empire for the next 10 years. His sigh must have been louder than he intended because his instructor called on him.

"Azar, did you hear a word I said about coordinates and the translocation system?" asked the instructor, somewhat annoyed.

"Ah, sure," replied Azar.

"Then get in line with everyone else. We don't have all day," snapped the instructor.

"Ok now operating the translocation system is a very lucrative career and it begins by understanding how the system works and how to do the calculations needed for the traveler to reach their destination. You have been pared with a classmate . You will use the instructions from the lecture to send your partner to the imperial palace in Cadia. There a colleague of mine will give your classmate a gold Senar as PROOF of a successful translocation," stated the instructor.

Azar's partner was an older boy name Keblan. He had long black hair and brown skin. Azar knew him as a very serious boy who was the ideal candidate for imperial citizenship. Keblan was a true believer and had faith in the idea that "the ends justify the means as long as those ends benefit the Empire." As the students prepared for their task Keblan turned to Azar.

"I don't get it man. With your scores this job could be a cake walk. What's with you?" Asked Keblan.

"I don't like being told what to do," answered Azar as the first student disappeared with a POOF and reappeared holding an imperial Senar, a gold coin.

"Everyone human told what to do. I get told what to do. You get told what to do. Hell even the high regent gets told what to do by the Emperor", concluded Keblam.

"Yeah," said Azar, "and who tells the Emperor what to do?"

"The Empress of course, for she is a goddess," came a sweet voice from behind him. It was Marina and her yellow eyes twinkled with mirth. Her long brown hair and athletic body moved with the grace of a hunter cat. Azar knew she was not someone to be trifled with.

Azar was about to respond but Kablam nudged him. It was their turn. The professor handed Azar the key. So much for luck, thought Azar. Kablam stepped on the pad and watched Azar fiddle with the dials. Azar had no idea what how to use the translocator since he hadn't paid attention. He tried to remember how it worked and input the coordinates he thought would lead to Cadia.

"Ready," asked the professor, as he handed Kablam a return translocator. This one was pre set so Kablam could return in case of a mistake. So mush for confidence, thought Azar. He pushed the button and Kablam was gone.

Several moments passed and with a crack of Eldritch energy Kablam came back.

"YOU IDIOT!!" shouted Kablam, wiping his face.

"Is that ale, and are those eggs?" asked Marina.

"This MORON sent me to Dunbars!" spat Kablam.

"The troll bar?" asked Azar.

"Yeah, during one of their afternoon kareokee hour . I'm lucky to be alive!"

"Where did you get the ale?" asked Marina visibly fighting a smile.

"The trolls threw this on me when I refused to sing!" Yelled Kablam.

Marina couldn't hold it in any more. She was barely able to squeak out an "I'm sorry" before she and the rest of the class erupted into laughter.

Kablam shot Azar a death stare ande Azar knew he had made an enemy for life.