Crankie Williams Goes to War

CRANKIE WILLIAMS GOES TO WAR

The Universe Observes

Franz Ludick

Copyright 2018 Franz Ludick

Other Crankie Williams Books

Book 1 - Crankie Williams Goes Ballistic

Book 2 – Crankie Williams Goes Pirate

Book 3 - Crankie Williams Does Penance

Also - Oh Hell, Joe!

The Sentinel Awakens

Disclaimer

Names of characters portrayed in this story are purely fictional and in no way relates to any real person, dead or alive, place or institution. Any similarity of names to any person, place or institution is purely coincidental and in no way intentional.

ISBN – 978-0-620-93546-3

CONTENTS

A Long Road

The Dark Force

Tough Lessons

Allies

Preparations

Crankie’s War

The War Phase One

Alien Concerns

The War Phase Two

Unseen Dimensions

Flight of the Golden Eagle

Marood Hubool

Ortagon

Universal Traveller

Forbidden Dimensions

Where Angels Fear to Tread

Dimensions

Xanatanka Decides

Timeout

What If

Reflections

Cosmic Wisdom

Interlude

The Voolums of Hatz

Galactic Jaunt

Dimension Spiral

Contact

Loshtanrumkin

Tortuga

Hijacked

Storm Cloud

Searching Outwards

Bibliography - Milky Way Galaxy

Orientation List - Milky Way Galaxy

Bibliography – Andromeda Galaxy

Orientation List - Andromeda Galaxy

Bibliography - Heshny Galaxy

Orientation List - Heshny Galaxy

Valgonar, Jaimantu and Perbanoo Galaxies

Other Universes And Planets

About The Author

A_LONG_ROAD

Complexity. Described as – consisting of many different parts and difficult to understand. That description doesn’t even come close to describing Crankie Williams’ mind and his life, which means the task I set myself to record Crankie’s experiences throughout his life is proving to be extremely difficult and complex. Not that I don’t have enough ammunition to use, drawing from my memory, oh no, I was fortunate to start recording Crankie’s escapades right from the beginning, seeing as we virtually grew up together. I was always convinced he was heading for great things one day.

Amongst all of us in junior school, Crankie was always recognized as the leader. He didn’t always lead us on the straight and narrow path of course, but we asked few questions and we simply followed his lead. I don’t want the reader to get the idea that we were merely a bunch of sheep following the leader, not by any means! Amongst us were guys and girls who grew up to become very important people in the galactic scheme of things, and of course a whole bunch of us grew up to become top executives in one or other of Crankie’s many business enterprises. At least we were always sure of where we stood with him and through all the years he never let us down or forgot that we were all linked together since our early years.

It was during our final year at high school that Crankie began stepping out into the world of entrepreneurship and high finance, as well as of course, of high risk. I’m a firm believer that Crankie’s adventurous spirit was born during our school days, when he had to do almost daily battle with the school principals, not to mention that self-opinionated science teacher, Master Smythe, who was taught such a lesson in humility. However, what amazed me during those days and has never ceased to amaze me up to now, was the way he jumped in where angels feared to tread.

There was only a handful of us that were so close that we shared our innermost secrets, and it was only us few friends that were aware of Crankie’s involvement in the hi-jacking of several giant freight spaceships in the Heshnian galaxy. Of course all that was only made possible by the assistance he received from his brother Leonard, and his dubiously legal friends Max Schmidt and Heini Schwartz, as well as their very good friend, Alexei Broshny. Amongst them, they helped Crankie commit some of the most daring raids ever attempted outside the Milky Way, and they actually got away with it!

Not even Crankie’s father, although he was the Solar system’s Minister of Trade, knew that his young son had become the owner of five gigantic freight ships. He was under the impression that Crankie was leasing a few small freighters to do minor transport in the immediate galaxy, and even though he wasn’t by any means a family man, he was quite proud of his son’s achievements, up to a point of course. By the time Crankie left school, he was already an established and successful businessman involved in high finance, negotiating with bank CEOs and Trade Ministries of distant planets.

It was only years later that Crankie told me about his spiritual tutor and mentor, Commander Illian, who had been guiding him since he was a little boy in junior school, about his spiritual relationship with the emperor, which led him to make contact with the Lakota Sioux on the strange planet New Maka. These people were taken to this planet millennia ago by the Emperor, and any outside contact with them or access to the planet was strictly forbidden, except by the express permission of the emperor himself!

It was however his involvement with another of his brother’s friends, Jimmy James, who was a real wheeler-dealer, that set him up on the road that would lift him out of being merely a freight ship fleet owner, to eventually reach into the galaxy and beyond, to influence the way even the Galactic Senates of several galaxies react towards him, and each other. However, it was through his impulsiveness that he was finally apprehended by the police on Earth, much to the joy of the Chief of Police who had been after his blood for a long time. He was put on board a fleet supply freighter as a working prisoner with no pay or privileges, which would be his jail until otherwise decided by the Chief, and he really wanted to let Crankie rot on board that ship for the rest of his natural life!

As fate would have it, the fleet freighter was attacked by a space pirate, and after being set free, Crankie decided to join the Brotherhood of Pirates based on a planet the pirates named Tortuga. During this period he had many hair-raising experiences and made many new and good friends, not least of all the pirate who had set him free, Martin West. It was Martin who introduced him to the beautiful lady pirate captain, Beverley Barnett, but that’s another story.

Alexei Broshny, who had become a very special friend to Crankie, had planted the idea in his mind that he should own his own ship instead of always being a passenger on someone else’s ship. Through contacts he made in the Andromeda galaxy, when he returned their brand new super ship, he managed to acquire a really special ship which he named the Solar Plexus. At the request of the Japanese government on their home planet N’ga, Crankie organized the total destruction of infrastructure and the armed forces of the planet Ribald, an action that would hang over his head for many years.

Being the intellectual entrepreneur he was, Crankie eventually decided that piracy was just not for him. He was aware he had a much bigger purpose in life, not only in this galaxy but throughout the Universe! He left Tortuga and had a secret base constructed on an uninhabitable planet he called Lara, named after his daughter. It was during this period that he put together what was supposed to be the ‘raid of all raids’ which turned out to be the biggest catastrophe of his life! He saw his friend Martin, with all his crew, blown to space dust right in front of him!

Through much self-recrimination and sorrow, Crankie nearly lost himself to alcohol, but managed to pull himself together and decided to stage a real coup, more to restore his ego and self-respect than anything else, but again it ended up in him losing one of his ships as it was blown out of space by a fleet cruiser. This was the last straw for Crankie and when he realized he was losing his mind due to the guilt of it all, he decided to hand himself over to the authorities.

It made no difference to the GASS (the Galactic Secret Service) that Crankie was, not all that long ago, hailed as a Galactic Hero. All they were concerned with was that he was at that time labelled as the ‘Most Wanted Criminal in the Galaxy’! Without trial, he was shipped off to the dreaded penal planet Walmer, where, on an island, the galaxy’s most feared prison Hellkatraz was situated. He was there to be incarcerated, with hard labour, for the rest of his life. This proved to be pure hell for Crankie, especially the three months of solitary confinement in the Dark Room.

At least this period of solitary confinement gave him the ideal opportunity to practice his gift of mental telepathy, as well as the newly acquired skill of sending his spirit out on astral travels. The galaxy opened up for Crankie as he practiced these skills, and he even made contact with the spirit beings of the ‘other dimension’ who would, unbeknown to him, play a major role in his future. Needless to say, the emperor was always in the background, steering him along his life’s path.

By using his awesome abilities as an organizer and entrepreneur, he managed to arrange some weird and wonderful activities at Hellkatraz, as well as on the mainland of Walmer. Even the Galactic Senate had to sit up and take note. Eventually, a full committee of the Galactic Senate had him brought in to hear his case. They put the many charges against him to him, and the eventual outcome of their decision was heavily influenced by his previous involvement in the major undertaking by the Chinese of Manchuria, when they were putting together an expedition to go clear across the Universe, through the dark void and out into the next Universe! He was declared a free man, to go where he pleased and do what he pleased, the first time this had ever happened in the history of Walmer, where no inmate had ever left alive.

During his bargaining with the Galactic Senate, Crankie had undertaken to promote the interests of the Milky Way galaxy and he asked Alexei and Jimmy, both who were at that time resident on Barcator in the Heshny galaxy, to spy for him there. As soon as he was able to leave Walmer and the industries he had started there, he hot-footed it over to Barcator, and after many incidents and underground dealings, he made a pact with the top generals and admirals to back him up when he would attempt to take over control from the Pleasure Lords, who had been criminally governing many of the planets in Heshny.

Having won the big battle to oust the Pleasure Lord leader from power, Crankie called on all interested planets to come to Barcator to vote for a president for the new Confederation of United Planets. They voted the beautiful huge lady Eleza in as interim president for twelve months, and she in turn, appointed Crankie as her vice president while the confederation was being organized. Due to her having done such an excellent job, they voted her in for a full term of five years. One of Crankie’s main concerns was the capture of Valgonarian spies in Heshny. The information the HESS (Heshnian Secret Service) gained from these spies was that Valgonar was preparing for an invasion of the Heshny galaxy!

It was only now that Crankie, through his contacts in the spirit world, realized that a Dark Force had been behind a lot of what had been going wrong in the galaxies, and that this evil power was the one instigating the pending war between Heshny and Valgonar. It became obvious to him that this war was going to be only the first phase of a universal struggle against the Dark Force and its allies. He was also made aware that while they would be engaged in the physical war, the emperor and the beings from the ‘other dimension’ would be engaged in conflict on another plane against the Dark One itself, as well as its dark spiritual minions. It now became clear to Crankie what the emperor had been grooming him for, for all those years.

On the way back to Earth Crankie received a call from The Galactic Senate of Perbanoo. They had been made aware that Valgonar was preparing for war with their neighbouring galaxy, Heshny, and they wanted Crankie to come to them for a meeting where they could discuss a mutually beneficial treaty with Heshny.

THE_DARK_FORCE

The Dark Force, who has no name in this or any other Universe, and who could not even be called an entity or being, had been aware that his powerful adversary has been meeting with the leader of the ‘other’ universe across the great empty divide. He mentally followed the emperor from his inert physical body, across this universe and the empty divide to where the two spirits were just taking leave of each other. By tapping into the emperor’s spiritual vibrations he was completely aware of the strain he was putting himself through, and knowing that he still had to return through the great divide which would sap his energy to the limit, the Dark One decided this would be a golden opportunity for him to force his enemy into battle on his terms!

While allowing his enemy’s spirit to race back unhindered to the edge of the Universe, to enter the great energy-sapping dark divide, the Dark One took a few nanoseconds to reminisce about his situation.

***

His origin or home region was a dimension no human mind could ever fully comprehend. It was a space outside the norms of the laws of space, time and nature as humans know it. It was a separate space outside the cosmic sphere of existence. Time, as humans understand it, does not exist. Size, distance and mass did not exist. There was no way to estimate or comprehend the extent of this space or even where it was! It was situated completely outside the known physical universes. Even the ‘other dimensions’ with their spiritual beings were unable to comprehend where this space was situated.

He examined his reason for being in this cosmos, but then settled on the same answer he arrived at right at the beginning. Why not? If not this one, then it would have been any of billions of others. It was purely by chance that he decided to come here. He had no use for any of these universes, and they served him no purpose whatsoever. It was only his rogue nature that made him decide to leave his home space to come here to sow confusion and hostility in this universe and to dominate its inhabitants. It was his own choice to become a renegade in his own space that caused him to be ostracized by his fellow ‘beings’ and for them to cast him out of their closely bonded society.

As humans studied the properties of Protons and Neutrons, of Quarks and Neutrinos, of Anti-matter and Dark Matter and attempt to understand them, so the ‘beings’ in his plane of existence studied, in a much higher sense, the scraps of evidence that other higher planes of existence exist in unfathomable space, in inexplicable dimensions. Although their understanding of their own and lower dimensions were awesome, they still found that there was a natural block against gaining knowledge regarding the higher planes of existence, or even how many planes of existence above them there were. They suspected that somewhere or other it had to reach the ultimate or highest point, but what existed on that plane will forever be a mystery.

Through their reasoning, they were aware of things that should be there according to the laws of nature, but there were limits to what they were able to find and prove. He knew that his fellow ‘beings’ have communicated with ‘beings’ from the next (or higher) level, and these higher ‘beings’ hinted at existence in even higher and to them inexplicable levels! It was understood that the higher ‘beings’ could and did understand the broader existence of lower levels although they found it difficult, even for them to fully understand the lower beings’ reasoning, but, the lower levels could never comprehend the complexities of the higher levels.

At lower levels, it would only be those who had the mental maturity to accept this scheme of things, and those who understood what it meant to come to grips with the insignificance of individuals and their over-inflated egos, and above all, only those who were mentally stable enough, who could dwell on this concept and explore its deeper meanings without risking their sanity.

In this sphere of existence where the Dark Force found himself now, he searched for likely subjects he could manipulate deceive and rule as a dictator. Initially he found spirit beings in a dark void, in a dimension that had gone undetected by other spirit beings in other dimensions and he set about manipulating them. He was a master at deception, a master at influencing other beings with his ability to auto-suggest ideas into their minds. He was unscrupulous in his methods of twisting the truths they knew and turning them into lies. No sooner had he subjugated these spirit beings into becoming his minions when he began searching for beings in the physical plane that he could use as his servants in furthering his lust for power. He found these beings in the neighbouring galaxies called Valgonar and Sastamun and he set about arranging the scene that should, in their future, lead to the subjugation of other galaxies, to bring them under his control and to eventually defeat the whole universe, to then move on to the next, to start the process all over again, for no other reason than his lust for power.

When he first fled from his own domain, the Dark Force arrived in a sphere of space called a universe, and he immediately sought out and began cultivating those physical beings he could use. But, no sooner had he brought them under control and got them started in sowing dissension amongst galaxies in that universe when, as though purely by chance he was discovered by a powerful spirit who immediately recognized him as being ‘evil’ and attacked him relentlessly and without hesitation. After a drawn-out battle, the spirit cornered him and prepared to call in its associates to attempt capturing him. Not having ever experienced any form of attack upon himself, he retreated in surprise and confusion! That retreat turned into full flight and he had to leave that universe and flee through the empty void to the next universe where he operated undisturbed for the next thousand years.

In this universe, as in any other on this plane of existence, he should never have been afraid of anything or anyone but he had learned to be wary of certain spiritual beings from other dimensions, in particular, that being which confused him in the beginning and who nearly managed to capture him. He couldn’t comprehend how an entity could be in the physical plane and yet have mastered the transition into the plane of spiritual existence as well, without having the connecting life cord which he could easily have severed, to destroy the physical body and thereby enslaving the spirit. He was accustomed to human spirits traveling through the astral plane but they all had to be connected by their life cords at all times.

He was aware that his fellow ‘beings’ from his own domain were searching for him, but they had hundreds of billions of universes and dimensions to search through and he felt quite safe from them. He was also aware that he did have certain weaknesses in this cosmic plane that, being out of touch with his own kind, he was unable to call for assistance and re-enforcements. Any assistance he was able to call on in this spiritual plane were stupid and needed constant supervision. He also knew that his own kind would eventually take note of the upheaval that was taking place in this cosmic sector and they would realize that it had to be his doing. They would pinpoint his hide-away and come looking for him. He was also acutely aware that being so far advanced above the beings on this plane, he was unable to fully understand their psyche and reasoning, and could therefore not accurately predict what their reactions in certain situations would be.

However, he had to now concentrate on attacking his old enemy and attempt to destroy him while his energy was drained and while he would be too weak to offer much resistance.

***

The emperor flashed through the strange universe, traversing his route to the black and empty separating divide. He was feeling well pleased with his meeting with the president of the important galaxy in this universe and he felt more relaxed now that he had the president’s assurance that he could call on him if the time came when he might need more assistance than could be had from his own universe. He had arranged with the president that he would, through his spiritual contacts in the ‘other’ dimension, link their spiritual realm to the spiritual realm in this universe so they could compare notes regarding the threatening Dark Force.

As he sped through the black divide he was aware that, even though he now knew the properties of the divide, he was still being sapped of his energy, although he didn’t get as tired as the first time he had come back through it.

As he exited the great divide and entered his own familiar universe, the Dark Force rushed in to attack him, and although the emperor had felt the vibrations while coming through the divide and knew that his ancient enemy was close, the speed with which the Dark Force arrived and went into the attack took him completely by surprise!

There was no hesitation whatsoever! A bolt of raw energy sideswiped him and sent him flying! He had no control over his movements and it seemed to him he was tumbling through space for hours, until a steel vice took hold of his life force and squeezed. The pressure increased tremendously with each passing millisecond and he was aware that his waiting physical body couldn’t take much more of this punishment before his physical heart would give in!

Suddenly the pressure subsided and instead, he felt a force so powerful, he knew it would be futile to even try to resist, wrapping itself around his throat and began choking him! He made a feeble attempt to fight back, but could hardly get his spiritual body to move. With super willpower and determination, he smashed his stiffly pointed fingers into the throat of the ‘being’ attacking him and immediately repeated the action a second time. As expected, he felt the grip on his throat weaken for a split second, and he tore himself free and hurled himself away from his attacker.

With the last of his fading strength, he attempted to flee across the universe. He wasn’t even aware if he was going in the right direction! All he wanted to do was to get as far away as possible. He was now acting purely on instinct as he realized he had used up all his reserve power and energy. There was nothing left in him to fight with and he didn’t get very far before a renewed attack was launched against him.

***

Back in the emperor’s private lounge his friends, having prepared themselves, were keeping vigil over his inert body. They noticed the stresses it was suddenly going through and realized that their friend’s spirit was in some sort of trouble. Thinking he might have run out of energy within the great empty divide, two of them immediately rushed off to help him.

Because they were not at the advanced stage of development the emperor had reached a long time ago, their racing spirits were firmly attached to their life cords and their inert physical bodies. Within seconds they had reached the emperor where he was once again in the powerful ‘being’s’ grip. He was barely hanging on to life when his two friends attacked. The Dark Force, totally surprised by this attack, let go of his nearly comatose enemy to take on the two presumptuous attackers.

The emperor, grabbing a quick chance to recover as much as he could before going back into battle to join his friends, sent off a distress call to the spirits in the ‘other’ dimension and called for urgent assistance.

The distress call was received by the ever-vigilant sentries who immediately relayed the request to the special section of highly trained specialist spirits. This squad of battle-ready spirits was on continuous standby, always on the alert to go to the assistance of a spirit under attack by minions of the Dark Force who, they suspected, resided within the dark void. They rushed off at all possible speed knowing this could be the battle they’ve been trained for, to capture the Dark Force.

The powerful Dark One felt the vibrations of the fast-approaching force in the fabric of space and suspecting that even more of them would be following. He decided to beat a retreat and flee back to his dark refuge, to the east of the Andromeda galaxy, which was impenetrable to all but him and his minions.

The special squad of attacking spirits, as they approached, took note of the fast disappearing Dark Force and set off after him, but he was much too fast for them and easily managed to escape into the void.

The attacking force attempted to enter the void but found it impossible to penetrate. At least they were now aware of where their enemy resided, and they would find ways of invading his space and attacking him and his spirit minions.

While the squad pursued the Dark Force, the emperor, assisted by his two friends, made his way back to his waiting body and quickly entered it. He needed a long and relaxing rest to regain his full spiritual strength and energy.

***

In the domain of the spirit beings in the ‘other’ dimension, in the council chamber of an exotic and strange looking building of gigantic proportions, a meeting was in progress with the full gathering of Senators in attendance. The full senate numbered one hundred and seventy-four members, including the Prime Minister, Jenobar Verdamuntalikuun. At that extra-ordinary and urgent meeting, the one hundred and seventy-fifth person seated in the senate chamber was the emperor of the Milky Way galaxy, a man who had no name and was only known by his title. Although scholars and historians both on Earth and Galanta have searched through the ancient records to find any clue or reference to a name they could associate him with, they came up with nothing at all and of course the emperor himself wasn’t telling.

Your Highness, the prime minister looked from the emperor to the ministers around the chamber, I’m sure I speak for all of us present here when I welcome you back and tell you that I’m very pleased to hear that you didn’t suffer any lasting damage from your confrontation. I do believe if our special force didn’t arrive just when they did, this galaxy would be in dire straits right now. So, on the strength of that, I’m going to make my first proposal to be put to the vote. I strongly recommend that we dedicate a small detachment of our special force to act as your permanent bodyguard. There is no way, at this stage, that this universe can afford to lose you, and being aware that the Dark Force has made it part of his mission to overpower you and enslave you, I’m sure you must agree with my proposal.

"Your excellency, I’ll be the first to admit that I need protection when I venture out of my physical body. My close friends who guard my body are indeed sufficient protection for just that, but I will admit that they are not trained to do combat, and therefore it would be unwise of me to expect them to protect me on any of my out-of-body excursions. I therefore gratefully accept your suggestion and agree to your force protecting me. But, I want to make it quite clear that this situation will only be effective until we have captured the Dark Force and managed to incarcerate him. He is the only threat to my safety in the universe and with him out of the way I will feel quite safe again. This entity came from a much higher plane and belongs to a species far beyond any of us, both physical and spiritual."

So be it then, are we unanimous in this vote? The prime minister looked around the chamber and registered the silent vote of each minister. "Good, I’m glad to say we still think along similar lines. My second proposal for this session is something I think will set the emperor’s mind at ease. I again strongly suggest that, as these are dangerous times we’re going through, with such a powerful and dangerous ‘being’ as the Dark Force deciding the time was right for him to take the universe on and become more aggressive, we should now unleash the first phase of the contingency plan we’ve prepared so long ago, and put our defence forces on alert for instant action. No longer will our forces be limited to the defence of our universe only, but they will be made available to take action wherever the Dark Force or his minions decide to attack. Thanks to the emperor’s valiant battle with this powerful foe we are now aware of the proximity of his refuge. We are working on ways to