10,000 years after the adventures of Rowan and Jacor, the Divided Lands are united under a planetary government, which is part of a galactic Federation. Many things have changed - man now travels the stars and aliens walk among us - but the Templars still exist. As in the days of yore, they still work to maintain the peace and preserve justice.
The Princess of one of the Federation planets had been kidnapped. The Templars tracked her to the ancient Temple of Zircon on a jungle world in Imperial territory. Getting her back required a covert operation by a small team. The Templars send in Brother Rugen and his robot sidekick, TSD-95A ("Tee" for short). The following account is culled from the TSD unit's video record.
Rugen and Tee landed their runabout in a clearing a couple of miles from the Temple. From there, they marched on foot through the dense, fetid jungle. Despite the vegetation, they could see the top of the main pyramid towering overhead. As they proceeded, they heard movement ahead. Tee scanned the disturbance, and identified two rat-like natives moving furtively, looking over their shoulders in fear. Rugen stepped out of the brush into their path. They jumped like startled deer, but Rugen reassured them. He learned that they were escapees from the temple. Rugen was able to acquire their worshiper robes so that he and Tee could move unhindered around the temple.
They continued on their way through the jungle until suddenly they heard a massive creature rushing at them. Before they could react, a giant, white ape with six limbs leaped at them.
Tee was able to duck, but the beast smashed a huge fist into Rugen's face, knocking him to the ground. The beast then grabbed Rugen and proceeded to shake him like a rag doll. Tee tried to line up a shot of his stun beam, but he could not fire for fear of hitting Rugen. The beast proceeded to pound on Rugen. Tee finally snapped off a shot, hitting the beast in the back. In its rage, it slung Rugen across the pathway and into a tree. Badly wounded, Rugen slumped against the trunk. The ape, teeth bared in a frenzy of hate, charged the young Templar. Tee shot; the beast stumbled but kept coming. Suddenly, Rugen flicked on his stun sword and thrust it into the ape's chest. It went down like a malfunctioning anti-grav unit. Rugen gave Tee a smile, then collapsed upon the beast.
The second part of the adventure coming soon!
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