The Asteroid War - A Quick Review
DescriptionA review quickly recapping the second part of The Asteroid Saga before you begin following the adventures of King Trimdin, Tim, and Claren in The Asteroid Home. The saga continues on December 31, exclusively on WRTN.
MessageWe recommend reading The Asteroid War to form your own opinions about the book.
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WRTN/The Asteroid SagaIntroductionOn March 13, 2022, The Asteroid Parts (TAP) was released on WRTN. Since then, two official sequels have been announced: The Asteroid War (TAW) and The Asteroid Home (TAH). And since TAW released on August 8, that means that all there is left is TAH, which releases on December 31. So, we have decided to make this article, one that will quickly review the second part of the saga so you don't have to read it again (or read it for the first time). Just be aware that you absolutely have to read TAP and TAW or their respective quick reviews to understand The Asteroid Home. So, let's get started.
Prologue to Chapter 3The prologue of The Asteroid War is exactly the same as the epilogue of The Asteroid Parts, meaning its story leads exactly into this one. We have the establishment and declaration of the war that is to be fought against the rich and evil Quinten with his revenge-fueled army. He, as we discovered in TAP, is the alien who propped up The Queen and got Trimdin's brother killed. So, we have this encounter, and then we jump right into Chapter 1: The Dawn of War. Trimdin gets ready, calling for all his armed forces and strategists to ready for a fight. There is no doubt in his mind that he will win, that Quinten will be crushed.
As we transition into the next chapter, Before We Go, we are told that Quinten is a trickster; that he knows how to play the game of war much better than the under-experienced Trimdin. But The King tells it off, preparing to give an empowering speech to his subjects, going into detail about why he was going to war and how he needed to root the evil of Quinten out of The Belt. And he succeeds in that, rallying his subjects to fight for him, convincing them that his mission was not one of revenge, but rather freedom.
The First Attack seems to be a fairly sensible title for the third chapter of a story about war. In it, we see King Trimdin's first-ever act of battle as he invades an elite district where Quinten and his followers are based. Everything seems to be going well, as they storm the walls and line every street with royal soldiers. Trimdin remains in the air, using his Godly powers gained after killing The Queen to survey the base from above. Quickly, they discover that everything is abandoned, as individual teams inspect different sectors of the site. Eventually, Trimdin is cleared for landing, and soon discovers that one of the teams—the Blue battalion—has gone missing in one of the homes. So, with a collection of special forces agents, he heads to the home that left the team's location in question, where they find a bizarre bureau in a decrepit bedroom with a staircase behind it. Tension is high as the mystery continues. Trimdin can tell something is off, but prays that nothing will happen. Quickly, The King and his guards make it down to the bottom of the stairs, where they discover a strange vault door surrounded by a dark room. Everyone is on edge now.
Chapter 4 to Chapter 5Chapter 4, which is called Quinten, finally introduces the villain a bit more. Now, after Trimdin's team makes it down to the vault, some of the soldiers suggest they should inspect the rest of the space while the other ones decode the vault's password so they can enter. Trimdin agrees, letting sixteen of them go while four, including a new character named Kiran, stay. Kiran, who will become important and a friend of Trimdin's further in the story, is the one with the decoding device, that, with a bit of finagling, gets what they need to open the door. BUT, seconds later, the rest of the legion that left who went to inspect the room comes back, saying they found dead bodies. The bodies of the Blue battalion, that is. With haste, everyone activates their shield and lifted up their weapons as the door makes a buzzing sound. But what's in it shocks them all. Behind the armored door, a horde of separatists stood. And in front of them was the last alien any of them wanted to see: Quinten, holding a loaded blaster in a kevlar suit.
Bad Blood is the next part, as we see the full-blown issues between the two enemies explode. Trimdin and Quinten have a long and complicated history, one that is directly explored here. We learn about Quinten's pugnacious behavior, about his antagonistic nature. But, at the same time, we see the rage and anger built up within Trimdin release as he confidently talks back, prepared to pounce at any moment. They talk about power, about dreams, about Trimdin's brother, and the conversation starts to gain more and more friction the longer it goes. So, eventually, Quinten ends it, revealing his true intentions. Out of nowhere, he gets a call from the surface, where Trimdin's army is, and we learn some terrible news: they're all dead. You see, while the two aliens were "having a dick-waving contest," Quinten cut off all radio communication and ordered his army to attack, crushing them. Obviously, this comes as a shock to Trimdin and his crew, who assumed that Quinten's army would be with him in the bunker itself or dispersed in other places. Trimdin's hubris and inability to expect the unexpected got hundreds killed, and Quinten offers him the final ultimatum—to either surrender or be crushed by his coup—soon after closing the bunker door on them, giving him no time to react. The bombshell was dropped, the news uncovered, and now Trimdin had to deal with it.
Chapter 6 to Chapter 8Regroup & Refocus is exactly that, as King Trimdin has just suffered the first mass casualty of the war. And, according to him, it will be the last. Very quickly, he realizes how damaging this war is going to be, and that he is way too underprepared to take on a seasoned strategist like Quinten. He, Kiran, and everyone else are traumatized by what they see as they exit the house over the bunker, quoted in the story as this: "Every commander, officer, and soldier was killed brutally. Machine guns were newly mounted and fresh out of ammo; thermal detonators left shrapnel on the ground; the bones and brains of his loyal subjects were smeared on the roads." An extremely brutal scene, to say the least, and it makes Trimdin rethink everything. He brings everyone back to The Capital, back to their homes, and reflects. The King thinks about many things: about his brother, about the legacy he wants to leave, about how to handle such an evil and dedicated man. And the thing that he comes to is that he should fight it how his brother, who was king before The Queen killed him, would do. He knew that he would be the better man, that he would go above the trivial and trick-filled practices of Quinten. He knew that he needed to end the war.
Hardships of Ruling, the heartfelt seventh chapter, is a broadcasted speech to his citizens explaining the loss they experienced and the ultimatum that Quinten offered. He decides to take honesty to its fullest, coming clean about the war and its true meaning. Of course, it was never JUST about ending Quinten's tyranny and saving The Belt; no, it was also about getting back at him for the murder of his brother. Trimdin felt more than responsible for the death and pain caused by it, but acknowledged that it is now up to them if they want to follow him or Quinten. They can choose whether or not he should surrender, whether or not they want a liar or a tyrant. And that's where he leaves it, ending the telecast, telling the crew to go home, and promptly going to bed. The outcome truly unknown.
King Trimdin wakes up in Rising Tension after a long night. Sleep was a struggle, as Trimdin’s mind flashed with images of the events that occurred. The bunker, Quinten, the dead bodies; snapshots of the battle flipped through his head. It was so vivid, so clear; he relived every moment, the torture so real. Eventually, as the morning came, Kiran runs to his bedroom and tells Trimdin that there are many uprises across The Belt, that there were many calls for and against him, and that Quinten's army was confirmed to be on its way. Obviously, this is not the greatest news for poor Trimdin, but it wakes him right up, as right after he tells Kiran what she and the rest of the Royal Army will do: not fight, only defend. And while that was supposed to happen, Trimdin would work with his advisors (what's left of them) to come up with a plan to beat Quinten. She listens and does so, bringing the orders to everyone else. At the very, very, very end of the chapter, we get a glimpse into Quinten's side of things, as we see his forces assembled in an unknown location. There, the walls were lined with thousands of weapons, ranging from poison needles to automatic drone sentries. Each soldier grabbed the weapons assigned to them, all taking a plethora of ammunition and an extra “surprise” explosive, just in case. They swiftly put on their armor and lined up in battle-ready formation. Their plan was simple: half of the fighters would march on the surface towards the city while the others entered a secret tunnel system, leading them straight to the heart of the capital. That was how they were going to sneak up on King Trimdin; that was how they were going to win. And fortunately for him, his plan seemed to perfectly formalize... at first.
Chapter 9 to Chapter 10The last few chapters of TAW are likely the longest, craziest, and most emotionally intense ones of the entire saga. We start off with The Final Stand, a doozy of a title to say the least, as we are launched right into the command room with King Trimdin and his advisors. Quinten's army is bound to arrive soon, so they are preparing to make the final decision: whether to surrender Trimdin or fight. Many suggestions are thrown out, ideas spinning around their heads, trying to grasp themselves in their heads. But nothing worked, time was running out, and more subjects than ever want The King out of power. So, Trimdin makes his choice, settling for the voice of the people, and tells his advisors to leave. Quickly, they all escape to The Grandiant, a ship that will take them off The Capital. This leaves him alone, now ready to surrender to the being he hated so much. At an almost strangely perfect time, Quinten calls Trimdin, asking him about the final decision. Quinten, surprised yet joyous over the conclusion, gets the secret team that invaded via the courtyard to capture The King, wanting him brought to the secret location mentioned in Chapter 8.
Now, Trimdin, who is blindfolded, handcuffed, and has a special collar around his neck, is transported by the enemy army out of The Capital, his soldiers, including Kiran, watching in shock. They see their rightful ruler loaded into a vehicle and towed off with no respect. Quickly, King Trimdin makes it to Quinten, lifted out, led down a strange set of stairs, and tied to a chair. The eye covering was torn off, revealing to the restrained ruler his rival. “Trimdin,” Quinten says slyly to him. Soon after, we learn the true intention of Trimdin's surrender. Yet again, Quinten has deceived him, forcing him into a duel. It is also revealed that the collar around Trimdin's neck is one that stops him from using his magic, using his Godly powers, meaning he is just as weak and mortal as his counterpart. Now, according to Quinten, the future of The Belt is left to a one-on-one fight between the two, the victor to be soon chosen.
"Coincidentally," the tenth and final chapter of The Asteroid War is titled A Victor Has Been Chosen. That was totally accidental. In it, we get right into the duel between the two enemies, the bad blood (get it) of before finally being drawn. Trimdin and Quinten faced each other alone, blades in hand, ready to fight. The polished steel of both weapons lightly glistened in the dim light of the room, giving slight beauty to the dire situation. Both got into fighting positions, standing mere meters away from one another, pointing the tips of their daggers at their respective foe. And in no time, they get to fighting, both rushing toward each other with no hesitation, clashing quickly. Throughout this part of the story, we get a bunch of exposition about the world of The Asteroid Saga and the reasons behind Quinten's rampage of The Belt. He goes into detail about the Cross-Belitan Wars, a collection of battles fought between The Belt and a new entity, the Kuipernians, who live in the Kuiper Belt on the outer edges of the solar system. Quinten describes the brutality of it all, saying that he was one of the many soldiers during it. He talks about the pain it caused many, including him, as he lost someone close to him. He tends to call them his "Master," someone who seemed to have been a father figure that taught him everything he knew in the military about strategizing. That is why he wants to take over The Belt: to get back at the Kuipernians for what they did to them. He believes that Trimdin, along with his brother who ended the wars himself, is causing them to be weak. Quinten wants them to control, to dominate, to devastate, and that's why he is doing what he does. Obviously, this is ridiculous and disrespectful to everything he and his brother did to keep The Belt safe, but this didn't matter to Quinten. Also, while all of this talking is going on, they are both still fighting, and by the end of this point, Quinten has his sword near Trimdin's neck, ready to slice it. But he does not have the upper hand for long...
The only problem with Quinten's placement of his sword is that it is right under Trimdin's restrictive collar. AND, at the same time, Trimdin's blade is right under his, meaning he is in the perfect position to leverage off. So he does, pushing away his enemy and slicing off the very thing stopping him from crushing Quinten. Within moments, the Devil himself realized what happened, backing away from his fully-powered rival, calling for backup immediately. With ease, Trimdin flies into the air and thwarts these plans, pushing the guards meant to protect Quinten away. He was now ready to beat his furious ass (it's a joke in the book, maybe you should read the actual thing to get it). So, with Quinten seemingly stranded and defeated, he accepts his fate, asking Trimdin the all-important question: "So now, your majesty, what will it be for me? Death, or a lifetime in prison?" Trimdin had come all the way there, all the way to the point where he could finally get what he wanted for so long, but knew that it would never bring him the happiness he initially thought it could. So, what is he to do? Well, Quinten makes the decision easy for him, as, in a sudden move, he lifts his sword to his neck, threatening to slice it. Quickly, Trimdin tries to stop him, telling him it is not worth it, shocked by the unusual move by his seemingly selfish enemy. Though unfortunately for The King, Quinten made a swift move, committing suicide and catching Trimdin off guard. He promptly sank to the ground, blood surrounding him, the once powerful enemy of King Trimdin laying dead in front of him. Trimdin floated motionless, shrouded with horror, realizing what had just happened. He quickly dropped out of the air, falling to his knees next to the corpse.
There are no words to be had by King Trimdin; nothing is said. Quietly, he gets up, lifting the body of his enemy into the air with his magic and walking toward the exit of the bunker they were in. But as he did so, one of the soldiers from before (the ones he pushed back) started to move, and, soon after, started yelling at The King. “'King Trimdin!' they shouted in discomfort. 'Yes?' he responded, wiping off some tears. 'Where the hell do you think you are going with him?'” This new situation at hand, especially after such a tragic death, is strange to Trimdin, but he continues the conversation, curious as to where it was going. Though he soon regrets doing that, because as it talk continues, he learns that this soldier was one of the many victims of the Cross-Beltian Wars, just like Quinten. And, as it progresses, the one on the ground starts to move his hand toward his belt, pulling out a grenade. Trimdin quickly notices what he is about to do and tries to calm them down. But he fails as he this happens: “This is for my family, motherfu—” The handle was let go. Boom." Yes, the soldier lets go and an explosion occurs. King Trimdin swiftly puts a shield around himself and Quinten's carcass, running up the staircase he once came down and flying away, the orange void following him. He quickly scooped Quinten's communicator from him, turning to royal stations in desperation.
While all of that madness was going on, the two armies were still in The Captial, not really doing much. They were at a sort of ceasefire, as neither side had any significant command. But the generals on Quinten's side of things started to get rowdy, randomly shooting anyone on either side who was trying to leave the battle. Unsurprisingly, Kiran is there to see it all, and is worried about what was happening with The King. She knew things were only going to get worse if there were no signs of a victor. Though that is when King Trimdin came through, as crackles started to come through on Kiran's radio. She picks it up, asks who it is, and learns that it is Trimdin. They have an illusive conversation, but it ends with Kiran going up to the podium where Before We Go's speech was. She rushes up there, hooking the device up to a wire under the stand, and the speakers in the area ring. Instantly, the attention of every soldier on the ground was obtained, both friend and foe staring at the confident Kiran. Then, she tells everyone that The King has an important message for everyone, mentioning that he should be subtle. But King Trimdin does not listen, saying this iconic line: "No. Quinten is DEAD. A victor has been chosen..."
I told you these chapters are long! Anyway, the last part of A Victor Has Been Chosen takes place two days later. King Trimdin is on his throne, preparing to give his last speech of the war. When he is ready, he walks out of his castle to the all-important podium, stating this: “The Asteroid War is over." Obviously, this is a powerful line, as it is not only the title of the story, but marks the official end of the pain and suffering caused by it in the story. The rest of his monologue talks about the lessons learned, the evils ended, and the effects it will have on his rule. He tells the citizens of The Belt that he was going to bring a new era to them, a better world, one that is free, safe, and financially secure. There would be no wealth gaps, be no fighting: peace and prosperity are most important to him. And he also mentions a memorial, one that would be built to respect those lost by not only his war, but all wars, wanting to stop the revenge-fueled cycle from continuing. When he finished, he tells them "we won," and walks off the stage, ready for what was next. But the last line of it all is one of my favorites, as it perfectly ends the story. "And only one thought coursed through the sad yet satisfied mind of King Trimdin: My brother would be proud."
EpilogueThe epilogue of TAW is combined with that of The End, an adjacent yet standalone story made by Jason Elhilow, where a nuclear apocalypse happens. In the first half of it, we see the return of two VERY important characters "3 Months After The Departure" back to their home planet. Quickly, they find that it has been destroyed, and this leaves them confused. Both had just returned after a failed mission to Pluto, so to see the Earth in shambles was quite problematic. Hastily, they try to see if anyone is left, and of course, you would think they would get nothing. But they do, as they get an SOS being sent out from the local International Freedom Station (IFS), which was still in orbit. Moments later, they rush over there, hoping that someone would still be there. But when they arrived, they found it empty and dark, no life persisting. The depressed men find no comfort in that, but they try their best to explore the station, the engineer of the two actually able to get the station back on and mostly functioning. So, they decide to stay in it, their ship too beat up to go anywhere and their lives too valuable to lose. They were the last of humanity.
The second half of the epilogue takes place "6 Months After The Departure," meaning time has passed since we last saw these men. They are still in the IFS, aimlessly sending messages out into space and praying that something, somewhere would hear them. They themselves discovered what happened to Earth, now knowing a bit more about their species' end, but not having the full picture. All hope had been lost at that point, nothing but their desperation keeping them alive. But, little did they know, the radio messages that they were sending you were soon to be heard. After a light conversation between the men occurred, a transmission came in. “Udenfy ves, ths ryal comuncte lne of Trm-King, du yo cpy,” they said, surprising the men. Quickly, they got up and sped toward their communicator, shocked to hear that something was finally coming through. They answered instantly, not recognizing the strange language but knowing that they needed help. A back-and-forth conversation happened, as the men tried to understand what the other being was saying over the radio. But then, they brought up the most important information they could. “Help! Do you need our names? We are Tim and Claren, and we need help.” Yep, in a totally shocking turn of events, the illusive "men" are Tim and Claren. So, I'm sure you will be shocked to find out that the guys on the other end are no other than their alien friends in The Belt. The moment the alien heard those names, it went silent, going to grab the translator they needed: King Trimdin. The men were confused by the lack of response, but the minute they heard the comforting and slightly booming voice of Trimdin, they knew what was happening. Minutes later, they arranged for Trimdin to pick them up from the space station, the men hopping into their now-repaired vehicle and getting absorbed by The Grandiant, Trimdin's Royal ship. And soon, they blasted off towards The Asteroid Belt, toward their new home. Toward a new beginning.
ConclusionOn December 31, 2022, The Asteroid Home will release, showcasing the results of Tim and Claren back in the battered Asteroid Belt for their final adventure in the saga's original trilogy. This is a direct sequel, so if you plan to read it, read TAP and TAW as well. Simply put, this is just a supplement, but the real thing is so much better, more complete, and overall, higher quality. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this truly quick overview, and optimistically, it encourages you to read TAH when it releases. The Asteroid Saga is a truly interesting tale to read, as its narrative unfolds and gets deeper each time. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns about the saga/trilogy or any other stories on WRTN Books, email us at wrtnmedia@gmail.com.
Prologue to Chapter 3The prologue of The Asteroid War is exactly the same as the epilogue of The Asteroid Parts, meaning its story leads exactly into this one. We have the establishment and declaration of the war that is to be fought against the rich and evil Quinten with his revenge-fueled army. He, as we discovered in TAP, is the alien who propped up The Queen and got Trimdin's brother killed. So, we have this encounter, and then we jump right into Chapter 1: The Dawn of War. Trimdin gets ready, calling for all his armed forces and strategists to ready for a fight. There is no doubt in his mind that he will win, that Quinten will be crushed.
As we transition into the next chapter, Before We Go, we are told that Quinten is a trickster; that he knows how to play the game of war much better than the under-experienced Trimdin. But The King tells it off, preparing to give an empowering speech to his subjects, going into detail about why he was going to war and how he needed to root the evil of Quinten out of The Belt. And he succeeds in that, rallying his subjects to fight for him, convincing them that his mission was not one of revenge, but rather freedom.
The First Attack seems to be a fairly sensible title for the third chapter of a story about war. In it, we see King Trimdin's first-ever act of battle as he invades an elite district where Quinten and his followers are based. Everything seems to be going well, as they storm the walls and line every street with royal soldiers. Trimdin remains in the air, using his Godly powers gained after killing The Queen to survey the base from above. Quickly, they discover that everything is abandoned, as individual teams inspect different sectors of the site. Eventually, Trimdin is cleared for landing, and soon discovers that one of the teams—the Blue battalion—has gone missing in one of the homes. So, with a collection of special forces agents, he heads to the home that left the team's location in question, where they find a bizarre bureau in a decrepit bedroom with a staircase behind it. Tension is high as the mystery continues. Trimdin can tell something is off, but prays that nothing will happen. Quickly, The King and his guards make it down to the bottom of the stairs, where they discover a strange vault door surrounded by a dark room. Everyone is on edge now.
Chapter 4 to Chapter 5Chapter 4, which is called Quinten, finally introduces the villain a bit more. Now, after Trimdin's team makes it down to the vault, some of the soldiers suggest they should inspect the rest of the space while the other ones decode the vault's password so they can enter. Trimdin agrees, letting sixteen of them go while four, including a new character named Kiran, stay. Kiran, who will become important and a friend of Trimdin's further in the story, is the one with the decoding device, that, with a bit of finagling, gets what they need to open the door. BUT, seconds later, the rest of the legion that left who went to inspect the room comes back, saying they found dead bodies. The bodies of the Blue battalion, that is. With haste, everyone activates their shield and lifted up their weapons as the door makes a buzzing sound. But what's in it shocks them all. Behind the armored door, a horde of separatists stood. And in front of them was the last alien any of them wanted to see: Quinten, holding a loaded blaster in a kevlar suit.
Bad Blood is the next part, as we see the full-blown issues between the two enemies explode. Trimdin and Quinten have a long and complicated history, one that is directly explored here. We learn about Quinten's pugnacious behavior, about his antagonistic nature. But, at the same time, we see the rage and anger built up within Trimdin release as he confidently talks back, prepared to pounce at any moment. They talk about power, about dreams, about Trimdin's brother, and the conversation starts to gain more and more friction the longer it goes. So, eventually, Quinten ends it, revealing his true intentions. Out of nowhere, he gets a call from the surface, where Trimdin's army is, and we learn some terrible news: they're all dead. You see, while the two aliens were "having a dick-waving contest," Quinten cut off all radio communication and ordered his army to attack, crushing them. Obviously, this comes as a shock to Trimdin and his crew, who assumed that Quinten's army would be with him in the bunker itself or dispersed in other places. Trimdin's hubris and inability to expect the unexpected got hundreds killed, and Quinten offers him the final ultimatum—to either surrender or be crushed by his coup—soon after closing the bunker door on them, giving him no time to react. The bombshell was dropped, the news uncovered, and now Trimdin had to deal with it.
Chapter 6 to Chapter 8Regroup & Refocus is exactly that, as King Trimdin has just suffered the first mass casualty of the war. And, according to him, it will be the last. Very quickly, he realizes how damaging this war is going to be, and that he is way too underprepared to take on a seasoned strategist like Quinten. He, Kiran, and everyone else are traumatized by what they see as they exit the house over the bunker, quoted in the story as this: "Every commander, officer, and soldier was killed brutally. Machine guns were newly mounted and fresh out of ammo; thermal detonators left shrapnel on the ground; the bones and brains of his loyal subjects were smeared on the roads." An extremely brutal scene, to say the least, and it makes Trimdin rethink everything. He brings everyone back to The Capital, back to their homes, and reflects. The King thinks about many things: about his brother, about the legacy he wants to leave, about how to handle such an evil and dedicated man. And the thing that he comes to is that he should fight it how his brother, who was king before The Queen killed him, would do. He knew that he would be the better man, that he would go above the trivial and trick-filled practices of Quinten. He knew that he needed to end the war.
Hardships of Ruling, the heartfelt seventh chapter, is a broadcasted speech to his citizens explaining the loss they experienced and the ultimatum that Quinten offered. He decides to take honesty to its fullest, coming clean about the war and its true meaning. Of course, it was never JUST about ending Quinten's tyranny and saving The Belt; no, it was also about getting back at him for the murder of his brother. Trimdin felt more than responsible for the death and pain caused by it, but acknowledged that it is now up to them if they want to follow him or Quinten. They can choose whether or not he should surrender, whether or not they want a liar or a tyrant. And that's where he leaves it, ending the telecast, telling the crew to go home, and promptly going to bed. The outcome truly unknown.
King Trimdin wakes up in Rising Tension after a long night. Sleep was a struggle, as Trimdin’s mind flashed with images of the events that occurred. The bunker, Quinten, the dead bodies; snapshots of the battle flipped through his head. It was so vivid, so clear; he relived every moment, the torture so real. Eventually, as the morning came, Kiran runs to his bedroom and tells Trimdin that there are many uprises across The Belt, that there were many calls for and against him, and that Quinten's army was confirmed to be on its way. Obviously, this is not the greatest news for poor Trimdin, but it wakes him right up, as right after he tells Kiran what she and the rest of the Royal Army will do: not fight, only defend. And while that was supposed to happen, Trimdin would work with his advisors (what's left of them) to come up with a plan to beat Quinten. She listens and does so, bringing the orders to everyone else. At the very, very, very end of the chapter, we get a glimpse into Quinten's side of things, as we see his forces assembled in an unknown location. There, the walls were lined with thousands of weapons, ranging from poison needles to automatic drone sentries. Each soldier grabbed the weapons assigned to them, all taking a plethora of ammunition and an extra “surprise” explosive, just in case. They swiftly put on their armor and lined up in battle-ready formation. Their plan was simple: half of the fighters would march on the surface towards the city while the others entered a secret tunnel system, leading them straight to the heart of the capital. That was how they were going to sneak up on King Trimdin; that was how they were going to win. And fortunately for him, his plan seemed to perfectly formalize... at first.
Chapter 9 to Chapter 10The last few chapters of TAW are likely the longest, craziest, and most emotionally intense ones of the entire saga. We start off with The Final Stand, a doozy of a title to say the least, as we are launched right into the command room with King Trimdin and his advisors. Quinten's army is bound to arrive soon, so they are preparing to make the final decision: whether to surrender Trimdin or fight. Many suggestions are thrown out, ideas spinning around their heads, trying to grasp themselves in their heads. But nothing worked, time was running out, and more subjects than ever want The King out of power. So, Trimdin makes his choice, settling for the voice of the people, and tells his advisors to leave. Quickly, they all escape to The Grandiant, a ship that will take them off The Capital. This leaves him alone, now ready to surrender to the being he hated so much. At an almost strangely perfect time, Quinten calls Trimdin, asking him about the final decision. Quinten, surprised yet joyous over the conclusion, gets the secret team that invaded via the courtyard to capture The King, wanting him brought to the secret location mentioned in Chapter 8.
Now, Trimdin, who is blindfolded, handcuffed, and has a special collar around his neck, is transported by the enemy army out of The Capital, his soldiers, including Kiran, watching in shock. They see their rightful ruler loaded into a vehicle and towed off with no respect. Quickly, King Trimdin makes it to Quinten, lifted out, led down a strange set of stairs, and tied to a chair. The eye covering was torn off, revealing to the restrained ruler his rival. “Trimdin,” Quinten says slyly to him. Soon after, we learn the true intention of Trimdin's surrender. Yet again, Quinten has deceived him, forcing him into a duel. It is also revealed that the collar around Trimdin's neck is one that stops him from using his magic, using his Godly powers, meaning he is just as weak and mortal as his counterpart. Now, according to Quinten, the future of The Belt is left to a one-on-one fight between the two, the victor to be soon chosen.
"Coincidentally," the tenth and final chapter of The Asteroid War is titled A Victor Has Been Chosen. That was totally accidental. In it, we get right into the duel between the two enemies, the bad blood (get it) of before finally being drawn. Trimdin and Quinten faced each other alone, blades in hand, ready to fight. The polished steel of both weapons lightly glistened in the dim light of the room, giving slight beauty to the dire situation. Both got into fighting positions, standing mere meters away from one another, pointing the tips of their daggers at their respective foe. And in no time, they get to fighting, both rushing toward each other with no hesitation, clashing quickly. Throughout this part of the story, we get a bunch of exposition about the world of The Asteroid Saga and the reasons behind Quinten's rampage of The Belt. He goes into detail about the Cross-Belitan Wars, a collection of battles fought between The Belt and a new entity, the Kuipernians, who live in the Kuiper Belt on the outer edges of the solar system. Quinten describes the brutality of it all, saying that he was one of the many soldiers during it. He talks about the pain it caused many, including him, as he lost someone close to him. He tends to call them his "Master," someone who seemed to have been a father figure that taught him everything he knew in the military about strategizing. That is why he wants to take over The Belt: to get back at the Kuipernians for what they did to them. He believes that Trimdin, along with his brother who ended the wars himself, is causing them to be weak. Quinten wants them to control, to dominate, to devastate, and that's why he is doing what he does. Obviously, this is ridiculous and disrespectful to everything he and his brother did to keep The Belt safe, but this didn't matter to Quinten. Also, while all of this talking is going on, they are both still fighting, and by the end of this point, Quinten has his sword near Trimdin's neck, ready to slice it. But he does not have the upper hand for long...
The only problem with Quinten's placement of his sword is that it is right under Trimdin's restrictive collar. AND, at the same time, Trimdin's blade is right under his, meaning he is in the perfect position to leverage off. So he does, pushing away his enemy and slicing off the very thing stopping him from crushing Quinten. Within moments, the Devil himself realized what happened, backing away from his fully-powered rival, calling for backup immediately. With ease, Trimdin flies into the air and thwarts these plans, pushing the guards meant to protect Quinten away. He was now ready to beat his furious ass (it's a joke in the book, maybe you should read the actual thing to get it). So, with Quinten seemingly stranded and defeated, he accepts his fate, asking Trimdin the all-important question: "So now, your majesty, what will it be for me? Death, or a lifetime in prison?" Trimdin had come all the way there, all the way to the point where he could finally get what he wanted for so long, but knew that it would never bring him the happiness he initially thought it could. So, what is he to do? Well, Quinten makes the decision easy for him, as, in a sudden move, he lifts his sword to his neck, threatening to slice it. Quickly, Trimdin tries to stop him, telling him it is not worth it, shocked by the unusual move by his seemingly selfish enemy. Though unfortunately for The King, Quinten made a swift move, committing suicide and catching Trimdin off guard. He promptly sank to the ground, blood surrounding him, the once powerful enemy of King Trimdin laying dead in front of him. Trimdin floated motionless, shrouded with horror, realizing what had just happened. He quickly dropped out of the air, falling to his knees next to the corpse.
There are no words to be had by King Trimdin; nothing is said. Quietly, he gets up, lifting the body of his enemy into the air with his magic and walking toward the exit of the bunker they were in. But as he did so, one of the soldiers from before (the ones he pushed back) started to move, and, soon after, started yelling at The King. “'King Trimdin!' they shouted in discomfort. 'Yes?' he responded, wiping off some tears. 'Where the hell do you think you are going with him?'” This new situation at hand, especially after such a tragic death, is strange to Trimdin, but he continues the conversation, curious as to where it was going. Though he soon regrets doing that, because as it talk continues, he learns that this soldier was one of the many victims of the Cross-Beltian Wars, just like Quinten. And, as it progresses, the one on the ground starts to move his hand toward his belt, pulling out a grenade. Trimdin quickly notices what he is about to do and tries to calm them down. But he fails as he this happens: “This is for my family, motherfu—” The handle was let go. Boom." Yes, the soldier lets go and an explosion occurs. King Trimdin swiftly puts a shield around himself and Quinten's carcass, running up the staircase he once came down and flying away, the orange void following him. He quickly scooped Quinten's communicator from him, turning to royal stations in desperation.
While all of that madness was going on, the two armies were still in The Captial, not really doing much. They were at a sort of ceasefire, as neither side had any significant command. But the generals on Quinten's side of things started to get rowdy, randomly shooting anyone on either side who was trying to leave the battle. Unsurprisingly, Kiran is there to see it all, and is worried about what was happening with The King. She knew things were only going to get worse if there were no signs of a victor. Though that is when King Trimdin came through, as crackles started to come through on Kiran's radio. She picks it up, asks who it is, and learns that it is Trimdin. They have an illusive conversation, but it ends with Kiran going up to the podium where Before We Go's speech was. She rushes up there, hooking the device up to a wire under the stand, and the speakers in the area ring. Instantly, the attention of every soldier on the ground was obtained, both friend and foe staring at the confident Kiran. Then, she tells everyone that The King has an important message for everyone, mentioning that he should be subtle. But King Trimdin does not listen, saying this iconic line: "No. Quinten is DEAD. A victor has been chosen..."
I told you these chapters are long! Anyway, the last part of A Victor Has Been Chosen takes place two days later. King Trimdin is on his throne, preparing to give his last speech of the war. When he is ready, he walks out of his castle to the all-important podium, stating this: “The Asteroid War is over." Obviously, this is a powerful line, as it is not only the title of the story, but marks the official end of the pain and suffering caused by it in the story. The rest of his monologue talks about the lessons learned, the evils ended, and the effects it will have on his rule. He tells the citizens of The Belt that he was going to bring a new era to them, a better world, one that is free, safe, and financially secure. There would be no wealth gaps, be no fighting: peace and prosperity are most important to him. And he also mentions a memorial, one that would be built to respect those lost by not only his war, but all wars, wanting to stop the revenge-fueled cycle from continuing. When he finished, he tells them "we won," and walks off the stage, ready for what was next. But the last line of it all is one of my favorites, as it perfectly ends the story. "And only one thought coursed through the sad yet satisfied mind of King Trimdin: My brother would be proud."
EpilogueThe epilogue of TAW is combined with that of The End, an adjacent yet standalone story made by Jason Elhilow, where a nuclear apocalypse happens. In the first half of it, we see the return of two VERY important characters "3 Months After The Departure" back to their home planet. Quickly, they find that it has been destroyed, and this leaves them confused. Both had just returned after a failed mission to Pluto, so to see the Earth in shambles was quite problematic. Hastily, they try to see if anyone is left, and of course, you would think they would get nothing. But they do, as they get an SOS being sent out from the local International Freedom Station (IFS), which was still in orbit. Moments later, they rush over there, hoping that someone would still be there. But when they arrived, they found it empty and dark, no life persisting. The depressed men find no comfort in that, but they try their best to explore the station, the engineer of the two actually able to get the station back on and mostly functioning. So, they decide to stay in it, their ship too beat up to go anywhere and their lives too valuable to lose. They were the last of humanity.
The second half of the epilogue takes place "6 Months After The Departure," meaning time has passed since we last saw these men. They are still in the IFS, aimlessly sending messages out into space and praying that something, somewhere would hear them. They themselves discovered what happened to Earth, now knowing a bit more about their species' end, but not having the full picture. All hope had been lost at that point, nothing but their desperation keeping them alive. But, little did they know, the radio messages that they were sending you were soon to be heard. After a light conversation between the men occurred, a transmission came in. “Udenfy ves, ths ryal comuncte lne of Trm-King, du yo cpy,” they said, surprising the men. Quickly, they got up and sped toward their communicator, shocked to hear that something was finally coming through. They answered instantly, not recognizing the strange language but knowing that they needed help. A back-and-forth conversation happened, as the men tried to understand what the other being was saying over the radio. But then, they brought up the most important information they could. “Help! Do you need our names? We are Tim and Claren, and we need help.” Yep, in a totally shocking turn of events, the illusive "men" are Tim and Claren. So, I'm sure you will be shocked to find out that the guys on the other end are no other than their alien friends in The Belt. The moment the alien heard those names, it went silent, going to grab the translator they needed: King Trimdin. The men were confused by the lack of response, but the minute they heard the comforting and slightly booming voice of Trimdin, they knew what was happening. Minutes later, they arranged for Trimdin to pick them up from the space station, the men hopping into their now-repaired vehicle and getting absorbed by The Grandiant, Trimdin's Royal ship. And soon, they blasted off towards The Asteroid Belt, toward their new home. Toward a new beginning.
ConclusionOn December 31, 2022, The Asteroid Home will release, showcasing the results of Tim and Claren back in the battered Asteroid Belt for their final adventure in the saga's original trilogy. This is a direct sequel, so if you plan to read it, read TAP and TAW as well. Simply put, this is just a supplement, but the real thing is so much better, more complete, and overall, higher quality. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this truly quick overview, and optimistically, it encourages you to read TAH when it releases. The Asteroid Saga is a truly interesting tale to read, as its narrative unfolds and gets deeper each time. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns about the saga/trilogy or any other stories on WRTN Books, email us at wrtnmedia@gmail.com.
