AEDa4
Ruling a section of the Fhetat has its advantages. Kings are capable of marvelous things, but they are under constant pressure to prove to their subjects that they wield their power to the benefit of all families in the section. Kings are chosen by birthright, or by overthrowing the sitting monarch, but no transition of power is complete until the crown is passed to a new king. This is a lesson that many leaders of failed coups have learned the hard way.
S16 is known as the most intellectual of the Fhetat’s sections and inhabitants are proud that it was their ancestors who had allowed for the advancement of the Fhetatian species with the creation of technologies that allows them to colonize almost any large rock in the universe. Since that time, though, S16s hadn’t made any significant advancements in technology and it became harder for the section to tout its intellectual prowess.
Not that intellect is highly prized on the Fhetat. S16’s scientific advancements allows the section to protect itself from adjacent sections, and wars between sections are common.
A boy was born in S16. The boy’s mother, a regal queen by the name of Cras-myne Tyne, traveled to the most hostile part of S16, a part of the section that had recently been off limits, with bodyguards to defend against the Podarks, a species of insect that evolved as the Fhetatians spread around the asteroid cluster that makes up the Fhetat. Podarks are like Earth mosquitos in that they subsist on the blood of Fhetatians, but they are considerably bigger and seem to display signs of civilization, like language, and they have occasionally attacked the Fhetatians to claim territories within sections. The Podark territory in S16 had been recently acquired by the Podarks when the Queen made her way there. The bugs had swarmed a grounds laid out for the youth of S16 to practice fighting techniques that were taught in school, and seven Fhetatians died. Because of their numbers, the then King Cras-myne Rael ordered retreat from the territory that was marked with a sonic fence. The Queen did not avoid attack from the Podarks and she was bitten at least three times before they managed to clear a shelter where she gave birth to the boy who would be king. If he managed to stay alive and regain control of the territory. The structure where he was born had been a bathroom, but it would be his home and the security detail set about creating a sonic perimeter and fitting the structure with non perishable provisions that were substantive but not delicious. After birth, the Queen secreted fluids that enclosed the boy in a protective and nutrient rich slime that also secured him to a wall. The Queen smiled at him, he was big, with fists the size of big rocks, and long feet that would make him an impressive jumper, just like his father. The Fhetatians resemble the kangaroos of Earth, but their hands, arms, and large legs, and feet more closely resemble that of Earthlings. They also do not have pouches. They do have sturdy tails that they use for balance and is extremely dexterous. Unlike kangaroos, they do not have pouches, and they have opposable thumbs.
After recording a holographic message of herself, the Queen and her guards retreated to Castle Cras-myne where she was treated for her wounds and she gave a silent prayer for her baby boy. She asked Mighty Fhet to guide her son, to give him strength to protect himself, and the wisdom to clear the territory. He would not know his family if he could not kill the Podarks. King Rael would not order the removal of the sonic barrier until the threat was eradicated, so the boy had the choices of dying there, living there alone, or killing the swarms, then taking his rightful place as heir to the crown of Fhetat S16.
Cras-myne Re emerged from his mother’s goo when he was about ten years RET, and he was greeted by the hologram of his mother. She taught him language, and showed him how to feed himself from the provisions. She told him who he was when he could understand it and she showed him how to be stronger. His father didn’t care if Re lived or died, it was Queen Tyne’s responsibility to make sure that Re survived to be the strong heir that King Rael demanded. If her progeny could not survive, he would simply strip her of her crown and find a new Queen who could bear him heirs more capable of wielding the might of Fhet that was their birthright.
When Re was older, he itched to leave the structure. His mother told him of the wondrous artificial skyline that the terraforming dome structures all over S16 broadcast to simulate the home planet that the Fhetatians had fled after it was struck by an asteroid and decimated the population and made the planet uninhabitable. He longed to see a ball of light shining over him in the blue sky with clouds and he was ready to kill the Podarks. His mother taught him to use the small arsenal of weapons that her security had left for him and she made him understand his mission and all that he was fighting for. Their destinies were definitely intertwined; depending on Re’s success, his mother would either become an exalted Fhet Queen, or be exiled from the home she had known since her marriage to King Rael. She wanted to be Queen and she had demonstrated her might in the Queen Dueling tournaments that King Rael used to evaluate potential mates. Queen Tyne was ruthless in combat. She could jump high and she moved through the air, controlling her body in a fury of kicks and punches that confounded opponents. She’d been trained by her father who was also a brilliant street fighter and made a living as a show fighter in the section-wide arenas.
When Re’s tail was fully grown, when he could support all of his weight on it easily and push himself up in tiny jumps, he was ready to emerge and to take back the Podark territory.
Re was about 15 RET when he suited up with his flame thrower, laser projector, two guns, and full body suit with a space for his tail that was made of material to resist the Podark stinger. And he enacted the plan that his mother had laid out for him to systematically attack the Podark queens who lay eggs by the thousands daily.
When he emerged through the door of the sound barrier, he had to push piles of the bugs aside. They were the size of his head and very durable. Re activated the laser projector that issued a yard long, neon blue cylinder that sliced through the bugs like a machete. His mother had estimated that there were four queens that he would need to kill in order to stop the production of the bugs. Once that was done, he would have the simple, mindless task of burning the swarms of Podarks that would eventually die from starvation; though the bugs can live for a very long time between feedings.
The first queen was easy to dispatch. She was hold up in a cave mating with, then eating, a line of males. She was bigger than the average Podark and she could speak the Fhetatian language of S16.
“I have lived here for a very long time.” She said to Re after he had slaughtered the line of males who were honestly relieved that they would not have to mate with the bloated and disgusting queen.
“You things interrupt my pleasure with your stupid structures. So I sent my babies to wipe you out. But these weaklings give me stupid, weak offspring and I guess I am doomed for it.”
Re burned the queen and her eggs. When she was dead, all of her progeny seemed content to die and they gave no resistance when he lit them up with his flamethrower.
The second and third queens said similar things as the first, though one was not capable of language. They had teamed up to produce an army to protect themselves, but it was no match for Re who was happy to sacrifice all of their lives in service to his mother, and his own future glory.
The two queens had warned him of the fourth. She was by far the biggest and had no intention of ceding the territory back to the Fhetatians.
Re had trouble even reaching her. Her offspring were the most aggressive, ripping at his suit and trying their best to get at him. He was forced to fend many of them off with his fighting skills, they moved fast to avoid his fire and his laser. One time, they swarmed him and managed to carry him high up, almost to the ceiling of the dome when he saw it for what it was, a hard, translucent screen over millions of tiny lights. They intended to drop him, and they did, but Re had jet boosters in his shoes and on the wrists of his suit that allowed for very limited flight.
When he was back on the ground, he deployed a sound grenade that issued a concussive pulse that worked to knock the bugs back and disorient them long enough for his fire and laser to be effective.
He made it to the queen who was twice his size and ambulatory, unlike her dead counterparts.
“They said you were coming,” the queen buzzed at him as she jabbed her long stinger, thirsty for his blood. “I was glad to hear it. It has been so long since I had a fresh meal.”
She flew fast despite her size and she wielded her stinger like a sword. Re was quick on his long feet, and just as impressive in the air as the hologram of his mother. He slashed his laser through the air, forcing the queen’s retreat. She was difficult to corral, but Re focused his attentions on her wings. And when he managed to clip one, she struggled to fly, and Re was able to seal his fate as the future king of Fhetat S16.
His mother was there to greet him after the monitors of the territory confirmed it’s clearing. His father waited in his throne room with a smile of pride on his face at the boy who had proven himself worthy.
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