All sentient life is connected. The appendages may be different, we may eat different things, and live in different solar systems, but at the end of the day, we’re all one big family.
It’s time to explore the branches of the universal family tree, and today, we present:
Fhet Kings
– Issue 3 – Sees Fire
King Sao-Reyne and Cras-myne Re stand before holograms of the six remaining Kings with crowns. Sao-Reyne and Re stand with the Queen Ravelith, a hologram of Eakran, Whadgaf Jiris, and Kazi Lograt who arrived with the forces of the Region about a cycle after Whadgaf. Lograt had learned of Representative Nuren’s surprise attack and he fought his way out of the IP headquarters to join up with the forces that were amassing in opposition.
Representative Nuren has a small but deadly force and she has managed a formidable assault of the outer security ring. And she has taken the crowns of eight of the Fhet Kings.
“This is the war and we were not prepared,” Re says. Fires rage around him and though he is capable of controlling them and making them incapable of catching on anything, he is currently distracted by his rage and the Earthling Giovanni is there putting out Re’s accidental fires.
“She has beaten half of us in a few cycles!”
“We all know the situation, King Re,” Sao-Reyne says. “We have two of her weapons, and they are eager to cooperate with us. It is time that we attack the Representative directly. We can turn the other weapons, retrieve our crowns, and then arrest a war criminal. I imagine we can negotiate a ceasefire with the IP if we have their head of security. “
“That sounds like your Queen talking,” King Uilo Faski of S11 says derisively, indicating to the Queen Ravileth with his head.
“There will be no negotiations,” King Klezhar Dek of S14 says. “When we find Pen Nuren, we will flay her and set her adrift in the void. She will pay for what she has done to the Kings.”
“We have shown incredible clarity in this war so far,” King Manes Juyame of S4 says, “we can finish strong and change the perception of the Fhetat…”
“You all care more about our optics to the universe than you do about the optics on the Fhetat?” King Dek asks indignantly. “This woman and her IP backers have undermined the role of the Kings on the Fhetat. If we fail to stop this threat, our crowns will not mean anything on the Fhetat, even if we are able to retain them. We must make an example here, to show everyone what happens when you threaten the power of a Fhet King.”
“Stop it!” Re yells loudly. All eyes fall on him. “You are being short-sighted. If we defeat her, then she will be shamed, if we kill her, it’s a similar shame but she’ll be dead and won’t suffer it. The only immediate thing to do is defeat the IP.”
“Re is right,” Sao-Reyne says, “and as the leader, I am making this decision on all of our behalf, we will capture Nuren as a war criminal.”
There is a loud argument among the Kings.
“Can I speak?” Whadgaf interjects, and the argument subsides. “Thank you. I just want to update that we have taken back all of the outer ring security satellites. We have located the ship where the Representative is commanding her forces. She’s called back her weapons and we assume that she is making plans for what to do next.”
“Mighty Kings,” the Queen Ravileth says, “we understand that the consequences of this war will directly impact your homes and your lives for many fhrings to come, but every outcome to this conflict will have a large impact. I would like to work for peace in the universe to avoid a thing like this in the future, and if it does happen again, we can make sure you, or whomever, has the support they need to overcome it. But King Re is right, the only pressing issue is ending this threat and we can do that right now if we capture the Representative alive. Thank you for your audience,” the Queen says with a slight bow that Whadgaf mimics.
The holograms of the Kings grumble their acceptance of the Queen’s reason and they make a plan to capture the Representative’s ship before the IP forces arrive in all of their numbers.
“I want to speak to them,” King Re says to the hologram of Eakran.
They look through the window on the door to the room where Ivan and Clay, the former weapons of Representative Nuren, are eating together.
“Give them time, mighty King,” Eakran says with respect. The display Re made before the other Kings at their strategy meeting had frightened Eakran, even though he was only a hologram next to the King.
“What gives them their power?” Re asks. “How was that one, Clay, stronger than King Minios? Their fight threatened to tear the satellite apart, but King Minios was always on the defensive. Are all Earthlings capable of this, or are these two Kings on their planet?”
“Far from it,” Eakran explains. “They are two men who have powers that the COHH, the Earthling repreative organization for the IP, links to their lineage, their DNA. I’ve had a lot of time to review the COHH’s information about Earth that has been provided to the Ultimate Library and the IP database of information, and they believe that Earthlings like these two share ancestry with some alien civilizations of the universe, namely the Rhasdwiis and us Druintes. And maybe the crowns you Kings wear is evidence of a connection between the Fhetatians and Eelings to this ancient Earthling ancestor.”
Re shakes his head. He wasn’t even aware of Earth before all of this chaos, and his understanding is that Earth exists in a sector of space that is very far from IP member planets. How could it be possible that they have any genetic connection?
“We’re sure they are no threat to us?” Re asks after some time.
“They have been without the parasites for about a cycle and they report feeling freed from the control over them. We can trust them.”
Inside, they see Ivan and Clay finish their meals, and before they can get up to recycle their plates and utensils, Re barges in and Eakran follows behind him, very surprised by the sudden intrusion.
Clay and Ivan both look at the door quickly, and Ivan’s eyes glow green.
“It’s ok,” Eakran’s hologram says, holding up his hands that are the same prosthetics that he’d worn on Earth; he’d become used to having five fingers instead of three. “This is King Cras-myne Re of S16.”
The glow at Ivan’s eyes subsides and he looks to Clay, then they both look at Re with somber looks on their faces.
“We are so sorry for what has happened,” Ivan starts but Re cuts them off.
“I understand that you are here against your will,” he says. “There is not animosity between us. You are now our greatest assets in defeating the very villain who brought you here to use you. We want to go to her and stop this.”
“We are very sorry for everything,” Clay says, “but we’ve given you everything we know. Maria even looked into our minds and you have information about their ship. That’s all we have to offer.”
Ivan hangs his head in what seems to be shame.
“You can fight with us,” Re says. “I have seen the two of you and you are very impressive. Representative Nuren has brought chaos to the Fhetat, she has decrowned Kings and this will mean chaos for the sections that they rule. We need to end this conflict so that we can deal with the mess on my homeworld. I don’t blame you, but she took out eight of us, we need your strengths. And the other two weapons that she brought here as well. You must help us, and I will implore you in a way that no Fhet King has ever debased himself on our history. We need you, and I am begging you for assistance. Your help now will assure your vaulted status on the Fhetat and you will be forever welcomed and respected here. Just come with us so that we can end this.”
Ivan answers for them both, though Clay seems to be unhappy with the response. He doesn’t contradict Ivan though.
“We will come with you. And we will help you end this.”
Representative Nuren is on her ship that sits on a rocky body in front of the outer security ring. The rock is large and inconspicuous, and along with the cloaking technology of her ship, she has been able to remain practically invisible to the Fhetat and its defenses. She makes regular broadcasts from her ship, taunting the remaining Kings with video of their fellow monarchs caged and jailed like commoners on the Fhetat.
She knows that she will take no more crowns, and she paces before the cells of the five Kings in her custody. One of the Kings had killed himself after the weapon Kevin took his crown, and the other two had disappeared because Kevin failed to bring them back to her as she had asked. After that incident, Nuren had Representative Osmium of Earth reinforce the parasite they used to control the weapons; obviously it’s influence was slipping if Kevin ignored such an important aspect of his mission. She is not sure exactly what means of control Osmium is using, but since the incident, Kevin has been mostly silent and he hardly blinks. He only completes actions that are dictated to him and he usually trails Nuren like her personal bodyguard.
He stands as she paces.
Then Osmium arrives with her other remaining weapon, the man known as Desperation Jackson. Desperation is difficult to look at; part of the skin of his cheek hangs like a loose flap and exposes a solid silver plate, like his entire body is lined with the silver that is seemingly impervious to damage, though obviously his outer layer of skin can be damaged.
“They are approaching,” Osmium says. “They cut through what little defenses we have left and we called all the soliders back.”
“You meet them,” Nuren says to Desperation who smiles and then activates the helmet of his spacesuit, then runs away to meet the threat.
“We could have held until our full forces arrived,” Osmium says angrily. “This whole thing was a waste of our resources…”
“Stop it!” Nuren yells. “I had one mission here, and we are now at the end. I have eight crowns.”
She indicates to a display case in an adjoining room that holds the crowns, except the one that she wears; the crown of King Aid-o Minios that gives her an extremely durable armor and makes her stronger. She’d tried to wear two crowns at the same time, but that didn’t work, and holding them didn’t allow her to activate their power, though the crowns displayed their power for a short while after use. The crowns were difficult for the weapons to wield with their own innate powers and the power sets seemed to battle for dominance to the detriment of the weapon. And Osmium was unable to wield the powers of a crown for reasons that were not entirely clear. None of Nuren’s assistants could wield the crowns either, with the exception of her assistant Riswin Hojar. Nuren refused to let Riswin fight by her side and she sent her to retreat to the coming IP forces when she lost two weapons to the Kings. Apparently, only a few can use the powers of the crowns, and they will only know if they wear them.
“Are we going to retreat with the crowns you have?” Osmium asks.
Nuren thinks about it. Her mission on the Fhetat is complete in her mind. By taking eight crowns, she had left eight sections of the Fhetat without their rulers, and there would be a scramble to fill those voids. The Fhetat will never be the same. The IP forces that are advancing on the Fhetat are largely military, but these forces are trained to provide medical attention and refugee relief from the inevitable civil wars that Nuren expects in the King-less sections. She understands that her feelings about the Fhet Kings are largely personal and she wanted to avoid casualties from IP represented cultures due to her personal vendetta, which is why she made the deal with Osmium that resulted in Eakran’s fugitive status. Osmium promised her disposable soldiers who could help her to neutralize the Kings, which would leave the Fhetat an abject mess that only the IP could clean up, a move that would be supported by any civilized being of the universe. But the Kings were more unpredictable than even she had been in her surprise attack. The Kings worked together, and they asked for and accepted help from others who opposed her.
“If I cannot do this,” Nuren says after a long silence, “then it should not be done. Halt the advancing forces. Tell them to hold for your instruction, I am giving over command of Security Forces to you. You can retreat if you like. I will make this stand. If I take the remaining crowns, stand by for the chaos on the Fhetat and we will move in with humanitarian aid. If I fail, negotiate a ceasefire with the Kings. Release the prisoners and return the crowns.”
Osmium is furious with Nuren but she screams at him and he jumps at her anger. She lifts him from the ground by the material of his space suit.
“Do not defy me. I will forward my instruction to Riswin Hojar and if you defy my orders, command of the Security Forces will go to Representative Rhaldeg.”
She tosses him toward an escape room.
“They will continue to obey you while they have the parasites on their necks,” Osmium says as he stands and cleans himself off. “I wish you luck Representative.”
Osmium leaves the ship in an escape room that only he occupies.
The remaining Fhet Kings descend on Representative Nuren’s location commanding eight different ships. The forces of the Fhetat, that includes Ivan, Clay, Maria, Kal, Whadgaf, the Queen Ravileth and the Eakran hologram, blast monsters from the space around the rock where Nuren’s ship is located and many of the ships that fire on them, and they land to engage the forces that defend the Representative. King Sao-Reyne reluctantly stays back to protect the ships while the remaining seven Kings storm the Representative’s position. Ivan flies above them and Clay charges out front, knocking away monsters and clearing a path for the Kings who are led by King Re who is surrounded in a raging flame that he throws as projectiles at the enemy. Ivan throws green fireballs from overhead, and the other Kings use their powers to make easy work of the monsters who seem to be fighting with more panic and carelessness.
Then Desperation emerges. He lands in the way of Clay’s trajectory and smashes the rocky ground underneath them, derailing the forward momentum of the Kings. Then they are all suddenly bound with chains as Kevin emerges to stand next to Desperation. Ivan falls to the ground next to the large group, tightly bound in a cocoon of heavy chains.
“This is it,” they all hear Representative Nuren say as she emerges, surrounded in the armor afforded to her by the crown of King Aid-o Minios. “You are all at my heel. You cannot overpower us, not even your mind controller, we have contingencies in our helmet for her. Now, we will take the rest of the crowns and get the Kings in cells, get ready for the news transmissions when the IP forces arrive. The Fhetat will be utter calamity without it Kings, and the IP is ready to save it.”
King Re is the only one standing and his flames have not ceased despite the weight that Kevin puts on him. Kevin changes the construct restraining him into a tank of water that completely submerges his body up to his neck and he is shackled in the water. But the water boils and the glass melts. Nothing that Kevin puts on him properly subdues the King, and Kevin imagines an extension of his own hand that pulls the crown from Re’s head.
To the shock of everyone, Re’s flames continue to rage and he flies at Nuren, screaming loud enough to shake the entire rock that they inhabit.
Desperation jumps and knocks Re off his path, sending off a wave of flame. Re recovers and he engages in a fierce battle with Desperation that makes everyone stare in amazement. Desperation is quick and punches hard, but Re is just as fast and when he lands a blow to Desperation’s face, it cracks his helmet. Re, like everyone who had advanced with him on the rock, has Eakran’s concoction to kill the parasite controlling Desperation in a device that they could disperse if given the right opportunity. Re sees the opportunity and he smashes Desperation’s helmet, then activates the device as he smashes his face with his fist. Desperation’s helmet repairs itself when Re compromises it, and Desperation collapses as the more concentrated concoction goes to work to free him from Nuren’s control.
Kevin fits himself with an impressive armor that Re is not happy to face, Desperation had left him tired, but before Kevin can do anything, he is tackled by someone in a space suit who flies in from nowhere, and his chains on the forces behind Re disappear. Everyone continues their assault on Nuren and she puts up a formidable fight before the crown is removed from her head.
King Sao-Reyne, along with the Queen Ravileth and Kazi Lograt negotiated the ceasefire with Representative Osmium, the new leader of the IP Security Forces, on behalf of the IP. It was reported that the war was averted after peaceful negotiations spearheaded by the new leader.
When news of King Cras-myne Re’s ability to wield his powers without his crown spread on the Fhetat, many saw it as a sign that he was the true King of the Fhetat who possessed the awesome might of Fhet, and all of the Kings knelt down to him as their ruler. He appointed King Gilthon Ju-arl of S3 as his second in command of the Fhetat; he was the one who attacked Kevin at that pivotal moment and freed the rest of the Kings to seal their victory. Without his crown, Ju-arl could use the lightning that was characteristic of his crown in a limited capacity, and he had followed the crown back to Nuren’s ship, sensing it even at a distance like it was part of him.
The Fhetat is changed, there is triumph, happiness, cruelty and death still, but it has been forever changed.
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