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Rats. Think the galaxies beyond, didn’t have a similar creature? Cflenia had. Its tail admittedly was shorter, its body slightly bigger and it was a delicacy for the Fodawke whose eyes searched,looking for movement and then pounced.
It always, for some reason chopped off the hard boney tail with its teeth before swallowing the remainder of the creature whole.
What it, could NOT know, was that some of them, had been feeding on the Regen waste. Ah yes the waste. Let me explain, because it is important, that we understand about what it contained.
The remains, of what had been partially started in those regen tubes, but not continued, because of power failure? I know you’re asking what exactly ? What the ‘rats; were ingesting or I should say; digesting?
Well ‘human(a)’ life, is made up of complex proteins and obviously DNA plus, because we are a carbon based life form; carbon. In the regen capsules, the cloning processes were primed to produce, nay clone cells and that included everything that went with that, proteins, DNA and more.
Including added growth accelerators.
So there they were, these rats; busily chomping away on this stuff. Three Fodawke swooped not once but four times and each time their attacks were successful. No longer hungry, they left the things to it, to return to the nests and the hatchlings. Most Fodawke, were FEMALE; very few males.
Which meant, they were now reproducing at an alarming rate.
The Cflen, had used tools and centuries old created ‘weapons’ that had been tried and tested, to attack the Fodawke. Kill them and destroy the nestlings, thus effectively ‘culling; them, whilst seizing the prized eggs, which were rich in proteins.
Cflen hands, were genetically biophysically capable of exuding a slimey white substance before a tube forced out razor sharp needles. To pierce the skulls of the Fodawke with ease. Needles placed, against the hard exterior of the egg to pierce it. There were three distinct marks on the eggs; any of them could produce a generous helping of those delicious nutrients.
Cflen would feed the younger Cflen by piercing the egg, withdrawing the tubes which slid back into their fingers as they now, placed their fingers against the young Clen’s lips, for them to suckle, on the ends of the tubes, swallowing back, the nutrients.
It had puzzled the Cflen how the Fodawke who for generations had ALWAYS, used the same breeding grounds, one might say, seeming to NOT having the intellect to reason that moving them to somewhere else OR higher ground? Making it almost impossible for the Cflen to get at them? Thus they concluded, that the Fodawke, was a simple minded creature. Something to be relieved about?
Then it happened. Something unthinkable, beyond all reason and to the horror of the Cflen? The Fodawke were doing things they had hitherto, NEVER done.
Within months, of the strangers arrival, the Fodawke were moving nesting, worse still for the Cflen building new nests that were getting ever higher, in almost impossible places, if they could find the ‘places’ ; to get to.
This for the Fodawke however, was NOT an ideal solution, the problem was the hatchlings, when they hatched, were prone to moving, staggering around. Precariously at the edges of the precipice? The inevitable was going to happen as they fell, dropping to their death.
They also, had the age old problems, of other predators, like the rats to fend off! So it was and yet it wasn’t surprising, that numbers were on the increase. Factors as said, kept the figures below, what could have been a massive rise in the numbers of Fodawke.
The rats too, did not have it all their own way. They were FOOD for the Fodawke. If they scattered when attacked, there would always be a number of them, the Fodawke gobbled up.
The last morsel of Regen waste, had been consumed. A different taste to the rats, had not put them off, feeding on them. If anything, it had had, the strange effect, of making them want to eat more of them!
You see, the Regen waste, had over the period of time mutated, with increased density, enhanced, growth hormones.
The rats were double their normal weight! Their legs not used to such massive bulk, made them easy prey for other predators! In particular as we know, the Fodawke, who were catching more and more of them.
Yes, they had been greedily consumed and regurgitated, to feed to the hatchlings, the ones who survived?? A reborn, genetically modified beast that was able to reason? A bigger brain and overall, its physical form too had changed in many ways. Larger bulkier more efficient wings, sharper vision and claws.
The Cflen had stepped up attacks on nests. The Fodawke would dive at them trying to get them away from the eggs.
A seized Cflen, caught up in the claws and soon the jaws of such a creature, spelt certain doom.
Often a fight, between two of the Fodawke, as one attacked the other, with the Cflen in its jaws, ripping off its limbs mid air, the screams those deep piercing screams that finally died away to nothing could, would be the stuff of nightmares for those Cflen who survived such terror.
It would not be long for the Cflen to re arm themselves with razor sharp spears that easily pierced, the in the right place, usually the underside of the beast, to cause it a lot of pain, bring it down or kill it. So effective was their weapon, that the Fodawke were holding back, on attacking the Cflen.
Any Cflen that was caught off guard without a spear? Young ones in particular, the Fodawke ripped off their heads leaving them behind and taking the rest of the corpse to eat elsewhere.
However the Fodawke, attacks on the Cflen, relaxed. They had other targets. It was weeks of Fodawke attacking or trying to attack the base camp, each time the targeting arrays took them down and left them for the rats and other vermin, who now relished, the almost regular supplies, of food coming their way.
Then one day the attacks on the Cflen ? It stopped. NOTHING!
For the human(a) base site? They saw the creatures BUT ! They flew high, beyond the range of the targeting arrays. Never even with Lumor and the others walking around did they swoop to attack. Joden had taken one of the Fodawke and cut it open, he had heard Caley laughing when the comment was made.
Perhaps they’ve learned some respect for us. He had reasoned as he told her. Their brain is too dammed small to be capable of anything, that required a degree, of intelligence, . The skull was large and he had to admit, it was puzzling as to why such a small brain was suspended in such a large cavity.
“Must have been on the same ecological ladder as Dahhan.” Gi and Caley fell about laughing. There was some admiration and to them WARNINGS to maintain caring weapons. The wings and the rest of the muscular appendages were incredibly tough, immaculately bonded and the strength must be phenomenal.
“Look.” Hissed Lumor. “Lets not forget, it bloody picked that drog up, threw it around like a rag doll before tearing its head off! .” Drogs weren’t light, not the class 2 ones. The maintenance drogs, were needed to lift extremely heavy loads and so were weighted, they could weigh up to half an Earth ton. That thought alone, made them more than wary of these creatures.
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