Continuing right along with the A To Z Challenge. Today’s letter is B. B as in boy, boom, barbecue, bagel, barn, barf, bacon, broccoli, bunions… There are probably more words that start with B. In case you missed my dramatic A To Z Challenge Theme Reveal, I’m trying to focus on my sci-fi creations, The L Squad & Norman Normalson & The Normals. You can also follow along with my A To Z Challenge by following that link. I’m already regretting the path I chose for this. I’m going to want to go back an rewrite everything.
I’ve been meaning to write up a PolleeAnnuh bio but haven’t yet. For now just imagine a really cool alien version of conjoined twins. P might bring more details.
Batimus
Batimus, or Bat for short, practiced her martial arts at night, in the dark, where she couldn’t be seen. The refugees weren’t allowed anything that could be used as a weapon, even martial arts.
Batimus was named after the home world she’s never seen, Batimus Prime. Batimus Prime was home to the Batisian people. When Batimus Prime was invaded most of the Batisian survivors fled. Some went on to other uninhabited worlds and founded planets like Batimus II, Batimus The Third, and such. Some Batisians fled to established planets that would accept refugees. Batimus’s parents stayed to fight the invaders. It wasn’t until the battle was lost that they gave up their planet and escaped to Nasga. It was on Nasga that Batimus was conceived and born and given the name Batimus as a reminder of the world that was lost, the world she would most likely never see.
Batisians are furry, usually in a brown, white, and black combination. Batisians have large, piercing eyes that can actually emit light and illuminate the darkness. It’s kind of like a flashlight that can be turned on or off.
Batisians have extraordinary climbing abilities. They’re a very nimble, acrobatic species. See what I did there? AcroBATic. This gives them a natural aptitude for martial arts.
Bat’s work-out was truncated by a tall thin alien, slightly resembling a celery stick with a huge afro, running around yelling, “Tomfoolery!”
PolleeAnnuh came running behind.
“Sorry,” said Pollee.
“That’s just Tomfoolery,” said Annuh.
“He’s very interesting,” said Batimus. “What’s he doing?”
“He wanted the job of telling everyone the good news,” said Pollee.
“Is that how he’s doing it?” asked Batimus.
“Yeah, that’s why he didn’t get the job,” said Annuh.
“That makes sense,” said Batimus. “What is the good news?”
“Oh, Tomfoolery didn’t tell you?” Pollee said with a chuckle.
“I got the gist but would like a little more detail,” said Batimus.
“We’re free,” said Annuh. “Humanity has finally lifted the quarantine.”
Batimus listened as PolleeAnnuh explained the details of their emancipation. Batimus thanked them profusely. PolleeAnnuh pointed her to the person she should be thanking, a Yamfennian who was currently at work in her workshop.
Bat knocked on the door. After a few seconds of silence, she tried again. This time the door opened to reveal a small, fluffy, pink, and yellow Yamfennian with a white blaze down the middle of her face with two short swirly antennae on the top of her head. She looked like Easter, a holiday Batimus learned about mere moments ago, and smelled of cotton candy, something Batimus wouldn’t learn about until later.
“Hi, Abby. I’m Batimus.”
“Right,” said Abby, squinting and shielding her eyes. “You’re one of the Batisians.”
“Sorry,” said Batimus. “I forgot about my lights.”
Bat blinked a few times dimming the lights emitting from her eyes.
“Thanks,” said Abby.
“Yeah, I’m Batisian. My friends call me Bat. I just came by to congratulate and thank you.”
“For what?”
“Haven’t you heard?”
“I don’t hear much. Not many people talk to me. All I’ve heard recently was someone running around yelling, ‘Tomfoolery!’”
“We’re free. The humans have finally decided to end our quarantine.”
“Finally! Does this mean I can get my computers and equipment back?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why are you thanking me?”
“You were the deciding factor,” said Batimus.
“Me? Was it my essay on the cruelty of captivity?”
“No.”
“Was it my plea to humanity to see us as equals instead of animals to be tamed?”
“No.”
“Did they finally accept that our ship was destroyed, and we’re stuck here?’
“No.”
“Did they find evidence of the Lambad ship that followed us here and realize they need us to protect them?”
“No.”
“Was it my warnings about the probability of The Tyrannical Tyrannosaurus Gregory LambaDambaBottom following us here and the need for global preparation?”
“No.”
“Then, how the glaurf was I the deciding factor?”
“It’s because you remind humans of something called Easter. It’s a holiday that’s coming soon.”
“I remind them of a holiday.”
“Yeah. Apparently, Yamfennians look a little like colorful rabbits, a cute, furry animal native to Earth.”
“Humans think Yamfennians are cute?”
“They think you’re especially cute amongst the Yamfennians. So, thanks.” Abby just stared at Batimus with a shocked expression and drooping antennae. Uncomfortable with Abby’s stare, Batimus searched for something else to say, “So, what are you going to do when they finally let us out of here?”
A look of curiosity and contemplation came over Abby’s face. She distractedly said, “I’m going to get a pet.”
Abby disappeared back into her workshop.
“A pet?” Bat said to herself, perplexed. After her experiences with slavery and all her talking and writing about the atrocity of one species holding dominion over another, she wants a pet? “Yamfennians are strange creatures.”
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