The Three Little Heotians By H. Jason Schulz Copyright© H. Jason Schulz All Rights Reserved Smashwords Edition Once upon a time there were three Heotians, brothers. Heotians are small, plump beings, humanoid in shape and about three feet tall with soft, pink skin and round snouts with a little fuzzy fur under their chins. Their language consists of various grunts and snorts. They are mostly galactic miners but they also have been known to scavenge anything they can find for profit. You see Heotians like to eat – a lot, and they do what ever they can to get money to buy delicious foods. Now these three Heotian brothers had a friend that owned a spaceship and had already been mining the universe. This friend told the brothers about an asteroid cluster in Sector G67 where he had discovered large deposits of latem. Latem is a rare metal that is more precious than gold and is used in spaceships. Without latem space travel would not be possible. These Heotian brothers decided to buy their own ships and go get some latem. After which they would be able to buy the most delectable dinner delights that their planet offered. The first Heotian, his name is Guk, bought the first ship that he saw. It was space worthy but had no upgrades. Never the less he was in a hurry to get out to space and get some latem. The cheaper ship meant more money in Guk's pockets. Plus, Guk thought, the sooner I get out there, the sooner I'll get back and buy that yummy food, so he was the first to leave the planet. The second Heotian, his name is Muk, spent a little more time shopping for a ship and he found a nice one. It had up graded shields and faster engines, but it cost more than the ship that Guk had bought. However, once Muk had learned that Guk had already left for Sector G67, he quickly bought the ship and he too sped away toward Sector G67. The last Heotian, whose name was Ruk, spent some time learning what it was like out in space and he learned that there were Ulfers in Sector G67! Ulfers are large beings, also humanoid in shape but covered with fur. They stand about seven feet tall and are very strong as well as cunning. They have a long snout like a dog with sharp teeth and red eyes! Worst of all they love to eat Heotians! Ruk knew that he would need a fast ship with good shields and even better weapons if he expected to make it back home with his mined latem. So he found a good solid ship and went to work on it. Ruk installed the strongest shield generator there was. He also installed super blast engines for added speed. Finally, Ruk added turbo lasers and hyper shock torpedoes. “That ought to do it.” He said. Then he too was on his way to Sector G67. Meanwhile in Sector G67, Guk had arrived and began scanning for latem. He quickly found a rich deposit of the mineral on a large asteroid and began collecting it by extending a long mining tube that attached to the surface. The tube had a blow torch that melted the latem and then a vacuum sucked up the molten ore into his ship. Suddenly he heard a deep rumbling voice over his communication equipment. “Your vessel looks to be of Heotian design.” The deep rumbling voice said. “Perchance there is a Heotian on board?” Guk's face went white with fear because he knew that that deep, rumbling voice could only come from an Ulfer! “No. None here!” Guk replied in his grunting language. “Ah-Ha!” The Ulfer exclaimed. “Now I know that you are a Heotian! Say there little Heotian, let me come aboard?” The Ulfer asked. “Not by the fuzzy fur upon my chin!” Guk replied as he retracted the mining tube and raised his feeble shields. “Then I'll blast and I'll smash and I'll let myself in!” The Ulfer laughed and he fired two dark red plasma blasts at Guk's ship.
The impact shook Guk's ship so violently that the shields malfunctioned and Guk had no choice but to escape in a life pod! He sped away unnoticed by the Ulfer who was now aboard his ship no doubt looking for Heotians to gobble up! About this time Guk's brother Muk was arriving at Sector G67. Muk saw the life pod and soon had Guk aboard his ship. Guk told Muk all about the Ulfer and his narrow escape. The two brothers decided to hide behind a very large asteroid and wait until the Ulfer had gone away. So that's exactly what they did. The Ulfer, having searched Guk's entire ship, went back aboard his own ship and in a fit of rage entirely destroyed Guk's spaceship. “Oh!” Guk exclaimed as he saw his ship destroyed. “Don't worry.” Muk said. “I'll give you a ride back home as soon as I collect all the latem that I can carry.” They watched as the Ulfer sped away from the area and then Muk moved his ship away from the large asteroid, behind which he had been hiding, and then began his search for the precious metal. No sooner did he lower his mining tube onto an asteroid then the Ulfer was heard over his communication equipment. “Your vessel also looks to be of Heotian design.” The deep rumbling voice said. “Perchance the Heotian that I looked for on the last vessel is on board your ship?” Muk's face went white with fear just as Guk's had done at the sound of the Ulfer! “No. None here either!” Muk replied in his grunting language. “Ah-Ha!” The Ulfer exclaimed. “Now I know where are! Say there little Heotians, let me come aboard?” The Ulfer asked. “Not by the fuzzy fur upon our chins!” Muk and Guk replied as Muk hurriedly retracted the mining tube and raised his stronger shields. “Then I'll blast and I'll smash and I'll let myself in!” The Ulfer laughed and he fired six dark red plasma blasts at Muk's ship. Just as Guk's ship shook violently, Muk's ship shook more violently and soon his shields were malfunctioning. Muk and Guk fled to a life pod and sped away as the Ulfer boarded Muk's ship in search of the Heotians. They raced away as fast at the little life pod could carry them. But before they got far they were spotted by Ruk who had just arrived at Sector G67. Quickly they were brought aboard Ruk's ship and just in time, because just as before they heard the deep rumbling voice of the Ulfer. “So that is where you have run to!” The Ulfer said. Then he asked the three Heotians the same question, “Say there little Heotians, let me come aboard?” “Not by the fuzzy fur upon our chins!” Ruk answered. “AHHH! I grow weary of this game!” The Ulfer boomed. “I'll blast and I'll smash and I'll let myself in!” But Ruk was ready for him, he had already raised his strong shields. The Ulfer fired ten dark red plasma blasts and while the ship shook a little, the shields held! Then Ruk said “Let's see how you like this!” Ruk pressed a few buttons and soon there were several hyper shock torpedoes speeding toward the Ulfer's ship! The Ulfer tried to maneuver out of the way but he ran right into the turbo lasers that Ruk had fired on either side of the Ulfer's ship. As the lasers struck the Ulfer's ship, its shields malfunctioned and then the hyper shock torpedoes also hit the Ulfer's ship and exploded! When the bright blast cleared, there was nothing left but empty space. Guk and Muk were given a free ride home, that is, after Ruk had filled his ship with the valuable latem. The End