The Obsolete Clone
She-Ra fanfiction Entrapdak Entrapdak Mini-Month Rated G Prompt / Theme - Day 7 - Obsolete Summary:
“Do you know why you have been called before me, HR 354?” “Yes, I do,” “Do you deny your designation?! What is your designation, HR 354?” “My designation is that of a general, Lord Prime.” "Are you not aware that the designation of ‘general’ is obsolete?” _________________________________
The Obsolete Clone
“Do you know why you have been called before me, HR 354?” Horde Prime’s voice was deep. It was the kind of voice that could beckon one into an eternal sleep. It was calm, measured. It was also a voice that promised nightmares. Clones stood at either side of a long table and guarding the enormous double-doors in the Reckoning Room. Horde Prime was nothing if not dramatic. He seldom used this room on the flagship. It existed only for the gravest of pronouncements. The Emperor of the Known Universe stood tall at an ornate podium bedecked in the silver bat-wings that were his personal sigil. “Yes, I do,” the clone that had been addressed as HR 354 answered, trying to hide a tremor in his voice. This clone differed from the others. Horde Prime’s men all had radioactive-green eyes and carefully trimmed slicks of pure white hair. HR 354 had brilliant red eyes – a warning of his inborn defect having manifested, and dark blue hair. The hair was an act of willfulness, from a colorant he’d picked up on a world he’d been stationed on. He was small against the high walls of the cavernous room. “Do you deny your designation?!” Horde Prime demanded. “What is your designation, HR 354?” “My designation is that of a general, Lord Prime.” Horde Prime slammed his hands down on his podium and carefully surveyed his other clones that were present. “A GENERAL! Are you not aware that the designation of ‘general’ is obsolete?” “My designation is that of a general. I cannot recant it. It is the way you have made me.” “It appears you have grown willful, HR354,” Prime intoned. “You insist upon non-uniform hair.” “Dark coloration is intimidating to certain species. It aids in my occupation as your general.” Horde Prime squinted all four of his eyes and grit his teeth. “You have been declared obsolete!” HR 354 winced and pinned back his ears. He hissed through clenched teeth that were as red as his eyes. “You are aware of what this entails, aren’t you?” Prime asked cloyingly. “Yes,” HR 354 answered. “You will report to the front lines for a final mission. You will die in my name. I cannot keep any near me that are obsolete.” _______ *Snort!* Hordak awakened with a start. He was tangled up in a blanket and entrapped in long strands of purple hair upon a couch. A television played in the room – black and white images on a square screen housed in something resembling a large block. Twisted twin antennae protruded from its top. It was a long-obsolete thing that, nonetheless had proven to have the best sensors for picking up certain broadcasts from space and for playing them in their originally-intended format. A small body shifted against his. Entrapta mumbled. “We fell asleep. Must have missed the last episode of the marathon.” “Don’t worry about it,” Hordak said softly. He curled a lazy, bone-gapped arm around her. Of late, Entrapta had been obsessed with broadcasts from other planets – radio and tele-visual waves that traversed space. She’d even discovered broadcasts from other dimensions. She’d been recovering old technologies – lost technologies – and rebuilding things that were long obsolete in order to harvest the ancient broadcasts to play them “authentically.” Entrapta had coaxed Hordak to relax on the couch without his armor and to join her in watching a “marathon” broadcast of a show that was in the “science-fiction” and “horror” genres from a distant world. The stories were fictional, but told them a lot about a culture’s hopes and fears. Entrapta yawned and so did Hordak. “Ah…the episode where the neighbors are fighting over a bomb-shelter,” he observed upon giving the ancient brick of a television a look. It was one of several episodes of this show that he’d seen before. “I think you nodded off during one of my favorites,” she said. “That one…” Hordak shook his ears, trying to get rid of the memory of a dream – one that had been more of a memory than a dream, in truth. “I believe that one hit rather close to my hearts,” he sighed. “Don’t worry about it,” Entrapta said, snuggling into his chest. “Just remember that you are a person and that no person is obsolete.” “Hmmm. And if I was?” “I love old tech. And quirky old things. You know that.” Hordak smiled. “When does the episode about the all-powerful, pitiless child come on?” “Doesn’t that one hit close to your hearts, too?” “It terrifies me, but I feel like with the fiction, I can deal with certain fears.” “I don’t know. Anyway, let’s keep watching. You’re comfortable.”