Jupiter's Descendant
Chapter One
Gaitha woke to a soft, fragrant breeze coming through her window. Her Aunt Kalique grew the most beautiful and fragrant flora and fauna that were legend on Cerise and gave the planet a beautiful red and fuchsia coloring that could be seen as one approached the planet's atmosphere from space. It never failed to snatch her breath away and she knew that many others were equally affected when setting eyes upon it for the first time. For some, like her, it took their breath away each time they saw it. That beauty grew exponentially as one drew closer and closer to the surface of the planet. Kalique's legendary age enabled her to create this planet-wide phenomenon that enhanced it's already beautiful terrain and natural wonders such as the magnificent waterfalls surrounding Kalique's alcazar. An invitation to stay at her alcazar on Cerise was the envy of many an entitled friend or family. Gaitha herself was grateful to call this place her second home and her aunt was like a second mother to her. Today was her 18th birthday and she wondered what her aunt had planned for this day because she always threw huge and lavish birthday parties.
She, her Aunt Kalique, and her mother, Jupiter Jones-Abrasax, also the recurrence of her grandmother and Kalique's mother, Seraphi, were the only remaining primaries of the Abrasax family. Both of her uncles were deceased. Her Uncle Balem, whom she had never met, had died in his Jupiter refinery, well before her birth, when it had collapsed after a tremendous explosion. He was not talked of and this was the only information Gaitha had in regards to him though she suspected it had something to do with her mother and father. In accordance with rules and regulations, however, his tremendous wealth had been dispersed among Jupiter, Kalique, and Titus, with Jupiter, as the recurrence of the sovereign queen, receiving 50 percent of his holdings and both Kalique and Titus splitting the remaining 50 percent.
She really missed her Uncle Titus and Aunt Azrielle. Her Uncle Titus had changed his life following Balem's death, marrying her Aunt Azrielle, who had a considerable fortune of her own, and he built upon his supplemented inheritance by funding a project that had ultimately revealed a way to make Regenex that did not require the death of even one human being. She knew he had been a bit of a playboy before Balem died but his brother's death and meeting Azrielle were seemingly the two events that had driven Titus to change the direction of his life, something her mother and father found ironic given he had lied to her mother when her gene print was first verified and he had kidnapped her, telling her he would change his life if she married him. That little stunt had seen him incarcerated for 16 months. Unfortunately, Titus and Azrielle had died 2 years ago in a tragic accident when their clipper had exploded during portaling. Debris had spread so far and wide it had never been conclusively determined what had caused the clipper's malfunction. Kalique, Jupiter, and Gaitha had become the sole inheritor's of Titus and Azrielle's estate as they had produced no heirs at the time of their deaths and Azrielle had no living relatives.
After her Uncle Balem's death, and all the attempts to deprive her mother of her fortune and her life, the harvesting of human beings to create Regenex had become illegal; much like slavery had been eradicated on Earth. Titus, once released from the part of Deadland reserved for entitled criminals, ironically had finished what his mother had started when she began her goal of stopping the harvesting of humans to make the serum. Since Titus owned the patent for the new Regenex-II, the other families whose wealth was directly tied to the harvesting and refining of the solution using humans saw their wealth diminishing until they too discovered how to make a new Regenex. Unfortunately for them, their products they were inferior to that which Titus had created. The house of Abrasax was now the most powerful dynasty in the universe. The Aegis and the Legion's skyjacker's were kept busy with the continued illegal production of Regenex using the old "recipe" by some of those previously wealthy families and a few lone, self-titled entrepreneurs, who were really just criminals.
Gaitha had asked her aunt what happened to all the remaining stores of Regenex from the old recipe. Kalique had told her that they had become priceless but most families had to keep the majority of it for themselves so they could wait out the time it would take to find another way to make their own version of Regenex. Their inventories were carefully monitored by the Aegis to make sure there were no bootleg supplies of the original Regenex circulating from illegal refineries continuing to produce it. Census numbers were also instituted to monitor the number of human populations on the planets that belonged to those wealthy families who might be trying to get around the obstacle of having to find another way to make it.
Gaitha stifled a giggle as she returned to the present and allowed Sendi, her chamber presence when her mother was not with her, to attend her before she raced down to meet her aunt and have breakfast. She couldn't wait for this day to begin because she knew she was going to be treated like a queen all day today. She would be inundated with gifts but the one she really wanted was a Phantom planet jumper. It was big enough to bring her friends with her but small enough that it wasn't unwieldy to handle and it was easy to operate. She couldn't portal with it but she didn't care because her mother allowing her to have a planet jumper was going to be difficult enough. Dragar, the Sargorn she raised after he was orphaned at birth, was with her wherever she went so she didn't know why her mother worried so much. He had been trained in combat by her father who was the best soldier in the Legion, so his ability to protect her was not questioned by anyone, except her mother. Her father had also trained Gaitha and her mother so they could protect themselves better than most would expect of those who were entitled. She rolled her eyes when she thought of her mother's over protectiveness.
"It's your birthday, a happy day, so why are you rolling your eyes?" Her aunt was sitting at the breakfast table which overlooked a beautiful garden that had a small waterfall that fed into a stream that threaded its way through the riotously colored flowers and plants.
"I was just thinking about my mother having a scowl on her face for most of today because she already thinks I am spoiled beyond salvation."
"Come now Gaitha, you know that is only because your mother worked hard in her life before she met your father and she still works hard, just at a different, quite important, job" Kalique gave Gaitha a chiding look but Gaitha could see the smile her aunt was trying to cover with her napkin.
Gaitha was actually Kalique's sister because of the recurrence but it was much easier for Gaitha to think of Kalique as her aunt, her mother as her mother, Aleksa Bolotnikov as her grandmother, and her father, Caine Wise, at least, was really her father. Gaitha loved them all fiercely, including her godparents, Stinger and Kiza Apini as well as Dragar, her Sargorn. Gaitha smiled and shook her head because things could take another twist in terms of relatives as Stinger was taking a strong liking to Aleksa.
Her aunt placed her napkin next to her plate and rose from her seat. "Gaitha please join me in the south garden when you are through with your breakfast. There is something I wish to show you." She turned and walked gracefully from the room.
Gaitha wanted to be able to glide the way it seemed her aunt could glide when she walked in or out of a room but she felt like she walked in an awkward, stilted gait in comparison. That thought was quickly chased away by the rising excitement she felt because she felt sure she was about to receive the first of her presents.
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