Pacing back and forth, nervously flinging his staff around, King Mondo waited impatiently. He was in a room, two high back chairs in the center, one occupied by his Empress Machina. Machina was also nervous, she was fanning herself constantly with her fan and would occasionally flap her sleeves to the side. Slapping his arms to his side he exited the room, finally not able to stand and wait much longer.

"Your Highness..." one of his servants greeted him.

"Not now!" King Mondo barked.

Walking to the balcony, he placed his staff to the side and slid his hands on the railing. Looking out on the red planet that he had just conquered and was in the process of stripping the resources that his Empire needed he finally sighed, he couldn't stop remembering what had happened nearly five months before. It angered him, it hurt him, it nawed at his curcuitry like a hungry rat.

It had been a long, exhausting, battle started by a heated arguement between him and his brother, the king of Soal, King Aradon. He had needed resources for his empire and he knew his brother had had enough to go around for both kingdoms. He was the older brother, the rightful heir to the Machine Empire that his father, King Dulgon, ruled. Aradon had run off as soon as he had found out that he was not going to be king, he had only been a month younger than Mondo, his father's idea to have offspring so close together. In all his father and mother had had 6 children, mostly males. King Mondo had destroyed all but two of his siblings, his two sisters had who had no planets of their own to rule.

"Nervous my king?" his butler asked.

"The only thing I am nervous about is that the offspring will be female" King Mondo replied.

A female, that is what he did not want. With the banishment of his oldest son he had no heir to the throne, no one to continue his royal family. Hanging his head low, he remembered what it was like returning home to see his son on the couch in his chambers with his arch nemesis' daughter. He had been furious, his son had jumped up once he had seen him and had tried to cool him down but instead he had made it worse. Things had gotten worse when his Empress walked in saying that she had told him not to persist it. He had forbidden the relationship but his son had continued it behind his back. A month after his return he had made the hardest decision of his three thousand year life, he had stripped his son of his title and had banished him from the kingdom. To add insult to injury he had found out a week later that his archnemesis's daughter had become his daughter-in-law three weeks earlier.

"Klank!" King Mondo bellowed. "Are they finished yet?"

"Not yet Sire," Klank replied. "they are halfway done."

"Tell them to hurry up!" Mondo ordered.

"Right away Your Majesty!"

He and his wife had talked about having more children after his first son had been built, but they had been put to the side when he had found out that his Empire was low on resources. His son had been three hundred when the battle had started, Queen Machina had acted so conserned when he had taken arms in the front of the army but had been so proud of her son when he came back with over a hundred of the enemy dead, it was a good start, he had been real proud too but it had been tarnished as soon as he was discovered with the enemy's daughter.

"Your Honor..!" Klank ran up excitedly.

"Is my new offspring ready?" King Mondo asked.

"He is and is waiting for you to see him first."

Practically kicking himself in high gear, Kingo Mondo found himself difficult to contain. This was it, he was going to see the child. He hoped it was a boy, he wished for it to be a boy, if it wasn't he'd be crushed. Running into the room his wife was in he found himself so excited he nearly forgot to say hello to her, to the doors that led to the room that the Cogs were making his offspring he went with a spring in his step. No sooner than he was in the room that he stopped. There the child was, his offspring, the heir that he wanted. Was it a boy? Was it a girl? He could hardly make his legs work, forcing himself forward, he stood in front of the Cog that held the child, nodded then held his arms out.

"Queen Machina, my love..." he called happily.

"Mondo darling," his Empress replied. "what is it?"

"We are the proud parents of a tiny royal son." King Mondo beemed.

"A son!" Queen Machina exclaimed. "How wonderful! What shall we call him?"

"Sprocket," King Mondo said after a while. "Prince Sprocket."

"What a fine name for him," Queen Machina replied. "welcome to the Royal House of Gadgetry my sweet little Sprocket."

Queen Machina did not want to spoil the moment for her husband, she stood by his side, gazing lovingly at the small bundle in his arms. Prince Sprocket was smaller than a lamp, he had a big round head with dimples on his cheeks and a wide smile with big yellow circles for eyes. He had a bowtie under his chin, it was pink and blue. On his head was a tiny crown, flourescent yellow in color.

"My little Sprocket..." she repeated. "my sweet baby."