Zetylmi Theltra

The **Zetylmi Theltra** is a small civilization of Theltren that occupy the Adrift City, in the Andromeda Galaxy. It is the descendant of a much weaker and older Theltra that existed many thousands of years ago and happened upon the Adrift City by complete accident. Exploring the derelict piece of land revealed that it was brimming with ancient Zetylian technology, which prompted the Theltren inhabiting that fleet to ditch their spaceships and commandeer the floating continent for themselves, turning it into a gigantic mothership for their Theltra. They remade themselves into the Zetylmi Theltra, and now act as direct proponents of Zetylian technology and culture, striving for perfect imitation of the advanced species.

The Theltren inhabiting the Zetylmi Theltra have deviated greatly from the natural form of their species in their efforts to emulate the Zetylians. They are, on average, smaller in size compared to normal Theltren, and have genetically engineered themselves using Zetylian technology to have milk-white skin and vibrant blue eyes. In addition to this, wiry blue hair sprouts from the tops of their heads, and they walk on their back two legs instead of on all fours, as Theltren normally do. These physiological changes, though intended to make the Zetylmi Theltra more similar to their idols, the Zetylians, have undoubtedly made them appear grotesque and uncanny, both to other Theltren and those outside of their species. A select few Zetylians, including the infamous explorer, Maljak Treyomn, have encountered the Zetylmi Theltra during their escapades in the region of space they occupy. Though they are hailed as living gods by the Zetylmi Theltra, almost all of these Zetylians have felt uneasy about their Theltren imitators, seeing their bodies as unpleasant mockeries of the Zetylian form.

Their acquisition of the Zetylian infrastructure on the Adrift City has greatly bolstered the technological capabilities of the Zetylmi Theltra. In addition to their exploitation of Zetylian genetic engineering technology, the Zetylmi Theltra have repurposed the fusion reactors of the Adrift City to funnel their plasma through conduits to the exterior of the land mass, using it to propel the continent. They have reverse-engineered Zetylian plasma weapons for their own use, and have armed the Adrift City with a plethora of defensive weapons using this technology. Though not of the same quality as original Zetylian plasma weapons, these defenses are much more powerful than anything else used by other Theltra, making the Zetylmi Theltra largely uncontested in its technological dominance compared to the rest of the Theltren species. However, there are some components of Zetylian technology that remained completely out of the hands of the Zetylmi Theltra despite their best efforts. Zetylian cyborganics, though prevalent on the Adrift City due to the Haclon auto-defenses originally involved in its defense, were rendered inert by the detonation of the Kaeolian Swapper Bomb and subsequent disconnect from the Emulsion Web. With no prior knowledge of cyborganic technology, the Zetylmi Theltra was unable to do much with these derelict cyborganic entities, and simply let them be. This proved to be the source of their eventual downfall when Maljak Treyomn reactivated the cyborganic creatures during the Great Theltra Battle and used them to attack the Zetlymi Theltra from within the confines of their city-spaceship.

While all Theltren are notable for their arrogance and isolationist attitudes, the Zetylmi Theltra are perhaps the most guilty, due in no small part to their acquisition of advanced Zetylian technology. Possessing technology much more advanced than anything else used by the Theltren species, the Zetylmi Theltra see themselves as the greatest Theltra in the Andromeda Galaxy, and have gone as far as to form a religious doctrine that proclaims they are the sole proponents of Zetylian civilization. To the Zetylmi Theltra, the Zetylians represent the pinnacle of biological evolution, and likewise they have done everything in their power to resemble the Zetylians as closely as possible, both in body and mind. The Zetylmi Theltra have adopted the dual hedonistic and meditative practices of the Zetylians into their own culture, which have only been made possible through the material abundance the Zetylmi Theltra live in. This, combined with their natural Theltren arrogance and commandeered Zetylian technology, has driven the Zetylmi Theltra to attack and harass most other Theltra in the Andromeda Galaxy, stealing resources and driving other Theltra away from certain locations frequently by the Theltren. They justify these actions by claiming that, since they are the proponents of Zetylian civilization, they are vastly more evolved and knowledgeable than other Theltra, and the reasoning behind their actions cannot be comprehended by the comparatively weak-minded Theltren outside of the Zetylmi Theltra. This dismissive behavior has been greatly despised by the rest of the Theltren species, leading to the almost universal hatred of the Zetylmi Theltra among other Theltra that caused the Great Theltra Battle. The behavior and opinions of the Zetylmi Theltra are often seen as a manifestation of cruel irony, since, by the time they acquired the Adrift City, the Zetylian Hegemony was on the verge of collapse. The Zetylmi Theltra didn't encounter a living Zetylian until long after the Hegemony had been reduced to ashes, which makes their assumptions of Zetylian superiority all the more ironic.