Cyber Viking 3

by Marcus Sloss

  “Excellent, they did my work for me. Very nice of the sacrifices to understand the god's blessing and will,” Jarod said in reverence.

  He found a radio next to the captain’s body. A quick fling of the device removed the blood from it. Time to address the others.

  “You are my prisoners. Failure to comply is death. Accept and you will be spared. Open your doors or be destroyed. Those are your only options. I am boarding now!” Jarod said, plunging out the busted doorway into the depths.

  All four of the doors opened. Jarod bypassed them all, knowing his sirens would process these prizes. He kicked on his turbojets and cruised through the water. Not even a mile away was the ultimate target. The cruise ship. He would never get the behemoth into the portal. He didn’t need to.

  Jarod found the travel was peaceful while he glided under the depths. The cruise ship had heard his radio call. They were already spinning to leave the area with full thrust applied. Not that a cruise ship could outrun the torpedo that he was. At a hundred feet away Jarod kept pace with the ship. He needed to wait for the rudder to correct. There, he saw the fin stay straight.

  He backed off the ship while he descended into the darkening depths. When he was lined up he applied full thrust ascended rapidly until he shot out of the water, breaching a hundred feet into the air. His trajectory gamble paid off and he crashed into a balcony suite shattering the sliding glass door.

  A body softened his fall. Jarod tilted his head to stare down at a grandma's final gaze of shock. She was crushed by a man in a robot water suit who magically smashed into her room. Of all the ways to go, this one was legendary. Jarod was respectful of that. He even left her distraught husband alive without a contract.

  Jarod calmly kicked the door forward and off its hinges. He was not holding any punches for the rest of the fodder in his way. He thundered down the hallway for the bridge. Each long stride crashed into the floor with a resounding echo. There was no stopping the freight train he was. A poor old man exited his room to only get in the way. The body went flying before shattering against a wall. The eyes frozen forever in horror at their sudden demise.

  The last of the journey was to an elevator. That fucking annoying music was almost as grating as the slow lift. When he reached the top deck he found a startled woman with two kids patiently waiting. The little girl, she tore at a memory. Jarod fell to a knee in agony. A migraine instantly racked his brain. He rolled out of the elevator before it closed. The mother was trying to run but the youngest girl fought her mother.

  “Mister are you alright?” she asked, in a pleading tone, hoping Jarod was okay.

  Whatever memory that tried to break free, failed this second time. Jarod was a savage, but he had his boundaries.

  “Oh, thank you for that missy. Do you like my safety suit?” Jarod asked.

  “I do, can I get one?” the girl asked with wide eyes of desire that shot to her mom.

  “If you tell me where the captain’s station is I can work something out,” Jarod said and the little girl laughed so hard she slapped her knees.

  “That is easy, silly. The place right there that says Captain’s Deck,” the girl said pointing while still laughing. “Everyone knows that one.”

  “Mam. I am Jarod. When my crew boards you’re to mention you spoke to me for special privilege. Use the code, Mary. This girl reminds me of a niece I had. Or whatever a cousin's daughter is. Mary is your code. Do you understand?” the mother nodded while visibly frightened. “Oh, it was Margret.” Jarod bobbed his head in his suit. “Or, was it, Mallory. Ah, distant family right, Mary is your code.”

  Before she could respond Jarod dashed up the stairs. A solid door was securely locked. Jarod leaped to the railing and pulled himself up. He walked over the main control station. When he reached the edge he let his feet dangle at the view. Jarod was certain there were crew panicking about now. They were probably pointing at two armored boots swaying in the wind.

  He grabbed the lip of the roof and lowered himself in front of the glass protecting the crew. His right hand went to a laser weapon secured on his hip. He dangled a hundred feet off the nearest deck. The crew had enough. They fired small arms into his shield ineffectively. A few rounds even managed to crack against his armor with anything more than a mark. Jarod grinned.

  “Your only chance, surrender or die,” Jarod’s weapon aimed at a stern maternal woman wearing a fancy hat in the middle of the bridge. She had watched the scene unfold without flinching. Now that death stared at her, she caved.

  “The ship is yours,” she said, removing her hat and placing it in the captain’s seat beside her. “Lower your weapons. We are not a military. We have nothing that can harm him. There are thousands of lives aboard this ship.”

  “Smart decision mam. You are all now my prisoners. Open the door,” Jarod said, hoisting himself back to the roof. He muttered the next part to himself. “I fucking hate heights, they will be the death of me I swear.”

  His heavy boots echoed as the metallic soles crashed against the steel hull. He dropped down to the stairs with a crashing thud. The door was opened. He went to push aside the little shit in his way but the sailor fled. The armored suit barely fit into the doorway. He clanked his way over to the captain’s chair and plopped down, squishing the hat.

  “Reverse course, take me to the Xgate,” Jarod commanded.

  The man at the helm looked to the old captain. Jarod’s pistol whipped up to eliminate the insubordinate ingrain. The captain saved his life by stepping in the way.

  “Consider it done. Let me give a brief call to the personnel and then you have the communications. I am Rebecca, I apologize for Willy’s actions,” Rebecca said, stepping up to a radio. She plucked it off a charger before moving to stand by him. Her delicate wrinkled hands input a code. She keyed the mic and said, “We have been rescued at last. The ship is going to port with elite military soldiers. Please no one panic. We will be heading to the Xgate soon.”

  When the detent was released she handed the radio off with a heavy hand and a sad sigh.

  “I know what you just did Rebecca. Use the code Mary, please. You just secured your future and saved everyone’s life from brutal slavery,” Jarod said. He keyed the mic. “The Captain was partially right. For now, she still has her title and privileges so obey the commands she gives on my behest. We are an elite commando team sent to rescue those lost at sea. We will be heading to the local golden portals to toss in everything not glued to this ship. Including the lifeboats. When that is complete we will sail for San Francisco to build up a new base around the manufacturing district.

  “The gods above have mandated we expand and conquer. Together we will do so and I will be offering two contract options to all of you. Mine comes with a bonus of a long, young life with age rejuvenation. I know, you probably don’t believe me and if that is the case you’re welcome to choose option two. That is where the great news ends. If you find yourself unwilling to accept the terms my crew presents to you. You will be given a second, less nice option. You will go into a contract to be returned to the US Government at a separate location. The problem is this second location is secret. So secret and exclusive you have to sign a contract for thirty years of hard labor. If you sign up with our branch in San Francisco I am only asking for a year of work for two meals a day and eight hours of rest. There is a third option. You refuse both and die. I am sorry but there is no other way. You can’t become fodder or tools for the enemies of the divine. We simply won’t have that happen. So everyone to the top deck I will be kicking down any closed door so please pry open your doors.”

  When Jarod said this he leaned over to see The Pearly Dream soaring for the top deck. It struggled to clear the railing and knocked over a few tables but it crashed to the deck. Sirens excitedly vacated the yacht to start assimilating the masses. I would be curious how many chose option two.

  “When you said I spared everyone from brutal slavery what did you mean?” Rebecca asked.

  S
he randomly shrieked when her eyes shot down to her foot. A trail of virum went over her boot and into her sock. “What was that?”

  “Calm or I shoot you,” Jarod said and she stilled. “Better. That was virum, the forever young bugs. You will be twenty again with tight big tits and a firm ass. That tub of shit, yes you the lard ball will get young and full of muscle again. Yeah for you. Yeah for everyone. As for the slavery thing I need workers. Humans are worthless on the market. The boats and electronics from my looting and this cruise liner will make me a very wealthy warlord. If you want to enter a meat factory and become protein for some alien pet then accept option two. If you want to feed sharks, and fish below select option three. If you want to be young and part of a grand adventure where you pillage, steal and enslave, select option one,” Jarod said.

  “I don’t know… I don’t… Kill me please,” Rebecca mumbled.

  “Oh Rebecca, that name doesn’t suit you,” Jarod said as the sirens sang their song from below. The noise drifted through the broken glass and open door. “You will get to be a goddess at my side as Mallory. Come now. Let me introduce you to Jane. She is my wife and very sweet. You would like that right?”

  Rebecca pissed herself in fright when Jarod clamped onto her. His grips tightened to the point her bones gave audible cracks. She did not scream, even though the look in her eyes said she wanted to plead for her life. The melody in her ears lulled her into a calm, even with the pain, she contorted her face into a smile.

  “I changed my mind. This music says everything will get better.”

  “Indeed Mallory. It indeed will get better,” Jarod said, guiding her to her awaiting contract.

  ∞∞∞

  The mighty airship hovered out of the hanger loaded to the brim. The golden light faded to reveal a burst of early morning sunshine illuminating the Pacific Ocean. Jarod’s new flying vehicle contained tanks, soldiers, servants, and food for months. Everything had been tossed in from his raiding to help fund this new endeavor. Bubbles and Jane had been fantastic at converting their loot into an ore called neilspar and then purchasing everything they would need on land.

  Jane made Jarod promises to return to the oceans or at least get a large pool. Outside of that, she asked for nothing else. Bubbles had a long list of items all for her. It was really too bad. She had been faithful up to this point.

  Jarod had purchased another hundred sirens. He learned minotaurs were easily sung to and converted to a siren’s will. When Jarod asked why this was not exploited it came down to alpha sirens refusing to live out of the water. Land alpha’s refusing to adjust to sirens needs. There were almost infinite options after all, why bother dealing with the extra hassle. Jarod could understand this and he realized this was why the gods blessed him. Jarod was going to change the way the worlds worked, all for the glorious gods.

  Before the ship left Bubbles was put on the auction house as a contract, for the tiniest kilogram of neilspar allowed. She kicked and screamed for a half-second about Coral whispering deceit. Jarod had frozen momentarily not understanding what she meant until she poofed to wherever slaves went when they were sold. Jane clung to him sweetly after and mentioned the gods wanted this. Jarod found that he did not care. Jane was his rock now.

  A new siren waited for him on the bridge of the candy bar ship. Jarod called the design that because it was slim enough to fit a portal’s width, but infinitely long for moving large quantities. This was his best option for his planned invasion. When they arrived on earth the ship hovered over the water.

  Jarod would have never guessed Earth was filled with Nitrogen. He remembered being an environmentalist at heart in his former life. The tug of a memory that pollution leads to viruses faded. He learned carbon was not even one percent of Earth’s atmosphere, he found irony in that fact.

  Jarod smiled at his new leader he assigned to replace Bubbles. The siren had trailing blue hair over her aquasuit. Her helmet tucked under her arm while she waited for orders. Jarod recognized here as one of his concubines he fucked over the last week. Jarod realized she deserved a name now.

  “You are my battle commander. This is my queen Jane, any questions?” Jarod asked the stiff siren. “And tell me a name you desire.”

  “I have chosen Posey, in honor of the water god Poseidon,” Posey said and Jane giggled.

  Jarod bent Jane over, turned her around and moved her panties to the side. Giggling continued from Jane.

  “This is a pussy in my language, it sounds like Posey,” Jarod said matter of factly. He released Jane who leaped onto him, covering her king in kisses.

  “You’re mighty, brave, and assertive. Your army below is one I would never have thought of. Give me a name befitting of my station. I would -”

  “Hera, your name is now Hera. Give me your stones,” Jarod said without a hint of allowance.

  “I do not have any, your grace. I carry your children already. Those below though. They have no stones and are pregnant with another’s baby. That is why we were sold so cheaply, did -”

  Jarod screamed in rage. Then he calmed when the gods washed a wave of tranquility through him. Jane kissed his cheek and said, “They will be born and added to your army. The next wave will be your own young. We must grow.”

  “I agree, the gods would want this. Hera. Take this vessel into downtown San Francisco. There is only a single gate to the east of the city. We will build our base in the heart of the Bay Area. Thankfully, the leadership of San Francisco decided to invest all its money into manufacturing before it went bankrupt. Now I have a perfect headquarters,” Jarod said with a wicked smile.

  “And if we encounter civilians?”

  “Convert or kill.”

  “And the military?” Hera asked.

  “Convert or kill,” Jarod said, keeping his evil grin wide. “With Jane at my side, nothing can stop us. Now. Forward Hera, time to conquer a city!”

  CHAPTER 8

  I was tired again, my time in the market had only been a little over an hour and a half. I grumbled while I finally reached the gravity less teleporter that pulled me through the void or space. Of all things I expected to see when my feet connected with the storage room, Dedric was not one of them.

  Well, okay, maybe he was not the furthest thing, but he was encased in a reflective golden armor and his face shined with a brilliant smile.

  “Woah!” I exclaimed, scooping him out from head to toe. He was… naked. Oh, then it dawned on me. “This is the acrium.”

  Dedric nodded eagerly and said, “It can cover your face. I went first. My mind asked the acrium for a golden shiny armor of angelic perfection.” He toned down the excitement some. “I got a golden cover, was too scared to do a face mask, and there is the fact that my dick is showing. I am still pumped, this is fucking epic -”

  I pointed at my friend with a slight chuckle. Sure he was an officer of mine, but still a friend. Dedric never swore, was holier than thou and a firm believer in Jesus.

  “Wow, you look fantastic. I have been meaning to catch up with you. So you volunteered to go into the goop that could have been an acid bath,” I said, keeping a straight face. “I applaud your courage.”

  “Wait, there was a chance… Mclain!” Dedric was gone back out of the portal, stomping away to give a Mclain a hard time.

  Goldie populated beside Everly who was sitting cross-legged. I ventured over to my lovely crixxi lady to see she was studying bids on thirty-three screens.

  “Hello love,” I said gently.

  “I’m working. Raincheck on sweet talk. I have to micro and macro this. See you in a bit,” Everly said with a backhanded dismissal.

  I resisted the urge to spank her, only because she would pay later. This was a thing of hers. Get in slight trouble so I could only punish her later for her minor transgressions. Not fun at first because it left me in a huff. I was not normally dismissed.

  I controlled my temper and blew out a long exhale. I smirked knowing she was definitely enjoying the moment. Out the
golden portal I went.

  The cool night returned my sense of being on Earth. The bright lights were gone minus a few remaining tanks. A gust of air washed over me, I had returned just in time to witness AC1 taking off. The massive box went straight up without a wobble or a shake. The impressive ship applied a slow movement for Aspen. The crew in the tower waved bye to me, their small forms catching my eye. I waved back, watching them gain speed. Alien tech was magical in its wonderment.

  A TG99 clacked against a trailer hitch as the two became one. I watched a crewmember hop out a top hatch and peer down the back of the tank. He shouted something back to the interior crew while closing the hatch. I sighed knowing I needed training on three more machines.

  A group was gathered outside Goliath 1’s foot; it was the lone machine idly waiting. They were knocking on the foot trying to get it to open. Dedric was trying to help fix the issue with a frown. I saw Mclain burst into a laugh when I passed him by.

  Jevon turned to me and said, “Goliath 1 is broken.” He shifted to yell over his shoulder. “And what is so damn funny Mclain?”

  I raised a hand holding Mclain from responding. A gentle pat landed on Jevon’s back as I said, “I told Dedric here.” I thumbed Dedric who scowled. “That the acrium could have been a tub of acid. Where is it by the way?”

  “On AC1. We got the rest of the trailers hooked up. This robot worked up until the task was complete, then shut down -”

  “And won’t let anyone in. Except me. Jill is sleeping in there. The rest of you head home. You want to ride with me?” I asked Jevon who shook his head.

  “I want tank time, thanks though. Dedric had something important to tell you, see you in a bit. If you go down for another nap let me know.” Jevon’s voice faded as he ran into a tank.

  Suddenly it was only me and a naked man covered in gold. There were about a million puns I wanted to use. I bit my cheek. A soldier with something important to say was worthy of listening to, not mocking.