Mage Marine Misfits: Book 01

by Derek Wallace

  Jordan laughed quietly. “Yes, well, we’re not all mad scientists, so most people don’t know that.”

  “The Seer should know.”

  “Indeed. Yet, most of the time, our most obvious flaws are hidden from ourselves more than anyone else.”

  Teke stared at Jordan in surprise. “That is…very profound. You are rather wise for a criminal.”

  Jordan’s eyebrows rose. “I think I liked you better when you were mostly robot.”

  To Jordan’s surprise, Dr. Teke smirked. “Oh yes? My robotic side has no body. Is it for synapses and data packets that you lust after Jordan Adity Anand?”

  Jordan just stared at the doctor, his mouth open in stupefaction.

  “AX might not understand your body language, young sir, but I do,” Teke continued, a bit smugly if you asked Jordan.

  “Good for you,” he replied hoarsely.

  Dr. Teke smiled. “That is still to be determined, isn’t it?” he said, as if they were alone in the room.

  Epone cleared her throat. “Maybe I should also go and…rest,” she said, standing up and scurrying away. Jordan watched her go, still bemused and blindsided as Matthias took the seat she’d vacated and crossed his legs delicately.

  “Do you…er…are you…?” Jordan swallowed loudly, so many words jumbled in his head that he couldn’t get them out.

  “Are you asking if I could be attracted to you?” Matthias asked.

  A direct question. That, he could answer.

  “Yes,” Jordan said.

  Matthias shrugged. “The AI has an affinity for you more than anyone else on the ship. I myself was very open-minded about sexual matters before the AI took over my mind.”

  “That’s not really an answer,” Jordan said.

  Matthias leaned in. “What I’m saying is there’s something here. Where it goes or if it even goes anywhere is probably something that we’ll find out with time. I believe in organic growth myself.”

  Jordan’s eyes flipped to Matthias temple where a blue chip glowed from underneath his skin. The source code for AX’s system. So deeply embedded in Matthias’ left temporal cortex there was no way to separate them without killing them both. Jordan had heard that should Matthias die, AX might be able to revive his body. It was just a theory, mainly peddled by fear mongers. AX was an intelligent system, but even he could not revive a system whose mainframe was done. Still, Matthias had done this to himself because he wanted to speed a process whose natural progression he was unsatisfied with.

  “The AI in your brain begs to differ,” he said.

  It was Matthias’ turn to be surprised, and he let out a bark of laughter, walnut eyes shining, streaks of blue darting hither and thither within his pupils.

  Matthias and AX. Two for one.

  Jordan had always wanted to have a threesome.

  Chapter Eighteen: In My Feelings

  Zorica’s eyes flew open and she looked around at the unfamiliar space she was in. Everything looked kind of gray…like it was from another era. There was a livestream of her vitals on an ancient console opposite the bed she was lying in, and another streaming real time updates of her symptoms.

  She blinked her eyes, trying to get rid of the blurriness that clouded her vision so she could read the words. Her vision did not clear so she could only venture a guess as to the words she was seeing. She thought about calling out; was pretty sure she’d been rescued but wasn’t a hundred percent about it. For all she knew, she was still with the Stits or even hallucinating this whole room while dying slowly somewhere. She cleared her throat, realizing that it was dry and parched. She looked around for something to drink, but moving her head just made her dizzy. It also increased her heart rate audibly and she heard hurrying footsteps and then the shoosh of the door sliding open.

  She made sure to move only her eyes this time to see who might be coming.

  “Ash,” she said with relieved hoarseness.

  The Drueerd grabbed a cup filled with ice, came quickly to her side and gently edged one block onto her tongue. The relief was instantaneous and she sucked greedily. Ash simply watched her, not attempting to note her vitals or ask any questions about how she felt.

  When she felt like she might be able to speak without feeling like she was dragging a brush along her throat, she opened her mouth, so many questions warring to come out.

  “Where are we?”

  “West side of the moon.”

  “Sub sector six?” Zorica asked in shock, looking around. “Did you rebuild or what? How long have I been out?”

  Ash actually smiled. “No, we’re not in sub sector six. This is an old facility I knew about. The important thing to know is that you’re safe. And we are treating you.”

  Memory crashed back, the image of the thing wearing a human face piercing her with infected blood filled her mind. She gasped and tried to sit up too fast, almost falling out of the bed as a result. Ash reached for her arm, clutching it with surprising strength, steadying her.

  “Y-you have to get away from me!” Zorica exclaimed in fear, trying to pull her arm out of Ash’s grip. “I am infected.”

  Ash tightened her grip instead of loosening it and Zorica began to hyperventilate.

  “Yes, you were infected. But your body fought it off,” Ash said softly, looking Zorica in the eye, urging her to believe.

  Zorica stared, shaking her head. “Wha-….what do you mean?”

  “I know why they infected you now,” Ash said.

  Zorica simply continued to eyeball her, trying not to bug out.

  “They wanted your antibodies. I cannot know for sure until I test them on another infected, but your blood may well be the cure.” Ash seemed very self-satisfied with her analysis. Zorica found it all too fantastic to be real.

  “But wh-…how do you know?”

  Ash’s expression became sympathetic. It was a strange thing to see on the Drueerd’s face which was usually set in a mask of indifference.

  “You are exhausted; it has been an intense few days and your body has fought a battle hard won. Perhaps you should rest now. I will explain everything that I know and have deduced as soon as you are steadier. Deal?” she said as she eased Zorica back until she was horizontal again. There was something hypnotic about Ash’s voice, and Zorica found that she wanted to obey her. Ash said she wasn’t infected. That it was safe for her to be here.

  With her teammates.

  Where were her teammates anyway?

  She drifted off to sleep before she could ask.

  ∞

  What Zorica and the team did not know could not hurt them. And what they didn’t know was that Ash had been doing a bit of her own experimenting. While Epone had left her body to possess the Soulhag on the transport, Ash had been left in charge of her body, to make sure it stayed safe. She had stayed hidden, watching from a distance, pulse laser rifle at the ready. The infected had been quite close by and she had been able to have a closer look at it using the scope of her rifle.

  Its vestigial tail had been elongated, veined with thick black ropes of whatever that good was. The ropes twisted themselves along the tail like braids obscuring any hint of healthy skin that might have been present. Its back was hunched over, with repulsive growths sprouting in neat rows along its spine like young shoots of bulbs germinating from the earth. The bulges had shoots bursting out of their tips, waving slightly from side to side as if seeking something. Ash wondered if they were sentient.

  The Stits seemed unaware of what was happening to it. Eyes vacant and mouth drooling, it looked like nothing more than an empty vessel, abandoned by its owner and left to rot in the most horrific, ugly way imaginable.

  Ash was first and foremost, a scientist; a learner of things. No healer could afford to be less. Sometimes learning required violence. It required pain. Her people could not seem to grasp that concept and it was that, more than the culture that had punished her for resisting her rapist, that had spurred h
er to seek sanctuary within the virtual prisons of the Federation rather than the actual prison of her homeland. Ever since her auntie chose a human, her family had always been held in suspicion by the high command of the Drueerd. They disguised their ambivalence in passive aggression, but Ash recognized it for what it was. She knew her almost-rapist still walked free among her people; the thought burned, even now, many cycles later. The bitterness made it easy for her to turn her back on her people’s beliefs, to embrace her darker side and indulge her curiosity for inflicting pain in the name of learning.

  So she changed the setting of her pulse flair rifle from ‘burn’ to ‘retrieve’ and sent a pulse at the Stits’ tail. It didn’t even jerk in surprise as a portion of its tail was lopped off and stored in a capsule which flew back to Ash like a boomerang. Now she had a sample, from patient zero no less…allegedly. She stored it safely in her personal pack and then resumed watching over Epone’s body.

  Now here in the lab, while Zorica slept, she had carried out a few experiments using her blood and the sample from patient zero. What she saw was fascinating on a level where she wanted to know how the Stits had known what would happen when they injected Zorica. Was it a guess? Or did they know something about the Savant that the rest of the Federation didn’t. Was there some lore about mixing human and Stits blood, and the consequences? If so why did the Drueerds not know it? They were natural healers, surely they would have heard of the strengthening properties of Stits-human hybrids before now. It was only three days since they had rescued Zorica from the Stits. She had already fought with and thrown off the infection and was strong enough to wake up on her own. Her energy should be drained down to almost nothing but Ash had watched her vitals regenerate at an unprecedented rate in the last twenty four hours.

  This.

  This is what the Stits wanted her for.

  But why had they let her go then?

  The Stits had been able to keep humans out of their affairs for hundreds of years. Ash found it difficult to believe that they had not planned for a rescue attempt. Sure there had been obstacles, but everyone was in agreement that getting Zorica out had almost been too easy.

  What was the catch?

  ∞

  Jaime startled awake and was disoriented for a moment, not knowing what had jerked him out of his dreams. Then he heard it again. Someone was knocking at his door. He sat up, confused, trying to wake all the way up so he could call out to whomever it was.

  “Captain?” It was Uzochi at his door, which was kind of a surprise. He could not recall the Seer voluntarily seeking him out before.

  “Yeah coming,” he said, coughing to dispel the phlegm from his throat and running a hand down his face. Slowly, he shuffled off his bed and walked slowly to the door. He took a deep breath before opening it, convinced that whatever reason Uzochi was here, it could not be good.

  “I have something to tell you,” Uzochi said without preamble.

  Jaime blinked at him. “Okay,” he said at last, moving back a step to let the other man in.

  Uzochi stepped softly into the room, moving immediately to the wall on the right and leaning against it, arms and feet crossed, looking for all intents and purposes like a being under siege. His head was bent, back hunched over. Blue-black curtain of straight hair swung from side to side as he settled against the wall. Jaime just watched him, waiting for the Seer to be ready. Eventually, Uzochi looked up, his eyes, same color as his hair, hypnotizing as staring into a whirlpool. Jaime blinked, looking away and went to sit back down on the bed.

  “What’s on your mind, Uzochi?” he said when the silence had stretched to near uncomfortable levels.

  “This…creature; you must not underestimate what it can do. They are not just some new monster.”

  Jaime nodded. “Yes, Epone reported to me what you said about it. I don’t know what I can do about it though.”

  “We cannot keep this news to ourselves. We have to prepare for war.”

  Jaime’s eyebrows lifted. “War? This thing maybe had the Stits on its side-” he began to argue.

  “Please! You cannot…” Uzochi cut him off, before biting his lip in frustration. “This is the most dangerous thing you will ever encounter in the universe. And nobody knows about it but us.”

  Jaime looked down at his hands, trying to think. His focus had been on getting Zorica well before leading a brainstorming session. Not only because of his personal feelings for her but also because she was the best witness they had. She had been among the Stits the longest. She would be able to provide insight. He looked up, remembering that Uzochi had been kidnapped with Zorica. He also had had plenty of time to observe and collect information. He was also uniquely qualified to interpret such information as he had gleaned.

  “Uzochi, would you mind very much compiling a report on what you know and presenting it…” Jaime glanced at his timepiece and saw that it was early morning, “this afternoon?”

  Uzochi nodded. “Sir, that is well and good but we should notify the Federation as well.”

  Jaime waved with the hand. “And we will do that; just as soon as we’ve gone through it. Satisfied?”

  Uzochi nodded and straightened up. He gave Jaime an offhand three finger salute and Jaime returned it with its two finger counterpart before Uzochi left. Jaime sighed. There was a lot to think about, a lot of it above his pay grade. He ought to just pass it on and forget about it, but there was too much going on and he didn’t know who he could trust. Not within his team or beyond it. Everyone had an agenda and many times he wished fervently that he hadn’t left the Terra Station where he was born. His head throbbed with pain and he reached automatically for his pills, dry-swallowing two at a go. His schedule was off and he knew it; but it had been a harrowing few days, so he didn’t really feel that he could be blamed for that. Still, he ought to make an appointment to discuss his recent findings with the general – perhaps they had found the traitor who had helped the Martians steal the blink. Chances were good that they were also involved in these shenanigans.

  Whatever these shenanigans actually were. Jaime wasn’t sure he even wanted to know.

  He was a soldier, not a strategist.

  ∞

  Jordan’s eyes were open before he knew it, body tense, ready for anything. He reached behind his ear, slowly, carefully, and turned his aug up to full volume. He did a mental sweep of the room, looking for heat signatures, but he was entirely alone in his…space.

  The knock came again and he was sitting up smoothly before his brain had a chance to make any decisions.

  “Yeah?” he sat, stiffly tense, waiting to see who would come through the door. Glowing blue eyes peeking in at him had him relaxing against the wall, feeling oddly relieved yet surprised.

  Was this it?

  “Hey AX,” he said quietly.

  The eyes slipped from blue to brown and then back to blue. “Actually it’s both of us,” the hybrid said as they glided into the room, shutting the door quietly behind them. Jordan couldn’t help it, his eyebrow rose without permission as he watched AX-Matthias walk toward him.

  “What do I call you then?” he asked as AX-Matthias sat next to him on the bed.

  “I think you’re more used to AX than anything else. I am too,” the hybrid told him, crossing his legs gracefully and turning to face Jordan.

  The criminal took a deep breath, trying to calm his suddenly racing heart. He didn’t think he was ready for…whatever this was.

  “What are you doing here, AX?” he asked, eyes closed.

  He heard rather than saw the AI tilt his head, neck cricking with the familiar movement. “I thought…” he said, and Jordan opened his eyes to look at him.

  “You thought what, AX?”

  “I thought you wanted me.”

  “So you’re just what? Gonna present yourself to me like a gift? Why?”

  AX sighed. “I am going to be as honest with you as you have no choice but to be with me-”


  “Thanks.”

  AX nodded. “The part of me that is firing synapses and data packets has always been curious about emotion and sexual situations. It wants to know more about feeling, and nothing evokes more feeling than sex.”

  Jordan looked away, feeling disappointed that he was nothing more than an experiment to this remarkable being.

  “The human side of me was attracted to you from the first sight. But I was so used to being the ‘freak’ even amongst such…extraordinary beings…that I did not think there was any way you could be interested in me.”

  Jordan’s head came up, eyes shining with delight. “Really?”

  AX shrugged, looking away.

  “Well…okay then. Good.”

  AX turned back to him, eyes glowing blue. “Okay?” he repeated, just to confirm that he wasn’t dreaming.

  “Okay.” Jordan repeated, hand going out to cover AX’s where it lay limp on his lap.

  Chapter Nineteen: Okay

  Jordan stretched himself out on the bed, lying on his side, hands folded at his chest, just watching AX peel off his uniform. First, he unpeeled his gold alloy sneakers off, exposing his long elegant feet for Jordan’s enjoyment. Jordan wanted to reach down and touch them, run his hand along the blue glowing vein and see if his skin was rough or soft.

  Before he could move, AX reached up and pressed the button that unzipped his suit from shoulder to groin. His chest was a work of art; perfectly chiseled, and criss-crossed with more blue glowing veins like a live circuit board, sending frantic messages to every synapse in AX’s borrowed body. Jordan peered up into AX’s eyes, now brown, watching Jordan watch him.

  Or rather – unless Jordan was highly mistaken – he was checking Jordan out too. Jordan smiled, straightening out his arms so AX could get a good look at his chest. The blue streaks on his chest seemed to increase in velocity of movement and Jordan was hypnotized, watching them.