by Marcus Sloss
With the detent released, she handed the radio off with a heavy hand and a sigh.
“I understand what you just did Rebecca. When my crew show up, use the code Mary, please. You just secured your future and saved everyone from a life of 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 at my behest. We are an elite commando team sent to rescue ships like yours lost at sea. We will be heading to the local golden portals to toss in everything not bolted to the superstructure of this ship. Including the lifeboats. When that is done and the market complete, we will sail for San Francisco to build a new base around the manufacturing district.”
Slowly looking around the bridge, Jarod locked eyes with each person present before continuing. “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. My contract comes with the bonus of a long life, complete with the healing of all ailments and age rejuvenation. I know, you probably won’t believe me and if that is the case, you’re welcome to choose option two. That is, unfortunately, where the good news ends. If you are unwilling to accept the terms my crew presents to you, you will be given a second, less favorable option. You will enter into a contract to be returned to the US Government at a separate undisclosed location. This location is secret, so secret and exclusive, in fact, that you will have to sign a contract for thirty years of hard labor. If you sign up with our branch in San Francisco, I will only ask for a year of work, with two meals a day and eight hours of rest guaranteed. There is, of course, a third option. If you refuse both contracts, you will die. I am sorry but there is no other way. I will not let you become fodder or tools for the enemies of the divine. That will not happen. I need everyone to move quickly to the top deck. You have ten minutes to be seated quietly on the top deck. I will be kicking down any closed doors so please leave your doors open and move quickly and quietly to the top deck.”
When Jarod had 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 then crashed to the deck. Sirens excitedly vacated the yacht to start processing the mass of people who flooded the top deck from every exit. It would be interesting to see how many people chose option two.
“When you said I had spared everyone from a life of slavery, what did you mean?” Rebecca asked.
Her gaze shot down to her foot and she shrieked as a black trail of virum slid over her shoe and into her leg, through her sock. “What the hell was that?!”
“Stay calm or I shoot you,” Jarod promised and she stilled. “Better. That was virum, the fountain of youth, as far as you are concerned. You will soon have the body of a twenty-year-old again with firm big tits and a tight ass. That tub of shit in the corner,” Jarod turned to indicate an older, obese crewmember, “yes, you lard ball,” he smirked, “will get young and full of muscle again. The same will hold true 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 feel free to accept option two. If you want to feed the sharks and fish, select option three. If you want to be young and part of a grand adventure where you get to pillage, steal and destroy your enemies, select option one,” Jarod said.
“I don’t know… I don’t… I can’t…” She took a deep breath before looking Jarod in the eye. “Kill me, please,” Rebecca requested.
“Oh Rebecca, hmmm … that name doesn’t suit you at all,” Jarod muttered as the hypnotic notes of the sirens’ song drifted up from the deck below. He walked over to take the Captain by her arm. “You will stand by my side as a goddess, Mallory. Yes, Mallory suits you. Come along 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 grip on her arm tightened to the point that the bones in her forearm broke with an audible crack. She did not scream, however, even though the look in her eyes said she wanted to plead for her life. The sirens’ melody in her ears lulled her into a calm, and despite the pain in her arm, she contorted her face into a smile.
“I’ve changed my mind. The music says that everything will get better.”
“Indeed Mallory. It will indeed get better,” Jarod said, guiding her to her awaiting contract.
∞∞∞
The mighty airship hovered forward out of the storage bay loaded to the gills. The golden light of the portal faded to reveal a burst of early morning sunshine dancing across the Pacific Ocean. Jarod’s new flying vehicle contained tanks, soldiers, and servants. It had enough food for months. Everything from his raids had been tossed into the portal to 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 had made Jarod promise they would return to the ocean or at least get a large pool. Other than that, she had asked for nothing else. When asked what she wanted for her reward, Bubbles had prepared a long list of items. It was really too bad. She had been mostly faithful, up to this point.
Jarod had purchased another hundred Sirens. When he’d learned that Minotaurs were easily controlled by a siren’s will, he’d asked why this was not exploited more often. Ultimately, it came down to the fact that most alpha sirens refused to leave the water and land species’ alpha’s refused to adjust to the Sirens needs. There were almost an infinite number of other options, after all. Why bother dealing with the extra hassle? Jarod could understand this and he realized this must be why the Gate-gods had blessed him so. Jarod was going to change the way the worlds worked, all for the glory of the gods.
Before the ship left, Jarod put Bubbles up for auction for the tiniest amount of neilspar allowed. She kicked and screamed for a half-second about Coral whispering honeyed deceit in his ears. Jarod froze, momentarily, not understanding what she meant by this until she had poofed to wherever slaves went when they were sold. Jane clung to him sweetly afterwards and frequently mentioned how much the gods wanted this. Jarod found he did not care. Jane was his rock.
A new siren waited for him on the bridge of the massive ship that vaguely resembled a candy bar. Jarod described the design to Jane thus, because it was slim enough to fit a portal’s width, but infinitely long for hauling large quantities of … well, anything. This ship had been his best option for his planned invasion. When they arrived back on Earth, the ship lowered from the portal to hover over the water.
Jarod would never have guessed that Earth was filled with Nitrogen. He vaguely remembered having being an environmentalist at heart, in his former life. The tug of a memory that pollution leads to viruses submerged back into the void. He’d learned that carbon represented less than one percent of the Earth’s atmosphere. He did not understand why he found irony in that fact.
Jarod smiled at the siren he assigned to replace Bubbles. She had long blue hair that trailed over the shoulder of her aquasuit. She stood tall, her helmet tucked under her arm while she awaited his orders. Jarod recognized her as one of the many siren concubines he had fucked repeatedly this past week. Jarod realized she deserved a name now.
“You will be my battle commander. This is my wife and your queen, Jane. Do you have any questions?” Jarod asked the siren who stood stiffly at parade rest before him. “Please tell me what name you desire me to call you.”
“I have chosen the name Posey, Lord, in honor of the water god Poseidon,” Posey said. Jane giggled.
Jarod bent Jane over, turned her around and moved her panties to the side. Giggling continued from Jane.
Pointing to her glistening quim, he said, “This is a pussy in my language … it sounds like Posey,” Jarod said matter-of-factly. He released hold of Jane who leaped at him, covering her
King in kisses.
“You are a mighty Lord, brave, and assertive. Your army below is one I would never have thought to contract.” She raised her head to look him in the eyes. “Give me a name, my King, befitting of my station. I would -”
“Hera, your name is now Hera. Give me your stones,” Jarod said without the slightest hint of allowance.
“I do not have any, my King. I carry your children already. Those below, though. They have no stones and are pregnant with others’ babies. That is why we were sold so cheaply, did you wish-”
Jarod screamed in rage, and smashed his fist into the rear wall. The wall groaned and bent inward. He calmed as the gods blessed him with a wave of tranquility that washed 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 want this. Hera,” he ordered, “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 we will have the perfect headquarters,” Jarod said with a wicked smile.
“And if we encounter civilians?” Hera asked.
“Convert or kill.”
“And resistance by the military?” Hera continued.
“Convert or kill,” Jarod said, his evil grin growing wider. “With Jane at my side, and you leading our troops, nothing can stop us. Now, forward Hera, time to conquer a city!”
CHAPTER 8
I was tired again, though my stay in the market, this time, had been only a little over an hour and a half. I grumbled when I finally reached the gravityless teleporter that pulled me through the void or space. Of all things I expected to see when I returned to 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.
“Whoa!” I exclaimed, scoping 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, but was too scared to do a face mask … well, there is the fact that my dick is showing. But I am still pumped, this is fucking epic -”
I pointed at my friend with a slight chuckle. Sure he was one of my subordinate officers, but still a friend. Dedric never swore, was always 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, what? … there was a chance… Mclain!” Dedric was gone, back out of the portal, stomping off to give a Mclain a hard time.
Goldie pixelated into being beside Everly, who was sitting cross-legged. I ventured over to my lovely Crixxi lady, to find her studying bids on thirty-three different screens.
“Hello, love,” I said gently.
“I’m working.” She held up a hand, stopping me as I leaned in to kiss her cheek.
“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 on the ass by comforting myself with a promise that she would pay later. This was a thing she did. She’d get into a little bit of trouble so I could punish her later for her minor transgressions. It was not much fun at first, because it left me frustrated or angry; I had learned to savor her comeuppance. I was not normally so cavalierly dismissed.
I pushed my temper down and blew out a long exhale. I smirked, knowing that she was definitely enjoying the moment … and probably anticipating her punishment even more than I did. Out the golden portal I went.
The cool night air snapped me back to my senses. There was a certain something our overlords simply could not replicate in the market, being on Earth. The bright lights from earlier were gone, dim illumination provided only by the few TP63s and TG99s that remained. A gust of air washed over me. I had returned just in time to witness AC1 taking off. The massive box went straight up into the air without a wobble or a shake. The impressive ship turned and started moving slowly towards 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.
A TG99 clacked against a trailer hitch as the two connected. I watched a crewmember hop out the top hatch and peer down the back of the tank. He shouted something back into the interior while closing the hatch. I sighed, knowing I’d need training on all three of our new vehicles—the sooner the better. I hated expecting my troops to do things I wasn’t at least minimally proficient at doing myself.
A group had gathered outside Goliath 1’s foot; it was the lone machine standing idle. They kept knocking on or kicking at the foot, trying to get it to open. Dedric was trying to address the problem with a frown. I saw Mclain burst into a laugh when I passed him by.
Jevon turned from the group, noticed me, and said, “Goliath 1 is broken.” He shifted to yell back at the crowd, “And just what is so damn funny, Mclain?”
I raised my hand, stopping Mclain from responding. With a gentle pat on Jevon’s back, I answered for him, “I told Dedric here,” I flicked a thumb at the scowling Dedric, “That the acrium could have been a tub of acid.”
Mclain doubled over again, slapping his knee.
“Where is it, by the way?” I asked.
“On AC1.” Jevon scowled at Mclain, then looked up to report, “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,” I finished, “except me. Jill is sleeping in there. The rest of you can head home. You want to ride with me?” I asked Jevon.
He shook his head. “I want some tank time, thanks though. Dedric has something important to tell you,” he smirked, “see you in a bit. If you go down for another nap, let me know.” Jevon’s voice faded as he ran off to a TP63.
Suddenly there was only me and a naked man, covered in gold. There were at least a million memes and puns that sprang to mind. I bit my cheek. A soldier with something important to say needed me to be attentive and listen to him, not to mock him.
“Come on, I guess I can give you a ride home,” I said opening the boot. “Dedric, you’re not me. Run for the heel first. I can adjust. Go!”
He was a soldier, a Saudi veteran who knew better than to doubt my orders. He ran for the heel. I almost fit in beside him in time. I grumbled as I went up sideways. I kicked off the wall to re-orientate myself. A quick adjustment with my arms and I was flying straight up. Dedric hooted and hollered the whole way up. We flew from the hip, to the chest, and I saw him exit for the control room first.
“Aw, Jill … so sorry,” Dedric said, clasping his hands before him in a forgiving manner.
I crested the final bend of the tube to see Jill staring daggers at Dedric. Her face softened when I came into view.
“Hey Jill, I need you awake for this part, actually,” Dedric said. “My bad.”
I walked over to the control station. Goldie popped into being. I thought of traveling to Stronghold Aspen and selected go. No confirmation was needed. I went to sit beside Jill and put an arm around her waist before turning to Dedric, “Out with it, you have five minutes.”
“I went to offer a prayer to the New Zealand folk you saved—May the Lord bless you and shine his light on your soul, Eric. The virum had infected them, but they were sick from a lack of zinc. That changed quickly, being around all of us healthy infected, and they are on the mend. A woman’s tongue grew back right in front of my eyes. It was … um … unique,” Dedric said with a shudder. He kneeled to join u
s on the ground and pulled a corner of Jill’s blanket over to cover his lap. “They were out on the water, adrift, not far from an Xgate, and in distress. Someone finally answered their distress call and they hoped that by the next morning they would be saved.”
Jill looked confused and asked, “Where was this, again?”
“West of New Zealand in … hold on, let me check the Gtower ... the Tasman Sea. In the narrow corridor between Australia and New Zealand,” Dedric said, and Jill lost her composure.
She went from snuggling lazily into my side to on her feet an instant later.
“A sailboat?” She asked desperately.
Dedric shot me a warning look, the news was not going to be good. Unfortunately, there was little I could do to calm her. It was not my place; my place was firmly in the friend zone. Too much interference here might ruin that. Jill was a mature woman … well, a young woman now.
“Jill, I just asked Eric to help you -” Dedric began.
“This is not on me,” I told Dedric. “It’s bad news,” I said to a pacing Jill, “sit down, please.” She shook her head no and kept pacing back and forth.
“Just tell me,” Jill said, biting at a nail in her agitation.
“An American sailing a yacht assaulted the three boats. Two men were killed. He murdered them with a dart gun. Then a Siren, just like the creatures from legend, cut out a poor woman’s tongue. The man was beefy and young looking. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and no tattoos. No names were used. The New Zealander felt he was American because of his accent, though it wasn’t a Texan or Yankee accent,” Dedric said. “I asked a lot of questions because, well, there was a chance.”
Jill had stopped hyperventilating. “For a minute, there, you had me worried. Sure, Jarod could find a boat and I bet if he got the courage to run early on, he might have gotten one. I know Jarod, however, and he is non-confrontational to the extreme. I also know that virum is making most people less aggressive, not more aggressive.” She took a deep breath, “Plus, these sirens seem like bad guys, as does this American. Whatever else he was, Jarod was not a bad guy.”
