by Marcus Sloss
“I mean with the Xgates turning offline, Nancy. Sassy much,” Willow quipped and I knew they were playing.
A fresh heat signature revealed a few huddled residents with hundreds fleeing northwest. Time to dig out some survivors.
I heard Brillian order, “Lock on remain targets.”
“Belay that. You’re doing a superb job General Brillian. We’re not in a rush. Assault those hot spots. I want to try something,” I said and turned to the view screen.
The armada pushed across the Vancouver Harbor to settle over the remaining heat spots.
“What’re you doing?” Nancy said as I went for the door.
“Going to negotiate or rescue some people. You want to come or brood about me leaving,” I said with a teasing smirk. She chucked the empty booze bottle forcing me to catch it.
“Last one out the door gives a back massage,” Nancy said, leaping off the couch and through the first hatch.
Aw, I got played. Even Willow was through the door with her fairy wings. I went to a side window and let in the spring air. When I chucked the bottle it pinged off some destroyed rubble refusing to break. Double aw. I was not sure why I loved hearing glass break, but I did.
I walked over to Longoria. “Look at me, my fairy queen,” I said to her single raised eyebrow at my tone. “You wear that dress flawlessly. It… On topic. We do not matter. These mind orbs do. Even if they are not as vital as they were. You let us die before you let this get captured.”
“We will lift off as soon as your slow butt is out. That was the plan. Mitchell is on his way over with Jevon securing those fleeing on foot,” Longoria said pointing to the holographic table and General Brillian.
“Sorry General. I know how much I would hate me ruining your clean victory. The execution was flawless and the outcome was as desired, keep up the good work.”
“Thank you, King Eric. Um… Sir. Are we trapped on this empty planet?” Brillian said cautiously.
I looked at a frowning Omonair and Rexona who were watching our conversation. I sighed and waved them with me.
“Come we’ll walk and talk while Longoria will protect the minds. You’re in acrium with wings, if you die to a six inch bug I will literally… do nothing. Karma's a bitch and I don’t want to die to a little alien brain sucker,” I said, waving them with me. Brillian went to complain but followed when I shot her a hard glare she resisted saying her comment. “Short answer is yes, you're stuck here. So I haven’t asked this yet. Where did you three come from?”
They looked at each other to see who should go first. We stopped at the weapons rack and geared up. I picked some sort of medium sized machine gun. The blue power it held arced inside the containment eager to be unleashed. I grinned at the sight, the rifle felt perfect in my larger arms. My other weapons were back at the castle. Hmm… back at the house just didn’t sound right.
“You in love?” Rexona said. “I won’t judge you. I got a thing for big guns too, and no, my queens, not flirting.” Willow and Nancy were giving curious inspections of Rexona. “I literally like big weapons. You should see my room.”
That seemed to placate my lovely wives. I certainly was not on the hunt for new wives to bear my children. I was, however, wanting some answers.
“In love, definitely, with these two gorgeous babes. That is not why I dragged you out of the command station,” I said stepping through a fifth open hatchway. Defending this DS66 would be just about the worst. So many choke points for both sides. “You were all purchased. From where?”
Omonair went first and said, “Owlvini master Ordan placed my elite unit on auction knowing another Owlvini would be purchasing me. He emphasized this would be the most important mission of my life. So far it has been killing a simple brain bug and watching this one's rear.”
He pointed at Rexona and I stifled my laugh. Rexona smirked and went next.
“I was caught raiding a human planet, the blue skin kind. We flew into an invisible sticky wall. The whole unit became trapped when the first of us busted the pins connecting the maddening clear stuff. We were placed on auction until Willis purchased me and now I am here,” Rexona said.
Brillian cleared her throat and said, “There are forty-four thousand anfrilia in Bastion. Our home was an immense series of spires; their architecture so astounding only the creator themself could ever envision. I defended Comar for countless years. Our defenses aided by the goliaths such as the owlvini and divine-apes. Our victories were sound and our foes piled high in their body count. I am a devout believer that the all-mighty creator is the only being worthy of praise and the divines are not gods. So I gleefully slay those who call them such. I am guessing since the Xgates are inactive I can speak freely. I was told I would get the mission of all missions. We’re but one branch in a thousand trying to achieve the same goal. Destroy Arixon and end the rule of the divines.”
We reached the outside of the aircraft. The slow pace of our progression caused our boots to echo in the enclosed space. When I stepped outside I saw infantry suits securing the area. Soldiers were digging into a crumpled building for those trapped below. I wasn’t above helping, but the mechanical servos were doing the literal heavy lifting.
“Did you come here to die?” I asked the three of them.
My eyes went to each of them slowly and I heard two no’s and a yes. I turned to Omonair and pointed to the sky. “Do you want to fight the last thing we can that is a creation of the divines?” I asked. He shrugged, nodded, and grunted in what I assumed was a yes. “There is death up there, maybe, but not guaranteed. Or you can choose life and children down here. Have you had children?”
There was a wince from Brillian and a dropped jaw from Rexona. “No. Soldiers are not allowed to have families, it has been found to cloud a warrior’s true mettle. If we breed, we forfeit our warrior status. That was an offensive question but I am a smart demonix. One does not ask if I am willing to die and tests my prowess and then calls me a coward by asking if I had children.”
I gestured palms up in a ‘you got me’ manner. “I asked where you came from, and what you want to do because our lives are going to change. I want to build an army so grand that we can travel the stars with it. So that one day when the Xgates go upright we find those gate worshiping assholes and kill them all. We will need good demonix like you for when that day comes.”
“I like that idea more than dying against a machine,” Omonair said and I burst into long laughter.
“Aw, what joke did I miss?” Mitchell said, waving hello as he arrived. “Was it a sex body joke? Hey, who goes to war in a sex body? Joe Momma!”
Nancy found this hilarious and the aliens gave the duo odd stares as they cracked up.
“One second Mitchell. Omonair. I want you to fight with me down the line. That means there will be a long peace. A time where we need additional soldiers. Can you breed and then keep being a warrior with a king’s decree?” I asked.
Mitchell went to insert a smartass comment but a pointed warning finger from Willow stilled his tongue.
“You would honor me so?” Omonair asked.
“Of course you brought me the brain bug’s eye,” I replied and Brillian was looking concerned. Rexona's eyes were widening.
“Then I request a boon to create offspring with a mate of my choosing,” Omonair said awkwardly.
Rexona was trying to tell me no, but I ignored her and said, “As King Eric, of the Bastion Nation, of the Owlvini Alliance, I grant Omonair the right to choose a mate and create offspring.”
Omonair scooped Rexona up who squeaked.
“Hey, what’re you doing?” I asked as he turned to leave.
He retreated into the dropship while saying, “Making babies” The door hissed shut behind him.
“I goofed didn’t I?” I asked no one in particular.
Brillian shrugged. “She could do worse. Most of the demonix are dumb as rocks. He uses advisors. They’ll have a dukedom somewhere else. Their young are insanely violent and must
, I repeat must, be kept separate. So it's a given anyway that she would find a mate. You just hurried the process, not ruined it. Notice how she didn’t complain. I swear I saw her smiling. Mating is normally prohibited because the children are such assholes and the process so violent.”
I rubbed my temples and sent a message to Perci. ‘Figure out where the demonix will live long term. Updates to follow.’ - Hubbydabest.
“Mitchell, got good news?” I asked grumbling at how Perci controlled my names on the network still.
“Yes and no.” He walked away for us to follow. “The good news is a family of four was not infected. A medical scarybear did a proper examination. When they screamed from the fright of virum inserting into their skin he put them under. Malnourished, but they will be fine,” Mitchell said with a pause. “Right, so the horenix are assholes. Be ready for that.”
We approached three humans on their knees. An East Indian couple with a daughter who was no older than eight. They were silent at our approach. Their guards tensed as I neared.
From my research, the host was not any stronger from the combined form. I had almost four feet and two hundred pounds on the father. Still, I was proud of my troops. My trip around the three showed they were all infected.
“Do you work as a hive mind?” I asked knowing the answer was no. My question was nothing more than a simple test.
“Fucking idiot?” The daughter said and spat at me.
I whipped my weapon to point between her eyes and she paused before saying, “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Willow we should go,” Nancy said from behind me.
I walked around the body and pointed at the horenix. “Let me say this. You’re torturing that little girl. Either I end her torture by killing you both. Or you let her go and you live. Even a fucking idiot can understand that. You got to the count of three. One -”
“Hurray the retard can -”
“Two, and three.”
I shot the horenix and killed the duo. The body crumpled forward and the alien legs fell to the ground. I walked to the mother. “I know you can let the bodies live, you have to the count of three.”
“Wait!” the father shouted. “They will kill you for killing their daughter. I can read his mind. Let us go and she will never hatch another child.”
“One,” I said with a pause. “Two. Three.”
My round tore through the horenix and both died again.
“Why are you doing this? You’re killing your own kind,” the father screamed.
“I have it from a very good source that you trap and torment your host. Even if you can play nice with your host, you would let them go if you were not an asshole parasite. But you’re a dick species. So I’m not killing them any more than when I removed your brethren occupying Northern Vancouver. This is to free this family to a better place. One, two, -”
The horenix detached and fled.
“Kill it!” I shouted.
It died from about three hundred rounds of fire as every guard and trooper around unloaded.
The father’s lifeless body was sprawled with his arms apart. His eyes were left open and glazed over in death. Little asshole horenix killed him and then tried to run. I knew how this went. It was going to be a slog to get through Kelowna. Exactly the kind my soulless heart could handle.
CHAPTER 17
“Oh, Daxstar, glad to see your face. We’ve been worried you were overly distraught,” I said from my comfy spot on the couch. The dropship screen was occupied in a creepily huge display of massive golden eyes glaring at me.
I adjusted the image to keep watching Vancouver as it was being secured. The survivors crawling out of their hiding spots finally realized they were being rescued en mass. That was great and fantastic with very few downsides.
The captured horenix were another story. Three. Only three let go of hosts without killing them as they tried to retreat into any hiding they could find. While those three gave me hope for the majority it was a brutal mess and now we were in the slow process of evacuating people before storming Kelowna.
“Who me? I’m an ancient ornery bird and you needn’tof ever become distraught over my mental acuity. As to your earlier question, Ovinious is Goldie. The divine cares very little about his true name. So you want the good news or the bad news?” Daxstar asked impatiently.
I was going to go into a tangent but I could tell he was still brooding over his ancient plans unfolding with the Xgates suddenly going offline.
“Let’s go with the good, I got shitty news from Vancouver, and it’s going to get worse with Kelowna I predicted,” I said.
Daxstar shifted from my Gpad to the wall display. He used the image to populate a rendering of the world. The map showed all eighteen thousand Xgates highlighted in blue. From this scale, they seemed to take up so little space.
“We’re constructing Xgate movers capable of only needing a team of three to operate. The first ones could be done if we start tomorrow. We’d have to hold back other programs?” Daxstar paused when I held a hand up.
“The up high project on hold or military stuff like fighters and walkers?” I asked.
“Military fighters would get delayed by a few days if we shifted now. The reward of moving the Xgates is far more tempting than a few flying tanks. You want me to shift to Xgate movers?” Daxstar asked and I nodded. That was enough for him and he continued. “They’re going to the south pole. We’re moving them all into a pile at the very tip, which will lead to a fantastic distance between us and the Xgates when they start roaming.”
Nancy stood to pace while digesting this news. “That means we’d have the continent to ourselves. Even goliath species would struggle to reach us at our home quickly without a lot of support equipment,” she said with a loud huff.
“Before you ask, we’re going to take Bastion above ground! We can do that now. The cavern will always be a fallback. To properly secure an upper settlement will take years not weeks and the sheer distance from the Xgates we can safely live on the surface. These zoo animals will become more of a safari. All great things so far,” Daxstar said with a fake smile.
Willow excitedly said, “This is fantastic. I… that’s amazing. I bet Perci is over the moon.”
“Well, there have been very positive results from the citizens as expected. We literally got to tell them the fighting is somewhat over for now. As imagined the Teton Fortress is eager to return to their old ways. So there is going to be some pushback and they are already saying they own the United States of America in its entirety,” Daxstar said and I laughed.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“Who me, what makes you think I’d do something?”
“Daxstar you’re ancient, getting told who owns what by a pompous asses will always deserve some trolling,” I said knowing he would get the reference.
The owl hooted out a laugh. “Fine, I may have moved a building printer in front of their only large exit… and the small ones too. There are statues of you blocking their way. Will take them longer to clear than to ask for help. Which without the golden gates they will need. Side note we may have some happy accidents happen to ensure a peaceful future,” Daxstar’s tone had shifted to grim.
“Ugh, Daxstar I have never killed a person in… never mind. I have killed people in all sorts of ways. We’ll talk about that later because the fact that Teton Fortress is contained is good. I want them to ask for help. I want the residents to know their leaders are in fact powerless,” I said with a grunt.
“Moving along, there will be people wanting to be free again. They gave up a lot of their freedoms and based on our analysis there will be problems. Over time humans will begin to call it a conspiracy that the Xgates will flare up again and that we are forever safe. Not good or bad news really. We have a large enough gene pool that even ten percent leaving would be fine,” Daxstar said so matter of factly.
Willow snorted and said, “Send them to Australia!”
We rolled our eyes. “And the bad
news?” Nancy asked.
“Immediately very little. I still have more good news really. Not right away, but eventually we can move Mars into orbit. Same with the moon you call Titan. Both rocks are great candidates for expansion. So instead of giving the rowdy bunch a continent, a planet would be better,” Daxstar said with a hooting sigh. “And given time we can move all but one of the portals into the sun, or a few. This has changed a lot for how everything… well… is.”
Images of the planets entering the goldilocks zone were rendered on the screen. Hundreds of small ships dragged the planets near and then cycled them into an orbit. The screen shifted to ships rocketing off the Earth for the asteroid belt. Mining was in full swing with orbitals processing materials.
“This is the future. We will shift mining to asteroids and living on multiple planets. The old ways are gone. You now have the ability to touch the stars, and literally destroy them. Eventually, an enemy fleet can arrive but again the good news is we’re on the edge of the established universe. Earth is a distant planet that would take five jumps and we’re hardly a prime target. At the time of the collapse, the recording will show this planet had almost zero manufacturing output or input. The Xgates track what goes in and out and we should be fine, but better to prepare. So our side knows where to hit generally speaking and the number is in the tens of thousands of divine planets. This was supposed to be a long two sided slugfest, but it has been delayed.”
I grunted for attention. “Basically we’re free of aliens for how long?”
“Ah, so the bad news even though there is a whole lot to cover. Unknown. Early estimates are ten years but that is extremely unlikely. Properly preparing puts the enemy at a hundred to a thousand. Think about it, Eric,” Daxstar said with a pause. “Let me step it back so you actually can. The divines are run by an orb master named Seetheus. He was the council leader who rallied the defeated forces, coined the concept to merge with an AI, and then reconquered what was lost. All the strategies this mind has implemented have never been rushed. He is methodical and cunning. Sure we outplayed him with a surprise attack. This was supposed to transition to his death and his demise on Arixon. He escaped both and sidelined our maneuvers by shutting down the Xgates.”
