"Fuck!" I cursed wincing from the pain. "Can you shoot at the fleeing ship?"
"No. The batteries have been disabled," Devil replied.
One last explosion shook the training bay next to the hangar doors. The wall separating the two areas collapsed, venting all air and killing what fire had remained.
The barrier Gremory put up around us held, but I could feel the strain on her body. She winced and made grimaces as if in horrible pain.
"We need to get inside!" she hissed, pressing in against me. Our barriers merged as she unfurled her wings and flew us toward the nearest entrance hatch.
"Will we make it?" I asked. It was strange how I hadn’t thought about dying during my battles over the last day, but being stranded out here in space without control over my own life just showed how fragile we were.
"I can always make it, but not you. Your parasites will die and kill you as the host with them."
I blinked once, twice, then cursed.
"Hurry it up then!"
She winked at me reassuringly as we flew toward a marked red door some two hundred feet toward the center. She put her hands around the lever, but even with her super-human strength, it wouldn’t budge.
"Let me try," I said and used my still transformed hands to twist the lever. "Fuck," I cursed as the lever snapped, and the barrier around me shimmered. The coldness of space hit me face first and sucked all air from the barrier.
Chapter Fifteen
"I see you’re finally awake," Lucifer’s familiar voice resounded in my mind. My eyes fluttered open, and the usual view of his bar brought me unexpected joy. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure why, but it surely must have had something to do with the fact that I was most likely still alive.
"Hi, boss man," I replied, walking over to the bar. Smoke wafted from a lit cigar at an empty seat.
"Try it out. I had some made on a planet called Entraxila. They’re very similar to you Humans, but about two times in size and quite a bit stronger in raw physical strength."
I picked the cigar up and inhaled a lungful of smoke. Not used to the stuff, I coughed violently. I had no idea something could hit you so hard that quickly.
"The hell? I barely survived against the aliens, and you want to off me with a cigar?" I wheezed, coughing again.
"No. I just wanted to give you some information, that’s all. See, I have a feeling that you’ll need somewhere to hide, or start over again very soon."
"Huh? Why is—that? Yeah, I guess you’re right, Lucifer. Or whatever you want me to call you," I replied. I noticed his amused expression and wicked grin when I looked back at him.
"You’ve exceeded my expectations this time around, so I’ll give you a piece of advice. Cannibalize the Gebradim ship. Devil will adjust to the foreign parts and material, no worries about that. The important thing is that you understand the ship is alive, and it needs a Commander to who’s lifeline it’s bonded. Devil is already part of you, so there’s no better choice."
I thought about it carefully, and the way he’d make it sound was that he'd told me everything and nothing at the same time—what a scheming bastard.
"What happens if I accept?" I asked, pouring myself a drink. "I die if the ship dies?"
Lucifer stayed silent, his wicked grin unwavering.
"More or less. But! There’s a big but before you protest. Since the ship is a living thing, it can be upgraded very easily, just like you. It can ‘eat’ other spaceships, raw materials and—the dead. Unfortunately, it reverted back to tier two now that Cafka escaped and blew a part of it up, so you have a long way to go until it is a tier three again."
"Tiers? So, the ship is like a living armament? An enormous parasite?"
"Sure is. I thought I told you as much, no?"
I sighed.
"No, you didn’t. But tell me, does it have special skills like with my parasites?"
"Yes, it does. However, the ship can only draw skills from Armaments it possesses, and with each tier, it can attach another parasite to its core. Imagine another Khepri type of parasite for Devil."
"Better armor and protection you mean?"
Lucifer nodded.
"Yes. A thicker outer layer, a shield, a better propulsion system. You want it, and you name it. He’s somewhat perfect in that regard. What’s more, when there’s no one on board, you can give the order to re-shift walls, floors, and the ceiling. Rooms, the brig, the training bay, engineering. You can even open up new space."
"I see," I replied thoughtfully. Lucifer remained silent a moment longer to let it all sink in.
"Besides, I noticed the doctor’s enthusiasm for your situation. Maybe you could give her a private lab?"
"Wait, so what you’re saying is that Devil is a living base that can shift any way I see fit?"
Lucifer chuckled and snapped his fingers. A parchment very similar to the first I’d signed appeared in his hand. He held it out for me and nodded slowly.
"You know what to do, don’t you?"
I nodded, but then a thought crept up.
"Anything else I should know? Are there any other benefits since I’m both hosting Devil as an Armament and a ship?"
"Oh, you’re quite the smart one. Sure, there’s plenty. The longer you’re linked to both, the better you can synchronize with each other. At one point, you’ll be able to teleport around on the ship or from the surface up and down. But not anytime soon. Anyway, you’ll have to find out yourself in time. This is uncharted territory after all. I can’t remember ever being such a specimen as yourself."
"Right. How convenient, huh? It’s not like you can take my soul two times, no?" I joked, adding a second signature to the existing contract by smearing more of my blood around.
"No, but I can take the souls of your children. Think carefully before you decide to have any in the future."
I managed to inhale the cigar smoke one more time before the all too familiar darkness flooded over me, and I drifted off to sleep.
"Good, he’s waking up. His vitals are stable," a young woman whispered. "But I have no idea what’s going on up there."
"Up where, doc?" I groaned fluttering open my eyes.
"Hah! See? He’s way too tough to die from as simple a thing as losing some oxygen!" Gene said from my left. I flashed him a weak smile and noticed Heather in his arms.
"Heather," I nodded and winked at the guard captain. "It’s good to see that you took care of everything on your end, big guy."
"Hah! You can count on me, Commander!" he snapped a salute.
A nauseating feeling washed over me as I remembered what happened in the end. That bastard Cafka blew up a part of the ship and escaped, leaving us out in open space.
"Where’s that bastard Cafka? And where’s his son’s corpse?" I growled sitting up.
"Gone," a new voice said from my behind me. The door swished closed behind Gremory as she entered the research bay, but his son’s remains are in located in the hold. We put him in a body bag, or what remained of him anyway. I thought Samson and his girl might enjoy seeing what we did to him."
"Good, I sure hope they appreciate the gesture. Anyway, what about our casualties, and how badly damaged is Devil?"
Gremory shrugged.
"You can ask him all of that yourself, can’t you? Anyway, he informed me you’ve signed up as the commander."
"Oh, right," I murmured as the small crowd stared at me. "Do you guys know what’s going on?"
"Sure do," Gene said. Heather and the doc nodded as well. Brown was the only one who looked like he had no idea what I was talking about before he burst out in laughter.
"Commander, you’re quite the beast if I may say so," he said and nodded.
"Right, right. So, how long have I been out of it?"
"Seventeen days," Gremory offered. "I think the only reason for your survival is Khepri. She’s one stubborn Armament."
I noticed her accent the word Armament and figured she didn’t want the word parasite used in front of the re
st. But I didn’t want to lie to my core group, so why make it sound prettier than it was?
"Where are Samson and Levi?" I snapped and moved to stand, but I was still too weak on my legs. Gene and Brown caught my falling body, then helped me sit up again.
"Hey, calm down. They’re alive, so to say," the doc said motioning for the two to move.
"We managed to get more of the Feraline," Gremory said and looked proudly at the two vats. "And yes, it was me who got it. Don’t ask how."
"I owe you another one, Lady Death," I whispered and nodded my thanks. "Why do I feel there’s a ‘but’ coming?"
"Because there is. The two are comatose while the fluid keeps them alive, and only barely at that. Their wounds were too severe, especially after the explosion and the loss of the previous batch of the Feraline."
"I think the two Armaments we salvaged could save their lives," Gremory said, putting her hand on my shoulder. "I mean, I know."
"How the hell do you think you know? There’s no scientific proof of that! It might as easily kill them!" the doc yelled, waving her hands all over the place.
"Do it," I said. "The parasites are the perfect match for the two from what I’ve seen. It’s as if someone sent them right to us, don’t you think?" I asked Gremory with a cold stare.
"I guess. We worship the devil after all, no? He takes care of his own. And please, stop calling them parasites. Outside this room, those things are called Armaments."
I waved her off and turned to the doc.
"Is this an order?" the doc asked. "As in, an order from the Commander?"
I nodded.
"It is. Do it." There was no way I’d lose my friends and allies over such a matter.
She sighed and moved past Brown to a large shelf on the wall. Two jars sat there, one beside the other. They were filled with a dark grey substance, and I couldn’t help but notice the slightest of movements inside, imagining the two parasites trying to get out.
Doc took one and placed the jar in an opening on the vat and then stopped. They were small and looked so harmless. The closest I could think of that it looked like, would be a snail.
"Which ones were they again? I forgot," she said apologetically.
"Doc!" Gremory growled. "The one in your hand is Nyx. Put her in Levi’s vat, and Atlas in Samson’s."
"Yeah, yeah. Hold your horses. The excitement got to me, is all."
Gremory rolled her eyes while shaking her head.
"How long until we know if it worked or not?" I asked to distract the two.
"A couple of hours? If their bodies start reacting positively, we’ll call you. But for now, I think the survivors need to hear from their new commander," Doc said, almost forcing me to get up. "It’s quite crowded here, no? I need to take notes, and you’re all in the way. Gene can stay and make out with his dear, but the rest of you can scram."
I chuckled by the brazen change of attitude and got to my feet, finally able to stand again.
"Devil, what’s the largest space we currently have aboard that could accommodate all survivors?"
"The cargo hold. There are currently 3,992 souls on board. From those, 412 are civilians, 344 contractors with their families, and the rest are military. In one capacity or the other."
"Have them all get there in say, one hour? I need to get a change of clothes and figure out where I’m going to stay with Gremory from now on."
She stopped me, lifted her right eyebrow questioningly.
"You know something I don’t, lover boy?"
"Have you forgotten about the contract, lover girl?" I asked in turn and pressed my body against hers. "You belong to me," I whispered.
"Oh, this is going to be so much fun if the two of you start brawling!" Brown cackled. Fun my ass.
"Move it, regular. Check on your Battalion, you’re the new BC, my friend."
His eyes and mouth opened wide in surprise. At one point, I thought he was going to faint. Luckily, he didn’t.
"Sir, yes, sir! What about the transfer of power?"
"Just show them this recording," I said and repeated the same into the tapper. "If anyone has a problem with it, they can come to find me."
He saluted, turned about, and ran off talking to himself.
"So, where were we?" I asked and turned back to Gremory.
"At where you and I were going to stay from now on," she murmured.
"Huh? You’re not excited?"
"Why would I be? I’m not some property you two can shift around as you see fit!"
"Well, that’s not wholly true now. You belonged to him, didn’t you?"
She scowled and pushed me off her.
"Whatever, master. Please follow me."
Some ten minutes later, we found ourselves standing in the doorway to Cafka’s private ‘wing’ as Gremory called it. In front of the door lay six soldiers still loyal to the deposed regime. They were still alive, as I didn’t want to begin my reign like someone who killed indiscriminately.
Ten regulars and rookies had come to pick them up and bring the group to the brig. BC Brown was at their head looking all business.
"This is the officer’s room as they used to call it, but even going so far as to call it a cafeteria is too generous," Gremory said.
"Then we’ll keep it that way. The officers need a place where they can talk in private or search us out if we’re needed. I want to be approachable."
"Oh, you sly Demon. You want them all here so you can listen in on their banter. You’re truly a devil," she whispered.
"Yeah, whatever," I replied, waving her off. "Say, can you make your new commander a drink? I think these two are thirsty. They’re quiet for some reason, so I want to loosen them up."
"Sure. I could use one myself," she replied and opened the refrigerator unit behind the bar. It was all made from high-gleaming steel combined with glass and looked like it held enough alcohol to get the whole ship drunk.
"The reason Khepri isn’t talking is that she’s asleep. I think it’ll stay that way for a while longer. She used up all her power to keep a bubble around your head for long enough," Devil replied.
"I see. Let me know when she’s awake. I owe you both my life. Thank you."
"Yeah, whatever. You owe me food. Think hard about how you’re going to deliver."
I chuckled and sat next to Gremory who’d poured us two glasses of some clear white liquid. The bottle’s label said Smirnoff. I had no idea what it was, but it hit me right in the gut.
Gremory laughed, putting her arm around me as I studied the interior. It was too luxurious for my taste, with leather sofas and recliners all over the place. Expensive looking paintings depicting battles in space were arrayed neatly along the walls.
"We sure made a good team, huh?"
I nodded gulping down the rest, coughed and barely caught myself. I had no idea how to drink. I never did, but it was a great day to learn.
"Wow now, take it easy. That stuff’s quite strong, the Vodka I mean. That’s how they call it down on Earth. They still produce it there, you know? A bottle of that shit can go for a year’s salary, for the rookies I mean. We earn much more."
"Do we? How the hell do you think we’re going to get paid now?"
She frowned.
"Fuck. Were all on our own now, aren’t we?"
Chapter Sixteen
In the end, I opted for an ordinary smart-cloth that was only ‘slightly’ above regular grade. I didn’t want to distinguish myself too much from the rest and appear like a new Cafka. They’d gone through enough crap as it was.
As the hour passed, Gremory and I found ourselves standing in front of a large crowd. Devil informed me that not everyone would be present, and only about three thousand would be there as the rest was on essential duties, were wounded, detained, or otherwise indisposed.
The crowd was uneasy, and most of them had worried expressions on their faces, while some others seemed eager to get on with it.
"As most of you already know, there have
been some changes in the hierarchy of the Steel Legion. From this day onward, I’ll be in command along with Gremory, our Lady Death. Once we’ve set for a course and decided how to proceed, we’ll assign new ranks those deserving and get a new chain of command set up, which will take up the rest of today. As it stands now, you’ll have to bear with us for a little longer."
I stopped to take a deep breath and study the faces closest to me. To my surprise, BC Aiden and Lieutenant Kris stood in the front row, both alive and grinning. I nodded their way slightly and winked at Kris. Even though it was quite dark, I could see her face flush red as the BC slapped her on the back and whispered something in her ear.
"So, what does this mean? Everything. I’m now a wanted ‘criminal’ for killing Cafka’s sons. But that doesn’t have anything to do with you. I’ll contact the core world and ask them for a one time only permit to dock and let anyone get off who wishes to do so, and for those who do not want to leave, they should be able to get their families to come on board."
I stopped again, taking another short break to let the announcement sink in. Their lives had changed rapidly, and everyone present had the right to choose for themselves. I imagined many of them would leave once we reached Earth, but that remained to be seen.
"For now, I need all of you to think about one thing only. I need you to think very hard and very carefully about it. If you stay, your loyalty is to the Legion and me. Not to Earth or the rich families. It will be hard, it will be taxing on all of us, but I already have a destination in mind where we will start carving out our place in this vast expanse. The planet is almost identical to Earth and is populated by a species very similar to Humans. Gremory and I will go down and negotiate with them, but in case they put up a fight, we’ll show them that coexistence is the only way."
Gremory stepped up and put her hand on my shoulder.
"I feel the need to add something, and I hope my partner will forgive me?"
I nodded and motioned for her to proceed.
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