Legion of Steel

by Lucian Knight

  Chapter Seventeen

  "So, you’ve got two of those Armaments inside?" Kris asked as she poured us three glasses of the Smirnoff from earlier. I nodded and winced as Gremory traced her long fingers across the wounds on my back. She sure didn’t know how to have sex like a normal Human being, instead she almost ripped me open and forced me to hurt her in the process. It was the only way for her hunger to stop, just like with me and eating brains or hearts.

  "Yeah. Devil and Khepri, if it means anything to you," I replied and took the offered glass from her hand. The liquid was clear as water but had a strong smell to it. I looked up at Kris, who still stood right before me only wearing a t-shirt that ended just above her knees.

  "It doesn’t, but whatever. Today has been just weird in every way possible. First off Gremory asked me to become your ‘secretary,’" she said quoting with her fingers, "Then she convinced me to help you under the shower, and in the end, I witness you almost killing each other."

  I shrugged.

  "You have no idea," I joked. "Stuff is even more messed up than you can imagine."

  She looked back at me blankly.

  "You’re not helping your case, Commander. Not in the least. And besides, I really could do with some normalcy for now. We almost died during the invasion, and then again during Cafka’s escape. I want everything to go back as it was. Peaceful and quiet."

  "Somehow I doubt we’ll get there anytime soon," Gremory said, tracing her tongue over my back. "Anyway, now that you’ve seen part of our ‘true selves’, are you giving up?" she added, breaking my skin with her long nails.

  "As long as you don’t do to me what you do to each other, I’m fine. Speaking of which, when do I start? What do you want me to do anyway? Besides giving the odd blowjob or something."

  Gremory chuckled as she pulled me closer to her.

  "We need to resolve the tapper issue along with getting a command structure up and running. We need to know what provisions we have, as well as the general state of our mother ship. You can start with any of those tasks," Gremory offered. "Unless you don’t feel like it, you can go and bob your head."

  Kris frowned and crossed her arms. The t-shirt, already being quite short, became even shorter. She looked down, noticing the hem of her shirt being quite far up, but she remained standing.

  "Whatever, it’s not like the two of you aren’t naked. I’ll go ahead and conscript some help, then get to taking care of your orders. Debrief in the morning? The two of you can leave everything to us and rest. If we need you, I’ll wake you up."

  I shrugged and rolled out of Gremory’s arms, then pulled her up on top of me.

  "Thanks, Kris. I’ll make sure to reward you for everything you’re doing," I said and faced my Lady Death. Kris sighed and waved us off before she put on her smart-suit and walked out.

  "Now, I think the two of us need to have a chat. Do you want to start, or shall I?" Gremory asked. I thought about it and nodded.

  "I first want to know one crucial thing. Why are you doing this?"

  She frowned and pulled away slightly.

  "What do you mean with this?"

  "Having sex and laying with me, getting Kris to be our aide or whatever and so on. I need to know where we stand. If I’m the only one who’s going into this with his emotions, fuck that. I don’t need that kind of trouble in my life, not now."

  "Hmm," she replied, narrowing her eyes on me. "My Armament is called Lilith. She’s very versatile, and can almost create anything for me. She's like a polymorph. There’s one terrible drawback, however. I need pain and sex for the hunger to pass. Besides, she’s Lucifer’s consort, so we’re drawn together naturally."

  "I see. That explains the need for violence and rough sex earlier to a better degree. Look, I can live with this if we’re on the same page, but don’t go too far. If you think there isn’t going to be anything else between us, you can go find your room to stay in and knock on my door when you need a release."

  Gremory got off me and lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

  "I don’t know what you expect of me," she said. "We’re mutually attracted to each other through our Armaments, and you aren’t ugly as far as I’m concerned," she joked, turning her back to me. "Say, do you have any idea how old I am?"

  "It doesn’t matter to me, even if you were a hundred years old. You’re mine, both body and soul. Or would you rather lay with the likes of Cafka?"

  "Hell no! Idiot!" she snapped, throwing a pillow my way. I couldn’t help but stare at her shapely figure. She was beautiful, even when beaten and battered. "What? Don’t stare at me like that, pervert!" she hissed playfully and stuck her tongue out.

  "You’re to die for, do you know that?"

  "Maybe. Maybe not. Many have died for me, that’s a given. Do you want to be the first to die with me, instead of for me?"

  Her voice wavered slightly as if she was mourning someone.

  "I guess you don’t want to talk about it?" I more commented than asked. Of course, she didn’t want to, but it felt like the right thing to ask.

  "How about we have Devil share more info on all of this? I mean, your situation is much more complicated than mine. You’re housing two different Armaments, but the basics should still apply."

  "Yeah. Say, Devil," I said and looked up at the ceiling. "I need much more information than the two of you gave me. And has Khepri awakened yet?"

  To my surprise, the hidden speakers came alive with low, growling laughter.

  "So, what do you birdies want to know?" Devil asked with a hint of sarcasm.

  "Everything, but condensed. The main things are the ship and the parasites. How do we repair the ship? Can we even repair it if we conquer the Gebradim ship that’s stuck on our bow? There are enough questions to go around all day without me needing to ask them."

  "True, true. So, do you want me to propose what to do next? Or do you want general information only?"

  "Propose something. You’re the oldest one present on this spaceship, so tell me what you would want us to do."

  "In that case, one of you will need to head over and kill any remaining Gebradim. Once I start the assimilation process, I’ll be even more vulnerable than I am now. We got batteries on our starboard and the cannon at the stern, but the port side got blown to hell."

  "Doable. I’ll be the one to head out once I’ve checked up on Samson and Levi," I said and put my hand on Gremory’s shoulder. "Lay with me a bit longer?"

  She didn’t reply, but followed my lead and put her head on my chest. I traced up and down her back with my fingers, sending shivers up her spine. She twitched and purred like a tiger.

  "As to the other thing you’re thinking about, I have no idea. What I can say is that you’ve already discovered a part of what you’re capable of. You can switch between the tiers one skills once every 24 hours, at tier two 48 hours, and so on. What’s more, once you hit tier two on both Armaments, you can start mixing them around."

  "Mixing them around as in changing what where? Yeah, you told me about it earlier."

  "Well, how about you listen to this then. You can’t maintain a single transformation for too long. There’s a harmony in the way we are now. Always try to balance between the two of us unless you need to survive a hit, or want maximum attacking power for a short time."

  I surely hit the jackpot if I managed to get up to tier two and got to mix around with their properties and positioning.

  "Say, are there any parasites that can integrate with ships? I mean, you’re created from Lucifer’s rib. Any others out there like you?" I asked curiously.

  "Yes, but not to this extent. Their ships are ‘partially’ alive, while I’m fully sentient. I feed on materials and regrow, while they need to be repaired by hand."

  "Hmm. Can you scan Beta and the ship that rammed us? See if anything looks interesting to you? Something I could offer you as a token of, let’s say, loyalty?"

  Devil went silent for a while. Gremory looked up at me i
nquiringly, as if I had the answer to every question.

  "Yes. This ship is one of three sister ships hanging around Beta. The other two aren’t finished yet, even less manned. Maybe we could eat all three and transmute the ship Armament?"

  I liked the idea, even though I had no idea what it meant. If Devil was to become my home, I wanted it to become one tough bastard.

  "I’ve decided on our course of action, in that case. Once the first ship is clean, you can go ahead and eat it. Gremory can clean up the remaining ships and prepare them for you. Once that’s done, we can go down and visit Beta. I guess the planet is quite rich with valuable materials."

  "Hah, you have no idea. Just the queen could upgrade you to tier three if you managed to eat her. By my approximation, there’s at least a score of awakened Gebradim down there, as well as the captured livestock."

  "Huh? Livestock? You mean like cattle and stuff?"

  "No, he means other races. There’s a Human colony down there. It isn’t that big, only about a thousand of them. But there’s food and other materials down there we could use for our people."

  "So, how many people can fit on the ship as is then?" I asked thoughtfully.

  "We have a capacity of six thousand. Without repairs, that’s down to four thousand. If we managed to upgrade by eating all three enemy ships, we might get up to ten thousand."

  "And how big would the compartments be? I don’t want people living in two by two boxes. Can you switch the amount of room they’re allocated?"

  "I can. But it takes a lot of planning. Once I start, it can’t be stopped, even if I crush someone to death with my walls."

  "How long will it take? From start to finish, I mean."

  "For what capacity?" Devil asked.

  "Hmm, what do you think, Gremory? Eight thousand?"

  She shrugged.

  "I would keep it at six thousand. A lot of the species held down there aren’t compatible with Humans. And once we conquer Entraxila, we won’t need all the room. It’s a waste of materials. Better yet, five thousand and add to the exterior with the rest. Create more gun batteries, better shielding, a second engine bay, and another training room. The one we had was destroyed. We need an enormous cargo bay as well for all the ammunition, the food, and other supplies. I think you should leave this better to Kris and me," Gremory proposed.

  I nodded, impressed by her way of thinking.

  "Agreed. So, can you tell me one more thing, Devil?"

  He let out a low sounding yawn and snorted, or at least I thought it sounded that way.

  "What?"

  "Got any update on Levi and Samson?"

  "Hah, funny that you ask. They’re going at it in the research bay, fucking like bunnies and doing what the two of you did earlier under the shower."

  I blinked, trying to understand what he just said. They just awakened and were going at it already? Now that’s quite—ballsy.

  "Can you put it up on a screen or something?" Gremory asked. "I’m curious how that’s working out for them. She’s like three heads shorter than him."

  In all honesty, I had to admit to being as interested as she was.

  "Suit yourself," Devil replied as a video stream appeared on our wall. True to his words, the two of them were stark naked, and Levi had planted herself atop the man. However, they were both partially transformed by their parasites.

  "Oh! That’s fucking gross!" I exclaimed. "How the hell does that even work? And why are they like me when awakened, and not like Gremory?"

  "Questions and more questions. How the hell should I know? You were the first, shouldn’t you know? And besides, Gremory’s Armament awakened naturally, more or less. You ingested a parasite."

  "Alright already, you snarky bastard," I snapped and sat upright. "Gremory? Care to join me down there?"

  She shrugged.

  "If you let her play with us next time, sure."

  We made our way to the research bay, which wasn’t that far out. It took us about five minutes at a steady pace. The distance wasn’t at fault, but the bustling Humans were. Many handshakes, slight nods and whatever passed for good manners later, we finally stood in front of the door where we found the doc, Heather, and Gene listening in to what was going on inside.

  "What's up," I asked, stopping right behind them. The three yelped, caught off guard and red-handed.

  "Commander, it’s so good to see you," Ashiala said hurriedly. "As to what’s up, well, the two awakened and were extremely—horny for some reason. They’ve been at it for over half an hour. I think this is their fourth time or something."

  "And you never thought about informing me?"

  Ashiala shrugged.

  "I got too excited. Sue me."

  "Whatever. Let me hear what’s going on," I said, walking past her. Just when I put my ear against the reinforced, metallic door, Levi let out a scream. It sounded weird somehow, but whatever. Who on this ship could remain normal after mutating?

  "Devil, take over but let me handle them," I whispered.

  "Whatever," he replied and activated the mutation process on my whole body. "You owe me," he added as my arms changed, followed by my chest, head, and legs.

  "Me too," Gremory chuckled, kicking in the door. "Surprise, motherfuckers!"

  Chapter Eighteen

  Samson’s shiny, bronzed skin glowed as if he was radiating—something. Levi’s skin, in turn, was as dark as night and released a dense cover of darkness some inches around her.

  "Really? Motherfuckers? Is that how you greet a friend?" Samson asked as he twisted his head and looked right at us. Levi squealed and got off him, jumped three times and rushed me.

  "Boss! Oh, oh, oh! Tell me you killed those nasty fucktards!"

  "Umm, you mean Cafka and his sons?"

  She nodded frantically as her outer layer started retracting, leaving her skin bare for all to see. She didn’t seem to notice, but once the doc came waltzing in and scowled, Levi looked down at her body.

  "Ahhh! Idiot! Why didn’t you say I was naked?" she asked and turned to Samson. She shuddered, twitched, and dropped on her back when she saw his prominent member. Gremory darted in and caught her small frame, and placed her atop of an examination bed.

  "Shit. I was afraid we’d have to beat the two of you unconscious or something. How anticlimactic," I joked.

  "Sure, sure. As if you could!" Samson roared offering me a big hug. I wasn’t comfortable with his junk rubbing all over me, but I decided to endure the gruesome moment.

  "Put something on, will ya?" Gremory said, studying his naked body. "Or I might give you a replay."

  I slapped her ass and got in between the two.

  "No, you won’t. You already had your fill. So, big guy, how are you feeling?" I asked anxiously. I wanted to know what his thoughts were and how everything looked to him, and if he was still in the right state of mind

  "Devil made contact with us and streamed what happened since we got boarded by the Gebradim scum. If he hadn’t, I might have gone into a rage and smacked someone very hard. The feeling of waking up as a monster wasn’t something I’d expected to experience last time we saw you."

  I nodded, understanding what he’d gone through.

  "Imagine having to do that, but twice."

  "Wait, don’t tell me-"

  "Yep. Devil is a part of me, along with another parasite called Khepri. I ingested him accidentally when I ate the other guy’s brain."

  "Oh, that’s so cool. Can I get a second as well?"

  Gremory pushed past me, a scowl plastered to her face. She looked ready to beat us both.

  "The two of you think this is funny? There has never been something even remotely like this to our knowledge! Don’t take this so easily you damned testosterone-filled males! You’re supposed to be fucking happy to have survived the transformation at all! And you!" she rounded on Samson. "You got the strongest defensive Armament available, so don’t be so ungrateful!"

  "Oh," he replied. "I’m sorry if you had such a
n impression. I think I was just overwhelmed and stuff."

  "Hey big guy, I got a job for you," I butted in saving the guy from Gremory’s wrath as I pushed her aside gently. "Once Levi is awake, do you want to go test out your new powers on the other ship?"

  He grinned, slamming his fists together.

  "If you teach me how to transform, hell yeah!"

  Gremory palmed her face and shook her head.

  "You’re hopeless!" she yelled and slapped both of us a couple of times.

  "Huh? Where am I?" Levi groaned as she came to her senses again.

  "Hey, babe!" Samson said much louder than was healthy in such a small room, "We’re going to assault the enemy ship with Cain!"

  "Oh! Count me in!" she squealed as she got up. "Umm, can I get something to wear, though? I’m not quite comfortable with everyone staring at my boobs and—stuff."

  "Or lack thereof," Gremory murmured as she threw one of the smart-suits at her before leaving the lab with a groan. "And don’t die!" she yelled before storming off.

  "What’s with her? Didn’t do your job? If you want, I can do it for you. There’s enough of me to go around, baby!" Samson roared in laughter.

  I punched his shoulder much harder than I should have. He yelped in pain, but I didn’t apologize.

  "Only if I get to do Levi," I replied. "Besides, what’s with the mellow attitude?"

  "Fuck, no! He tore me apart like a fucking rabbit!" Levi scowled for a long moment but winked soon after. "What? It’s not my fault I’m burning up from the inside. Being mellow is the least of your problems."

  "Are you guys for real?" the doc asked, shaking her head. "You survived something that shouldn’t be possible. What’s with the laid-back attitude? Surely something in your heads went ‘kaput’ during your—carnal moments?"

  "Doc, thanks for the help, but I’ll take over for now. Come on you two, got to get you in gear."

  "Wait, we’re not done yet! I got tests to—"

  "Later, doc," I replied and pushed her gently aside. She let us pass with a majestic scowl on her face.