"Idiot! Do you think we’d wake you up like this if we were?" she asked.
"No—but—"
"Come on, Levi. Let’s eat before everyone else is up. We got a shit load on our plates today."
The food was already laid out on a large table outside under three palm trees. A bottle of Smirnoff and a twelve-pack of beer sat in a bucket full of ice. Aiden looked at me and shrugged.
"Sue me. It might be our last day today, so I thought, why not?"
"I’m not going to sue you, if anything, I’m going to hug you!" I said, squeezing the life out of the man. "Oh, sorry. I forgot you humans are brittle and stuff."
"We humans? You’re not one of us anymore?" he asked, straightening his uniform.
"I am, but you know what I mean," I replied with a mouth full of meat. "Say, have they opened the hole down in the cavern? We need to go through there to get to the Queen."
"They're doing so as we speak."
"Great. Once we’re done here, we move out. This anxiety is killing me," I added as I gulped down a full can of cold beer. "What? Never seen a man on death row before?" I asked as they looked at me, funny.
"Not to this extent. Anyways, I don’t need much," Gremory said as she drank a small glass of Smirnoff, and not much more. Levi dug in to the food as if she’d been on a hunger strike for a week, all while Aiden observed the three of us. Just then, Janet walked up to the BC and whispered something.
"The hole is open. You can go in whenever you like," Aiden announced. "We’ve stationed twenty armed marines just in case, and the natives are restless."
"We’ll be out of here in ten, no longer," I replied, biting down on another piece of meat. Whatever it was, I had no idea, but it was tender and juicy, yet with a thin crust. If I made it out of there alive, I pledged to order them to farm these things on a large scale.
I sighed at my own thoughts. It wasn’t like I didn’t have anything else to think about, but it made it all more bearable. Though there was no real difference between this raid and when I awakened, or when we stormed the ship. I was weak back then, but now I at least had some power to my name.
We remained quiet until everyone was done. The BC and Janet walked us out of the camp where a company of marines saluted us, wishing us luck. Luck? We didn’t need luck, we needed to use our brains. No, I would need to use my brains.
The insides of the cavern were even cooler. I had no idea how they could acclimate to such a temperature, but it wasn’t something I’d look forward to. The lights were still on, and it made me wonder if they ever went off. One thing that hadn’t been there before was a large bonfire at the center of the village. Most of the natives had gathered and stood around, watching the flames. When they finally noticed us, everyone turned our way as we walked toward the head-man and his wife.
"Is it time, Admiral?" the man asked. He had received a haircut and wore smart cloth instead of old tattered robes. It was hard to recognize the man without the beard and mustache.
"Yes, it is, Hamush. You look—different, almost like a real man," I joked.
"Thanks to you, Admiral. We all thank you for what you’ve done, and what you will do."
"You’re welcome, but remember, this isn’t a freebie. We’re doing this for ourselves as much as for you. Our legion needs a labor force, and you’re that labor force. Only once you’ve healed up, gained some extra weight, and had your rest."
"I understand but don’t worry. We are loyal."
"Very good. Now, tell your people to rest until word gets out we’ve succeeded," I added and turned toward the crowd before I stepped past Hamush, followed by my two girls and whispers of the natives. Sure, if I had been in their shoes, I might have felt the same, but I wasn’t them, I was someone they counted on.
Gremory bared her teeth at me and narrowed her eyes as we passed through the hole and entered the gigantic tunnel. Lights were placed along the walls every hundred feet or so, which was just enough for us to see in such darkness.
"Does his majesty want me to carry him? Or will he be walking to the rendezvous point?" she joked, unfurling her wings. Then, another set sprouted from beside her first pair, breaking the skin as bone as bloody layers of metal sprouted from her back. With the second set out, she ended up looking like a metallic butterfly.
"Shit, doesn’t that hurt?" Levi asked, tracing her fingers along the lines.
"What do you think, my dear?" Gremory asked more sarcastically than not.
"Yeah, yeah. Stupid question," she murmured.
"Now, Levi, you climb on my back. I’ll have to carry his royal fatness in my arms."
"Bah! I would rather walk than be abused by either of you."
"No need, just kidding. Oh come on, I’m trying to lift the mood a bit before the battle. It’ll take you hours to reach the spot if you go alone."
I looked back at her, my right eyebrow raised in confusion.
"You make it hard to say no. Now, how about you stop fooling around so we can go end this Queen and take this planet for ourselves?"
Chapter Thirty-One
The semi-bright light quickly turned into almost-total darkness as we sped through the empty tunnel. An occasional light tube on the wall was all that prevented us from crashing into the walls more than once, but I couldn’t argue at the progress we were making.
Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned to an hour. The cold wind that crashed against my face and chest was slowly getting to me. I was a monster, but not right now in my Human form, even though I was much more durable and stronger than any ordinary person. Past memories flooded my mind, and to be honest, they weren’t very welcome, especially in a warzone.
A bright light from ahead made her slow down, and in the end, land. Gunfire and small explosions echoed from the next tunnel over. Screams of the dead and dying, were accompanied by shouts and orders.
"Levi, scout ahead," I ordered as my body started changing into the last specified form. I willed the image to open so I could double-check. Surely, it was right; a shield on my right, and a cannon on my left.
"On it," she snapped, running ahead as she cloaked in mid-stride.
"Can you fight?" I asked, turning to Gremory who seemed out of breath.
"In a bit," she wheezed. "Give me a minute, and I’m good as new."
"Sure, follow up when you can. It won’t be hard to find me, I reckon."
"You never are. As long as there is danger and fighting present, you’re always around."
"Boss, there’s like—well, I don’t know how to describe it very well," Levi said interrupting us. "It looks like the Gebradim are fighting among themselves, and one side is badly losing."
"So it’s started. Do you see a particularly large orange Gebradim?"
"Yes, sir. I recognize the one from when we were up at their ship. I think it’s that yellow-orange one or whatever. Oh shit, he just got shot!"
"Assist them, I’ll be right there!"
My heart started racing like mad as all kinds of scenarios ran through my mind. Why had they started the attack early? Or maybe someone had done it for them.
The familiar boom of Levi’s cannon sized sniper rifle reverberated throughout the cavern. Luckily, I didn’t have much to go to reach the bend where the ruckus came from.
“Three-hundred feet to go," Devil informed me. "Make sure you’re not caught off guard."
"Yeah, yeah. You just make sure I don’t die. Or something," I replied. I just hoped the dark ones wouldn’t be that hard to take care of.
"Boss! These dark-brown and blackish Gebradim are as tough as nails! They’re also ugly as fuck!" Levi boomed from overhead, just as another shell left her rifle’s chamber and struck the enemy line. A hellish explosion rocked the tunnel, killing the exchange of gunfire for a single heartbeat. Bullets peppered the steep outcrop above me, causing Levi to curse from overhead and duck her head.
"Shit! I’m hit!" she barked as even more bullets struck the area around her. "Help me!"
"Stay hidd
en!" I yelled and peeked around the corner. The dark Gebradim were outnumbering the attackers at least two to one, but there were more of them rushing in from behind the friendlies.
I spotted a tight group of the enemy troopers and released a shot. The projectile passed through six of them before it exploded like a shrapnel and hurt even more of them.
The enemy was ugly, much uglier than the Gebradim I’ve come to know and battle up there in space. No, these ugly motherfuckers were dark as the night, and instead of arms, some had tentacles, some strange long and sharp growths, while others normal Gebradim arms.
One of the yellows spotted me and started shrieking some strange noises. Suddenly, their whole line turned their heads to our way and started roaring in defiance. Just like that, they were reinvigorated. They popped up from behind cover, shot back, threw those shrieking grenades and screamed.
"Conqueror! Conqueror! Conqueror!"
It was very, very broken Earthen, but fuck it. The important thing was that they recognized me. Bullets dinged off my armored body as I waved them down to take cover. I turned back quickly to the enemy and released a second blast which killed even more of the enemy. A wave of relief washed over me as the enemy didn’t turn out to be as strong as I imagined they would be.
"Khepri, this thing rocks!"
"Literally! It’s basically a short-range rail gun. The speed at which—"
"Later! I don’t need to know the specifics right now!" I cut her off and hid behind a massive beam, then waited for the weapon to reload. To my surprise, it used the tapper to count down the seconds until the next available shot. "Hey, Khepri! I’m going to find you a good man soon, okay? I fucking love what you did with my arm and tapper!"
"What about me?" Devil growled. "I’m the one who gives the necessary power for that gun!"
"Oh, you too, Devil. I love you both!" I grinned and ducked low, popped up behind the pillar and shot another round, then rushed the enemy line.
Gunfire from close behind me resounded, striking the enemy line. Explosions rocked the cavern, shaking massive stalactites on the ceiling that dropped right on the enemy formation, killing and wounding them by the dozens.
"Thanks, babe!" I said without looking back.
"I’ll cover you. I may not be able to run around quickly, but at least I can still shoot!"
I grinned and nodded appreciatively, knowing she wouldn’t see it, but it still felt right. Changing my shield to a claw, I sent a javelin right at the nearest Gebradim and smashed right into him. The growths on my back started piercing its body, leaving the trooper dead in seconds.
The yellows followed my example and flooded the barricades, pushing dark Gebradim back who fought on like mad. There was no fear apparent on their faces, as if they didn’t even know what it meant to be outnumbered and about to die.
"Is that the queen’s doing?" I wondered. "It sure can come in handy to order a group to fight to the last man without showing your back. Khavvrin will love this shit."
"How about we survive first?" Khepri asked. "Then you can theorize all you want."
"Yeah, yeah. You’re becoming annoying too, Khepri. Second mother."
A yellow ran up to me and dropped a pouch of three grenades in my hand. I grinned and nodded at the poor sob who seemed happy to see me for some reason. A moment later, three bullets struck his head, blowing it off as he stood there grinning. The gooey blood splashed my face and left shoulder.
"Fucking morons!" I snapped. "Take some of your own fucking medicine!"
Activating all three grenades, I lobbed them one after the other over their barricade and waited for the shriek to die down. Five seconds passed, followed by tremendous explosions that littered the trench in blood and body parts.
"Shit, how does one stomach all this madness," I cursed.
"You don’t. I’ve been doing this far longer than you have," Gremory said from behind, "And I’m still not used to it."
"That’s some consolation," I murmured.
"Yeah well, it’s better than nothing. Anyways, do we mop them up now?"
I looked up at where Levi had been earlier and called out to her.
"Levi, how many do you see?"
"About a dozen or so, another couple are twitching around and—stuff."
A large, orange four-armed Gebradim walked up to me holding, two rifles firmly in his hands. He stopped next to us and stood at what could pass for attention.
"Do you speak Earthen?" I asked, turning to him.
"Yes, Conqueror. We have failed you. The queen did not want to join forces. She ordered other brothers and sisters to kill us when we threatened to dethrone her. Brother Orange is in bad shape."
"You haven’t failed. You’ve tried your best and kept your word, soldier. Say, do you have a name?"
He shook his head.
"No, conqueror. We do not have names. Only ranking officers do."
"Well then, you’re just as orange like—orange, so your name will be Orange. Can you live with that?"
The Gebradim looked at me funny and nodded.
"Yes, Conqueror. Orange and his brothers will fight for you!"
"Good, good. Now, Orange, how about your men finish off those who are wounded and replenish your weapons and armor. Then you can take me to the queen."
"Yes, Conqueror. Your order is my command."
Orange’s Earthen was quite good, which made me think. Why did they know our language? And why the hell did half of the people I knew back then speak it worse than a damn Gebradim?
"They don’t, fool. You have a parasite inside you that translates both ways. Have you already forgotten?" Devil snarled.
"I have. Shit, will I keep forgetting things if things go on like this?"
"What do you mean?" Khepri asked. "You really couldn’t remember that I’m the one translating for you?"
"No, I couldn’t. It feels like things are at the tip of my tongue, but I can’t remember which. Could this be the side-effects from hosting both of you?"
"Possible," Khepri replied. "Maybe you should just figure out a configuration and stick with it. The transformations might be what’s leading to the amnesia."
"What about my arms and legs? If they keep changing, would that affect it?"
"I don’t think so. Probably just the head. Damn. We’ll need to get to the bottom of this once we have the time."
"I agree," I replied.
"Who are you talking to?" Gremory asked as she sat next to me.
"To Khepri. I forget stuff, and we think it might have something to do with my transformations."
"That’s not—good? Like you forgot to bring something with you, or you have memory loss?"
"The second," I groaned. "What if I start forgetting important things?"
"Then stop transforming. Use us, the people who you’ve surrounded yourself with. See, we’re not here just to sit around and do nothing, we’re here to do the legion’s work."
"I know, you’re right. But it feels wrong to have someone else do my job for me. In any case, I’ll start using you people more. But don’t cry when you get hurt."
"Pfft! Cry? How about you remember bringing an extra rifle with you, one that can actually fire more than one bullet every fifteen seconds."
"Yeah, yeah. I won’t forget it this time," I groaned, annoyed by their constant jabs. Sure, I’d forgotten to bring a rifle and ammo with me when we left the ship, but it wasn’t like I needed one, Still, I took one of their slug throwers off a corpse and a satchel of ammo.
"Good boss," Levi smirked dancing around me. "You know, I’m down to about three-quarters of my ammo. Should I take one with?"
"Does it look like there’s not enough to go around? You’ll have hundreds of rifles and ammo belts to loot once the fighting starts," Gremory remarked.
For some reason, she was all snarky, and it bothered the shit out of me. Trying my luck, I turned to Gremory and spoke.
"What is it? Trying to start a fight?"
She narrowed her eyes
on me, her lips curled up in a grimace.
"I’m hungry! You know how long it’s been since I had my fill?"
"Oh," I replied, not sure of what she’d want me to say.
"Oh? Is that the best you can do? It’s your fault I’m hungry! You should be taking better care of me!"
"Then eat. What’s the problem?" Levi commented. Gremory growled and bared her teeth at Levi. I put my arms around her before it could get out of hand.
"What?" Levi hissed as she stepped out of reach. "What did I say?"
I shook my head.
"Never mind. It isn’t that kind of hunger. Speaking of which, haven’t you felt it? The hunger for life itself? A hunger so bad you would do anything to make it stop?"
Levi cocked her head and pursed her lips.
"Oh, so that’s what it was! I did, but at that time I was studying stuff, like the Gebradim ecology, their ship, and other things. The hunger disappeared by itself."
"You’re damn lucky, Levi, you've got no idea. See, the way I get rid of my hunger is that I need someone to fuck or beat me senseless. Pain is the only thing that can really still my hunger, that or very brutal sex."
"So? How is that my fault?"
"Shush. It’s not your fault, but you need to understand her and the mood swings as well. Anyway, don’t tell me you want to go at it right now among the Gebradim?"
Gremory turned her head around and looked up.
"Why not? No one’s here anyway."
"Levi is! And a lot of those ugly bastards!"
"Do you want me at full or half capacity?"
I sighed, not wanting to go at it right now, but she was mostly right. Having her at full capacity was more important than whatever excuse I could come up with.
"You guys are fucking weird and insane," Levi whispered once we were finished.
"Really? You feed by consuming knowledge; she needs to get hurt badly for the pain of hunger to go away. You think she wants to do it like this?"
Gremory looked away at my words and stared at the rocky wall. I put my arm around her and caressed the broken skin with my fingers. I really hated it when I had no idea what she was thinking about, but this wasn’t the moment to ask.
Legion of Steel Page 26
