by Devin Cain
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.
"Please, go ahead," I offered, stepping to the side to make place.
"Turn on the recording," she spoke to someone on her tapper. The room grew dark as the wall behind us turned to a giant screen and sound boomed from hidden speakers.
"What are you--"
She stopped me from speaking and put her finger on her mouth for me to be silent, so I did. And boy did we have something to see. The video started by Gremory and me first arriving on the ship, then it switched to the training and after the win, the torture of all those who remained standing.
Hidden conversations between Cafka, his sons and other officers, of which most were loyal to the previous Commander. Spotlights came to life as she snapped her fingers, pointing right at a large group of officers. They were huggled close together.
"What’s this supposed to mean?" one of them protested, but Brown and a group of soldiers appeared from the shadows, escorting them to the podium. There was a total of eleven, ranging from the XO to as low as the 4th battalion BC.
"Please, keep watching the video," Gremory said with her steely voice. The video snapped to life again, showing the battles from when the Gebradim attacked up until when Cafka blew up part of the ship and escaped. Most of those present were clearly in shock, as they had no idea how everything had played out.
"Gremory?" I whispered. "What are you doing?"
"They need a live Demonstration, and you’re going to give them one. They need to see your power and determination first hand; otherwise, they might doubt it was all orchestrated."
"I see. So you want me to kill the officers?"
"Cain, our new commander, will personally judge this filth by executing them."
Devil reveled in what was about to come. It took him all but three seconds to wrestle control over my body away and roar like a demon.
"She’s probably right, but I don’t think this is the right way, Devil."
"It’s not up to you, Human. I’m hungry, and you owe me. Remember when I said you’ll need to feed me? Now is the time. Besides, look at the satiation counter and the progress bar."
I remained silent as he stepped up to the officers.
"I’m not saying you shouldn’t just don’t get my suit dirty, alright? Do it cleanly as possible."
"Your wish is my command, your cleanliness," he snickered, activating our transformation. It took him six seconds to turn into a monstrosity that shocked the crowd. Gremory’s transformation mostly added armor and weaponry, the wings and other attachments, but for me, it wasn’t as simple. My whole body rearranged each time, turning me into an abomination.
The crowd gasped at my pitch-black body that was streaked with red lines and all sharp edges. My left arm turned into the usual claw, while the right took on the blunt look. To my surprise, most of the crowd looked on in awe, and some even whispered my name. Did they have it so bad here that a mutated monster could pass for their savior?
"I sentence you to death," Devil growled with a low, rumbling voice. If it could send chills down my spine, imagine what it did to the officers. One of them started whimpering and threw himself before my feet.
"Have mercy! I’ll swear my eternal loyalty to you! I promise!"
I shook my head slowly. How disgusting could they be, and how low could they fall? First, they kiss Cafka’s ass and commit unspeakable crimes, and then they grovel begging for forgiveness.
"Anyone else has a change of heart? Who else wants to live?" he growled. All of the officers but one fell to their knees, whimpering and pleading. The one man who stood there defiantly was a bear of a man, at least two heads taller than me when I wasn’t transformed, and an almost identical copy of Samson.
"What’s your name?" Devil asked as he stared at the large man. He sure put up a good show, I thought, but hearing Devil talk to him directly did much to humble the man.
"Khavvrin, Commander."
"Ohh, a Russian. Why aren’t you in the Red Alliance Legion?"
"I have a dislike for the way they run it, but in the end, I fell into an even worse situation by ending up here."
Devil stepped up to him, crushing the first groveling officer’s head beneath our metallic foot. It popped open like a ripe watermelon and plastered the floor.
"Shit, not the suit!" I yelled.
"Oops," he replied mentally. "Sorry."
"Sorry, my ass! You did that on purpose!"
Devil ignored me and instead stepped up to Khavvrin. The Russian looked into my red glowing eyes, unwavering. Behind me, I more felt than heard the ensuing commotion. Brown’s MP’s stepped up and used their batons on the officers.
"Tell me, Russian. What is your greatest sin? What is the worst thing you’ve ever done?"
Khavvrin’s demeanor shifted as he perked up.
"I killed two prisoners to save my own life," he replied.
"And that was all?"
Khavvrin nodded.
"On my life and honor," he said and snapped a salute. Devil studied him for a long moment and put his hand on the man’s chest.
"Gremory, we’ll spare this man. He didn’t switch loyalty like a coward or plead for his life, and he didn’t do any heinous things. Why was he even put up here?"
"I guess you will have to find out," she smirked and walked up to Khavvrin. Taking his hand, she pulled him to the side and pushed toward Brown.
"I sentence you all to die and burn in hell!" Devil roared as he slashed his claw across their throats. The group of officers was dead before even one of them could fight back.
The onlookers were shocked, but many wore happy expressions, while a good amount seemed worried.
"We won’t tolerate what officers have been doing during Cafka’s reign! Whoever decides to stay, will have to agree before me that you will not mistreat anyone! If someone does something bad to you, we have people who will take care of it. There will be no lying, no cheating, no stealing, no humiliating and generally, nothing you wouldn’t want anyone doing to you! Those who’re caught doing bad things after they swear their loyalty will be punished by seven-day torture!"
"Wow, who knew you could string so many sentences together," I teased Devil and tried to push him back out of control. He didn’t resist, but before giving up, Devil let out a feral howl that made the hairs on my back stand ramrod straight.
"Watch your tongue, lamb. Just because you’re a favorite doesn’t mean I won’t hurt you," Devil replied as he faded from my conscience.
It got me thinking as I saw the mess before me. Would he be able to take over and stay like that indefinitely if Devil wished to do so? How many times had he already been part of someone’s life? Whatever. There was no sense in trying to dig up his past. What mattered was how to solve the present, and quickly at that.
"One last thing," I said loud enough to be heard by the now murmuring crowd. "Everyone will be forced to implant a tapper. It’s as much for your own sake as is ours. We’ll send out detailed rules in a day or two, so spread the word until everyone had the chance to get them. Now, please go back to your duties while we fix our mothership."
"What about the troublemakers?" Brown asked and motioned at a bunch of soldiers that stood to the side. I’d noticed them earlier wearing smug expressions, but none of them seemed so keen to pick a fight right now.
"Offer them a chance at redemption. If they insist, throw them out an airlock. Oh, and don’t bother either of us," I nodded at Gremory, "We’ll be busy for a while. There’s a lot I need to know before we move on."
"Sir," Brown replied, turning to the group of troublemakers. I could hear him yell in the background, but I didn’t listen to what he was saying. All I wanted and needed right now was a shower, followed by a long rest. And maybe some information. No, a lot of information, and Gremory.
Some ten minutes in, I found
myself in our new bathroom. The smart-cloth came off easily if you knew how, so I threw it aside and turned on the water. A stream of hot liquid struck my face and chest. It felt off, so very much that I stopped the flow. I tasted the water and was mind-blown. It was infused with alcohol.
"Oh come on, is there anything normal about Cafka?" I groaned. "Now how the hell do I change this shit to ordinary water?" I cursed slamming my fist against the tiles.
"Need some help?" a voice asked from behind. It surely caught me off guard, as I had no idea what Kris was doing here.
"Umm, I don’t know. How did you get in?"
"I invited her," Gremory replied instead as she walked in after Kris. I stood with my back turned to them, not sure if I was misunderstanding the situation. And it wasn’t like I had something to be ashamed off, as my whole body had become much more muscular after the transformation. I guessed it was one of the good things when it came to parasites.
"What? You’re not going to turn around and check us out?" Kris asked.
"Oh, yes. I, as the commander, need to check if you’re wearing your uniforms properly," I replied as I turned around. I had no idea if it was the fact that there were two of them, or that they were naked as the day they were born, but my blood-flow changed rapidly.
"Commander? I thought you’d be happy to see us, but not to that extent," Gremory teased inching toward me, her hips swaying with each step. I gulped and put on a smile. Then I frowned.
"What makes you think I’m not?"
"Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the lack of you jumping us on sight?"
"Trust me, the thought had crossed my mind the moment I felt the two of you walk into the main room."
"You felt us?"
"I did," I replied, stepping in closer. "You have no idea, ladies. It’s so very good to see you here, but I would rather have no other surprises. Anything else you want to tell me?"
"Yeah, one more," Gremory replied. "I made Kris your secretary and offered her a permanent spot in here. As in, she's going to live with us."
"How thoughtful, but what about the BC?" I asked curiously. He seemed interested in her for more than just her good work, but who was I to judge?
"Oh, don’t worry about him. Gremory assigned him a new and rather beautiful Lieutenant. He’s more than pleased," Kris replied as she met me halfway.
"Very well then, let’s see which one of you is better at cleaning duty. I’m still covered in blood."
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 the 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 what passed for 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 anew 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 mothership. 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 grasp, 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 wan
t 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’m even more vulnerable than I’m now. We got batteries on our starboard and the 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 tier 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’re 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."