by Devin Cain
"Don’t kill the Captain!" I ordered as Gremory slapped the back of her hand across Scarlet’s face. The alien intruder crashed into the wall and dropped to the ground, unmoving. From there on out, it was a bloodbath, and just as I had promised, I ate all of their brains and hearts, no matter how sour they were. The only good thing that came out of this was that my tier progress bar rose to nineteen percent.
Gremory pulled out the remaining bullets from my body which hadn’t exploded, making sure not to set them off while Khavvrin and his soldiers strapped the alien to a metallic plate and guarded her.
"It went to shit that quickly, huh?" I commented as she pulled the last bullet out of me.
"I have no—I’m sorry, Cain. I don’t know what came over me out there. It’s like something had taken control over me as if I had no choice but to defend her."
"It’s alright. We survived it, no? At least for now."
"No, listen. Before I awakened, Cafka did some nasty things to mem, and Scarlet was always there to save my ass when I needed her, except for once, for that sixth time. She was out on a mission, so I had a very long weekend with the previous Admiral. That’s also when I awakened, and I knew she’d know it if she was the real Scarlet. But how the hell had they done that? How the hell had they turned into Humans and taken parts of their memories?"
"Why don’t we find out firsthand? Maybe offer her prison instead of death, and she might talk. Or him, or it. Shit, they sure looked nasty, even compared to the squids. I hate lizards."
"Hah, tell me about it!" she chuckled. "And yeah, can you let me do the talking? I want to get to the bottom of this; I owe her that much."
"Do you want us in the room? Or do you want to do it yourself?"
She shrugged.
"Either way is fine, but maybe it would be better to have her thing we’re having an intimate moment. You can watch over the cameras."
"Go take her apart then," I replied. She turned to exit the room, but I caught her, placing my arms around her chest and pressing myself into her. I smelled her hair, kissed her neck, and stood there like that for a moment too long. I have no idea what came over me, but it was sure that I needed these moments much more than I liked to admit.
"See you in a few," Gremory whispered as I let her go. It felt like I just let a bird free out of its cage for some reason as if I’d never see her again. But why was I having such thoughts? Maybe Cafka had been the reason, and the renewed information on his wrongdoings was at fault here. In that case, we’d get it over with once Gremory was done with Scarlet’s impostor.
We sat in an empty officer’s lounge, just Kris, Levi, Samson, Ashiala and I. A three-dimensional image of the cell floated above the center console, enlarged to the maximum and volume turned up. The explosions had taken a bigger toll on my insides than I liked to admit, so we sat on the lone black leather sofa, sipping on Dimitriy’s specialties.
Levi sat in Samson’s lap, whispering in his ear as she fed him, while Kris was still undecided what she should be doing. Ashiala had taken a spot to my right but was in arm’s length, so she wasn’t too far off.
"Can I? Since we’re alone?" Kris whispered. I nodded, glad to have some company.
"Sure thing, but don’t go overboard. I don’t want those doves to get the wrong impression," I replied while motioning at Samson and Levi.
"Hah! We’re not doves! We’re killers!" she protested.
"Yeah, yeah. How about you don’t choke on that food, specialist. Now, be quiet, it’s beginning."
The door opened on the three-dimensional image, letting in a bloodstained Gremory accompanied by a coffer in her right hand. She put it on the table, opening it slowly and rummaging through the contents. I knew it was a torture kit, as I’d seen Edwald bring one in with him during my first days on the ship, but I was curious to see what she would go with.
"Captain? Or how should I call you? Let’s begin with that," Gremory said coldly as she took out a knife with a long, thick blade. The edge was razor-thin, however, and looked much like a butchers-knife. Those things could carve through meat and skin like it was nothing.
"I won’t tell you anything!" the creature hissed. There was no more semblance left between the old Captain Scarlet and this alien thing, no, it was green-greyish, thin and small. She almost looked like a when you mated a human and a frog, which was being rather nice about her looks.
Gremory stepped in close and pulled at the thick, stretchy skin, ramming the knife in between her ribs. The creature gasped as she pulled the knife out, then picked another spot and did the same three times. The alien shrieked and howled, but there would be no rest and no forgiveness. Gremory’s eyes were as cold as ever as she proceeded with the torture.
"Stop!" the alien pleaded after what seemed like an eternity later. It couldn’t have been more than a couple of minutes, but the number of cuts and holes in its body was—terrifying.
"You’re ready to talk?"
"Yes! But promise you’ll kill me once I tell you everything! If my people get their hands on me, this torture will be the least of my problems!"
I frowned, quite irked by this admission. What could be worse than getting cut up and stabbed over and over again? Was it family? Or maybe humiliation? But we knew nothing of this race, at least not until now, so there was no way to know what she was talking about.
"It depends on the Admiral, but I think it can be arranged."
"Alright, then. Start at the beginning. Tell me everything since you came into the picture of the previous Steel Legion until this point."
The alien took a deep breath and spat something aside before she started talking.
"We came to scout this galaxy originally, from a very, very far-away place. After our ship broke down, we got rescued by Captain Scarlet. Being the first contact between our species, she held a meeting with all the captains and—my people. It was there we took their DNA and—changed into them later on. Then, one after another we took over their lives after absorbing their memories, or part thereof."
"So the rest of our legion’s crew is Human?"
The alien groaned in pain as she nodded, showing off her black teeth.
"Yes. My people don’t procreate the way Humans do. We are cloned and born in vats by the number, then we’re raised and sent on scouting missions, but since we have limited supplies to create new clones, there aren’t that many of us."
"And what is it exactly you need to create more of you?"
"Life? Our clones are born from living, sapient creatures. Their bodies are used as fertilizer, so our mission was to get home."
"But you couldn’t since it’s so far off."
The alien nodded and winced again. But then I noticed it, her wounds slowly closing, inch by inch. Luckily, Gremory did as well, so she made a couple of more cuts.
"Why are you doing this?" it screamed. "I’m giving you what you want!"
"Oh, but I don’t trust you. You’re strong, and might just try to free yourself and attack me, or the ship."
"I won’t! I promise!"
Gremory sighed and leaned back against the table that held her tools.
"Why is it you can speak our language, even when you’ve changed to your real self?"
"It’s because we absorbed their memories. I already told you!"
"So you can absorb anyone’s mind and learn everything about them? About their language and behavior, their culture?"
It nodded slowly, looking around the room as if searching for a way out.
"If they’re similar to us, yes, otherwise no. We’ve met hundreds of races we couldn’t take over the way we did with you Humans. Their bodies and minds were too heavily defended, but you Humans are weak. It’s not hard to do these things."
"Where’s your ship?"
Even despite being an alien, I noticed her twitch for a heartbeat. So it must be still around, and probably operational.
"It’s somewhere in this star-system, but you’ll never be able to use anything if you kill me."
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"Oh, but we already have a way to get access to it, and what’s more, use whatever we get. Now, I’ve got one very important question here for you, one that far outweighs any other."
Gremory glanced over at the camera and winked. What the hell was she up to now? But I knew that she was experienced enough to lead the torture.
"Ask, but please get it over with already!"
"All in due time, alien. Now, tell me this. Why were you sacrificing our ships attacking the Quazzarians?"
It took a deep breath before finally replying.
"We sacrificed over fifty of our own soldiers trying to get the better of that crazy mechanical creature, but it singlehandedly killed them all, ripping them limb from limb."
"But only after they took on a Human form."
"Correct. I used them to—rile what had remained of the fleet in attacking them. Once they witnessed the insides, everyone demanded retribution, and from there on it was easy. We blew the ring holding the ship in place and stormed it two times without much luck," it sighed. There was genuine regret in its eyes, but not because of the dead, no, it was because they failed.
"Where’s your ship?"
"I’m not saying, otherwise I’ll have no leverage over—"
Gremory grabbed a large blade from the coffer and swung it with all her might, cleaving through the flesh and bone, right beneath the knee.
"Where’s the ship?"
"You’re monsters! I’ll never—"
Gremory grabbed hold of the cleaver and swung it ten inches higher, cleaving another piece of the leg like it was nothing. The alien shuddered, let out a shrill scream and fainted. Gremory pulled out the cleaver and threw it into the coffer, then grabbed a vial of sealant and closed the wound. She looked over at the camera and shrugged, but there was smirk on her face. I could see she was enjoying it, at least partially. Another thing I didn’t know about her but looked forward to exploring. Torturing others wasn’t something I’d like to do, but people or aliens who tried to kill us were a different thing altogether.
"I’ll wait for a couple of minutes to see if she’ll wake up," Gremory said as she took a seat. Khavvrin entered just then and stood at her side.
"Lady Death? Do you want to have a rest?"
"No," she replied, shaking her head. "I’m fine. If I don’t get this over with in one session, I won’t have the stomach to do it again later on."
"I see. In any case, I’ll be—what’s that sound? Can you hear it?"
"What sound?" Gremory asked as she got up and looked around.
"Devil? What’s wrong?" I asked as a sudden dread set over me.
"Something’s happening to the alien’s body. I think it’s growing again."
"Why? Is she turning Human?"
"No, I don’t think so. It’s different than when they turned."
"Cain? I don’t think she’s supposed to stay in there," Kris said panicking. "Devil! Tell her to get out!" But he was too late. The ship shuddered as an extreme wave of anguish washed over me.
Chapter Forty-Seven
"Devil! What’s the situation?" I heard Kris yell. My ears rang to the point I couldn’t hear Devil’s response, but I could feel it. The ship was badly damaged and venting air, along with people.
I shook my head and turned to Kris, grabbing her arm tightly.
"Have him close the hole! I’m going out to try and rescue anyone I can!" I ordered, trying to stand on shaky feet. I wasn’t hurt, but Devil was.
"On it! But are you sure you can do it? You’re barely standing upright."
"Just do it," I replied, storming past her and into the corridor. "Devil, take over until I’m good again. Go out and save anyone you can!"
He didn’t reply but acknowledged the order mentally. In seconds, I could already feel my body turning as he sped down the corridor. Why the hell had he chosen such a remote area? No, it was a good thing he had, otherwise many more would have been dead, maybe even someone close to me.
When I arrived, the hole was partially closed. Engineers were already on-site and helping with the efforts. Luckily there hadn’t been many people around, only Gremory, Khavvrin and a couple of mutated soldiers, but anyone of them was more precious than, well, a lot of civilians. They were the backbone that held security tight and everyone safe. Or at least they tried to.
Devil lurched through the gap and immediately got hold of one transformed soldier, twisted his body around and hurled him through the gap.
"We have six more bodies out here," he said calmly over our link. "You want me to take care of it?"
"Prioritize Gremory, Khavvrin and then the rest," I barely managed to respond. The pain had lessened slightly as the hole was getting closed, but it was far from over. "How come I hurt so bad because of you?"
"Because our connection is growing stronger, we share the pain partially. Trust me, you’re gonna like it next time you get hurt."
"Remains to be seen," I replied as the pain almost subsided. "Where is she? Did you find her yet?"
"Yeah, there she is," he said, lighting up a part of space on my vision as we streaked toward her through the dead of space. It was a strange feeling, being a passenger in your own body during flight. The weightlessness sure had a way with you.
I remained quiet until we reached her, but she wasn’t alone. Khavvrin was cocooned around her. I didn’t have a better way to describe what I saw, but all of his body embraced hers, shielding Gremory from everything. It was burned and broken, with bones sticking out at more than one place, and missing chunks of skin and flesh.
"Shit, he sure looks in a bad state," I cursed as Devil pulled him toward the ship. To my surprise, I could still feel a faint heartbeat. "Hey, he’s still alive!"
"Of course he is. I would have known if he was dead," Devil hissed. "What do you think me for?"
"Just hurry up, alright? I want to see them in the vats by the time I’m done speaking!"
Devil chuckled with his deep, rumbling voice.
"I predict they’ll be inside in one minute and thirty-seven seconds."
True to his word, both of them were in a vat in the allotted time, but not before we had to pry them loose from each other. Their skin had melted together in places due to the intense blast and heat.
"She’s in better shape than him," Ashiala said. "But he’ll pull through as well, the guy is a mountain, and they don’t go down that easily."
"Please let me know if anything changes," I said and turned to the door, not able to remain there for a moment longer. There were a dozen things that needed taking care off right away, and the most important was to prevent a battle from taking place.
"Will do, Admiral," the Doc replied as I walked out on her and made my way to the bridge. Kris, Samson, and Levi awaited me there, all wearing serious expressions.
"How are the two?" Kris asked as I sat beside her.
"They’re going to live. But we got other things to manage right now. First, I need you to contact whoever is in charge and broadcast the video to all ships of what happened in the conference room."
"All of it? O the end I mean?"
I nodded, knowing it could backfire, but it was the right approach I guessed.
"Yes, all the way until the end, but not the torture. See if they’ll surrender the ships and join us, or if they want to leave. However, if they do decide to fight, show them footage of Gabriel, they should know what it means."
"Right away," Kris replied and got up, then made her way to the central console. "Helena, direct line to all ex-Legion ships. Open broadcast and show them the prepared footage."
"Yes, Captain!" Helena replied as numerous consoles and screens came to life. Five men and women in their early forties replied to our hail and broadcast. They were the first mates on either of the ships. They didn’t look really happy with what they saw and outright protested that we were scheming. Were they aliens as well? There was no real way to find out except than test them.
"It seems that we’re at an impasse," Kris fi
nally said once the video was over.
"That’s outrageous!" the carrier’s first mate yelled. "Captain, you’re colluding with the enemy and fabricating stories and videos after killing the people who’ve held this outfit together for all this time! This will not stand!"
"What won’t stand," Kris snapped, "Is that you’re threatening us, first mate. Let your people decide what they wish to do, and if they wish to die just because a couple of aliens made it past right before your noses."
"We won’t stand for this! We’re decorated and experienced sailors! You insulting us like this isn’t doing anything to help your case!"
"You have thirty minutes, first mate."
Helena cut the transmission right on cue as Kris started shaking on her legs.
"Hey, you’ve done well," I whispered as she dropped next to me. "Now it remains to be seen what course of action they’ll take. As for us, we need to speak to the mechanoids."
"Yeah, I figured as much. From what that thing said during torture, they weren’t being aggressive or causing trouble, no, they just defended themselves."
"Depends on how you look at it, but yes, they did. Our chances of becoming friends with them just skyrocketed."
"You think?"
"Of course I do. We took out the enemy commanders, and if these fools stand down, they won’t have to worry about defending themselves again for a while."
"Helena? Can you try and get a line up with the mechanoids?"
"On it, Captain," the young woman replied and busied herself with establishing a link. Just half a minute later, a slow, mechanical voice boomed over the speakers.
"Admiral Cain?"
"Yes, it’s me. You are the same mechanoid we spoke to on the ship?"
"Yes, Admiral. Seeing by the explosion from earlier, everything went well?"
"Well? I’d rather say great.We have gained some valuable intel on who or what they are. It’s sparse, but we know there’s a ship in this system which they used to get here. Do you think you could help us with it if we help defend you? Or maybe we could join forces? That would be most beneficial to all of us."