Morg held up a surgical tool with sharp blades. "Not at all. Merely stating the facts."
Deth smirked. "Merely stating the facts. An interesting turn of phrase."
Morg lowered the surgical tool. "Enough. Tell me what's so important that you couldn't just call me instead of barging in, disturbing my work."
Deth leaned over to look into the lumpy face of the creature on Morg's table. It looked like someone had taken a normal Necrosi soldier and blown it up five times its normal size. "Your experiments are exactly why I'm here. You've heard of the escaped prisoners?"
Morg rolled his glassy eyes. "I don't concern myself with the insignificant minutiae of this ship, general. My science is all that matters."
Deth turned to look at some four-legged beasts floating in tanks nearby. "Not any more. We have some escaped prisoners that have eluded all my finest soldiers. We need more unconventional means to capture or kill them. We need some of your experiments."
"Absolutely not!" Spittle flew from Morg's mouth as he waddled over to Deth. Though he was only four feet tall, the doctor tried to straighten and make himself look bigger. "My experiments are for the sole purpose of Lady Necralia herself. You don't even have the clearance to know what they are, much less use them. I absolutely forbid it, and you will leave this laboratory immediately before I have you arrested."
Deth drew his pistol and jammed the barrel up against the top of Morg's metal skull. As Morg and the other scientists yelped in shock and fear, Deth snarled, "Let me make this clear to you, doctor. Lady Necralia is your superior, but when she is out of your reach, I am your master. You will give me what I want or I will kill you. That is not a vague threat. That is an actual statement of fact."
Morg tried to bluster, but sweat trickled down from the bolts on his forehead. "You can't do this! I am the chief scientific advisor for Her Majesty!"
"And that is the only reason I dared tolerate your insolence for so long, but that tolerance is at an end. Computer, initiate self-destruct protocol! Fourteen-hundred hours!"
The ship's computer spoke in soothing tones from the speakers above them. "Self-destruct protocol initiated for fourteen-hundred hours. Confirmation required."
"No," Morg yelled. "You wouldn't dare!"
Deth locked eyes with Doctor Morg. "Confirmation code Alta-Bralie-Tisko-Seven. Confirm."
"Code confirmed. Self-destruct protocol locked. Attention all personnel. The captain has authorized the self-destruct protocol for this vessel. Countdown to detonation in one-point-seven Necrosian standard hours. All personnel should proceed in an orderly fashion to the escape pods."
Some of the scientists began running for the exits.
Deth snapped, "Don't bother. All emergency escape pods have already been jettisoned."
Morg shrank back, looking even smaller than ever. "Why? Why would you do such a damned stupid thing?"
"In less than two hours, we'll arrive at Necros, and if Jones isn't dead or captured by then, I will be painfully tortured and killed by Lady Necralia. That's why I would rather destroy this ship and everyone on board. And it will take you with it." Deth raised his pistol slightly. "That means you have two choices. You can either help me kill Jones or you can die along with him. Your choice."
Morg bared his metal teeth, and Deth could see him struggling between his defiance and self-preservation, before he growled, "Fine. You're a madman, Deth, so it's clear there's no reasoning with you."
He turned and limped on metal legs to the tanks mounted on the wall next to him. "I suppose I can spare some of these."
Deth squinted through the glass at the bubbling green liquid inside. "What are they?"
Morg ran his thin fingers down the glass, as if caressing the four-legged beast floating on the other side. "These are my answer to the crude sensor arrays currently deployed by the Empire on the battlefield. I call them Death Dogs. Their senses have been enhanced to a degree one might call supernatural."
Even though the scientist was angry, pride crept into Morg's voice as he spoke about his creations. "The vision of the Death Dog is so acute that it can see heat signatures through walls five feet thick. They can smell their targets from a mile away. They can hear electromagnetic signals. They need merely given some trace of the target. A scent. A taste. Even a single cell. Once locked in, the Death Dogs will hunt down the target with ruthless efficiency. Their claws and teeth can tear through solid metal, and they don't need to eat or sleep."
Morg rolled the lenses of his eyes up at Deth, and flashed a smile. "We need only give them Byron's trace, and he'll die at their hands. Guaranteed."
"I prefer to have multiple options." Deth looked up at what looked like a huge headless robot. "And what's this?"
Morg grunted as he flicked his hand at the mechanical body. "An early experiment in exoskeletons. It amplifies strength and speed, has built-in weapons systems, but the cybernetic interface is too unstable. It drove everyone who tried it to madness. I have better ones on Necros. I just keep this for decorative purposes. You're welcome to use it if you feel like committing suicide."
"Fair enough." Deth looked down at the bulky soldier lying on the table nearby. "What about this?"
Morg waddled back over to him, shaking his head. "Absolutely not. This Hulk Trooper is one of the prototypes for Lady Necralia's next generation of soldiers. They're faster, stronger, and with better marksmanship than any Necrosi who's ever lived. The process also gives them a rage that makes unstoppable and focused on the Empire's enemies, but reduces intelligence to make them easily controlled. You see before you my greatest achievement, my legacy."
He stroked the protruding forehead of the trooper on his table. "The process is extremely delicate and volatile, not ready for mass production. Only three out of four hundred test subjects have survived so far. I do not intend to waste the prototypes on your personal vendetta."
Deth turned away and began to walk in a casual manner. "Oh, I understand completely. Of course, when the ship is destroyed, your precious Hulk Troopers will be thrown into the depths of space along with you, but I suppose that's--"
"All right." Morg held up his hands. "I'll see what I can do. But right now, their minds are blank slates. They can't even breathe on their own. It will take time to boot and program them."
Deth spun around and flashed a smile at the scientist. "Of course. But I assume your little pets will be ready first."
"Oh, yes." Morg pushed a button and the green fluid began to slowly drain from the tanks.
The Death Dogs inside twitched their paws.
One beast opened its blood-red eyes and a low rumble shook the glass surrounding it.
Chapter 12
BYRON'S SPIRITS sank again as he ran his fingers along the smooth metal door that had sealed in front of him. "This isn't good."
A computerized voice called out, "Attention all personnel. The captain has authorized the self-destruct protocol for this vessel. Countdown to detonation in one-point-seven Necrosian standard hours. All personnel should proceed in an orderly fashion to the escape pods."
Kiki whipped around to Magott. "Hey, sweetheart, does your little doohickey there show where there's an escape pod around here?"
Magott studied her tablet before slowly lowering it. "The escape pods have all been ejected. Even if we could escape from this room. Which we can't. We can't go anywhere."
Xana took the tablet and traced a path on it. "Um, yes, we can. Right here. We can get to the computer core through the engine room. Uh, there's an air vent down this way that can take us through here to the core. The computer room is adjoining it, but there's no blast door sealing it off."
Magott drew back the tablet. "We can't go through the engine room. It's suicide. The maintenance workers have to wear protective suits because of all the radiation. We wouldn't last five minutes in there."
Xana flashed one of her smirks again. "Yes, we would. Five minutes. If we can make it through in five minutes, we'll still be alive. We can patch ourse
lves up with medpacks on the other side."
"You don't know what you're suggesting. The power core is exposed in there to help cool it. It's raw beta trallium. We'd be dead before we get to the other side."
Scarlett pointed up at the ceiling. "Uh, can we save the pissing contest for later? They're not gonna wait."
Byron looked up to see the same green mioxinaze gas falling through vents in the ceiling again. "Into the air shaft. It's our only way out."
Magott led them to a vent on a nearby wall. Silica punched it and tore off the vent cover with ease. Coincidentally, it was big enough for all of them to crawl into. That struck him as odd until he remembered all the games he'd played with massive air vents to crawl through.
They all climbed in, one by one, starting with Magott. Byron waited behind, watching the room fill with the toxic green gas, until the last minute.
They moved through a square metal shaft only big enough to crawl in. Somewhere, a fan droned and blew warm air into Byron's face. Moving on all fours, he looked up at Kiki's big round ass in front of him. Her shorts rode up, giving him a perfect view of the wiggling cheeks. He tried not to get too aroused and stay focused, but looking further, he saw all the women's butts in a row as they crawled through the air shaft.
He took comfort in knowing that no one could see his erection growing under his jumpsuit.
"Which way," Chetaara called out, and her voice echoed through the metal walls.
Magott called back from the lead. "Straight ahead. Turn left at the junction."
They shuffled along the airshaft, and Byron winced at the feel of the metal floor sagging from their weight. He could only hope it would hold them up. He didn't know if there was solid ground or a hundred-foot drop under it.
When they came to the turn, Magott called back, "There's a maintenance room here."
Sure enough, they came to a grill that Magott used her gun to shoot holes in and punch through.
They climbed down into another room made of the same gray metal as the vent and just a twelve foot wide square.
Magott wiped dust off her pale forehead. "This is just a maintenance room, so it won't be locked down. The engine room is through there."
She pointed at a doorway across from her that had thick metal bolts and a wheel in the center. A sign on it read, "Danger: Do Not Enter Without Safety Gear."
"Now that we're here," Magott said, "we can talk about why we're not going in there. The trallium radiation is very strong. When I said five minutes, I was exaggerating. We probably won't have three minutes before it causes our internal organs to shut down."
Chetaara held up her hands. "Misty and I could use our healing powers during the journey."
Magott folded her arms. "Still not good enough."
Misty wiggled her fingers. "I could use my force field code. It's strong enough to hold back some o' the radiation, and I can make a bubble big enough for all of us."
"That would help, yes, but it still wouldn't be enough."
Xana sat against a wall, legs crossed, looking down at the floor when she murmured, "Oxytocin."
"What?"
Xana looked up at her. "Um, increased oxytocin levels have been shown to reduce the effects of beta trallium poisoning. With Misty's force field, Chetaara's healing code, and the oxytocin, we could make it. And using the medpacks on the other side would keep us alive."
Magott ran her fingers through her long white hair. "That isn't good enough. And even if it was, we don't have anything in here that can increase our oxytocin levels."
Scarlett gave them all a big smile. "Yeah, you do. Your dicks and pussies."
Byron rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Oh, come on."
"I'm serious as shit. Sex boosts oxytocin levels like a motherfucker. If you all get down to doin' the horizontal mambo, you'll get enough juices flowing to get you through it."
"How does that help us? What's your plan?" Magott shook her hands at the floor. "All of us have sex in here?"
Scarlett's smile brightened as she winked. "Sounds like a fucking plan to me. You got a better idea?"
"Yes." Magott turned her head away. "I mean, no. But that doesn't mean your ideas would work."
Byron took a deep breath. "Look, I agree that this sounds a little hard to swallow."
"Interesting choice of words." Scarlett licked her lips with her silver tongue.
He tried to ignore her. "I just have a hard time believing an orgy is what's gonna save our lives."
Chetaara drew herself up straighter as her tail flicked behind her. "That is because you still insist on seeing sex as a biological or physical act. The Goddess has taught us that sex is a source of healing and rejuvenation. It brings people together and unites souls. Your science has only begun to explore its depths. If it can give us even a few more seconds of life, I say we should enjoy each other."
She reached out to take Xana's hand and squeezed it.
Scarlet crossed the room with a swing in her hips. "Okay, I'll do it."
Chetaara frowned. "But you are a robot. You have no hormones."
Scarlett giggled. "True. But you know I'm always down for a good fuck."
The three of them now held hands and looked at the others.
Byron swept the others with his gaze. He tried not to linger too long on Kiki's wide hips and three boobs, Misty's short but full breasted body, and the elegant beauty of Magott. He didn't want to be ruled by his groin, even though he still had the erection from crawling through the vents.
He breathed in and let it out in a deep sigh. "Look, I didn't know anything about oxytocin but I trust Xana. She's a miracle worker. If she says this would help, I believe her. We also don't seem to have too many options. So I'm voting yes."
Kiki let out a squeal and skipped across the room to Byron's side. "Yippee, I get to do you again? Wow, that's so totally awesome. Even if I die now, I'll know I got to do it with the Outsider twice. So I vote yes on the fucking, everybody!"
Byron looked over. "Okay, that's six of us. Misty?"
Misty shrank back against the wall. "No, this is weird. Ever since I got trapped in Venus Online, it seems like people are gettin' naked and doin' it all over the place. I don't know why this game keeps throwing sex at us."
Byron couldn't hold back a quick grin. "You can thank the game designer Otis Accolade for that. He was a horny old guy."
Scarlett burst out laughing while Chetaara just frowned at him and flattened her pointed ears.
Misty didn't laugh, so Byron held out his hands to her and said, "Okay, look, no one's gonna force you into anything. It seems like the force field and healing should help, so maybe you can make it through without the hormones. If you're not comfortable with it, I understand."
Misty just closed her eyes and said nothing.
Byron moved on to Magott behind him, and was surprised to see her armor piled up on the floor. She was in the process of unzipping the skin-tight bodysuit underneath it, revealing a surprisingly firm body. Her pale legs and arms bulged with muscles, and her stomach rippled with a six-pack, but her breasts stood out round and perky under her top. When the bodysuit peeled away, it revealed hard black nipples on her breasts, and snow-white hair covering her slit.
She let the bodysuit fall to her ankles and kicked it away to her armor. "All right, fine, you're serious. Let's get this over with."
Sergeant Xin just glared at them. "I will not pollute my body by copulating with lower lifeforms."
Scarlett sneered while giving her a middle finger. "We wouldn't wanna touch your slimy green ass, anyway. Go jerk off somewhere, motherfucker."
Silica just folded her arms and grunted. "I choose not to take part. As a Voloxx, the radiation will not affect me."
With that, the rest of them turned towards each other.
Scarlett wasted no time in grabbing Xana by her cheeks and kissing her deeply. The two women embraced while Scarlett's hands moved down to tap the green girl's necklace. Xana's bodysuit slipped away, leaving her naked an
d moaning.
Chetaara smiled at Magott. "I do not know your sexual preferences, but I would consider it an honor to bring pleasure to your body. You are beautiful and strong like the goddess Ch'rriss."
Magott let a smile flick across her face. "That was quite an elegant way of putting it. I'm a soldier so I'll answer you directly. Yes, I am bisexual. And you are beautiful, too."
The two fell into each other's arms. Their mouths explored each other while Magott unclasped Chetaara's bikini. The catgirl's heavy breasts sprang out, and she moaned as Magott knelt to run her tongue over them.
Kiki giggled as she threw her arm around Byron's neck. "I guess that just leaves you and me, baby, and I really want a rematch."
She kissed Byron and he enjoyed the sweetness of her lips pressing against him. He felt his way down the arch of her back to cup her ass cheeks. He loved the way his fingers sank into the flesh, and how they rippled as she shivered against him. She pressed her breasts up against his chest, and he could feel the three hardening nipples pushing into him.
A finger tapped him on the back.
When he turned, Misty stood there, drawing back her hand, and gazing up at him with wide brown eyes. "Byron, I-I don't … don't wanna die."
Byron looked down at her, shivering and looking vulnerable. After her complaints earlier, he wasn't sure if he dared to believe. "A-are you saying you want to--"
Misty nodded her head. "But I-I can't do it with an NPC. That's just weird having sex with a computer program. And I'm straight."
He looked at Kiki, who smiled and let him go.
She pushed him towards Misty. "Yeah, go for it, Byron, it's okay. I already had some of your dreamy dick earlier. I can share you, no problem. But I hope I get a little taste when she's done so I can get my oxy-whatever up too, okay?"
"Sure, absolutely." Byron moved over to Misty with his arms out.
Misty held out her hands to his chest to stop him. He felt a moment of confusion, wondering what games Misty was playing with him, but that all vanished with six words from her.
"In real life, I'm a virgin."
Death's Revenge: A LitRPG Sci-Fi Adventure (Venus Online 5) Page 10