by Kory Shen
We finally arrived at another room. I stepped through the large doors, still in my Beastform.
I stared in stunned silence.
The room looked exactly like the training rooms in the Academy. The ceiling was transparent, and I could spot an observation deck above us. There was even a command console against the wall.
"You copied us?" I asked.
Garvek slapped his thighs while roaring in laughter. I recoiled at the sudden movement and noise.
"Copied you? No, no, my dear human. I gave you these designs."
The full implication of Garvek's words took a moment to trickle through my brain. Zoe was faster.
That would mean…no! The Mekanics have been behind everything? From the very beginning?
I shook my head in disbelief. The Mekanics weren't hacking our military network. They didn't compromise the Academy. If what Garvek was saying was true, they had engineered everything. The invasion. The War. We had never had a chance.
Zoe…
"Let's begin your evaluation," Garvek said. He pushed me into the center of the room, then walked over to a corner. He clapped sharply. I whirled about, waiting for something to happen. The floor opened up, just like in the real training room. Something rose out of the new opening.
It was a lone Mekanic, exactly like the captured Grade E one we had faced as a team before.
Shit. They know everything about us, don't they? Everything. The squad. The training. Had it all been a sham?
No! This is what the Mekanics do. They're insidious. We have to keep fighting! I'm real. The girls are real.
Zoe was right. I had to focus on what mattered, on the things you couldn't fake. And the Mekanic looming before us.
Focus, Dustin, focus. We still can't take on a Grade E by ourselves.
I realized that Garvek looked like a cruder, nerdier version of the Grade E Mekanic. They were both the same height, while the Grade E Mekanic had a polished silver surface, a sleeker body, and three red dots for its face.
A blue sword materialized in the Mekanic's right hand. Then, it charged.
I leaped away, reaching the far wall. I climbed higher and ran in a zigzag pattern near the ceiling, dodging the optical blasts. A blast singed my paw, making me lose my footing. The Mekanic took advantage of my stumble, firing a rapid salvo of optical blasts.
I Phase Shifted, then caught the wall as my Phase Shift ended, climbing away again.
ENERGY: 588/700
Garvek has to know I can't beat the Mekanic, right? How long's this going to go on for?
You could ask him.
"Garvek!" I shouted while dodging more optical blasts. "How long are we doing this?"
"Not too long," he replied. "Just until you zero."
"What?" I screeched. I landed on the ground next to Garvek. "Aren't we valuable to you? You know that's not good for us?"
Garvek didn't reply or move.
"Garvek!" I screamed.
The Mekanic raised his sword and charged us. I Phase Shifted and slipped behind Garvek at the last moment. The sword struck Garvek, tearing a large gash through half of his body.
I winced in sympathy. Ouch. Doesn't look like Garvek is the fighting type.
My eyes widened as the Mekanic slashed again, cutting Garvek completely in half. I Phase Shifted and abandoned my hiding spot, climbing the walls again.
The doors opened and a ten-foot-tall metal man looking exactly like Garvek walked through the doors.
"I'd like to observe you zero once. The data will be quite valuable," the new metal man said.
"Garvek, is that you?" I dodged more optical blasts, Phase Shifting as necessary. I wouldn't be able to Phase Shift indefinitely.
ENERGY: 558/700
"Of course. Who else would I be?"
They can change bodies? I stared as the new Garvek resumed his position next to his old broken body.
It's not too surprising. It makes sense that they can transfer their minds, with the wide variety of bodies Mekanics can possess.
The distraction of seeing the new Garvek was deadly. The Mekanic leaped, impossibly fast, and slashed at me with the glowing blue sword. I tumbled. Then, everything went black.
***
I woke up to a pleasant vibrating sensation on my balls. It took a fraction of a second to realize someone was sitting on top of me. And that I was naked.
I screamed.
"Ooh! Are you having an orgasm?" It was Vikki. "I read that some people scream when they orgasm."
"No, fucking, no!" I yelled. I quickly but carefully extracted my balls from Vikki's cupped hand, then scrambled away from her.
Zoe? Zoe?
Oh Christ, not again. Zoe was sleeping at the side of the bed with the same metal collar around her neck. My combat uniform was next to her. I snatched it off the ground.
"Was it good?" Vikki asked eagerly.
I began putting on my uniform. "Vikki, I realize you aren't human, but please keep your hands off me. And stop doing that to Zoe!"
"But I—"
I pointed at Zoe. "Take it off. Now!"
Vikki pouted. The collar fell off Zoe, who instantly opened her eyes.
Not again.
That's what I said!
Zoe looked at Vikki, then me getting dressed.
Oh no. Don't tell me, you stuck yourself in that rusty bucket of bolts? It was an accusing tone.
No. Absolutely not. You know I can't lie to you.
There was a slight pause. Zoe sat up straight and hissed. She did what? That's my move! That little bitch—
Zoe! I had never heard Zoe get that upset. Calm down, Zoe. She's still here.
"Can you give us some private time?" I asked Vikki. "Zeroing is never fun."
Vikki shrugged and got out of bed. "Okay. But Father will be around in half-an-hour for your second day of testing."
"Second day?" I looked at the grandfather clock. It was nine-o-clock. "Is that nine in the morning or evening?"
"It's nine in the morning," Vikki said. "You've been out for a whole day."
"That's a long time…" Zeroing hadn't knocked me out for an entire day before.
"Oh, we sedated you to perform some extra testing."
"What?"
"Don't worry," Vikki said. "I monitored the whole process. I made sure you were in good hands." It might have been my imagination, but I could have sworn her hands vibrated for a second as she spoke.
I had felt like a lab rat or asset at times with Dr. Hill and the military, but this was a whole new level of bullshit.
"Please leave," I said, pointing to the door.
"Your heart rate's spiking, but you shouldn't be able to orgasm so quickly after the first one—"
"I didn't fucking orgasm!" I shouted. "Please! Go!"
Vikki's face quivered. Then, she turned and fled, sobbing. I felt bad about it, for a millisecond, before remembering that the Mekanics had destroyed the Academy and were now performing god-knows-what experiments on me while I was unconscious.
Zoe. We've learned enough, haven't we? We have to get out of here.
We still don't know how the Second Strain are involved, but I agree. What we've learned is more than I had ever imagined.
But what exactly had we learned? That the Mekanics were running the show already? That humanity was doomed? If we left now, what hope was there? The Second Strain seemed like a distant afterthought.
Dustin, I admit I don't know where to go from here, either. But we can't give up!
I'm not giving up. But we need a plan. Running from the Mekanics wouldn't solve our problems. If even a fraction of what Garvek had said was true, the game had changed. Completely. We couldn't just go back to pretending there was a simple war between Beastmasters and Mekanics. Our only option was to dive even deeper into the Mekanic rabbit hole, and hope we found something of use.
Zoe yowled and swiped at a bed post, leaving behind a set of scratch marks. Damn, Zoe was losing her cool?
I feel…helpless. Even with a
ll my training, with all my knowledge…
Story of my life. But the one good thing about being a deadbeat orphan was that being helpless wasn't anything new. I'd march on, like I always had. We'll beat Garvek at his own game, Zoe. I promise.
Half an hour later, on the dot, Garvek showed up. We returned to the training room together, me in my Beastform.
"No more zeroing, I hope?" I asked.
Garvek nodded. "Today, we'd like to see you evolve. Our scans indicate you should be roughly three-quarters there."
Zoe, they can tell that?
Apparently. I'm surprised, too.
NEXT EVOLUTION: 71%
At least jumping out of a plane and getting beaten up by a Mekanic had been worth something. "How do you know how close I am to my next evolution?"
Garvek chuckled. "Some of my colleagues would dismantle me for saying this, but there's a bit of Mekanic in every Chimeric. It's not difficult to read you."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Your evolution levels, abilities. All very orderly and defined, almost computer-like, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah," I admitted. I had wondered about that before. It was kind of strange, almost like playing a video game.
"Not very organic. Why do you think that is?"
Zoe?
I have no idea. But if what he said yesterday was true…it would make sense.
What?
The more we meld, the more our genetic backgrounds intertwine. You're no longer completely human. If Mekanics and Chimerics used to bond…
I had an idea of where Zoe and Garvek were going. "Chimerics and Mekanics used to bond. They shared genes or whatever you have, right?"
Garvek clapped. "You get it! While Mekanic and Chimeric makeups have diverged, they still carry remnants of the time when they co-existed as bonded pairs. What you see today as a Beastmaster is a relic of that ancient heritage."
That…kind of makes sense, doesn't it?
Zoe didn't reply. Zoe? I wasn't sure how she was handling the news. It had to be like finding out the teacher you hated in school was actually your grandpa. Or something like that.
I'm not sure what to make of it. We were always taught that Mekanics and Chimerics were opposites, incompatible, unable to bear the others' existence. But what if he's right?
"You, actually Vikki, said this would end the War. How?" I asked.
"Ah, so you're starting to see. Wonderful!" Garvek reached over as if to pet my head, but I dodged away. He straightened and continued chatting without missing a beat. "The War is largely a product of Chimeria's aggressive intergalactic expansion policies…"
That's hardly true! The Mekanics—
Zoe, okay, pipe down. Let's just hear him out.
"…since their military might relies on finding suitable hosts for bonding. Most host races have severe drawbacks. Humans are unique in this regard. I do wonder about that. The earliest Mekanic records indicate some interaction with this quadrant…"
My eyes glazed over as Garvek droned on about some prehistoric galactic events. I coughed, which ended up sounding more like a growl in my Beastform. "So, ending the War?"
Garvek nodded eagerly. "The Mekanics, meanwhile, have been forced to keep the Chimerics in check. Without our intervention, they would have overrun entire interstellar ecosystems. Their ability to bond with hosts mean they can survive in almost any environment." Garvek spoke more slowly. "Let me put it this way. Chimeric are the cockroaches of the galaxy. We're the exterminators."
Cockroaches? Why that blockhead son of a—
Calm down, Zoe. I agree that's unfair, but let me handle it. I mean, hadn't Zoe said Chimerics were like bees? Always looking for a new hive to populate? I could see what Garvek meant, to a degree.
Dustin!
I'm not agreeing with him, you know that. They're still the enemy.
"Why'd you attack Earth, then?" I asked. "We were minding our own business when—boom! Texas is gone. Millions dead."
"The Chimerics were already here when we attacked," Garvek said. "They had confirmed that humans were a compatible host and were planning a large-scale population transfer. We intervened. Their base of operations was in what you called Texas."
Is that true, Zoe? The Chimerics were here first? Everyone had said that the Mekanics attacked first and that the Chimerics arrived later to defend us.
I…I'm not sure. There were rumors of a great discovery around the time the Mekanics attacked. I didn't think…I don't know. It's possible. For once, Zoe didn't seem as sure of herself as usual.
"So you were going to wipe us out to stop the Chimerics from expanding? How is that any better than letting the Chimerics expand?"
"We would gladly sacrifice one planet to prevent the infection from spreading," Garvek said.
"But if humans can help you make Mekanic babies, Mekanics will stop trying to kill us?"
"I can only speak for myself," Garvek said. "Some don't believe me. Some don't care." His black eye pulsed briefly with a red glow. "Fools! We're dying as a race and all they care about is one more victory against the Chimerics. I convinced the moderates to hold out until I have more data."
"But Mekanic activity has been increasing lately."
"As I said, some are restless. Meaningless incursions. Needless risks and losses. A bored mind is a dangerous thing, as your people say."
The Mekanics didn't agree on the direction of the War? Could we do anything with that? What do you think, Zoe?
Agreed. Perhaps we could turn them against each other, somehow. Like they did to us.
"So…not everyone sees things the way you do?" I asked. "That's a shame."
Garvek sighed. "They're a fickle group, unstable, changing their minds on a whim. You don't know what it's like dealing with them."
That wasn't encouraging. If Earth's fate was in the hands of crazy robots that even Garvek thought were unstable. Damn. I tried a different approach.
"What about the Second Strain?" I asked. "What's their deal?"
Garvek tilted his head, as if studying me. He couldn't read my mind, could he?
"You can ask for yourself," Garvek said suddenly. He raised his hands into the air.
The floor opened up once again. Before the section of the floor had fully opened, a giant brown insect jumped out, landing besides Garvek. Staccato.
"Hunter!" Staccato screamed. His bladed forearms pulsed with a blue glow.
"Wait your turn, old man!" A blurring gray ball shot out of the floor, bouncing off a wall before landing on the floor next to Staccato.
Cody bared his teeth in a vicious smile. "They said we can do anything we want as long as you still have a pulse."
"Ah, ah," Garvek clucked. "Now blows below the belt. I'll want to make sure the reproductive tissue is intact."
"You hear that? He wants your balls." Cody barked in laughter. "Once we zero you, Staccato and I are going to have so much fun."
The two of them approached from both sides.
Zoe? Shit! I took a step backward, then another. Zoe!
CHAPTER 18
Staccato charged, slashing with his bladed forearms, at the same time that Cody launched his cannonball. I didn't dare to Phase Shift with Staccato's ability to pierce through my defense. There was no way I could dodge both attacks at the same time, either.
Instead, I attacked. I launched a Claw Whirl, becoming a vortex of slashing claws. My claws crashed against Staccato's bladed arms with high-pitched screeches, knocking them away. Then, Cody's cannonball smashed into my twirling attack, sending us both spinning away in opposite directions.
ENERGY: 690/700
It had worked. I hadn't taken any damage. There was no way I could keep this up, though. I dashed towards Garvek, briefly considering whether I could hide behind him. Then, I remembered how he had tossed aside his body once before.
"Garvek! What the hell?" I screamed, circling around him.
The others didn't attack immediately, though.
They might be
holding back. Maybe they're not aware of Garvek's capabilities.
Or blowing up a Mekanic's body is bad manners. I didn't know their exact relationship with the Mekanics.
I changed my mind and swung back to Garvek, putting him between me and the others. "Garvek? They'll kill me. I can't help you if I'm dead."
Garvek tried to grab me. "Come now, it's only a bit of exercise. Without pain, there is no gain."
I twisted out of his reach, but that exposed me to the others.
Staccato darted in for a strike. I leaped high, crawled several feet up the wall, then dove for the ground again at an angle to evade him.
A cannonball crashed into the ground, inches from where I had landed.
Fuck! I scrambled away.
The door! Zoe's tone was urgent but calm, back to her usual self.
Door?
Phase Shift through the door.
I should have thought of that earlier. I ran towards the training room's large door, Cody hot on my heels. I jumped straight for the door and Phase Shifted, half-expecting to be blocked.
My body passed through, and I emerged in the huge tunnel-like corridor on the other side. I also had the satisfaction of a loud thump behind me, followed by angry cries.
Run, Dustin, run!
Where?
Anywhere but here.
The training room's door started lifting. I ran.
At first, I simply sprinted down the corridors, taking turns at random.
Staccato suddenly appeared in front of me, slashing downward with his forearms.
Right!
I followed Zoe's directions, turning into another tunnel. The endless tunnels all looked the same to me, with no landmarks or identifying features as far as I could tell. But Zoe seemed to be memorizing more and more of the layout.
Take the one sloping downward.
The tunnel split up into two up ahead, one going up, the other down. I went down.
Where are we going?
Towards the center of the airbase.
Center? If we want to get out of here, shouldn't we go towards the edges?
We're floating miles above the Earth. We can't escape on our own. And weren't we going to play with Garvek?