Cyber Viking Box Set

by Marcus Sloss

  CHAPTER 18

  There were no migraines or achy joints with the virum. However, I still managed to grow aggregated to the point I wanted to smash something. My agitated state of mind made me feel like I had a headache. Yesterday had been a pain to some degree.

  The best place to start was with the Gribin. Those little shits were offended by Asian anime for some reason. They came back and returned a quarter of our files. I cared less that they were offended and focused on the fact that it was a win-win situation for us. Until, that is, I got dragged into a conversation that deteriorated into a negotiation.

  Gribin are expert negotiators; I am an expert killer. Put the two of us together and I was willing to give a tank away to avoid starting a war for no reason other than for Freddy to feel like he won. To alleviate all that nonsense, I sent in Linda Growlen.

  By the end of the negotiation, we had given up three female and two male mozala. To be honest, once those little creatures scurried up the trees, I never saw them much. The Crixxi assured me they were good to go to a new home with a dense jungle. Awesome, I thought, no sweat off my back. For the mozala and the entertainment files, we were given a hundred parrot chickens. Again, another win. Mozala for animals that produced food sustainably.

  My next headache was Onix, though it was not his fault really. He kept bringing me dead things and whapping my lovers out of the way to get some affection. Honestly, I kind of enjoyed his sudden pounces. The massive cat kept me on my toes. The dead bodies of scouts were also a boon I thoroughly enjoyed. Invisibility shielding didn’t do shit for these guys. A dog might bark at them, but a cat as big as Onix simply killed its prey.

  The alien scouts were always small and thin, and they had giant puncture holes from a massive cat gnawing on them. While I was happy Onix was killing spies, snakes were another matter. I woke up the morning after our visit to Gribin to find three dead snakes, a mauled cloaked scout, and a gigantic dead pigeon outside my door. The pigeon was the size of a truck and weighed so much, it tilted the RV on its axels. Seriously, Onix caused problems that though manageable, added up.

  The funny part was that I had not slept in RV3 last night. Onix left the surprises for Perci to find and me to get an earful about from an agitated lover.

  My night was spent sheet wrestling with Nancy and Jill for hours. Jill was hesitant about a threesome until Nancy slapped the strap on over her crotch. We had some fantastic sex that night. I found balcony sex invigorating.

  We were so into, we woke Mary up on accident. I sure hoped my next home had lots of space separating the adults from the kids.

  The next morning, Sammie dealt with the cat’s presents and placated an agitated Perci so I could enjoy my morning visit with Mary. Walking the streets of Aspen was nice, except for the dagger-wielding stares from people who didn’t want to leave. I had to send out another message to all our residents that we were vacating the area for a host of good reasons. The United States was slowly losing every large defensive fortification above ground that it had. Only those who retreated to well defensible positions underground were hanging on.

  When I released the video of what had happened in Colorado Springs, that didn’t help. A dozen families left this morning, heading for Utah. Good for them. I understood their fear. Hell, I even gave them a tank to protect themselves with. Maybe they would find some little corner to hide in. Either you defended what you had or you died. There was no peaceful corner inside the containment.

  The Sluggero siblings and Harvard were adamant that the dead scouts Onix found was not a case of the Koovorin council bent on our destruction. There was little information to glean from the dead bodies, but we reached a common consensus: someone wanted information. The scouts didn’t even have weapons on them. We figured some of the Kerbian prisoners we held in a mine shaft in the northern section Mansion were worth a whole lot more than a Fairy.

  Which led to my current headache.

  “I am telling…” She paused at my stern glare. “Informing you that you should cancel this deal,” Linda Growlen said while we waited at the portal.

  “While I appreciate the input, I don’t actually want it at the moment. The spies had no weapons. Their bodies were in a camouflage coating. Hell, the siblings say it was a cheap one, at that.” I grunted. “So cheap, in fact, that they were disposable fodder.”

  We had a small army waiting with us at the gate. A towering Goliath shaded our area from a clear skyline on a bright sunny day. Toth was due any minute, so I had Torrez lock the gate down in preparation for his arrival.

  Willow stood on my left in her black acrium suit. Her face was exposed and her hair in a tight bun. We wore no crowns today for this event. She was heavily armored. The prime element on Planet Koor was hydrogen. Our shielded coloration was a deep blue that was translucent when active.

  Everly was on my right in a forest green suit of acrium. She had a light rifle slung across her chest that her arms rested on. Her purple eyes danced with excitement at the coming meeting. She echoed my inner warrior and looked forward to this competition.

  Perci, however, was not thrilled. The problems we were having with moving continued to pile up. She had intended to come with me, but left with Nancy after our morning breakfast with Jill and Mary. Apparently some housing was already established at the Mount Moran base we renamed Stronghold Castle.

  Linda asked to be here for diplomacy and I allowed it. I had to feed her, so I might as well take advantage of her expertise at top-level negotiations. The problem was, Linda remained in full corporate and government politicking mode. She was far from a dunce, though, and on the job training was the right place for her to be. The woman had a yellow power suit on over her white acrium armor.

  Around us was Jevon in a dark black suit of armor with a machine gun across his back and Ulanda in the side turret of a heavy tank. The Kerbian prisoners were huddled in front of a hundred tanks and Goliath 3. How did I know it was Goliath 3? Perci had tattoo art stenciled on every mecha’s calf. This one was also named Robert. Silly shit like that always caused me to smile at her antics.

  I let my gaze drift across the portal until a hover truck blitzed in our direction. A sandy plume erupted behind the vehicle as it raced our way. At least there was no army charging at us. Bonus! Onix hid above the alcove of the southern gate. How did I know? He kept sniffing, loudly, and every few minutes I would get a waft of nasty cat breath.

  We had pulled a few units out of Boulder off scavenging detail for this event and as Toth waved, I hoped this meeting would be worth the effort. Toth brought a Kerbian with him as the driver of their hover vehicle. The aliens eased their truck through the gate, slowing to a halt not five feet in front of me.

  “Welcome back Toth,” I bellowed in my best warlord voice. I caught the Kerbian eyeing the prisoners. Relief washed over his face when his eyes locked with one of the gangly young Kerbians. Probably a son. “And this is?”

  “Faction leader Andrivon of our Kerbian raiding team. Let me fetch your Fairy,” Toth said, going to the back of the truck. A hogtied and blindfolded Fairy was hauled out of the truck bed. It was a typical male Fairy on virum, exactly what I ordered. “Here you go.”

  “Let the prisoners go,” I commanded while passing the Fairy off to Longoria. He was set on a sled and sent to Mansion immediately.

  Linda scoffed, but I shrugged. I honored my deals. “Toth, I have some bodies, do they mean anything to you?” I asked, revealing some bodies under a tarp behind me.

  “They are Andrivon’s spies. Trying to verify if Ralph was telling the truth,” Toth said and I smiled.

  “Oh good, I suspected the same thing. Glad to hear it verified. Now that the small trading is done, how about we do some bigger trades? Nation to nation,” I said with a winning smile and open friendly arms.

  “I like you, Eric. It is refreshing to conduct business so openly. Return a truck to me, Andrivon,” Toth instructed as the prisoners were crammed into the vehicle’s bed. “We have a market in
Koor, best on the planet. Still, nothing compares to the grand market. There is something special about ours, though. We do not let anyone use our Xgate booths without a tax. That means all the aliens generating items, like seasoned steaks for example, on Koor compete to sell goods in the market, and if they don’t sell at the grand market.”

  “Then to the regular market it goes,” I finished for him. “We need workers and chickens. I have zinc and a mineral called yttrium but it needs to be broken down.” The vehicle with the prisoners spun out of the portal. We both watched them speed off into the distance on Koor. “His son?” I asked.

  “Yes, that was the boss of the bosses for the Kerbians. Your prisoners were worth ten Faeries. You knew it, but you honored your deal anyways. That bought you a lot of good will with our council,” Toth said with a slow nod of approval. “Bring the raw zinc. Sealed tight, mind you. We have many different types of symbiote infested aliens. Virum is a popular one, so I expect those out of money or down on their luck who have virum will try to steal any zinc they can detect.”

  “I wonder if I could convince beings on Koor to immigrate to Earth with the promise of free zinc and then paychecks in zinc,” I said knowing the answer.

  “Ah, well you would get the dregs for certain, then. We may not have a social safety net but we do keep our productive workers employed and happy. If they wear a pink badge, they are pride workers. Those we value highly. You will see. Here is our contract of assurances for your visit,” Toth said.

  “King Eric, this is Sally,” Sally said in a surprisingly formal tone. “This agreement is too loose; if someone starts a fight beside you, technically they can kill you with no repercussions to the Koovorin Nation. There are also a few other loopholes, all of which stem from real issues the Koovorin Nation has faced in the past. I have cleaned it up. We are putting up a hundred TG99 tanks in escrow if you violate the laws for your return. In return, if you die—even by an act of god, as it is termed, we get a zinc payout larger than the cost of my brother and I times three.”

  I paused, uncertain on how to continue. Toth gave me a warm sloth smile. “Let me step onto Koor for just a moment and get this approved. These are typical cover-your-backside, what-if scenarios,” Toth said, and walked back slowly through the portal.

  “Sally,” I asked, “Should we go or not?”

  “You should be fine if they accept our revised clauses. All staged events for an accidental demise would be canceled. I have full access to their networks. The Divine-Apes left some presents behind for themselves that I can access. Anyway, you’re not going to get accidentally killed and we won’t be sent a ‘sorry but your dead leader’s demise was not covered’ condolences note” Sally said. This was less than reassuring. I wanted to throttle her. “Eric, you’ll be fine. Here is the part that should ease your racing heart. They’re going to transport you securely to a place called the ‘Vault’ … just ‘Vault’. Inside this vault, you will be mentally uploaded into synthetic bodies to travel around the city for the day.”

  Synthetic bodies? Before I could ask about it, Sally continued.

  “This is how the elites of the city mingle, they do not expose themselves to the common alien or risk even the chance of injury or death. These units are expensive to operate; you rent them by the day. Fortunately, you can rotate personnel into them. So, if I want to go visit later, I can use the same robot for later in that day’s cycle—which is nearly forty hours long on Koor. You will need a lot of zinc, but we have prepared plenty to send with you.”

  I was taken aback. “You’re telling me I will become a robot and control it from inside a secure location?”

  “Yes Eric, there are many aliens that value their life more than their wealth. Koor does trading and planetary mingling all the time. Go have fun, compete, and bring home some new warriors or builders. You will have impressed a lot of the Koovorin Council, both with your victory and contract knowledge. Use that to help Bastion. I have to go. I am sending you a list of minor machines that we could use to help spruce up Stronghold Castle.”

  The connection closed and I chewed on the inside of my lip. My Gpad pinged and I received a list. I was not one to avoid risks. How often were humans invited into an alien mega-city?

  “We’re going right?” Willow asked with a nudge on my left hip.

  A tap on my right shoulder revealed a flash of friendly Crixxi canines. Everly said, “I want to go.”

  I shrugged, waiting for Toth who was heading back for Earth. When he shimmered through the portal, he said, “Hurray, approved but you’ll be getting a guarded escort. The vault before the vault, so to speak, with thick shielding around an armored hull. You will not leave your encasing until you are secured underground and brought to the sync chambers.”

  “You’re putting us in a no-kill box?” I asked, amused.

  “Yes, your contract is pretty airtight. Get it!” The sloth being rolled his eyes back and gave a slow, deep laugh. He slapped his gut when he finished his joyful banter. “So, we overprotect you. You can still compete, wager on games, and visit the city from the protection of the vault. Though, from what I hear, you’re no pushover as it is,” Toth said with a wave at the portal. “Here they come. Please stack all your trading supplies over here. They will be protected. You can bring up to five of your citizens with you, but three would be better, to start.”

  “Jevon, you want to go?” I asked my friend who had stayed off to the side, though listening in.

  “Yes, but after you, if that is okay?” Jevon asked and Toth nodded. “I have command.”

  “For the community, you have command,” I said to my friend and then turned to Sammie. “You’re staying here. Get my home ready to be moved into and help the Sluggeros. Longoria, you’re coming with us. We’ll take Torrez, too, if he wants to come. We will make it work. You’ll be on the next rotation, Linda. Go ahead and prep Ryan to go with you.”

  Willow, Everly, Longoria, and I walked through the shimmering blue portal while the others went to carry out my orders. We found Torrez, kneeling down, holding the button on the other side. When he saw us on Koor he gave a friendly wave.

  “I want you to ride with us, Torrez” I said to him and he pointed at a metal container that reminded me of a see through submarine with a side entrance. The curved contraption was towed by a gravity tank ten times bigger than a TG99 on a long bed trailer and. Umm… Yes, please. I mentally put ginormous-ass-tank on my to-purchase list.

  “We're riding in that tank? Awesome!” Torrez said.

  Toth opened his mouth and then closed it and looked at me.

  I shook my head at Torrez and pointed at the shitty looking clear container.

  “Yeah, Cap. I only love you so much. There is no space in that thing, anyway. Can I ride in the tank?” Torrez asked.

  “It would only alter his contract,” Toth said. “With that said, your contract does not permit it, you could have him get picked up right behind you.”

  “No. Your call, Torrez. We’re going into an unknown situation, so Sally gave us a contract that resulted in our having to ride in that contraption. You can join us in there, wait for the next ride, or go home,” I said with a shrug, already heading for the container. I saw the conflict on his face twist into a smile.

  “I will wait. Maybe later, Maria will want to go shopping and I’ll probably score a BJ for being the hero who waited for his wife.” He snickered at his words. “Best of luck, Cap,” Torrez said, while I shifted to watch the portal.

  A half dozen munition crates were eased through the gate from Earth to Koor. Toth popped open the lids, saw them brimming with zinc, and had them stored in the tank’s storage compartment. I stopped watching the transfer to enter the small cabin. There were only four seats with their backs facing each other. A seat for each side to view out of. A Kerbian sealed us in and I sat there, waiting to be towed to the city. Torrez gave a final wave and then was gone after unlocking the Xgate.

  “What are you ladies thinking?” I asked as
the big tank glided off.

  The speed was incredible for such a massive construct. I had a hard time getting over stupid incongruities like size and speed, thinking that big objects like AC1 or this tank should be slow and cumbersome, not agile and rapid, simply because they were huge. I let the thought go and inspected the planet Koor.

  The sky was bright with a slightly red tint to it, I could almost imagine there was a large fire nearby but it was just a different sun. The Xgate we sped away from was one of dozens on the horizon hovering over a short yellow grass with blue bushes randomly sticking up here and there. The ruins of ancient cities lay mostly consumed by vegetation, only the odd layout of the landscape told me there had been dwellings here at one point.

  “Please tell me these can glide over water,” Willow said with a jolting squeak from behind me. A loud exhale escape her in relief. “Oh, were good.”

  She was facing forwards and I was backwards. I never saw the abrupt terrain change coming. Tropical jungle and sandy beaches swapped to the flat ocean. I craned my neck to stare up at the sky and saw no signs of a moon. We shimmied across the water with ease, our destination point unknown.

  “It is likely they had a preserve or an Arctic that they defrosted. There are only six Xgates over the Arctic on Earth,” Longoria said. Though I was fairly certain it was five, I wasn’t going to argue with her. “The ability to melt the ice is a possibility if we wanted to do so on Earth. Costly and time consuming, true, but time is infinite with containment technology. And if you contemplate the reward, the endeavor is worth the effort—bountiful land devoid of crowded Xgates.”

  I saw a few fishing boats hovering over the water. Aquatic aliens slung their catches onto the floating machines. Their bounty was a lot of small fish from what I could see.

  We shifted our heading and were soon over sand again. Hundreds of towers encompassed an island that appeared to have no strategic value. They were guarding nothing, as far as I could tell. The tank slowed to a stop and the ground below us opened up. All these defenses for this single entry point? I was not certain if I should be reassured or concerned.