Cyber Viking Box Set

by Marcus Sloss

  “Ah, here it is,” Willow said. We arrived at a two hundred foot tall cyclops. Judging by the scars on his exposed calves he was a ferox raiser. Damn, there were old bite marks too. Those looked painful. I noticed the giant schlong and balls at the same time Willow commented, “Ugh, put some underwear on.”

  “I heard that.” The massive being said from way up high. A lift hovered down to us and we hopped on. When we neared the eye that was at least fifteen feet in diameter our ascent paused. “What can I do for you?”

  Willow found her bearing and replied, “We are with the Owlvini Alliance and -”

  The cyclops translator buzzed. “Oh, not often an elder sends visitors and then vouches for the arrivals. Most just brag about loose connections trying to get deals. Come follow me, Lester is the name.”

  We shifted behind the cyclops to descend. He plunged through the floor for his storage unit before we reached the drop point. We had to hop off the lift to transition through the void. I inspected the surroundings hoping to glean some details of the orbital. There never was much because the looming massive structure dwarfed the ships and space that surrounded it.

  When we arrived on the storage deck a new lift approached. We stepped up and onto the device and rose to the eyeball height of Lester.

  “So, Daxstar says you have a wild ferox. One Onix who is healthy, stubborn, and loves to roam. Recently semi-domesticated. Well, that is better than full wild. He will need to be let out a lot,” Lester said and I shrugged. The cyclops gave me a long gaze. “I get it, Onix does what the heck he wants. In this case, build him a cat door somehow. Never mind, Daxstar will the first time the two bump into each other.”

  “Why is that?” I asked.

  “They can animal talk pretty much, it's more alien weird shit but it works,” Lester said.

  “Wait, you find alien things odd and weird too?”

  My question was given a long and hard stare that spoke volumes. I was surprised he held in a dumb response to go with my question.

  “Moving on. I have ferox kittens. For the cause, I will sell them at cost. Daxstar wants protection. I also have some other exotic pets. Just hatched a few dozen dragons, was a really good mating season,” Lester said.

  Willow and I rotated to wide eyed stares at each other in shock. I gulped and she did an excited dance. “Our language has dragons as beasts that can breathe fire -”

  “Nope.”

  “Fly?” his lack of an answer was answer enough. “They lay eggs -”

  “Nope.”

  “Okay, Lester how about we see what a dragon is?” Willow said politely.

  “I was kind of enjoying the conversation,” Lester said in a snarky tone. That smart-ass comment got me laughing. “Yeah, I tease mainly because you will be my best client for probably over a year.”

  “Well, what do you recommend for Onix?” I asked, seeking his guidance.

  “Nothing against your friend, but Onix is a fighter, not a lover. He would impregnate a lady cat and move on. Most felines are super social. So if you got a single female who was a lover, she would go crazy,” Lester said with a shrug. “Big cats are odd. If you want to add two females I will do that, three better.”

  I chuckled and Everly rolled her eyes before saying, “So Onix gets a group of babes.”

  “Pretty much, and that is not cheap. Even with the alliance discount, you would be… Before we go further -”

  His translator sparked and I scoffed. “How the hell does he do that?”

  “Daxstar? They are originals. As in the rebellious first. Only the sheer manufacturing production of the divines pushed them into submission. How do you think the Containers created the portals?”

  My mouth dropped open and I stared at the cyclops.

  “Daxstar and I are old. Older than we care to admit. He showed me your balance sheet. That owl is paranoid. He wants three lady cats so you get to pick. Already paid. If you want other interesting critters those costs are on you,” Lester said and we were lowered to a section of the storage room.

  I knew it was important to rationalize size had a different relevance to a two hundred foot being in far different ways than to me. Everything inside this storage room was huge. To describe it to someone else would never convey the true sense of how tiny we were.

  My initial observation into his sales floor was that nothing was on display. There were at least a hundred boxy contraptions in here that were probably cages and each on them was covered with a black sheet of sorts.

  “These kittens, they’re just as smart as Onix,” Lester said slowly removing a cover. Four purring ferox kittens bigger than me were resting peacefully. “And this is why I don’t use fancy signs or displays. When you move an animal from its home in what is likely a temporary endeavor you want to make the transition peaceful. These are my pride of life, my work continuing even if I do not one day.”

  Where Onix was colored for the night. These were not. Surprisingly they were colored like massive house cats. Oranges, whites, and one runt was black with white splotches. A single eyelid opened to inspect the disturbance and saw Lester. That was enough to lull it back to sleep.

  “The orange ones are the ladies. Pick one please,” Lester said, replacing the cover.

  “We don’t get to play with them?” Willow asked and Everly tried to contain a laugh only to fail. “Fine, the larger one. I am sure we will bond easy enough.”

  “Yes, Onix is different. These will reside close to your home inside the castle walls that Daxstar sent me information on. Okay here is the next litter,” Lester said to a cage next to the first one. There were two kittens. One pitch black and the other a jungle pattern. “Both girls. Pick.”

  Willow sought guidance but I let her choose. She picked the patterned girl with a pointing finger. The cover was replaced and the kittens never woke.

  “The last female is a retired mom. Well, she retired herself, but between the three of them, Onix will be outside Bastion more than inside. He will live a very fruitful life with these three,” Lester said before peeling away with long strides.

  Damn, he was fast. We raced on our platform to keep up. I heard a bird chirp and was distracted to the point I missed the big reveal.

  Which was a creature so tiny compared to the cyclops.

  “Before you ask a litany of dumb questions here is the bio page for dragons. And, before you pester me about how I raise dragons half the size of a human, I don’t. My subspecies do. I protect them, they nurture these little guys among other things.”

  Our translators buzzed. I was given stats on a dragon. Max five feet long, an average of four and a half. They ate meat only. The dragons had horrific smelling but fantastic eyesight. I continued to read over the report. This was a toothy falcon to some extent. An eagle that could be trained, and well, was a dragon. The big downside was they generally bonded with a single being and were assholes to others. There was a caveat to this but that was life in general.

  Rarity stated they were semi-rare. The valuation was about three personal tanks which was not a lot. I sighed at the price and lack of utility.

  Willow was in love though. Based on her reaction of a bitten lip to contain her excitement it was a dream come true. I saw a little girl getting her pet pony. Except my raven haired hottie was no little girl. This was exactly what she wanted though and making her happy was important to me.

  “How many of these do you have for sale?” I asked. “We may not make it back for some time.”

  “Breeding these, while a lifetime achievement of awesomeness comes with downsides. Sure they are easy to sell but they cause problems. They rebel if their numbers swell. I never advise more than a dozen in any one location. How about you try one and then come back next week?” Lester said and he saw me fidgeting on how to answer. I struggled to answer in a timely manner. Lester was not dumb he picked up immediately on the fact I might not be returning next week. “Well, don’t gamble where you have to hide what you're trying to say with your gesture
s, Eric.”

  The giant paced. He was adding things together while talking out loud. “If Daxstar. And your. Then. The Owlvini. Well shit.” His shoulders slumped piecing it together. If I had to guess he contained some inside knowledge, but not all. “I think I need to take a break from selling today, I suddenly have lots to do. I already processed the funds for your ferox. You probably have some super upset people in storage right now with angry kittens in cages. I added a dozen dragons to the order on the house.”

  “Is everything okay?” Everly asked, noting the sudden change in the cyclops.

  “Nope, but you will be. Trust in Daxstar and I can say no more. Hey! Dumbass divine. Kick me and all my animals out. We're going home,” Lester said to the big room with cages. “Good luck.”

  There was a magical transition of us instantly being back in our own storage room in the San Francisco gate. Torrez was peeking under a cloth to see a tabby ferox hissing at him.

  “Is this a baby Onix?”

  “Yup!” I shouted. The kitten which was almost the size of me shifted. Our eyes locked and I suddenly felt like prey. “Keep them in the cage. Take them to the castle. The dragons too.”

  “Dragons!” About every human in the room echoed.

  “Yup, we’re starting a zoo of sorts I guess. It should be fun. So if you got spare money and want to contribute, feel free to do so. Everyone should have animal vendors labeled on their Gpads and spread the word. Willow here is in charge of it,” I said and she tucked her chin with a confused face.

  ‘You suck, I should have thought of this. We have them on most other planets. A zoo is queued into the build order. Done in six hours.’ - Daxstar

  “Yup. Co-manage it with Everly. Now take me to the synthetic bodies since we were so rudely kicked out of Lester’s storage,” I said heading back to the side exit for the market.

  CHAPTER 8

  I traveled halfway to the synthetic seller when I received an urgent alert. Salt Lake City was requesting a sit down meeting and I was invited. I could digitally attend for my safety, but would need to be outside the market.

  Daxstar let me in on a little secret at this point. He had the ability to craft synthetics. He didn’t tell me so I could see some bodies in person, which is far different than on a digital display. That and he liked the idea of me not bothering him while I shopped.

  I gave up on the grand market and headed home. I wanted to inspect the castle anyway. Perci would have free rein to spend like the queen she was on saving souls duty. I would need to take her into the VirtaBox to tell her the big news. I should…

  ‘If your rank is Duke you are to report to VirtaBox for virtual training when able.’ - Cap

  The replies came back fast acknowledging the order. I figured Goldie would not tell anyone he couldn’t trust. The AI hybrid could read minds, so I felt it was safe to have him decide. As for this meeting, I was going the fastest I could for the exit. Everly and Willow were talking non-stop about this zoo idea to the point I paused.

  “Hey, so. I am going to do boring King work. You girls stay. Catch a breather, you were with me for a week on the front lines with no break. Enjoy the time and do more animal shopping. And both of you, please do not mention Daxstar again,” I said in a warning tone. “Have fun with the synthetic shopping. I trust you to get me some nice variations. Just know we can build them at home eventually.”

  There were kisses, hugs, and pleading for me to put off the meeting to join them. I was promptly informed they would do body shopping anyway when I refused.

  They wanted synthetics for now and not later. If I behaved there would be some awesome after the wedding shenanigans. This got my gears turning and I was almost convinced to stay.

  When I finally peeled off for the exit I was sad to leave them. My world would be incomplete without my lovely ladies.

  I retrieved the information on the Salt Lake City refuge resort. Apparently fortifying the old Olympics sites was easy enough. This was another location where they had not been spared combat. Only they had not faced horrifying opponents. Hard fighting against aliens with basic weapons had thinned their numbers. The leader was watching over tens of thousands in the area.

  I decided to try to understand that statement better and learned a few groups were pooling resources to buy alien food, gear, and tech. They had formed a council with the biggest group being the head leader. That made sense to me. The more I studied these folks the more impressed I was.

  This golden market was their big ticket to improving and they were ready for it. When I read over the report further than a light skim I realized that they did not need us like the other groups. This was a capable party. Then why were they wanting to talk with me?

  My exit from the orbital revealed no new information. I walked to the acrium vat because getting blown up sucked and armor was awesome. I equipped my shielding and rifle. When I felt I was ready I left the golden storage bay for what could be the very last time.

  Outside there was a buzz of activity. New sleds with a single station for looting were zooming about. They would fly in with loot up high and return back out to seek more raw materials. Damn, we were going to be rich.

  I walked to AH1 and saw Longoria waiting for me at the ramp.

  “How are you feeling, soldier?” she asked.

  “Like I missed sex toy shopping with two women that complete me,” I said and winced. Hoping I did not offend her.

  “Eric Yang, I am ancient… and I know I say this often but there is a reason for it. I am not a frilly or silly woman. I want more children here, and you’re a great candidate to have my children grow up strong and wise. If we grow closer as we age, so be it, if we do not, I will have you pull my wings until you fill my twerking pussy when I am ready,” Longoria said with a playful wink. My chuckle and her banter soothed the situation. “Now, follow me, we're going to broadcast you from an office desk and chair in the captain’s room. I will fly you home while you chat, my king.”

  “Ah… Okay. That was something else, kind of wish I was not in acrium. Lead the way my fairy queen,” I said, gesturing for the pilot room.

  “Hey boss, check your Gpad,” Torrez shouted from outside the Xgate.

  ‘Use a full clear helmet for meeting please.’ - Slister.

  I ran back out to the storage room and into the vat. A quick clear helmet later and I was back into AH1. Longoria held the door open so I could quickly slide into a big office chair facing a hovering camera.

  “Am I live?” I asked.

  Sammie came over to the desk, tapped a few buttons, and holo screens showed me a group around a table waiting patiently.

  “Oh hi everyone, I am Eric Yang. Friends call me Cap, my enemies tend to die, and I control the largest military on the continent and probably the planet. What can I do for you?” I asked the group. And yes I was being a conceded asshole on purpose. Play to your strengths when you could.

  “I am Senator Longthorn, a Utah native. We appreciate you connecting the Gnet back into sync with us. When we asked Teton Fortress for help they said to call you,” Longthorn said with a frown. “We have an infestation. A species came through during a blue time and burrowed into our mountains. They are mining behind collapsed tunnels and then exporting their minings when the portals go golden.”

  “And?”

  “Maybe you misheard me with that silly helmet. There are aliens living under us,” Longthorn said with a scowl. “Aliens bad. Maybe the audio is broken. Loren, fix this. That man seems to be unable to hear us.”

  “I heard you fine, Sammie, sit here please,” I said and Sammie sat in my place. “I need to drink something strong while I hear you complain about peaceful aliens trying to survive. Say hi Sammie.”

  “Hello nice human folk, King Eric is very mighty, but I do not understand why I am here. Most things he does have a reason though and I trust him,” Sammie said to the group and I chuckled.

  “Mr. Yang, we want to offer you a bounty to remove our pest problem,” Longthor
n said.

  “Terms?” I fired back from out of the view screen.

  “Aliens disappear and you get a hundred pounds of pure gold,” he replied.

  I pretended to be mulling over the process. “Let me make a pitch to your groups about what you need to do to survive, nothing more or less. That is my fee to inspect the problem,” I said. “I am not god. I may not be able to help you. If I can I will take the gold to use it in my building designs. The coloration would look pretty if done right, our fairies are masterful builders.”

  “We get it, you’re a friend of aliens. Which leads to what propaganda would be in this pitch as you call it,” a side character asked.

  Sammie was still on the screen probably frustrating the delegation. She smiled while in her maid acrium, the clear coating showed her supple bosom. I shooed her out of the chair to retake my seat.

  “Only the truth about defense layering, avoiding building bases near Xgates, and that the grand market opens up a lot of options to help defeat harder enemies. I have noticed your fighting has been light,” I said and Longthorn scoffed. “Hey, you have a lot of people alive. A lot. Denver, with a population of over a million, had two hundred after the second season. Not trying to upset you, just stating facts.”

  “Mr. Yang. You’re more than welcome to give a two-minute speech to our residents after you inspect the problem,” Longthorn said. “And assuming we verify the material is genuine in nature and it helps the folks understand what they are facing.”

  I looked at my Gpad waiting for some super brainiac to feed me the answer. Except there was no one sending a helpful message.

  ‘Daxstar, do you know what aliens are using that gate?’ - Eric.

  ‘Busy.’ - Daxstar

  Okay, guess it was up to me.

  “Longoria, divert our flight for Salt Lake, full speed,” I said and turned to gaze at Longthorn. “I will let you know what we find. King Eric out.”