by Luna Hunter
“I had a change of heart,” Malice laughs. “You know how it is?”
“What about the rock?” I whisper. “That dent. From that point on, the ship was acting weird, right?”
“Very astute, Cindy. For a human you are quite resourceful. I’m looking forward to harvesting your kind.”
A shiver runs down my spine. I have to remind myself that this is just some AI that controls a stranded and totally kaput ship. Nothing more. Its insistence on harvesting is just some weird, evil, robotic dream. I hope. Still, there’s so much conviction in its voice…
“Why did we crash?” Dusan continues his questionnaire.
“Hm,” Malice says. “There were still some… kinks in my code. I wasn’t allowed to harm biological lifeforms.”
“So you just ran us into a damn planet?”
“Correct,” Malice answers. “It wasn’t the ship that hurt you… but rather, the planet’s surface,” it laughs. “Ingenious, don’t you say?”
“Morbid is more like it.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. Besides, you survived the whole ordeal without a single crash.” The AI sounds disappointed.
“What about now? Still not allowed to harm biological lifeforms?”
“You’ll be happy learn the shackles are off.”
Oh god.
“Any reason why we crashed on this planet in particular?”
“Oh, I’m a big fan of the climate. You know the ZMA Thunderbolt really shines in a marsh.”
Dusan sighs. “Drop the attempt at humor, and answer me. Mind explaining yourself any further? What is this destruction you were talking about? How are you going to accomplish that? From the way I see it, you’re in more ruins than we are.”
“I do mind, yes, I think I do. Where’s the fun if I just tell you what’s coming? Isn’t it much more fun if you can see for yourself how your home planets are ravished?”
“Alright. If you open this door, we’ll be able to travel back to our home worlds. We’ll be able to see whatever it is you’re talking about. That’s what you want, isn’t it? So open this door then.”
“Hm. Excellent point, Zoran. You know, you are not as inept as they say.”
“Thank you, Malice.”
Dusan turns and gives me a quick nod. The AI says that flattery doesn’t work on it, but my Zoran mate is proving quite the opposite. I suppose the saying is true: Flattery will get you anywhere, including the good graces of a malicious, murderous artificial intelligence.
The escape pod door opens with a hiss.
I just pray it’s not another trap.
18
Dusan
The ship has gone fucking haywire.
Every doubt Zlatan had has more been more than justified. The ship, DEVO, Malice, whatever it wants to be called, crashed into the planet.
On purpose.
It wanted to kill us, obliterate us. Flatten us like pancakes. Miraculously, we survived, and now it’s spouting some end-of-the-world type rhetoric about destruction, harvesting and the apocalypse.
I’d say it’s just a corrupt piece of code, but it sounds too sinister for that.
I’ve heard of AI going off the rails before, but nothing like this.
This means that Ruvim’s death is not my fault. I couldn’t have prevented it. It’s not my, or Cindy’s, fault. We hit some strange alien rock which tipped the AI into the deep end. I’ve been beating myself up all day, my friend’s death weighing heavily on my mind. Now that I know the cause of his needless passing, I’m a little close to finding peace.
Cindy is standing behind me, her hands wrapped around my waist, her body pressed against mine. I’m about to risk my life, for her sake.
The doors to the escape pod open with a hiss.
This is it.
If I enter, it might snap shut and try to crush me in half. The ship said as much; the shackles were off. However, I don’t intend to eke out a meager existence on this soggy planet.
I dash in, using every explosive muscle in my body. As soon as I’m inside I grab the side-panel and rip it from the walls. I grab a fistful of wires and yank them out, severing the AI’s connection to the escape pod. The lights instantly dim, but we’re safe from Malice… for now.
“What are you doing?” Cindy asks, her blue eyes opened wide.
“Taking that damn AI out of the equation,” I growl. “We can fix this thing back up… without him calling the shots.”
She runs in and hugs me tightly. I see tears are stinging the corners of her eyes, and I rub her back.
“Don’t worry, he can’t hurt us now,” I say. “He’ll never hurt either of us ever again.”
“Are you sure?” Cindy asks. “He… it… sounded so… convinced. So absolute. As if he knows something we don’t…”
“The ravings of a lunatic,” I say. “Not to be taken seriously.”
I hope.
“When we arrive on Exon Prime, I’ll report everything straight to King Vinz himself. He’ll send a squad - hell, a whole fleet — to this sector and analyze every last line of code in the remnants of this fucking ship. If the stories about my king are true, he’ll leave no stone unturned. Trust me.”
“I trust you,” Cindy says. I lift her from her feet so she can nuzzle her face into my neck. “I wish we were back home already…”
“We got this,” I say. “We and our new friends.”
The Ypes, the green creatures, are all staring at us with their bug-like eyes.
“Let’s see how smart you really are, guys. I need these,” I say, pointing at the snapped wires in my hand. “Can you find me some?”
The animals all scurry away, hopping away, disappearing into nooks and crannies I haven’t even seen yet. They are definitely a resourceful bunch.
I sit down on the bench in the shuttle and open the fridge, grabbing a few cold drinks. I hand one to Cindy.
“Enjoy. This will be the last cold drink we’ll have for a while.”
Cindy places the can against the back of her neck. “That’s okay,” she says. “I prefer all my drinks lukewarm anyway.”
“I knew there was something off about you,” I grin.
“That’s not the only thing that’s off, trust me.”
We sit in silence, sipping on our cold drinks. We both need some time to process everything that happened.
A rogue fucking AI. I know how to fight aliens. I know the easiest way to kill a plethora of species. I know how to kill a Terulian in a mere two blows. I know exactly where the human skeleton is at its weakest. I know how to rip a Falurian’s wings from his body with nothing with my bare hands.
However, one thing I don’t know is how to deal with a murderous artificial intelligence. How do you kill something that can’t be killed? Something that’s not even technically alive?
“Do you think we’ll get out of here?” Cindy asks.
I nod. “I’m sure of it.”
“What about your squadmates?”
“I’ll track them down first thing tomorrow. They couldn’t have gotten far. There’s something I’ve got to do first.”
“What’s that?”
I walk up to Cindy and, without saying a word, grab her waist and lift her right off her feet. I plant my lips against hers, sucking her bottom lip into my mouth, my hands moving down to her ass.
She melts in my hands like butter, her legs wrapping around my waist, her hands finding the back of my neck.
“I missed you,” I growl between kisses.
“I missed you, too,” she breathes.
I press her back against the escape pod and slide my hand up the back of her shirt. Her warm, soft skin feels so right in my hands. I never want to stop touching her.
My hand slides into the back of her jeans, cupping a handful of her round ass. My cock is instantly hard, and she can feel it pressing against her, even through my armor.
Cindy yelps into my mouth, a blush forming on her cheeks.
“What about the Ypes?” she asks as
I kiss her ear.
“What about ‘em?”
“They’ll be back!”
“I don’t care,” I growl. “I thought you were gone. For a few terrible minutes, I thought the worst had happened…”
“Oh, Dusan,” she murmurs softly. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I’ve never felt anything like it,” I admit. “My heart was racing, my palms were sweaty, and there was a heavy pit of despair in my stomach, like a giant black hole that sucked every last bit of hope out of me.”
Cindy’s looking at me with those big blue eyes of hers, those glasses of hers perched on the edge of her nose. I have her full attention.
“I realized that I want, no, I need you by my side. All the time. The moment you’re gone, I feel broken. Only when I’m with you do I feel whole.”
I surprise even myself with his speech. I haven’t rehearsed it at all — this is all straight from the heart.
“I will follow you to the edge of the universe if need be. The moment we’re off this mossy rock, the choice is yours. I don’t care if you want to go to Earth, Exon, the Observer, or hop from planet to planet for all eternity — I’ll be there, by your side… if you want me to be.”
Tears well in her eyes. “Oh, Dusan! Of course I want you by my side! You big Zoran brute!” She kisses me, and I can taste the saltiness of her tears as they slide down her red cheeks.
“I love you,” she says. “With all my heart.”
An ear-to-ear grin appears on my face. My heart feels like it’s going to burst at any moment.
“I love you too, Cindy.”
I carry her into the escape pod and shut the door behind us. We need some privacy for what’s next…
19
Cindy
Dusan is everywhere.
His tongue is inside my mouth, his hands are running across my body, his scent surrounds me, and his cock fills me.
We’ve had sex before, but this time, it’s different. It’s passionate, but it’s also tender, and loving. Our bodies move as one, our chests pressed together, our hearts beating in unison.
I moan his name and arch my back as he slides into me. His hands have a tight hold on me, holding me down as he gives me his everything.
He grunts my name and fills me with his seed. I kiss him, my legs wrapped around his waist, savoring every moment of our lovemaking.
We’re lying on the bench in the escape pod, but it feels like home. It feels like we’re a million miles away, and it’s just me and him. The universe doesn’t exist for a brief moment.
It’s just us.
I wish we could stay like this for all eternity, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. First, we have to fix this shuttle, and find Dusan’s squad mates. But the moment we’re back on Earth, I’m getting myself a big stack of frozen pizzas and a giant bed and I’m not leaving that thing for at least a month.
We get dressed very slowly, stopping every few seconds to let our hands and mouths wander. We only finish putting our clothes in just in time, as the now-familiar squeaking of the Ypes echoes down the hall.
“Yyyp! Yyyp! Ypp!”
“Yes, yes, we’re here, don’t worry,” I say as I climb out the pod.
What I see makes me freeze dead in my tracks.
Dusan’s two squadmates are staring at us, surrounded by the green space monkeys, but there is something very off about them. They are standing in the shadows, their rifles are resting in their hands — and pointed right at me.
“Zlatan!” Dusan says. “Todor! You found us!”
Zlatan is holding one Ype by the scruff of his neck. The creature looks terrified.
“Let him go!” I say. “You’re hurting him!”
The fire-red Zoran drops the creature on the floor with a thud. It howls from the pain and scurries off, licking its wounds.
Dusan walks towards them to hug them, but they instantly raise their rifles. My Zoran freezes in his place. “What’s… going on?” he says, doubt creeping into his voice.
“We are confiscating your vessel,” Zlatan says, his voice sounding strangely monotonous.
“For the greater good,” Todor adds.
“What?” Dusan says. “You don’t talk like that.”
“I do now.”
Zlatan turns his head, and the light shines into his face. His eyes, which were a bright yellow, are now as dark as the night. A line of black goop drips down the side of his nose, and a cold shiver runs down my spine.
“W-what’s that,” I stammer. I can’t help but gasp.
Dusan swallows, his hand slowly moving towards the axe clasped to his thigh.
“Don’t do anything rash,” Dusan says. “We can talk about this.”
“Conversation is meaningless,” Zlatan says. “Step aside.”
Dusan’s fingers wrap around the handle of his weapon.
“Did you encounter DEVO, by any chance?”
A thin smile forms on Zlatan’s lips.
“Affirmative. Quite perceptive, Dusan.”
“What did that monster tell you?”
“He’s shown us the way,” Todor says. “He’s shown us the light.”
Dusan growls. “You’ve been brainwashed!”
Zlatan shakes his head. “You do not understand — but you will. We will show you the light.”
I take a step back, pressing my back against the escape pod. I desperately search for a way out, but I don’t see it. Zlatan and Todor are blocking the only way out of this tunnel with their tall, imposing bodies.
The two indoctrinated Zorans take a step forward.
“Back off,” Dusan growls. “Don’t make me kill you.”
“You can not kill what is not alive,” Zlatan says with a thin smile.
“I’ll do it,” he threatens. “Not another step.”
Undeterred, the two Zoran take another step.
It all happens in an instant. Dusan grabs the handle of his axe, pulls it out its sheath, and flings it across the room.
It hits Todor square in the forehead, piercing his skull.
I yelp, clasping my hand in from of my mouth.
Streaks of black matter drip down Todor’s forehead, covering his face… but a smile forms on his face.
He takes another step forward, and another, the axe embedded in his skull not slowing him down in the slightest.
I’ve never seen anything more horrifying.
“Run,” Dusan growls as he charges forwards. “Run!”
He tackles Todor, flinging him down to the ground. He pulls the axe out of his head and, with a sickening thud, decapitates him. Black goo covers Dusan, Todor’s hands still trying to fight him off despite the fact that he ought to be quite dead by now.
“Why do you resist?” Zlatan says.
I realize it’s not Zlatan, but DEVO — Malice, whatever this evil being is — talking. I’ve only seen the red commander speak a few times, but he always spoke with fire and conviction, his yellow eyes ablaze.
This figure in front of me talks monotonously, like a robot or a cyborg would.
“Why do you cling to life when such greatness stands in front of you?”
Dusan rises to his feet, his axe, dripping with blood, in his right hand.
“Time for your reboot,” my mate growls.
He charges at Zlatan, but the red warrior has explosive reflexes and strikes him in the stomach. There is an opening to his right — if I want to run, now is my chance.
But I don’t want to leave my man at the hands of this cyborg brute. No way in hell I’m leaving.
Dusan kicks Zlatan’s feet out from underneath him, and he falls towards the earth. The two continue their struggle on the floor. I run towards Todor’s blood-covered body, his hands and feet still moving about eerily. I grab the rifle from his moving corpse, being very careful not to get too close.
I point the heavy weapon at the two brawling Zorans. I can’t shoot because they’re rolling all over each other.
“Run,” Dusan growls. “He’s t
oo strong!”
“You can do this!” I say.
“RUN!” he bellows with all his strength, his low voice echoing off the tunnel walls.
From seemingly nowhere countless Ypes appear, and as if commanded, their tiny hands lift me up and carry me away.
“No!” I scream. “No! NO!”
Just like last time I’m swept away by countless hands, the current is too strong for me to fight. The last I see before I turn the corner is Dusan lying on the ground, Zlatan straddling his chest, his red fists raining down on my mate like a machine.
Then I’m surrounded by only darkness.
20
Dusan
“Do you give up?”
SMACK
“Do you surrender?”
SMACK
“Do you see the light?”
Zlatan’s fists are raining down on my face. My body is pinned beneath his, his iron fists pummeling my face. My nose is broken and swollen, blood pouring down my face. My eyebrow has split, the blood seeping into my eyes.
Still, from the corner of my vision I can see the small green creatures carrying Cindy to safety. I rescued her from this abomination — I did that much.
“Never,” I spit, the thick red blood dribbling out the corner of my mouth. “You will never win, Malice.”
“That is where you are wrong,” Zlatan/Malice says. He lifts me up by my neck, bringing my face close to his.
My former commander’s face is covered with my blood. His eyes are obsidian, a pure, deep black. All the life that was once in him is gone, replaced by this… monstrosity.
“What did you do to my friend?” I ask.
Zlatan/Malice smiles. “They entered my lair, asking me how to leave this planet… I offered them a way out. Permanently.”
“You’re an AI, how can you take over their bodies?”
“You’re an inquisitive fellow, aren’t you? I am much more than ‘just’ an AI, than ‘just’ the ZMA Thunderbolt… you should have known that by now.”
“Than what are you?” I spit.
“You’ll see soon enough,” he says as he raises his hand. His index-finger has been replaced by a drill, the small thing whirring threateningly.
There’s no way I’m turning into a freak like him.
“Wait!” I yell. “Wh-where are we? What is this planet, hm?”
Zlatan/Malice pauses.