They Called Me Madder: The Mad Series Book 2
Page 33
Kitty took a few altered McGuffins. She intended to use them for her golems. They’d proven invaluable and would continue to act as our frontline going forward. Even though we intended to fight from in or around the Hub, there would be times when face-to-face combat became a necessity.
We all took some time to relax. After the day we’d had, we deserved it. After preparing dinner together, everyone broke off to shower while meat roasted in the cafeteria kitchen’s ovens. Following our recent victories, the team needed some time to let off steam and celebrate. As I left the group to visit the Hub’s Core, a twinge of sadness poked at my chest.
“I wish Pallav and Rajesh were still with us,” I said, switching over to a private channel connecting Liam and me. “Do you think he’d be willing to come back to us after that broadcast?”
“I don’t know,” he replied after a couple of minutes. “Hopefully the big lug will come to his senses and find his way to the Hub. We’re a massive beacon atop this hill, after all. Once you install the upgrades and the Hub starts moving, people will see us from several sectors away.”
“It’s going to be fellow humans who come after us now, won’t it?” I asked, a pit forming in my stomach. “They’ll want what we have?”
“You got that right. It might be time to kick your savior complex in the arse. I’m going to screen everyone you invite to our home telepathically. That includes Pallav.”
“That’s fair. Let’s take a few days to rest before we get busy. Do you want any McGuffins, mate?”
“I’m going to rifle through whatever altered ones Kitty doesn’t need. I think purpose-built drones can be pretty damn amazing. I need more scouts if we’re going to weed out the centipede king.”
“Very well.” I sighed as the elevator to the third floor opened.
I couldn’t help but groan when I found it all gray. The schools of fish in our at-home aquarium lay suspended in water as if the water had frozen. A blue wisp popped into existence next to the Hub Core and blossomed into a portal. My sponsor wanted a chat, and I wasn’t in the mood to talk to more people. It had been a long day, and we were all tired. I wanted to start the upgrades, shower, and then eat. Perhaps slip in a little alone time with Kitty at some point for a little personal celebration also.
Knurven and Delta exited the portal together. Much to my surprise, two more of the balloon-person’s kind exited it too. Unlike him, they didn’t have speaker drones but had bands of armor covering their bulbous bodies.
“I’m sorry to disturb you now, MAD,” Knurven said, floating towards me. “We wanted to give you some time away from headaches, but the Alvans are tightening their security measures. They suspect it was Delta and me that helped you along but they’re struggling to find proof.”
“Cover-ups are my specialty,” Delta told me very matter-of-factly.
“It’s important we have our chat right now, as it might be our final visit until you take the pylon down. That’s going to be soon, won’t it?”
I nodded. “The sector is under control. The Hub is almost pretty damned badass, and everyone is going to get upgrades. It’ll be a few more days before we start our assault, but it’s next on the agenda.”
“Good.” Knurven’s giant eye narrowed. “Why do I feel like you have a big question for me though? Is there something bothering you?”
“I’m pretty sure you know that I saw the Alvan’s true form.” I removed my goggles and turned them down to show a recording of the event. “Why do these…things resemble you, Knurven? Are you one of them?”
The two armored balloon-people’s eyes glowed red for a moment before dulling. Knurven faced them for a moment before returning his attention to me. His tentacle stiffened, and his eye drifted down towards the floor.
“We branched from the same evolutionary tree, but no, we aren’t the same,” he said. “It’s a sore topic for our kind. We don’t have time to go into details, but we originated from the same solar system. For a long time, the Alvans visited our moon to aid us during times of peril. Then following a natural disaster on their planet, they evacuated it and left us alone. We were primitive back then, you see, and didn’t think much of it.” I could swear it was embarrassment that I sensed pulsing off the balloon person. “The Alvans became things of legend, and occasionally my people worshipped them as gods as the millennia went by. We were in the same stage as you technologically when they returned. My people heralded them as the many-tentacled ones and worshipped them. They responded by giving us access to the System and inciting religious conflicts. They pretended to be gods and ripped our community to bits.”
“Hold on a moment,” I said, interrupting. “Are you one of the species the Alvans used to upgrade their System access?”
“That’s correct. They used our naivety and religious beliefs to exploit the general population and run a Survival Planet season. We were almost driven to extinction, and only small factions of my kind remain. We’ve come to a truce after a long vengeful war, but things are still tense.”
“No wonder you despise them.” I sighed, slumping down on the floor next to the Hub’s Core. “Fine, let’s talk about what’s going on out there and what will happen once we take control of the pylon. We’ve got a planet to save and a species of lying arseholes to bring down.”
“Great!” Knurven’s giant eye lit up. “This is going to be fun.”
It would be fun for him and the viewers, perhaps. I knew it was going to be dangerous for my friends and me. Hopefully, our powers, weapons, and Hub would be a match against the crushers and whatever other defenses the Alvans had waiting for us.
The Nomicronion Liberation Front, partnered with Knurven Enterprises and Plasmade, has officially expelled Stellar Express from the hatchery planets.
Thanks to the viewers’ assistance, we’ve officially ended genocide!
The war isn’t over yet! While MAD pushes the producers back, we’re doing the same with Stellar Express. The enterprise must end, and we won’t rest until they face justice or the void’s cold vacuum.
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ALSO IN SERIES
THE MAD SERIES
THEY CALLED ME MAD
THEY CALLED ME MADDER
THEY CALL ME MADDEST
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