I could feel the resentment rise in her, but she remained quiet. An echo of footsteps rang out from a pitch-black part of the cavern, revealing a tall, black Gebradim. He walked toward us, obviously afraid for his life. And he should be, knowing that his head was about to be cut off and used as dinner.
"There. It’s in his heart, so you’ll have to kill him, but he’s ready. And tell me, what about the campsites all over Gebradim Beta? They’re our spoils of war."
"The Humans can stay if they want but in better conditions, and they work for me exclusively. If something happens to them, I will just bombard you from the orbit, and won’t even bother coming down to the surface."
"And my children? They are scattered all over this planet, and is the only reason you managed to beat me so easily."
I shrugged.
"Do whatever you want with them, as long as they don’t attack the Humans, or mistreat the others. Keep in mind, what’s yours is mine as well. I don’t want my goods damaged."
"Very well, conqueror. Give me one day, and we will prepare all ore, stone, and minerals for you on one condition. We mine two days a week for ourselves. Otherwise, kill me here and now!"
"I can live with that, Queen. Now, where’s the hybrid?"
"She’s deep inside me. I will let her out as soon as you promise me my life once more."
"I promise you will remain alive for as long as you don’t even think about betraying me. Once I’m gone, you’ll think you’re safe, but you’re not. Don’t forget that, Queen."
She didn’t reply, but I could feel the discontent over our new bond. Finally, her skin tore open, revealing a Human looking creature. When I say creature, it’s only because I had no idea about her genetic origin. But then again, she looked at least half Human with her long, slender body and bipedal build. Two legs, two arms, and a head, just like us Humans, but her skin was rough and resembled the Gebradim’s very closely. Two antennae grew from her head.
"Greetings, conqueror," she spoke once our hands touched. “I am to come with you?"
I nodded.
"Yes, you are my—guest for now. Please, can you tell me where the parasites are in these three bodies," I asked, pointing at the three generals? She shook her head and looked away from me.
"They do not possess any ‘parasites’ as you call them, as they’re dead. You killed all three."
I groaned and bared my teeth at them. Very well, at least I got the brains, so I proceeded to eat them one by one. Deep inside, I hoped they’d heal me up like always, but not this time. The hunger was satiated, sure, but I wasn’t healing up. One thing changed, though. A new bar appeared beside both Devil and Khepri’s names. They filled up slightly, showing me three percent on both.
"What do these new bars mean?" I asked weakly.
"They represent the necessary amount of quality food which we need to tier up. Since you’re feeding us both at the same time, it will take longer, but getting two skills at once means much more, doesn’t it?" Khepri replied.
"So the more I eat, the faster it will fill, and the stronger I become. It’s like leveling up in these games I used to play when I was younger."
"I—yes, if I understand correctly from your memories. To every Armament user, it goes up differently, depending on what they need as nourishment. But it doesn’t just work like that. You see, you can eat Gebradim troopers, hundreds of them and only go up by one percent. Eat Mellona’s host. I think he’ll give us another one or two points," Khepri added.
I did just so and felt immediately better, though my wounds weren’t healing. At least the satiation counter wasn’t orange anymore and had gone up to ninety points. I sighed and dropped back down, pressing my back against the cold, hard ground.
"Devil, have someone fly down here and pick us up. The lander can enter the cavern, it’s spacious enough."
"Already done so. Samson is on his way and will be here in a couple of minutes."
"I see, thanks. Where are the—"
"Girls? They’re back up on the ship. I took the liberty of sending everyone the battle footage. Gremory locked herself up and isn’t seeing anyone. You might want to talk to her."
"Yeah, well, it’s hard talking to someone when you can’t hear shit. And what about the squids? Have they been transported?"
"Yes, that’s the reason the girls went up. Levi translated for them."
"I see, well, have Samson talk to Orange when he’s here. If there are any other loyal troops left, we’re bringing them up with us. I can’t be picky when it comes to soldiers, and once we ingest the Gebradim with the virus as well, we’ll have a super race of soldiers."
"Is that a good—never mind. We’ll talk about it later," Devil said, breaking off his rant.
"Very well. Take over for me now, will you? I need to rest."
Epilogue
A gentle caress stirred me awake. I groaned, shaking my head and tried to turn away from the bright lights overhead. The doc stood over me while busily writing something on a tablet. I saw her lips move, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. She leaned down and spoke again, but again, I couldn’t hear anything.
I pushed her off me and pointed at my ear.
"I can’t hear anything. I’m deaf."
She frowned and put the tablet away on the shelf behind her. The scent of sterile rooms and hand soap caught up with my nose as I started breathing. To my surprise, I hadn’t even noticed I was keeping my breath in.
She took a piece of paper and started writing.
"Since when are you deaf?"
"Since I entered the Queen’s body, I think."
"I see. Can you remember what contributed to it?"
"No idea," I shrugged. "I got hit with my own weapon multiple times, had my head bashed in, and was manhandled badly. It could have been any of those things."
The doc turned back around and produced a rather large syringe with an even bigger needle. She shrugged apologetically and then rammed the thing into my arm. I’d lie if I said that I didn’t feel anything, but it wasn’t much worse than how a deep scratch would hurt.
She put the needle away and poured the blood in a small and round container, then placed it in a machine that looked like a microwave. She reached for her pen and paper again and started writing.
"We need to see if there’s anything in your blood that could be the cause. You can’t fulfill your duty if you're deaf."
"No shit," I cursed and waved her off. "How did the experiments go? Where are the Queen and the Mellona parasite?"
"Khavvrin is in a tank in another room, pairing up as we speak. And yes, I managed to work it out with the squid’s help. Mostly."
"Good, good," I replied, glad something had gone according to plan. "Say, how long have I been out?"
She looked back down to the paper and pressed her pen against it, but didn’t write anything for a long moment. It made me feel quite uncomfortable not knowing things, and her not telling me right away irked me more than it had the right to. I squeezed her hand just enough to get a reaction out of her. She slapped me away and frowned.
"Three days."
"I’ve slept for three days?"
"Yeah. Your body has been healing much slower than usual. That’s why I think there’s something in your blood that’s messing with you. I should have more information in about an hour. Do you want to sleep some more?"
I shook my head and got up to my feet groggily.
"Take me to the mutated soldiers. I want to see them for myself," I ordered. She let out a deep sigh and helped me lean on her as we walked. What just happened to me for my body to shut down like this?
She didn’t speak as we moved past the technicians in the room next door, not until we reached the third room. I could be wrong, but I didn’t remember seeing it before. She tapped on a console before the wall became transparent. Five small rooms, or rather cells, lit up along with the soldiers inside.
"Shit, they don't look as good as I hoped they would. We can’t use them on Ear
th that way," I cursed and let go of her. The five men stood to attention, looking right back at me. Their bodies had undergone a slight change and were more muscled, darker pigmented, and had tree-bark like skin. Their limbs were thicker but generally looked the same size. Even though they didn’t look fully Human anymore, at least they hadn’t changed to the point people would see them as monsters.
"No, but they’re so much stronger. We need to create special equipment for them like bigger guns, and melee weapons for when they get in close and personal."
"Good idea. I want to try fighting one. Tell the biggest and strongest of the lot to join us in here."
Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened.
"No!" she snapped. I didn’t need to hear it to know what she’d said. "Absolutely not!" And as if to prove a point, she tackled me to the ground. Shocked, I didn’t even try to defend myself. Instead, I grabbed her collar and pulled her close to me, then planted my lips on hers. Caught off guard, she returned my kiss, then pulled away and slapped me across the face. I grabbed her with both hands and pulled her in again, kissing her neck and collarbone.
"I want you, doc," I whispered. "Let me have you."
Still, she struggled until it was obvious, I wasn’t letting her go, and she head-butted me.
"No!" she screamed, grabbed the pen and paper from the table and started writing, but she didn’t move off me, and instead wiggled her tiny ass around.
"What?" I asked, annoyed by her play.
"Not like this. I don’t do pity sex, and you’re in bad shape at the moment. When you’re good again, we can talk about it. I don’t want Gremory ripping me apart."
"Fuck Gremory!" I cursed. "That woman cost me my soul, and my feelings for her almost cost me everything!"
I felt something hit the floor to my right, and turned my head to see what it was, only to find Gremory standing at the door, all teary-eyed. She mouthed something, clenched her fists and ran out. I looked down at what she’d dropped to the floor and cursed. It was a small chocolate cake and a six-pack of beer. Shit.
I found myself standing under a hot shower. The streams enveloped my body in a fine mist as I tried to calm down. When I’d come to our ‘apartment’, she wasn’t there. Neither of the women were. So, what else could I have done but get a shower and something to eat. I turned my back against the wall and slid down to the floor, mad at the world and at myself for how everything had turned out.
Some time passed before the light turned on in the room. I couldn’t help but notice it. A minute went by before Kris walked in on me, naked like last time. She didn’t look hungry for me, or even lustful. She looked sad and hurt.
I flashed her a weak smile and motioned for her to sit with me, but instead, she sat on my legs, pressing her body against mine, and put her arms around my back. We didn’t speak, as she most likely knew I was deaf, along with most of the ship by now.
"What the hell is happening to me?" I whispered as I buried my face in her neck, smelling her hair and skin. No, I wasn’t in the mood to go down on her, but I sure felt the need for some comfort. She pulled her head back and planted her lips on mine, and then on my forehead. She was soft and smooth as silk. I hadn’t noticed it last time, but now I did as she comforted me. I didn’t want to be alone.
We washed off and lay like that on the bed, entangled in a web of arms and legs, looking each other in the eyes. Had she always been so beautiful? It’s not like I cared before as I took everything for granted. They were very right when it came to people changing, as I changed along with the power I gained, and not much for the better.
"Thank you," I whispered. She just flashed me a smile and closed her eyes, falling asleep in my arms. I had slept for too long already and couldn’t anymore, but stayed there holding her, cherishing at least one of the women who hadn’t turned their backs on me.
"Doc is at the door," Khepri said. Startled, I turned around as if she was already inside.
"Let her in," I replied and sat up. The door swished open, letting Ashiala in. She’d changed from her usual skirt and blouse, into a thin, almost sheer dress. My right eyebrow shot up as she stopped midway, then looked down on her tablet and tapped quickly.
"Something wrong?"
"I rather like seeing you wearing that dress than the same blouse and skirt, Ashiala."
She looked away; her cheeks flushed crimson. Did she have something to drink before coming over? I could smell the faint scent of a kind I hadn’t tasted yet, but it was there.
"Thanks. Can I sit with you?" she wrote.
I nodded and motioned for her to sit at our coffee table. I got up and put on a robe.
"You got my results?" I asked.
She nodded and placed the tablet before me with some laid out charts. She first motioned to the left, and then the middle one before she got busy writing.
"The first is your old blood sample, and the second your new one. Your blood has degraded somehow. I’ve never seen this, and I honestly have no idea how to fix you."
I looked away, my heart sinking into the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t stay deaf and wounded forever. I needed to conquer the universe.
"Wait," I said, putting up my hand.
"Help me with this shit. Khepri, can’t you do something? Can you tell me what it is?"
"I’m sorry, but I can’t. Now, if you manage to get to tier three, there’s this interesting skill you can choose called Immunity. It basically gives you immunity to any disease and status change. Until then, you’ll have to suck it up."
"Khepri says I can cure it if I become tier three. But for that to happen, I need multiple tier three’s or a tier four. No way is that going to happen anytime soon," I said. Doc looked down on her tablet and started writing but stopped. There wasn’t much to say anyway.
"Gremory said you could have me if you want," she wrote startling me.
"No, I don’t want to. Not right now. If you want, you can join us on the bed, but I’m not in the mood for sex right now."
She got up and pulled the dress off over her head. All that remained on her were a pair of black lace panties. She held her hands over her breasts as she walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. I took off my robe again and lay back beside Kris. Doc lay to my other side and put her arm around me.
"Thanks," she whispered. "For not using me."
At least that’s what I thought she said. The smell of alcohol bothered me slightly, but not enough to push her away. Soon, she drifted off into dreamland, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
"Devil, is there any tier four on Beta? Or multiple Three’s?"
"No. Two is already rare, where the hell did you get the idea from that you’d get up so easy?"
"Never mind. Can you at least tell me how it’s going with the ships?"
"They’re done. Well, the third is being finished right now. The clones don’t have the nose cannon, but they’re armed with the same weapons other than that. I’ve taken the liberty of adding a second drone bay. We’ll have to start working on R&D much more aggressively. These small changes that the engineers came up with are nothing when you have hundreds or thousands to equip. One of the ships should be designated to production, one to housing, and the one for—whatever."
"Yeah. Let’s hope we find some more people on Earth. I doubt we have any top engineers aboard beside those who are already active."
"Oh, but we have. Three in fact. They’re working on some improvements, but we can’t implement them before we get to Earth and get some specific materials."
"Doesn’t matter. But I have no idea how we’ll handle them once we’re back. I’m rather scared now that I’m not on top of my game anymore."
"I doubt you’ll have to fight, master. Just look the part and have Gremory do the talking."
"Speaking of Gremory, where is she? I need to speak to her."
"Outside the ship, floating naked in dead space. I think she feels the need to be punished, to feel pain. You two need each other. Stop being so stubborn."
I sighed and looked down at Kris’s and the doc’s bodies. They were both gorgeous and to die for, but they weren’t Gremory, either with look or character.
"Can you ask her to meet me somewhere on the ship? Maybe on the observation deck."
"Sure," he replied and started humming for a couple of seconds. "And done. She’ll be there in twenty."
"Thanks for coming," I said, flashing her a smile. I offered her my hand, but she didn’t take it and sat opposite me. The smart cloth covering her body was fresh and tight, even a new model from what I saw. So it wasn’t that strange I couldn’t help but stare for a moment. "Very well. I’ll be very straightforward with you."
"Sure," she replied and nodded. "Luckily we have Devil to communicate through."
Her voice was laced with something I couldn’t quite place. Was she provoking me over my wounds?
"I never wanted to pull this card again, but you’re—"
"Then don’t. Who's forcing you to? If you do pull it on me, we’re done. Sure, I’ll be yours with the body, but not with the heart. Never again."
I froze, unable to come up with a good response, and she noticed it very quickly. She smirked, leaning back against the leather sofa crossing her legs.
"You know, sending those two was so beneath you, especially a drunken doc. Is that how lowly you think of me?"
She snorted and laughed out.
"Wait, you didn’t fuck either of them?"
"No."
Her smirk turned into a frown.
"Why not?"
"Why don’t you tell me?"
"Fuck your mind games!" she yelled and threw the table aside. I remained quiet as I stared into her beautiful eyes. Just then I noticed she’d painted her hair raven-black. "What the hell do you want from me, Cain? I’m broken! Can’t you see that? Why do you keep torturing us both with this ridiculous behavior of yours?"
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