Earned 250 Colony XP!
+1 Colony Leader unlocked!]
Dr. Junip Birchett woke up in zeir pod. Brushing the leaves away from zir face, ze looked through the little pod window as it slid into place. The room was empty. Which was both comforting and worrying. The last time ze had seen it, there were bodies strewn about. If this was a rescue effort, more people should be milling about. If not, then who cleared the room? Ze didn’t see any remains, not even bone dust.
The door opened and the Zylvaan stepped out gracefully, catching zirself on the stasis pod as ze stumbled. Junip’s frame was made of living wood, green vines visible underneath any visible joints. Zir face was hauntingly beautiful, like a porcelain mask carved by a master sculptor. Zir head was covered in a carpet of autumn leaves, bright oranges and yellows, pulled back in a messy ponytail. Dark brown, nearly black branches curved up from zir head. Dr. Birchett looked like an elegant wooden doll made of polished birch, carved by an expert craftsman.
The blood splattered lab coat and torn sweater ruined the effect some. Ze had tried to save some of zir patients during the attack, but Max had dragged zir away to the safety of the cryopods. The blood was a stark reminder of the carnage ze had just witnessed. With no one here, the only option was to check out the rest of the building. Starting with zir lab. If there was anyone out there hurt, Junip wanted to be ready to provide medical attention.
Junip limped down the hall, zir footsteps echoing down the abandoned hallways. Ze was a bit unsteady, and nearly tumbled to the ground as zir foot gave way under zir. Junip paused to investigate zir bare foot, which was normally immaculately carved into an elegant stiletto heel shape. The heel had snapped clean off, but a healing kit should repair the damage in short order. All the more reason to hurry. Long legs ate up the distance and in a few minutes Junip arrived at the lab.
There was shouting and loud noises happening inside. The sounds of muffle panic came through the metal door. Summoning a ball of crackling psionic energy to zir palm, Junip tapped the door panel.
As the door slid open a scene of chaos erupted. Professor Queebeax and Commander Slate were frantically typing at the medical console, while popups and error messages cluttered the screen. One of the medidrones had Uncle Pyro by the ankle and was swinging him around in a circle. There was an unknown Org crouched in front of a cyworg, the animal’s teeth clamped on his arm. Meanwhile the Org was softly scolding the beast while Neesya stood nearby trying to calm her. Meanwhile an even bigger cyworg was on its side nearby, blissfully getting tummy rubs from Random Noun.
Blinking a few times, Junip relaxed and closed zir fist around the ball of psychic energy, dispelling it. “I haven’t had enough zoffee for this yet,” ze groaned.
Heads turned to the Doctor as ze clicked in and tapped a panel in the side of zir desk. A panel opened and a kettle appeared, thick mushroom juice pouring in and heating up. As the zoffee brewed, Junip walked to the console and tapped a few buttons, dispelling the error messages and rebooting the system to check for updates. The medidrone dropped Pyro with a thud. Walking to the struggling cyworg, Junip thrust her hand out toward the supply cabinet. The cabinet door opened and a sedative gun spun through the air and she caught it without looking. With a quick motion, ze injected a mild tranquilizer into the snarling female canine’s neck. As the sleepy pup slowly relaxed her jaws, a growling Major stood and started walking towards zir.
Dr. Birchett fixed Major with a steely stare and held out a hand, “Down.”
The order had all the barely suppressed fury of a mother who was sick of everyone’s shit and just wanted things clean. Disobeying was impossible, and not only did Major sit but so did Random who was caught in the crossfire.
Junip flung the sedative gun away and a spinning bottle of disinfectant spray replaced it. As ze sprayed down Orion’s wound, Junip’s other hand summoned a roll of bandages which wrapped around the bite marks. Flicking both back to their locations with a thought, a compress bandage floated in the air in front of the doctor. Junip walked up Pyro who was sitting up woozily. Holding the bandage, icy air coalesced from zir palm, chilling it. Junip slapped the cold compress over a lump that was just starting to form on the older Grey’s head.
The monitors gave a startup chime and then came to life. The medidrone was barely booting back up before Junip had its diagnostics pulled up. By the time the drone was rising to hover at chest level, antivirus programs had detected no issues, defragging had completed and orders had been given. The Doctor stepped around as the medidrone approached the pregnant animal and scanned her. Medical charts appeared on the screen, showcasing injuries and an ultrasound of the puppies. It was a litter of five.
Fixing the drone had barely broken zir stride. Junip flicked a hand up and lollipops rose out of a jar on the desk, floating in front of Orion, Pyro and even Random. The bewildered men all nabbed them, and Random popped his in his mouth with a happy buzz. A dog biscuit also spun in front of Major, who snapped it up greedily.
Junip gave the cyworg and Hiver an affectionate headpat as ze strode between them. Pulling up report windows on zir personal HUD, Junip stepped back to zir desk just as the zoffee percolator dinged. Ze pulled the pot off the heater and poured it into a clean mug that lazily hovered into the Zylvaan’s long fingered grip. Putting the pot away, Dr Birchett swiped the reports away before looking over the assorted crowd of slack jawed onlookers.
“So,” Dr. Birchett paused to take a sip of the warm, caffeinated beverage. “What did I miss?”
Orion was the first to break the awed silence, “Well shit! Can we just make them the leader?”
Orion was laid out on an examining table, his left leg extended. The new doctor had just installed a new cybernetic leg that nearly matched his right hoof. Sure enough, after a moment, the new prosthetic started to pixilate. Dr. Birchett watched as Orion’s newly regenerated leg dissipated into red sparkles of energy and vanished. Ze stood, tapping zir chin thoughtfully.
“I’ll admit that is curious, Professor. I haven’t seen anything like it.” Junip turned and checked the monitors, “Your theory about it being an issue with traveling through the Gate seems most likely. It’s almost like the leg exists but in a different dimension.”
Professor Queebeax nodded, “We don’t know enough about Sen-Tech to even research this. If there were more Sentinels, we could ask them, but this feels out of our league.”
Orion unraveled the gauze on his arm, “I’m fine, guys, seriously. My leg’s doesn’t hurt and I have the peg leg. Trust me when I tell you that before I came here, I was in much worse shape. I’m not entirely sure how bad, but I’m pretty sure I’m in better shape now than before I arrived.”
The two scientists aimed a calculating look at Orion.
Dr. Birchett asked, “What do you mean, you’re not sure?”
“Well, some of my memories still haven’t returned. So I’m still not sure how I got here.” Orion grinned. The smile wilted under the stern look the Zylvaan was giving him. “Ah. Have I not mentioned I have a little bit of amnesia?”
The Professor put his hands on his hips, “You certainly did not, hoo hoo! That seems like important information to have, don’tcha think?”
Orion shrank back, trying to look smaller. Having Professor Queebeax mad at you was like having your favorite grandparent disappointed in you. “I’m sorry.”
Dr. Birchett put a gentle hand on the Kreelux’s shoulder, “I’ll take care of this. Everyone else is enjoying the sand day, you’ve done enough.”
“Hmph!” Queebeax looked ready to argue but he relented, “Fine! But you’ll be getting an earful from me later, young man!”
“Oh and take your little thief with you when you go, please.” Dr. Birchett pointed to zir desk.
Random Noun stood on the desktop, holding a lollipop in two of his hands, a third hand in the lollipop jar with his last hand grasping a dog biscuit, holding it up to his open mouth. He went stock still as he realized he was caught. Slowly he put the lollipops away and slunk to the edge of the desk before climbing down. Soft munching noises could be heard.
Orion laughed, “Gross.”
When Orion and Dr. Birchett were alone, they shared an uncomfortable silence. After a moment ze walked closer and towered over the sitting Org. “Who are you, really?” ze asked.
Orion squirmed, “I’m Orion Starbeard. I told you everything I know.”
“You have. And I’ve read the reports,” Dr. Birchett said, “Yours and the Commander’s. They corroborate, but you are not who you say you are. Slate seems to think you’re this slightly traumatized soldier from a different dimension, but I don’t buy it. Who are you?”
Orion fumbled, “Look, I don’t-”
Dr. Birchett cut him off, “Are you here to hurt these people? Did the company send you?”
Orion’s face went blank. “What company?”
“You know damn well who-” Dr. Birchett hesitated, seeing Orion’s genuine look of puzzlement. Ze tried a different approach. “The Manifest Institute.”
“What are they, like the rivals of the Sentinels?” asked Orion.
Dr. Birchett cradled an elbow in zir hand and tapped zir cheek thoughtfully. Ze explained, “The Manifest Institute are the owners of this little mining operation. They hire prisoners and then send them to the far reaches of space to find valuable resources with the promise of a better life after they complete their sentence.”
Orion’s expression turned sour, “Lemme guess, they rarely complete their sentences alive.”
Dr. Birchett just tilted zir head, saying nothing.
Orion sighed, “Okay, this probably won’t mean anything to you, but before accidentally finding myself here I was an entertainer. That’s it. I ran a small private business that supported other entertainers and helped finance video games. My entire job was acting like an idiot to make people laugh. And I never had to act very hard. And I truly do not understand how I got here or why I can’t leave.”
Dr. Birchett gave him an appraising look. “An entertainer. What, like a clown?”
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“A moderately accurate description,” agreed Orion.
Dr. Birchett’s vine fingers lashed out and pulled a nearby Medidrone close. The drone scanned Orion and a screen popped up, showing a map of his body more accurate than any X-Ray. Ze examined Orion’s heartbeat, his breathing, body temperature and other details he couldn’t identify. While he was trying to figure out what ze was looking for, the window closed and the hovering robot was pushed away.
Dr. Birchett gave him a calculating look and nodded. “Good.”
“What?” Orion was struggling to keep up.
“Better a man who knows he is a clown than one who doesn’t.” Junip leaned back on the desk and crossed one ankle over the other. “If Manifest had sent you to hurt my people, I’d have killed you and found a way to destroy your respawn points. Even if I had to fire one into orbit.”
Orion shuddered, which brought a smile to Dr. Birchett’s face. The nearly invisible seam in zir face split, the two halves of the mask parting to reveal several rows of needle sharp cilia. As he pulled back at the unspoken threat, Dr. Birchett closed the mask with an audible snap.
Dr. Birchett’s expression softened. “Anyway, I’ll believe your story for now, ‘Mr. Starbeard’. Everyone vouches for you, but I’m keeping an eye on you.” Glancing down, ze added as an afterthought, “Animals seem to like you, though. That’s always a good sign.”
Orion followed zir gaze and saw that Major was behind him, curled around the chair he sat in. The cyworg watched Dr. Birchett with a grim expression that asked the question ‘We gonna have a problem here?’ in bold letters.
The ridiculousness of this broke the tension and Orion threw his head back and laughed. Both the cyworg and Zylvaan were startled by this, and even the drugged up mama lifted her shaggy head to see what the fuss was about. Sensing his partner wasn’t in danger anymore, Major snorted and stretched. The canine stood and clicked over to flump down next to his mate, licking her face with a whine.
“By the way, is she going to be okay?” asked Orion with a worried tone.
Dr. Birchett pushed zirself away from the console. “She should make a full recovery. You did well bringing her in and getting this all repaired. The medidrone is already performing surgery on the missing leg and I have enough materials here to fabricate a replacement. The puppies seem healthy enough, but she’s underweight. I’m going to check for any more injuries and get her fattened up.”
Orion nodded, “Do you need me to send up food?”
“I have a small replicator here for patients. As long as the pantry is fully stocked,” the question hung in the air.
“It is.” Orion stood. “I’ll leave you to it. Could you keep me updated on her progress?”
Junip stared in his eyes long enough that Orion dropped his gaze. Zir voice softened. “You’ll be the first to know.”
The storm passed, and life returned to normal. With the animals safely in the care of Dr. Birchett, attention could be given to other projects. Random continued to work on the Municipal Building, so Orion took the time to start working on the Armory and Training Ground.
The Armory was a vault with a heavy door with an electric lock that only Colony Leaders knew. Inside was an off-white room filled with mostly empty racks. There were more vending machine replicators built into one wall that could turn raw materials into a variety of weapons. There were pegs to hang melee weapons, and the shelves in the center held firearms and other munitions. Currently, the only thing stored were the few guard rifles and shotguns Orion found, and the few weapons and armor that Uncle Pyro and Prof. Queebeax were able to build.
The Training Room was the size of a gym. There was enough room to run laps or other exercises. There were weapons in here as well, but nothing in this room had a setting higher than stun. Mostly they operated on laser tag rules, using special suits with sensors on them. When a target wearing the suit was hit by a laser, the suit would lock up and they were “dead”. The wall panels could also slide out and create a variety of obstacle courses, mazes, even a shooting range. When Max first tested this, training dummies sprang up from the ground. Most of the targets were just formless silhouettes with targets drawn on their chests and heads. The middle one popped up in front of Orion. It was blue, T-posing and had a curly mustache.
“He’s come for me!” Orion screamed, whipping out his shotgun emptying a full clip into the grinning Todd.
Everyone stepped back at the flurry of gunshots, Max shielding the cadets with arms extended. The training room neutralized even Orion’s standard issue shotgun, turning deadly plasma into a harmless light show.
A holo window popped up over Todd’s affable head.
[Accuracy Score: 86%]
Max relaxed and patted the panting Org on the shoulder, “I think you got him. At least we know the safety features work.”
“Yeah. Sorry.” Orion took a calming breath. “Todd freaks me out a bit. How did he even get here? Is he still on the surface, too?”
Max ignored the ramifications of that and looked at the score. “Good accuracy with a shotgun, how long have you been shooting?”
“Decades,” Orion answered, putting his gun away. “Usually with a mouse and keyboard, though.”
“I’m going to pretend I understood that,” said Max. “We’re going to get some practice in. Thanks for this.”
[Mission: That’s Armory! Complete!
+500 XP
+250 Colony XP]
[Mission: War Games Complete!
+250 Colony XP
Special Reward:
+500 XP
+5 Guards Added!]
Max whistled. “Nice! Better get the new blood up to speed, first. Don’t want anyone else shooting you.”
“Ha ha,” Orion laughed sarcastically. “That is hilarious.”
A message window notification popped up in front of Orion’s face. It was red and blinking. Concerned, he opened the message and saw Slate’s helmeted face.
“Orion! I need assistance! I was cleaning up the Rig and there’s a weird ratillac here! Big! It attacked me, got me in the leg. My suit’s damaged and I’m unable to walk! Hid myself but I can hear it out there! Can you get to me?”
“I’m on it! Hang on!” Orion was already running by the time he closed the window.
He heard Max issue orders to the cadets and then pound down the hall just behind him. Orion nodded with approval. Max took his job of protecting the Colony seriously. He needed someone like that on his side.
Apus appeared in a flash of digital flame, flying in the air in front of him. “Sir! I will scout out ahead and locate Slate!” Apus explained, “You should summon Major Canis! He’s a mount, he can move faster.”
Orion skidded to a stop. “How?”
“Open the companion menu and click on his icon, then hit the
Orion did as instructed. With a flash of red light, the big cyworg appeared in the hallway. Major was immediately alert, ears flicking to the sides listening for enemies.
“Sorry to take you away from, Momma but Slate’s in danger!” Orion said, “Will you help me?”
Major gave a surprised look, then nodded. The cyworg turned and lay down, handles sliding out of his shoulder panels. That’s when Orion finally connected that the strange dip in Major’s spine was a saddle. Orion mounted up as Max finally caught up. He didn’t even look winded.
Major grunted at Max and nodded his head towards his back. Both men looked at each other and gave a mute nod. Orion reached a hand out. Max tapped the insignia on the front of his bomber jacket and a bubble helmet slid up around his head. Protected from the toxic air, Max grabbed the offered hand and was hauled into the mount’s back.
Major took off like a shot. The only thing keeping Orion in the seat was the padded back of the saddle, and Max was pressed against the Org’s padded chest. Movement drew his attention to dual footrests that slid out from the joints in Major’s front legs, acting as a stirrup. With his rider secured Major rounded the corner without slowing down, nearly collided with Pteryx coming the other way. The cyworg jumped at the last moment, rebounding off the wall and sailing over the startled artist’s head.
They barely paused except to wait for the airlock to decontaminate and pressurize. Major bolted outside so fast his metal legs kicked up sparks as he squeezed past the doors. Once in the open the huge animal pounded across the desert, the hill not even slowing him down. The bridge swayed as Major sped down the path, but the newly repaired slats held under their combined weight.
In mere minutes they’d covered the distance and dashed into the mining rig. Larger ratillacs looked up from barrels and boxes scattered on the platform. Some were the size of small dogs, scruffier with wheel legs that looked more like sports cars.
Max pulled out twin pistols and Orion unsheathed his shotgun. As the rat creatures leaped at Major, they were cut down by a hail of gunfire. One minivan style ratillac the size of a rottweiler kept pace with Major, biting at his soft underbelly. The van rat got one solid bite in before the cyworg sunk teeth into its exposed back, nearly scissoring it in half.
Max shouted over the shots and screams of robotic rodents, “How did Slate get past all these things by himself?”
“I don’t know!” Orion fired at a ratillac station wagon. “I’ve never seen them this big! Something must have lured them here!”
They fought their way through the press of furry bodies. One of the ratillacs dropped from a missing ceiling panel and latched onto Orion’s neck, sharp teeth gnawing his flesh. Orion ripped the attacker free and flung it at a hatchback rat, causing both rodents to explode on impact. Two more leapt onto Max’s leg, but Orion knocked them free with a backhand. It was death from a thousand cuts. The swarm kept flooding in between the shots, scratching or biting before being dispatched.
Major dashed through the Rig’s open doors and Max jumped off the side, rolling as he landed. He ran back and slammed his hand on the gate controls, the doors slowly closing. Orion joined him as they fired into the crowd as the doors creaked shut. A few got past and were snatched up in Major’s jaws. The doors closed but the sounds of scratching could be heard from the other side.
“How are you holding up?” Orion asked.
“Not great.” Max replied, “I’m not badly hurt but my suit’s compromised. I’m losing oxygen and the toxins are starting to get in.”
“We need to get you both out of here. Now.” Orion switched to Sunflare.
“Sir!” Apus came winging around the corner, “I’ve located the Commander. Follow me!”
A few giant ratillacs were dispatched as Apus led them down the hall and into a big open space in the circular center of the mining rig. Thick cables held the drill in place, aiming it toward the crater floor below. The drill’s connectors were partially broken and the drill hung at an angle, the barrel resting on one side of the hole. The inner chamber was lined with long catwalks with stairs, leading to control consoles and a storage area.
It was in one of the storage rooms they found Slate. He was panting, breath fogging up his helmet visor.
“We got you, chief,” Max said. “Just come with us and we’ll get you out of here.”
“Big…big…” Slate struggled to talk. “Buh…”
Orion urged Major closer. “Don’t push yourself, we got you.”
“...Hind…you…” Slate pointed and slumped over, unconscious.
As the two rescuers were trying to process that, a chord of synthwave music pulsed behind them. Orion yelled as an ultrasonic blast hit him in the back, the vibrations in the air at such a frequency it shredded Orion’s windbreaker and split the skin. Only his back’s cybernite plates prevented more damage.
The Org turned and saw the most unusual ratillac yet. It was technically two animals, both about a foot long. They had black fur with convertible style back halves, one pink and one powder blue. Their faces were strange brass helmets with speakers on the cheeks and a black dome visor that stopped just before their rounded ears. Lights in the helmet created an angry text emoji expression. The bottom jaw had points like tusks, the mouth similar to a stapler remover. They had whitewall tires, big fins with tail lights in them, and a nearly three foot long segmented metal tail that connected them both.
The trunk of one of the cars was open, and a speaker was aimed directly at the Org. Orion scanned it with his warden skill
[Ratillac King: LVL Unknown.]
Orion hefted his weapon, “I think I know what summoned the rats.”