You don’t have any say in the matter, NyteH3ist. Fangtooth rebutted, I have already accepted the mission.
“Who are they?” Orion asked over his shoulder.
“A bounty hunter,” came Xing’s muffled reply. “They’re the one who caught me and had me sent to Void's Asteroid Prison.”
Orion narrowed his eyes at Fangtooth and snarled, “Then what are you doing in a prison colony?”
Fangtooth’s eyes swiveled at him, casting a hellish glow in the dim stables.
The wrong bounty died in my custody. They did not elaborate, adding, But then you pardoned us. I’m just trying to find my place here.
Orion lowered Sunflare slightly. If Fangtooth wanted to cause trouble for Phoenix, they could have left with Bitterling’s goons.
Orion asked cautiously, “What is it you hope to gain by joining us?”
I want to start a Bounty Hunter Union, Fangtooth said after a long pause. I already submitted the request to the Mayor, but have gotten no response.
“No~o!” insisted Xing, “I hate them!”
Orion turned and knelt, placing his hands on Xing’s shoulders as he tried to console her, “Babe, Fangtooth’s the only one who responded to the mission. We might need their help.”
Xing sobbed, “Don’ want!”
Orion pulled Xing into a hug and soothed her, stroking her back. Mist suddenly coalesced around Orion, Major and his mate Aludra stepping out of the haze and surrounding them. Their puppies, led by Minor, stepped out after their parents and formed a defensive ring.
Major growled at Fangtooth so fiercely even the heavily armored Astropod took a step back. There was a ‘Clang’ as Fangtooth walked right into the metallic hide of Aries. Eyestalks swiveled to stare at the batteram boss’s glaring skull, purple smoke billowing from the gas mask canisters. The lights flickered again, the entire stable’s worth of animals was surrounding Fangtooth on all sides, from hulking stinkhorn down to squawking microrapter.
Orion rocked Xing until the crying stopped and the hiccuping started. Nuzzling her cheek, Orion said, “If you really don’t want Fangtooth’s help, then we can cancel the mission and go ourselves. Just remember, when you first got here you tried to blackmail me into dating you. But I gave you a second chance, and look where you are now. That’s all Fangtooth is asking for, a second chance.”
Xing’s prosthetic fingers dug into Orion’s arms hard enough to draw blood, and she shook her head.
“Please?” Orion asked, “if they can help keep you safe, it’s worth the risk. Besides-”
Orion learned closer and whispered, “-if they betray us, well, accidents happen in the desert.”
Xing’s death grip eased on his arm. Wiping her face, she blew her nose on Orion’s shirt and stood up shakily. She nodded curtly.
“Gross,” Orion said dryly. He equipping a fresh shirt from his inventory and cupped Xing’s cheek affectionately. “That’s my brave girl.”
“All right, we’ll give you a chance.” Orion paused and saw the throng of beasts surrounding Fangtooth. He laughed and shooed them away gently, “It’s all good. Settle down now.”
The horde of animals slowly backed away, giving them space. Not too far, many of them staying just close enough to charge in at the first sign of trouble. Fangtooth simply nodded and put their helmet back on.
“I guess that’s everything. Major, you’re with me. Xing, I guess you’re riding on my lap,” began Orion.
Aludra walked closer and pressed her body against Xing, giving a synthetic ‘wurf’. Xing stared at the alpha female before kneeling to hug her neck, face buried in the soft purple fur.
Xing’s voice was full of wonder, “I have been chosen.”
Orion beamed, “Nice! Keeping the family together. That means Gemini can ride with me. I guess that just leaves Fangtooth. Ssteev, do we have any mounts big enough to carry them?”
Ssteev peered around Btssee, who shifted to stand between him and Fangtooth. Resigned, Ssteev just called over the dinosaur’s back, “I don’t think any mount strong enough to carry them would be willing to do so. Fangtooth hasn’t exactly made friends here.”
Aries snorted and lay down heavily, shaking the room. Fangtooth jumped at the sudden sound of half a ton of cybernetic bovine suddenly hitting the floor. Fangtooth looked unsure, the porthole of their helmet silently gawking at Aries’s face with confusion. Aries rolled his purple eyes and tilted his horned head towards his back impatiently.
Fangtooth goggled at Orion, who shrugged. Unsure, they climbed onto the batteram’s back. Aries stood without any apparent difficulty and started to plod towards the stables elevator.
Orion smiled, “It’s a good thing I have three active combat partner slots at my level. I can bring the whole team!” Orion offered his elbow to Xing.
Xing accepted and the two walked towards the lift. Gemini skittered up towards Major, and with a boost from Aludra’s muzzle, the Ratillac King settled onto the cyworg’s leather seat.
Orion slowed and asked Xing, “I just have to say this one last time. How are you going to survive out there on an extended journey across the desert? You don’t even like to wear clothes most of the time, and now you’re going to confine yourself to a BioSuit for what could be weeks?”
Xing stepped away, “Oh, right, I never explained. I won’t be using a BioSuit.”
Xing’s body started to morph in front of Orion’s eyes. Her scales started to turn a deep blue, and then smoothed out into thick, leathery skin. Xing grew taller, torso lengthening and prosthetic limbs growing to accommodate the new height. Her body became less snake-like, filling out with more defined curves and lean muscle. Her chest rounded out slightly, becoming two A-cup breasts capped with mottled purple nipples. Finally her snout pulled backwards and became an upturned nose, full lips with tiny tusks, pointed ears and purple hair. Her body lit up with a starscape of tiny yellow LED freckles. Xing had turned into an Org.
Orion was awestruck. “What? That’s crazy! How did you do that?”’
“Jrassks have an ability called
Orion wished he’d learned more about the different racial bonuses during character creation. He missed some amazing abilities.
“So, wait, you have
Xing stopped turning, adopting her ‘professional tone’, “Precisely! Jrassks only have
Orion exclaimed, “That’s fascinating! You’ll still need more clothes than that. The desert heat might be fine for a Jrassk, but you’ll get badly sunburned as an Org. Trust me on that.”
Xing nodded and spread her arms, equipping an adventuring outfit. Her usual baggy camo pants were joined by a blue tank top, wide brimmed hat and a patterned desert poncho.
Orion nodded approvingly. “I guess that eliminates any objections I had about you tagging along. Okay, hon, you win. Let’s go exploring.”
They stepped onto the lift platform, the cyworgs following. Once they were all aboard, Orion touched the panel that closed the airlock panels. After the small room decontaminated the explorers, the entire room rose through the ceiling. As the platform stopped at ground level, the panels opened and Xing stepped outside.
“See? Nice breathable air!” She took a deep, exaggerated breath and instantly dissolved into a coughing fit. “By the -cough- Void, this air is -hack- awful! This is what you’ve been breathing this whole ti-cough-me?”
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Orion gave her a sullen look. “I’d like to say it gets better, but it doesn't.”
“Da-cough-ammit! Queebeax said I’d need this and I didn’t believe him!” Xing complained.
Xing pulled a bronze half mask out of her inventory and equipped it to her face. The Gate-Tech respirator looked like a muzzle with panels of swirling blue portals on the cheeks. Faux tusks poked out of the front. She looked embarrassed to wear it, but perked up as Orion whistled with approval.
“That looks rad!” Orion Equipped his own desert gear from his inventory and climbed onto Major’s back. “Okay, Star Explorers! We’ve wasted enough time. We’ve got a city to discover! Mount up!”
Fangtooth and Aries both watched Orion stoically, the bounty hunter still perched between two of the batteram’s back tanks. Aludra lay down, allowing Xing to climb on before standing back up.
“Let’s get these doggies rolling!” Orion shouted excitedly. He booped Gemini’s nose and two speakers opened up on the Ratillac King’s backs. ‘Rawhide’ started to play and Orion whooped, “Giddy up!”
Major took off like a shot, kicking up dust in his wake.
Fangtooth watched Orion ride off as the music started to fade in the distance. The helmet turned to give Xing a questioning stare. Xing shook her head, just as clueless.
“It’s probably a reference to something. You get used to it.” Xing looked down at Aludra and gently suggested, “Giddy up?”
Tongue lolling from the side of her metal jaws, Aludra bolted after her mate. This elicited a scream from Xing as she was thrown against the padded back of the cyworg’s saddle. She clung to the handlebars that flipped up from the seat as Aludra started to gain on her mate, enjoying the game.
There was an echoey sigh from inside the helmet as Fangtooth watched them go, What have I gotten myself into?
Fangtooth was nearly thrown off Aries’s back as the batteram suddenly lunged forward. They managed to regain their balance, grabbing the liquid filled tube in front of them like a saddlehorn. While slower than the cyworgs, the great beast thundered after them like a runaway train. Fangtooth could only hope to survive long enough to regret this decision.
[For your convenience, the following scene is translated from Hiver. For full effect, imagine a mini rave with fuzzy bees in mobster outfits dancing at each other as they talk.]
Dame Miami Sunrise was looking over their maps on a panoramic HUD window. The yellow honeycomb styled video screen showed the path of progress from the Queen’s original stairway to their current location. Between the four of them, the former Slumgum Gang had managed to map out most of the eastern half of New Yorg City. They were slowly making their way west, marking out likely supply caches and hotspots for Cy-Org activity.
Dame Sunrise’s feathery antennae twitched in irritation. She was a rare Hiver woman, a backless black dress adorning her curvy body. A downy white ruff of fur puffed out from around her throat and thorax. Diaphanous wings flowed down her back and to the sides of her generous abdomen. A belt adorned with one of the Professor’s biodome bubble generators protected her. One of Queebeax’s early re-breather masks completed the look.
Anyone other than a Hiver would have found the scene disorienting. Dame Sunrise was standing on a field of stars, cirrus clouds swirling lazily at her feet. The mysterious city was high above her, tilted at a forty five degree angle. The few remaining neon lights of the city flickered, casting uneven light over the shiny black sea of Cy-Org bodies. That’s because she was, in fact, standing on the BioDome ceiling.
For Hivers this was just another day in the office. Having long ago lost their ability to fly, they made up for it by being able to walk on any solid surface. This helped the Gang avoid the low-flying Automatic Cybernetic Authority Brigade helitanks patrolling far above. Or below depending on your perspective.
“Dame Sunrise, I come bearing news.”
Frustrated, Dame Sunrise closed her HUD and turned to see Irish “Blackout” O’Carbomb approaching from the northwest. He was slim for a Hiver, with a lean, predatory look to him. He was dressed in an immaculately pressed dress shirt, charcoal colored pinstripe slacks with matching jacket. He had a jagged scar along his cheek, which pulled the left side of his face into an unnerving perpetual smirk. A fedora was precariously perched on top of a spherical breathing helmet.
“Unless you’ve found a huge stockpile of BioDome discs, I’m not interested,” snapped Dame Sunrise.
Irish stopped mid-stride and bowed, “Excuse my impertinence, my Dame.”
Dame Sunrise scolded herself for her rudeness. She was supposed to set an example for her hive. But they’d been out here for months and still hadn’t found enough materials or discs to protect the base. And with Bitterling’s threat hanging over them, it felt like time was running out. But that was no reason to snark at her subordinates who have been nothing but loyal.
“No, forgive my irritability. I am worried about the safety of our new home, but there’s no call to be discourteous,” apologized Dame Sunrise. “What’s so important that you came here to find me instead of calling me on the colony chat?”
“All is forgiven, my Dame.” Irish straightened, twirling a butterfly knife on his lower right hand. “Whiskey found something strange, see? He thought it best if we reconvened to his location and asked that I escort you personally. For safety reasons.”
Dame Sunrise looked up at the milling crowd below. The Cy-Orgs were getting worked up about something. The usual ebb and flow of their wanderings was becoming more focused. Sections of the city that had been a hotbed of activity were now abandoned as the teeming mass of metallic citizens flowed into previously empty areas. The Authority Brigade were patrolling more now, and their gear was becoming increasingly more advanced.
Cops made her nervous at the best of times, so Dame Sunrise agreed to the escort. The Manifest Industries funded security force merely arrested you, whereas the A.C.A.B.s used deadly force.
“Very well. We shall begrudgingly accept your offer of protection,” Dame Sunrise answered, fluffing her neck ruff in a show of acquiescence.
Irish half bowed, left arms crooked against his chest, “You honor me, my Dame. Please follow me.”
The morning sun was starting to crest over the horizon when Dame Sunrise noticed the crease in the sky. It was easy to forget that the BioDome was actually a pyramid. When the meteor struck the center of New Yorg City’s protective shield, the tip of the pyramid absorbed the bulk of the kinetic energy. The individual shield generating discs stretched and warped to keep the entire ceiling from collapsing on the stricken city. This mashed the pyramid into the same shape as a bundt cake.
It wasn’t obvious in the center of the curve, especially when broken sections of the force field net created stalagmites of earth or columns of water. The true nature of the dome was obvious this close to the edge. Clouds drifted across the sky, then took a sharp turn around the edge like a two page spread in a comic book.
Dame Sunrise checked her maps again, “I think this might be the closest to the corner we’ve ever been. This city is massive.”
“MacTruck has offered to repair a vehicle for us.” Irish reminded her, “It would make exploration faster.”
Dame folded both sets of arms, “And would exponentially increase our chances of being seen. Stealth is our greatest asset here. We are vastly outnumbered.”
“Much to our lament,” Irish agreed. “Thankfully this section of the suburbs was mostly abandoned, and Molotov was able to handle the few remaining stragglers.”
Dame Sunrise gave him a steely look, “Without much bloodshed, I trust. Queen Starbeard is adamant about not killing Cy-Orgs indiscriminately.”
Irish sighed, “I told him to avoid excessive force, but you know Molotov. He did his best.”
In fact, they found Molotov Cabaret a few moments later, tossing discarded robotic limbs into an open dumpster behind a crumbling fast food restaurant. Molotov was a hornet Hiver, having a bigger frame and smooth carapace. The broad shouldered bruiser was wearing an oil-stained collared shit with brown slacks held up with suspenders. His bubble helmet was filled with wisps of smoke, obscuring a chiseled jaw and bowler hat.
Irish approached him, and Molotov put his dukes up to rumble with the newest foe when he recognized his teammate. The burning glow of his cigar shifted inside the helmet as the wise guy greeted his Dame.
“All clear here, boss.” Molotov announced, his dancing heavily accented. “Yer just in time, Whiskey’s almost done clearin’ da obelisk.”
“The obelisk?” Dame Sunrise inquired.
Molotov shrugged. “Dat’s what he calls it. Just looks like a big pointy rock to me.”
The gang weaved through the few remaining alleys as the buildings became less frequent. On all sides, the city was surrounded by a long stretch of parks. Presumably to keep buildings away from the walls of the dome, and to provide areas to camp or relax for the folks living outside the city proper.
Peering through the roofs of the buildings, Dame Sunrise saw they were heading toward the corner. There was a huge cave-in, the BioDome bending inwards. The force field net was stretched thin, the disc generations just barely holding back tons of earth from collapsing the city. A hole that big could even potentially rip apart the entire network of disks, causing untold damage to the city. The thought sent a shiver down her thorax. As they stepped out of the buildings and crossed the last road, Dame Sunrise spotted Whiskey gathering up chunks of dirt with his MUT.
Unlike the others, Whiskey Mango was small and round. The oversized yellow and black striped turtleneck made him look like a fuzzy egg, only his legs and the top of his head poking out from the wool. He wore a leather aviator cap and coke bottle glasses under his bubble helmet. Yet despite being almost completely hidden by his outfit, Whiskey was the most outgoing of the Slumgum Gang.
Whiskey waves cheerfully as he spotted his hive, “Welcome, my Dame! Observe, for I have made an important discovery!”
Dame Sunrise greeted Whiskey and stepped next to him, “What have you found?”
Whiskey waddled over the dirt mound he was clearing and dipped under the strained bulge of the energy net. Hesitantly, Dame Sunrise followed him and paused at the peak of the mound.
Partly buried under the dirt was a carved sandstone obelisk. The sides were carved, forming a receded area in which raised Orgish writing glowed bright purple. It has been knocked over by the cave-in, yet the dome was rising up from the mound, still protecting the city from the crushing wall of earth.
Whiskey stood on the obelisk, arms akimbo as he bragged about his discovery, “It’s a shield generator! Even damaged like this, it’s still functioning like normal. I think the words act like circuitry. They function as both a power supply, and instructing the generator what to do. And look at this!”
Whiskey walked over to the tip of the obelisk, which shone with violet light. Whorls of light curled above it, forming a tiny portal. There was half a BioDome generator stuck in the gate, the wavering light to small to let it pass through. But piled beneath it were-
Dame Sunrise gasped, “Dome discs!”
Dame Sunrise scurried down the mound and stopped in front of a pile of dome generators half concealed by a clod of dirt the size of an elephant. There were a dozen she could see poking out from the soil, more presumably hidden from sight.
“Very well done, my Whiskey!” The Dame beamed at Whiskey, then turned her brilliant smile to the others. “All of you. Your Dame is pleased, and you shall be rewarded for your efforts! First, we must retrieve what discs we have. And Whiskey, copy the obelisk schematics and send it to the mayor.”
“Yes, my Dame!” the three soldier Hivers echoed.