Ronin groaned with pleasure as he stood under the hot water. The heat was barely registering through the carapace armor, but it felt amazing on his head, face, and neck. It had taken a while to get out of the growth vat, for that’s what the large living room had been. A container designed to grow one Beetle body at a time. Thankfully, they were huge, and there was enough biological material in the vats to grow twenty human sized brains. Mass factored in as well, but not as much as the rare materials needed to construct a working brain.
Turning his face up, he scrubbed his finger length hair, being careful not to dig into his scalp with his blunted claws. Once the feeding frenzy had started, none of his people had wanted to leave until they’d scoured the growth vat clean of all the large accumulations of fluid. When they finally left the vat, that had been set in a long line of similar vats in a massive hanger, the shipping container had been set up just outside as a portable, communal, shower room. It looked cheaply built and a bit worse for wear, but the water was hot, and the lack of privacy didn’t matter to anyone since none of their bodies were naked anyway.
Ronin just hadn’t seen the point. These bodies couldn’t reproduce, and they weren’t here on a pleasure trip either. He’d designed his body for combat in the trees, and all his people had copied his model. The scouts had chosen to emulate Gunner, with her chameleon armor and four arms. While Elyria was the only real stand out, even she hadn’t bothered overly much with her normal anatomy. Sure, she still had the overall body shape and proportions that she had in Ronin’s pocket world, but she’d covered everything vital in a layer of small but concealing white scales. Wiping the water from his eyes, Ronin took a moment to look over the two rows of ten shower heads and take a head count of his people.
There was Elyria, who’d chosen the shower right next to his. Ronin scoffed, swearing the elf did stuff like that just to annoy him. K3 was just behind him, guarding Ronin’s back. That made him smile. He’d missed the kaldarr in the time they’d been apart, and he could tell by his smooth movements the months the warrior had spent away from him hadn’t been wasted. Beside K3 was sergeant Karr, the nondescript man humming to himself as he cleaned away the last remnants of the pink fluid.
Ronin thought he’d been promoted before he’d left, but since he only led a squad of nine men and women, lieutenant was more rank than was required… Though, Ronin thought a sergeant led five troops and a staff sergeant led nine or ten. Not that it really mattered what Benjamin and Owl Two chose to name the ranks really, and besides, sergeant was easier to remember than staff sergeant.
Moving his eyes past sergeant Karr, Ronin took in the five men and four women in his squad. He didn’t recognize any of them, having told Benjamin and Karr to pick the best people they had in small group tactics for this mission. He made a mental note to get to know them this time, since on earlier trips into the caves he hadn’t bothered to even learn their names.
Beyond them Xerox showered next to Jade. The pair were talking animatedly in the beetle language. Ronin didn’t care for that, knowing that if Owl Two, under any name, was hiding something from him, it would be something he didn’t approve of. Grinding his teeth together, Ronin fought back the rage he felt over losing ten years in his pocket world. Even now, his unknown child would be six or seven years old, by tomorrow they would be seven or eight. It was maddening, but it was done now. He couldn’t change it, and he needed Xerox and Owl Two’s technical acumen if they were all going to survive what was coming.
Tearing his eyes away from the alien and android pair, Ronin took in the final three occupants of the shower room. Samantha had copied his armor design, and looked much bulkier in the carapace covering than she had in the leathers she’d once worn. She was also avoiding him. He’d gotten a brief report on Owl Two’s many crimes from K3, so he understood why. It still broke his heart to see her acting so timidly. Another thing the android would have to answer for. Shaking his head, Ronin focused back on the present. Sam had attached herself to the two scouts Ronin had brought for the team.
He had wanted to fill up the roster with a full twenty people, but after the battle was over, he couldn’t find two people who’d survived. That he was both familiar with and who wasn’t needed to protect or lead the city. That had left him with Stone, the sharp shooting goblin scout he’d first learned about during the attack on undercity. She’d shown good judgment, excellent ranged abilities, and a spunky attitude that he thought the group would benefit from. That left Whisper, the only member of Hunter’s original squad who’d survived the battle. She didn’t talk much, moved quietly and would fade into the background of any group unless called upon for something.
Nodding to himself, Ronin thought he might have gotten a good team composition this time. He had his pilot, a long-ranged gunner, short-ranged stealth specialist, tech specialist, team of grunts for lack of a better word, and his personal bodyguard, along with the elf who kept him on the straight and narrow. Much better than his first team selection.
“Why are you staring at the girls and smiling like that, White flame?” Elyria asked, giving him an elbow shove. “They’re covered in bug shell armor, can’t be that exciting to watch them showering… please, tell me that’s not your thing. Because I don’t think I can take that.” Ronin sighed, realizing he’d been wearing his happiness over his choices too openly.
“No, Elyria.” He said, as he turned around to K3’s and Karr’s chuckling. “I was just looking over the troops. I think we have a fine team here.” That statement got nods of agreement from his troop’s leadership, until the whole shipping container was rocked violently, and the water stuttered off for a second before it came back on.
“Aren’t you done yet? I finished eating the leftover enhanced nutrient fluid almost two minutes ago… what’s taking you so longggg?” Ronin stuck his head out the door to see the giant form of Ruby, dancing around wildly, and it looked like, accidentally running into the shower room during a turn. He frowned, not finding it difficult to believe anymore that a race like this had accidentally wiped out an entire planet’s ecosystem. They’d probably been so excited to press the button and get onto the planet that they’d just, whoops, nearly murdered Ronin’s entire species. He took a deep breath, knowing he was still on edge about the time dilation. He hoped there was going to be a fight soon, he needed an outlet.
“We’re just finishing up now,” he said loudly, to be heard over the beetle's own clatter. Ronin had wanted a longer shower, but the enjoyment had been severely reduced now, thanks to his mood. “Come one everyone, let’s go get kitted up… Then we can meet up with my, dad, and get this show on the road.” He only stumbled a bit when calling Leo Dawson his dad. Wondering when he’d get the chance to see his actual father, and knowing he was too afraid to ask after his parents.
“Ok, now this is just too much.” Elyria said with a laugh when they’d all gotten dried off and gathered around the crates holding the gear they’d requested. She was looking at Ronin, who’d just opened a crate filled with white fur cloaks made from… well he wasn’t sure what… but that had been made to match his goat hide cloak exactly. “What is this, a cercus?”
Not bothering to reply to the jab, Ronin threw his cloak over his armor. It fit perfectly, the shoulder, and helmet clasps snapped into ready made notches he’d designed into his body. With a flexing of muscles, he’d never had as a human, he forced the carapace sections that rested on his chest and back to restrict. They snapped together, covering his head with a built-in helmet. Just as expected, the goat hide’s head, complete with horns, had fitted itself to the helmet perfectly. Looking himself over, he couldn’t help but feel like a Viking from ancient earth. Sporting white fur covered black armor and a helmet that was made from an actual goat head, or a close enough approximation of it anyway.
“My lord has a flare for the dramatic, but the fur substitute is very sturdy and will act as an extra layer of defense.” Xerox said, putting on his own cloak. “Scouts and Elyria, you each get a PCP .50, two long daggers, two PCP .25 pistols and a canteen of nutrient fluid. Karr, you, and your squad each take a PCP .25 carbine and PCP .25 pistol, there is a short spear and round shield in there for each of you as well. Sam, Jade, we only get the canteens and cloaks should you want one, since we aren’t going down to the planet. K3, my lord, you each get a PCP 1.0 rifle, and a PCP .25 pistol. There is also a pack of standard gear in there for everyone, that includes things like a mess kit, fire starting tools, flashlights, the normal things. Now if there are no more questions? Good, Let’s be about it then people.” He finished with a ‘my lord’ and a shallow bow to Ronin.
“Seeee,” Ruby said. “This guy knows how to get things moving… now, chop chop humans, they are already gathering without you.” The giant red beetle said with a tap to an imaginary watch.
“You have everything you need?” Ronin asked Xerox and Samantha, while the rest of his team was gathering their equipment. “It’s going to be several weeks before we can return, and you are supposed to be hiding up here while you work.”
“Don’t worry about it, friend human Ronin.” Jade said, patting him on the back, “I will be here with them the whole time, and I’m known amongst my kind to be a forethinking and upright sort of beetle. There won’t be any problems.” That didn’t exactly make Ronin feel any better, and the fact that Sam wouldn’t meet his eyes made him feel even worse.
“It will be fine, my lord.” Xerox said with another shallow bow. “You just worry about gathering enough resources to feed the ship, we’ll do what we need to up here and be ready for you when you return.” Not having anything else to say, Ronin only nodded and bid them farewell. As the trio walked away from the group into the darkness of the massive hanger they were in, Ruby made a huge show of turning her back and whistling nonchalantly. Repeating over and over again in a loud voice.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“I don’t see anything, I don’t see anything, there is definitely not anything to see behind me right now.” Ronin fingered his rifle, wondering if anyone would notice if the school bus sized, loud mouthed beetle, suddenly died. He was certain the PCP 1.0 would penetrate. The slugs had a diameter of an inch and were an absolutely massive round. It was two times the size of the scouts PCP .50 while the PCP .25 carbines Karr’s squad had, being only a quarter of the size. Granted, they carried ten times more ammunition and could fire in semi-automatic mode, while Ronin’s gun required manual cycling and only held five rounds. He sighed, it was a nice thought, but the beetle didn’t seem to be a bad person, just really, really, annoying.
“Alright Ruby,” Ronin said, once Xerox, Jade and Sam disappeared into the cavernous hanger. “We’re ready to go.” He’d shouldered his rifle, along with the kanabo and buckler, and had his backpack on. They were as ready as they were going to get.
“Let’s goo then.” Ruby said, striding off into the hanger at a pace Ronin and his followers were hard pressed to keep up with. They managed, however, thanks in large part to the enhanced nutrient fluid they’d consumed. That was Ronin’s theory anyway, because he could still feel the energy coursing through his body after the meal.
They ran for over an hour, passing one growth vat after another. Ronin watched as more beetles helped new batches of humans get out of the vats and into the shower units that seemed to have been set up in front of every vat. Ronin had yet to see any of these people eating the nutrient fluid, however, he saw plenty of beetles diving into the empty vats as soon as the last human disappeared into the showers. Another fun fact about these groups. Not very many of them looked like they were from one team. Ronin noted that they were congregating in groups of six. Leading him to believe that these father son teams had only arrived with their party escorts. He wanted to ask Ruby about it, but the beetle was way too big, too fast, and too loud to ask anything that he didn’t want to be heard.
Eventually, Ronin spotted a large metal building that looked something like an aircraft hangar. Which was ironic because they were in an enormous hanger right now. Except the one they were approaching looked to be of human origin, being made from metal sheets and not living matter. Reaching the building at last, Ronin could tell it had been here a while. Just like the cargo containers that made up the showers, this building must have been constructed something like two centuries ago, when the ship had first been taken.
“And here we are,” the beetle said in a singsong voice once she’d delivered them to the building’s front door. “Go on in, the rest of your team is already inside… oh I almost forgot, don’t kill anybody on the ship, ok. Because if you do, the ship’s AI will shut off your body… not a big deal for us beetles, since we’re backed up, but it’s lethal to you humans, ok bye.” With that final, dire warning, Ruby turned around and ambled away.
“Gosh, almost forgot?” K3 muttered from beside Ronin. “Hope there isn’t anything else she, actually, forgot to mention. Not like it’s a big deal or anything, just a death sentence.” The warning not to kill anybody, actually had everyone grabbing their weapons more tightly than before.
“Ok, you guys,” Ronin said motioning for them to all calm down, “This is just a meeting, relax, we’ll get our info and leave… Just, don’t engage with anyone. Be polite and smile, we have a lot of enemies here thanks to Leo, my dad, try not to let them work you up, ok.” That warning made, Ronin entered the old metal building, K3 right on his heels. He heard the snicking sound of thirteen helmets closing behind him. He grinned, knowing despite what he said, all his people were prepared to fight.
Entering the giant metal building through a sliding door large enough to drive his truck, Ronin paused to look around. There were several hundred people present, standing in small groups of six people, all the way up to groups holding forty. The numbers making it clear who’d either already known about the growth vat’s batch function, or those smart enough to figure it out. He could feel all those groups eyeing him and his people as he entered, judging him just as he was judging them.
“Well, I guess it really is a cercus in here.” Elyria said, from where she’d come to stand shoulder to shoulder with him. Ronin knew what she meant immediately. Everyone here had styled either their own bodies, their clothes, or both in some outlandish fashion or another. One group, consisting of forty members, were dressed head to toe in what Ronin could only describe as futuristic gothic. They wore black clothes, men in black leather with long coats covered in silver buckles. The women in dresses or robes of similar black, with matching buckles. They were all wearing black makeup in some form, either in tear tracks running down their faces, or as eye liner and lipstick. Each also carried a black and silver rifle, along with what must be night vision goggles and black tactical looking backpacks.
Another group of six, consisted of a man and a woman, wearing top hats and long brown coats with gears and clocks covering them. Each wore fingerless gloves, and the man had on a backpack that looked to have a smokestack rising out of it. They each wore a pair of pistols at their belts that looked like they’d come right out of a novel about pirates. Flanking both the man and the woman were a pair of clockwork robots, one of each pair was equipped with a sword arm and shield arm, while the other had two guns instead of hands. They were clearly wearing some variation on steampunk novels equipment.
“Here I was thinking you’d all look ridiculous wearing jet black armor covered in a flame pattern with goat hide cloaks covering you up like some barbarian tribe out for conquest.” Elyria scoffed, as she looked around at all the strange people around them. “I see Leo, come on, White flame, let’s get this show on the road.” She’d offered him her arm as she’d spoken, Ronin looked at it in confusion for a moment before he remembered she was his escort at the party. With a snort, he took her arm, not sure that it mattered anymore, but going along with her anyway.
“Us?” He asked, looking over at her while they walked through the crowd. “What about you, I noticed you are wearing a pretty fancy set of leaf patterned half plate armor yourself, in my colors too.” he smirked when she swatted his arm. It looked playful from a distance, but there had been real power in that blow. Good thing his body was now equivalent to a suit of armor, because he barely felt the hit connect. “Of course,” he added, “it’s all politics, I get it.” He followed his statement with a wink, which caused Elyria’s cheeks to turn red. He’d have to watch it, looked like he’d made her mad that time.
“Stop that,” she said with a glare. “We’re almost to Leo’s group, and it looks like he has as much a flare for the dramatic as you do.” She said, nodding her head in front of them. Ronin followed her nod forward to see what she meant. Well, she wasn’t wrong. Leo looked impressive.
He was much larger than he’d been in the simulated version of the ship’s city. Close to seven feet tall, and had transformed himself into a golden furred lionid, with a thick mane fanning out from his suit jacket. Ronin had to do a double take at the sight. The man was a giant humanoid lion, with bare feet that looked more like thickly clawed paws, big hands that also sported retractable claws, and was wearing a smoky grey suit that matched well with his slate grey eyes. He didn’t carry any weapons that Ronin could see either.
He was surrounded by a pride of lionids. Doing a quick count, Ronin came up with fourteen female lionids dressed in leather straps, and five giant, horse sized, winged lions. Again, he didn’t see any weapons among them, apart from their claws anyway. Many of those around Leo were eyeing his group warily, despite the rules against killing on the ship. Leo either didn’t notice, or didn’t care, because he had eyes only for Ronin’s approaching group.
“Good,” he said with a nod and an extended hand for Ronin to shake. “I was worried you wouldn’t figure out the trick with the growth vats. This will give us an edge over the regular contestants.” Ronin accepted the shake, thankful for his powerfully armored fingers, as he felt the power in the older man’s grip.
“Father,” Ronin said, not slipping up this time. “Have you been here long?”
“Only an hour,” Leo replied, releasing his hand, and turning to Elyria. “Greetings to you as well, lady.” He didn’t crush her hand in his giant paw but lifted it to his lips for a gentle brush with his whiskers, before releasing her as well. “I hope you’ve managed to keep my wayward son on track, since last we met?” One of the lionids behind him, the largest, growled deep in her throat when Leo’s lips touched Elyria’s hand. At the sound, Stone raised her rifle to her shoulder in one fluid motion. Simultaneous glares from both Leo and Ronin had their people settled down quickly. While Elyria smiled and continued the conversation as if nothing had happened.
“Greetings to you, Mr. Dawson.” Elyria said with a curtsy, which looked incredibly out of place to Ronin, but one he had to admit was elegant for a winged woman wearing light armor. “Don’t worry too much about our boy here, he knows what’s expected of him.” She said, straightening back up and giving Ronin a predatory smile. To which Ronin could only sigh in resignation, marveling at how quickly she had diffused the tension.
The three of them exchanged small talk, looking at those around them as the building continued to fill up. Another hour had passed when Fabius and his son Aurex passed them by. Ronin shuddered, looking at the group. Fabius looked like a giant, human crow hybrid and was followed by nineteen men and women that looked just like he did, but his son had gone a different route.
Aurex was covered in black scales. Had claws on his hands and feet, sharp fangs that protruded from his mouth and a pair of antlers jutting from his long black hair. What was even more eye catching than that, was the eighty-foot-long Chinese flood dragon the man was riding. It was covered in black scales just like Aurex, was wingless and had the body of a snake, but stood on four stubby legs. Its head and mouth were abnormally large for the diameter of the body and sported a pair of long whiskers and antlers jutting up in place of horns. Ronin had to wonder how such a thing was even possible, it was way larger than a crystal beetle, but no, it wasn’t larger, just longer. It was long and twisted around like a snake as it moved. Aurex must have used every spare scrap of material that was left after he’d made his own body to form this monster.
They didn’t linger, it looked like the pair was making a round of the entire building, likely to check out the competition. As they passed by Ronin and Leo’s groups, however, they did slow. Fabius looked directly at Leo with as evil a smile as a man with a beak was capable of, while Aurex stared daggers at Ronin with blood red eyes as he rode his black dragon by. Ronin wasn’t sure what he’d done to offend the man, but he hoped they didn’t meet up on earth, because that dragon looked incredibly dangerous.
“You just make friends everywhere you go, don’t you, White flame?” Elyria asked quietly as she too watched the small group walking by. Ronin could only nod as he watched the dragon snaking its way through the gathered people, who moved quickly out of its way. Thankfully, only a few minutes passed, before the lights dimmed, and the same charismatic man, who’d explained the lizard’s approach to them, began speaking through a sound system that filled the entire building. Ronin smiled because it looked like it was time to begin.