Chapter 8

Cpt. Deganhardt /// Earthfall

He smelled smoke, his head felt weighted like he was underwater. His ears rang, and everything felt distorted. He knew this feeling, but he couldn't place it. A scream distorted and reverberated through his skull, and his body twisted slowly as he searched for it. The great bastions with massive anti orbital guns hung overhead, for all their defense the empire broke them with a weapon that poisoned their very planet. Overhead fighters and strike craft dueled around the detonating pods filled with poison. They had fought the empire to a standstill, they were going to win. Until they couldn't. He couldn't see them but the home fleet fought with the damnable carriers far overhead in the void. Even this, even the Convict corps last stand was beaten, it might not happen today, but the war was over, the death around him was simply a closing remark. Another scream, managing to climb to his feet he looked around.

He saw her, through the yellowish smoke, her skin was already melting. Small pocket holes appeared in her cheeks and her eyes. Blood oozing from the wounds. He reached for her his hand grabbing onto her arms as he felt himself calling out for her. Her skin peeled off like a plastic sleeve and her exposed arm sputtered blood. She screamed in pain, tears streaming down her face. A small sliver of a cut began to form down the middle of her chin as she choked out the words “kill me..”

Another crash, sounded from around him as he looked up seeing thousands of burning pods raining down towards their once beautiful sky and bursting with their poisonous payload. His arms twisted and snapped, peeling themselves at the bone. More screaming, not from her, but from thousands of others around him. His brothers, his sisters, all damned and left to die. They would have, but this wasnt quick this was torture. His vision blurred as he felt a fire in his eyes, tears welled up but the poison just dripped down his face. “KILL ME!...” He heard her voice a scream and cry at once. He looked back down, and even with his vision broken and disturbed as it was he could swear her face was twisting like worms moved beneath her skin, blood poured from her form. He pulled out his pistol.

“Little bird, look at me…” he choked his voice phlegm filled and hoarse.

A streak of blood poured from his face onto hers. She looked up at him as best she could.

“Please…” her face filled with torment and pain.

He put his head against hers, his pain indescribable “ i love you little bird… im sorry”

*kra-BANG*

He screamed as his eyes opened, grabbing the pistol hidden under him and fired four shots forward following the recoil.

His mind racing, all six eyes scanning the room. “You're safe, just breathe.” a voice calm and quite whispered from next to him.

He looked down, his wife stared back up at him.

“I thought you were dead…” his mind racing remembering his house bombed out his sons burned to death in their mothers arms and she punctured by massive shrapnel, he held her crying.

“Pyotr, slow down and think, it's ok. Just let reality catch up.” she said her voice never changed pitch or tone.

His heart was pounding, he recognized this room but he couldn't remember it. The offshoot eggshell white, he had seen it before, but where? Why wasn't he on the front, what was going on? All these thoughts raced through his head, as he continued to try and control his heart's insane pace. He started to think back to the war, the earth was long in the past. From the death of his wife and sons, the funeral where his family came to say goodbye, his enlistment, his deployment, the War, Earthfall. These thoughts came back easy enough the sounds and feelings of combat rushed back into him like some dark possession. He remembers now who was lying next to him, not his wife, but an AI.

“Sorry, T” he mumbled

“Its alright, you back?” she asked.

“Yea… mostly, fuck what happened last night”he said his lower right arm reaching up and grabbing his head. A headache was already setting in.

“You want the quick version.” she said, starting to move.

“Yea… heads killing me… egh” he said catching himself before vomiting standing and walking quickly to the bathroom.

“Besides the obvious… we went out, and you got into a fight, scored… something, got drunk and told me we were gonna fuck when we got back, got into another fight, stole two bottles of Irish Malt from the bar, pissed on Yankers while he was passed out, we got fined for it, then you tried calling home again, then you took me back here.” she said over the sound of vomiting

It took him a few more heaves before finishing up, he stood turned on the faucet and started to clean himself. He hated seeing himself but because he needed to make sure he didn't miss anything he waved the mirror on. The news real headlines peeled across the bottom of the mirror in neon teal coloring, and the mirror welcomed him like a damn desktop computer, back on earth. He waved his upper hand across the screen to clear the notifications, looking at himself now, in all his glory.

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Despite knowing the creature staring back at him was well himself, he couldn't help but feel a sense of disgust. His body was covered in short white and blueish hairs, forming a striped pattern. His body now adorned with two new arms, one more natural looking covered by the same short hairs, the other a cybernetic replacement for the deformed monstrosity he was given. His body is covered in segmented chitinous plates, with only small gaps allowing for flexibility. His head looked like a spider without legs, two large mandibles with curved hooked like fangs hanging from either side of where his cheeks once were. Six eyes instead of eight embedded under his curved forehead, allowing him to at least still blink. He began washing himself off, using a cloth and some water to drag away any remains from the night before.

The aberrations a clever last fuck you to the Empire. When high command figured out that the vanguard had requested the unleashing of the Empire super weapon was imminent, they had the lunatics in lab coats cook up a gene sequence that could only activate under the effects of the bio weapon. Different roles got different sequences, pulled from the earth herself different combinations of semi random gene stings based on the natural kingdom. Less than 1% of everyone who was told to remain on earth survived their change, like Pyotrs daughter… their bodies couldn't handle the mutation. Pyotr’s specific upgrade had been given to all pilots who were doomed to remain on earth, and of those only a handful were still alive.

His imposter wife walked in behind him. She took off her panties and shirt, folding them neatly into a small pile. She turned and looked at Pyotr for a moment before placing her hands into slots in the walls he watched as the synth-flesh bubbled and then was suctioned off of her robotic form. The silvery substance peels away to reveal a stark white humanoid robot shape underneath. As she slowly disassembled herself with clicks and whirls. placing legs, arms, and torso into the slots that opened into the wall. Within seconds Pyotr’s internal implants alerted him to her returning to her digital place in his head.

“Welcome back.” he said as he felt her familiar presence warming back up.

“Thanks, hun” she said.

He finishes washing up as he starts looking through headlines from the morning. Absently popping two morphine tablets into his mouth, washing it down with what remains of one of the malts. Walking back out to the main room picking his clothes up off the floor, he began dressing himself while watching the news.

“And in other news officials state that today's attack was the direct cause of the gang known as the wraiths, and state that plans were underway to annihilate the threat once and for all…” Pyotr ejected the thermal clip from his pistol and placed it on the charger.

“Well ill be glad when that's over, the streets may actually feel safe again, ha ha ha, back to you John '' sliding in a new thermal clip, and releasing the slide-catch the pistol snaps close.

Pyotr stood and checked his calendar, noting only one important meeting today that he was about to miss. “ ah shit, shit shit” pyotr murmured to himself as he bolted from the room, the door closing behind him.

He had been making these appointments every few weeks so he knew the route well enough ducking around corners and managing to slip past unaware personnel while maintaining his pace. He dashed between carts and crews shuffling throughout the Last Stop, and bee lined it for the Infirmary. His pace maintained steady despite his condition, in about 10 ish minutes he was standing in front of the infirmary. He took a moment to catch his breath, his heart was surprisingly rhythmic considering his morning.

Stepping inside “good afternoon Mr. Degenhardt, do you have an appointment.” the secretary asked.

“You've been going here every week for what 6 months now? I know its policy but shouldn't she just page him.” the voice in his head chided

“Yea, he back there?” Pyotr asked walking through the door past reception

“Hey wait you….” he didnt stop to hear her finish walking down the hall and entering the office

“Hey doc, how's it hanging?” Pyotr said, greeting the dr.

“Cpt., your late” the Dr. an aberrant himself looked up from his pages of notes.

“Wild night, so where do you want me, the chair?” pyotr said disregarding the remark

“You know you shouldnt be mixing drugs and alcohol and this, for normal people it’d kill them. For us it probably will kill us.” the doctor said reaching up and grabbing an IV bag with his elongated fingers.

The Dr. looked almost human, except for his elongated limbs and ears that were both twisted under the aberration.

“You know what it's like, and i'm dying already, seems kinda pointless to bank on the 1% outcome of this working.” pyotr responded as the doctor prodded along his plates looking for a vein.

The needle slid in and Pyotr felt its steady weight against his skin. “Fine , I won't argue with you, i know how much good that will do…” he turned a dial and the fire entered his veins.

“You know part of me wishes normal Chemo would work cause this shit sucks…” he said, twisting his body to the pain as it flooded his system.

“Me too, upside is because of what i'm giving you normally you would be here most of the day, this is done in 20 minutes.” he looked down at the output readings from Pyotrs internal cybernetics

T took this point to mention that his liver is reporting a slightly modified concoction about 2% less nullskip.

“Yo doc my partners saying…. urghh.. . 2% less nullskip what happened decided to cheap out on me.” Pyotr taunted as the pain came and left in waves.

“ funny, found out you dont need that much as it turns out.” doc said before continuing “if its not too much, you mind letting me get back to my notes, the first wave of second generation abberants are going to be born soon and i have to be tested to be verified as their doctor.”

“second …mm….generation… bullshit” was all pyotr got out

“No its all true you know Herrera, she's pregnant… 4 months I think, and her crews on security until she's back from maternity.” Doc said absent minded as he continued to read.

His arms twisted, forming claw-like shapes as he scratched at his throat. Cancer sucked, was really the only thought that he had. Death sucked was a close second as his vision blurred from the pain.

“Seriously you should listen to him, im worried about you too” T said her voice distorted under the pain.

He blacked out partially, and was woken up a short time later by the Doc. he looked concerned, bust still managed to smile as Pyotr opened his eyes.

“I know you wont listen, but try to take it easy, and get something to eat, anything you can keep down would be good.”

Pyotr rose his entire body aching, the nullskip barely keeping him together.

“Yea ill see what the lounge is serving, thanks doc.” pyotr managed as he stumbled out