Maya figured that judging books by their cover, when it came to the Tarvana, was an acceptable method to figure out who was in charge. She had the Skill Analyze, but as she marched toward the Flesh Army camp it was obvious who the head honchos were.

There were no uniforms, no flags or other symbols that displayed who was a commander and who was cannon fodder. In a world where food was something that didn’t exist naturally, the big boys and girls who towered over their half starved brethren had to be the ones in charge. Limited resources always went to those that were special.

“Damn, they’ve gotta cut back on the steroids,” Maya muttered as they neared the camp. There were a dozen thick necked, super muscular figures that stood in a semi circle awaiting her arrival.

It was a stark contrast from what she had seen in the Whiteclaw Tribe before the old lady bought it. They all had been starving and kinda deformed critters, but these head honcho Tarvana were sleek and symmetrical in a way that the average bottom rung Tarvana weren’t.

Was it Skills or just good food, increases in Physical stats or just their Mama’s touch?

“They are all very high level,” Tender stated. “Not as high as you are, boss, but they’re dedicated combat orientated.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna be a real shitshow when things go sideways,” Maya responded. She felt a sense of calm as she figuratively walked into the lion’s den. Perhaps it was the days of stress, it was all finally coming to a close in this moment. She was ready, she was willing to compromise, and she would be extremely happy to come to some kind of deal.

“Merchant Sullivan,” a voice boomed.

Maya watched as a massive twelve foot tall figure strode forward. It was a definite male as his junk was openly swinging for all to see. Everything else on the figure was covered in armor, not steel or marsani, but leather. As there weren’t any leather producing animals in the RSH, it only had to be made from skin.

“It’s like reverse bikini armor,” Maya muttered.

“I am Deathblade, Chosen High General of the Mother. Bow before our might!’

“Nah,” Maya replied. “I’m here to offer you a deal. Leave and we’ll give you some nice goodies for your troubles here.”

“You speak to the Mother’s Leaders, foolish Merchant,” another figure snarled. This one was female, with an exposed row of teats down her torso. Maya wondered if displaying their genders was a thing among these people, she sure as heck hadn’t seen any indication when she was dealing the Whiteclaw’s tribe back in the day. That old woman had been properly dressed, although cold hearted and arrogant.

“That’s why I’m here to make a deal. I wouldn’t make one with a common foot soldier, now would I?” Maya retorted. Something about the woman gave her a feeling of annoyance, perhaps it was a Skill firing off, but she was bad news.

“Tell us what you will pay in tribute,” Deathblade stated. The others around him made various faces from annoyance, anger, to outright avarice. Maya was glad to see that even the RSH couldn’t change the baser instincts of SIL.

“Let’s rephrase that to an Existence Tax, because that balms my already wounded pride,” Maya said. “Tribute is so ten centuries ago. We’re modern day SIL.” The look of confusion and annoyance crossed many features and Maya was a bit strengthened by that. “We’re in the RSH, where nothing grows and nothing can grow, but I can give you something your society needs. Biomass, flesh, meat, food, water. The influx of biomass into the RSH isn’t all that great, what does arrive is dead, and the RSH does weird things to dead organics. It breaks them down extremely quickly, leaving nothing but a faint whisper of what they once were.

“I’m sure your people have managed to mitigate that, snatching up every bit of biomass that enters this place or even cultivating bacteria or what have you. You’re already supplementing your diets with mana stones, which are abundant here, but don’t you want something tastier?”

“Your flesh will taste sweet when eaten raw,” Row of Teats announced.

“See, this is what I’m offering you,” Maya said, refusing to shudder at the image of being eaten. “Have you ever tried some good ole mana cooking? Its delicious and filling and something you cannot obtain here in the RSH.”

“Flesh is food, we get our mana from the stones and the levels that came from the weak we eat,” Deathblade stated.

“Well, okay, but still. I figure you’ve never had a hankering for something other than the weakest dude in camp who died two days before from malnutrition? I mean, a juicy space whale steak with a hint of spices? That’s a thing, right?” Maya asked Tender.

“There are many recipes and many creatures that can be consumed within the multiverse at large,” Tender replied.

“This is your big pitch?” another figure asked. This one wasn’t wearing reproductive bits exposing clothing, instead he wore a heavy cloak that was made from more leather. It looked hot and uncomfortable, but Maya supposed they had to look the part of some evil army that turned their dead into tight leather. “Offer us food? Sell us on spices and what the multiverse can give us?”

The figure laughed, gaining a look of hatred from Row of Teats.

“I am Black Horizon, high Mage of the Mother,” the figure said. He pulled back his hood to reveal a near skeletal face where scores of tiny ivory bone pierced through his skin. Four yellow eyes glared down at her and when he opened his mouth,, it was filled with rows of sharp teeth.

“Hi, I’m Maya. Nice to meet you.”

“The Mother wished to see whom Bad Blood spoke highly of,” the Mage said. “Such a person who would cause such changes in one of her children, to turn them against all that they’ve been taught.”

“Well, you know kids, they’re rebellious little shits,” Maya remarked. “But it’s good to see Bad Blood speaking highly of me, normally she just glares and causes annoyances. For example, all you people on my front lawn, driving down the real estate value of the area. No one wants to live near cannibals.”

“To turn against the Mother and all she teaches is blasphemy. To embrace the fetid technology of all the other species that exist is evil,” Black Horizon continued, as if Maya hadn’t spoken. “To forgo her promise of Blue Skies is to mock all millions who have died to reach this point, where we stand poise to rule this dimensional plane, Bad Blood will be made to suffer eternal. All those that stand with her, all those that oppose the will of the Mother, they too will know pain like they have never experienced.”

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“I thought we were above threats here,” Maya said. “I see your army, I see your power, and you see mine. Can’t we just have a convo without all the ‘i’m gonna do this to you’ bullshit? I can offer you things, you can go home without losing too many people, and we all live happily ever after. The Mother gets what she needs to grow her population of kiddos, you get better gear and tools, and you can go about defeating the rogue AIs that have been kicking your asses.”

“Why buy, when we can take?” Row of Teats roared.

“Because, it’s civilized and easier,” Maya said. “I get it, you’re a bunch of bad ass warrior people, but even the fucking Mongols traded with others on their downtime. No civilization exists just as a bunch of warriors and soldiers even in the Integrated Mulitverse.”

“The Mother gives all that we need,” Deathblade announced.

“Then why did Bad Blood and five thousand others not of her tribe decided to ditch your awesome lifestyle?” Maya retorted. “Everyone wants to live and no one likes living in fear that they’re gonna be tonight’s main course. I’m offering your entire people an out, a chance to change things for the better.”

“There is nothing wrong with our lives,” Row of Teats snapped.

Maya rolled her eyes. “Says the woman literally wearing the skins of her fellow citizens.”

Row of Teats hissed, hand going for her blade. Deathblade struck her across the face, sending the massive woman sprawling into the ground.

“You speak too much,” Deathblade said to Maya. “We now have the measure of you, Merchant. Deals, it’s all you can offer. Weakness is what you hope to give us. Dependence upon you and your supply. The Tarvana have been in this plane for thousands of years. We have faced every enemy that has appeared and we have grown strong.”

“Cool,” Maya replied. “I guess the talks are over then.”

“Not yet,” Black Horizon said. Black Horizon pulled out a small chest and set it on the ground. He undid a clasp and opened it, revealing a small vial within. “Give us Bad Blood and we shall give you this.”

“So you do know how to do a trade,” Maya said, looking at the vial. “What is it?”

“The cure for what ails you.”

“My aching back from carrying these negotiations?” Maya asked. “But I’m guessing you mean the dimensional poison thingie.”

“Yes.”

“Your mama ain’t the only one in the multiverse who can conjure up bad medicine,” Maya said. “There’s a whole world of alchemist, poisoners, and kinda douchebags that can do the same. They just want credits, not to sully my soul with some kind of Faustian Deal. Keep your vial, I’m not giving up anyone to just save myself. Bad Blood’s a dick, but she’s my dick…uh… I proclaimed that she’s under my protection, so her probs are my probs.”

“This shall be a glorious fight,” Deathblade announced. “One that will empower our people forever.”

“It’s just another Tuesday for me,” Maya said. “See you on the battlefield, I guess.”

“No you won’t.”

“I suppose this is the expected act of betrayal on all of your parts,” Maya said, taking a step back.

“No, this is an act that will show you how much you should fear what we are capable of. This is a show of our might!”

Maya had sen the hundreds of half starved Tarvana that waited at the sides of the meeting area. If that was the sight that would strike fear in her, it was like seeing a mangey dog sitting on a curb in a rundown area of town. Vicious, yes, but also pathetic looking.

Yet, they all suddenly moved with near perfect unison, as if they were robotic and not living begins. Maya watched with confusion, then horror, as each one had a knife in their hand/claws. Without hesitation, they drew the blade across their own necks. Dark blood sprouted from their wounds and one by one they dropped to the floor, dead.

“Oh, shit,” Maya said. “Is… is that supposed to scare me? It just means less Tarvana I have to face.” Maya tried to hold back the reeling horror and disgust from her voice.

No one answered her. Instead Maya began to feel the ground beneath her rumbling, the air grew heavy and she could almost feel the mana that was filling the area.

“Boss, this is bad,” Tender said. “They’re making a mana render.”

“Yosi, it’s time. Emergency transport!” Maya called out, but there was no response.

The air grew thicker and then suddenly as if the air had suddenly ripped open, a vortex appeared. Only darkness appeared from the other side, but then a massive tentacle flopped out, slamming heavily onto the ground.

“Behold!” Black Horizon screamed. ‘Your doom!”

Maya was already running; the minor glimpse of that creature that pulled itself from the render was enough for a lifetime. She had thought she’d seen horrid mutations from mana, but that thing…

“Yosi, get us back. We’ve got company!”

“The render’s interfering with our comms,” Tender stated. He suddenly grabbed her and his speed increased. Maya barely had time to shout before a massive tentacle slammed down where she had once been. She looked over Tender’s shoulder and saw the creature had fully exited and with it, scores of big, muscular Tarvana.

Maya stared with open mouthed horror at the sight, then there was complete blackness.

She was plunged into a void, absolutely black and without sound or sensation. She tried to scream, but nothing exited her mouth. A moment later she wanted to begin screaming as pain tore through her body, every cell that didn’t seem to exist in this place was on fire at the same time it felt as if every molecule of her being was being frozen.

Then she was back within the Cage. She fell from Tender’s grasp and hit the deck, breathing heavily.

“Fuck,” Maya said. “You were right, Bell. Teleportation does suck.”

“You insisted,” Bell remarked, helping her to her feet.

Maya felt weak and sick, but she forced it aside. Bell kept her steady as she staggered across the deck.

“Status,” she demanded.

“We’re-“ Yosi began and then stared at the control panel before her. “Dimensional lock.”

“What? How?”

“That’s not the worst of it,” Yosi said. “They’re tearing open the threshold.”

***

“Well, you wanted them in the Cage,” Chu said.

“Don’t rub it in,” Maya said, massaging her head. The after effects of the teleportation was pretty bad. She felt somewhat sorry for all the people she had teleported into the Cage in the fight at Chimbote.

“It looks like they’ve got dimensional mages of their own,” Asoltolia stated. “We’ve fought against those types, normally they prevent teleportation of Skilled troops, but it seems they’re using it to hold open your door.”

“We’re not going to be able to keep them out for long,” Yosi said. “They’ll batter their way through soon.”

“Well, we’ve been preparing for this,” Chu said. “We know what to do and everyone is already in position.” He paused for a moment. “So that big ass tentacle monster, what is is?”

“It’s a Tier 2 abomination,” Asoltolia said. “It’s all power and destruction, a creature like that could cause major havoc on any planet it was placed on.”

“Great, so we gotta kill it on our own.”

“With about fifty eight thousand other Tarvana to back it up,” Maya said. She got to her feet.

“It wasn’t much of a backstab,” Chu said. “I was think they’d just blow you up with buried explosives and kill you that way. Instead they had a nice little conversation and then suicided a bunch of their own people to pull in that Lovecraftian nightmare of theirs.”

“I guess they have an honor of their own,” Asoltolia stated.

“That’s good,” Chu said. “We’re not fighting against animals.”

“Fuck that,” Maya said. “They want to kill us and I’ll be damned it they succeed. This is my home and I’ll use every filthy dirty trick I can to see that it’s protected.”

***

Black Horizon stared at the threshold that was forming. The other mages were straining and a few had died, but they were succeeding in opening the threshold. A place that existed not in this world, but in another, that was something that had been theorized, but never actually created.

The Mother’s Champion roared into the black sky, it’s thousands of tentacles slamming against the ground in its need to feed and kill, to gain experience.

The sight filled Black Horizon with awe and fear. To release such a creature agains an enemy was rarely done. The Mother only used the Champions against the strongest of foes.

This battle would be a grand one, the mage thought as the threshold opened more and more.