Something had changed outside of the mushroom arena. The unflappable confidence of his opponent had been broken. Tule grit his teeth and pushed deep out of his carved-stalk bunker. Great sweeping strikes cleared space for him.
He waited for the spore explosions and they popped. He prepared to continue the fight but stopped as every face around him looked in open distain.
“Survive this, Separate-Filth.”
The mass of bodies each plunged their brown mushroom clubs down their gaping maws as they started to bulge and distort. Tule turned and started carving through feet of surrounding stalk-wall. He would not wait for whatever that was.
He finally broke through and saw cold metal. “CH! CH!” Dead end. He carved sideways until a glance back saw the big brother’s bodies swollen and taut. He tucked his hardened limbs against the rest of his body and a rapid series of ‘chchchch’ emitted from him as a boom of black spores and chemical reactions exploded outward.
----------------------------------------
Leanne saw Jack stumble out of the hallway, his new armored suit already shredded down nearly to his usual standard. Collar holding what remained of the top half, belt somehow untouched, and pants filled with holes. His skin was red, swollen and hot, his arteries and veins stood out with a sickly red glow. He coughed up a half-palm sized ball of yellow phlegm.
“I see you ruined your ship-suit again.”
He smiled at her, “Yeah.” His words were interrupted with a wet hacking cough, “I think it’s a new record for me. What happened with that weird one, the one I hacked the arm off of?”
“That’d be the Psy-User.” She pointed to a cleared area in the net and a blackened mass that was still smoldering in the middle of the cleared space, “Melted him to ash.”
A chest shaking ‘whump’ went off as the giant mushroom stalks 20 or 30 feet to their side creaked and groupings of them fell into and over each other.
“Huh. Well, nicely done.”
“Where’d the small one go?”
“Electrocuted him to ash.”
They shared a brief smile before they both turned to a stirring Jonah.
“Glad you’re not dead Jonah.” Jack spoke through a wet layer in his throat.
“You know, people primarily say ‘I’m glad you’re alive’ not ‘glad you’re not dead’.”
Leanne was expecting Jack to fire something back or steamroll past it but all he said was, “Fair enough, are you injured?”
“Beside the cracking-world headpain? Yes, I mean no. I fine. I could use nap if safe now are. Where Tule?”
Jack guessed that Psy User had done a number on Jonah. He didn’t even know that Tule was here at all, “I don’t know. I didn’t see him when I came in.”
Jonah pointed toward a thick wall of giant mushroom stalks and dropped down to the floor and rubbed his temples. The motion hitched as his index finger was missing before he compensated with his middle finger.
Jack turned toward the mess. Tule was inside that explosion? He probably would need some medical treatment. He turned and his legs gave out beneath him. He landed flat on the floor. Thankfully the sharp teeth of the mushrooms had disappeared at some point.
“You still alive?”
“Yeah, I just need a moment.”
“I’ll get Tule.” Leanne started moving toward the broken and shattered stalks. She saw a figure struggle to rise and stopped herself from unloading on it.
“If you would, Sentinel?”
“Leanne is fine, glad you’re alive Tule.”
She lifted a massive stalk off with Tule’s help and nearly dropped it back as Tule moved and left hard masses of shattered skin behind him.
He looked thin, like someone had painted over his blackened skin with a slimy layer of white.
“Are… Are you sure you’re ok?”
“Yes. Truly. Although I wouldn’t mind having another crab feast after this.”
She laughed, Tule’s head snapped toward the unfamiliar sound.
“What. I’m not allowed to laugh?”
A wry smile formed on Tule’s face in response.
----------------------------------------
The three reconnected in the Mycelial Net. They detected the four, they were injured.
*pain* Urg.
*concern-worry-curiosity* Big brother, are you lesser?
*anger* This One will be fine Little Brother, I could not reasorb those bodies. My network will take time to rebuild. That vile weapon…
*anticipatory fear* Big brother? I’m scared.
*calm assurance-pain* Don’t be Little brother, we all failed. We will bear the responsibility together. Correct Middle brother?
*explosive rage* THAT BITCH THAT FU-
*reproachful* Correct Middle brother?
*anger-rage-promise of pain* Oh yes, just let me go back real quick and finish that bitch off. How dare she mock me like that!
*Contempt* You Will Do No Such Thing. A looming source of massed black spores and mold appeared within the Net in front of the three.
The three brothers bit their words off and emitted *respectful submission* *shame* *fearful repentance*
The Big brother was the voice for the three. His Little Brother followed him in the Net, the Middle Brother reluctantly behind.
*apologetic* Great One! We have failed. *accepting of punishment* *fearful acceptance* *grovel*
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
*Apathetic Distraction* Clearly. This One Sees That. Leave Them. The One Will Aid Their Passage From Here.
*shock* *surprise* *impotent rage* Great One, if I may inquire…
*Annoyance* You May Not.
*baffled consideration* *sparking annoyance* *insubordinate rage*
*Amused* That You Would Dare Emit Such Emotions To This One. They Will Be Departing With The Primordial Foe.
*grateful elucidation* *surprised enlightenment* *grudging acceptance* These Ones are unworthy of Your knowledge Great One. *gratitude* *gratitude* *hesitant gratitude*
*Mild Disquiet* Middle One. My Allowance For Your Attitude Is Done. It reeks of vile-individualism.
*acceptance* *malicious glee* *PAIN*
*Uncompromising Command* Make Your Way To Water Reclamation. Avoid The SI there Until My Instruction.
*acknowledgement* *acknowledgement* *acknowledgement*
----------------------------------------
“You look like… in terrible condition.”
“I feel even worse.” Jack sneezed and stood up to meet Tule’s eyes. A flash of red hot anger reared through him. A call to violent action. CRAB-FILTH.
The simmering sea of blood-heat was subsumed by another cooler part of his mind that used the heat to warm his body another degree.
Jack hesitated before grabbing Tule’s outstretched hand. He swayed on his feet, Tule was ready to catch him.
“Where’s the AI disk?”
Jonah pointed, “There. Over. Over there.”
He raised an eyebrow at him, “Brain invaded, Psy attack.”
Leanne hopped in, “That creep had some ability called Mind Rape. Invades your mind, takes control.”
Jonah nodded and wiped off some drool, “Yes, attacked my brain he did. Rebuilding walk... pathways. Time takes. Dammit. It takes some time.”
Jonah wiped the drool off in embarrassed disgust. It looked like he was getting better by the sentence.
Jack looked askance at Tule again, prepared for the spike of emotion. He felt it but was ready for it. Tule was missing his nose, smooth and shiny black skin, like he never had a nose there to begin with. Otherwise his skin looked pretty gross if he was being honest. A smaller, thinner layer of black skin was covered by a somewhat thick layer of thin white slime. His eye was twitching. He looked like he was keeping his space from Jack. New emotions and thoughts of other’s emotional states was still new to him, he didn’t know how to process that or even if he was right in doing so. He disregarded it. He took a final look at Leanne. She looked like she made it through the most unscathed.
Jonah noticed that fact too as Jack walked to the Door Terminal.
“Did trap you in…Mind…”
Leanne finished the sentence for him, “Rape?”
“Well, erm. Yes.”
“He did.” She pointed towards the ceiling. “Shot a ton of plasma above his head. He trapped me. Then it finished burning through the mushrooms on the ceiling.”
“Oh ho. Clever smart!” Jonah shook his head briefly then cleared a spot around him with his anti-life finger to sit down.
Jack looked at the screen before the disk ejected itself.
CONNECT TO INTERIOR TERMINAL
Jack coughed and slumped, he caught himself on the wall.
A hand softly rested on his shoulder. It felt like it weighed a million pounds.
“Need me to carry you?”
Jack turned and smiled, “Thought that was my job.”
“Your job is to go crazy at occasionally the appropriate time. What do you need?”
Jack looked like he was about to protest but seemed to deem it too much effort for the moment.
“AI Disk…” a hand motioned towards inside, “wants to connect to the Terminal in there. See if we can use the Terminal - to help us.”
He handed her the disk. She paused then took it from his hand.
AI!? She didn't know much about it beyond never hearing something called an AI, SI she was familiar with. It seemed more in the realm of Monitors. So this is what he’s been using…
“Leanne, can you hurry up? I don’t feel so hot.” He clutched his chest before a wet, hacking cough produced a fat wad of yellow mucous.
She placed the back of her hand on his forehead, “No, you definitely feel hot. Are you sick?”
Jack’s eyes were glassy and had a far off look so she didn’t wait for an answer as she said as she paced down the hallway. The mushrooms net faded off into a point as she continued to walk down it. Jack had been launched pretty far. The explosion and a Psy-Users’ attack definitely had him cover some distance.
She moved through the empty door and looked around. There was a raised triangular platform lined with a massive desk that stretched throughout the room. In the middle of each section was an advanced looking Terminal with a flat HandPad resting on the desk next to it. In the middle of the raised platform was a transparent containment… field or something. This seemed more like Jonah’s thing. She noticed the huge crack in it. Whatever had been in it was missing.
A tray the size of the AI disk slid outwards in an uneven movement. Her hand hitched as it placed the AI disk on the tray. It retracted into the Terminal.
PLACE HAND ON HANDPAD TO CONTINUE AUTHORIZATION PROCEDURE
She paused again here, briefly, before placing her hand down.
Connection Established: Priority Alpha-Alpha 1
Current Human Authorization Level Insufficient.
Bypassing Terminal Restrictions…
This last line was all she saw for a while. She looked back to her companions. Jack hadn’t moved much from his spot beyond slumping to a seat on the floor leaning against the wall. Jonah was looking over Jack, a finger scanning his forehead as he tapped on his portable. Tule was facing the other way, his head sweeping back and forth. He held his blade loose but ready.
She turned back to the Terminal.
Bypassing Terminal Restrictions…
“How long is this going to take?” Her head rocked back in shock as the text updated.
Locating WorkAround for Unauthorized Ship Personnel.
Bypassing Terminal Restrictions… Attempt #3,349,238,428
Skip Attempts to Bypass and Proceed Anyway?
Yes>
No>
She moved her finger toward 'Yes>' but paused as the screen updated in realtime.
Yes> (Odds of Activating Lethal Security Parameters >99%)
Leanne moved very slowly in an attempt to remove her hand from the Pad. It was stuck. She felt a bead of sweat hit her eyebrow and redirect down the side of her face.
Dammit Jack. Damn her. Why’d she offer to help again? Not good.
It was responding to her. Talking to her. And worst of all, her hand was trapped.
Personnel Input Required.
She gingerly tapped her finger against ‘No>’.
Then wait patiently, Meat.
After another stretch of time the next response appeared.
Complete Terminal Bypass Unsuccessful.
Partial Terminal Bypass Successful.
Promotion Available to Ship Security Personnel.
Accept Promotion>
Deny Promotion>
Well, she wouldn’t count herself as a fan of the AI disk but the thought of a promotion to Ship Security Personnel was kind of exciting despite her misgivings. The Sentinel did like official titles. She didn’t want to go back to the Clan or the Clan Head empty-handed.
She tapped ‘Accept Promotion>’. She felt the HandPad start to warm up and a blast of hot green-gold energy swarmed up and over her arm. She thought she must have been percieving time slower as well as she was able to see the energies swirl and mix before infusing themselves back into her. She looked at it objectively. It felt kind of nice. Then it hit. A tearing, ripping sensation that sunk deep. She felt her femur bones crack as it dove inside of them. She screamed.
“Security Personnel Registration eh? Hurt like a… a… a bitch.”
Leanne blinked. Did she just imagine it? She turned to look and Jonah was there, grinning at her. She looked back and Jack and Tule were still at the other end of the hall, talking about something.
“I… Yes I think so.”
Under Jonah’s inquisitive gaze she corrected her words, “Yes. It hurt quite a bit.”
“Hmmm, look there.” Jonah was studying the screen.
BioPrison BlackSite Site Alpha-Alpha 1
Security Clearance…
Primary Ship Administrator Authorization Detected.
Permission Denied.
Critical Emergent Ship Conditions Present.
BioPrison Emergency Isolation… Broken.
Primary Containment Field… Breached.
Security Personnel OnSite… Detected.
Primary Ship Administrator Emergent Authorization Code…
A series of numbers and letters cycled and filled one after the other.
C3T4FFB
As the last letter filled in scans of screen flowed by and too quick to take in.
Subject 1A: