23:35, January 21st, 2135
“We are ready for teleportation.” Ali’s voice said over the radio.
“We’re all set up.” Elara confirmed, her sniper rifle resting on the balcony of a seat on the second level.
Kayden took a final moment to look around. In the disarray of the queen’s death, Ali sprinted into the arena before immediately beginning to work on the Voidborn transmitter. The rest of the squad soon joined them, destroying cocoons and taking up defensive positions all around the building. Somewhat counterintuitively, their rifles faced inwards at the device rather than outwards at the hordes of manic Voidborn currently rampaging unchecked across the planet.
“Don’t worry.” Dawn reassured him, sensing his hesitation. “If one of her bodies comes through while you’re gone, we’ve got enough firepower set up to take her out. She’ll be slimed, shocked, and shot dead before she knows what hit her.”
Glancing back at the row of Vrul troopers setting up slime cannons and what looked like a Tesla coil, Kayden realized she was right and that he was delaying the inevitable. With a final wave he moved next to Ali, taking her proffered hand and squeezing it.
“Be back before you know-ohshit!” He shouted as they began their teleportation across the galaxy.
It was the strangest sensation in Kayden’s life – and that was saying something, given how he’d been through everything from genetic modifications to neural link overloads. Unlike jumping to hyperspace there was no whirling colors – only complete darkness and intense pressure on all sides followed by a sudden rush of sensory inputs as they appeared on the other side. The metallic tang of blood filled his mouth as he fell to his knees, dizzy from the transport.
[“Are you alright?”] Ali asked, seemingly no worse for wear.
Rather than responding right away, Kayden took several deep breaths through his nose. He did his best to focus on the black tiled floor in front of him, steadying himself enough to stand. When he did he saw that the ceiling was similarly adorned, with the walls being made of white tile that was dotted with windows.
Is the air breathable? He asked.
[“Yes.”]
Retracting his helmet he spat blood onto the ground. Good. Holy shit that sucked.
[“It is interesting that you use that adjective.”] Ali began as Kayden continued to get his bearings. [“The technology is fascinating. It uses a negative mass converter to create an area of subspatial low-pressure, causing the user to be ‘sucked’ to their destination. It is similar to-”]
Ali? Kayden interrupted.
[“Yes?”]
Thanks. He finished, putting a hand on her waist.
[“For what?”] She replied coyly with a smile.
I know you’re trying to lighten my mood and distract me. He straightened his back before levelling his rifle. I’m ready now.
[“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”] She replied cheekily while the emotions that leaked through their shared neural link told a different story. [“I am detecting a strong power source ahead. Please follow me.”]
Together they began to walk down the long, sterile-looking hallway. They made it to the nearest window before Kayden did a double take, stopping as he looked back. His eyes went wide and his palms began to sweat before turning to Ali.
There’s no way that’s real, right?
[“I believe it is real.”] She replied softly.
Suspended in the inky blackness of space Kayden could see the milky way. They were close enough to it that it filled most of the two-meter window, but far enough away that they could see the entire spinning disk. Kayden wracked his brain for a moment, trying to remember where the Earth would be but without a point of reference he was hopelessly lost and soon gave up.
We’re a long way from home. Kayden said, shaking his head.
[“Several hundred thousand light years away.”] Ali replied. [“Far further than any other human before this.”]
The sound of dozens of skittering feet jolted them out of their moment of quiet reflection and back into the present. Kayden whirled around to see the front ranks of a group of quadrupeds racing down the corridor towards them, their jaws hanging open and spittle flying everywhere. He sighted the first few and fired controlled bursts into them, bringing them down as Ali stepped up next to him.
[“Save your ammunition. Please, allow me.”] She said smoothly as she plucked a grenade from her belt and casually tossed it at the oncoming horde.
The device exploded just in front of the creatures, covering them in a fine white powder. Kayden grinned as he saw them melt before reaching them, the closest one falling to the ground more than 10 meters away. He peered down the hallway to see several more cockroach creatures try to fly through only to disintegrate as they did.
[“The queen hasn’t had time to make more troops who are immune to the virus yet.”] Ali said, adjusting the remaining grenades on her belt.
‘Yet’ being the operative word there. Kayden replied. Let’s get moving before she does.
They started off in the opposite direction again – this time at a light jog. Ali led them unerringly through a series of winding corridors, some of which had frosted glass sliding doors in them or more windows showing the universe outside. The deeper they moved into the station the more frequently they crossed paths with patrols – all of which were quickly dealt with using Ali’s grenades.
[“In here.”] Ali said finally, pressing her palm against a nondescript frosted glass door.
To their surprise, it opened at her touch. They looked at each other before slipping inside, neither of them willing to question their good fortune. Kayden quickly summoned his nanobots to seal the door behind them as Ali ventured further, determined to find the power source in the room. When Kayden finally finished he whistled lowly.
Just when I thought nothing else here could surprise me. He ‘said’ to Ali.
The wall immediately to their left led to a floor-to-ceiling window ahead of them – one which showed the side of the station not facing their solar system. To Kayden’s surprise he immediately noticed that the station was an enormous circle built around what looked like an artificial sun with thousands of dark spots in front of it. His sense of dread increased when he saw that the dark spots were ships, and there were far more of them than even he anticipated.
Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands. He thought to himself as he neared the window, seeing ships floating in every direction.
At one end of the enormous circle Kayden could see a purple light shining almost as brightly as the nearby sun. The light looked suspiciously similar to the one around the artifact on Earth. A theory began to form as to its purpose – one which solidified as he saw several small ships drift closer to the artifact before disappearing.
[“Yes. That appears to be an identical artifact.”] Ali said. [“Moreover, the queen appears to already have a new body in control of her forces – one which is on Earth. She is sending yet more forces through.”]
Kayden furrowed his brow. I guess she has some control over where her body or ships appear. It wouldn’t do her much good if the ships materialized on the ground.
[“So it would seem.”] Ali agreed distractedly.
Eager to see what had captured her attention, Kayden turned to his right to receive his second surprise. Along the wall was a set of workstations, beyond which was a glass wall that gave a view into a large chamber. He moved closer to see that the chamber housed what looked like hundreds of green human-sized tubes – ones which he didn’t have to work too hard to guess the purpose of. His gaze drifted over to Ali only to see she’d already inserted a control cable into one of the workstations. Her eyes were closed and her face showed a mixture of frustration and concentration.
Are those her spare bodies? Kayden asked.
[“Some of them, yes.”] Ali replied.
Some?
[“It would appear that there are 11 more of these labs, spread across the station. Each lab is locked down such that it cannot be accessed remotely, preventing the sort of sabotage we are currently attempting. Moreover, I believe there are more bodies kept in cold storage in several well-defended rooms.”]
We don’t have time to visit 11 more labs. Kayden stated the obvious. Nor do we have enough explosives to blow them up.
[“Yes. Which is why I have another idea. One which may make you feel uncomfortable.”]
What is it? Kayden asked hesitantly.
When her next body dies, we capture the signal and put it into my body instead.
Kayden’s heart skipped several beats before replying out loud. “You want to do what?”
Ali’s eyes opened and she replied. “If we trap her consciousness in this body, we can destroy it. Given that I lack the necessary equipment to send the control signal activating a new body, this would effectively kill her.”
“Ali, you’re asking me to kill you.” Kayden replied hoarsely.
“You misunderstand. For a short time, both of us will exist within this body before I-” she stopped abruptly. “There isn’t time. The signal is being sent! It’s your decision!”
“Fuck!” Kayden shouted before nodding. “Do it, I trust you!”
Ali nodded before closing her eyes again. She kneeled on the cold floor, her heels tucked against her butt as she folded her hands demurely in front of her. The cable connecting her to the workstation drew taut when she suddenly twitched, her arms beginning to shake violently.
Concerned, Kayden leapt behind her and placed both hands on her shoulders to control her convulsing. Her synthetic skin bulged and she cried out in pain before throwing herself face-first onto the floor. He moved to pick her back up but stopped suddenly when one of her legs swung around at an impossible angle, kicking him in the face hard enough to crack his armour.
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[“SHE IS HERE!”] Ali cried out to him.
What do I do? Kayden replied frantically.
Suddenly, the convulsions stopped. Ali’s body lay still for a few long moments before her electric blue eyes opened softly. They darted back and forth for a moment, seemingly getting her bearings before she rolled halfway onto her back and looked at him.
“Kayden?” She asked softly.
“Are you okay Ali?” He replied.
She finished rolling onto her back before flexing her fingers in and out. She experimentally tested her limbs one by one: rolling her neck, sitting up slowly, rotating her arms, then flexing her legs. Finally, she nodded to him and offered him a toothy smile. “I believe so.”
“What happened?” Kayden asked, still tense from Ali’s last request.
“She tried to take over this body, but I defeated her.”
“So all that talk about me needing to destroying this body-”
“Completely unnecessary.” She cut him off. “We should return to Earth as soon as possible though.”
Something about the way she moved and spoke seemed stiff and unnatural, making him hesitate. “Just out of curiosity, what was your plan? And why didn’t we need to go through with it?”
“Kayden please!” She asked, her eyes frantic. “I’ll explain everything once we get back! Let’s just go home!”
“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Kayden said, stepping back and levelling his rifle at her all-too-familiar face with a grimace. “This is your only chance to prove it’s really you. What’s my middle name?”
Ali’s body sneered before launching herself off the ground at him. Kayden hesitated for only a fraction of a second, pulling the trigger and jumping backwards as he did. His barrage caught her in the shoulder and shredded her armour, but his reluctance to shoot his girlfriend’s possessed body ended up costing him. Her fist connected with the side of his face, throwing his rifle out to the side. He tried to adjust his aim but she was ready, slapping the rifle from his hands with one powerful strike.
Instinctively he tried to call upon his nanobots and drones to finish the job, but they stubbornly refused to listen to his commands. She stepped in closer, deflecting a wild haymaker from his biological arm before hammering it with her metallic one, breaking it at the elbow. He gritted his teeth through the pain and tried to strike her with his metallic arm in response only for it to suddenly drop and hang limply at his side.
“You put far too much trust into your neural link with her.”
The sound of the queen’s voice coming out of Ali’s mouth was jarring. Kayden had very little time to think about it though, because she followed up her statement with a full-bodied tackle to his midsection that sent him flying across the room. He landed against the far metallic wall with a deep thud before groaning in pain.
“You routed everything through her – your nanobots, your genetic powers, all of it. I can even turn down your basic biological functions now!”
As if to prove the point, Kayden felt his body become heavy. It took all the strength he had not to collapse onto the floor in front of him. He did his best to block out the pain currently wracking his body as he desperately tried to search for a solution.
“It’s a…primitive form, to be certain.” The queen continued, inspecting Ali’s bullet-marked shoulder and arm. “But it will serve its purpose for now.”
“Stop talking and finish it.” Kayden managed to grunt out.
“Oh, but this is so much more fun! After all the pain you’ve caused me, I think it’s only fair that I cause you some in return.” She said, sauntering closer to him with a slight limp. “This is going to hurt you far more than it will hurt me.”
Thankfully for him, Kayden never found out what she had in mind. The queen was interrupted when a figure burst through the glass wall above the workstations, faster than Kayden could track. The room was suddenly filled with the sound of screeching and yelling as the blurry silver creature bodily threw Ali’s already-damaged body around the room, easily tearing it limb from limb. Even as they fought though, Kayden’s vision started to grey around the edges and his breathing became difficult.
Suddenly, Kayden saw Ali’s torso thrown onto the ground in front of him. His apparent saviour connected a control cable to the neural link on the back of her neck just as his vision went black and he slumped onto the ground. In that moment his heart was filled with regret: at not having finished the job, at leaving the women he loved to fend for themselves, and at possibly having doomed the universe to serve under the queen.
As if by divine intervention, his eyes shot back open a moment later. The fog of death lifted and he looked up to see Ali’s electric blue eyes boring into his, concern etched across her face. He immediately tried to roll away but she held him firm and shook her head before speaking in her familiar voice – all traces of the queen’s influence gone.
[“It’s me, Kayden. Your middle name is John, even if you like to insist that it’s ‘Careful’.”]
He stopped suddenly before furrowing his brow. His eyes slowly moved away from Ali towards a decapitated head that she held in one hand – one that looked like it belonged on her shoulders. Shaking his head he narrowed his eyes at his saviour.
I’m going to need a lot more reassurance than that. He replied mentally, testing their neural link.
[“When the queen was trapped in my body I used the lab to create a new one. I originally wanted to transfer our link to the new one before the queen arrived, but there wasn’t time.”]
And there wasn’t time to explain the plan either I guess? Kayden asked.
[“Yes. We had no time to react. I’m sorry.”] She replied, feelings of shame and embarrassment leaking through their link.
Kayden reached up and clasped one of her hands in his. No need to be sorry. Did we win?
[“In short, yes. I can give you the longer explanation on the way home.”]
I’m not exactly in a state to be walking. Kayden replied, looking down at his many broken bones.
[“Not to worry. I will carry you.”] Ali replied, scooping him up under her arms.
As she did, Kayden took a moment to admire her new body. Her face looked identical to the one she wore before, right down to the strands of silver hair she chose to cover her head. Her nanobot-created armour hugged her curves a little tighter than it did before, but what caught his eye were the metallic silver wings that now stretched out from her back. Unlike the queen’s old wings they were neither spindly nor pointed – instead they were made of what looked like metallic feathers, and when one of them brushed against his face gently he realized they were soft.
You look like my own personal angel. Kayden chuckled.
[“While unintentional, I will happily play the part of your divine rescuer.”] She replied cheekily.
I think I like your new body. Kayden asked with a smirk.
[“I am glad.”] She replied as she easily lifted him. [“The wings can become rigid and form a shield. I also developed high-density muscles beneath, so that I can smoothly lift loads up to-”]
Wait, muscles? Kayden interrupted. I thought your synthetic skin was mostly surface-layer.
[“That is no longer true.”] She replied, happiness and excitement flooding their link as she carried him out of the lab. [“This body is equal parts organic and mechanical.”]
You… achieved synthesis. Kayden slowly realized.
[“Yes.”]
“Holy shit!” Kayden said aloud before realizing his jaw was broken. I’m so proud of you!
[“Thank you Kayden. That means everything to me, and there is no way I could have done it without you. I love you.”]
I love you too. Kayden replied happily before realizing they were walking through the halls of the space station. Should we be worried about Voidborn ambushing us?
[“No. I have sent them to other areas of the ship until we decide what to do with them.”]
Kayden took a full 5 seconds to process this. What do you mean you sent them?
[“When I took control of this body, I also took control of the Voidborn from the queen.”]
You’re…the new queen?
[“Effectively, yes. I have ordered the Voidborn forces around Earth into a full retreat, and am sending a message of unconditional surrender on all channels.”]
That’s going to make cleaning up these creatures a lot easier. Kayden mused.
[“I fear that’s not the case. Kayden… I can hear their individual voices in my mind. Billions and billions of them. Their individual consciousnesses still exist.”]
Holy shit. Kayden replied, reeling from the repeated revelations. Can they be returned to their own bodies? Can we restore the people who were transformed?
[“Not as they were, no. However, with hard work and assistance from the Kel, the Vrul, and my…’sister’, I believe we can return their individuality.”]
Your sister…Kayden started. Ah. The AI you recovered on the Vrul ship.
[“Precisely. The transfer process will likely require both of us, so it is fortunate we chose not to destroy her. Together, we may even be able to restore parts of Voidborn bodies to make them appear closer to their original state. However, they will never be 100% human again. They will be something else, something new.”]
Kayden leaned his head against his android girlfriend. I don’t think I’m ready to deal with the implications of that right now.
[“I agree. Rest, Kayden. You are in good hands, and I will guide us safely back home.”]