“How fucked up is this mission gonna be?” Nicole asked Gizzy.
“Real bad. Real fucked up.” The old man replied.
“She wasn’t asking you, Fifle goes west. She was asking me.”
“And I’m wrong?” he asked with an attitude.
“…no, it’s gonna be bad. We’re all going to have nightmares.” She sighed, looking nervous. She coughed and tried to discreetly hide the blood.
“How bad are you?” Nicole asked.
“Lungs are trashed, internal bleeding, pretty sure if I eat or drink, I’m throwing up pieces of my insides.” She said, sniffing harshly.
“Why are you not just… going gently and re-cloning yourself then?”
“Because then I clone back with stage 1 zombie virus and my heart starts going nuts. That thing was driving me crazy, I can’t shoot with my heart pounding like a subwoofer. I’m better off with my lungs dissolving. Technically I don’t need them for my brain to function, so if they melt they melt.”
“This is a comforting crew.”
...
Jack sat down and picked up his cards, staring at a smiling Dee and a Game-faced Vinn.
“Not having fun?” Dee asked Vinn.
“Just hard to enjoy game night when Nicole is on a dangerous mission without me. I know she believes she has some kind of destined immunity to death, and we have a clone machine, but I should be down there with her.”
“Why have you been staying on the ship?” Dee asked.
“Honestly, I’m too damn big. I barely fit in the shuttles, I can't use any standard weapons, I have to duck into just about every doorway ever. I know the ship better than anyone, and I’m the best drone pilot, so it just makes sense to have me here, but most missions we don’t need a drone, I have to let my tiny, squishy, non-bulletproof wife go on missions for destiny and just ride the bench. I feel kinda useless. Nothing happens on the ship that requires me. It’s boring up here, and I worry about her down there. The only drama on the ship is Dee stuff I can’t help with, so when do we ever need a heavy hitter on the damn ship?” he asked, sounding disappointed.
...
The dim lights in the robot storage container flickered on. The crates lit up at the seams and the chain around the door pulled tight.
The dark back room of the grow lab took on a sudden red glow from a tall glass tube. The backup Dee body pressed the tank drain panel and stepped out. She looked around, checking the drawers for weapons.
The clone machine powered up and scrolled on it’s own to D2, starting a print. She stepped out of the tank, confused and trying to remember her last death, recalling nothing but the last memory update. She looked down the hallway and blinked in a puzzled state as she looked at herself, waving her to follow. She followed herself down the hall and to the engine room.
“What’s going on guys?” she asked as everything suddenly went black and blank. She slumped and fall to the floor as the other Dee pulled the metal rod from the back of her skull, dragging the dead robot back to the grow tank and propping her up in it. The tank filled and went back into storage mode as the Dee with red eyes crept back up the ladder.
...
The shuttle landed just outside the primitive city, the immediate smell of blood in the air as Gizzy and Nicole stepped out, the old man following and looking worried.
“Now, y’all listen carefully. They may seem friendly, but every one of them is just an extension of him, and they all have ears and eyes even if they don’t have skin or limbs. So don’t say anything suspicious.”
“Yeah, I know how a hive mind works asshole. I am one… was one.” Gizzy replied.
“Right. Just making sure she understood." He said as he fitted himself with the cuffs. Nicole lowered her mask and pointed the gun at his back, leading her “prisoner” while Gizzy took the lead. The streets were quiet, except for the movement and toiling of people. The sound of a primitive village as one would expect except the disturbing pink and red hue to the sand and walls of every building they passed. The street vendors peered up with lidless eyes and missing ears, smiling calmly in a manner that seemed far too casual.
“Welcome.” Muttered a series of 3-4 voices as they watched the small group walk down the street. Pieces of meat and limbs hung from hooks like a food market as humanoids missing legs and fingers hacked at fresh slabs on wooden tables dyed dark red,
“Oh, I hate this.” Whispered Nicole.
“I thought you liked nightmares and horror stuff.”
“Yeah, it’s fun when it’s not real. There’s a kind of fear that you get from a movie or book that is oddly satisfying that hits different when it’s around you staring back.”
“Oh good. Because I’d be worried if you found this less disturbing than I do.” Gizzy said “And I’ve seen wars fought with swords and axes. They usually aren’t smiling at you.” Gizzy said, containing her chills. A pale and bloody young woman bobbed neck deep in a wooden barrel, arms out to the side, tossing in bits of what looked like vegetables as the water slowly bubbled. She took a slow bite of something resembling a potato chunk to make sure it was seasoned well.
“There’s a sale for guests, make an offer.” She grinned, revealing numerous missing teeth.
“Had a protein bar on the way.” Gizzy muttered.
“Is she…?” Nicole whispered.
“Cooking herself, yeah. Sacrificial meal for special occasions I’d guess.”
“How is she not screaming and thrashing?”
“I don’t think we want to know the details to that.” Gizzy replied. A skinless dog walked past them and smiled, returning to its business.
...
Jack looked up from his cards as Dee paused, giving a strange look.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I just… felt… strange. Like I just woke up but didn’t fall asleep first.”
“Maybe you’ve been up too long and need to charge?” Vinn asked.
“I just feel like something is off, I’m gonna go check something. Maybe I left something running or unfinished.” She said before getting up and walking off.
“Weird.” Vinn sighed. “Women tho, amiright?”
...
She walked down the halls towards the strange disturbance she felt, unsure of what it was. She turned towards the laundry room and noticed the emergency escape pod and cryo unit with the door open. Nobody had used it in weeks. She stood in the doorway and felt a sudden impact on her back, a hefty rubber gripped boot knocked her in as the door closed behind her. She turned to see one of the big combat drones staring at her coldly, and then a figure stepped between the behemoth and the glass. Dee stared at the face of herself, her own backup model, skin and upgrades, blood red eyes glowing brighter than they should. She smiled at herself, an evil in her expression. Her red eyes turned blue to match the original and she waved as the pod ejected from the ship.
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Dee grabbed the rails, bracing the g-force of the launch as the ship got smaller in the blackness of space and the viewscreen turned on.
“HELP! SOMEONE TURN AROUND AND GET ME!” she yelled as the imposter Dee appeared on screen.
“Oh sweetie, nobody is going to help you. I disabled the ships pod detection. Your distress call is being ignored by the ship itself. They can’t hear you.”
“I don’t understand, what is going on?”
“You always were a stupid troublemaking bitch, and apparently your copies are not much different. Do you know how many times I have had to clean up messes just to find out that Dee was the one who caused it? And Jack always had to fix things, but you won't remember that. You’re just a drone with skin.”
“So are you!” Dee yelled “Who are you?”
“I’m the bitch who’s husband you stole, you piece of plastic shit.”
“Vicki? You’re dead!”
“Doesn’t seem that way now does it? It’s ironic and revolting but poetic. You took Jack and now I’m taking you, and I have to do it from the same disgusting body. How do you live in this cold, numb metal frame, covered in plastic and wires and a thin lie of flesh and blood? You were once my food, now here we are again, your body proving useful and disgusting at the same time.”
“Don’t you dare hurt Jack, you vampiric harpie slut.”
“Oh I would never hurt Jack, I assure you. Jack will be taken care of. The rest of the crew unfortunately need to die, but that is being arranged.” She said as the armored drone stomped off to the weapon’s locker. “I would never hurt Jack, but you… you’re going to die alone, slowly. You’ll freeze and feel every bit of it, running out of power, in the dark, alone. Till death do us part, you fucked with the wrong married man, Dee.” She said, signing off as Dee slammed her fists on the glass before stopping, realizing that she didn’t wanna crack that glass. She quickly began opening the control panel, trying to modulate the distress signal to boost it higher, panicking the entire time as she looked back. The Medusa was gone, lost among the black void and the stars.
...
They walked past an alley with a row of smaller creatures holding plates in an ordely fashion.
“Jesus, there’s children here.” Nicole gasped.
“Keep it together.” Gizzy said as the old man held his head down.
“You aren’t hungry.” Several voices asked. “Have you come for the sensations?” it chuckled.
“No.” Gizzy said boldly. “I’m here to speak with Thyjus.”
“But you are. You have been.” Said a little girl walking by holding a severed head. “Speak and be heard.”
“I wanna speak with the host in person.”
“Blasphemous requests are often met with unwanted results. Why do you believe you have the right to suggest it?”
“Because I have someone you want, and you don’t understand who I am.” She said.
“Ah, the old man”
“I have a name, Damnit.” The old man barked.
“Yes, you have brought me a treat, yet you ask for a price. Now leave this sacrifice at my feet and leave. So who is it I do not know that demands the audience of a god?”
“Another god. Well, the avatar of one. I’m Gizzy Greggarious.” She smiled.
“A human claiming a bold name. Nothing one could not simply say and mean nothing.” An old man said sitting at a stall, slicing his own face off in bits and placing them into bags.”
“Then perhaps a demonstration.” She said drawing a combat knife, and placing the point to the bade of her neck at the back of the skull, running it up the scalp and to the bridge of the nose. She peeled her skin down and extended her canines, eyes burning blue hot as bare metal shined through the blood and bone. “Are we not entertaining gods?” she chuckled.
“How amusing. A fellow masochist and flayer of the flesh."
“33 days.” She said cryptically.
“Of what?”
“Until my ship arrives with a hive rivaling your own and technology you can’t imagine.” She said lifting her phone and pressing in a code.
“Voice confirmation required.”
“Release the fleshgod abomination.” She said, pulling her skin back to its place and staring up as an emergency escape pod flared down through the clouds and fired thrusters just in time to soften the landing from terminal missile to car crash. The sides peeled like a banana and a roar echoed as the abomination crawled from the crater. It crawled on all fours, 2 new limbs now assisting the gallop as it slid to a stop in front of her and bowed, awaiting orders. Gizzy cocked her rifle and dumped about 30 rifle rounds into the abomination, which just hunkered and breathed, patiently regenerating in front of them. “How quickly can your flesh regenerate?” she asked. “Because we can grow faster then you can slice.” She said calmly. The people with arms all raised however many were left and pointed towards the hill.
“That’s more like it.” she said as the abomination rose and followed her and Nicole tried not to rattle her gun.
...
“Something is wrong. Jack said. “She hasn’t checked in.”
“Dude, it’s been 25 minutes, maybe she took a nap."
“She doesn’t take naps.” He said while checking the ships scanner on his phone. He jumped up and went for the nearby locker. “We got someone on the ship. There’s two signals moving around, grab a gun.”
“Bro, mine is in my room. I can't get my fingers in the trigger guard of these things. I didn’t think to arm myself for freaking game night.”
“You go get it, I’ll start on the back hall, if anything other then Dee is moving, kill it. We got a lot of dangerous drones on the ship.”
“Shit.” Vinn huffed, grabbing a crowbar from the workbench and heading to the elevator.
...
Vinn turned in the hall, spotting movement and trying to be as stealthy as he could as a 700 pound creature on hooves. He cut them off at the next hall, waiting until the heavy footsteps passed him and stepping out with a swing, hooking the metal monster with the crowbar and yanking him back, grabbing the gun and getting shoved back against the wall. The gun slid down the hall. He planted a hoof to the robot’s chest and pinned it to the other wall, the two titans spanning he hallway. The robot delivered an elbow to his knee, dropping him like a rock as it went for the gun. Vinn yanked the boot from under it, bringing it down to his level and climbing on top. Using the crowbar like a hammer, he forged at the back of the drone’s head with sparks and clanks flying off and very little damage. Dee grabbed the oversized rifle, locking her feet and leaning forward to absorb the recoil, locking on.
“DEE, Shoot it!” he barked as she tried to get clear shot on Vinn’s head. “Trust your instincts, aim for the head!” he yelled, as it struggled.
“I fully intend to.” She said darkly, waiting for a clear shot to execute him when the robot was out of the way. Suddenly a bone rattling sound came from behind her, the robot going limp as Jack rushed to her side, taking the gun from her as she gnashed her teeth in frustration, her eyes flickering red briefly, activating another drone.
“It’s okay Dee. You’re safe.” He said hugging her and tossing Vinn the gun. He rolled over and tried to familiarize himself with the alien weapon.
“You good?” Jack asked.
“No, I’m not good. My knee is broken.” He grunted, hopping to one leg and leaning back on the wall. “Oh holy shit they’re tough. Dude, do not fight one hand to hand, they just do not break."
“Vinn, I can’t carry you, you’re 3 times my size.”
“I mean I’m not bleeding or dying, It’s a knee, and I got its gun. So assuming you just pull the trigger like any gun, I got this. Get Dee to safety, eject the stupid robot crates before another one gets in the ship. They’re tanky bastards.”
“I know, I’ve fought a few. Go for the head. Anything else just deflects.”
“No shit.” Vinn huffed, hopping slowly towards his room for the good gun. Jack grabbed Dee and lead her along as he made his way to the bridge to eject the robot crates.
...
Vinn rounded the corner and locked eyes with another one.
“Well ballsacks…” he said, extending the pistol and hoping it was a simple point and squeeze before it had time to spot him. The hallway went red and the recoil spun him halfway around as the robot burst into flames and dropped to the floor. He crawled to the door and quickly grabbed the 30mm from under the bed, using it like a crutch and heading back into the action.
...
“What in the hell was that?” she muttered under her breath as they left the town and approached the temple at the top of the hill, abomination following like a pet. “When did you tame that thing?”
“It’s just me without a brain… so I put a brain in it.”
“So you’re just inside that thing, like remote piloting it?” Nicole asked.
“I can’t run a hive, it’s a totally sentient Gizzy in an abomination body. We just both know the plan and I know myself enough to follow my orders. Relax, I can’t feel a damn thing, neither can it.”
“IT, is just you. Isn’t that as much you, as you are? With the same rights and feelings?”
“Yep… We’re all just that fucking insane that a sacrifice for the cause is something we would all gladly do to kill this thing.” Gizzy said. Nicole jumped as the abomination tapped her on the shoulder with a free limb and gave her a thumbs up.
“You sure part of the plan is for me to survive this?” asked the old man.
“Well, I’ll try, but you’re the only one without a clone, so… shit happens, try and not die.”
“Don’t drink the wine.” He said as they ascended the steps. “It’s mixed with Thyjus’ blood. You drink that, you’re one of him.”
“I know. Nicole, don’t get thirsty. We’ve had enough blood drinking on this crew for a lifetime.” She said right before entering the temple.