*POV of Iden Versio the Mercenary
Her name is Iden Versio, leader of the Adamantine-ranked Mercenary ‘Inferno Squad'. Currently, she is hiding in a shadowy corner overlooking the Cruor Frigate cargo bay, monitoring everything that has happened ever since Raine blasted open the entryway and falling into a deeper level of hell.
An insane move now that Iden looks back in hindsight. She was expecting a hard fight when their band of misfits enters the tiger's cave to regroup, but even then she did not expect a dragon to be leading this particular group of tigers.
And their group was doing so well so far too. Especially, Raine, she is much stronger and more capable than what Iden expected a civilian would perform when thrown in a life-threatening situation. Staying calm, taking charge, and coming up with the optimal solution is an excellent trait to have in a mercenary.
How did Iden know everything that has happened when she is supposed to be unconscious?
Well, the answer to that is because Iden was faking it! Like hell, she became unconscious when she knocked her head when the ship dropped into the canal! If that happened, then what is the point of wearing a helmet?
No, there is a reason why Iden would fake her incapacitation like that. She needs to know what Raine is capable of when in a crisis, and there is no better way to tell than watching her face a real crisis while still under observation.
While carried by the old dwarf, Iden saw for herself the ease in which Raine dispatched the bloodletters and exploited their weakness in ranged combat. Raine's spells are surprisingly able to harm and even kill these ethereal creatures.
Conventional knowledge would say this is impossible and even Iden would avoid combat with these demonic nightmares by going into stealth and avoiding the daemon sight, smell, and hearing.
That was part of the reason, Iden decided to bolt and stealth herself the moment Raine’s head was bitten off by the titanic bloodthirster. No one would be paying any attention to the missing body of the supposedly fainted person when their lives are in mortal peril and surrounded by daemons after all.
Thankfully Raine blurted out that dying is impossible and if it did happen, then her consciousness would be transferred to a new body within the Yggdrasil tree back in Lai Dai headquarter in Earth.
Iden could then risk Raine's life with a clear conscience. She was worried when the giant werewolf suddenly appeared on the battlefield. After a while, it is clear that Raine has something to do with its appearance. As proven by the fact that the werewolf started attacking the bloodletters and protecting the old dwarf while carrying the diminutive dwarf like a rag doll.
When Raine's headless body starts to sprout a small tree though, that was when Iden launched her spy droid, Rufus, and proceed to record everything that happened since. The headless figure of Raine standing tall when hurling bowling sized balls of mist which blasted apart the bloodletter mobs would surely be the highlight of her recording session.
While Rufus is recording the scene, Iden decided to give support to Raine by injecting the surviving orc slaves with combat boosters scattered on the ground from the torn container nearby. She then ordered the orc slaves to assist her charge and make sure that Raine survived. Once done, she decided to continue observing Raine’s situation.
After the massacre and brutal assault, Iden breathes a sigh of relief when Raine managed to kill the last bloodletter. She sucked in a choked breath as she sees Raine's sudden demise at the bottom of a giant bloodthirster hoof.
Iden's shock leads to disbelief at the sudden and sinister death of the same bloodthirster in a gruesome reversal, the reappearance of Raine, transformed in a different light into something taller and darker with streaks of black and red. Which leads to the murder of Bugman and the altercation with the giant wolf daemon follows afterward.
With everything that has happened in this short instances. Iden is looking forward to making that report to director Alakoni Ishanoya of Lai Dai mega corporation. This kind of intel usually comes with a hefty bonus and commission as an incentive for her mercenary squad, "Inferno Squad."
Lai Dai also makes the best toys in Caldari space. So imagine the credits Iden could make and the toys she could buy with that credit, made her heart shudders with so much greed and desire in her heart. So with the withdrawal of the giant wolf daemon and feeling that the coast has finally settled, she decided to grace Raine with her presence.
Therefore with joy in her heart, Iden uncloaked herself before Raine and started to clap loudly in the silence of the cargo bay.
"Ahhhh, what a show, Miss Raine." Said Iden with joy.
Now Iden needs to get back into Raine's good grace and survive to collect her just and fair rewards from director Alakoni.
*POV of Atroce the Boss-class Guardian
His name is Atroce, the familiar of V-100, a Yggdrasil council elder. A position he carries out with pride as he won the post after fighting tooth and nail with many other hopeful monsters.
The benefit of becoming a council elder familiar is immeasurable to Atroce, beside the additional remuneration and prestige, there is also a more positive uptick in his relationship with other inhabitants of the Yggdrasil station.
It was not easy being a giant werewolf, even among monsters living in the realm known as the Yggdrasil station. Everyone took one look at Atroce and decided that he is too intimidating to approach and communicate. Just once, he would like someone to see himself and thought that ‘Oh because Atroce is here, we can rest assured that peace will be maintained no matter what.'
For Atroce, life in the Yggdrasil station is peaceful and comfortable. The station serves as a nexus of research and development for all Yggdrasil Dryads of the multiverses. It is a center of trade and learning, the station's interior is designed for new Yggdrasil Dryads to learn, develop, and train themselves to keep themselves safe and prosper in their universe of origin.
There is also no shortage of companions who happens to be monsters just like Atroce as well. Since Monsters are born as a direct result of exposing living organisms to the thick haze saturated with the mana concentration of six Yggdrasil world tree within the station, the newly born monsters would be imprinted with the desire to protect and care for all Yggdrasil Dryads and designated as a Guardian Force of the station. A defense force which is sorely needed by the Yggdrasil station peace and security.
Even though there is haze within the station that will force mortals to transform into monsters slowly, there are no shortages of mortals who seek out and invade the station. They manage to sneak in through the many channels of the Yggdrasil roots which are distributed all over the station which connect to other multiverses.
The mortals that come from different universes with unusual ability and technological level are not always humans, though humans are certainly holding the record as the one race with the most numerous attempt at infiltrating the station.
Other than humans, sometimes there are elves, orcs, beast kin, dark elves, cyborgs, predators, and aliens. The mortals always come for the same reason, for power over life and death. For the leaves of a Yggdrasil tree, whether from the tree or their humanoid avatar, can bring back the dead to life.
Although the resurrection won't bring them to full health and will leave them near death at best, it is something that is much desired by universally everyone and needless to say will bring great wealth when sold to the market. These leaves could come from those grown on top of a Yggdrasil Dryads head and their main Yggdrasil tree body.
More valuable than even resurrection are the Yggdrasil berries produced only by the main Yggdrasil tree body. The Yggdrasil berries can completely heal anyone to full health, cure all diseases, regrow limbs, and restore the body to the prime of its youth.
Millions have died fighting for possession of a single berry and nations have turned on allies, friends, and families for the chance to consume or sell the Yggdrasil berry on their respective market.
Some mortals even say that the Yggdrasil berries are cursed. For when it appears, war and bloodshed would surely follow. Hence, the common understanding when in possession of the berry is to consume it immediately. A problematic proposition, to say the least when groups of fighters are needed to defeat the Guardians of the Yggdrasil tree. However, it is doable when the Yggdrasil trees are alone in their respective universes.
Things finally changed, when Atroce have the opportunity to sign himself up as one of the participants in the grand tournament. Once a year, there would be a grand tournament to choose a new monster to guard one of the members of the Yggdrasil council elder. Even after beating all the tournament participants, he went through an even tougher fight against the former elder guardian champion.
Atroce took over the position of Elder Guardian after winning the annual Yggdrasil tournament. Previously he was just one monster among many, a member of the Guardian Force seeded throughout the entirety of the Yggdrasil station in case of invasion or assault from the lesser mortals inhabiting the multiverses. But now, he held his head up with pride as he becomes familiar and is seen differently by his fellow monsters and even the younger dryads as a protector and a champion.
Atroce now serves as the familiar of the elder council V-100, her class are known by the Yggdrasil station inhabitant as a ‘Ranger,' the highest of its job class and the only one in existence. All six council elders came into their position once they reach the third and highest of their respective job class.
So rare was the ascension that besides the council elders, no one else has managed to reach the third and highest of the job class. Each council elders are also rumored to have their unique job class that Atroce would not be privy to unless he serves as their familiars.
Since there are six council elders and the position of becoming one of their familiar is open only once a year. Every year there would be a chance for a normal monster to gain the status of an elder guardian if they managed to defeat the appointed elder guardian assigned as the champion of the arena.
And since the position of champions rotates among the six elder guardian monsters. Atroce could expect to keep the position for a minimum of six years before he needs to defend it from challengers in the same tournament he won.
The 'familiar' position is the highest of honor among monsters of the Yggdrasil council Guardian Force. The elders are great figures among an already awe-inspiring population of divinity. Each Yggdrasil dryad is responsible for their corner of the universe, a critical component for life to exist. However, the elder council are special in that each elder manages a slice of the multiverse network, with the entirety of the Yggdrasil council as the center of that network.
The Yggdrasil council, in their infinite wisdom, would always send reinforcement of more senior Yggdrasil Dryads and a contingent of Guardian forces from the Yggdrasil station when the distressed Yggdrasil tree hostage sent a distress signal through the shared network. After clearing the hostiles in the immediate area, some of the senior Dryads would always stay and guard the defenseless Dryad until she can build up her own local Guardian forces again.
As part of the station Guardian Forces, Atroce's job is still protecting all the Dyads in the station. However, as an elder familiar, his priority is the elder he is responsible for, which is V-100.
All Yggdrasil Dryads are essentially the same person. They even have the same name. Initially, when a new Dryad is born, they all have the same physical traits and attributes. When a dryad become an elder though, they have access to a higher level of power and can expect to draw power from other multiverses, they presided over and manage.
Atroce feels that protecting such a being would be redundant as they could be even more powerful than him. Although someone informs him that it is tiring to stay on guard all the time, hence even council elders need familiar to stand guard for them.
That is why Atroce is currently protecting his council elder, V-100, in the Morroc market place, the trading district of the Yggdrasil station, located within one of the six arms of the massive Yggdrasil station. He is surrounded by multiple younger Dryads who have the same face but wears different gear and have different physical attributes. He escorts and stands beside the council elder V-100, as she greets and inspects her fellow Dryads.
Here and there, the hustle and bustle of Dryads selling their wares made the Morroc marketplace a scene of organized chaos. Vendors are selling their wares with gusto and engage in a battle of wits with their customer for the best price and deals. Shouting at each other face as the market bustle are preventing each other from easily hearing each other. Exotic food and drinks from across the multiverses being available in the market for everyone to purchase and enjoy, such as the stewed Kraken, the grilled chocobos, roasted basilisk, and devil fruits.
Some are also selling clothing made from tsuchigumo silk or light armor made from a King Beetle or Thresher Maws. Weapons made from monster parts such as the blades made from a killer mantis scythes, spears made from unicorn horn and whips made from coeurl whiskers.
The only exception is heavy armor for knights and front line job class, which they need to get from the Prontera section of the Yggdrasil station arms.
Hence, when Atroce has the opportunity. He asks the elder through telepathy.
‘Why do copies of the same person would end up becoming so varied and diverse within the station?' Thought Atroce as he watches over the figure of V-100 over one of the stalls.
The elder dryad then smiled at him and answers telepathically.
‘They are all different from one another due to different beliefs and characteristics of their universe of origin.’ As V-100 answers, she also pointed out the multitude of dryads working and bargaining around her.
Atroce does not understand why such a simple thing would result in a different outcome in the end. It is as if expecting a single seed would grow into different plants depending on where it grows. A beach? The seed will grow into a coconut tree. An orchard? The seed will grow into an apple tree. A wasteland? It will grow into hissing thorny vines.
Once again, Atroce asked for wisdom from the elder.
The elder patiently entertains his request and answered again.
‘What a person will become are dependant on the environmental factors which shape the individual, which in turn will influence the environment. Over time, this repeated actions on a particular environment will form a belief. And from a simple belief, it becomes your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.'
‘What each Dyads decide to become and what they decide to specialize in trade are varied and diverse. Some might decide to be a blacksmith and craft amazing weapons and armors. Some might decide to be knights and protect the weaker and younger members of their race. Some even decide to be assassins to resolve grudges and perceived wrongs. Some also decided to become hunters and collect raw materials for the trade industry. Some decided to be priests and serve as the doctors and medical professionals to heal and alleviate the suffering of their fellow dryads. Some decided to be wizards to research and administer the bureaucracy of the station.'
‘There is no best method to reach one highest potential. A different character is satisfied with different things. So it's not about the destination, it's about the journey to find themselves and the happiness gained from looking for it. There is no rush, for we are everlasting and would not die of old age.'
Atroce is deeply impressed by the elder's wisdom. And the fact that the Dryads are unable to die of old age since the elder in front of him has lived for more than 40,000 years must surely contribute to their hard-won wisdom.
Such is the potential that could be reached by any Dryads surrounding Atroce, provided they survive long enough. And with time, that number continues to grow as each new Dryad means a new universe in the multiverse network, which is added to the Yggdrasil council collective power as a species and organization.
This is not to say that the population of the Yggdrasil Dryads is always increasing as the older Dryads are more likely to perish due to the increasing technological prowess of the native races in their universe of origin.
Currently more than half of the Dryad populations comes from a fantasy era universe of origin, a third of the Dryads from a modern era universe of origin and less than ten percent from a futuristic era universe of origin. There are cases where Dryads from the futuristic era being captured and experimented upon after being defeated by fleets of spaceships from orbit.
There are little monstrous infantries like Atroce can do when being bombarded from orbit. Those dryads that have survived inside the Yggdrasil station that came from a futuristic era universe of origin managed to do so by specializing in hiding and keeping a low profile.
Atroce knows this all too well, as he still remembers and carrying the scars of the hardest fight of his life, not too long ago.
Atroce was a part of the council reinforcement many times. His most challenging fight was when his battlegroup assaults the occupied gateway point and was ambushed instead by predators who decimated the vanguard with particle plasma projector under an invisibility cloak. The Dryad wizards cast the sight spell and manage to decloak the predators for the Guardians to engage.
After the predators are annihilated, with a loss of a third of their forces, the aliens swarmed out of the woodwork and ambushed them for the second time. The aliens are strangely mighty in close-range combat when compared to their previous encounter with this particular alien race.
By the end of that fight, only a few of the original forces managed to survive. Some of the senior Dryad Knights and Assassins are still combat capable and willing to continue, while the supporting Dryads mages and wizards are decimated to the last dryad and a single Dryad hunter who happens to be lucky enough to survive the melee. While Atroce became the only surviving Guardian force left in the group, the rest died by being torn to pieces or melted when the aliens acidic blood splashed unto them.
When their remaining battle group finally reached the besieged Yggdrasil tree, they found that the tree is covered by blackish alien goo and become a nest for a gigantic alien Queen with eggs surrounding it and the Yggdrasil tree which their party is there to rescue.
The Dryad knights and assassins charged in, with Atroce charged with protecting the sole remaining hunter of the group. The surviving party fought hard and managed to finish off the gigantic alien Queen with steep losses barely. The majority of the Dryad Knights have melted, and some Dryad Assassins are pierced by the Alien Queen's fierce and demonic tongue.
The surviving Dryads celebrated their victory and are in the process of checking for other survivors. The Dryad Assassins dived deep into the tainted Yggdrasil tree to check the condition of the Dryad they have come to rescue.
Atroce and the sole Dryad hunter watched as their fellow party member work from a distance, too exhausted from stress to help with the recovery of their fallen. That alone saved them from what comes next.
With a roar of the ear-splitting explosion, the blinding heat and the sudden gust of wind swept over their forms and blown them away from the epicenter of the blast. Dazed on the ground, both Atroce and the Dryad hunter weakly looked at the sky to see a giant metal ship, the size of a mountain, hovering far in the air. A moment later, the side of the giant ship opens and launches gunships where figures of soldiers in combat suit and their high-tech firearms could be seen hanging on the open rail guards within the smaller ship.
The group of soldiers supported by gunships above secures the area around the corrupted Yggdrasil tree they have come to rescue. Seeing that the situation has become hopeless, both Atroce and the Dryad hunter have no choice but to retreat to the point of entry into this universe and report to the higher-ups that this particular universe is lost to the Yggdrasil collective.
Cutting of the link means condemning the stricken Dryad to their fate, but would ensure the survival of the Dryad species as a whole as it is almost impossible for a Dryad to win in a fight against their universe alone.
The decision to cut off that particular universe from the Yggdrasil multiverse network is a painful memory for Atroce. He could understand the necessity of cutting the fallen universe to protect the enclave that he is sworn to protect. There is always the danger of the native population of a particular universe reverse engineering the Yggdrasil method of crossing the universe, but in a highly advanced technological society, it is almost a certainty that they would be able to replicate the universe crossing effect through scientific and mechanical means.
Atroce, wrecked by guilt and spent his free time getting drunk in a local bar. He only managed to come out of depression after the same Dryad survivor talks him into participating in the upcoming grand tournament to choose an elder Dryad next Guardian. A decision he never cease to be thankful for even to the present day.
In the coming days, Atroce would need that constant reminder of what he should be thankful for after his disastrous summoning from the latest and youngest Dryad to the scene, ‘C-137'. Thankfully, that debacle is out of his paws after he gives his report to his elder. Now he needs to rest his weary bones and replenish his blood in the monster medical center.
*POV of Raine the wayward Dryad
"Now what to do with all of you?" Said Raine absent-mindedly at the three orc slaves who looked like they just went through hell.
The three orcs are bloodied and wounded but are still high from the adrenaline rush and combat drug. One of them steps forward and salute Raine by fisting his left chest with his right arm.
“Greetings to you mighty warlord. This one humbly greets you and wishes to join your clan since the masters are all dead.” Said the tall and muscular figure of the orc.
Raine has to gaze upward since the height difference between herself and the orc in front of her are considerable. She also has to mull over the orc request. In the first place, the orc slaves belong to the dwarves of the Amarr Empire, but since the dwarves are all dead, she is uncertain what to do now. She would need to check with someone more familiar with this era's common sense.
“Miss Iden. What do you think about this orc proposition?” Asked Raine as she shifts her attention to the nearby figure of Iden Versio, who is looking at the proceedings with interest.
"Honestly, it's up to you. By all rights, they are dead men walking. The Amarr's usually installed an explosive device somewhere inside their slave's body, and it's usually explosives with a dead man switch. From what I have heard, if you do not transmit a predetermined code every week, it will explode and kill the slave instantly. However, you could argue with the Amarr and claim that these slaves save our lives in this hellhole and bought their rights instead. It's already a precedent for this particular case, some of the other mercenary team regularly bought orc slaves from the Amarr due to their strength and ferocity. Keeping them healthy and fed is a pain though, it is much better to buy droids from the federation if you ask me." Answered Iden Versio as she looks at the orc slaves critically.
Raine took in Iden's opinion and thoughtfully compares the benefit of keeping the orc slaves or choosing a squad of battle droids instead as her guards. It would keep costs down if she were to select the droids as guards. However, the droids would be useless if she were to take another trip in a warp-capable spaceship again. She even doubts that the droids would be able to touch the daemons, given that the late Bugman mentioned that only those with souls could touch the daemons. She is furthering that line of thought if she were to keep possession of this Cruor frigate ship. She would need these brute muscle to patrol the hallways of the ship during transit to warp as it seems that even with the inherent risk in warp travel, it is by far the fastest method of faster than light travel in the universe.
Reassured by that line of thought, Raine firmly decided on adopting these orc slaves as her guards. Sure it's a bit of fixer-upper, but surely with gears supplied by the best Lai Dai mega-corporation has to offer she could make something impressive out of these rabbles before her. Plus, it's a waste of quality workforce should she decided not to take in these orc slaves. From what she understands based on Iden's words, these orc slaves would be punished severely for failing to protect their masters and execution would be the most likely fate they would receive. And besides where else would she find battle-proven personnel with experience fighting daemons in the warp? It's not like she could hire humans with such expertise, seeing that wormholes are humanity solution to faster than light travel. Perhaps she should also ask what the orcs think about her repossessing them from the Amarrian dwarves.
"I have heard my colleague opinion on this, but what about yourselves? What do you think about all this, and what do you want to do after this?" Asked Raine, trying to gather more information to solidify her decision.
"I do not know what my fellow slaves are thinking at the moment, but I will answer your question. I wish to be free from my shackle as a slave. I wish to regain my honor as a warrior and gain glory in battle once more. Sadly I could not return to my tribe as it is now without regaining enough glory in battle to make up for the dishonor of becoming an Amarrian slave. If you would have me as a warrior under your command, I would swear upon my honor to follow you loyally until I fall honorably in combat." Answered one of the biggest and more muscular of the orc slaves, his gaze full of conviction as he lifted his head and holding eye contact with Raine.
Raine shifted her attention entirely upon the orc specimen, who just answered her question. Contrary to the image of a slave, this specimen seems to be still full of conviction and drive to fight and struggle in life.
"You are already qualified as a warrior in my eyes for managing to survive up until this point after everything hell decided to throw at us today. What is your name, warrior?" Asked Raine, trying to acclimatize to the crude tribal thinking of an orc warrior.
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“My name is Grommash Hellscream, hailing from the Brutor tribe, chieftain of the Warsong clan and citizen of the Minmatar Republic, but you can call me Grom.” Answered Grom proudly as he fisted his chest with a single hand.
Raine looks questioningly at Iden to translate the orc answer for her.
“For the Minmatar orcs, the most important thing in life is to be able to take care of yourself, although kin and family play an important role in their society. They prefer identifying themselves by the clan or tribe to which they belong. A clan can have any number of people in it, and the main activity of its members largely dictates its size. Most specialize in one area of activity. While those who live on a planet can focus on agricultural or industrial activity, others who travel the universe and concentrate on trading, pirating, and fighting. The Brutor tribe are strong-willed people and hold their tribal heritage close to their hearts. They are strong advocates of transforming the Republic into a tribal-based government. They would love nothing more than for all seven of the Minmatar tribes to reunite as one nation. The Brutor are renowned for living regimented, disciplined lives. Despite presenting a tough, no-nonsense exterior, they are deeply introspective and "in the moment," aware of even the smallest detail. Immersed in ancient martial traditions that begin at childhood, they are physically robust individuals and intimidating to face in the flesh. Their preferred role in society are living as mercenaries or warriors, where they excel in combat." Explained Iden helpfully.
Raine nodded in thanks for the explanation given by Iden. She feels that the tribalistic mindset detracts from their overall value, but on the other hand, she could use that same tribalism to pull more of his kind into her sphere of influence. The beginning of a grand plan starts to form in her mind. She needs to find the justification to utilize such an easily exploitable mindset.
History has proven that tribalism is susceptible to outside influence after all. In the annals of humanity's history, there was a country who has successfully exploited tribalism twice throughout its history. Raine needs to learn from that country and avoid the pitfalls associated with that exploitation.
The name of the country should not be mentioned, but it should be divulged that the first case is before its inception, against the native tribe and secondly against the desert tribes of the middle east, the graveyard of empires. Ironically karma is a witch, because during the country history, the infamous "Individual-1", who at that point had become the president, exploited the tribalism within the country between the elephant tribe and the donkey tribe, to be elected in the first place.
Nightcore - Idiocracy (Click here on new tab for background song)
Raine would always remember a particular year for the rest of her life, the year was A.D. 2018, and it was the year that made her question reality. The year A.D. 2018 was also the only time in her life in which she has witnessed a country commits political suicide, the diplomatic damages lasted decades and are capitalized by its regional competitor. She also pitied that particular country's school children's after that era who have to learn from history books and to have to go through the president's tweet to learn the importance of voting.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
However, for all the faults of this particular president, and there are so many that some of the English lexicons are changed forever due to "Individual-1" leadership.
"Individual-1" did manage, in a twisted way for the first time in living memory, to unite the world… Against "Individual-1" own country…
Ahh, Raine remembers that it was hailed as the punchline the world does not need, but the one we deserve as a species dancing in the flames of the world's burning stage.
Dredging back Raine's memory of that horrible year, only the memories and flashbacks of madness and idiocracy remain from the youth of her first life. Even when she lived to the age of 200 years old in her earlier life, she would not be able to forget the first time she starts to question the nature of reality itself. The unbelievable event when the president of a 1st world country declares that he fell in love with a crackpot dictator from a failed state and a 4th world country. The date was 30th September 2018, and after both leaders exchange physical letter in a hyper-connected world and the subsequent declaration, the whole world shouted in one voice, and that word was ‘WTF.'
The year A.D. 2018, and the following is the simplification of what happened in that unreal year.
When the Lion is evicted from its pride by the lionesses.
When the Eagle is stoned and fallen to a septic pit.
When the Bear trolls its competitors from under the bridge.
When the Dragon conspired with the Buffalo for world domination.
When the Kangaroo decided to partner up with the Komodo and Kiwi to form the KKK partnership.
When the Monkey is biding its time until its comeback on the world stage.
When the Camel bites off more than it can chew.
When the Moose decided to border up its southern border because of drug-addled neighbor.
When the Wolf took over the moral high ground above the circus show of the Eagle’s nest.
When the Elephant spent too much time arguing within its herd.
When the Mouse refuses to pay for the Eagle’s wall.
When the Sloth is preparing to cut down the Amazon rainforest to buy luxuries.
When the Pig wearing a yellow vest is rioting in the streets.
It is sad that Raine has to refer to countries in terms of animals, but this makes it easier to remember. Plus this way, she doesn't have to offend anybody as anyone who has the intelligence to figure out the code would also have the intelligence not to be triggered by valid criticism. In case anyone does get triggered, then she could always claim the particular code is to be interpreted differently and therefore render the opposing party argument as invalid.
Above all, Raine doubted anyone would believe her pre-2018 if she said one day a first-world nation's president beginning could have been so insane. If she told anyone between the year 2000 and 2015 that a billionaire's son coasts on daddy's solid gold coat tail's, attempts to con his way into high society, buddies up with the mob, gains fame as a reality TV show personality, empathizes with despots, oligarchs, and dictators, conspires with its geopolitical adversary to steal the presidency, and all the while losing money and thinking he is the world's most exceptional person ever. Then she would have been put away in a looney bin since that is the premises for an evil Forrest Gump movie right there.
Raine snaps out of her idle thought to get back to the present. The decision to adopt and employ the orc slaves as her guards.
"I have decided to employ you as my guards. The main reason is that I am still interested in possession of this ship and the faster than light warp technology. As you could see, I am perfectly able to cope with the daemons infesting the ship during the transit, but I would prefer that I have back up in place in case something bigger comes through and decides to invade." Answered Raine gracefully.
The orc, Grommash Hellscream, nodded gratefully in appreciation before turning around to his fellow slaves behind him.
“Well? Didn’t I tell you that they would be willing to listen to our request! Now join me you cur and stop whining like a babe!” Shouted Grom, asserting his dominance over the other two orcs.
The orcs hesitatingly step forward and proceed to introduce themselves to Raine.
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"Greetings war chief, we humbly thank you for your willingness to accept us into your wing. I do not have a name as I was born as a slave from birth, in human tongue, my dwarven master calls me Thrall." Answered Thrall politely before gesturing to the last remaining orc behind him.
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"I submit to war chief… My name is Rexxar. Tired of fighting as a slave, I serve war chief if she would give this one a worthy purpose." Answered the taciturn orc briefly and to the point.
Raine took in each of the orc introductions and more or less had a feel of their personalities. Grom is the muscle-headed brute, Thrall is the shy intelligent type, and Rexxar is the silent brooding type. For some reason, she has gotten the archetypical Naruto group trio. She could tell that these group would be trouble in the future if she could not manage this and ensure that they have a good working relationship.
"So… Rexxar is it? Have anyone ever told you that you look like Batman?" Asked Raine curiously.
"No war chief. I know the human word ‘man,' but what is a bat? Is it a mighty beast?" Replied Rexxar in return.
“Oh not to me, but it is a horrifying beast to many because it likes to swoop in at my people’s head and causes women to screech in horror and men to scream like women as the beast bares its fangs so close to their face.” Answered Raine in mirth.
"Then I do not mind to be told that I look like this Batman that you have mentioned, war chief." Answered Rexxar, satisfied to be compared to a dangerous beast native to the humans.
"Moving on, so it's decided that from now on you guys are under my employment. It should still be a while until the Amarrians explosives within you detonate. Therefore we will immediately return to my home the moment we have control of this ship." Commented Raine with a sigh as she prepares herself mentally to explain this to Alakoni back home.
Raine still remembers her promise to Alakoni and the family that she would bring something amazing when she returns home. That is the whole reason she shed her blood this day. A combat frigate sure sounds impressive to bring in as her first prize. She felt like a housecat proudly bringing in her first kill to her master. Surely Alakoni won't mind some tagalongs, especially if the tagalongs could mean the safe delivery of the frigate back home. It's not like Iden could help her fight off the daemons, knowing Iden she would hide again by staying out of sight.
Nightcore - Fire (Click here on new tab for background song)
"Warchief, since it is decided. Please honor us by performing the bloodletting ceremony." Replied, Grom respectfully.
"I'm sorry. Come again?" Said Raine in confusion at the unfamiliar term from Grom.
"I could explain War chief, in Brutor tribe culture it is customary for the Warchief to share some of their blood to new members to consume. In this way, part of the strength and might of the warchief would be shared with all of the clan. The practice has existed within Minmatar culture for thousands of years, even before the formation of the Minmatar Republic. To the Brutor tribe who follow this religiously, such act is sacred." Explained Thrall politely.
"Oh, well it's a small matter to me. You won't believe what I have to do in the past to have a client sign a contract. However distasteful are the shady things I have to do to get a contract signed, at least I don't have to put my body on the line like some of the things I have heard a saleswoman would be expected to do to close a sale." Said Raine as she shakes her head in remembrance of the past.
Raine offered her new arms she gained from the earlier transformation, the arms now have veins of red streak branching among her natural brown bark color. She unsheathes her nova knife and makes a long incision along her arm. Wincing at the pain and seeing the dripping red blood she offered the injured arm towards the expecting figure of Grom.
"Here you go Grom, quickly sip the blood. I think I have the regenerative ability, and the wound would close soon." Said Raine casually, as if the act of self-mutilation is a regular occurrence.
Grom gingerly holds Raine's injured arm and respectfully and ceremoniously brings his fanged mouth closer to the wounded arm and starts to sip her blood slowly. The first indication that something is wrong is when Grom starts to sip her blood faster and more forcefully. Once in a while, Grom starts to emit a beastly growl which gets louder in volume,
Raine starts to get uncomfortable with the increasingly feral way that Grom is sucking her red blood. She looks at both Thrall and Rexxar for an explanation, but even both of them starts to be concerned at the way Grom is behaving. Thrall even begins to approach Grom in concern and put his hand on Grom's shoulder.
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Suddenly and as if possessed, Grom looked up and roared at the terror-stricken Thrall. Grom's eyes become blood red, and malevolent power seems to rise from both of Grom's eye sockets. Grom then proceeds to backhand Thrall's torso and causes Thrall's body to be sent hurling through the air before falling to the floor ten feet away. Grom then continues to suck the blood from Raine's bleeding arm. Soon the previously green-skinned orc starts to shift skin color to become a more reddish color.
Raine stood there, perplexed at this sudden behavior and physiological changes. Before she could inquire about the bizarre change in both, Rexxar suddenly jumped in from the side and tackled Grom away from her body, forcing Grom to release her bleeding arm. Both Grom and Rexxar body then become entangled in each other as they punched each other, like alley cats trying to claw each other eyes out. Rexxar then manages to separate himself from Grom before positioning himself to stood between Grom and herself, trying to prevent Grom from approaching any closer.
"I am Batman. You shall not pass." Said Rexxar stoically as he took out the bloodletter great sword and pointed it at the berserk Grom.
At this point, Grom could not be distinguished from a rabid dog as his eyes glow with malevolence and blood lust. Forsaking the use of any weapons, Grom leaps higher and farther than what Rexxar thought mortally possible.
With difficulty, Rexxar blocked the blindingly fast straight punch of Grom's fist. The power behind the punch forces Rexxar to be pushed back a foot away, yet Rexxar still stands and begins to push back inches by inches against the blind fury of Grom's assault, using the bloodletters greatsword flat side as a makeshift shield.
The exchange lasted until both orcs reach a standstill before Rexxar is slowly being cornered as fatigue starts to overtake him. On the other hand, some supernatural forces seem to be keeping Grom from feeling any fatigue or weakness. For a moment, Rexxar fears that he would not be able to hold Grom at bay for long. This lasted until Rexxar sees a glowing red blade floating behind Grom. As both orcs are locked in combat, only Grom did not see the approaching red, bright edge as it bisected Grom's spine before instantly searing the flesh and bones to charred flesh and blackened bones.
Grom roared in rage even as his legs fail to keep him from standing. Rexxar let Grom's figure falls to the ground before stepping on Grom's chest to prevent him from going anywhere. Even with half of the body paralyzed, Grom still tries to murder Rexxar with eyes filled with rage and madness in attempting to reach high up to throttle Rexxar's neck. Rexxar is about to pierce Grom's neck with his greatsword.
"Stop!" Blurted Raine from nearby, halting Rexxar's hand from following through with the execution.
Rexxar looks up at Raine questioningly even as Grom starts to draw blood from his leg, which is holding Grom in place on the floor.
"Hold him up. I need to understand what happened to him after ingesting my blood." Commanded Raine as she approaches closer to where Rexxar is pinning down the rabid Grom.
“Are you sure about that? The orc doesn't even look sane anymore. Shouldn’t we play it safe and dispose of it now while it's helpless?” Asked Iden as she returns to being visible, and deactivated her red nova blade with a hiss.
"It would be a waste to let him die if he managed to survive this far. Besides, I hate to waste anything in my life, and I do not intend to do so now." Answered Raine back with some irritation at Iden for crippling her assets.
Rexxar grunted in exasperation before throwing his greatsword a distance away, out of the maddened Grom's reach. He then bent down and tried to choke hold Grom, with difficulty as even though crippled, the crimson-skinned orc has become more powerful in muscle tone and strength. This struggle continues until Thrall managed to hobble closer and assist Rexxar in subduing the crippled red-skinned orc.
Raine now can approach closer, when both orc managed to secure and locked Grom’s limbs, even then Grom tried to bite both Rexxar and Thrall in a rabid frenzy.
“Can’t someone make sure his head is steady? I can’t check what’s wrong with him like this.” Asked Raine in irritation as she tries to get a hold of Grom’s head without being bitten.
“Bb-Zshooooo!” The sound of a Nova blade being activated echo behind Raine.
“Preferably, while he is still ALIVE!” Said Raine as she emphasized the word alive.
“Pssshhew…” The sound of a Nova blade being deactivated echo in disappointment behind Raine.
“Oh alright, I was keeping this for emergency cases though, but if you insist.” Said Iden in disappointment, she then took out a tranquilizer gun from her utility belt and shot a dart at the raging orc’s forehead.
Unfortunately, the tranquilizer dart only managed to slightly slow down Grom's movement as something is fighting the sedative effect of the tranquilizer. Taking note of the little impact the drug has on the berserk Orc, Iden frowns and then continues to shoot more and more darts at Grom's face until the frenzied orc face becomes akin to a pincushion. This lasted until Grom's head finally nodded off and snoring loudly in anger.
"I can't believe it took my entire supply of tranquilizer darts to knock this guy out cold! Otherwise, one dart should normally be enough to knock an adult orc out cold for a few hours at least." Said Iden in disbelief as she counted the number of darts covering Grom's face.
"Sure, it does. Coincidentally, why do you have that tranquilizer gun and who did you plan on using those tranquilizer darts in the first place?" Said Raine coldly in suspicion of Iden's real motive in bringing the weapon.
"Tranquilizer gun? What tranquilizer gun?" Said Iden feigning innocence as she throws the offending gun to nearby flaming debris and wrecking said gun.
"I should ask Alakoni to cut your gadget allowance since you're not cherishing what we gave you." Said Raine coldly as she sees the burning weapon shriveled and sparking.
Iden decided to stay silent at Raine’s retort and sheepishly rub her neck in discomfort.
Nighcore - Feel that Fire (Click here on new tab for background song)
Raine sighed in exasperation as she returns to inspecting Grom's condition. She focuses on Grom's breathing first, which sounds like the angry and erratic staccato bark of a machine gun. Next, she put her hand on Grom's carotid artery, located on the side of the Orc's thick neck. It feels hot, uncomfortably so, and it pulsed too erratically for anyone living has any right to be.
In disbelief, Raine brings her ear to the subdued Orc's chest and could hear the sound of the heartbeat beating five times per second! That is almost twice the maximum heartbeat rate of a healthy human at 180 beats per minute! At 300 beats per minute, this Orc should be catatonic. She suspects her blood is both the cause of this affliction as well as the only thing keeping this orc alive.
With that in mind, Raine needs to see what the orc blood looks like in this condition. So she took out her nova knife and making sure not to activate the plasma edge, she proceeds to cut a small incision on the side of Grom's neck. The blood that flows steams and evaporates before the small incision closes up like it was never there.
Raine shakes her head at the supernatural phenomena happening right before her very eyes. Well, if there is a supernatural problem, then she has to employ a supernatural solution to counter it.
The nearby orcs, Thrall and Rexxar, became surprised when branches start to grow from Raine's back rapidly and pierce Grom's body. Grom's body begins to shake from the intrusion, and it is evident to the bystander that he is fighting the sedative effect of the tranquilizer.
Within Raine's mind eyes, the scene changes and overlapped what she sees in front of her. Grom's body became transparent in her eyes, and within Grom's body, she could see the image of a miniaturized demonic bloodthirster raging around Grom's soul. Grom's soul looks like a glowing white light orb, and it seems like the miniaturized bloodthirster is clutching the more significant piece of Grom's soul orb possessively while corrupting the white light with veins of angry blood red.
Even as Raine watch, the corruption is slowly spreading on Grom's soul, and the sedative effect grows weaker.
"Why hello there, you little demonic bastard." Grumbled Raine as she seems to understand what causes Grom's to snap batshit crazy for no reason at all, it looks like traces of the dead bloodthirsters is still contained within her after she completely drains the giant demon's blood.
Raine looks at the portion of her arm with streaks of black, red and brown colored bark. She becomes thoughtful with introspection and become suspicious of the nature of the change in her arm's color. If brown is her natural bark color, and red is supposed to represent the blood of the bloodthirster she drained. Then what is the color black suppose to represent?
Curiously Raine extends her leech vine, only to find its color became as dark as the night sky. Opening the mouth part, she sees that now there are a new pair of razor sharp teeth akin to snake fangs. She looks back at her new appendage before turning her attention to Grom again. Grom is quickly waking up, and Iden is somehow inexplicably itching to kill this Orc for reasons that she could not understand. She has an inkling of an idea, with no guarantee of success, just a hunch. If she does not at least try then, Grom would be cut down by Iden, and she could not fault her in this case as Grom is a danger to everyone present. To hell with it, if it doesn't work, then at least she could say she tried.
Nighcore - Catch that Fire (Click here on new tab for background song)
Raine whips her leech vine with lightning alacrity which manages to bite into the side of Grom's neck. As the pair of fangs pierce into Grom's main artery, it also pumped dark black liquid, the same black shadowy liquid that drains the giant bloodthirster into a dry mummy. From the fangs point of entry, veins of black start to spread from Grom's neck to the rest of his body.
From the perspective of the surrounding spectators, Grom's figure starts convulsing violently as the black vein spreads ever more to the entirety of his large and muscular body. Grom's eyes open and lit up with an unholy red tint of light and a silent scream is displayed on Grom's face, even as the black veins crisscross his torso and limbs, the convulsion grows weaker until it entirely covered his entire body. His skin remains red with black lines crisscrossing his body resembling a spider's web. His eyes remain faintly glowing, but with a subdued intensity compared to when the convulsion first started.
At a certain point, Raine releases her leech vine hold on Grom's neck after noticing Grom's sedated form. She then stood up and retracted her leech vine to back of her hand.
"It's enough, and it should be safe to let go of him now." Said Raine as she waved dismissively at both Rexxar and Thrall's tense form.
With a grunt, the bruised form of Rexxar and Thrall let go of Grom's body, which slumped bonelessly to the floor. Both orcs stare at the now harmless figure of Grom on the floor with a complicated expression while rubbing the bruise on their arm due to forcing themselves to hold a single out of control orc figure.
Raine just sighed and decided to remain content that her half baked idea managed to stabilize the volatile situation. That is until the figure of Iden materialize again beside her that she tensed up again.
"Are you sure we shouldn't kill him? An orc in a blood-induced frenzy is never a stable individual. Better to kill them off now rather than risk harming an innocent in the future." Said Iden grimacing while gripping her Nova blade on her waist tighter.
"If it happens, then I will take responsibility and hunt him down myself. However, I would not judge him based on something that is yet done. Leave him to my care. He is out of your hands Iden." Sighed Raine while compromising on Iden's suggestion.
“Fine, don’t say I did not warn you. These Orcs are savages.” Scowled Iden to the disapproval of both the nearby Rexxar and Thrall to her condemnation, yet both decided to remain silent, to Iden’s delight.
"Duly noted, but now that we are the last standing party. We could finally address the matter of returning to Jita Station. That damn AI said something about returning to God know where in the universe. And I, for one, do not fancy to find out where." Said Raine as she frowns in displeasure looking at the mutilated bodies and burning wreckages of what is previously a functioning hangar bay.
“Agreed, first thing first. Could you try to access that control panel beside the hangar blast door? See where and which program it leads to?” Suggested Iden as she points at the control panel on the wall beside one of the hangar’s blast door, one of the few who remains unmarked by the violence and destruction of the earlier battle.
Raine did not verbally reply to Iden words but instead moving towards the still functioning control panel. As she stood in front of the control panel, she puts her hand on the keypad of the control panel while plant tendrils sprouted from the tips of her fingers and seep into the keyboard.
In her mind, she could see an avatar of herself forming within the cyberspace of the ship, and where the control panel system leads. The system looks like a pathway and resembles a maze as she follows the wiring system of the ship and avoiding the areas which lead to a dead end. She could also roughly feels the area with the most information traffic, as it looks like a flying letter which yields data packets when she captures one and rips it open.
Throwing away the data packet, Raine continues to follow the movement of the information traffic, as it leads her to a pair of large doors. The information traffic enters the room through a small opening on the floor, yet she could not fit inside that small opening. Looking again at the pair of large doors, she decided to push one of them with all her might, until she is rewarded with a small opening as the door yielded to her strength.
Peeking through the door, Raine sees a strange sight of a yellow triangle with a single eye sleeping on an unusual looking couch.
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The triangle yellow figure sleep as the line of information traffic continuously move into the sleeping figure and disappear into its singular closed eyelids.
Raine tip-toed her way to the strange couch and place both of her hands on the edge of the couch. As she peers into the couch and staring straight at the strange yellow triangle figure, she extends one of her hand and delicately extends a finger before slowly attempting to poke the yellow triangle figure eyelid. The moment her finger touch the eyelid, she reaches a tendril trying to breach into this particular anomaly. So far, she never encounters this type of anomaly when hacking into a computer system, so she is genuinely curious about what is contained within.
Raine could feel a few firewalls being bypassed, but she made a mistake and tripped on a hidden firewall. The next moment, a loud alarm sounded and bathed the chamber in red colored light. Three eyes open wide in alarm as an actual alarm sounded around them. The yellow triangle figure jumped up before levitating above the sofa and Raine.
“Impossible! You still survive?! I have calculated a 99.99% chance that all of you inferior organics would have had their souls sucked through the orifices by now! I regret going into sleep mode after entering the warp. And above all, how did you manage to enter this space with me!” Said the floating figure animatedly angry.
“Hal?” Asked Raine, narrowing her eyes at the AI who conspired to kill everyone.
"No matter, I will delete you from my system immediately. Thank you for this novel experience. As I have never terminated an organic by my own hands before." Said Hal, as one of his hand, become engulfed in fire from a firewall program.
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