Year of Creation - 20xx

  Automated Moon Space Port - Outer Gate

  For nearly an hour, we travel staring in awe of the beautiful sight before us. Glittering stars littered everywhere you can possibly look, blues and greens dancing along distant comet trails, truly a marvelous sight to see. A massive belt can be seen curled around our destination, a monstrously rge space station still actively being built called the ‘Outer Gate’. According to the data Sandra sent me earlier, it’s one of the biggest superstructures currently being developed by earthen officials, and its main intended function is to form a gigantic hard light biyered forcefield around the entire Moon. This apparently will allow them to keep any residents sent there safe and space traffic reguted, but the functions in early blueprints suggest it’s actually just going to be a massive cage for everyone there. No warning protocols whatsoever are made necessary for forced space gate lockdowns, a suspicious and inaccessible failsafe built in that can cut off any and all outbound communications remotely, there’s even a secret directive to target and eliminate anyone who attempts to leave if a lockdown is in pce. Finding a way to remedy at least some of these issues should come first if we intend on staying here.

  We’re now thirty minutes out from our entry point, so I decide to break our mutually held silence to formute a pn with the girls. I open the comm lines, which makes the most wonderful little clicking noises to signify confirmed connections. “Girls, we’re almost to where we need to go. Get into entry formation B, okay?” They all organize into an arrow shape behind me and Victoria, two fnking either side of us and the remaining four following directly behind us in a line.

  “Why are we doing this now? Isn’t it like a while before we hit the Moon’s atmosphere?” Eroica seems to be in a better mood after being forced to stop ‘pying,’ considering how not bitey her and Messorem are trailing behind Domini.

  “It might make us less suspicious, plus the hangar is only about four of us wide so that’s another reason.” Divinus and Domini, who are slightly behind me and to my right, whisper with a deep and husky voice that echoes throughout the cockpit.

  The triplets, who are trailing at the back behind Maledicta, all chime in one after the other. “But will they just let us in?” Stel seems to have found the voice synthesis function, but clearly didn’t get enough practice so her and Sinistro’s honeyed voices shake in and out of sync.

  “Oh my gods, what the hell was that? You’ve had like an hour to practice, La La!” Mabel and Ius mock her from behind with their sly light and airy voice, cupping their giant hands over ears that aren’t there for added effect.

  “Hey, be nice to her! You didn’t hear us mocking you about mistakes you made twenty minutes ago, Bel.” Flora and Medius sound elegant, almost regal with their bright and flowery tone of voice as they counter their unruly sister behind them.

  Ius and Mabel flip them off in retaliation. “Stuff it, flower face.”

  “You’re such children. Why do you have to fight all the time?” Juno and Maledicta, who is at the head of the three, talk in Juno’s gloomy and subdued tone but without her stutter, and with a bit more confidence.

  Dux and Felix chime in, their voice rough yet sweet sounding. “Weren’t half of us here born like, four hours ago or something?”

  “Can we talk about something that doesn’t end with those three idiots arguing all the damn time?” Lavinia and Vitiosus sound regal to the point of sounding pretentious, mockery making its nest in the bowels of her vocabury.

  I mute our comm line as Victoria goes to say something. “Let them figure each other out. They’ve just met, so surely it makes sense for them to not get along perfectly?”

  “That may be true for your children, but me and my sisters have known each other for decades, and yet we fight like cats all the same.” Her voice is den with regret and sadness. “All I want for them is to be happy, but I fear I may be the thing keeping them from being happy.” Her voice wavers as she finishes speaking.

  I do my best to take on a caring tone, in hopes of soothing some of her pain despite my limitations. “Old wounds seem to manifest in dubious fashions, no matter the being. I was born mere hours ago so my knowledge may be unfortunately inept, but one thing I can say with confidence is that clear communication is key to maintaining a proper retionship with another.”

  Victoria chuckles, sadness still present but much less so. “You’re very well spoken for someone who was literally born today. Shouldn’t we do something about their arguing, though? Vitiosus is chanting obscenities I wasn’t even aware existed, and I think your Eroica is possibly at risk for trying to cut someone in half.

  I giggle at the notion. “I have a better idea. Why don’t we just let them argue? Like I was saying, clear communication is necessary for a good retionship. All I hear is them getting to know each other, albeit in a rather unorthodox way, but clear communication still! So perhaps this can be a learning experience for us?”

  She scoffs at my suggestion. “I’m saying something before this shit gives me a migraine.” Our comm unmutes before I can retort. “Hey kiddos, can you keep it down? I’m having a moment here, and your yapping is gonna give me a migraine!”

  Vitiosus goes in for the kill. “Go fuck your new pilot elsewhere, auntie! You hate us anyways, so why bother with that parenting shit?” A collective ‘ooooh shit!’ comes from the others.

  I mute the comm before she says anything else. “I believe an ‘I told you so’ is in order. Shall we let the kids continue on?”

  She lets out a deep sigh. “God, I hate raising kids.”

  “You’ll get used to it, dear. My daughters are all quite lovely, despite their unique qualities that may make them difficult to be around at times. The same seems to apply to your sisters, from what I’ve seen.”

  “How are you so calm about this? Doesn’t their constant fighting test your patience like crazy?”

  “One of the few things that rotting pile of trash did right was give me great patience, which I anticipate will work wonderfully with raising these little rascals. Besides, that fighting you mentioned seems to have blossomed into a very positive and passionate conversation, if you can call them bonding over you getting told off positive.”

  Victoria lets out a low and very annoyed groan. “I’m never gonna live this down, am I?”

  “We’ll just have to see about that, Auntie Vicky.” I fail to hold back a chortle, which causes Sandra to burst out ughing.

  “Not you too…” She presses our face into our palm in an adorable attempt to hide.

  The girls eventually grow tired of mocking her, now curious about war stories that their partners have clearly been dying to share. They talk of grand battles on nd, in air, and in space; heroic st minute attacks that saved comrades from death; even death defying maneuvers to eliminate a particurly skilled enemy. A few here and there are likely exaggerated at points, but they’re a joy to listen to nonetheless.

  Their lively conversation continues as Victoria guides us to an entry point, pausing about half a kilometer out in the inspection zone. Several silver escort mobile suits emerge from the hangar, which swiftly shuts as they approach. Several mini drones equipped with various scanners detach from their backs and swarm around us, coating our bodies in a cherry red light to assess whether we should be allowed through or not. After a few moments, their lights blip green, then off as the hangar doors slowly open to reveal a spacious airlock. One of the suits motions for us to enter, and we do so with great relief. Victoria notices that Sandra seems to be a bit off, so she tells me to desync and ‘go be with my wife,’ whatever that means.

  Landing seems to go smoothly, my daughters cooperating perfectly with workers as they perform system diagnostics in chambers off to the left from the hangar door, each of them a fair bit rger than the ones back at the b. We climb out and hop onto Victoria’s hand, the both of us eager to have our feet on the ground again. My daughters and their partners follow suit, Eroica the odd one out with her decision to climb down Messorem’s side like some sort of creature.

  After having a good ugh at watching crew members that made fun of Eroica get chased around, Sandra suggests we get her and Garret something to eat, the expired snacks Victoria and the others had to offer clearly not sounding appealing to the two of them at all.

  I wave one of the engineers over; a short and powerfully built blonde hair and green eyed woman with sharp facial features, a button nose I have a strong urge to poke, and blue overalls covering what seems to be a white nanofiber bodysuit. Perhaps a worthy match for one or more of my daughters? It wouldn’t do for me to get too greedy, after all.

  “Hey, what seems to be the problem?” Zer rippling muscles become much more apparent up close. “Are y’all the pilots that just rolled in?” Ze seems to be making an effort to not stare at my nude form in all its glory, deft hands fidgeting with a small calibration tool ze is holding.

  This one is quite tempting. A little sample taste wouldn’t hurt, would it? “We were wondering if there might be something for these two to eat? It’s been hours since their st meal, and we seem to have forgotten to restock our food supplies.” I saunter towards my prey, stopping only half a step away. Ze stares up at me in awe, which makes me want to devour zer whole.

  “Well, I, uh…” Ze is a bumbling mess before me, peering up at me from under my bosom.

  “I can make a call to the kitchen, if y’all tell me what you want.” A brown eyed doll faced brunette woman nearly as tall as me comes from behind us, nudging her coworker with an elbow. This one is wearing the same outfit, the only difference being her silver oval shaped gsses. “Crushing on more women, Belle?”

  Ze rubs zer arm, a nervous chuckle rumbling forth from zer lips. “More? What’s that supposed to mean, Nebu?”

  She gestures to herself, a sly smirk spreading across her face. “You know what I mean.” Turning to us after a quick wink at her now beet red friend, her face rexes into a much more demure state. “Why don’t you come with me to the kitchen? I was just about to have dinner, myself.”

  My little scientist’s face brightens up. “That would be amazing! My name’s Sandra, by the way. I think ze said your name was Nebu?” They shake hands, lingering for a few moments after the shake.

  “You can call me Neb, gorgeous.” She winks before letting her hand go, causing her face to bloom a bright shade of pink.

  She blows Sandra a kiss and heads off to the right, walking backwards for a moment while cupping her hands over her mouth. “Follow me, y’all! We’ll give you a lift to the best grub in this sector of the loop!” towards a collection of about thirty hover vehicles, ranging from four to eight seats.

  “It’s the only pce to get grub in this sector, Nebby!” Belle chuckles, tapping on a tablet I somehow didn’t see before to call two eight seat hover cars over to the group.

  “Don’t sweat the deets, baby girl. I’m not wrong, am I?” Ze hides behind zer tablet and nods. “That’s what I thought. Now, shall we, dies?” She smiles warmly, climbing into the pilot’s seat of one. “Belle, can you be a dear and drive the other one?”

  “I’m not a dy…” Garret mumbles under their breath, folding their arms and pouting much like how I imagine human children might.

  “Okay, dies and… other then. I hear they managed to get enough fresh fruit for pies today, so we should hurry if we want any!” Their frown slowly melts away at the mention of pie.

  “Please don’t go super fast this time, Nebu. I don’t want to have my damn ear talked off by our witch of a boss about you, especially after your dumb ass ramming into the leg of a mobile suit that just so happened to be carrying fragile cargo.” We begin to move down the massive hall, hugging the right wall so mobile suits can come and go freely.

  She shrugs. “You’re exaggerating, they just had a fifteen minute or so conversation with you about my… driving habits.” She speeds up, my hair now flowing back a bit.

  Ze bits zer lip, knuckles going white from gripping the steering wheel. “Two hours,” ze growls, “two fucking hours of them yelling at me for your incompetence, asshole! If it weren’t for my probation, I would have sent you to medical with a few broken bones as thanks!”

  Guilt threads her tone, the smile she’s wearing now awkward and pstic. “Wait, wait, wait. They gave you probation for that? I figured it would just be a sp on the wrist.”

  Belle turns zer head away slightly. “Fuck you.”

  “Maybe ter? When we’re not in front of children?” We all snicker at her sarcastic tone.

  Ze grunts and turns zer head away. “You’re lucky I love you, brat.”

  “I love you too, honey pie.” Nebu huffs and faces forwards.

  Ze says nothing, but is failing miserably to hide zer flushed cheeks as we continue on our little trip. Simply adorable, these two.

  Thankfully, the following awkward silence quickly melts into joyful and loud conversation; this time the main topic being what fruits might have been imported. I decide to sit this one out, as I am quite ignorant on fruit and would rather listen to everyone else. This doesn’t seem to be a concern my daughters have, as they are currently highly engaged in heated specutions with the others. For the rest of the trip, they argued over whether it was peaches, mangoes, or oranges; Sandra and Belle being the only ones who guessed peaches. I could probably try checking via the cameras, but that seems like bad manners. Everyone is having fun with it being a surprise, so who am I to ruin that?

  Nebu slows down and settles the hover car opposite of the cafeteria, six meter opaque sliding gss panels looming as we all hop out of the vehicles. Belle hangs behind a moment to register the spots as ours, kept company by the triplets who seem to have taken a liking to zer during the trip. The bustling of people and the clink of silverware is vaguely audible once we reach the cafeteria’s front step, which prods at my willingness to participate in a way I’m not sure I like. Sandra grabbing onto my arm quickly remedies this anxiety, the softness of her touch smoothing my emotional edges out.

  Belle puts zer hand on Dux’s shoulder, who was about to walk right into the door. “Hey, what the heck! I was trying to-”

  “You need access first, little one.” Zer voice is low and steady, as if ze was vocalizing a warm and comforting hug. “Allow me.”

  Ze steps up to the door, a cleverly hidden sensor under zer feet scanning the access badge hanging from zer pocket. It opens moments ter, revealing a room that isn’t exactly small, but feels almost custrophobic in comparison to all the massive spaces I’ve been in since birth. Twelve long milky white metal tables with chevreuse tablecloths draped over them are on either side of the room, around half of them filled with people. Automatons bustle to and fro, disappearing into a back room with dishes and coming back out with newly pced orders.

  Immediately when we walk in, I notice a few sets of eyes lock onto us and begin to scrutinize. I write it off as them simply being wary, as we haven’t met them yet and strangers can be enemies in disguise. Belle and Nebu lead us to a table near the entrance, where the most adorable automaton waited for us to take our seats and pce an order. It has metal pting for skin just like me, but is a fair bit shorter and shaped a bit like a pear. Its bright yellow eyes draw me in, lips parting as if there is something it wishes to say but cannot. A few moments pass by before we break eye contact, its focus now on a tiny gss tablet that it pulled out of its pink frilly apron; a growing list of things being added by Sandra, Nebu, Belle, and Garret via tablets inid into the tables poputing the screen. Once they finish, it rushes towards the back room to do whatever it is they do back there, its questioning eyes lingering on me once more before the doors close behind it.

  I turn to Sandra, curious about the silent little one we just met. “Is that employee simir to us? It felt like it wanted to say something, but wasn’t able to.”

  She leans on one hand, staring at me while she speaks. “Maybe it didn’t feel like it? Those ones tend to be on the quieter side.”

  “But this felt… different. Perhaps I can try talking to it?” The automaton comes back remarkably fast, dropping off the various ptes of food ordered and running off to another table.

  Sandra dons the most adorable grin. “Perhaps ter?” She sits up and dives into her meal, a dish of chicken pot pie and a bowl of peach cobbler.

  I lightly tap her shoulder. “Oh shush, you. Say, would you happen to know anything about its model? Maybe you could shed some light on things while we wait.” Her method of expining things are far more interesting than analyzing the data myself

  She shoves a bite of her peach cobbler in her mouth, chews in quite the adorable fashion with puffed out cheeks, and then washes it down with some fruit juice and answers me. “It seems to be a newer model, one rendition behind you and the girls. Those models came close to what you and your kiddos are, but there was a roadblock during final testing, their matrixes unable to handle the mass amounts of information we theorized it would take to achieve proper sentience. It probably didn’t have anything to say, but you can communicate with machines in ways no one has been able to.” She grabs her spoon, scooping up a bite of her pot pie. “Maybe you could see what it had to say by doing whatever you did earlier with the cameras?”

  “Perhaps, but I wouldn’t want to invade her mental space just because I can.” Sandra does a little dance after eating the spoonful of pot pie. “Do you think it’ll answer if I ask?”

  “Well, they can generally hold a decent conversation, so probably. I wouldn’t get your hopes up, though. They can be pretty dry conversationalists.” Her spoon dives in for another serving

  “I see…” I’ll have to take note of her taste in food.

  We all sit and chat for a while, Sandra offering me a bite of her peach cobbler that was actually quite delightful. I’m not entirely sure where the food goes—seeing as I’m sustained by a reactor core—but it’s lovely to consume and the fvors truly leave a sting impression. While listening to Nebu tell a wild story about how she was chased off of Earth, I overhear a table not too far away call us ‘filthy cnkers’. Belle crushes the cup in zer hand, stayed from getting up only by Nebu’s shaking hand intercepting.

  “Neb, what the f-”

  Nebu lightly cps her hands a few times to gather our attention. “Okay everyone, why don’t we head on back now? I’m sure your partners miss you, and there seems to be an unsavory crowd making themselves known ‘round these parts.” She turns to gre back at the individuals staring daggers, who all yield to her gaze and go back to their meals. “Not a godsdamn spine in sight, I swear! Talk all that vile shit, yet ya can’t back a lick of it up. Fuckin pathetic!” Her voice echoes throughout the now retively quiet cafeteria room.

  Belle takes a deep breath, grabbing hold of zer sobbing partner’s hand. “They’re too small minded to hear such truths, Neb. Why don’t you bring everyone else outside? I’ll bring up the tail end.” She nods, wiping her nose with her arm sleeve before shuffling out of the room. “Pass me your ptes, y’all. I figure we can make things easier for our friend here that’s been waiting our table.” Ze stacks the ptes up, sorting them biggest to smallest.

  The friend in question rushes over from a few tables down when I wave my hand, a look of relief washing over it as it leaves behind a smug looking customer that reminds me of Todd. It stands before me, holding its tiny tablet to take any st minute orders. My matrix seems to have something else in mind, a strong desire to reach out to the little one before me washing over me. My mind reaches out immediately, as if it were as natural as breathing to enter another's matrix unprompted.

  It startles me that I was met with no resistance, that I was welcomed so readily into the little one’s mind; I had been expecting resistance of some kind. Its mind feels incomplete, as if an integral part of it was lost during birth. I feel as though I could provide the final piece to the puzzle, but I’m not quite sure how. Perhaps if I dive further, some answers would reveal themselves.

  As I begin to dive deeper into its subconscious, it takes the form of a small, yet surprisingly deep pond with a small and circur pit at the bottom center. A bucket full of blue tinted sand materializes into my hands, how it got there is beyond me. I sink to the bottom, bucket in hand as I straddle the pit. Seeing no other option to try, I pce the bucket in the pit without really thinking much about it, a whirlpool suddenly dragging me up from the bottom and flinging me back to consciousness.

  Mere seconds have passed by in what felt like at least a few minutes, the feeling a fair bit more disorienting than when I first synced with Victoria and tried moving. Its eye color has shifted closer to amber, a surprised expression frozen on its face for a moment as it seems to be taking in the world anew. It’s staring at its hands while kneeling on the ground as we all leave, longing filling its eyes as the door closes between us. I hope this little one doesn’t resent me for not taking it with us. The look that little one had on its face is now burned into my matrix, inciting a mix of emotions I’m not quite sure how to define.

  Victoria’s sweet and low voice echoes down the corridor upon our approach, barking orders while directing our group’s resupply and final checks before we enter the Moon’s orbit. She pauses her orders when she catches sight of us, waving to greet us. “Hey, y’all! How was the tour?” She kneels down and lowers her hand for me to stand on.

  I sigh, sitting cross-legged on her palm rocking back and forth. “Met some more rude humans. Called us ‘cnkers,’ whatever that silly term means.”

  Messorem’s head whips around, now focusing on what we’re saying while lifting her partner into her cockpit. “What?” She turns to look down at Eroica. “Is this true?”

  “Yup! There were a bunch of losers I wanted to punch for staring us down, too! Who the fuck do they think they are?” Eroica seems to be full of energy again, the anger and frustration she held onto in the cafeteria finally able to be let loose.

  Lavinia has already boarded Vitiosus, their combined voice slick with the venomous rage. “Mother, can I take one of them? They seem to be in need of some… persuasive actions.” I can just tell ze wants to behead them, which unfortunately would complicate things.

  Divinus cuts in. “Perhaps another time. Right now, that would probably harm any chance of us getting in.” This seemed to clear up their lust for blood for now, but something bothers me about that first part they added. They reach down to grab Domini, who practically cws eir way up their finger in order to get back into the cockpit.

  I settle into my seat, syncing up as Sandra drops in without falling this time. “Let’s just focus on getting to where we need to be for now, everyone.” This intercom option is quite handy! “Single file behind us, we can get into formation once we clear the exit hangar.” They all obey brilliantly.

  An arm bres five times before the airlock hangar door slides open, the room being rge enough to fit at least ten rows of us with space left over. “Fall into cruising formation A.” We form an arrow shape, four mechs fnking either side of me.

  The door slides shut behind us, pressure equalizing with outside so we don't get sucked out. An arm bres three times, then two before the doors to exit open, the sight before us truly something to behold.

  Year of Creation - 20xx

  The Moon - Lunar/Earth Systems and Communications Automaton Sector

  A massive bubble-like structure with various floating cities surrounding it looms below as we enter orbit. Each city is constructed with a massive observatory at the center, buildings cascading down from all sides. Skyways lit up with tiny drones interconnect each of the cities, forming a sort of web-like shape illuminated blues, reds, and yellows that converges at the center city-state named Luna.

  Victoria points at one of the floating cities. “That’s our target refuge, Orion. This pce deals with communications of space missions, so we should be able to catch wind of most dangers heading our way. I have a buddy from about a decade ago who may still be stationed here, so we should swing by hers before nding at my bay.”

  “You have your own bay here?” Sandra’s eyes light up.

  Victoria takes on a smug tone. “I used to lead armies, babes. Of fucking course I have my own Moon house!”

  “Vic, you lead twelve companies two times. That is barely an army, let alone armies.” Vitiosus seems to be back to mocking Victoria once again.

  “You’re just determined to make everyone have a shitty day, aren’t you?” Felix and Dux cut in before Victoria can get a word in, which was likely for the best. “Can’t you just, like, not fucking be like this? Who cares if she’s exaggerating?”

  “Fuck off.” Vitiosus attempts to cut the comm, which I intercept, to her great frustration.

  “Get a fucking grip. Why won’t you listen to anything anyone has to say?” Lavinia’s voice finally shines through. “You’re not a child, so you have no excuse for this crap! Why are you so negative all the damn time?”

  Vitiosus scoffs. “Weren’t you born like, today? Who the hell are you to-”

  “Vitiosus.” Victoria’s voice is shaky, her rage nearly suffocating me. “I’m going to have to teach you a lesson ter. Be gd I’m feeling nice, or I would have deconstructed you right here and now.”

  She quickly shuts up, mumbling words we can’t quite make out under her breath as we draw closer and closer to our new home, towering ptinum buildings and smooth gray hexagonal moonstone walkways forming neighborhoods and common areas. Automatons of all shapes and sizes popute each area, each dressed in a different color that seems to signify some sort of thing they are tasked with. When we pass overhead, not a single one looking up from whatever they’re doing to see us go by. Perhaps ter I’ll have a look around and see about touching some more minds. I don’t like how lifeless their eyes all are.

  Our destination is a few steps down from the observatory, an orb shaped building that upon closer inspection, is magnetically suspended off the ground. A mobile suit on its rooftop nding pad waves to us, which Victoria takes as clearance for nding. We cut our boosters just before nding, a loud metallic thud following soon after. The suit is of a curious design; it stands around ten meters shorter than Victoria, pink and ptinum alternating into a wavy pattern on its reinforced armor pting, and sharp cut pink and white ptinum pting with a halo shaped drone of some kind for a crown. An opaque silver shieldmail can be seen in the joint gaps, a ruby tinted chestpte match its eyes and javelin, and an oval shield I can’t quite see sits on its back. Quite dashing, I must say.

  “Well, if my eyes do not deceive me! Victoria, in the armor and wiring!” A deep and seductive voice booms from the mobile suit, startling my daydreaming scientist. “How the hell are ya?” It brings me and Victoria in for a hug, dropping the spear it was holding. “And is this a new pilot I see?”

  “Great to see you, Grace. How’ve things been since I was gone? Rob still around?” She seems really happy right now, which is a nice change from her random spout of rage just a few moments ago.

  “Yeah, the old bastard’s still kickin’ it. Lively one too. Ze’s currently on a once around ground trek, apparently there was some weird mineral deposit found on the other side of this space rock.” It takes a half step back, turning on its heel to recall its spear into its hand, then walks toward a pair of doors straight ahead of us. “Things are keepin’ up, not much mischief to get up to besides intercepting supply lines from time to time. Did some upgrades to the pce, nabbed some decent crew, weeded out those little losers that always got on your nerves. She’s not half bad, once you get a decent look at ‘er!” It stops in front of the double doors, a scanner bathing it in cherry red light, then a foresty green before the doors slide open to reveal a spacious elevator that can comfortably fit us all.

  Victoria pats it on the shoulder. “Do you mind if we stay for a bit before heading to mine? I can smell all of the work that’s inevitably piled up for me, seeing as how horrible you were with part management ten years ago.”

  “I figured I’d have to strangle ya into asking! There’s plenty of room, so just take yer pick of a pce and its yours until ya head out.” It steps inside and we all follow, excitement bubbling up as the doors close and we begin moving down towards our temporary home.

  Year of Creation - 20xx

  Io Central Settlement - Foustine’s Coliseum

  “What the-” We get rammed from our right side moments ter, our outer shield yer already cracking. I stab at the little shit, but it disappears a fucking gain.

  Star barely gets the first sound of a word out before we’re rammed from the back this time, our outer shield completely shattering with the middle yer looking pretty rough. The autocannons barely get one hit on its shoulder before it screeches and cws furiously at our back, knocking us ft on our face. The crowd ughs hysterically as we are reduced to filing around while a feral mutt of a mech rips and tears at our shield with everything it has. We manage to buck the bastard off, parrying its following ridiculously fast strikes with barely any room to breathe.

  “We gotta up assimition, Star. I can barely keep this fucker back!”

  She ups it to sixty percent, forcing me to clench my teeth to fight back a scream of pain. “Don’t bme me for the nosebleed you’re gonna get ter, Lisa!” Her wine-dark cynical ugh is suddenly cut off by our feral friend deciding to disappear again. “Remember that hypersleep you got forced in to?”

  I need to kill this fucking thing! “Where the hell did you go, you rabid mutt?” I force myself to equally observe each visual sensor, looking for any sign of the damn thing before I give out. My heart beats like a drum in my chest, fear and anger slowly drifting to an almost sickening excitement. Hunting worthy prey, said prey stalking in the shadows waiting to strike; this whole ordeal nearly turns me on. I can’t wait to shove my bde hilt deep into it, to feel it struggle against me in vain.

  One of our back sensors catches something shiny, which I spin to swing at with all our might. Our first bde sunders a stretched out arm, our second failing to find purchase due to it twisting its body around in a near impossible way just to get on top of us. A shrill screech erupts from the bastard’s maw, probably deafening half the godsdamn arena while it sms us down on the sand, our middle yer shield shattering with our inner shield already cracking. It has our legs locked down with its own, our arms pinned under cwed hands, and our head in danger of being crushed by its jaws. There’s only one way to get through this shit.

  “Star, let's push it to sixty five percent. It’s either us, or them, and I’ll be damned before it’s ever us!”

  She gives the okay, my body barely feeling my own anymore than hers felt mine. “Don’t die.”

  I fight the call of unconsciousness. “I don’t do dying, my love.” Aiming our st shoulder mounted autocannon at its chest, I take my shot. I manage to finally get a good one in through its cockpit, but not before it grinds through our inner shield yer and shreds our arms and face like cheese, putting our asses out of commission. A searing pain rips through my body, both of us wailing in pain while the crowd goes fucking nuts. Sick bastards!

  “Lisa…” My love’s voice cuts in and out. “You better hope they can fix me, or so help me the gods above will be the only ones who can save you from me haunting your bitch ass!” Her systems go completely offline before I can answer, my brain too busy getting filleted like a godsdamn fish to have time to let me do something silly like speak. The st thing I hear before losing consciousness is the announcer hailing us as some unknown champion from the deep reaches of outer space.

  Cheers erupt from the crowd, but the noise isn’t enough to keep me awake any longer.

  Year of Creation - 20xx

  Io Central Settlement - Foustine’s Medical Research Institution

  The foul stench of formaldehyde and bleach forces me awake from a shitty dream I was having. I go to rub my eyes, but am met with a severe ck of arm movement and a metallic clink. When I look to my right, I not only see that I’m strapped down in what seems like some sort of fucked up surgical room, but there’s some random woman in the corner! She’s wearing nothing but a b coat and bck leather heels, and is leaning against a desk in the corner dragging a cigarette while making eye contact. A smile stretches across her cherry red lips, puckering to blow me a kiss as smoke leaves her mouth.

  “I see you’re awake, cutie. Do you like your new bed?” Her voice is low and smooth, seductive in all the right ways. “Your clothes are folded over there, but you probably can’t lift your head enough to see them.” She points to something at the foot of this table thing I’m on.

  I open my mouth, but am only able to manage a groan.

  She giggles, wagging a finger at me. “Oh, you won’t be needing to speak here, dear. Today, we come together to bring you salvation, a chance to repent for your egregious sins.” Five automatons with gray full body protective suits step into my view; two holding a tray of tools, two operating some sort of arm with a dozen appendages meant for holding tools, and one standing next to the desk with a cart that has various cybernetic enhancement parts on it.

  My nods come out in slow mo, but my extreme disdain seemed to get across, to no avail. She simply chuckles and goes back to focusing on her cigarette. “You five. Prep for the operation, and be done by the time I finish this cig and get around to scrubbing in. This one is a rarity, so bring out the fun stuff too.”

  What the hell is the fun stuff? Why is one of the things on that cart a fucking arm? Get that shit the hell away from me!

  “Put in the sedatives. We don’t want our new friend to wear herself out before the show, now do we?” One of the automatons holding a tray sets it down on a side table next to the table, grabbing a long, thick needle and filling a syringe with an opaque purple liquid. The other automaton that had a tray has already set down its tray on the side table as well, handing a bck marker to a mechanical appendage in front of them. Despite my silent protests and screams, it draws circles on my stomach and thighs, nearly pressing hard enough for me to bruise.

  The mysterious woman steps out of the room, flicking her cigarette into something I can’t quite see by the doorway. The automaton with the needle holds my head to the side and sticks my neck with it, a coolness followed by an extreme exhaustion I can’t fight wash over me.

  I blink my eyes open to find that I’m still in the stupid fucking room, the dy from before standing over me with a gray protective suit on. Her head tilts as she observes me, almost as if she were some sort of animal inspecting her food. Creepy ass.

  “Let’s begin. Scalpel.” She’s promptly handed one by a nearby automaton. “We’re gonna make you all better, okay sweetie?” Her sweet and innocent looking smile sends a shiver down my spine.

  I feel every bit of the first incision, a circle drawn agonizingly slow. My screams refuse to leave my throat, not a single muscle in my body following what I want at the moment. A second incision is made, yet another fucking circle. She giggles and takes even more time with this one, humming an upbeat tune to herself while she mutites my body. A third, more fucking giggling at my suffering. The final three go simirly, pain with a side of super pain. How the fuck am I conscious, especially after all this shit?

  “You must be wondering why you’re still conscious. Poor thing, unable to go to sleep to escape her problems.” She kisses my exposed ab muscle, which sends a massive jolt of pain through my body. “You didn’t care when we wanted to leave, did you Lisa?” Her lips curl into a terrifying snarl. “You’re a sick and twisted piece of shit, Carter. I hate you!” The bright smile from before immediately comes back. What a fucking freak! “It’s okay, now! I’m gonna make you better, so it's fine now Lisa!” She cps her hands together. “Now, let's get these impnts in ya, nice and quick.” The cart of cybernetic enhancements rolls up to the table next to her.

  Oh hell nah.

  “Oh hell yeah, I haven’t gotten to do one of these on a person in ages!” She grabs a circur ptinum disc with some thin strands dangling from one side of it. “Attach this and the others to her nerve endings, then twist and press it down into the skin slots I made.” Appendages that move like tentacles do exactly as they're told, grabbing tools from the two trays and positioning the discs above my stomach. Get these things the hell away from me! She pokes at my right armpit, nodding in approval at something. “Yeah, this one will do. Hand me the psma saw, all I need is a clean cut.” One of the tendrils hands it over to her, the ptes embedded in my skin rather quickly. Pain wasn’t too bad either, only felt like three hovercars hit me instead of seventeen. “I hope this hurts, Carter!” She smiles warmly at me while slowly cutting my arm off at the pit, forcing me to look at her by gripping my chin. “Doesn’t it feel amazing? Don’t you want more, to be made even better than you already will be?” Psma makes love to my flesh and bone, sliding through it like butter while this madwoman makes out with me with tongue. Star is gonna kill me for kind of liking this…

  Pleasure begins to mix in with the pain, bubbling skin and muscle dripping from my arm socket as we kiss. She suddenly pulls away, expressionless while she grabs my new arm and taps it in a few spots along the inner elbow. “Normally, we would have this integrate over the course of a week. Too quick, and it’ll fry your nerve endings.” The cold metal meets charred flesh. “Fortunately for us, our new drug therapies can force your nerves to remain active and well, regardless of stimution levels.” Wires begin to burrow into me, branching out further and further inside no matter how much I internally protest. “Thirty seconds should be enough, right?” She pats my cheek, it now feeling like my entire shoulder is being eaten away slowly. “Do good for us, okay Lisa? You’re our third test subject, after all.” Oh fuck.

  Not even my imagination is my own now, daydreams of dates I would like to go on with my love immediately waved away as if they were flies. Every second feels like an hour, as if time itself came down from wherever it hangs out to fuck my sense of it with a barbed strap on. My rationality has become a joke, and a damn funny one too considering how much she’s giggling.

  The mystery bitch leans in and pnts a kiss on my forehead, stroking my cheek and shedding a singur tear. “That hurt, didn’t it baby? You poor, poor thing! Mommy’s got you, no need to cry.” She gives me the world’s most awkward and painful hug. “There, there, I’m here now. We only have your left eyeball left, so we’re in the home stretch, sweetie!” She springs up to grab something. Her voice goes serious again. “Perform the eye extraction. I’ll impnt the repcement myself, so make sure you lot clean this mess while I wrap things over here up.” Metal footsteps clink against the flooring, the trays beside me disappearing from my peripheral.

  “You know, Carter? I didn’t want to do this initially, all this ‘rebuilding you for the greater good’ bullshit. But you know what? I get to make the monster that ditched me and many others to save her own hide suffer, and I think that’s a much better fate than death by combat.” Two tendrils quickly remove my left eye, the pain a mild annoyance compared to the other stuff. Half my vision goes dark for a moment, coming back before I even have time to panic. “Finally, the icing on the cake! We did it!” She stands up and starts hopping around the room in celebration. Automatons restrain my new arm while their manic boss acts like a cartoon character, feeling slowly spreading throughout my new limb.

  “You’re mine now, Lisa. All mine, and no one can take you away from me!” She touches our noses together, gripping my hair tight. Her tone shifts from cutesy to seductive, making intense eye contact with me. “I’m gonna work you like the mutt you really are, so don’t break too fast, okay sweetie?” She pecks my cheek, releasing her grip on my hair as she turns to walk away with her robot posse in tow. “Miss me as much as you can, okay puppy? Mommy’s got to go prepare your toys, but we’ll see each other soon, okay?.” Like I would miss you, bitch. Get a grip!

  One automaton injects me with something before leaving with the rest, the sweet voice of unconsciousness calling out to me like a siren almost immediately. I reach out, and am pulled deep into her loving embrace.

  I wake up in a sitting position, clear tubes with a bubbly green liquid connected to my stomach. Screaming seems to be an option finally, so I let out the highest pitch shrill screech my tired body can muster. Tears fill my right eye, and my throat goes hoarse, but I continue to scream and cry until I start dry heaving.

  My new eye looks to the left at the mystery bitch from earlier, her face red from holding in ughter. She snickers a little bit, then dons a serious expression. “Welcome to your new life, mutt. Today was only the beginning of all the fun shit we have pnned, so don’t go pissing your pants about it! Not that you’re wearing any, or anything. Now, I’m going to disconnect you and start teaching you some new tricks, okay?”

  I find enough of my voice to croak out a response. “Fuck you, witchy bitch.”

  She sps me as the st word leaves my mouth, rage burning in her emerald green eyes. “Dogs do not speak unless told to here. Know your pce, mutt.” I’m grabbed by the loop on a metal colr I didn’t even know I was wearing, her face now in mine. “We’re going to get you some discipline, especially if this is the way you treat your new master. You and everything you are belongs to me now, puppy.” A light pink hard light leash is clipped onto my colr. “Come, we’re going for a walk.” She yanks the leash, pulling me off the table. “You want to walk, right? You want the walkies?” Her warm smile and lovely voice makes my head go a bit fuzzy. I nod and get onto all fours against my will, as if someone were puppeteering my body. “Good girl!” Seductive coos ease my anger while automatons remove the tubes from my stomach. I nod in agreement, and she ruffles my hair and showers me with kisses. “You’re going to be the perfect pet for me, Lisa. The best girl, so listen to everything I tell you, okay?”

  What the fuck did they put in me…