The X-US

Well, this is a story series that Ive been posting on SB. Being OC it got less love than the mountain of fics in the creative writin' section and today I decided to share it on QQ. Hope people like it and I also hope I can punt out the second chapter of Tales From Dis within the next eon.

The land was a black, ashen waste, its skies a sickly green, not a sign of civilization for what seemed like miles. Yet it is in this wasteland that an armored male figure sat, meditating, his full body suit black, parts of it painted orange.

Below himself, he could hear what could only be described as low-pitched hissing. He did not fear this, matter of fact it was all part of his training. Patiently, he waited for the source of the noise to emerge.

And emerge it did, an oversized mound of large, pointed teeth, color of its hide identical to the ground in which it hid. As the figure's sitting body plummeted, his legs outstretched themselves after a certain level of plummet, the strange, heeled boots of its armor stopping his fall on a pair of teeth
Foothold secured, he immediately turned around and, in a display of acrobatics, began to use the rest of the teeth to climb out of the maw before the creature sealed itself, breathing heavily underneath the sealed helm, red eyes making sure that a fumble would not occur.

As he neared his freedom, he could see the large, black lip-flaps begin closing, which in turn demanded a hastier approach to the ascent.

Movement's quickened, the figure in the armor kept his eyes focused on the green skies, gripping the teeth without needing to see where they are. And right on time, an escape was secured, leaping out via the second row of teeth near the exit, just as the flaps sealed. He landed and leapt off the aforementioned flaps, the suit designed to cushion the resulting fall.
With a loud thump, he crashed onto the ground and in the distance, he could see the surroundings warp and distort, and what looked like a small squad of extraterrestrial rovers and a tank appear, their design slick and black, fully sealed and hovering on what appeared to be green lights.

And behind him, the maw could very easily be going for a second grab. So, he decided to take care of two problems with one stone. Slumping down on all fours, he began a bestial run to the rover closest to him, any beam shots by the vehicle hitting either the ground or lightly grazing his suit with a glancing hit.
Upon reaching the rover he grabbed the bumper then used it to propel himself to the vehicle's left side before turning would have occurred. He held on for another few seconds as the vehicle began turning , so the ones' in the back couldn't shoot.
It was then that it was time to jump again onto another rover. The maw could not have been far now, all the figure had to do was wait and not get hit directly.

This plan quickly went awry as the rover he now leapt on decided to ram its companion. Thinking quickly, the figure tried to leap off the rover's left side, only to jump too late and and end up thrown into the back of the rover in front, tumbling across the vehicle's roof diagonally and falling into the dead ground.
The shock of the impact left the figure temporarily incapacitated. As he desperately tried to get himself up, he could see the sand, himself and the convoy beginning to sink into a quickly-revealing hole of teeth. They were all enveloped, plummeting into darkness.

And then he woke up.

The mutated teenager Markor Bron gasped awake to find himself on the living room couch, in his apartment, the neural simulation having reached its end.
His athletic body was of red skin and short, unkempt maroon hair. His ears were pointed and small fangs inhabited his mouth, while black claws stood where his finger and toenails would be. He had no garments on him barring a black leather kilt decorated with plastic skulls, colored golden.
And in front of him stood his mentor. Soter, a mature-aged reptilian giant of grand musculature, crimson hide and fins on the sides of his head. His body was clad in a very scant looking metal armor with a green gem in the sternum, a jockstrap covering his crotch.
"You're improving." Stated the lizard calmly, having observed the boys� neural vision through a connection with his own implant.
"Thank you, master." Replied his student with a seated bow.

"Though I suggest you attempt less complex stunts until you have more experience."

"So it will be, master."

A moment of silence filled the spacious room of chitin, before Markor asked: "May we eat now?"

The alien reptile gave a single nod. "Of course!" His tone was suddenly a lot more emotional and enthusiastic and he began to pace over to the kitchen, which was only a very short walk behind the living room.
Taking a deep breath, the boy soon stood up and followed after, doing stretches mid-walking, body drenched in sweat from the realistic sensory recreations of the sim.

Soter grabbed a chair, and placed it right next to another. It was only way an average chair could support his size without collapsing under the sheer weight of his muscles. Sitting himself down gently, he asked. "What meal do you propose, Em?" Em was his species' term for "rookie".

"Deeply fried wings of the poultry strain." Suggested the boy.

"Delicious. Though it is fine to use a more informal term."

Markor paced over to the pulsating refrigerator and opened it to reveal several black bags with a description of their contents written in the front. He looked around for the bag with �Wings, Poultry Strain.� written on it.
While he was hunched over, Soter took the opportunity to gawk at his posterior. No ethical dilemmas, as the boy was eighteen.

"Found it!" Shouted the mutated lad, taking the bag and setting it down on the kitchen counter. With a loud pop, he opened the bag to reveal exactly what was written on the packaging. Wings of poultry, pre-breaded and fresh from the cloning farms.
With quick movements he reached into the cupboard above and pulled down a siz-bowl on to the counter. It was this large bowl with a see-through cap on the top that sealed itself when cooking began.

Some oil in a tube came down next, which Markor plugged into left side of the bowl. The wings came next and were quickly tossed in and the bowl closed. With the flick of a start button, the cap sealed itself and the oil from the tube began to pour in and rapidly heat itself until the bowl effectively turned into a self-preparing deep fryer.
Now all that was left was to wait for the wings to finish preparing. With a smile, the boy sat down, across from his master.

"So, master, when do you think I will be ready?"

"A month or two more and you should be good enough."

"Yes!" He proclaimed joyfully.

"Most Em's aren't as enthusiastic as you."

"I am not doing this for money, master. I already have more than I know how to spend."

"That is good! Very good!"

Another moment of silence passed in the apartment, as the two waited for the meal to finish preparing itself. While this happened, Markor smiled and rubbed his left foot over Soter�s right leg in a playful gesture, and Soter smiled back.
After a few more minutes, the wings were done and the two enjoyed their meal and some water that Markor poured shortly after it was done.

And when that was over, they rested for a little while longer on the couch, until it was time for Soter to leave. Slowly both of them stood up and walked to the door.

"When will I see you again, master?" Asked the boy.

"How does next week sound?"

"Pretty good, master."

"I will see you then."

The two leaned in and gave each other a long, parting kiss on the lips.

"See you!" Exclaimed Markor as he opened the door and Soter stepped out, giving a goodbye wave to the lizard as this happened.

And so, Soter left, the boy closing the door behind him.

The rest of Markor's evening was spent exercising both in reality and in a simulation, followed by a shower, a drink, then sleep.

Thus ended his day.

TO BE CONTINUED

 

It was a dark and cloudy day in Norza City, the capital of what was known as the X-US, short for Xenosporan United States.

Its streets were a mixture of dark, mostly beehive looking buildings of varying height and transparacy and the occasional decorum such as artificial plant life or brightly-colored ads that would change their message and image via blinking. The cars either hovered or flew and shared the same insectoid appearence as the buildings around them, allthewhile the citizens, terrestrial and extraterrestrial alike went about their daily buisness, their appearences ranging from humanoid to tauric, betentacled to arachnid.

Patiently, on a black chitinous bench, surrounded by large amounts of artificially created blue foliage in a nearby park, sat a youth of blood-red skin complexion, kitted head to toe in black and orange armor and using his neural computer to instant-message his mentor about what bounty he had just undertaken.

The target was Mantakrr, a reptilian of the same species as his mentor, though of vastly more modest dress. Apparently, he was wanted for murder, kidnapping and forced labor, all motivataed by personal vanity, as all the actions were to either get money for expensive clothing, or force others to make expensive clothing for him.

He was to be handed over, alive, to an Organman swarm. Meanwhile, the reward, offered by a victims' family member, was fairly generous, but of no interest to the young hunter.

"Do you need any assistance with the hunt?" Asked his mentor.

"No, master. I am confident enough I will be able to restrain him personally."

With the verbal exchange taken care of, it was time to get to buisness. Standing up from the bench he was on, the boy, whos name was Markor Bron, ordered an automated cab to take him to the wealthy area where the target was.

The cab, when it arrived, was a automated and flying black beettle design, with transparent but durable chitin having replaced the glass.

The drive was fast-paced yet cautious, as it usually was with the cabs, the AI routine housed inside taking him via the quickest route at the fastest, but also safest speed possible. Throughout this, he gazed at the people in the streets, going about their daily lives.

Most of Norza's denizens, be they alien or human, had some genetic engineering voluntarily done to their bodies, from permanently fit physiques, to monstrous toothed jaws to living, symbiotic weapons concealed in their bodies. It created a varied and xenophilic population eager to see strange and alien things.

Eventually , the cab entered the neighboorhood and pulled over by a luxury apartment building, the slick, black marble lobby clearly visible through bulletproof glass suspended with organic vines.

Taking a deep breath, the mutated youth stepped out of the cab, the vehicle digitally subtracting some of his funds, and made his way into the lobby, walking up to the receptionist, a centaur-anatomy male mantis alien with body mostly covered in a lavish, golden veil.

„Uh, greetings?“ Asked the insect receptionist, clearly nervous at the heavily armored bounty hunter that just entered.

„I am looking for a tennant accused of murder, kidnapping and slavery. Goes by the name Mantakrr. Burly, reptilian, always well dressed?“

„Oh, yes. Floor twenty-six. But be quick, we have a reputation to protect.“

„Thank you.“ With a bow, the boy made his way to the elevators, hitting the "26“ button upon entering.

The elevator ride was extremely fast. Less than five seconds and Markor had already reached the designated floor.

Picking up a hasty pace, he stepped out of the elevator and walked among the seemingly countless doors of the complex.

Yet, despite his keen eyesight, and repeat examinations, he could not find the reptiles' apartment. It was when a brace of spiked tentacles suddenly slapped across his back, that he realized, it was a set-up.

Fortunately, the spikes failed to penetrate anything vital and merely sent Markor hurtling onto floor. Hastily, he turned around to find Mantakrrr, dressed in a black, hooded raincoat that looked more like a robe with how low it stretched, while out of the right sleeve, the aforementioned spiked fleshwhips writhed and pulsated.

"No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Shrieked out the reptile as he began his attempted murder

As the bio-weapon descended onto the boy, he quickly rolled to the side, trying to lift himself up only to feel the whips wrap around his right leg, piercing the suit and making him let out an agonized scream as they dug into his flesh.

Manta merely let out an inarticulate scream and began to slam the youth up and down in a psychotic display
However, Markor had some tricks of his own, courtesy of his masters' psychological training. When the target was about to go for another slam, he stretched out his left leg, and sent an exo-boot into his targets' jaw, dislocating it with an audible pop.

The vain monster cried out in pain, retracting his tentacles, which quickly shapeshifted back into regular humanoid arms as he grabbed his face.

„Ya rehind me! YA REHIND ME!“ He screamed madly and brokenly

This display also allowed Markor to stand back up, a his altered genes cause the bleeding in his leg to clot quickly

„YA REHIND ME!“ With this third scream, Mantakrr's right arm turned back into the whips and he rushed at Markor, who merely used his left leg to trip up the now-blinded-by-rage alien.

„YA REHIND ME! YA REHIND ME!“ He kept yelling, only to be interrupted as the boy delivered a strong, exoskeleton-sweep to his legs.

This sent the reptile hurtling to the ground, leaving him dazed for long enough for Markor to reveal another trick he had been saving. A snake, eyelesss and black, hastily slithered out of his right forearm armor and slid under the target's hood, biting him, it's smart poison quickly calculated the necessary dose to incapacitate.

Slowly, the mans' body began to seize up and slow, and with a final„Ya..ya…rehind me…“, he collapsed, unconscious for several hours.

With fury building, the boy up lifted his target over his shoulder back, stomping his way to the elevator, allthewhile contacting the organmen with his neural uplink.

When he entered the lobby again, he was going to have a talk with the bug alien, provided he was there.

Stepping out, he paced angrily to the reception desk, the insectoid gasping in surprise and lifting his hands in surrender

With a loud bang, Markor threw Mantakrr's body onto the desk, then grabbed the receptionists veil, pulled him closer and loudly asked „TELL ME WHY I SHOULD NOT HAVE YOU ARRESTED ASWELL?"

It was apparent from the mantis's tone that he was scared out os his mind. „He-he held my wife hostage a-a-and threatened to b-b her to d-death i-if I d-d-did not comply!“

Markor paused when he heard the receptionists' story, staring at him for a minute or so, breathing deeply throughout until letting him go

„If what you are saying is true, and they do find your wife. I will vouch for your innocence.“

„Oh, thank you! Th-th-thank you!“

Eventually, the collective mob of bio-armored officers marched in, observing the two, and the target, with their featureless steel helmets. One of them walked over to the unconscious body and pulled back the hood to verify that it was indeed the target, and that he was alive as the bounty ordered.

„The All-Shaper thanks you.“ Spoke the examining man in a distorted, eerie rasp. „We will take it from here.“

„Wait!“ Markor interjected. „There is a favor I need to ask.“

„Be quick.“

„The receptionist here, he was blackmailed into the target via hostage, his wife specifically. I would like you to find his wife, and if she does exist, let him go.“

„A fair proposal. On what floor is the target's apartment?“

Feeling a dash of hope, the receptionist finally spoke the truth "Floor 57! Please! Help me!“

"Very well.“ His gaze turned back to the bounty hunter.

"You are dismissed, hunter.“
"Yes, sar.“ With a bow, Markor walked out of the building, and almost immediatly opened up a mental text window, talking to the woman that put out the reward.

From what he could see of her profile image, she had an ornately decorated respirator, blue skin, chalk white hair and a fur coat.

"Hello, madam. Did the Organmen notify you?“

"Yes! Yes they did! Thank you! I am sending a transfer request right as I am typing this!“

While he did not care for money, the law was such that there were no free bounties, and they would not be accepted as complete until pay was accepted, so he did. "Money accepted. Thank you for your buisness.“

Once that was done, it was time to notify his mentor, this time calling him via AR voice chat, rather than an IM. After a short period of waiting, he was met with Soter's smiling face.

"Greetings master, as you can see I have completed my first hunt." As he explained this, he moved the vid-chat window to the side so his teacher could see.

"I know, I had a hunch. So what do you want to do now?"

"I fancy a drink, shall we visit a cafe or my home?"

"Your home is quite fine with me."

And so, Markor ordered a ride home, to both heal his leg and bond with his mentor...

TO BE CONTINUED