MaeveWerepuppy

Also oops, early release. This was supposed to go out on Saturday. Ah well, enjoy the early chapter. 

Yvea paced back and forth in her little control room. Things were… Both going according to plan, and also very much not. Phase two was almost done now, the foundational surgeries having been completed over the prior days. The control module had been inserted into Myles’ frontal cortex just fine, along with the other modules for the cybernetics being fitted just as easily.

The issue came down to the fact Myles wasn’t playing in Stellara Nova anymore, delaying everything. They needed the feedback into the modules to calibrate them properly. Even if the body didn’t match the character in the game, her engineers were able to use the same programs the game did to solve the mismatch for the player. Problem was, that was only if the player was actually in the game.

Yvea slammed her hand into the desk, frustration building up within her. She needed things to be progressing faster! Lori wanted the Behemoth going to market soon, and this test was delaying the primary function for it. That pressure was aggravating. She couldn’t rush this - if she rushed things, then all her hard work developing this would be for nothing. Yvea wouldn’t let her lifelong goal be for naught, not if she had any control. At least Lori seemed to understand that she couldn’t rush the calibration phase. If they did, it could lead to some serious problems down the line in phase three. 

Phase three was what everything was building up to after all. Cybernetic enhancements on the patient’s limbs. Built-in targeting systems. Further enhanced senses. Integrated weaponry. Everything a modern soldier needed, all able to be fitted and hidden just below the surface. 

The ginger haired doctor turned back to her pacing. Staring at the computer screens wasn’t going to expedite the process. She had to turn her attention away, distract herself. She pulled up the schematics for her own plans. Lori didn’t know about her intent, but Yvea felt a satisfied grin cross her face. Every successful implant on her patient… It was a step towards her own goal. The excitement over feeling her own cybernetics… The excitement over feeling her future womb. It made every step worth it. Every evil she committed. It’d be worth it to see their face. 

Her head whipped around as her system pinged. Myles was finally loading up Stellara Nova again. Good. She could start collecting the data she needed. 

Lea’s fist went into the wall next to her. “I am not justifying anything to you, Sydney!” 

Her brother, Sydney, stood in front of the front door. Unlike his ‘Soren’ character in VR, Sydney was nearly 6 foot 8 inches tall and very much capable of preventing her from leaving. 

“You said you stopped talking to them a year ago the last time we had this talk, Lea.” Sydney replied, crossing his arms. 

“So? You aren’t mom or dad. I don’t need your permission to talk to people, ‘little bro’.” Lea retorted, all but growling at him. She wished she had the physique of her character. The buff mechanic would’ve been able to easily push her brother aside and do what she wanted. As it was right now, Lea just had to lament the weakness of her small frame and barely defined muscles. 

“Lea…” Sydney sounded exasperated. “Those people are literally criminals. I’m not going to see you end up in jail, or worse! You know those corporate prison camps up by Hudson Bay have a 60% fatality rate!” 

“I don’t care, Sydney! Kae is in trouble, and I’m not going to sit on the sidelines!” Lea retorted. Her voice broke as she spoke, and she wiped the tears out of her eyes before they got the chance to roll down her face.

Sydney searched her eyes for a long moment. Eventually, he let out a soft sigh. “You… Love her, don’t you?”

Lea couldn’t answer right away. She wanted to deny it, vehemently. Kaela was just a friend. A really good one. But since she got her new character, and Lea got to see the beautiful girl just below the surface of her brother’s childhood best friend… She couldn’t deny it. The couple times she’d gotten to see a small smile on Kaela’s face, the determination when she was piloting. Lea would give anything for more of that. She wanted to protect the girl from what the world was throwing at her, and to just hold her and tell her it’s going to be okay. 

Lea centred herself with a deep breath. “Yeah, I do. So please let me go save her the only way I can.” 

“Alright.” Sydney said, not moving from the door. “But I’m coming with you.”

“They won’t like that.” Lea frowned, shaking her head. 

“I don’t care. Kaela is my friend too. She always has been.” Sydney shot back. “If you are going to go do something ridiculously stupid, then I’m coming with you. You don’t get the monopoly on bad decisions when it comes to that girl.” 

Lea sighed, relaxing. “Fine. I’ll… Figure out a way to convince them. Now please, can we go talk to the people who might be able to save Kaela?”

I took in the deep breath of the Vagabond’s filtered air. I was back in the game, meaning that the time until the next surgery was likely counting down now. Syl had been able to sort through the coding of the implants that Fidaela had put into my head, given that both she and the implants were connected to the same fleshy bit. What she had found had scared the shit out of me. 

The biggest concern was what had been called the ‘control module’. It was connected into my frontal lobe, and Syl had warned me that its purpose was to interfere with my decision making and movement processes. Essentially, it was able to manipulate my brain to make me think whatever the ones who had control over it wanted. 

It was a terrifying concept. Syl had tried to reassure me that she was working on a way to gain control over it and prevent them from using it against me, but the fact it was there and could still do that worried me. Even with Syl, who I trusted… Would someone having that level of control of my decision making processes ever be trustworthy enough? Especially if my own Aunt was so quick to betray me…

I pushed it to the back of my thoughts. Syl had been able to get a good plan of what the next steps they intended to do to me based on the other implants they’d inserted. It was a pretty intense cybernetic suite. It was akin to what I’d read about the process some soldiers of the various armies around the planet had to undergo. Mostly special forces, of course, but the fact they were doing that to me was conflicting. Fidaela… Lori intended to use me as a weapon. 

Syl and I had been working on a plan. Well, sort of. I was back in the game now, which was what the people at Fidaela wanted. They needed the in-game resources to calibrate the cybernetics before they could actually start doing further work on my body. What Syl was going to do was use that time to disrupt their connection discreetly with the control implant, while letting the people working on my body think things were normal. Soren and Lea were out in the real world, working on getting me out of the Fidaela building with the help of the authorities. It was really the only chance I had to get out without any further cybernetics at this point, just to play along for now and hope my friends could do something to save me. 

It frustrated the hell out of me, being so helpless. Unable to do anything but sit around and wait for someone else to save me. People I had to trust, even as the closest bond with my family had been broken in spectacular fashion. 

I swung my legs over the edge of my bed and got up. Vagabond was in Novaspace. There was that distinct feeling of energy again in my head, like when I was out in the shuttle. That sensation of the currents around me, the ship following those carefully back towards safe space. I found this time, I wasn’t getting lost in the sensation like I had last time. I had a feeling I could let my actions be guided by it again, letting it take over my instincts, but I could control it now. 

Getting dressed felt tedious, but I forced myself to slow down and take the time to slip into a new jumpsuit and grab my oversized coat. I slid my pistol back into its holster on my hip, taking a deep breath. Routine, tedium. It helped ground me from the thoughts of what was happening to my real body, though the frustration remained. 

I left my cabin, heading directly to the cargo holds. They were the most open spaces on the ship, even if that wasn’t by much. My simulated firing range could be used in a void, pulling me out into a simulated instance separate from the game world. Right now though, I didn’t want to deal with that. The other mode the range had was to be set up in an open room within the actual game space, which other people could see and interact with. It was helpful for training new players for the combat organisations, but right now I just needed to feel like I was in a real space and to work out my frustrations in a productive manner. The cargo hold felt real enough to satisfy that need right now. 

Bringing open my menu, and a quick gesture with my hand later the range filled the unused space. Soren wasn’t fond of running cargo, or “Milk Runs” as he always called them, so one of the holds was usually kept open for crew to use in training sims, like the one I was about to fire up. 

I threw myself into training. Bringing up my pistol and slamming round after round of ammunition downrange into the targets. Magazine after magazine finding its way out of my inventory and falling onto the floor empty. 

Aim. Shoot. Reload. 

Aim. Shoot. Reload. 

Aim. Shoot. Reload. 

Again and again. 

Quickly moving onto the kill house. Breaching the door, hitting the target at the end of the hall. Then onto the next room. Hit the target. Avoid the hostage. Next room. Target. Hostage. Then back to the start to check the timer. Reset the house and start again. Breach. Target. Kill. 

I was panting heavily by the twelfth round through the house. Thankfully with the range sim active any ammo I used was replenished instead of permanently being used, but the same could not be said about my body. It still had its natural limits as I pushed myself to move faster, to get the gun on target quicker, to hit my virtual enemies. 

“Maybe you should take a break,” came Nitra’s voice from the door to the cargo bay. She was leaning against the wall where there was a screen to watch the inside of the kill house. “You started slipping on that last round.”

My tail flicked out of annoyance. I was too tired to feel the normal bashfulness at being watched training. Or maybe too stressed? It was hard to tell right now. “If I stop, I won’t be able to get better.” 

Nitra shook her head slowly, “You won’t get better by overstressing your body. Come sit down for a few minutes, and get some water. I promise you’ll feel better, and continuing will be easier.”

My shoulders slumped slightly, and I slipped my gun back into its holster. She was right, I needed a drink. The inside of my mouth tasted like expended gunpowder, and my arms were aching from constantly holding the pistol up. Nitra held out a water bottle for me as I walked over. I took it and downed half the contents quickly, letting out a sigh of relief. 

“Is… Is your offer still open, Nitra?” I said slowly, turning my attention back to the android woman. 

“My offer?” Nitra raised an eyebrow, before smiling softly. “Yeah. You can always come to me if you need it.” 

“I… Have a lot going on in real life right now… I need to distract myself.” I said slowly, glancing over at the killhouse. I glanced back at the synth. “Think you can join me here? I wouldn’t mind some pointers and help, if you are willing to offer it.” 

Nitra nodded, pulling her own pistol out of a small compartment on the inside of her left thigh. “Absolutely, Kaela.”

MaeveWerepuppy

Howdy folks. Happy weekend. Progress is being made, and people are starting the Hunt for Kaela™. Beyond that, we learn more about the villain! Or at least one of them. I wonder what they have planned for what is next? 

If you like my work, I would really appreciate you consider donating a couple dollars to my ko-fi! It really means a lot to me when people support my work.

https://ko-fi.com/maevelycan

Don't forget to drink water!

-Mae