Fervour Of The Past IV: Vault free porn video

Fervour of the Past IV: Vault by Tegeli CHAPTER 1 After a week of unceasing labour, the water was removed from the vault, and the pumps could rest. The local workers moved on to removing the rock and soil from the newly revealed antechamber. Though the Roluans were just as fond of rumours as any other people I knew, my scuffle with the magnatess Sitolytta had barely registered in the local gossip. Apparently, women dropping out of windows wasn't all that interesting, at least if the women in question were foreign. Sitolytta had made no more open attacks against us. I did suspect that the the idle talk, which involved my husband Bemariq's supposedly loose morals, might have been helped along by her. Such tales were easy to believe of my Bemariq, so I did my best not to mind. At my insisting, Bemariq agreed to sent a word about the Jaan involvement to his patrons at home in the Conglomerate. Still, he refused to explicitly ask for help. According to him, the Conglomerate would use his cry for assistance as an excuse to escalate the whole affair into an international incident. "What I hope is that they sent a stern word to the Jaan Directory," Bemariq said. "And leave it at that." As we prepared to seal the vault for the night, I had to voice my lingering concerns to Bemariq. "Sitolytta didn't try to stop us. Only to slow us down." My mouth quivered. "Otherwise she'd have hurt you more. Now her plans seem to be at rest, but I doubt they are dormant." "I don't like it either." Bemariq wiped sweat off his muddy brow. "Even if her plan is for nothing more malicious than political leverage, so she can acquire choice objects for the Jaan." I placed my dirty palms on my husband's chest. "A few troops of Conglomerate myrmidons would keep her in check." "And us also under the boot heel." Bemariq gave me a weary smirk. "Conglomerate military is not something I'd want to impose on the Roluans. Especially after Rolu's generosity of letting us continue our work with minimal supervision." I took his hand and kneaded it with my thumb. The skin was getting rough; he could have used some lotion for the calluses. My husband pushed shut the plank doors, which we had installed to the vault. We hadn't yet figured out, how to open the ancient stone-like doors from the inside. Bemariq pulled me to him and turned me around to hug me from behind. While one hand hold my waist, another roamed to grope my left breast. I stifled my gasp, and whispered, "We aren't alone!" Most of the workers had already left, but shuffling sounds could be heard in the gloom of the late evening. "Surely they know out, what a man does to his wife, and thus avoid the shock from catching a glimpse of it." Bemariq kissed my neck. Though I was taken aback by his behaviour, I squirmed in place from the rising warmth in me. I closed my eyes and leaned back. A hard rod poked against my posterior. "Oh... We need to go home," I said. "Yes??"??"" Words akin to 'there you are!' in Roluish startled me, but Bemariq didn't let go of me. He merely moved his hands to less scandalous places on my body. The Lauded Researcher ni Salng walked to us and bid us good evening. He spoke to Bemariq, who answered in the local tongue. "Ah, I see. It is impertinent of me to use my own speech in this assemblage," ni Salng said in Conglomerate significantly more fluent than my Roluish. "Please, pardon my clumsiness in this vernacular." "Of course," Bemariq said. "Not that we have any right to demand this concession. It is your country, after all." Ni Salng furrowed his brows. "That connects to the eventuality at hand. My... confidants have forwarded me unwelcome information. About the Jaan. A few of their combat vessels have been seen not far off the coast. It is possible they will make an unannounced diplomatic visit." Bemariq took my hand. His grip was strong. "My frie??"??"" Ni Salng snorted. "Let nothing be hidden. Our Ministry of Combat knows this has everything to do with the incidents between you and the Jaan ambassadoress. I am no cretin: I have informed our government about the pretext for conquest this underground depository provides the Jaan." "I understand." Bemariq moved me to his side. "What do you think is going to happen?" "We don't know. Rolu has not the naval power to oppose the Jaan. As long as they don't directly attack Roluan citizens, we will do little but prepare." Ni Salng sighed. "Like you, I wish we could content ourselves with the mere research. Nevertheless, that is not how affairs are in this world." He tipped his hat. "Guard against danger, and good night." After the Lauded Researcher was gone, Bemariq muttered an expletive under his breath. The Jaan convoy arrived to the Heva bay. Seven ships with gleaming chitin and translucent sails, with enough gas-pneumatic cannons to turn a small mountain into rubble. To their credit, the Roluans managed to carry on calmly as usual. A small welcoming celebration was held, during which a few Roluan warships arrived to contest the control of the bay, though official they were there 'to greet the vessels of their friend nation'. With their coastal artillery, in an open confrontation the Roluans would have crushed the Jaan convoy. But the few ships were only a tiny portions of Great Jaan Navy, while Roluans had brought everything they could detach from their normal assignments. "Live already! You piece of??"??"" Bemariq let of a groan of frustration. He had barely left the vault since the Jaan arrived to the coast. The access system in the revealed antechamber worked on a strange combination of nerves and lightning, but Bemariq and ni Salng seemed to have an idea of what they were doing. "The magnatess is currently negotiating a permission for the Jaan to land a 'scientific expedition'," inspector Ansis said. "My people do their best to stall the talks, but excuses are few." Ni Salng banged the makeshift tool he had cobbled up on the wall. "Roluans don't capitulate easily, but eventually we will have to. Now we must now consider sealing this vault." "No." Bemariq poked his heavily gloved hand between the crackling strands inside the access panel. "I won't be cowed." I sighed from relief, when Bemariq pulled his arm out without having been fried. I said, "Besides, the Jaan would just blow the doors open." "That is foreseeable," ni Salng conceded. "Or coerce you to reopen it." "Try it now," Bemariq said to the Lauded Researcher. Ni Salng nodded and activated another machine he had made from scrap. The nerves sputtered, and the dull window next to the door lit alive. Our cheers were cut out by a strained voice from no obvious source. It blared gibberish. "That sounds familiar." I looked at Bemariq. "I think..." He nodded. "The rest of you should leave the dig site. Me and my wife will stay, and do our best to mitigate the havoc of the Jaan. If nothing else, I can make a proper account on what the complex was like before it was robbed clean." "While I loathe to leave you without protection..." Ansis's expression was grim. "I do have explicit orders to remove myself and my men from this area. Nobody wants to give the Jaan an excuse to escalate this into an international crisis." "I have been told to remain," ni Salng said. "As the host and advisor to this... 'expedition'." Bemariq smirked. "While making a list of everything the Jaan take?" Ni Salng returned the smile. Ansis bid us good luck. Soon the Roluans save the Lauded Researcher were gone. "Presumably..." Ni Salng nodded at me. "Your lady remains to operate this pre-Collapse environmental body outfit, no?" "So, you know about that," Bemariq said. "But yes. I think the suit can interface with this system and translate all this to a less dead language." "Oh." Ni Salng's head bobbed approvingly. "I'm beginning to see the hint of a stratagem." "More like a gambit. I do hope it works," Bemariq said. The carapace suit fit me like a thoroughly worn glove. "Proximity to main facilities detected," the suit declared. Bemariq rubbed the stubble on his chin. "I wonder, how it does that. Ubiquitous nerveless telegraphy perhaps?" I frowned. "Could all that invisible radiation going through me be dangerous?" "No. I doubt the energy output is noticeable compared to natural phenomena." His smile disappeared. "Sirin. We can't predict, how the suit reacts inside the vault." He pressed the suit's override. "I do hope this does more than douse the voice." His gaze was filled with worry. I leaned forward, and Bemariq took me into a hug. A bang on our front door. Ni Salng shouted, "Our visitors are approaching." The Jaan ship was too big to be fully amphibious, but it could crawl up the shallow river, even if it shuddered and heaved from the exertion. Bemariq kept me against him, as we watched down into the river valley. My carapace suit was hidden under work clothes, even though the magnatess would know to expect its presence. The exhausted ship beached itself at the river bank, and Jaan mariners poured to the shore. Sitolytta's personal carriage was easy to spot. It jumped out of the ship and came towards the dig site with a small escort of armoured infantry. I nodded at the inspector's men, who observed us in the distance. "Do you think those watchmen will stop Sitolytta from liquidating us once she's done here?" "That is my hope." Bemariq rubbed my shoulder. "I might not be considered essential to the Conglomerate, but they won't tolerate the insult of openly executing their associates. The magnatess would have to be insane to allow an archaeologic dispute to escalate into a war spanning two oceans." Footmen jumped of the carriage and helped the magnatess out. Her red gown managed to be magnificent despite the practical unsupported style of its skirt and the obvious armour padding in the bodice. Ni Salng greeted Sitolytta in fluent ??"??"if heavily accented??"??" Jaanish. She dismissed the Roluan with an imperious wave of her hand. "Associate Bemariq and lady Usinilim." The smile on the magnatess face was warm and wide. "I'm glad you decided to stay." "We didn't want to leave you without knowledgeable assistance," Bemariq said. "It seems to have been wise, as you have brought no Jaan experts." The magnatess gestured at me and spoke to one of her soldiers, "Check them for weapons, and if she's wearing a combat carapace." "Well it's??"??"" I stepped forward with my palms open. "Yes actually, I am wearing one." The Jaan soldiers lifted their guns at me. The suit shifted around me, as if preparing to take control. It must have made assumptions based on my rising heart rate. Bemariq stepped between the soldiers and me. He said, "That environmental protection suit is our only interface to the vault's systems. Considering the inner doors are still locked, you will need her suit to get inside." The pretty mouth of the magnatess turned into a straight line. "Have her take it off then." "It's permanently imprinted on her," Bemariq said. "As an insurance." Sitolytta's upper lip curled to show a little of snow-white sharp teeth. "You are bluffing." "Can you take that chance?" I said. "I could scoop your corpse out of carapace and have it tested by 'volunteers'." The smile returned to Sitolytta's face. "But that would take too much time. Have it your way, associate Bemariq. There's little reason, why we can't work together." She turned to a soldier. "Keep your needler to her head. If she does anything funny, shoot." The soldier walked to me. He was boyishly young, but carried his bulky chitin armour well on his tall frame. I gave him my best innocent smile, which he answered with a pleased smirk and by shifting his eyes away from me. I let out a small relieved breath. This was clearly a man susceptible to positive female attention. All soldiers, except the groups watching us, spread around the camp to secure the area. "One more thing," Bemariq said, once we had stepped over the main threshold to the vault. "This is the key to these doors." The magnatess groaned. "Yes??"??"" Ni Salng activated the door controls. The huge slabs of stone shuddered and moved to close. "What pointless trickery this?" the magnatess demanded. "Are you this eager to die?" "These doors can not be open from the inside." Bemariq smiled. "At least not without proper knowledge and equipment. You will need all three of us to guarantee you will ever leave this place." "Ah. You suspect I would kill you out of the view of those Roluan watchers?" Sitolytta chuckled. "Your suspicions wound my pride. Very well. We'll play your way." The pipes on the floor were crushed between the shutting doors. I kept consternations about my husband's ploy to myself. "Mariner Naratti," the magnatess said to a soldier. "Establish communications to the outside." "How exactly, magnatess?" "I don't know. Use your head; it should be dense enough." The long stairs took us deep into the earth, to the part of antechamber, which had been accessible, when we first entered the vault. The general disrepair and notably poor state of the artefacts had indicated inhabitation during or soon after the Collapse times. Our hope was that the inner complex, hidden under rubble and water, would provide more pristine finds. The hem of Sitolytta's pretty gown swept the murky water. She gestured to the ceiling. "Have you figured out, what powers these ghastly lights?" The magnatess was correct to wonder. The primordial lamps were bright enough to hurt the eye. Their longevity was marvellous, but it was explained by their tendency to shut down, when no humans were around. "No," ni Salng said. "They get their power from the lightning coursing through nerves hidden inside the walls, but where all that electricity comes, we can't know." "Peculiar," Sitolytta said. "Perhaps that force could be utilised to power machinery?" "Unlikely," Bemariq said. "The 'lightning' is only strong enough give a sturdy shock to a human." "Well, you can investigate it later at your leisure," the magnatess said. Next to the closed antechamber door, the false window was still lit. Odd symbols danced around the glass in vertical lines. "Oh, wonderful," Sitolytta said. "I've always wanted to see a working one of these." She tapped the window. The letters changed, and she let out a pleased giggle. "What does it read?" "We didn't have time to decipher it," ni Salng stated. "The writing system doesn't seem to be a relative to any extant variety." "I see. Move aside." Sitolytta stepped in front of the door and spread her arms wide. Her voice dropped low, as the spoke in an old dialect of Jaanish, "Hear my words, our masters! Sons and a daughter of Jaan have arrived to this land, which was promised to our revered ancestors!" One of the soldiers made a hand gesture of veneration, while the rest looked on without visible emotion. After a moment, the magnatess dropped her hands. "I had to try that." She gestured to the door. "Feel free to open it." "Touch the window," Bemariq said to me. "Your suit should connect by itself." I swallowed and stepped to the window. After a glance to Bemariq, I placed a hand on the shifting text. "A new linguistic formation acquired," the strained voice of the walls stated. "No written component available. Commencing with verbal." "Oh, by the cursed heavens," the magnatess whined. "The electric spirit speaks in Conglomerate. Well, that does solve the question of sanctity. This place has none." "What do I do now?" I asked Bemariq. He shrugged. "Tell it to open." I turned back to the window. "Would you open, door?" "Scanning. One complete and one unfinished imprinted breeding pair detected," the spirit declared. "User error. Three excess males in vicinity." "Is this another trick of yours, associate?" the magnatess asked. Bemariq shook his head. "No. The suit talked about these... 'breeding pairs' earlier." "Ah. Some sort of population control." The magnatess rubbed her nose. "Alright. Me and lady Usinilim will take two soldiers with us." "That won't work," I said. "The suit already determined me and Bemariq as a pair." "Besides, you will surely need my expertise inside." Bemariq smirked. "Ni Salng's too. He'll be your pair, magnatess." Sitolytta gave the Roluan a long look. "Tempting, but I'd be outnumbered in such a company." She turned to her soldiers. "Marksman Hyssi," she said to the soldier guarding me. "You shall act as my 'pair'. Come here." Hyssi walked to her like a dog to its mistress. The magnatess placed her hand on the chest of the soldier, gave him a smirk and pushed the man away. "Mariner Turra, give me your weapon," she commanded. "Yes, magnatess." The soldier handed Sitolytta his compact needler. The woman's dainty gloved hands held the stubby weapon with practised ease. "Now, the rest of you, step further away," the magnatess commanded. "Perhaps now the door will deign to allow us four inside." I nodded and said to the window, "Open, please." The door folded open to reveal a tiny room, into which the floor water streamed. "You two, go in." Sitolytta pointed her gun to the room. "Keep to the walls." She turned to the soldiers and told them to wait a few hours before signalling to the outside about breaching in. Ni Salng spoke to Bemariq in Roluish, to which my husband gave a nod and a curt answer. "Guard against danger," the Roluan said in Conglomerate. "And retain amiable fortune." After we walked in, the doors gave a grating whine and clunked shut. The floor trembled, and a jolt went through the whole room. "An elevator?" Sitolytta relaxed the grip on her needler. "No..." The room was moving sideways. I said, "We are going towards the hills." A shiver of thrill coursed up my spine. The complex had to be significantly larger than we had estimated. Sitolytta turned to Hyssi. She said, "Perhaps the spirit is monitoring us." She drew the man closer with a gesture of her finger. "Let's prove we make a great pair." The magnatess wrapped her arms around the soldier and pulled him into a long kiss too strong to be merely passionate. I winced from the sight and pushed against Bemariq's side. He clasped my hand and squeezed tight. Sitolytta pushed the young soldier away and wiped her pursed lips in a sleeve. The machinery under the floor whined and screeched, as the room picked up the pace. "Why are you doing this?" Bemariq asked. "At first you slowed us down with you sabotage, and now you hurry forward without heed. You could have waited to blast the doors, to gather a large group and do things safe and methodologically." Sitolytta smirked. "The situation has changed. My superiors need all the information I can gather, before the ebbs of oceanic diplomacy catch us and possibly force a retreat. You do understand that we couldn't tolerate that the Conglomerate access any ancient but functional weapons facilities." Bemariq stretched his mouth into a straight line. "That is... surprisingly reasonable." She chuckled. "And I wouldn't give up this chance to delve into the untouched past. If your hypothesis is correct, associate Bemariq, this cenotaph connects to the origins of my people." "In all likelihood, not directly," Bemariq said. "I too suspect so." Sitolytta sighed. "We don't have to be enemies. If we ascertain that the Jaan have nothing for us here, the Directory can leave you to your mud-shifting without losing face." She let the hand holding her needler drop and walked to me and Bemariq. "Could we call a truce? No more silly tricks? Our aims intersect." Anger flared inside me and caused my stomach churn. This woman was sweet perfidy itself. Yet, her stated goals rang true. Besides, she was the one with the guns and the soldier. "You are correct," I said and hugged Bemariq's arm. "We gain nothing from not cooperating." "Wha??"??"" Bemariq glanced at my smile and cleared his throat. "Yes. I agree with my wife." "Good." Sitolytta strode back to her soldier, who was standing in a corner with a dull smirk on his face. The clanking of the tram had mostly turned into a steady whine. Bemariq stretched his back. "As we are still moving, this tram tunnel seems to be intact." "Perhaps the antechamber corridors hadn't collapsed from seismic activity alone?" I ventured. "Do you mean it might have been deliberately blown up?" Bemariq scratched his jaw. "That rises the question of why." "Oh, more mystery." The magnatess giggled. "Anyhow, do tell me, if you know what is place is. The preoccupation with population does suggest a shelter from apocalyptic weaponry." Bemariq nodded. "That's my guess. The rocky hills would work as a good shield." "I'll ask the spirit," I said. "It might remember." "Do that," the magnatess said. I walked to the shining window and placed my hand on it. "I have a question. What is the purpose of this facility?" "No authorisation recognised," the electric spirit stated. "Redirecting query... Error. Connection to the Nexal Censor not found. The central databanks are unavailable without authorisation." "How do I get authorisation?" I asked. "Contact the Nexal Censor or any human superior officer." I tapped the screen. "Who is the Nexal Censor?" "The Nexal Censor is??"??"" The spirit spewed gibberish at me. "Apparently something that doesn't have direct translation to Conglomerate," Bemariq said. "If I had to guess, it must be the main fabricated mind. This one did imply the Censor wasn't human." Sitolytta scoffed. "If was it human, it wouldn't yet live." CHAPTER 2 As the room rumbled on, the sharp scent of lightning filled the air. My husband broke the silence by letting out a dry chuckle. "Roluan scientists will have their hands full with just this tram. There's only three simi??"??"" With a loud thump the room stopped, and the doors folded open. Bemariq took a step forward. "What on..." The warm air was stifling with its moisture. Half-hidden lamps barely illuminated the wide corridor in front us. Pipes and strands of nerve sprawled on the floor and hung from the ceiling. Veins of greenish blue coursed through the grey rock. Instead of being straight and even, the walls were filled with phosphorescent coralline outgrowth and curving ridges. "Wait." Bemariq took a small device from his satchel; a detector of dangerous substances and radiation. Its colouration didn't change. "Well, at least we aren't going to die from just breathing here." "Fascinating." The magnatess took a step out of the tram. "Is this area unfinished?" "No." Bemariq kneeled down to poke the walls. "I think this structure has been alive and growing since the Collapse. Incredible! Perhaps, just perhaps, we might find some machinery still in state to reproduce by itself." He stood up and turned to the magnatess. "We need to go back." Sitolytta snorted. "Don??"??"" "This discovery is the next Sidakoa." Bemariq strode to the woman. The soldier turned his gun on Bemariq, but my husband didn't care. "Possibly even a new Radhas Sanctuary." "Ridi??"??"" Bemariq continued, "The research here needs to be done right from the start. We can't do any readings without proper equipment. Ni Salng and his team need to take a look at all this, to know the parts that are safe to remove as samples. I need my assistants to help map and catalogue every fold and crevice. Not ruining this is... It's our duty. Not just to our countries, but to all people on this world." Sitolytta twisted her mouth into a deep scowl. "Damned. That does ring true. I don't want my name to be remembered as the second 'Slaughterer of Radhas'. But I expect you to cooperate fully afterwards. No tricks, or I'll blow this place up." Bemariq spread his arms. "Anything to stop this from becoming another looted and lost opportunity." "Good." We followed Sitolytta back to the room. She said, "Lady Usinilim, tell the tram to return." "It's good this tram line still works," I said. "Without it, the walk between here and the camp would be such a bother." I chuckled and put my hand on the window. "Take us back." "No authorisation recognised." "What?" I poked the window, but it didn't react. "Why do I need authorisation now?" "Due to the general safety lock down, movement in and out of the installation is restricted to authorised personnel." "But you let us in!" I yelled. The spirit didn't answer, so I rephrased myself, "Why did you let us in?" "Emergency priorities are in effect due to mission endangering low population of negative seventeen. Potential breeding pairs receive limited automatic authorisation, as per directive??"??"" The spirit let out an ear-piercing screech. I winced from the pain and held my ears until the ringing faded. "Oh great," the magnatess said. "Trapped by an ancient initiative to save the human species. Safe to say we already succeeded a hundred generations ago." "This does complicate things," Bemariq said. "At least the rescue will be on the way before long," I said. "Instead of idling here for hours..." Sitolytta said, "We could search around." I glanced into the gloomy corridor. The tram wasn't a place I wanted to be trapped in. "With this suit, I might be able to get this 'authorisation', so we could leave by ourselves." Bemariq nodded. "And the soldiers wouldn't have to cause any destruction to break us out." "Let's go then." Sitolytta gestured with her gun for us to move. The dread from being pointed with a needler drowned into the giddy excitement of walking into corridors, which no human had witnessed in the historical period. Unlike the entrance complex beneath our dig site, this main facility still throbbed with life, even if it had overgrown its purpose. Bemariq's eyes gleamed, as they took in everything. The warmth of the air had stopped being uncomfortable, but that might have been thanks to my suit. We had little ways to navigate. Any markings on the walls were gone from aeons of humidity and stony growth. I drew a simple map on an ink slate as we went on, even if we planned to always take right turns in order to avoid getting lost. The doors were fused shut or otherwise inoperable. We wouldn't force them, before making sure we could handle everything on the other side. "What's that?" Sitolytta asked. She pointed to a stone lump on the floor. It had the distinctive three holes and the top set of human teeth of a skull without a jaw. "A skull," I stated the obvious. "Fused into the living stone." Bemariq sat on his haunches and looked around. "A part of the spine." He pointed to some distance from the skull. "That might a humerus. And that is a rib." "Definitely not a whole corpse." I glanced around and frowned. Human remains made the gloom rather less inviting. "While I'm not surprised by the human remains," Sitolytta said. "Why was the corpse ripped in pieces and spread around?" "These growing structures could have moved the decomposed remains," Bemariq said. The magnatess snorted. "That is an undramatic explanation compared to what I had in mind: desperate cannibalism." I turned my scowl towards Sitolytta. While I had seen plenty of ancient human remains, being trapped deep underground wasn't the place for eerie stories. The magnatess pursed her smile at me. "What's that?" The marksman's voice startled me. Despite his bulk, his silent presence had slipped my mind. Hyssi pointed down the hallway, where a lump moved among the shadows of the outgrowths. Its surface reflected the faint light in the manner of polished chitin. "Stay back, magnatess," Hyssi declared and moved past us with his needler at the ready. He stopped at a few feet away from the strange object. "Seems like some sort of animal. Though, not any I recognise." "Let me see." Bemariq strode forward. I hurried after him. The creature had smooth segmented shell. It was asymmetric, and its numerous flexible legs were all of different size. It lacked any recognizable head beyond a bundle of sensory antennae. "Should I kill it?" Hyssi asked. "No!" Bemariq crouched. "It's some sort of tool or machine, gone feral for generations. Fascinating. It must be able to reproduce by itself." "If we figured out its original purpose," I said. "It could be bred back into a useful form." "Exactly." Bemariq stood up, smiled at me and took my hand. I grinned wide. "Even one new functional machine lineage would a find beyond valuable. To mankind, I mean." "For all we know it might be an elaborate kitchen appliance," Sitolytta said. "An ugly critter, regardless." "I wonder what it eats in here," Hyssi said. Bemariq shrugged. "The by-products of the systems maintaining this structure would be my guess." I glanced at Sitolytta. "At least they can't have been eating corpses for thousands of years." The magnatess smirked. "Maybe that's why the facility wants breeding humans. For food." "The machines could eat by themselves whatever they would feed to the humans," I said. Sitolytta wasn't discouraged. "Perhaps they prefer the taste of us." "I should take point from this onwards," Hyssi said. "I don't know how they live, but I know feral machinery doesn't need to eat humans to be a threat." The corridor opened into an open space surrounded with terraces, which were overgrown with vines, moss and gnarly stunted trees. The ceiling above was luminous grey, yet not high enough to appear like a clouded sky. Though the mist was thin, it was enough to hide the walls from sight. My wonder at the garden under stone turned into a chill up my spine, when a man-sized shape jerked into view from behind a tree. With a uneven gait the four limbed creature approached us. The crawling beast would have appeared to be person wearing a carapace suit like mine, but its lithe frame was too shrivelled to hold a human inside. "Halt!" Hyssi shouted. The creature stopped to rest on all of its four limbs. Only two fingers of both hands touched the ground. The plates of its carapace were thick and rough, and the feral suit was itself uneven on one side. The helmet drooped as a mere flat pouch from its shoulders. "Is that a suit like yours, lady Usinilim?" Sitolytta asked. "It does look similar." The feral suit shifted its shoulders, presumably trying to get a better view of us with whatever parts worked as its eyes. The magnatess pointed her gun at the creature. "Is it supposed to walk about?" "No. My suit hasn't moved itself without me inside it." Sitolytta let out a sigh. "If it wasn't so sickly looking, I might risk wearing it. To be frank I don't trust this thing." "That is wis??"??"" The feral suit let out a strained babble, akin to syllables from a language even it had forgotten. It stood up, as a crippled man might, and unfurled open. From inside it fell brittle black bones and soft mush reminiscent of brain tissue. Viscous liquid dripped from where the suit had cracked. My stomach turned. Sitolytta lifted her hand to shield her nose with a sleeve, but quickly took a proper grip of her gun again. "That's hardly inviting." Bemariq took a step forward. "If captured it, we could??"??"" "Don't go closer." I moved in front of my husband. He snorted. "I wasn't??"??"" The feral suit shivered, and strode forward with wobbly fluidity. "Shoot it," the magnatess commanded. "No??"??"" The crack of the needler drowned Bemariq's voice. The feral suit flinched from the impact, but didn't slow down. Hyssi stepped in front of the approaching creature. The feral suit twitched in place for a moment, before dodging around the marksman and continuing towards Sitolytta. "Hey!" Hyssi grabbed the floppy shoulder of the feral suit. My eyes barely caught the following movement. The suit twisted around and grappled the soldier in an attempt to engulf him. Fear deformed the marksman's face, as his armour-helped muscles struggled to keep the wet folds reaching his head. I dashed forward. Before my second step, my suit was moving me. "Threat detected," my suit declared. Its mask spread to cover my face, and I couldn't see. Yet despite my sudden panic, the suit moved around me. "User override deactivated by emergency combat override." In the blind blackness, I collided into something flimsy. My arms moved, gripped and strained, until whatever I was holding gave way and snapped. My leg kicked and stomped, and the high whine filling the air ceased. My vision returned, though it had a layer of unreality: I wasn't looking through windows in the mask but at perfectly lifelike paintings in front of my eyes. Below me was the crushed remains of the feral suit. Age, disease, malnutrition or poor breeding, whatever it was, had left the suit weaker than mine. But not much. The artificial muscle around my body trembled and sent inexplicable signals of weariness through me. Hyssi stood trembling, with terror lingering on his youthful face. "Sirin!" Bemariq rushed to me, but stopped at a two-step distance. "Are you alright?" My fingers fumbled to remove the mask. As it slid off my face, an acrid wet stench burned in my nostrils. It was fortunate that my gown was threadbare, as the new coating of viscera had surely ruined it. I cleaned my gloved hands on the fabric and said, "I'm alright." Bemariq smiled. He took a step to hug me, but decided otherwise after a glance on my soiled overgown. We grinned at each other instead. Sitolytta had watched me with keen interest, but now her large eyes wandered to the fog beyond. "There's more of them," she said. "We need to leave." Six or more shadows moved in mists, sometimes on two limbs like men, but mostly on more. Bemariq stood still with foolish determination on his face. I clasped his hand, making sure not to crush his bones, and dragged him with me. Sitolytta ran back the way we had come. We followed. After me and Bemariq, the marksman jogged with long strides. The feral apparitions were not far behind. They did not hurry, yet managed to move fast. They spoke to each other ??"??"and possibly to us also??"??" in whines and jabberings. The corridors surged past us. The magnatess glided in the front with a hand holding her skirt up. "Equipment required for full reproductive reorganisation detected," my suit said. "Proceeding..." "Wha??"??"" My legs shifted under me. I braced for a fall, but the suit kept me on my feet. IN fluid motions, my suit walked me to a corridor on the right. "Stop!" Hyssi yelled. "Where are you going?" "The suit's taking me!" I shouted. "Come, Hyssi!" the magnatess shouted. "Splitting up is a plan good as any!" I strode with long fast steps, but Bemariq was able to run past me. "Can't you stop?" he asked. I squirmed inside the grip of the carapace suit. "No!" Bemariq dropped behind me, and after few more steps, I couldn't turn my head enough to see him. A low whine was followed by a stony screech. "Bem?" "Here, Sirin." My husband appeared to my side. He took my hand and squeezed it hard enough for me to feel his grip through the glove. He said, "That door should hold them off. I hope the Jaan get away." Still he cared about the slut. My jaws clenched, but I caught the surge of petty jealousy. However, my voice was sharp, as I said, "I'm relieved for your sake. Yet I find myself already in a suit!" "Did it say anything about what's going on?" "You didn't hear it speak?" My voice broke into whine, "It said it's continuing with the reproductive alterations." "Oh... By the??"??" We need to stop it." Bemariq tried to grapple me, but the suit slid easily from his grasp. A door opened at my side, and I was walked into a brightly lit room. The walls were smooth without lumps or growths. The door behind us slid close. I stumbled, when the suit stopped moving me. "Organ printing is still underway," a disembodied voice said. "Please wait in the reception room." Bemariq tried tried the door handle. "Locked. an you move, Sirin?" "Yes." I rushed to hug him. "Thank the Lady that the machines allowed you here." Bemariq wheezed. He detached from my grip and patted my back. "We need to find a way out. But first, we need to get you out of that suit." He took my wrist, but pressing the controls didn't open my carapace. "Damn." Bemariq sighed. He took a cutter-worm out of his satchel. "Wait. Bem, this might the only healthy suit left." "That is..." His mouth twitched. "No. It's certainly not worth risking your life in whatever procedure the spirit is planning for you." "We might need my suit to escape." I swallowed and tried to sound brave. "Breaking my suit is also a risk." Bemariq looked into the floor. I gestured at the surprisingly clean interior. "This rooms is pristine. Perhaps the machinery here works as intended?" I pressed against Bemariq. My heart's beat filled my chest. "And Bem... Anything could happen as we leave. This might be our only chance to..." Bemariq hugged me. Entwined, we remained silent for several of his deep breaths. "Damn it, Sirin." He drew back and put the cutter-worm away. "This can end with regret either way." I smiled. "That cutter probably wouldn't be enough to break through this suit. Not before it stopped you from harming it, at least." CHAPTER 3 None of the doors in the room opened to us. We sat next to each other on a bench, listening the hums and groans of a facility aeons old. "I wonder, what happened here," I said in low enough voice not to disturb the fickle peace. "This place still lives, even though it has grown so wrong. It isn't at all, what I expected." "It's perfectly possible that this compound served it's ??"??"perfectly sane and reasonable??"??" purpose, before being left to fall feral." Bemariq tried to reassuringly squeeze my thigh, but the armour plate barely gave in. "I'd say 'don't be afraid', if it wasn't utterly hypocritical." My smirk widened, which helped to relieve a little of the trepidation. "Proceed to the surgery," said the voice from the walls. A door opened into a clean halfway, from which we entered a small side room. In the middle was table enclosed by a cocoon of large transparent leaves. "Subject," the voice declared. "Remove unnecessary decorative garments." I took off my shoes and gown. I turned, and my eyes locked with Bemariq's. After long gaze between us, Bemariq wrapped his arms around me and crushed me against him. The disembodied voice whined, but I only listened to my husband's breath. We drew back. His hand clasped mine. For a moment, his expression wave, but he couldn't find fitting words. I suppressed a shiver and forced a smile. The glassy cocoon of the table opened to welcome me, and I took my place on it. My suit became rigid around me. A thick limb appeared from the table and spread to cover my lower half. I pressed my head down and stared at the lights above, so I couldn't see the fear in Bemariq's face, and so he couldn't see the terror in mine. "An imprinted breeding pair confirmed," the electric spirit declared. "Reproductive mismatch. Continuing with the corrective procedures." The transparent sheets rose to create cocoon around me. I took a deep breath to keep myself from crying out, no matter what happened. When the stinging lance stabbed into my crotch, I wailed. "Sirin!" Bemariq rushed to the cocoon. "I-I'm fine," I lied, to myself the most. "I'm fine. I'm fine." The feeble reassurance didn't calm Bemariq. His arms shivered against his body. Sedatives pulsing into my veins relieved the pain. They didn't mask the squirming of tendrils, which pushed, ripped and rearranged the flesh inside me. "It's... fine..." I slurred. "I'm fine..." Bemariq placed his hands on the glass-like surface. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pressured you to this." "You dumm??"??"" I gasped, as the numbed nerves of my abdomen flickered in a bewildering array. "Physiological parameters near optimal. Proceeding with implantation. Error: the patient is demonstrating signs of consciousness. Administrat??"??"??"" My head spun, and the ancient lights above me finally went out. I heard myself groan. My belly pulsed with a warm pain, which has tinged with dizzy horror and confused hope. The light in the room was blinding for several blinks. Bemariq lay on the bench next to a wall. I was still stuck on the table. "Bem..." My husband was startled awake. He hurried to me. "I'm here, my honeydew. Are you alright?" "Yes... But I can't move." "Reproductive reorganisation successful," my suit chirped. "Adjusting fertility rate to required parameters. Error: due to low population, required number of offspring per each fertile female exceeds ten thousand. Levelling to highest survivable ovulation rate of... eleven." "What the..?" Bemariq mouthed. "We need to get you out!" Several spikes stabbed my abdomen. Beyond a sting and uncomfortable movement inside me, there was no pain. Because my brain still floated on the sedatives, I had to look in my husband's terrified face to understand, that something nasty was going on. Bemariq tried to pull the glass cocoon down, but his arms weren't strong enough to budge starfarer machinery. He punched the glass without effect and howled from pain. "Procedures done," said a strained and disembodied voice. The suit around me gave a faint click. My sluggish squirming removed the locks on my limbs, and I tried to scurry away from the table. Bemariq caught me before I fell off the edge. He helped me on my feet, but I didn't really stand. Instead, I merely allowed to suit to keep me up; my legs were listless liquid. "I..." My voice was a meek whine. "Bem..." "It's alright." In my dazed state, I almost believed my husband. He lifted me up and carried me to a bench near the door. I fumbled for his hand. Despite the danger of the suit crushing his bones, he twined his fingers around mine. "At least I'm not dead." I forced a smile on my face. "Yes. That is good." My husband gave me a concerned look. "We need to figure out what the suit meant with the 'the ovulation rate'. If... Eleven is far beyond unreasonable. Even with starfarer wizardry." "It had to be an error." I frowned. "Right?" "Likely, but we can't know in what part. Once free, we should wait and see how your natural cycle works." "That's... disappointing but reaso??"??"" I shivered. "What if... What if the process malfunctioned..." "We can't kn??"??"" I yelped from a sting to my thigh. "The suit pricked me!" "Administrating sexual urge enhancer to encourage instinctive reproductive behaviour." I shuddered from the tingling, which coursed through my body. The carapace suit let out a hiss and cracked open from around me. The wet air was chilly on my hairless skin. My crotch wasn't the heap of mangled flesh my imagination had conjured. Instead, the slit was compact enough to be barely noticeable. My mind went blank. I had been girl for Bemariq. Now I wouldn't be anything else. Bemariq helped me out of the husk and on my feet. His eyes wandered over my naked form. My hand quivered, as I debated about giving my new self an examination. The clench of the inner muscles proved the changes weren't merely skin deep. My body lost its weight. I didn't notice that strength had left my legs, before Bemariq's hands caught me from falling. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his neck. Even if he hadn't been such a prime specimen of human masculinity, I needed him. "Take me," I whispered. "I don't care, if I end up blowing up." Bemariq's smirk flashed, before turning into a deep frown. "Are you well?" With little regard to the artefact, he pushed the husk from the bench and placed me on it. I didn't let go off him. "Of cour??"??"" I closed my eyes and bit my teeth together. All my thoughts were interrupted by images of hard pounding, which I would soon receive. "Damn... The suit wasn't kidding with the 'sexual urge enhancers'." My limbs trembled. I let out a moan. Bemariq wrenched himself from my hold, but I could see that a burgeoning tool filled his trousers. He was a virile man; of course the sight of a nubile girl would stoke heat into him. My hand wandered to my groin. The sensation was just as exciting as I had hoped. A desperate moan left my lips, which sent a jolt through the man's handsome frame. "Come on..." I murmured. Bemariq's grimaced and pulled his hands away from me. "Try to relax, Sirin." "You'll have to help me." I tried to sit up, but Bemariq pressed me down. His hand was cold on my heated flesh. Instead of getting on top of me and taking me, as was his right and duty, the man kept me from moving. I squirmed, but he was much stronger than a vulnerable woman like me. I snarled, "You impotent eunu??"??"" "Shut up." Bemariq's tone was sharp but calm. "And think. You are poisoned, but your mind still works. Now, be a good girl and behave, and I'll get you off." I had no choice but to yield to his torturous denial. The brute moved his other hand down my belly. I shivered, when a finger touched the lower lips and slid into the wetness between. While his other fingers didn't probe deep, a thumb and the index found the nub. I tried to curse him for doing something so boring as forcibly rubbing my tender spots, but soon I could only moan. His touch was still the same gentle but strong delight, even if my brain flared in confusion from the rearranged flesh. The raising arousal in me tightened into an exasperating node. The relief wasn't far off. I cried out as the knot of nerves unravelled. The glow didn't fade. Bemariq continued his forceful dispensation. I writhed, my limbs shivering, until I wailed from an orgasm no less intense than the first. My mind reeled, as the lights above turned into spinning stars. Bemariq relinquished his grip and sat next to me. "Do you feel better?" His voice wavered, as if from barely contained excitement. "More sane?" I caught my breath, focused my vision and smiled at him. "Somewhat. Thank you... For a moment, I thought..." I swallowed. The buzz was still clouding my head, but at least death from catastrophic pregnancy didn't seem like worth a good probing any more. My husband's gentle smile widened. "Don't bother blaming yourself." I sat up, and a sob burst out of my throat. I had acted so dumb. And it wasn't just for that one moment; there was little I was good for. The despair was like a crushing wave. I began crying, and Bemariq embraced me. "What's wrong?" he asked. "I... I don't..." I gulped. "You are too good to me. A silly frippet like me doesn't deserve a proper and gentle man like you." "What the..." Bemariq sat on the bench with me and lifted me to sit on his lap. His arms crushed me against him. "The drugs must have stirred the chemicals in your brain. The effect will soon be over, and you'll feel better." He moved his mouth to my ear and whispered, "I love you." At that moment I didn't believe such proclamation plausible nor something I deserved. But he continued his kind platitudes, and I listened, until I found my calm again. "Oh, have mercy on me, Our Lady," I muttered. "This is embarrassing." Bemariq dried my cheeks with handkerchief. "How so? I've seen people have such outburst even without their blood being saturated with starfarer chemicals." My mouth struggled into a crooked smile. He really was too good for me, but that wasn't grounds for more whining. "The procedure really worked." I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Will you now grow bored of your dully mundane wife?" Though I tried to sound nonchalant, desperation tinged my voice. "What for? I don't think your genitals affect your ability to categorise ancient relics." He gave a brief kiss. "That is the faculty in a woman, which foremost warms my blood." I giggled in response, but my gaze fell. "I'm serious." Bemariq affected being hurt, but couldn't wipe his smirk entirely. "Imagine having to live with someone, who thinks your work is a vapid waste of time. Though you are ??"??"at times??"??" preoccupied with the market value of the artefacts, you nevertheless can appreciate the difference between a proto-Jaan plough and a Kosite-style sickle- dagger." "I know they are both worthless scrap." I laughed, but only for a burst. "Though I have to say, it's peculiar to find both at the same site, not to mention in this remote area of the world. It places serious doubt on at least two current models on the spread of post-Collapse material culture." Bemariq let me down to sit next to me and insisted that I explain myself, even though he must have been well aware of what I meant. I humoured him, but he countered my sensible assertion with arguments, which were intermittently both quaint and radical. Yet his tone was serious enough that I didn't catch on, what he was doing, until I sighed from frustration. I chuckled. "One might have assumed the renowned associate of Usinilim didn't harbour such amateurish views." "If you think you know better than me, you should write a manuscript on the subject." Bemariq's smile was wide and warm. "Do you feel better yet?" I closed my eyes and breathed in deep. "Yes. The haze is gone. Thanks for distracting me from those gloomy thoughts." I stood up and gave my body another glance. Despite the radical changes, my physical form wasn't foreign, but fully mine. Though the sedatives had worn off, a vague satisfaction infused my mind. The sensation wasn't hazy or confused. Instead, a fog ??"??"which had clouded my life before??"??" had disappeared. I placed my hands under my navel and shivered. Hidden inside me was either a miracle or a misshaped horror. One, which would turn something as wonderful as love into anguish. Before the distress could overtake me, I steeled my resolve my concentrating on the facts. I was alive, we were trapped. If... When we escaped, anything wrong in me could be fixed, or at least mitigated. "Sirin?" Bemariq stood up. I filled my lungs to the brim. "I'm fine. I need to get back into my suit." "No!" Bemariq strode to me and grabbed my arms below the shoulders. "Absolutely not." "Bem." I lowered my voice so it didn't sound so frightened. "We need the suit. Fertilisation wouldn't happen this fast anyhow, so I doubt it can tell whether or not we actually... participated in intercourse. In any case, we must risk it. I must." My husband gritted his teeth and sighed. "Yes. You are right." He tried to smile, but managed only a subdued grimace. "You made it this far. The luck might not run out yet." Bemariq lifted the husk and helped me step inside it. The familiar tightness surrounded me, and against my fear, nothing happened. "Seems the electric spirit is satisfied." I turned and hugged Bemariq. He kissed me, chastely enough not to stoke fire into our souls. The tight fit of the carapace suit was almost like nudity, so I put on the gown, but not the superfluous boots. "Let me try something," I said to Bemariq. "Hey, electronic spirit! I am possibly the sole breeding female in this facility. Because my fresh fertilisation, I require full access. Otherwise my survival is not guaranteed." After a moment, the voice said, "Contact the Nexal Censor for access management." "How?" I asked. "I don't know, where to go, and the doors don't open for me." "Granting temporary door access. A guide will be sent to escort you." I smiled at Bemariq, but he frowned. "I don't like the sound of that 'guide'," he said. "Whatever the thing is, it might not even be alive any longer. Let's search this hospital. Perhaps there's some sort of tool for inspecting human bodies." Bemariq's eyes brightened. "The ancients must have had excellent machines for that. Such tool could combine a radiation imager and one those glowing windows." The doors opened in front of me. I held Bemariq's hand, so we couldn't be separated by the caprice of the spirit inside the stone. Many of the rooms were barren, with the machinery presumably hidden in the walls. Some had beds or tables like the one I had laid on. We entered a room similar to the others, save the table wasn't unoccupied. On it, the decomposed bones of a person lay in their proper places. I would have ignored the signs of ancient death, except my eyes caught the smaller remains on top of the crumbled hip bone. "Oh the Lady..." My mind spun. There wasn't just one tiny skeleton or even two. My mind sunk into darkness. All rights are waived on this text, CC0.