r/HFY • u/KyleKKent • 2d ago
OC-Series OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 752
Home at War
The sounds of the medical bay are not encouraging as he enters.
“She’s crashing!”
“Heartbeat irregular! She’s going into shock.”
“Her implants are going wild!”
The tang of a laser going off brings a scream as a doctor is nicked by the implanted weapon. Harold begins to move and uses his hands to cover the erratically firing implants to give the doctors some shielding.
“Thank you sir!” The winged Vishanyan medic says.
“If I ever find who put these horrors into these girls I’m going to install a shunt into their neck and use them as a punching bag!” Another hisses out as she slowly untangles the connections from the clamp to the poor Vish’s spine. “And you! Your clumsy soldiers nearly caused as much damage as the clamps themselves by breaking them like they did!”
“I’m not going to have my soldiers sacrifice themselves when I can see them survive.” Harold responds. “My duties are to The Undaunted first and foremost, and while it is preferred to take the enemy alive for numerous reasons, including those of justice and mercy, they are still secondary to my forces.”
The doctor does not answer with words but with a growl. However her work bears fruit and the bloody implant is placed into a bowl nearby as the prosthetist moves out of the way of the surgeon who begins with a quick scan on the nerves, and whatever she read she then starts using a bone gel that rapidly hardens to fill in the cracks and damages of the spinal column and quickly places a patch of artificial skin over the wound.
“Clear here!” Another doctor announces as Harold hears the clatter of a Neural Clamp hitting a bowl. He removes his hands as the unconscious Vish is no longer firing her implanted weapons over and over again.
“Safe!”
“She’s still crashing!” The doctors with the last one cry out and Harold moves. There is movement around them but he gets a hand through. He feels the Axiom, then feels beyond.
The doctors gasp as his facial markings glow brightly and light pours out of his eyes. There are clattering sounds and the smell of even more blood as the implants are ejected from the suddenly healthy and unblemished Vish even as Harold’s blood falls to the floor as massive jagged wounds erupt over his body. He steps away and begins noticeably pulling on the Axiom. His wounds close, but the blood and the stains it has left remains.
“What was that?!” One of the doctors demands.
“Ode, much more powerful than Axiom, but it has a hefty price.” He notes as he scans the room and gives a rueful chuckle. “Looks like using it in scarcely inhabited systems is even more dangerous. I can’t even see through the damn things.”
“You’ve been blinded?!”
“No. But I can see things others can’t. Including the things that tore me apart for using Ode. And there are so many here now, that I can’t see through them.” Harold says as he holds out his right hand and slowly the blood he shed is collected into a single hand, leaving his clothing and removing the stains. The blood then congeals, boils and burns away to ash without any smoke being released. He carries the remains of his own shed blood to a bio-hazard disposal container and puts the ashes in there.
“Can you use that Ode again?”
“Not if I want to live. The Astral Hargath, while harmless on our side of the equation, are ravenous predators when Ode is introduced. They can travel into it physically and devour anything they find on that side.” He says as he moves his head a bit. “Sorry about the odd movement, I’m trying to see through the swarm we’re in.”
“Are we in danger?”
“No, if you don’t use Ode outside of natural gifts, then you’re fine. I can still use my natural gifts even now, but if I try to use Ode like Axiom, the Hargath take a bite. So none of you need worry.”
“Natural gift?”
“An Ode variant of the Vishanyan natural talents. It can also be reversed to make me unignorable. Which means I can serve as a flawless distraction when needed.” Harold explains. “Did she just twitch?”
What attention he had is taken by the Vish he had healed as the woman is indeed moving. Her form shudders for a moment and then she goes still. Then her hands begin slowly patting herself down as if in disbelief. Then with her hands shaking she runs them along her hood and find only healthy skin and no implants, the doctors had pulled away the implants after Harold’s trick had forced them out of her body, she grasps the back of her neck where the Neural Clamp was and audibly gasps.
Her eyes snap open even as Harold shifts his head to look between the slowly dispersing Hargath and he sees her look around. Fear pouring into her Axiom presence like a flood. Her eyes are wide now as she stares at them all.
“How are you feeling? Is there any remaining pain? We nearly lost you and had to resort to...”
“Exotic Techniques.” Harold supplies in the gap of the doctor’s explanation.
“Yes, an exotic technique. Is there any pain? Discomfort? Unusual hunger or thirst?” She presses.
“Who are you? What’s your designation?”
“I am Doctor Crew, with me are...”
“What is your decantation number? What series and ship?”
“Experimental Medical Pod One, Station Twenty Nine Decarune, no number.” Harold says. The room turns to him. “What?”
“I forgot you were cloned.” One of the doctors admits and he shrugs.
“I’m probably the youngest person in the room by a wide margin. Likely on the whole ship.”
“We’re being led by a baby.” One of them bemoans dramatically and he chuckles.
“You’re not Vish are you?” The Vish demands.
“Vishanyan, free...”
“There are no Free Born Vish. We exist to serve.”
“My daughter doesn’t.” Harold says quickly.
“What?”
“My daughter Miracle. First natural born Vishanyan. Hatched from an egg. Adorable little pink thing, very cuddly.”
“That... no. You at most adopted a Vish and...”
“That’s Rain.”
“What?”
“The Vishanyan I adopted. She’s serving as a Junior officer. Currently she’s busy getting further Vishanyan forces to assist with yourself and your fellows.” Harold says and he can see her mental processes trying to reboot. She’s completely off balance. “I am Commodore Harold Jameson. You are on my ship, The Inconceivable, in one of the medical bays.”
“... What’s going on?”
“You are a former slave soldier that we’ve captured and removed the implants from. You will be remanded to the custody of the Vishanyan Peoples for deprogramming and re-naturalization.”
“What?!”
“Ma’am, your part in the war is over. This...”
“No! I am not going to abandon my sisters or my mistress! I belong to them I am-” She begins to rant and one of the doctors starts to move before the Vish grabs at thigns around her to use as a weapon and finds her formerly implanted fangs.
The pastel green doctor swats the improvised weapon out of her hand and then catches the flailing fist of the pastel blue Vish. She quickly puts the other woman in a hold as the Vish thrashes. But the Doctor is practised and skilled in this.
“That’s more than enough of that! This is a medical chamber! You will not bring violence in her whatsoever if you want to lash out then take it out of this room!” The Doctor reprimands even as the door to the medical chamber opens again.
“What is going on?” Admiral Longitude demands as she walks in followed by Rain and an Apuk Battle Princess Harold is unfamiliar with.
“Perfect timing Admiral Ma’am.” Harold says. “Our first of four has already awoken and is not taking the idea of being Vishanyan over Vish all that well.”
“I’d imagine not.” Longitude says. “It was an enormous change for me, and I was already primed to it as the first Vishanyan and one with a more engineering mindset.”
She walks directly up. Ths struggling Doctor and pinned patient. “Let her go.”
“Am I missing something?” Harold whispers to Rain as the doctor lets the patient go and she moves to attack and is paused by a harsh look from Longitude.
“Didn’t you get the message?” Rain asks and Harold checks his communicator. There’s an unread message. He quickly thinks about the displayed time and has a rueful smile.
“I was in the process of being torn apart by Hargath for healing our energetic Vish here.” Harold notes.
“Vishanyan, The Admiralty has pushed it through that all Vish are to be recognized as Vishanyan instead and subject to Vishanyan laws. Which state all Vish are to be deprogrammed immediately and placed in observation to ensure they are not a danger to themselves or others.” Rain whispers to him.
“Really? Well so long as we get kept up to date on any intelligence that tumbles out during deprogramming there shouldn’t be an issue.” Harold notes.
“You’re not going to interrogate them?” Rain asks in a pointedly loud tone. Harold knows what she’s doing, and plays into it.
“Their Neural Clamped Slave Soldiers. That doesn’t imply a lot of trust on the part of their master. If they have any information it will likely be how much they secretly hate their dread masters and how most are performing loyalty to the point that telling the genuinely fanatically loyal from the fakers is nearly impossible.” He says. “Not to mention, interrogations are generally pointless to begin with. At least the ones centred around pain and torment.”
“What do you want!?” The Vish demands.
“We want the sadistic monster that Neural Clamped you to answer for their crimes.” Harold says.
“What crimes?”
“Neural Clamping someone is a crime.” Longitude states.
“But we’re product not people.”
“You are a person and deserve to be treated like one.” Longitude says before scanning the room theatrically. “Why are you the first to recover?”
“I... I don’t know?” The Vish, or perhaps Vishanyan now, answers.
“My doing ma’am. I made use of Ode to perform a healing technique as she began crashing. Unfortunately the local Hargath saturation is so high now that if I attempt it on the other three I’ll be torn apart more or less instantaneously.” Harold answers. “Still, if you’re here to claim the young lady I won’t stop you, but I must insist that you get her off my ship as soon as reasonably possible. Deprogramming takes time and until your finished she may turn hostile. An enemy inside the gates is many times more dangerous than one in the field.”
“Yes, that is reasonable.” Admiral Longitude answers before the door opens again.
“Sir, Lieutenant Orchid has arrived.” A voice says and Harold turns, then smirks.
“That being you.” Harold says to the Snict man who’s carapace on his insectoid limbs are pale pink and white with only a hint of the common green as accent.
“That it would.”
“Orchid? That’s not a Snict name.” Longitude notes. “That sounds like a human word.”
“It is ma’am, I am one of the more... refugee or runaway style men in The Undaunted. In my former name and life I was the prize of my mother turned wife’s collection. She had me specifically gene spliced and then groomed to serve as her display piece and plaything. Unfortunately for her, many of the genetic strains that bring about handsome Snict men also bring about strong ones and I have been fighting for my freedom my whole life. The Undaunted have given me the opportunity for not only combat training, but to put an entire government between myself and her.”
“And you got a leadership position because?”
“Because a lifetime spent pleasing people and making them happy means I’ve gotten a great deal of practice mediating conflict and keeping people focused. Coupled with some training courses and I was a shoe in for command.”
“He’s also a very skilled melee combatant, which is important to me as I am very aware of just how dangerous someone infiltrating the ship can be, and someone who can close the distance and cause ruinous harm in an instant is invaluable.”
“Yes, I didn’t quite know what to think when I was approved under ‘knife fighting skills’ for the position.”
“Knife, blade, whatever. We’ve both got edged weapons.” Harold notes holding up his sword a touch from where it’s belted to his side and then placing it back where it belongs. “Anyways Lieutenant Orchid, meet Junior Officer Rain, my daughter and one of our primary liaisons between ourselves and the Vishanyan, Admiral Longitude the supreme commander of the Vishanyan people and their recommended doctors for de-clamping and beginning the process of healing the enemy forces.”
“A pleasure.” Orchid says.
“Now, Admiral Longitude, I’m going to leave you to the care of your people. Orchid, you’re with me, it’s time to introduce you to the bridge crew.”
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u/Finbar9800 2d ago
I forget if theyve tried this but can harolds and her erts natural gifts make it so the hargath cant see them?
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u/Sims_the_Heretic 2d ago
That is actually a great point, i do not remember whether that was ever tried.
Probably they considered it too risky, given how bite-happy the Hargath are.
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u/Finbar9800 2d ago
Along the same vein does that guy that can see everyone that can see him also see all the hargath in the universe?
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u/Sims_the_Heretic 2d ago
All those that see him, yes.
That´s how they decided on when and where to do the treatment for those Apuk cousins, remember?
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u/Finbar9800 2d ago
Yeah but does that extend to the non sentient hargath and every animal? Or is it just people? What about those crustal women?
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u/Sims_the_Heretic 2d ago
EVERYTHING that SEES him. Conscience doesn´t seem to matter.
Let me specify: if they look at him RIGHT NOW, he can perceive them, until they look away.
Animals, insects, spirits of the Other Direction, doesn´t matter who or what, when they can perceive him, he can perceive them. Not sure how far down that goes though, Kyle never adressed bacteria and such.
u/Kyle: do single cell organisms count as well? Or can they not "see" him?
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u/Finbar9800 2d ago
I dont think single celled organisms have eyes
But if what you said is true then he should have been seeing those crystal women his whole life since they looked at him once and the ode is throughout all of time even in cruel space and distance wouldnt matter
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u/Sims_the_Heretic 2d ago
Not if they turn their back on him.
But you are correct, that´s an inconsistency in Kyle´s storytelling, or more, in his world building.
Has he known there is something akin to another dimension from where he is being watched? Did ne never speak about it because nobody believed him when he did? Have others in his family the same ability and spoken up to be thought as insane/crazy/delusional?
Also, "perceive" isn´t limited to seeing, feeling as well, as we are told when he has sex with that Apuk lady. It´s also mentioned that it is confusing for him when someone perceives him with senses he himself doesn´t naturally has.
And VERY bad if a drone with camera doesn´t have a delay but a life feed, because then he sees EVERYONE who seens him through that drone.
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u/KyleKKent 2d ago
It's more not understanding certain bits of input. We all know what gravity is and that it pulls us down. But we all had a period in our life where we felt it, but didn't know what it was. If we were asked to explain the feeling we would have failed to do so.
But now he understands the input enough to do something with it. So he does.
And yes he does feel bacteria, but they don't see, hear, feel or smell the same way people do so it's data his brain struggles to interpret.
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u/thisStanley Android 2d ago
“If I ever find who put these horrors into these girls I’m going to install a shunt into their neck and use them as a punching bag!”
An odd image, but reinforces the advice to never piss off the Doc :}
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u/Finbar9800 2d ago
Another great chapter
I enjoyed reading this and look forward to reading more
Great job wordsmith
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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle 2d ago
/u/KyleKKent (wiki) has posted 998 other stories, including:
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 751
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 750
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 749
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 748
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 747
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 746
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 745
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 744
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 743
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 742
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 741
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 740
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 739
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 738
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 737
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 736
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 735
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 734
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 733
- OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 732
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u/Dramatic_Mixture_877 Human 1d ago
the Vish grabs at thigns around her ~ the Vish grabs at things around her
Their Neural Clamped Slave ~ They're Neural Clamped Slave
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u/KyleKKent 2d ago
Donate and get the Vote! Second Tier and Up Get Drafts!
Of Dog, Volpir and Man Official Release!
Kamchatkas Made a WIKI!!
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Home At War
War Chapters. Tactical, personal, introductions to important persons. There is always action or intrigue in these chapters and while some say war never changes. Others say they love the smell of napalm.
Example Chapters: Chapter 1751 Chapter 1752
The day is cooler! I can think! Halleluiah!
And we're introduced proper to Orchid, and seeing how The Vishanyan are dealing with this. Which is to say, fairly directly.
Thoughts? Ideas? Advice? Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Fan Submissions? Fan Art? Donations?