Chapter 96 The fallen queen and the trickster

The next morning, Liz got Luke out of bed and into the jeep. He dozed off the whole way, only when they stopped at the company premises did he look around in irritation.

"What am I doing here?"

"You agreed to fight me."

He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

" Did I?" 

Liz nodded. 

"Yes, you did."

"I see. So where to?" 

" To the hangar and yes, your wife confirmed..."

Luke pondered the last part, she pointed to a hangar, but there were security guards loitering outside.

"Why did you want the hangar?"

"Because it's no longer in use and has space and no one can see in," she said in a monotone.

" Hhmm, let's go to the holo."

She looked at him.

" They're training whole recruits there, it's full."

Luke grinned.

" Yeah. And I want to pick up my gym bag there."

Liz sighed, started the car and drove towards the compound, stopping in the full parking lot. Luke got out and walked to the entrance, inside it looked the same as he remembered, only fuller. He went to the reception desk. An employee didn't look up.

"Why?" came from him.

"One holo field for sparring and I want my bag."

The employee typed something into the system.

" Put your hand on it." 

Luke did so.

"Field 78, the bag is in locker h87z according to the system."

"Thanks," he looked at Liz.

"You go ahead, I'll get my bag." 

She nodded and went ahead. Luke went into the locker room to the locker in question, opened it and found his old gym bag inside, took it out and looked inside. His training gi was still inside. He took the bag and went to the holo field. Liz looked around nervously, but seemed relieved when she saw him. 

"So, for us, Liz. Do you want with or without a handicap?" 

"What's the difference?" 

Luke put the bag down.

" Without, that's the standard I use off-planet."

She looked at him questioningly, Luke transformed into his original form, crystalline spikes forming on his knuckles. 

She stared at him.

"That's the standard outside? "

He grinned.

" No, because I have new gimmicks and don't want to break anything, but ..." 

He took off his top and shoes. Liz looked at him askance.

" So you can understand the standard of the guardsmen at Teheen Army. "

He grew an extra pair of arms, he grew in height and dense muscles formed on his body. Liz's eyes widened.

"Dad said you were a cameleon, but ... "

Luke grinned.

" They put a lot of junk in me Liz, so what's it going to be?" 

Liz looked at him in silence.

"Okay, so how you beat George and the others." 

" You can do it, but I want you to go full throttle. "

Luke could see that she was feeling remorseful.

" Liz, I know you've been better than George for a long time, even better than your father. "

" But ..." 

Luke resumed his original form.

" Liz, just be yourself. I'll only use fighting techniques from Earth, not genetic Gimiks."

" You're a gimik..."

Luke stretched and got into fighting stance.

" Come!"

Liz attacked, she was much faster and more aggressive than Sarge. He really had to be on his guard, unlike the idiots at the martial arts tournament. It took him a while to figure out her rhythm, which cost him a few bruises and abrasions. Then he went on the counterattack. 

Which caused Liz to fight dirty and go into pure rage mode. Luke grinned.

Just what he wanted. Rage Liz, from all the years he had spent on the moon watching holos, he had watched Liz too and in rage mode she was still a true monster. She even ignored punches and kicks to vital body parts and carried on. 

It only spurred her on even more. He didn't care that the holofield was turned into scrap metal, the terminal into electronic waste. Liz kicked him across the room several times, causing him to slam into the wall, he retaliated by doing the same, when his vision switched to outline mode, Luke had to pull himself together and fight it. He wanted the pure experience, unfiltered.

Liz got more creative in the fight, she kept biting him and ripping big chunks out of him, which she swallowed, Luke gave a shit, kicking her so hard she broke through the wall into the next room. He climbed through hole, was field for corporate soldiers practicing CQR, Liz was on the ground, jumped up and ran at him like an animal. 

The fight continued, the holofield was also destroyed, the fight ended in disappointment for Luke as Liz sank to her knees exhausted and gasping for breath. Luke walked towards her, they had an audience, a bloody big one. Gitte pushed her way through the crowd.

"Luke, are you stupid?"

" Huh? Why, we're just sparring."

"Sparring? Have you looked around?"

Luke looked around, there must have been more than two fields.

"Happened."

"Happened? And then this!" 

He pointed at Liz, who was still in rage mode.

"Liz is forbidden to go off like that! And that's because we have nothing to get her back! "

Luke looked at Gitte, then at Liz, walked up to her and squatted down in front of her, she stared at him breathing heavily. 

"Liz?"

She mumbled something unintelligible between her breaths, he had to laugh, putting his hand on her head.

"Liz, that was fun, it really was. Grandpa's lucky you're protecting him."

She was still looking at him angrily. He rested his forehead against hers, lowering his voice so only she could hear.

He remembered the last time Uther had shown him how to get Liz down. He sighed, why would he say verses.

"When the heart disobeys, it rules."

What surprised Luke the most was that Liz was talking to him. Now he had to do the second part, according to Uther he had to. 

" Liz, of all the women I've met so far, you're the craziest after Tes. "

He still wondered why he should confess his feelings to her. 

"You are and always will be a part of my heart, Liz. I've loved you since the first day I saw you."

She blinked at him, her eyes returning to normal.

" I didn't want to tell you since you found happiness, but Uther told me to say something personal. "

She looked at him confused.

"Liz, I can't replace him, but one day I will give you the freedom you want and deserve. "

Tears ran down her cheek. Luke pulled a wound spray from his pocket, sprayed it on her and stood up. Liz looked around in irritation.

"The pure stuff, not the adulterated stuff the moon leaves here. "

Gitte came, came closer.

"How the hell did you do that?"

He grinned at her.

"I told her a secret," he pocketed the spray.

"Aha. Why don't you mist yourself with the stuff? There's something missing from your body."

He ran his tongue over his teeth and pulled out several teeth.

A group of soldiers in combat fatigues pushed their way through the crowd.

The leader, a North American with a lion's beard, laughed.

"Specter! Did you get your face kicked in by the boss monster? "

Luke held a tooth up to the light and examined it.

"I get a few million for this," he pocketed it, looking at it.

"Smithie, I see you've got the operator cadre with you."

The man addressed grinned.

"Since you played the little mercenary, yes, I'm number one."

Luke grinned and his teeth grew again.

" Yes, it was a few war zones."

" Still the trickster, what have you done with your teeth?" 

" It's good isn't it? Saves me brushing my teeth, always stays clean."

A small operator pushed forward.

" You've let us down Specter ! " 

" When Leni? Huh? Didn't I come every time they shot your asses off, huh? And it was the corporation that shat me out. "

Leni remained silent.

Smithie put his hand on Leni's helmet.

"He can't handle the fact that you're not with us anymore."

Luke laughed and stretched out his arms. 

"Then Leni, come on, show me how good you've become, I'll give you and the others the same handicap as Liz." 

"Are you sure? You look like you need to go to hospital."

Luke took the spray out of his pocket again, fogged himself up and the wounds healed. 

" Like this. " 

"Ha, you've got the alien stuff, it's supposed to be worse than what we've got."

Luke pocketed the spray.

" It's more violent. "

"Suits you," came from another operator. 

Gitte went over to Liz.

" Liz, what were you thinking? "

came from her. 

"Ha the fallen queen, just garbage," came from a group of Hydras. 

Luke stared at the group. 

"That's Hydra's current top squad," came from Smithie. 

Luke looked at him.

" Really? "

" Yes. Since your ex left, they've stepped up. Young and ambitious. No respect. "

" Oh, that's right ..." he went to Gitte.

" Liz you're going to pay for the damage here, you can't do that."

" Give me your cell phone."

Gitte stared at him.

" Why should I give you mine?"

" Simply because I'm paying for the damage here and because I want to see something."

She looked at him skeptically. 

She handed him her cell phone, he switched it on and dialed his grandfather's number.

"Honey, what's going on?" came from him.

Luke grinned.

" Hi." 

He heard a groan.

" I'll make it quick, I'll pay for the damage to the holo system and what status do I have in the group?" 

" You do realize the damage is in the millions Luke?"

"Sure. But you can be proud of your daughter. She's still at the top."

Alex sighed.

" Yes. And she had a bad year, where little mistakes ruined her image. "

"Anyway, put her back as your guard. So, what position do I have in the corporation now?"

"Well, now that you're a shareholder, a co-owner. I really didn't expect that."

" Who knows what they were thinking. I'll borrow the latest Elite Hydrakader."

Another groan.

"Go ahead. We're about to disband them anyway and integrate them into other units. The Ai is still going through the reports and mismanagement..."

"Okay, thanks," he hung up and handed the phone back to Gitte.

"You're up to something..."

Luke grinned.

"I... no. Liz is going to watch Grandpa again."

Gitte looked at him.

"But there's nothing you can do Luke. "

" Liz will think of something, files, training, further education. Just sit down with her." 

" Hm."

Luke looked at her.

"Go on, she needs something new. "

"If you say so, what are you going to do?"

Luke grinned. 

" Fun." 

" I don't like this already." 

" Hhmm, I'll take Liz for the fun." 

" You can't just decide like that, Luke."

" Yes, but I just had the feeling on the phone that Grandpa is alone." 

"Oh is he?" She stood up. 

"No deaths, got it?"

Luke nodded. Gitte hurried away.

"So transparent."

Liz looked after her, then Luke.

" Why?" she then asked.

" Because I can, Liz, and because you deserve better " He grabbed her and pulled her towards Smithie and the others. 

" You know the Shenigans. "

Smithie looked at him.

"You're up to something, and I already know it's not going to be good."

The operators nodded in agreement.

"Just a little lesson for the squad back there," he looked to the Hydras. 

"I'll show you what I've done."

" Then I'm curious. "

" Good, good."

Luke walked up to the group of Hydras, they were whispering, they looked at him when he was with them.

" The boss allowed me to borrow you guys."

" Yes? For what?"

" I want to see if you really are the best."

" We are the best, best academy graduation, best training graduation, best shooting results, best operational values." 

" Perfect. He led them to the group where Liz was standing. Reached for his own phone, processed the claim, dialed Nad's number. 

"Yeah?" 

"Do you have a mission?"

" Define stake, stake like stake by your level or something else?" 

" Something else."

He heard her chuckle.

" All I can offer you is bug hunting. Nothing dangerous..."

" I suppose." 

" Good. Then collect as many as you want, the ship is ready."

" Thank you," he hung up.

"So, you're all registered for the mission now."

" That's not possible," came from a Hydra. Smithie laughed.

"Kid, he can," came coldly from Leni.

"Yes?" came back sarcastically.

Leni stared at her.

"He outranks me and I outrank you and i am the lowest rang in my group," he pointed to his captain's badge. 

"I don't see any rank on him!" came the reply.

Luke tagged everyone, pressed the teleporters and they were in the assembly bay on the moon. Only the Hydras looked around in astonishment. 

"Let's go change then." 

They did, until they were all in lunar combat gear and had pulse rifles. The operatives looked at the rifles scrutinizingly.

"Are we really allowed to use them? Didn't they say they were forbidden down there?"

Luke grinned.

" On Earth, yes, but we're on the hunt. "

Nad and Ned came in through the side entrance. 

The operators thought it was normal, the Hydras stared at them. Leni looked at the Hydras.

"Better? Didn't read the memo about the moon, huh?" 

"It only said one, not two!"

Nad raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Has it a reason you use so much, it's just a simple bug hunt. "

" Bug hunt? " An operator asked.

Ned raised her hand and a holo of a nine-legged dog-like creature with an ant head appeared.

" A colony is being overrun by them right now, you will destroy them and if you can, destroy their lair as well. "

Smithie looked at the holo.

" Oh, something other than hunting mutants. " He turned to the others.

"Weapons check, equipment check!"

The Hydrats just stood around. Ned grabbed Luke.

"Why? Are you taking advantage of Teheen being gone again?"

" Well, they were talking bad about Liz. I just want to give them a culture shock."

"Uh-huh."

The ship landed, they boarded, the flight took an hour until they landed on a swampy planet. The hatch opened and a village of futuristic buildings became visible. The inhabitants were cranes with human-like bodies. Luke got out. 

"Where are the bugs?" he asked in an alien language. A crane chirped at him and pointed in one direction.

" We're going." 

They set off, Smithie following him.

" So, what else did the alien say, apart from pointing you in the right direction?"

" Just that there are more of them, it's high tide time, so they have more to eat."

"And how do you understand that?" 

" Implant, I'm testing the headset."

" Hmm!"

"You'll get one when the test is over."

Smithie grinned. 

" Don't forget the others, which one are you nailing?"

" I'm more the victim ..." 

Smithie laughed.

" Sure, but is that true now? I mean, what happened to the technician a few years ago?"

" Yup. The guard was too horny." 

" But for hours ... I mean... " 

Luke looked at Smithie.

"You're on drugs, Smithie, you have to be careful they don't mark you when you interact with them. "

" And what does that look like?" 

" A kiss, if you're unlucky you'll get tagged. "

" Lenni was kissed by a guard earlier when he introduced himself in best Lenni Marnier. "

" Then don't be surprised if you don't see him for a while. "

" Uh-huh... And how do they get you drugged? " 

" Their drool is the drug, gives you more stamina, by holding it and if you're unlucky and use it to mate. You'll have a hard-on that lasts forever. 

"And you know that because?" 

Luke turned as he walked, looking at Smithie.

" Been out here hunting rabbits, even found your fetish here Smithie. "

" That's a good one. " 

Luke grinned.

" That's right, had more than one of those on the table to massage..." 

" Oh, Mr. Massaure again, I had to get one for the others because of you. Which the boss didn't like and I had to lie to them."

They walked for a while until Luke beckoned them to stop. The landscape was a thriving marsh with lots of grotesque animals that were a mix of ground insects and amphibians. 

Luke turned to the group.

"Helmets stay closed, more because the contamination will take about two hours for you guys. Team Hydra, you take the left side. Team Operator the right. "

" And where are you? " came from an Operator. 

" I'm playing with Liz decoy. "

" Ey wait, didn't they say ..."

" Sure, if you're doing this solo, you have to use decoys and then start slaughtering outside the nest entrance. I used to throw a plasma grenade into a burrow like that."

Liz glanced at her weapon. 

"Wait till they get here."

Luke took off, Liz following him. When they were far enough away from the group. 

" Luke why are you doing this? "

" What? "

" You know what I mean... and..."

" Liz, I told you I'd make sure you weren't in the shit anymore."

" Yes, but what else you said..."

" I'm a realist from time to time. You have George and he makes you happy. I'm your peace of mind."

She fell silent. Luke stopped, raised his rifle, aimed it at a bush and fired a shot, a shrill scream rang out. 

"What..." came from Liz. 

"Get ready, Liz."

The bushes began to move in front of them.

" Just shoot."

" She did, the screeching grew louder, until a meter tall creature, it looked like it was on a holo, rushed out of the first bush. It stood motionless as Liz struck it down. More and more came.

"Retreat!"

Luke took off running, Liz followed him, they reached the group.

"They're coming!"

And sure enough, a flood of insects came running, the group opened fire, Liz too. 

Luke watched the carnage, it lasted maybe 15 minutes. The Hydras did quite well, the Operators better, which he had expected anyway. Luke looked at his watch.

"Is it over?" came from a Hydra.

"No, they were just drones, now the warriors should come."

" Those ... those were just drones?" 

The ground near the bodies opened up and spiky versions with forearm-length teeth came out. 

They opened fire again, the warriors holding out more. Some even came closer, Luke ripping their heads off. There were so many of them that they all got caught up in the melee. After 20 minutes, the wave was over. Luke looked into the group, everyone was breathing heavily.

" So let's destroy the nest."

" Please?" came from a Hydra.

" We just made it."

Luke looked at the corpses and then at the operators, who had returned to normal.

"We're ready," came from Smithie.

"They're monsters!" came from a Hydra. 

" Why do we have to follow this? "

Liz looked at the talking Hydra.

" Because he got the highest rank out of all of us? "

Smithie nodded. 

"When I joined the Corporation, the North Block had promoted him back to Colonel because they were running out of officers. Your ex-boss barely made it to captain."

"She's a bitch, who cares?" came from a hydra who had beaten me best. 

"Ivon, how can you say that?" came from another.

" Because it is and he" she pointed at Luke.

" He's the monster here on the planet. I saw the fighting tournament and his slaughter."

"That was all for show."

"What happens if I take the helmet off?" asked Ivon.

" 4 hours of contamination. "

" Four hours? Why? You said two!" 

Luke walked over to a warrior and pointed to bumps on his body.

" These are fungi that are lodged in the lungs" He opened the body and pulled out a slimy sack, which he ripped open."

" Hhmm, they ate something other than animals. Set your guns to level three."

Smithie came closer.

" Looks like fish."

" Yeah, an alien race called Lirkers."

He threw Sack at the corpse.

" Come on."

Luke set off, they walked for an hour through the sticks, having to keep shooting at the bugs that kept attacking them. They came to a kind of clearing, stones were piled up to form small mounds. Luke looked around and found what he hadn't expected. A spaceship. It looked like a raindrop with wings. 

Smithie came up to Luke.

" Your face reminds me of when we found the poachers." 

" It's the same way, tell the others to watch out and shoot anything they don't know."

"It's all Luke..." 

He nodded and walked towards the ship. 

The hatches were open, but the airlocks were closed. Luke pressed the opening button. It buzzed and hissed. An airlock opened and a spartan hold was revealed.

"Is there a reason you're looking at this?" asked Liz.

"Info Liz."

Luke got in and looked around. It was multi-story. He walked up to a crystal lying carelessly on a seat. Lifting it up and activating it, he looked at the holo.

"Ha..." he came out. 

" So, we have a ship for the return flight. "

" What do you mean, ship for the return flight?"

" The one that brought us here is gone. That's normal for the Alliance, they assume. That it will take a few days. "

" And now?" 

" The nest," he pointed to a mound of rock.

" You wait here."

" Why?" asked Smithie.

" Because the nest killed a group of poachers. They are better equipped than we are."

" Well, then!" came from Smithie. 

Luke sped off, stepped on the gas, jumped over obstacles and reached the cairn. Beetles came out of the entrance. He tore them in half, entered the dust-dry burrow, the way down was full of ambushes. 

Luke found the first bodies of the aliens. He collected their equipment and fought his way further down into the main chamber, which was full of beetles, cocoons with offspring and the four-meter tall queen. She looked like a beached whale mixed with the alien queen and a dog. 

Luke saw remnants of aliens and animals. The queen gave a low roar and the bugs attacked Luke, he grinned and shredded them, jumping on the queen.

"Maybe you would have been a problem when I started," he hit hard and her head disintegrated into a slimy mass. He jumped down, looked around, gathered up all the tech and minerals, threw several plasma grenades into the chambers and ran out, just enough to be thrown out by the blast and rolled over the stones. 

" Ah exaggerated " He stood up and walked back to the ship, where the group was still standing. They stared at Luke.

"That was quite a bang."

" Yeah, there was a lot of gas in there. Now, everyone inside. " 

They did, Luke closed the hatch, went into the cockpit, flipped the switches and took off. 

" And you can fly this thing, right?" asked Liz.

" Sure, I got my pilot's license on the core system. "

" I see, and why is it shaped like that?"

" To be able to penetrate atmospheres more effectively. This type of ship is mainly used for invasions or smuggling." 

The engines roared and he steered the ship towards the colony where they had landed. Luke landed and got out. A crane came flying in and looked relieved when it saw Luke.

"The nest is gone, you shouldn't have any problems now. According to the ship here, poachers planted the nest earlier for the mushroom harvest."

The crane whistled brightly.

"Yes. Idiots, I know. Good luck, then. "

The crane chirped something, hurried off, and came back with a basket full of fruit. Luke looked at him.

"Hhmm thanks, wait a minute." 

Luke went into the ship and rummaged in the pantry.

Smithie stood behind him.

" Ah Smithie help me drag out the alien MRI."

" Are they worse than ours?"

" Yep. The first time I ate one of these, I was in the toilet for two days thin-whistling and puking."

Smithie lifted two boxes, Luke too, they carried them out and put them down in front of the crane. He looked at them in amazement.

"You can handle it better than us anyway."

The crane nodded. Luke was handed another basket and the Kranisch carried the crates away. They got into the boat. 

"Are four crates enough?"

"It's smaller, just have to put a few drops of water on it, then it will be as big as ours. "

"How small?"

Luke pondered.

" Remember when we found the ruins of the bank and opened the locked safe and found the worthless money inside. The size of a banknote."

"Oha..." he looked at the fruit. 

"What about this stuff here?"

"Can we eat."

He walked towards the loitering group.

"You can open your helmets. The ship has a filtration system that cleans the air and kills everything we carry around on the planet. "

Liz opened the helmet and took a deep breath, the operators did the same.

"Wow, air at last." The Hydras hesitated.

"It'll take us a little over an hour and a half to get to the moon, so relax."

He pressed fruit into each of their hands.

"Here's your local treat."

They looked at him skeptically. 

"Eat, it's the same as the fruit bars the moon brought here. Only sweeter."

Liz was the first to try it.

"It really tastes like the bars."

He put the baskets on the table and went into the cockpit, started the engine and entered the course. In the Sol system, he had to report to the moon and ask for permission to land; he landed in the hangar.