Outer Inworld
Perin held his breath as the tracker within his grasp analyzed the surrounding environment. After a minute, it beeped in indication that the analysis was complete. He squinted as he glanced over the readout.
"Fuck," he swore.
"What?" Wright, the woman sitting next to him asked.
"Beta trace," Perin replied, handing over the tracker.
Wright looked over the device. A moment later, she lowered it and stared into Perin's sullen eyes.
"Goddamn it," she finally said. "Betas remnants, here? I thought this far north we were clear!"
"We should be..." Perin muttered. "Only reason I took this patrol. I'll run it again."
"Damn right!"
Perin reconfigured the tracker and restarted the analysis. He glanced around while it processed. Capslo and Model U still kept watch at the mouth of the cave, undisturbed by Perin's cursing. Good. Perin didn't want Capslo to get all gung-ho when they weren't sure yet.
The device beeped again. Perin lowered his gaze. His eyes widened as he went over the read-out again.
"No..." he murmured.
"What?" Wright asked. After no response, she continued more incessantly: "What is it?"
"The beta influence has grown. Twenty percent more than the last minute."
"Oh shit."
"What's the matter?" A deep voice spoke.
Perin and Wright look up in surprise. Somehow Capslo had transported himself from the entrance to the cave to in front of them with nary a sound. The taller man crouched so that he was at their level.
"Well?" he asked.
"Er--" Perin began.
Capslo took the tracker from Perin. A wicked smile swept across his face after he examined the screen. "Excellent," he said, handing the device back to Perin. "387 meters away, 176 higher. We have our mission. Let's move."
"Shouldn't we--" Perin gulped. "Shouldn't we call for aid? The beta trace is growing. Growing..."
"Good. They aren't quite ready then. We are."
With this, Capslo turned away from Perin and Wright and made his way back to Model U. Perin sighed. He stowed the tracker and grabbed the helmet that lay at his feet.
"Excellent. Good," Wright said, imitating Capslo's voice while likewise putting on her helmet. "He's fucking insane."
"Heh," Perin chuckled. "Maybe."
"Definitely."
Perin shrugged. "I don't know. We signed up for this too."
Wright grunted and that was that, even though Perin wanted to say more. After all, insanity wasn't something in short supply nowadays. A few years ago, he was content with thinking the universe a rational, ordered place that humanity had a fair understanding of. This belief was shattered by the appearance of the betas and their impossible technologies. Perin them for many one of the same reasons everyone else did: for the death and destruction they sowed and the joy they seemed to reap from it. However, there was one reason more, a hate borne from defying his understandings. He had liked when a line could be drawn, when an apple would always fall at the same speed or nothing could go faster than light. The betas had twisted the line or removed it entirely.
His hatred for them had got him to sign up for any force that would let him push the beta away and out of his world. For a time he had worked in communications and tech, in an entirely non-combatant role, though there had been a few times when the betas had discovered their base of operations. Still, those times were few and far between and he had only fired his standard issue handgun once in the defense of his life. However, years after he had joined the anti-beta cause, humanity was winning yet their clashes had cost many lives. Those who hadn't seen combat before were needed now for the final push, Perin among them. So he had switched roles from support to grunt. He didn't hate it most of the time, but that's because most the time they weren't fighting betas. He relished killing the bastards but at the same time loathed the adrenaline and fear of combat. It didn't help that Capslo, the self appointed leader of the trio (four if one counted Model U), was a bit of a confident hot-head.
"Perin?" Wright said. "Are you okay?" "Yeah," Perin mumbled and then looked up at the standing woman. "Yeah, I'm okay."
She helped him to her feet and then straightened him out, fixing any imperfections in his uniform. Perin wasn't really sure why she bothered--a wrinkle here or there wouldn't matter after a heat ray to the chest.
"Thanks," he said anyways.
"Any time," she said. "You loaded?" Perin took his rifle from his back and examined its translucent magazine. He slung the rifle over his shoulder and did the same for his sidearm.
"35-15," he said, holstering the handgun. "What about you?"
"50-15," Wright said with a slight smile. "I won a couple of Grimm's magazines in the pool last night."
"Nice."
Without a further word the pair walked up to the cave entrance where Capslo was checking his compass and Model U was, well, being Model U. Perin wasn't quite sure why they kept the bot around. U was supposed to stand for useful, but no one thought the bot anymore more than useless. Sure, it could carry some gear but that was about it. It had trouble even performing the most basic medical functions and it couldn't aim a weapon properly either.
"Was it 72 degrees, Perin?" Capslo asked as they approached.
"I believe so," Perin replied.
"We can't rely on belief here," Capslo said, turning to the shorter man. "We've got to be sure."
Wright rolled her eyes while Perin pulled out the tracker. He looked down--72 degrees just as Capslo had said. He wasn't even sure why the man had asked. He couldn't recall Capslo saying much of anything wrong.
"72 degrees it is."
Capslo nodded. "Good. Follow me."
The tall man walked out of the cave and the three, bot included, followed wordlessly behind. If anything, Perin realized, Model U was good at keep up with them. At least it had never got lost like the other squad's U had.
With only less than a quarter mile between them and the betas, Wright and Perin did their best to keep their eyes open and alert as Capslo guided them to their destination. For a little while, everything seemed normal until suddenly began to snow. This might not have been so unusual except that a few meters back it had been 83 degrees and a very sunny day. Now the sky was dark and clouded and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Perin glanced over his shoulder and could see where the intersection of the snowy ground and the dry earth. He grimaced--another example of how the betas could break the rules.
Capslo signed for the group to come to a halt.
"Get your cold supplies," he said.
The humans retrieved their winter clothes from Model U and quickly put them on. They needed them, for the farther they traveled the thicker the snowfall grew until it was more of a storm. Perin grew uneasy. Though his scope could see easily through the snow, his eyes weren't advanced tech, just products of evolution. At least he was glad he wore his thicker boots that made advancing through the dense snow much easier.
They came to another stop when Wright tapped his shoulder and pointed to the east. Perin squinted and could see a shimmer of light in the area, an illumination that quickly dissipated. He got Capslo's attention and tapped his chest with two fingers, signaling possible beta activity. From there they moved more cautiously than before, keeping their heads down and their rifles ready. Though it was bad discipline, Perin kept his finger on his trigger.
Suddenly another spot of illumination appeared, not ahead but from behind. By the time Perin realized this, it was too late. Two betas had appeared behind them, clad in their battle suits and both armed. Perin broke the silence with a shout as he dove behind the old cover available to him, Model U. The unwitting bot took the brunt of the heat ray and melted in front of Perin's eyes. He rolled away and aimed his trigger at the nearest beta. He pulled the trigger the same time as another of his group. His rifle fired an easy burst of three rounds. The beta screeched inhumanly as Perin's rounds and the other three from his compatriot tore it apart. It fell to the ground in a mangled heap. Perin smirked with satisfaction, already searching for the next beta. They could alter the weather, accelerate objects to impossible speeds, but they still died to a bullet.
A shrill scream brought Perin's attention to his right. He turned and took a step back in surprise when his gaze fell upon the other beta, one of its four fingered hands wrapped about Wright's neck and its other hand still holding its weapon pointed at Perin.
"Fire!" Wright cried. "Fire!"
Perin squeezed the trigger but he was unsteady this time. The three rounds went wild, only one glancing off the beta's armor.
"Fuck," he swore, dropping prone just in time to avoid the beta's retort, though he could feel the heat above him. "Shit, shit, shit--"
Perin yelped when something grabbed at his legs. He turned on his back and turned to look into the faceplate of an unarmed third beta. The thing behind the expressionless mask snarled and began to drag Perin toward itself. Perin raised his right and put his fingers to the trigger. He meant to pull it, but the sound of shots fired behind him startled him into thinking he had already fired. By the time he became aware of his mistake, the unarmed beta had slapped his rifle away. It feel into the deep snow out of his reach. Perin reached for his handgun, but this time the beta took more extreme measures when it grasped his reaching arm and snapped it. The human howled as his arm broke. The beta then threw the injured Perin over its shoulder and hurried towards the illumination. Blinking back tears, Perin watched as Capslo helped Wright to her feet over the body of the beta that had grabbed her. Wright shouted and pointed at Perin and the beta carrying him, but it was too late. Perin saw Capslo point his rifle towards him in such a way that he wasn't sure the tall man was aiming for him or the beta. He never found out, for all went dark when the illumination encapsulated him.
Perin awoke to the sound of terrible chittering. He opened his eyes and immediately felt terrible vertigo. He was naked and held suspended by mechanical pincers that dug into his flesh above a large tank filled with an orange liquid that illuminated it surroundings with a soft glow. Below him stood two betas dressed in body suits of soft grey and their faceplates were red, colorations and style Perin had never seen their kind wear before. One pointed a gloved hand at him and gestured with two fingers for him to come closer. The mechanical pincers obliged for Perin, moving him until he was centrally held over the vat. The beta drew its fingers into a fist and then opened it. Immediately the pincers opened. He screamed as he fell, coughing and sputtering as he landed in the liquid without a splash. The thick liquid engulfed and clung to him. He screamed in agony as it burned away at his skin, hair, and eyes.
He heard the betas laugh in their strange harsh language as the pain continued to build up. Was this how he was really going to die? Captured and subjected to an acid bath? He might as well have taken the beta's beam earlier.
Perin's fear of death was for naught when the orange liquid closet to him solidified and begin to meld into his body. This new matter served to do more than add mass--it reshaped him. The liquid that attached to his skin thickened and hardened into a tough, scaly hide that did not dissolve as his epidermis had before. It started to coat his entire body and only when he was completed covered and thus protected were finer adjustments made. While more of the liquid coagulated and continued to adhere to his body, smaller portions attached to his arms and legs, forming into solid, powerful limbs meant for quadruped walking. The outermost toes and fingers of his extremities melded with their closest counterparts so he now only had three digits on each limb left. The digits thickened until they were long talons perfect for clawing through dirt and flesh.
His body shifted internally in tune with his outside alterations, causing most of his essential organs to enlarge as well as a few more to be added including an extra heart. In addition, his skeleton grew denser to support his added mass as well as altering to fit his new form. At the base of his spine an extension pushed out into a long strip of bone that was quickly covered by hardening liquid to leave him with a long, scaled and pointed tail. By this time, a large amount of the liquid had been added to Perin's form, so that though he was still engulfed by it, its levels were now barely above his changing head.
Perin's skull cracked and extended painfully into a large lizardlike muzzle. New teeth formed to fill his empty mouth, flat molars more suitable for consuming vegetation and thus less versatile than his previous omnivorous ones. A lengthy tongue grew in next, one that could extend out of his mouth and snatch low hanging fruits if need be. He blinked and could now see in a whole different spectrum through his reptilian eyes. The liquid surrounding him was far more than orange--it was a mixture of oranges, yellows, and reds.
The liquid was now down to the fringes of his ridged back and it was here that it made the final changes. His hindquarters tingled as his nethers tingled, rendering him a female of her species, though she knew it not. The leftover liquid drained out of the vat and into somewhere below, out of Perin's sight and mind. Now that she was no longer distracted by her changes, she looked over herself as best she could. As far as she could tell, she had been transformed into a lizardlike quadruped and she wasn't sure how, another example of the beta's irrational tech. She knew there must be a way to explain it with science, somehow, but she doubted any human very well could. She was surprised she felt eerily calm, even though she knew she should be not right in the membrane or at least panicking.
"Glish?" she heard a guttural voice shout, reminding her of the beta's presence. She looked through the vat's transparent walls and into the alien's faceplate.
"Glish?" it repeated.
Perin tilted her head, unsure what the beta meant. It was the first time she had heard one vocalize and attempt to be understood. The two betas stared at Perin and began to simultaneously wheeze, confusing her further. This caused them to wheeze only louder and it was then that she realized they were laughing. She turned away from them and walked to the other side of the vat. She experimentally pressed against a transparent wall, hissing when she felt a minor shock. It wasn't a glass container she was standing in after all and not something she could escape out of. Escape to where, though? She wasn't even sure where she was. She had obviously been transported somewhere, some sort of outer inworld.
"In," a beta said, having walked to where it was standing in front of her. "In. Glish?"
Perin looked up at the alien. Was it saying what she thought it was?
"In. Glish?" It said again.
Perin nodded enthusiastically, causing the beta to start wheezing again. Dejected, Perin lowered her head.
"Yu!" it shouted. "Yu!"
Perin looked up to see the beta was pointing at her.
"Yu!" it repeated and then folded its arms across its chest like a...chicken? "Yu, bok bok bok!"
The beta emphasized these words by flapping its arm around. Had the beta really learned those few words just to taunt captives? If so, it wasn't particularly effective though it seemed to enjoy it. Perin lowered her head again and curled up, an action that came to her almost naturally.
The beta screeched at her. She ignored it, trying to focus her attention elsewhere. She couldn't be distracted by it. She had to think. There had to be something she could do to improve her situation.
Perin heard something hiss and then a fine mist began to vent into the vat. She took an experimental sniff and immediately fell unconscious.
An uncomfortable pressure in her hindquarters forced Perin to consciousness. She got to her feet and found herself in new surroundings. A cage still, but one in the more traditional sense--metal bars and a hard floor. There were other cages too, but they were empty save for one in the back where she spotted something similar to herself resting. The terrible pressure resurfaced and Perin found herself pushing with muscles she did not even think she had possessed. She crouched down low as she continued to push, hissing with pleasure when something plopped out of her. She turned her head and looked back curiously at the object. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was a speckled egg. She was laying eggs? More importantly, was she truly a female? Her being female would be a minor alteration compared to what else had changed.
The pressure was there again and this time the egg came out a little easier, though Perin was more horrified this time since she actually knew was she was doing. This terror dimmed momentarily as the egg came out, but only rekindled when a third one was on the way.
Perin was not sure how long she remained in her egg-laying state, but by the time she had finally finished she had laid nine of them. She looked upon them with a strange mixture of instinctual pride and mental revulsion. Still, she knew they could not be fertilized. They were what then? Was she really going to lay eggs every day or even more often like a...like a--
"Bok, bok, bok" the beta had said.
Like a chicken? Is that what she was now? An alien hen meant only for producing eggs for the betas' consumption?
Perin looked at the eggs and shivered. She had no doubt something or someone would be along soon. She hoped, no prayed even as irrational as it was, that it would not be a beta come to collect her eggs, but Wright, hell, Capslo, any human who could put her out of her misery.
As if to answer her mental plea, she could hear the sounds of footsteps in the distance. Irrationally, she lifted her head high with hope.
"In. Glish?"
Perin wailed in despair.