{"sf1_id":915166,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Victernus - Chapter 29","author":"Baumarius","words":3284,"posted_at":"2015-09-27T14:09:00.000Z","tags":["Cybernetics","Science","Transformation","War","Werewolf","Wolf","apocalypse","corruption","dystopia","implants","mind","tf","uploading"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/915166-victernus-chapter-29","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/915166","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=915166\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\n            Athius pointed with both of his\nhands, envisioning a certain way to build his house. He was in a small, wide cave\njust behind a waterfall. He asked, \"What do you think, Gala? We could build it\nright here - we'll just have to carve some of the rock out to make it more\nsquare.\"\n            Gala examined the cave and nodded,\n\"Yeah, I can see it here.\" She pointed to one end of the mouth of the cave, \"We\ncan have steps there so that we don't get wet.\"\n            He agreed, \"Sure! I can probably use\none of the laser rifles to cut the rock - I'll just have to modify them a\nlittle bit.\"\n            While they were fantasizing, Namara\nclimbed up and over the edge of the cave. He grunted and then got to his feet,\n\"So, I hear you want to build a house in this cave.\"\n            Athius nodded, \"That's right.\"\n            He smiled and then gestured to\nhimself, \"Well, if you need any help, I am a bit of an architect.\"\n            Mahalia climbed up after him and\ngrunted, \"That's a lie, and you know it.\"\n            Namara huffed, \"I was trained for\nit.\"\n            She stood up and teased, \"You never\ngot your whole degree. You know you can't practice it without getting one\nfrom-\" she coughed, \"an accredited university.\"\n            He laughed, leaning forward a little\nbit, remembering how much he had learned outside of the establishments of the\nold society and how much he could do now that it had toppled. When he saw that\nboth Athius and Gala were clueless, he waved it off, \"Don't worry about it\nguys, you won't understand. I can still help you.\"\n            Athius shrugged, \"Alright. Well,\nwhat do you have in mind?\"\n            Namara positioned himself close to\nthe edge, beside the waterfall, and examined the space with a critical eye. He\npaused and then started, \"I have no idea,\" before breaking out into laughter.\nBetween spurts, he chuckled, \"I'll probably take a look at it again later.\"\n            Mahalia came close and gave him a\nlittle push on his shoulder, \"You silly wolf, you!\"\n            Athius watched in amusement when\nNamara tried to stand. He let out a frightened yelp as he quickly lost his\nbalance and then tipped backwards, falling down into the river with a splash. \n            Mahalia widened her eyes and looked\ndown over the edge. When Namara popped his head out from the water, he\ngrumbled, \"Hey!\"\n            She chuckled apologetically, \"Sorry...\nI didn't mean to.\"\n            Athius came to the mouth and looked\ndown with Mahalia. Namara waded to the edge and crawled out. When he stood up,\nhe looked down at his dripping body and turned away from them, shaking himself.\nAfter finishing, he looked back down and appeared to be unsatisfied. He put his\nhand on the ground and then broke into a sprint before jumping and doing a\ntwist in the air. Water spread everywhere, and when he landed, he was both dry\nand very fluffy.\n            Gala approached Mahalia and Athius\nfrom behind and then put her hands on both of their shoulders. She asked\nmischievously, \"Are you guys in the mood for a swim?\"\n            Both of them moved away from the\nedge quickly, escaping her grasp. Athius objected, \"No no no!\"\n            She laughed and crossed her arms,\n\"I'm just kidding.\"\n            Namara climbed back up to the cave\nand then stared down at himself in annoyance. He tried to push down the fur\naround his neck with his hand, but it only puffed back out. He sighed.\n            Mahalia watched him and chuckled, teasing,\n\"Fluffy wolf!\"\n            He blushed, lowering his ears and\ncurling his tail a little.\n            Athius smiled, but then suggested,\n\"Hey, why don't we go back to the ship for a little while? It's getting kind of\nhot, and I want to try a few things with the laser rifles.\"\n            Mahalia agreed, \"You're right... I\nguess it gets hot fast here, if this is summer. I'm a bit hungry too, so I\nguess it wouldn't be a bad thing.\"\n            Namara jumped out of the cave to the\ngrass beside the river, leaving his embarrassment behind. He watched them from\nbelow and said, \"Yeah, it is getting kinda hot...\"\n            Athius climbed down from the cave\nwith Gala and Mahalia following close behind. When they reached the grass, they\ndecided to stay close to the trees so that they would be shaded from the hot\nsun. But, because it started to get hot in the shade as well, Athius asked\nMahalia, \"Do you have any way of contacting Theo? Maybe he could transport us\nback to the ship or something?\"\n            \"Oh yeah...\" She pulled out one of the\nsmall black squares that Theo had given them and then pressed a small button on\nit. \"He said that these could be used as beacons. It will alert him on the\nship, and he can decide there whether or not to bring us back. I don't know if\nwe're in range, but it's worth a shot.\"\n            Namara rested on one of the trees\nahead of the group, panting heavily. He banged it with a fist and said, \"I\nguess this planet might not be the best place for us...\"\n            Mahalia placed her hand on his\nshoulder worriedly, \"Are you alright? You look like you're having trouble\nthere.\"\n            He nodded, \"Yeah, I'm alright.\" In\nan attempt to show it, he walked forward with confidence, only to stumble and\nfall onto his hands and knees. When he started panting harder, a green glow\nformed around the group and they were transported to the bridge. His breathing\nturned raspy as he yelled, \"Theo, what took you so long?!\"\n            Theo's voice emerged from above him,\n\"Calm yourself, I just got the long-range transporters online! I'm in the\nprocess of taking off though - something seems to be wrong with the satellite\nshield.\"\n            Namara fell onto his side and then\nrolled to his back. He glanced to his left and saw the planet through the\nwindow. The sky was turning an eerie orange color. He growled, easing his\npanting a little bit, \"I thought you said it was going to protect us!\"\n            While Mahalia got down on the ground\nand blew on him softly in an attempt to help cool him faster, Theo launched the\nship into the air and forced it into space as fast as he could make it go. He\ngrumbled, \"It was, but it looks like someone has tampered with the code. I\ndidn't see the bug until I brought it online, and then it wouldn't let me turn\nit off.\"\n            Namara smiled at Mahalia's efforts.\nHe continued, \"Well, I don't want to destroy this place... Shoot the darn things\nif you have to!\"\n            While the ship ascended back into\nspace, the view of the planet was still clear through the window - and it was a\nhorrid sight. Gala, who had sat down at another station beside Athius,\nexclaimed, \"It says that the external temperature of the ship is\nthirteen-hundred degrees?!\"\n            Namara groaned, \"No! Shoot the\nsatellites already!\"\n            Outside, they saw fires break out\nall over the planet until there was only red and orange on the surface. The\noceans fizzed away, loads of steam rising up in their stead. Smoke and fire\nreplaced the green, blue, and white of the beautiful planet that they had\nlanded on only a few hours earlier.\n            A silent rage filled Namara. He\ngrumbled, \"Gather the satellites and find another planet. Fix them. If this\nhappens again, we're not using them.\"\n            Theo refrained from speaking. He set\na course to the nearest satellite, wishing that he hadn't been so reckless.\nBut, as he did this and the Starlight Alpha turned towards the first one, two\ngigantic grey ships came into view, similar in design to their own. A smaller,\nsleeker one that was black and red rested in between them. Namara's eyes\nwidened, and he yelled, \"What is that?!\"\n            Athius, who had been learning about\nthe ship's systems with Theo, ran a quick scan on the two grey ships. The\nresult came back quickly, and he spoke in an annoyed manner, \"It's the\nSelanians. They followed us here somehow. All of them.\"\n            Namara gestured for Mahalia to give\nhim some space. He grabbed the top of the console beside him and then pulled\nhimself up tiredly. While he did this, the window was replaced with the smiling\nface of Lynn sitting in the cockpit of his ship. Lynn bribed, \"Turn over your\nship and your satellites and I'll let you go peacefully.\"\n             Namara stood on his feet, but his knees and\nhis shoulders were bent down in his rage. He sucked in some air and growled, \"I\nwill give you one chance to leave us alone. Otherwise, I will destroy you.\"\n            Lynn teased, \"Oh, is the wolfy\nangry? Did someone pull one of his hairs out?\"\n            He turned to Theo and ordered, \"Turn\nit off.\"\n            When the screen turned off, a blast\nfrom Lynn's ship smashed against their shield. Namara grabbed the console to\nkeep his balance. He narrowed his eyes and then spoke with malevolence,\n\"Destroy them.\"\n            Theo hesitated, \"But, Namara...\"\n            He shouted, \"Do it, or I'll do it\nmyself! I want to be sure that this filth is dead for good. We gave them a\nchance to escape, and now they're biting us back.\"\n            Theo nodded shakily and then\nactivated the weapons systems. He directed them towards the Selanian ships and\nthen fired. Several laser bursts burned against the area just outside their\nbridge area, weakening the shields there.\n            Namara continued, \"Athius, swing\naround their ships so we can disable their engines.\"\n            Athius pulled up the helm controls at\nhis station and then programmed a course for the ship to follow. The ship move\nforward and maneuvered downward, heading to the rear of Selanian ships. While\nit did this, sparks flew out of some of the wall consoles as the ships sent out\na barrage of laser warheads. The group hung on to their seats, unsure of if\nthey would make it. Athius shouted, \"Our shields are going out fast!\"\n            Namara watched the window carefully.\nOnce they were in shooting range of their engines, he ordered, \"Athius, keep\nthe ship moving forward - I don't want to get caught in the blasts. Theo,\ndirect everything we've got towards those engines. Do one at a time.\"\n            Theo nodded and then activated as\nmany of the lasers and warheads as he could find. All of them sped to one of\nthe ships, smashing into the shields with great force. When the shields\ncollapsed, the weapons got through and went right into their engines. A few\nsmall explosions resulted at first, but they caused a chain reaction throughout\nthe ship. They got bigger and bigger until the entire ship burst. The blast\nwave collided with the ship beside it, weakening its shields and then breaking\nthrough. The explosions began on the second ship as well, and then it too\nexploded, incinerating all of the Selanians on board. Some of the blast reached\nthe Starlight Alpha, nearly dropping its shields.\n            Namara did not feel satisfied yet.\nHe asked, \"Where's Lynn? Did he die in the explosions too?\"\n            Lynn appeared on the screen again,\nbut this time he was angry. He said, \"You're a monster, Namara, and so are your\nfriends! This isn't the last time you'll see me.\" The window returned back to\nnormal. Lynn's ship realigned and then charged into hyperspace.\n            Namara growled and then stepped\nback, sitting in the captain's chair. He told Athius, \"Follow him - now's our\nbest chance to get rid of him before he becomes a serious problem... and I know he will if we don't do this now.\"\n            Athius aligned the ship in the way\nthat Lynn's did and then shot the ship into hyperspace. He scanned forward for\nthe ship, only to come out of hyperspace a few seconds later. They were in\nanother solar system that was very close to the other. He headed for a small,\nbarely-habitable planet, and said, \"He's here. The ship shows that he's\norbiting that planet up ahead.\"\n            Namara stood forward and whispered\nto himself, \"What are you doing, Lynn?\" He continued by ordering, \"Bring the\nship into a low orbit. Let's see if we can get rid of him for good...\"\n            When Athius brought the ship close\nto the planet, he felt bewildered. He checked the scans again a few times\nbefore saying, \"I don't see him anymore.\"\n            Namara tilted his head, \"What do you\nmean?\"\n            \"I mean, the scans say he's gone.\nThere is no hyperspace trail or anything. He's just gone.\"\n            When the ship got into orbit, he\ncontinued, \"Well, perhaps he's just on the other side and the planet is\nblocking it out. Go around.\"\n            Athius nodded and moved the ship\nforward, heading around to the other side of the planet. He felt Gala holding\nhis arm tightly in anticipation. Looking around the bridge, he saw that they\nwere all nervous except for Namara. When the ship reached the other side and\nstill found nothing, he sighed and stopped it. \"I don't know where he could\nhave gone.\"\n            Three laser blasts hit the ship.\nAthius shouted, \"The shields are down! I still don't see Lynn...\" Looking back\nup, he saw a green glow appear around Namara before causing him to disappear.\nHe raised an eyebrow, only to be met with Lynn's face on the screen again.\n            Lynn shouted, \"If I can't have\nNamara's body, I'll take his family with me!\" before disconnecting from the\nscreen again. Something smashed into the ship. Just after they surged forward,\nthey lost artificial gravity. They grabbed their consoles, trying not to fly\noff and hit the window.\n            When Theo got back into his seat, he\nshouted, \"He's rammed his ship into ours! I can't stabilize it...\" He looked up\nat Mahalia, who was still trying to get settled in her chair, and spoke out of\nfear, \"He's split the ship in half... We're falling towards the planet.\"\n            Mahalia yelled back, \"Well get us\nout of here! The transporters still work, right?\"\n            He checked them and then nodded\nexcitedly, \"Yes, they do!\"\n            She pointed, \"Send Athius and Gala\nfirst.\"\n            He agreed and then saw the\ntransporter log. He examined it carefully and then said, \"Wait a minute... Namara\nwas transported to the surface! I'll send you guys to where he is, alright?\"\n            Athius stood up slowly and then\nreached for Gala's hand. Even though she was afraid, she took his hand and then\nrose with him. He glanced at Theo and smiled, \"I guess I'll see you guys\nthere.\"\n            The glow surrounded the couple and\nthen they were beamed off of the ship.\n---\n            Namara was standing near the top of\na big hill, staring up into the sky. He heard the sound of the transporter\nbehind him and then Athius' voice shortly after, \"Namara, you're okay!\"\n            He turned around and smiled, \"Oh,\nyes! Where are the others?\"\n            Gala filled in for Athius, \"They're\nin the process of transporting everyone off the ship. It shouldn't be long.\"\n            He turned around and climbed onto a big\nrock that was at the steeper end of the hill. He watched the sky, seeing just a\nsliver of the ships as they burst into flames. \n            Athius shouted, \"Look!\"\nNamara turned back and then watched as the\ntransporter glow formed in front of them. He raised his eyebrow and stopped.\nThe transporter was forming someone's image, but only barely. It flickered on\nand off. He looked up into the sky as the two ships got closer. Half of the\nStarlight Alpha was spiraling down on its own course while the other was merged\nwith Lynn's ship, falling fast.\n            The sound of the transporter got a\nlittle louder. He looked back at it and saw that the glow was just a little bit\nbrighter. Mahalia's image was contained within. He waited in anticipation, only\nto be met with a sudden wave of despair. The glow shorted out and then dust\nformed in its place. He lowered his ears, facing surprised stares from both\nAthius and Gala. After running back to the rock, he watched the ships\ndescending near them at a high speed.\n            The two ships split apart, only to\nspiral around each other towards the ground like two giant fireballs in the\nnight. Pieces of metal separated from both ships, flying off in random\ndirections. What didn't fly ended up disintegrating instead. All of what\ncontained Namara's hopes was falling down right before him, and he was\npowerless to stop it.\n            They collided with the ground. The\nfront of the Starlight Alpha smashed inward and then the whole thing exploded.\nIt incinerated both Lynn's ship and the evergreen forest that it landed in.\nNamara braced himself for the shockwave, which nearly knocked him off of the\nrock anyway. When the explosion settled, the trees lit each other on fire. The\nremains of the ships toppled to the ground and the metal screeched loudly as it\nfell.\n            Namara stared at the wreckage while\nall kinds of emotions surged within him. Out of anger, he rose and then roared\nat it, stretching out his arms in defiance. His voice echoed through the air.\nWhen he ceased, he collapsed slowly and wept bitterly. His whole body shook. He\ntried to hug the rock so that its intensity would lessen, but it did not help\nany. All he could think of was that he had failed, and that he really was a monster. In that moment, he felt\nthat it was all over.\n            He felt a hand on his shoulder.\nLooking up just slightly, he saw Athius there with a concerned look on his\nface. And then, he felt Athius' arms wrap around his back and pull him into a\nhug. In response, he curled up, still shaking and crying madly. He apologized,\nwhispering his thoughts to them, I'm\nsorry for bringing you into this, guys... I didn't know...\n            Athius rubbed his back and assured\nhim, \"It's okay, Namara. We're sad too, but... we're here now. We can't stop now.\"\n            He nodded, trying to bring himself\nto stop. He felt Gala sit beside him quietly and then reminded himself that\nthey were the only people left. If he was to do any good at all in his life, it\nwould have to be to help them get on\ntheir feet and restart. He assured himself of this, and then said shakily, \"I\nwill help you... and I will teach you of what I failed to do, if it is what you\nwant.\"\n            Athius rose back to his feet and\nthen took Namara's hand, offering to pull him up. He responded, \"Do whatever\nyou need to. We're alone now.\"\n            Namara got up with Athius' help and\nthen wiped his face clean of the tears. He glanced at Athius, and then Gala,\nand then looked up at the stars. Through his watery eyes, they seemed to\ntwinkle down at him gently. He whispered, \"I will make a home for you,\" and\nthen passed into what he thought would be the final stretch of his life.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/915165-victernus-chapter-28.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/915168-victernus-chapter-30.json"}