December 2, 2076 Earth Calendar
Planet DX-50067
"It looks like a snowball"
"It is a snowball"
"Not so much, it's more like a ball of ice"
"What's the difference?"
"Well, you have snow...and then you have ice" The man retorted with a smug grin. He turned back towards the window of the sleek starship, the shuttle starting to vibrate as it entered the atmosphere.
"Fucking scientists" The other muttered quietly leaning back into his seat, "So what do you say Rich, ready to stand around for another three days while these up-tights collect some rocks in tubes?"
Richard shook his head, "If that is where the United Nations thinks our skills are best fit"
"What is it they are are looking for again? Oxy-...Oxinated somethin'?"
Richard shrugged, "Who knows, alls I know is it's worth a lot of money, and everyone needs it apparently"
"Well maybe this time there will be something to shoot...think they got yeti's down there? Maybe bear?" He laughed.
The craft shook as it set down on the flat surface, they had landed in the midst of of a small science outpost. Richard and the few hired marines hopped out onto the hard ground, the ice covered surface had a near blue hue to it. They stood in a line, stocky rifles hanging idly from their shoulder as they watched the scientists bustle around the camp from behind dark gray visors. It was cold, colder than anywhere on Earth, but their protective clothing blocked most of it. This was the seventh time Richard has found himself standing around in some camp, it was about all the military did anymore. He sighed, watching the cloud of steam rise out through his face mask, briefly fogging the thin plastic window of his visor.
"This sucks..." His friend moaned leaning back against a large mobile lamp post. Suddenly a black streak zipped over head, "Uh-" A moment later a black cloud billowed up from within the camp site, a large crack shattering the silence of the icy landscape. The camp suddenly erupted into a confused panic, the four marines unsure what to do other than to try to pile the scientists back into the craft.
Richard fell back as the craft suddenly splintered in half, his ears filled with screaming explosions and the strange whiz of tiny projectiles zipping through the air. As he struggled to pull himself back to his feet he felt a large thump on the back of his helmet, he crashed back down onto his stomach, his head pounding and vision fading...what the hell just happened? His vision went black.
Silence...dead silence. Richard pressed down against the icy surface, groaning as he got to his knees. He stared down at his helmet, a large dent pushed in the thick metal in the back. He let it fall to the ground as he got to his feet, his knees weak. He wasn't sure how long he had been out, the camp was littered with bodies, and debris. He limped into one of the tents, all the power had been cut. It looked as if much of the equipment and crates had been removed. Perhaps the scientists had tried to escape with it, though it was more likely that it was stolen. He cursed under his breath as he turned back, the only possible means of escape had been torn to bits. He searched through the camp, happy enough to see that one of the personal tents was still in tact, he had just enough food to last a couple days. He huddled down in the ten square foot tent, eating the half frozen nutrient bars sparingly as he wondered what he was going to do. One of the scientists had triggered the emergency beacon, but they were pretty far out from another settlement, it could be weeks before their transmission is intercepted, and there was always the chance of signaling some less than friendly help.
The hours passed, the sun only barely visible through the hazy atmosphere, and it never truly set. He knew the planet was on a eight hour day.
December 3, 2076
Sixteen hours had passed, the cold was starting to seep through the nano-carbon skin of the tent. He had no flint, no fuel, fire was not an option. He had eaten sparingly, though his canteen had frozen over. He had been holding it under his jacket, hoping it might thaw out, only able to get small sips off of the frozen surface. He shivered slightly.
December 4, 2076
Hours passed...unsure. Richard had piled anything he could over his body in an attempt to keep the frigid air off his skin. His fingers had already started to ache from the cold, his feet following closely behind. His breaths were slow and shaky, the air of the tent slowly dropping to the outside temperature.
His eyes shot open, a loud thumping sound slowly droned from somewhere, at first he thought it was his heart thumping in his ears but it soon became clear that it was coming from outside. The thumps became louder, giving a slight shake to the earth. Wondering if this might be a rescue party he staggered to his feet, cringing as his fingers pulled at the frozen metal zipper. He stepped outside, trying to find the source of the noise, then he saw it.
Like a blue and white mountain a figure stood not far from the camp. Its metal surface glinting slightly in the hazed sunlight, its mechanical looking head scanning the ground. There was a loud groan as the machinelike humanoid lowered itself to its knees, Richard unsure if he should flee, but where would he go?
He estimated the machine was over two hundred feet tall, slightly taller than the furred creatures that had first encountered earth, he wondered if this was not a machine of their making? The smooth head seemed to focus on him, a glasslike wall leaning towards him. A loud and robotic sounding voice suddenly boomed down on him, the language it spoke was unfamiliar to him. The machine stared back down at him as if waiting for a response.
"What?"
"Human?" The machine then asked.
"Oh, Yeah" He called up, removing his face mask and goggles, the cold suddenly biting at his bare skin.
He stammered backwards as the glass like wall suddenly retracted. He was shocked to see that he was staring back into what looked like a human face, a female one, "Are you hurt?" Her voice had lost the robotic tone, it was soft...well relatively soft.
"No, just cold"
"Are there any others?"
"No"
She laid out her hand, he eyed her a little nervously. He noticed a tall pair of dark furred ears sticking up through her black hair, her eyes held a shade of golden yellow. As she talked she would occasionally reveal two slightly elongated canines. He had heard of these creatures before, though had never seen one in person. It was said that they too had combatted with the aliens that came to earth sixty some years prior. Though it was always unclear how peaceful they were, and what they thought of the tiny human race.
He reluctantly climbed up onto the smooth surface, the texture was remarkable. Nano-technologies made these flexible almost fabric like metals possible. Her armor was covered with it, mostly at the joints.
"I picked up the distress signal, I am under orders to retrieve any survivors" Her golden yellow eyes scanned the ground, "What happened?"
"I'm not sure entirely, my guess would be some pirates wanted what the science teams were after"
"Which was?"
"I'm not sure, they just pay me to stand there and try to keep that" He nodded behind him, "From happening"
"And you failed?"
"Clearly, there were only four of us"
She nodded, "Unfortunate. We need to get you out of the cold" She said as if reading off a prompt. Richards eyes widened as her mouth suddenly opened, her maw stretching taller and wider than himself !
"What?!" He screamed, "No!" He suddenly slid off her palm, falling the short distance back onto the icy ground. He ran, though was suddenly caught between two of her fingers, he grabbed hold of one of the sturdy lamp posts.
"Stop struggling!" She groaned, using her free hand to pull her helmet off, allowing her long black hair to fall freely over her armored shoulders.
"Hell no! You were going to eat me!" He retorted pulling his arm around the frozen metal pole.
"I was not going to eat you" She sighed, "It is imperative that you get out of the cold, there are no other places for me to hold you"
"Doesn't that fancy suit come with pockets?!" Richard yelled, continuing to pull back against her.
"Yes, but you would likely be crushed within them, this is the safest way!"
"You're tricking me! I'm not that dumb!"
"I am just following-"
"No! Just let me go, I'll wait for the next rescue team"
She sighed, "I am under orders to rescue any stranded persons, you are keeping me from doing my duty now comply! I do not want to hurt you" She pulled a little harder, his legs pinned between her fingers as she lifted him off the ground, but his arms remained wrapped around the lamp post.
"Jesus can't you just carry me to your ship or something?!"
"No, it will be a days walk from here, the ice was not sturdy enough to hold its weight so I had to set down far away! Stop being foolish"
Richard continued to hold on, he wasn't about to become a free snack to some demi-human. He suddenly looked back in horror, "W-What are you doing?!" He screamed as her lips suddenly slipped over his legs, "No! Get off! I'm not going-" He screamed as her tongue snaked forward, lapping at his arms. The warm wet liquid suddenly flowed over his arms, causing him to slip! He screamed her she finally managed to suck him inside of her mouth.
"Relax!" Her voice boomed around him, "I...am...not...eating you!" Her tongue wrestled to keep him still.
"Fine!" Richard finally gasped, lowered his legs away from the roof of her mouth. J
"Good" She sighed, her tongue now positioning him towards the back of her mouth.
"Hey...What are you doing?!" He screamed feeling his legs slip inside of her throat. He rolled back onto his stomach, kicking back against the back of her throat and grabbed hold of the tip of her tongue.
"Let go!"
"No!"
"I thought we just went over this" She groaned, her words slightly slurred as he held onto her tongue for dear life.
"Yeah, you said you weren't going to eat me!"
"I'm not!"
"You were just about to swallow me!"
"Yes? And?"
"That's eating me!"
"No"
"Uhh...Yeah it is!"
"No it is not"
"Yes, I'm pretty sure me going-" He strained to hold on as her tongue continued to writhe under him, curling back so he dangled within her mouth, "Into your stomach, is eating"
She flicked her tongue from side to side, his grip loosening, it was just too soft to hold on, and too wet. He screamed as he suddenly flung against her inner cheek. He felt the massive muscle scoop beneath him, pushing him finally into her throat. She tilted her head back and swallowed, sighing as the little figure finally squirmed his way down her throat.
"Eating you, would mean I intended on digesting you"
"Then what the fuck are you doing?!" He screamed as the tight throat muscles pulled him downwards head first.
"My stomach will not digest you while you are still alive, a person can last two days within my stomach without food or water, indefinitely with food and water. You will only be in there until I can get back into my ship, if you continue to struggle you may get hurt"
"I don't believe you"
"Well then I guess you will just have to wait and see" She said with a nod, pulling her helmet back over her head. She once again started walking out across the flat landscape.
Richard coughed as he flipped into the dark stomach, odd sounds surrounding him in the blackness. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small flashlight. He examined the wrinkled walls, shivering slightly as they rippled with a loud groan. Admittedly the warmth was welcomed, though he was still pretty certain that this monstrous neko was just out for a snack. He cursed under his breath as his side arm appeared to be rendered completely useless.
"So what is your name human?" The voice called from above.
Richard laughed, but responded, "Richard Bromwell"
"And you are a marine?"
"Yes"
"From the planet Earth?"
He rolled his eyes, where the hell else did humans come from, "Yes"
"I studied Earthen tactics in Nova Guard training"
"Oh, great"
"I was surprised how much they had accomplished with such primitive technologies"
"You don't say" He thought a moment, "So...what exactly is this Nova Guard?"
"We are a defensive branch of the Genro Empire on Teralist"
"Oh"
"We handle local solar systems only, mainly doing what I am doing now"
"Eating stranded marines?"
"I did not eat you!"
"As far as I'm concerned-"
"You are probably just delirious from being out in the elements"
"I hope so..." He mumbled, recoiling his arm as a sticky liquid flowed down over his shoulder.
"How long were you out there?"
"Uh, well we arrived the second, I'm not sure what today is, damn alien days"
"I'm sorry I'm not familiar with the Earth calendar"
"Well it's probably been two days"
"Oh, well then good thing I arrived when I did"
Richard sighed, leaning back against the fleshy warm wall, wishing he could have just been at home. Three years ago he joined up with the military, knowing that the chance of getting real combat missions was close to impossible. Generally big companies just paid to have an escort to new planets to look for new trade or raw materials. It was fun at first, almost like an adventure. But after the third or fourth trip he grew tired of flying around for months at a time, only to stand around and watch other people work. The boredom was unbearable, how he wished he could just be bored right now.
Giantess World
Nova Force by Ginbug
Story Notes:
You can find the story that sets up this universe here: http://ginbug.deviantart.com/gallery/27163542#
It is named War for Earth.