Giantess World
Author's Chapter Notes:
Warning, this chapter will be graphic
Due to the damage sustained by the fight, the STRIKE X was grounded for a overhaul. It was necessary but also a way to kill some time. The army had been decimated and was in no shape to launch a campaign to take out the European HQ. Aaron spent the downtime looking over candidates for his new squad. Orders came down to reform the Stray Dogs which were killed except for Balthus. He would lead them under the promotion of Captain.
He flicked through the pages until he stopped at one file which left him stunned. The file was on Jack "Giant Killer" Akers. What caught his eye was Jack's age. He was only 10. Aaron read the boy's combat history including how he ended up a soldier and shook his head in disbelief.
Jack was a carefree kid until the day of the invasion. He lived in the suburbs of Topeka, Kansas with his mother, father, and older sister. When communications were cut off that day, everyone thought it might be a cyber attack. Never did they suspect an invasion by giants from another world. Over the course of several days, more and more refugees from Kansas City passed by telling tales of giants and death. Hearing the news, many chose to flee into rural areas of the state. Then came word that the Ingress were rounding up refugees and bring them back by force. Hoping to spare their children, Jack's parents sent their kids to a orphanage the mother knew about through her charity drives.
Their hopes were the out of the way orphanage would be overlooked by the invaders. They were right...for a time. The snows and cold deterred the giants or hid the orphans during the rest of the winter but that ended when spring came. The Ingress would use scouts to find humans in hiding and now they had reason to come the way of the orphanage.
Lt. Masters was busy flying around looking for easy targets in his STRIKE. His orders were to wage guerrilla war against the Ingress. Wear them down for future assaults. The plan was working until the Ark showed up with reinforcements. Nevertheless , he continued killing them when he had the chance. When he needed some rest or someone to talk to, he would visit the orphanage. The kids loved seeing the frame and considered the pilot a big brother to them. It helped matters that the orphanage was run by a pretty woman by the name of Clara. She loved taking care of kids and found solace in doing so when she found out at a routine checkup she was barren.
Clara heard the sound of pulse jets touching down and it caused her young 25 year old heart to flutter. Her beloved Brent had come back. She ran out the door, the wind and dust blowing her red hair, straight to him. The frame bent down and the hatch popped open. Out stepped Brent Masters with a oil marker in his hand. "One more kill" he said marking it on the hull. "Busy day?" Clara asked. "Found one ingress woman taking a piss. Blasted her ass, literally" Brent said. "How close?" she asked worried. "Don't worry. She was over 40 miles away. You and the kids are safe here" he said hugging her. She returned the hug and bent down to kiss him. The two kissed each other passionately until the sound of a boy's voice interrupted them.
"Brent you're back!" Jack said running up to the man and hugging him. "Later" Brent silently mouthed to Clara. Clara licked her lips teasing the man. Brent grimaced at the tempting thought and turned his attention to the boy. "Hiya kiddo. You been good?" Brent asked. "Yes sir!" the boy replied saluting. "At ease soldier" Brent said smiling. "Can I ride in the STRIKE?! Can I?!" the hyper child asked. "Sure he can because we need to get groceries. Don't we Brent" Clara said. "So you want me to use a weapon of war for a grocery run..." Brent asked. "I'll pay you back later tonight" Clara said winking.
"You heard the lady. Time to go on a food run" Brent said picking the boy up and running over to the STRIKE. Brent steadied the boy as he climbed into the cockpit and sat him in his lap as he closed the hatch. "So now I'm a toy an a food hauler" the OS said. "You're not a toy Deborah. You're way cooler than that" Jack said. "Glad some says I'm cool" Deborah said. "Just because I don't say it doesn't mean I don't think it Deb" Brent said stroking the console. "Glad to hear that. Compliment me more often and maybe I'll won't tell Clara what you do at night sometimes" Deborah said. "Shhh! Not in front of the kid" Brent said.
They flew a few miles away to a small town. It was a town that catered to food transportation for the local farmers. Unfortunately, since the invasion, public transportation had come to a halt. Now tons of food spoiled and rotted waiting for hungry mouths that were imprisoned in the cities. Food was given away to refugees heading for colder climates. The rumor was the Ingress avoided these areas. The truth was they were being avoided due to the fact it reminded them of home too much. Now it was a town all about charity.
Brent and Jack landed near a warehouse and stepped out. "Mr. Baker! We're here for the monthly supplies!" Jack said yelling. "Coming young man!" an old man said stepping out of his office. "Why hello there sir. Never met you before" the old man said to Brent. "Helping out today" Brent said shaking his hand. "I'm glad at that. Poor Clara could use a grown man helping her out in more ways than one" the man said winking. "Dirty old coot" Brent thought.
"What ya need is over there" Mr. baker said pointing to a palate with boxes wrapped up nicely. "Thank your sir!" Jake said to him. Brent walked off to move the STRIKE over. "Nice guy that one?" Mr. Baker asked. "Brent is like a big brother to us! He plays with all the kids" Jake said. "How many of you kids are over there now?" Baker asked. "It was 7 at first but now we got uhh....11" Jake said counting the kids off in his head. "Wow that's a lot of kids. How's Clara doing with all those kids?" Baker asked.
"Everyone helps out cooking and cleaning but now and then I can hear her cry sometimes late at night. Wish I was older to protect her and stop her from crying" Jake said kicking a rock. "Well I think one day you might get that chance...god willing" Mr. Baker said ruffling his hair. "Scoot over you two" Brent said over the speaker. Brent picked up the palate and tucked it under his arm. "Time to go Jake. Clara needs this before dinner" Brent said lowering his hand. The boy climbed onto the metal hand and climbed into the cockpit. "Up up and away!" Jake playfully said as they took to the air. They didn't know they were being watched. "Target heading due north" a Ingress man said hiding under a suspension bridge. "Roger that. I will inform the commander" a voice said over his comm.
17 minutes and 22 miles later...
"We're back!" Jake said hoping out of the cockpit and running into the house. "No fair. You got to get a ride in the STRIKE" a boy around 8 said. "Sucks to be you. It was cool as shit" Jake said. A pop in the back of the head surprised him. "Watch you language kiddo" Clara said. The other kids laughed at him. "Honey I'm home!" Brent yelled coming in the door. "Welcome back and thank you for getting the food for the month" she said kissing him. "Ew kissy stuff" a girl around 8 said. "Let's see if you say that in 5 or 6 years" Clara said tickling her. "Staying for dinner and maybe...dessert right?" Clara asked. "Dinner yes and definitely dessert" Brent said.
The kids helped out cooking while Brent sat in his cockpit monitoring the area. "All quiet out there?" Brent asked. "Nothing for miles. No detection on infrared" Deborah said. "Good. Later on I want you to go into sleep mode" Brent said. "Uh, why?" Deborah asked. "Cause I want some privacy later and you're a big snoop" Brent said. "Fine, I'll be asleep while you're fucking her" Deborah said sarcastically. " Jesus, personal much?!" Brent yelled. "What's the big deal. I know humans have needs especially that one. I don't care if you fuck her" Deborah said annoyed. "I just want some privacy okay?" Brent asked. "Fine sleep mode on" Deborah said powering down. "Damn I didn't mean now. What's her deal?" Brent asked hopping out of the cockpit. He didn't know his request would mean his death and many others.
He walked in just in time to eat. The kids sat down and said grace and began to eat. If it wasn't for the sad way each one ended up there one could say they were a real family. Within the hour, everyone had eaten their fill and began to clean up after themselves. Clara hummed to herself as she washed dishes and handed them off to a kid standing next to her. It was getting late and she has the kids wash up for bed. One by one she tucked them into bed, patted their heads and kissed them goodnight. Jake stayed up later than the rest. The dreams of being a pilot danced in his head and the fun of fighting stirred his sense of adventure.
Brent was waiting under an oak tree just down the hill of the orphanage and smiled as he heard the crinkle of grass. "What took you so long" Brent smiled. "Hey I got 11 kids to put to bed. You can do better mister?" she asked. "Maybe. I can try after the war" he said pulling her closer to himself to smell her sweet scent. "What are you saying?" she asked confused. "I'm saying I want to live with you and the kids. I love the little rugrats and you mostly of all" he said looking into her eyes. She hugged him tightly realizing what he was saying. Brent lowered his head and kissed his new fiancée.
The kissed passionately until Brent lost his footing on damp grass and fell backward. "Oww" Brent said. "You okay?" Clara asked. "Yeah I'm fine but you landed on my junk" Brent said wincing. "You know what I do when one of the kids gets hurt? I kiss it and make it better" she said with a lewd grin. Clara tugged off his pants and boxers and lightly gripped his dick. Brent grimaced at the soreness but it soon went away when he felt her warm wet mouth on his rod. "Oh shit baby. Suck me. Keep sucking me" he groaned. He felt himself beginning to cum after a few minutes of his blowjob. He moaned as he blew his load in Clara's mouth. The sight of her gulping it down was already making him hard again.
"My turn" he said pushing her onto the grass. The pulled her panties off and dove in like a starving man. The slurped and sucked her snatch feeling her hands pushing his head deeper. Her cute squeaks and moans was making him so hard it hurt. He pulled away and saw she was disappointed he stopped. Her disappointment melted when she felt his prick slowly slide into her. He gripped her hands and he slowly fucked her. Her warm smile filled his heart with love as each stroke jiggled her body. He speed up his rhythm as he lifted her dress to fondle and suck her tits. "Oh god Brent! Fuck me! Fuck my pussy so I won't be so lonely anymore!" she cried out. Brent picked up the pace and began to deep dick the girl.
The slapping of his balls on her asscheeks drowned out the chirping crickets as they mated in the Midwest moonlight. Her legs flailed around until he caught one. Wanting to her another squeak from her, he slipped off her shoe and sucked her toes. She tightened up from the reaction and it sent Brent over the edge. He started cumming into her and she herself came from the feeling of the warm fluid filling her up. He came so much it began to leak out of her onto the grass. After the last shot of semen left him. She had a sad look about her. "Did I do something wrong. I know it was kinky to..." he said before he was cut off. "No, I actually enjoyed that last part. It's just...there's no point in cumming inside me. I can't get pregnant" she said with a tear rolling down her cheek.
Brent wiped the tear away. "I came in you because I love you. You been told me you can't have kids. Besides we got 11 kids to call our sons and daughters" he said smiling. His words touched her fragile heart. "Oh Brent I love you so much!" she said hugging him close. They fell asleep with him still inside her and her holding him tightly. A few hours later their world came to a crashing end...
"Target confirmed. No movement from target" one Ingress said to his commander. "I want that pilot alive. You hear me. Go you two and retrieve him" the 30 year old giantess ordered. "And the other humans?" another giantess soldier asked. "Execute them for harboring a fugitive of the Empire" she coldly said. The three walked to the orphanage with the commander following close by. Their footsteps awoke the lovers who felt the vibrations in the ground.
"Wha...what was that?" Clara asked half asleep. "Don't know" Brent said. They still felt tremors and stood up. To their horror, they saw three Ingress standing over the orphanage. "OH MY GOD THE KIDS!" Clara screamed. "Shit why isn't Deborah doing something about them!" he yelled. It dawned on him that Deborah was asleep and only activating the console in the cockpit would awake her. They both took off running to the orphanage hoping they would save the children.
The male Ingress placed his hand on the roof and ripped it off. The force he used shook the house and caused some furniture to fall. A bookcase fell on Jack who was on the floor near the bed. He was the lucky one. He shook his head trying to clear the stars from his eyes and heard a booming voice. "These humans seem too young to be the pilot" he said. "One must surely know where he is. Politely ask one" the female soldier said. The giant reached down and plucked a boy from the floor. It was the same 8 year old boy that was jealous of Jake earlier. "Where is the pilot of the machine outside?" the giant asked squeezing the boy. "Please stop squeezing me. His name is Brent" the boy said gasping. "I care not for his name! Where is he!!!" the giant yelled. The pressure was increasing. The giants fingers squeezing the kid until a sicking crunch was heard then a wet gurgle.
"Dead already" the giant said. "Incompetent male! I will find out for the commander!" the giantess soldier said. Jake watched with sadness as she chose another kid. This one made him almost cry out for them to stop. 9 year old Corrina was his first crush and he watched her plucked from the floor so fast she was ripped out of her bedroom slippers. "Where is the human Brent?" she asked coldly. "He's usually with mommy Clara" the frightened girl replied. "Mommy Clara. Hmm...probably an older female matriarch looking after these humans. Thank you little one" the giantess said.
The girl smiled hoping she please the giantess but her smile melted away when she saw her open her mouth. Jake wanted to scream as she dropped the girl into her mouth and closed it. The kids just stood there frozen in fear as their friend was being used as a late night snack. Jake closed his eyes. He didn't want to see what came next. An audible gulp entered his ears and he knew Corrina was gone. "Seras, this one might be Clara" the giant said pointing to Jake's older sister. Katherine or Kat as everyone called her had been sleeping close to Jake. She tried to dodge the giant's fingers but tripped over a lamp. One the floor she saw her little brother.
Jake started wriggling to get free until he saw her wave her hand for him to stay hidden. Then he saw her lifted from his sight by her ankle. She dangled in front of the giant upside down. "Where is Brent Clara? he asked. "I'm not your fuckin' Clara and wouldn't tell you shit if I was!" Clara screamed. "Humph...Should we keep her alive to be sent to the breeding camps? She looks old enough?" the giant asked Seras. "You heard the commander. No prisoners" Seras said. Too bad. She's cute. Mind if I play with her?" the giant asked. "Make it quick fool" Seras said.
Kat screamed as he nightshirt was torn away like paper. The horny giant began licking her. He liked the feeling of power he had over her. It boggled his mind why Ingress chose to live with them. He had no ideas why some of his kind was defecting. To him humans were a subspecies fit to be ruled. Kat kicked at the face that was licking her tiny breasts until he grabbed her ankle with his fingers and licked her sole. To her horror, she felt herself begin to be sucked into his mouth. The giant batted her around in his mouth until she was naked. The giant turned his head and spat out her panties.
Her screams echoed in the cavernous mouth and soon turned to shrieks and moans. The giant was sucking on her like candy. The giant just hummed as he raped her with his tongue. The kids just watched. A explosion of sweet flavor signaled that she came. It was then the giant decided to end his fun on a cruel high note. Bending down so his face was close to the remaining 8 children, he moved the girl over his molars and chewed. Screaming escaped his lips along with wet snaps of bone and muscle. A dribble of blood came from the corner of his mouth. Soon all one could hear was a squishing sound. The giant swallowed the pulp and licked his moth clean of meat. The children freaked. Some curled into a ball and cried. Others cried for lost parents. 3 made a break for it. The kids each went a different way. One climbed out a window, another ran through a door. The third went out the back door.
"Like roaches!" Seras said slamming her foot on a 7 year old boy. A thud resounded. She lifted her boot and saw the boy was crushed but not flat like usual. The soft ground acted like a cushion. It would have been better for him if it hadn't. His body twitched in the impacted earth shaped like a footprint. With cold precision, the giantess slammed her foot again on top of him and ground the ball of her foot like she was stubbing out a cigarette. The giant caught a girl running slammed his boot on her too. Mercifully, she died instantly.
The third child, a girl of only 6 years made it as far as the commander. She saw the child running. "What are those idiots doing?" she thought. She snatched the girl up quickly and tossed the pigtailed girl into her moth and began chewing. She walked over to where her subordinates were. "Sir?" Seras asked wondering why the commander looked pissed. The commander looked at them and swallowed her victim. "What the fuck is taking so long!" she yelled. "Forgiveness commander. We know the identity of the pilot but not the location" Seras said. With ther attention elsewhere, Jake used the chance to free himself and look for help. He whined at the pain of a broken ankle and limped away from the house.
"Search fools! He has to be nearby if that accursed machine is here!" she yelled. Meanwhile, Clara and Brent were nearing the house. The stumbling in the darkness costing precious time. "So no one here knows where Brent is? Then you all all no use to me" the commander said coldly. One by one she picked up the last 4 kids and ate them. The last one, a boy sobbed for his mother as he disappeared past a row of teeth. He felt himself falling backward into a fleshy wet tube and pushed down. He landed with a splash next to the kids who were swallowed whole. They still were crying for their parents or Clara to save them.
Jake couldn't see Brent or Clara from his point of view but did see Deborah, he wondered if Brent was inside. "Open up! Please open up Brent!" he yelled banging on the cockpit hatch. No answer. "Please help! Everyone's getting eaten...my sister got eaten" he sobbed. By this point, Clara and Brent had made it to the orphanage. The longest 7 minutes of their life. "NOOOO!" Clara screamed seeing the destroyed house and the murderous giantess belching. The scream got the attention of the commander.
"You must be Clara and is that Brent?" she evilly asked. "You monster! They were only children!" Clara screamed. "He brought this fate on them" the commander said pointing her finger at Brent. Brent ran toward the STRIKE and was surprised to see a boy trying to get inside but not as surprised to see a giant boot descend and block his way. "Going somewhere?" she asked with a twisted smile. The commander's smile was interrupted by the faint feeling of tiny pebbles hitting her boot. "Leave him alone!" Clara yelled. Clara saw the commander bend down and reach for her. She tried to run but was easily picked up into the giantess' grasp. "No, Clara!" Brent yelled. "You're gonna die. That's for sure but you will suffer first" the giantess said coldly.
Jack was hitting the cockpit hatch so hard his hands began to bleed. His frantic hitting intensified as he glanced over to see Clara in her grip. Finally, he felt something different on the hatch. He saw a round impression and writing that said "hatch egress". Not knowing what that meant, he took a desperate chance and pressed the button. The clack of steel and a whir of hydraulics signed the opening of the hatch. He climbed inside and saw the monitors off except for a indicator on the side flashing "sleep mode". "Deborah wake up! Clara and Brent is gonna die! Pleas wake up!" he screamed hitting random buttons. No effect.
"It's obvious you care for each other. Shame of something happened to her right Brent?" the giantess said gripping Clara harder. Clara tried to scream but the giant fingers around her torso squeezed the air out of her. She felt her rib age creak under pressure until finally a rib gave way. *crack* Clara's went wide from the pain. More pressure meant more cracking sounds. Brent wanted to cover his ears. The sound of his lover's bone cracking like twigs was agony. Clara began to twitch. Her body was going into shock. "No! You won't take her from me!" he screamed charging her. The giantess wondered what he hoped to accomplish. He wasn't armed or in his machine. What chance did he have? None whatsoever.
The giantess barely moved her foot but it was enough. The force that kicked Brent was like a truck moving at 30 mph. He landed with a thud 20 feet away with cracked ribs and and a broken hip. "Now to end this" the giantess said. The giantess lowered her hand and showed him Clara. She was barely conscious when the final pressure came. The commander increased the pressure to her maximum. Clara gurgled and threw up blood. Blood poured out of her mouth and nose. Then what came next broke the man. With a burst of strength, the giantess squeezed Clara so hard her intestines erupted out of her mouth. Brent just laid on the ground tears streaming down his face. "She died nicely don't you think?" the giantess asked.
"You fucking monster! She did nothing to deserve that! You kids her and those kids for nothing!" Brent screamed. "Not for nothing. She aided you in attacking my people as for the kids...they were an amusing bonus" she cruelly said. "You bitch. YOU FUCKING BITCH! BURN IN HELL!" he screamed up at her. The giantess raised her foot and slammed it with all her weight. The ground shook so hard, what was left of the orphanage collapsed. "You first" she said.
Jack was hitting every button he could dimly see. In frustration he punched the screen indicating sleep mode. It was luck it was a touch screen. "Sleep mode deactivated. Had a good time Brent?" Deborah asked. The sound of weeping alerted her something was wrong. "They're all dead. All of my brothers and sisters" Jack wept. Deborah quickly scanned the area. She was horrified to see the destroyed home but more horrified to see the crushed bodies of Clara and Brent. If one could see her digital face, it would have been one of pure rage. "Don't cry Jack. I'll make the bad people go away" Deborah said engaging the seatbelt and securing the child in the cockpit. "Turn on the screen. I want to see you make them go away" Jack said wiping the tears away. The screen changed and a new crosshair appeared on the commander which said primary target.
The sound of a charging positron cannon was heard by the giantess. She turned to see the red glow become brighter by the second. "How, the pilot is dead" she muttered. She reached for her pistol and was met with a red blast of energy. It tore through her shields and would have killed her outright if it was at full charge. Truthfully, Deborah did that on purpose. She wanted the bitch to suffer first for killing her pilot and friend. The STRIKE walked over to not saying a word and pulled out it's Helios blade. The sizzle it made with her flesh was music to the AI's sensors. She slowly, ever so slowly, drug the blade up her chest. Deborah splayed her open like she was dissecting her. The giantess was barely alive but could see the glowing eyes of the machine.
"Only a heartless monster could kill kids but I see you still have yours. Let me fix that" Deborah said reaching down and seizing the pumping muscle. Deborah pulled back and ripped her still beating heart out. The giantess felt the life slip away. Her last sight was the machine crushing her heart with her hand. "Scanning, detecting secondary and tertiary targets" Deborah said. By this point, the other two Ingress were coming back. They were met with the sight of their commander dead with her attacker holding her pulped heart. "Kill it!" Seras yelled. They drew down on Jack and Deborah.
Deborah let loose a barrage of cannon fire. The spent shells impacting their shields and knocking them back. Not wanting to lose momentum, she switched to laser cannon fire and bombarded their position. Deborah stopped, she needed to let her reactor recharge the capacitors. The Ingress got up. They were hurting, a broken nose on one of them. Broken ribs on the other. Each one tried to raise their pistols to fire only to have Deborah shoot them out of their hands. "Shields don't extend to weapons do they?" she said coldly. "Please don't kill us! We were only following orders!" Seras cried.
"Only following orders" Deborah said charging the positron cannon. "I scanned the area and found only 3 bodies belonging to children. You ate them. YOU ATE THEM! You couldn't even give them a merciful death like blowing up the house as they slept! Can you imagine how it must have felt for them to see people they love eaten one by one?! The feeling of chemically burning in the darkness of your fuckin' stomach?! Crawling over each other trying to escape?! Here's your reward for following your orders!" Deborah said firing the cannon on max power.
The blast was immense. Deborah had channeled all the power she could use to the point of almost overloading the cannon itself. The screen read "overheat" on the cannon status. She didn't care. Her work was done. "Is it over?" Jack asked. "Yeah, it's over" Deborah said. The boy broke down sobbing. Deborah felt for the boy. No one should have to witness what he did. "Jack, I need to take you somewhere safe" Deborah said. "DON'T LEAVE ME!" Jack pleaded. There were times in which Deborah would wish for a human body. This was one of them. She wanted to hold this crying child next to her. Wipe his tears away and kiss him and tell him it would be okay like a mother.
Yes, she wanted to be the boy's mother. "Okay, I won't leave you but we really need to go. There might me others coming" Deborah said. "Sniff, sniff....okay" Jake said. They left that sorrowful place that night and slowly made their way to a friendly camp. Along the way they had to fight. A trio of Ingress were patrolling along the outskirts of Oklahoma City. Under Jake's "orders" she made the bad people go away. It took them almost 2 weeks to get to a friendly base and were shocked to see Ingress there. "Incoming friendly IFF" the radar operator said. A few soldiers and an Ingress woman walked to the STRIKE touching down. "Hold! Come no further!" Deborah said. "Easy soldier. You're in friendly company" a Lt. said. "Bullshit! There's an Ingress right there!" Deborah yelled powering up her cannons.
"You must have been out there for a long time. Things...have changed" the Lt. said. "Explain quickly" Deborah said. The soldier explained the desertions of the Ingress after Leila's and Aaron's announcement. Deborah was stunned. Being on radio silence had kept her out of the loop. "Now why don't you climb out of there and get some chow" the Lt. said. Deborah knew this was coming. She would have to reveal Jake to them. The boy needed good food and a bed to rest and they could give him that. Reluctantly, she popped the hatch.
"What the hell?" the soldier said. "This is...my pilot Jake" Deborah said. "You can't be serious. Why isn't he with his parents or a guardian? Surely there's someone he can stay with" the soldier said. The Ingress girl thought Jake was adorable. Such a cute tiny human no bigger than her pinky was inside the miniature machine. Her smile disappeared when Deborah spoke again. "He did have someone. He did have a family until that bitch's race ate them" Deborah said. The Ingress girl lowered her head at the insult. It hurt her feelings because she actually like humans and for the fact what Deborah said was easily true.
"Jake, hop on out. I'll monitor you" Deborah said. Jake got out of the machine and hid behind the leg. "It's okay son. No one will hurt you here" the soldier said. Jake walked with the man keeping a close eye on the giantess. Deborah monitored the boy's life signs closely. The next day, they told her they would transfer him to a facility. She told them that he wasn't going anywhere without her. Now they had a problem. There was talk of scrapping the OS but decided not to. Deborah had to much battle data for them to lose. The appease both parties, they were given "light duty".
Hit and run. No major engagements. People thought at first it was either a joke or idiocy to give a kid a war machine. They realized it wasn't a joke when the kills began to pile up. Deborah did the grunt work while Jake decided to attack. You'd be surprised how good a kid can monitor multiple screens when he has ADD. She had enough experience to be at ace level within a month. Why they wanted them to become part of Aaron's until was Deborah's request. She didn't want the boy to be a killer or a person filled with hate. If the world was changing due to friendly Ingress, who better than the poster child to be his new mentor? As Aaron put down the unbelievable file, there was another child on the other side of the country with a problem. This child's problem was an old one with a fresh twist.
Lisa, the now 7 year old giantess daughter of Cindy was sitting outside in the warm LA sun. She was depressed. Julia had gone off to fight to take back D.C. And now she had no one to play with. Yes, the problem she had was she had no friends. The ones she did have were vaporized in Operation: Payback months before. The Ingress who where there were too old and too busy helping their new human comrades fight tyranny. She had spoken to her mom earlier that day but her mother was too busy with some discovery. They spoke of things she didn't understand like "DNA chain confirmed or rewriting history books or even Greenland" whatever that was. She chose to walk around the enlarging camp to try to break the boredom. More and more refugees came in. Some human others Ingress mostly human though. Word had gotten around that Los Angeles was the safest city on the west coast and the city couldn't handle the excess population.
She spotted a small boy her age playing hide and seek. She walked over and bent down. "Can I play too?" she asked them. All the kids yelled and ran from her except the boy. He was amazed at seeing a giantess his age. Before he could say a word though his mother grabbed him and pulled him away. "Stay away from those monsters you hear me!" she very loudly yelled. There's a stupid old saying that says "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me". Words hurt especially if one calls you a monster. Poor Lisa just sat on the ground and pulled her knees to her chest. It wasn't the first time she was called one but it still hurt her feelings. Stifled sobs came from her until she felt something bump into her foot.
She wiped her tears away and saw a tiny little ball next to her big toe. A boy around her age came running with a girl, presumably his sister, to retrieve the ball. They froze in their tracks seeing the 82 ft. tall girl. "Can I play too? I promise I'm a good girl" she said with a pleading voice. The kids looked at each other and then at her. Lisa's face was so big there was no way to hide the dried tear streaks on her face. "You won't squish is will you?" the boy asked. Lisa lowered her head. "Why does everyone think I might squish or eat them? Why can't I just play and have fun?" she wondered. "I won't squish you. I promise. I really, really promise!" she said begging. "Okay. I'm Jeremy and this is my twin sister Kara" the boy said waving. "I'm Lisa" the giantess said to them.
The two human kids were curious about the new friend. They never had been this close to an Ingress before. Lisa told them how everyone was like her and humans were the ones who were different. They tried to imagine what it was like for every kid to be that big. Lisa asked them about their parents. The kids got quiet. "Daddy died a hero in San Diego. That's what mommy said" Kara muttered. Lisa didn't know what that meant. In truth, their father died in the first day of the invasion. His tank battalion was destroyed with ease.
"Let's play hide and seek!" Jeremy said trying to change the subject. "But I can't really hide" Lisa said. "Yeah but we can. Close your eyes!" Jeremy said. Lisa closed her eyes and counted. When she opened them they were gone. She knew they couldn't have gone far. Not like they could outrun her. She began looking for places they could be. She saw a tent to her right and stepped over to it. She bent down and pealed back the door flap. She scared the shit out of a guy listening to the radio. The man stared at the huge green eye in his doorway. "Oops...sorry mister!" she said standing back up. She searched more places and came across a wooden box used for shipping.
She wondered if they were in there. She tapped the box and heard something. She picked it up and shook it a little like a child on Christmas Eve. A thumping was heard and a loud "Oww!" She took her fingernail and pried the box open. Inside was Jeremy and he looked sick. "Are you okay!" Lisa said worried. "Yeah just bumped my head and my stomach feels funny from the moving. You find my sister?" he asked. "Nope" she answered. "Let's goo look for her" Jeremy said.
Jeremy rode on her shoulder holding onto her hair. They looked for some time and soon got worried. They couldn't find her. "Where is she!" The boy said starting to cry. "Don't cry. We'll find her" Lisa said tapping the boy's head. They searched high and low and when they thought about getting help they heard a sound from the bottom of a trench. Lisa looked down and saw nothing. "Help!" was a tiny echo from the trench. The trench as it turned out was a drainage ditch. Things took a turn for the worst when it began to rain. Water began flowing out into the ditch. The water level was rising at dangerous levels. Kara had gotten herself stuck in a drainage pipe.
"We need to get help!" Lisa yelled. "No time my sister will drown!" Jeremy said panicking. Lisa thought hard about what to do and got an idea. "Jeremy get down and stay up there" she said putting her palm on the bank. Lisa laid on her stomach in the mud and stuck her finger in the pipe. "See my finger?" she yelled. No answer. The water was making it too hard to speak for Kara. Lisa felt her tiny hands grasping for her finger. When she felt it grip her fingernail she said "hold on tight!" Lisa slowly pulled forward and out popped and very dirty and soggy 7 year old girl alive and shaking. Lisa picked her up and put her on the bank near her brother who hugged her with all his might.
"Thank you for saving Kara!" he yelled happily. "Thank you Lisa! I was so scared" Kara said sniffling from crying. "I was scared I might lose my friend. You will be my friends right?" Lisa said worried the experience might frighten them off. Jeremy waved his hand for her to get closer. He surprised her by hugging her giant face. Kara joined in seeing her brother. Lisa was happy. The happiest she had been in quite some time. The twins realized it was getting late and worried they would get in trouble for being out so long. To save time, Lisa gave both of them a ride to their tent. Lisa sat them on the ground and waved bye. "Can we play again tomorrow?" Kara asked. "If it doesn't rain" Lisa giggled. Lisa's voice alerted the kids' mother who rushed out of the tent.
She came face to face with an Ingress girl. The mother hated them for what they took from her. Her home and her husband. "Get away from that...THING this instant!" The woman said hugging her kids. When she hugged Kara she noticed she was filthy. "What the hell happened to you?" she asked. "Kara almost drowned mommy but Lisa saved her" Jeremy said. The woman paused at the statement. "That monster probably caused you to be in danger in the first place!" the woman spat out. There's that word again...monster. Lisa felt the tears coming back but what came next stopped them.
"She not a monster mommy! She saved Kara and she's our new friend. Stop being mean to her or we won't talk to you again!" Jeremy shouted. Kara pulled away from the woman and stepped over to where Lisa was and Jeremy had done. The woman hung her head. "Fine, thank your for saving my daughter Lisa" she said. "You're welcome!" Lisa said smiling. Lisa waved goodbye to the kids. The woman didn't like their new friend but she notice one thing. It was the first time her kids had smiled since their father died. That in itself made her rethink a few things.
The next day on the far side of town...
Amanda, the girl Ned had saved from becoming a snack, was busy learning history in one of the schools for orphaned children. It was a boring Monday but soon that would change. "Amanda Becker, please report to the principal's office" a speaker said. Oohs and ahhhs filled the classroom. Kids wondered what Amanda did to get sent to the office. Amanda walked to the office wondering what she did and was met with a familiar face. "Julia!" the girl cried hugging the woman. "Missed you too kiddo" she said hugging her back. "Why are you at school?" Amanda asked. "For you. You friend Ned is very sick and wants to see you" Julia said.
Amanda got scared. "Ned is sick! He's not gonna die is he!" she said worried her giant friend would die. "No not that kind of sick. You know how sometimes you get really sad and don't feel good because you're sad. That kind of sad" Julia said trying to explain psychotic depression to a 8 year old. "He might feel better if he sees you" Julia said. "I wanna see Ned. He saved me and now I wanna help him" Amanda said seriously. Julia and Amanda left the school and boarded a private transport bound for D.C.
Julia had left out some important information about Ned. Ned was being held at a facility in the city. His screams of not being chained up again were silenced by a literal ton of sedatives. Vazquez recognized who he was in the battle and did not want to kill someone who was so gentle and helpful in the past. The higher-ups wanted to terminate the crazy giant but stayed their hand when he mentioned Project Baikonur in his rantings. They questioned him but got much of nothing with the drugs in his system. They chose to give him anti-psychotic meds to level out his mood. It took 3 days for them to finally work.
"What is this Project Baikonur?" Longstreet asked. Ned barely raised his head. "A terrible plan for your people. One that will make your colony fall seem like a pleasant memory" Ned replied. "Enough games. You killed hundreds if not thousands by some accounts of people. You will tell us what you know or by almighty god-"
"I will do more than just tell you General. I will help you stop it but on one condition. Find me the girl I saved on my homeworld. Find me Amanda" Ned said. "Why the fuck do you want her! I heard about what you did in Buffalo. If you think I'll put her in a position for you to eat her-" "General, back on my homeworld, I was a nobody, a geek who liked pets and small animals. When I saved that girl I was a somebody. I was a hero to her. I liked that feeling and I don't care if you believe me when I say this but I love that girl very much. You know what your people did to me? Do you really want to know? They fed me humans to break me and it worked. My people, your enemy, freed me and told me to kill. I loved and hated it at the same time but I always wanted to see Amanda again to ease the pain. I...oh god I remember now what I did. Just please do as I ask" Ned said.
Julie and Amanda touched down at Dulles and made their way to where Ned was being held. Amanda saw the devastation of the city and the mass burials at the cemeteries. It was too much for her to see. "Close your eyes sweetie if you have to" Julie said seeing her face. They stepped out of the car and crossed the security checkpoints. The soldiers wondered why such a young girl was being brought there. Soon they entered the restricted zone and saw Ned...in chains.
"Ned! Take those off of him! You're hurting Ned!" Amanda yelled to the soldiers on station. Ned heard her tiny sweet voice and looked up. He instinctively tried reaching for her and felt the clank of chain holding him. "Hey little angel" Ned said. Amanda ran to him and was almost stopped by a soldier. Julie raised her hand to tell him not to interfere. "You haven't called me that for a long time" she said hugging his finger. "Why are they being mean to you!" Amanda asked. "Ned was...Ned was very bad angel" Ned said trying not to cry. "Why?" the child asked. "Sometimes when people are mean and they hurt you, you can become mean and hurtful too" Ned said trying to put it in a way she would understand.
"They said you were sick" Amanda said. "Yes, but I feel better now that I can see you" Ned said stroking her head with his finger. "Ned, what did you do for them to be so mean to you?" she asked. Ned thought about what he would say. Everyone waited for his answer. "Ned killed people honey, people like you" he answered. Julie and the soldiers were shocked he was truthful. "Why?" the girl said starting to cry. "Because I was told to. I didn't want to but I was sick" Ned said starting to weep. Amanda wanted to know more. She couldn't believe he would kill people. "You're just saying that to frighten me. You're too nice to kill people" Amanda said. That was like a dagger in Ned's heart to hear those words.
"I ate people Amanda. I ate kids. Kids younger than you!" Ned said breaking down. Ned sobbed knowing she would fear and hate him now. Over his own crying, he heard crying from someone else, it was Amanda. "Do you want to eat me?" she asked. Part of him did. The dark part of his mind forged by the cruelty of Omega squad wanted him to feel her tiny body sliding down his throat. "NO! I don't want that! That's not me anymore! I LOVE YOU!" he said screaming. "You hate me now don't you? I understand if you don't like me anymore. No one can like a monster" Ned said crying.
"DON'T EVER SAY THAT! You're not a monster Ned. A monster didn't save me. You did so don't every say you're a monster ever again!" Amanda said crying. "But I killed so many people" Ned said sobbing. "Are you sorry? Mommy said if you're sorry enough you can be forgiven for anything" Amanda asked. "I'm so sorry. More sorry than anything in my life!" Ned said. "I forgive you then" she said hugging his finger. Ned gently picked the girl up and let her sit in his palm. "Amanda, I love you so much!" Ned said kissing her with his giant lips. Amanda just hugged his face as hard as she could and cried. She felt guilty knowing how Ned was hurting and she knew nothing about it. It wasn't her fault and she couldn't have known but her childlike mind didn't realize this. Now she just wanted to be with him.
"Sweetie, Ned has to talk to the soldiers so no one else has to get hurt" Ned said putting her down on the floor. "Can I see you again?" she asked. Ned looked at Julie who nodded. "Sure kiddo, wouldn't miss it for the world" he said. Amanda was led out of the room by a soldier. "I'm surprised that you told her the truth" Julie said. "I love her and owe it to her to upfront about what I did. It wouldn't be right for her to love me and keep that from her" Ned said. "Children are quick to forgive people they love" Julia said. "Yes, something which adults can learn from I guess. Adults on your and my side" Ned said. "You'll tell us what you know?" Julie asked. "That's was the deal. Bring the General here" Ned said.
The General came back with Aaron and his staff in tow 10 minutes later. "General, it time you know what is coming. Project Baikonur is a solution to a problem for the Empress. Your armies have caused considerable losses for her. Losses in which she has come to realize she can no longer suffer. When she tried finding out where your armies were getting support she deduced it was coming from space. To her surprise and many others, she saw that you have habitats that house millions in space. It was then she decided to conquer those colonies of yours and decimate Earth. She held back fearing the loss of human resources needed to save our people. Now she has chosen to use the humans on the colonies for such mentioned resources."
"In a nutshell General, the humans on Earth are expendable. Her plan is to head to your spaceport in a city called Baikonur and refit it to launch the Ark into orbit. From there, she will order a global bombardment of every major city, base, anything she deems unnecessary to exist" Ned said. "That's horrific! Millions will die!" Julia said. "You're thinking too small. Billions will die. The working estimate puts the death toll at 4.2 billion from the first strike alone. Follow up strikes will take out secondary targets or targets of opportunity. The after effects will include a nuclear winter and earthquakes and tsunamis. Some think it might even cause a polar shift. After last planned strikes and the dust settles, so to speak, over 7 billion will be dead. Over 80% of your species will be gone" Ned said.
"She can't! She will be killing her own soldiers still in the occupied cities!" the General said. "She's having them evac the cities now. Sure there will still be losses but acceptable ones in her eyes. She would gladly sacrifice her soldiers on Earth to wipe out your military forces and win this war" Ned said. "We have to stop her" Aaron said. " You have two advantages. One is me. I'm still kinda crazy but I'm still a scientist. And two, time. She needs time to secure London and even more time to refit the mass drivers in Baikonur to launch such a massive ship but time is ticking. You got at most a month before she's ready to launch the ship" Ned said.
With this bit of news, the General informed High Command of the doomsday plan. Within days, all available resources were pulled from other fronts to prepare for the push to Baikonur. Aaron had formed his team up, some old faces and some new. The new members were Balthus, the proud Ingress man who fought with Aaron, Jack Akers, the youngest soldier in history with his friend and guardian Deborah, and Chen Zhou, a tough as nails female officer who had defended Beijing from a Ingress squad from the Ark. And lastly, Rex the Ingress boyfriend of Chen who defected after he helped save Beijing on April Shower.
Rounding out the squad was the familiar faces of Aaron, Julia, Vasquez, and Atreya. A total of 8 members (unless you count Deborah) were now the unit known as the Stray Dogs. As Aaron basked in the glow of commanding such a force, he got a call to report to the hangar bay. As he stepped inside he saw his STRIKE X but it looked slightly different. "Good afternoon sir. Chris Matthews of Starlight Electronics" the man said shaking his hand. "Well what do you think?" the man asked pointing the the machine. "Good as new" Aaron replied. "Better than new. Come, take a closer look" he said to him. Aaron boarded the machine and sat in the cockpit. He started up Sarah and waited for the lights to come on.
"Oh wow, how long was I out and why do I feel different?" Sarah asked. "You've been out of for like a week" Aaron said. "Damn, what did I miss?" Sarah asked. "Well we got a new squad and you look like you lost weight" Aaron said. "Very observant Lt. She has lost weight so to speak. We have introduced the latest carbon steel armor to her chassis. She about 20% lighter now but that's not the best thing. Here put this on" Chris said. "Dude I already got a wristcomm" Aaron said looking at what he was being handed. "Not like this one" Chris said. Aaron put the new comm on and wasn't impressed. "Now push the green button" Chris said. Aaron pushed the button and was met with a pinch that felt like a bee sting. "Ow! Shit, what the fuck was that!" Aaron said. "Wait for it" Chris said. Aaron's vision changed.
The sight of the cockpit was changed with a view much higher up. At first he felt like he would fall out of the air but glanced around and saw that his body was now of the STRIKE X. "Lt. this is the new neural interface unit called Deus Ex. The comm injects nanomachines into your body which travel to your brain. Your nervous system links the nanomachines to your comm which transmits visual and mental impulses back and forth from the sensors on your frame. In short, you synchronize with the STRIKE X! Once you could only move the machine as fast as your reflexes. Now you can move it with the speed of thought. Go on, try moving the arm" Chris said.
Aaron thought about moving the arm and was surprised it did. He saw the techs on the floor watching him. To him, they seemed so small. "This is what it must feel like to be an Ingress" he thought. "Wait, what about Sarah?" Aaron asked. "Oh don't worry. You still need Sarah to run the machines systems and to provide backup in case of injury. Think of her as your wingman" Chris said smiling. "Good because I wouldn't want this thing if she wasn't still partnered with me" Aaron said. Sarah was touched and relieved that Aaron felt that way.
"Now I'll give you time to adjust to the feeling of it before we do a test run. Meet me here this time tomorrow"Chris said. Aaron spent the rest of the day figuring out how to walk and run and to pick up objects. Aaron returned to the hangar the next day for the test run. He saw Julia there watching the STRIKE X. She wanted to see these new improvements. Aaron climbed into the frame and pressed the green button. After a second of cursing, his vision changed. He still felt weird looking down at the ground from 200 ft. high. It was nothing like the pics on his screens. Everything looked miniature.
"How does it feel?" Julia asked. "Like I'm an Ingress. Wow you look so cute and tiny" Aaron said looking at her. Aaron thought about picking her up and he was surprised to see the STRIKE X do just that. Julia was sort of frightened at the sudden movement but had faith her superior officer wouldn't hurt her. "Wow, I see why the Ingress do some of the things they do. I can feel her heart racing through the sensor feed. If I just flexed my hand a little I could crush her" Aaron thought. He quickly realized what was happening when the fingers began to move. "STOP!" he thought. Just in time the fingers stopped. "You need practice unless you want me to take over" Sarah said.
"No way! This feels great! Man I could get used to this" Aaron said. Aaron remembered to calm himself down. He nearly crushed a dear friend by accident. Not wanting to take any more chances he put her back on the ground. "Now if you're done getting drunk on power, it's now time to do your first test flight. Fly to Baltimore and back. Try not to crash" Chris said watching the two.
Aaron thought about flying and the thrusters fired up and took him into the sky. Aaron was amazed. It was like he was flying all by himself like a superhero. The wind on the hull was like the wind on his skin. He felt so free. It would be the last time he felt this way for awhile...
Aaron's flight was being watched by Rogers. He had gotten new orders from Omega. Capture his STRIKE X and bring it back to HQ. The pilot was expendable. Omega had noticed the power of the machine and the combat data in the OS. the problem was the OS would never surrender herself or Aaron. The solution was the use a virus. A specially made virus that would "shackle" the OS with one command; obey only Omega personnel. How would he introduce the virus? Rogers asked the same question. He was shown a metal rod with a spike on it the size minivan
The instructions were to stab the machine with it and the virus would be carried by nanomachines straight into the OS mainframe. It would literally infect Sarah. Rogers remained cloaked and hid. When he saw them coming, he took to the air to avoid being spotted by Sarah's radar trick. He flew closer and closer until he was with reach of them. Rogers pulled out the rod and stabbed the machine in the back. Sarah and Aaron cried out in pain. Sarah began to glitch and the thrusters began to lose power. Aaron felt like he would have a seizure.
It took all his strength no to slam into the ground. Sarah's voice became distorted and soon all the systems began to shut down. Aaron convulsed in his chair. He felt like he was dying. Rogers watched for a minute to see if the STRIKE X would move again. When it didn't, he walked over to it and hopped out of his machine with a pistol. He hit the emergency hatch release and prepared to kill Aaron. To his surprise Aaron just laid there. "Wish I could kill you in combat. Seems cheap to end it like this" Rogers said. "Just kill him already before he waked up!" Lilith shouted. Before Rogers pulled the trigger Aaron woke up. "What are you orders sir?" Aaron asked.
In a twist of fate, the virus had been transmitted wirelessly to Aaron via the Deus Ex system. "You fucking with me!" Rogers said putting the gun barrel to Aaron's forehead. "No sir. Your orders please" Aaron said with a monotone voice. Rogers began laughing. "Return to base soldier" he said. "Yes sir" Aaron said shutting the hatch and following Rogers into the skies.
Chapter End Notes:
It appears that Omega has a new unwilling recruit. Was does this mean for Aaron's future? Find out what happens to a good man when he must cast aside all he believes in in the next chapter "Thrall of Omega"