Doom-mates - Semper Inferno

Hell Razer Forty Seven Of The Seventh Brood of the Fourth Plane, warrior of the Blood and Stone Legion, also known as Alice, sat across from her sister Razers. The mess-hall of Security Outpost Hephaestus was empty, save her and her three fellow demons.

“They continue to request we join them in their strange human festivities,” Said Alice.  “Drinking their intoxicants, shoving their rubber spheres around.”

Beatrice grimaced. “And those strange flashing box devices, with pretend combat scenarios. They are no even an adequate simulation for training!” She rose her right arm, flexing the rocky nubs surrounding the large organic barrel of her cannon. “And I could not even use them if I wanted to.”

“This realm is strange,” Croaked Cindy. “They expect us to sleep on these pointless soft rectangles! Where are the proper alcoves?” Hell Razers normally would sleep in stone alcoves in the temples and fortresses they were posted at. “I feel as though I am going to sink through to the floor on these things!” She frowned. “I don’t like it here…”

Delilah grunted. “And these bodies! I regret ever electing to be so altered. Every wrong motion produces all these pointless and distracting sensations!”  The others winced in agreement. Cindy squeezed her thighs together in sympathy.

“These humans,” started Alice. “Are impossible to understand. They have brought us here as soldiers, but all we do is train and wait! And on the recent passing of the sun, when I succeeding in the goal of the training exercise, I was still reprimanded as though I’d failed completely!”

“What?” Exclaimed her fellow demons. “Why?!”

“Hmph. You will see soon enough. I complained about his pointless argument, but he would not budge.”

“You argued against a superior?” Gasped Cindy in shock. “Why are you not torn to pieces?!”

“These humans do not even punish correctly! They treat disobedience with charges of isolation, or menial tasks! All I was required to do was peel those strange brown ground-foods they have.”

++++++++++

“You had near total casualties Cindy, that’s a fail,” Said Lieutenant Carlson, adressing the demoness before him.

Cindy stared at her commanding officer in complete disbelief. “But, the objective was carried out! Victory was claimed! I slew many enemies!”

“Doesn’t make the loss worth it private. You had several chances to keep your squad-mates alive and squandered all of them!”

The training field was dotted with human soldiers stained with the smears of several paintball shots. One male soldier, goggles covering his eyes waved over at them. “I’m okay! I’m getting a simulated purple heart for this!”

“Enough with the jokes Briggs.” Said Lt. Carlson before turning back to Cindy. “Look. A mission isn’t that sucessful if it takes losing an entire squad to complete it.”

Cindy gave him a puzzled look. “Each soldier is expected to live or die based on their own ability. I accomplished my task, that is all I need to do.”

Carlson pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “I’ve already told your friend yesterday, the point of these exercises is to train soldiers to work -as a team-. Your squad mates need to be able to trust you to keep them alive, like you should trust them to keep YOU alive.”

“Why should they waste energy trying to keep me alive? I am born to die in service to my masters, we are expendable. Wether I live or die is meaningless, as long as victory is accomplished.”

Carlson, and Briggs who had been walking up to get out of his training armor, stared at her in shock.

“Jesus christ…” Muttered Carlson exasperatedly. “Look,” He said, pointing his finger at Cindy. “That’s NOT how we operate on this side. We aren’t expendable, we keep each-other alive, and we succeed TOGETHER. Now you demons need to get that into your heads, or I swear to God Almighty I will never see you deployed in live combat. Do you understand me private?”

Cindy saluted, despite not being sure if she really understood at all.

++++++++++

“You are the human named Briggs, correct?”  Asked Cindy, approaching him after evening mess.

He looked up from his U-Pad, cocking an eyebrow. “Yeah? Hey…” Recognition dawned in his eyes. “You’re the demon from training today, right? I don’t want to sound speciesist but you girls all kinda look the same, heheh… eh..” He trailed off, seeing his goof was falling on deaf ears.

She stared at him blankly. “I see no reaason to take offense. My fellow razers and I are very  physically similar.”

“Uh. Aright.” He chuckled nervously. “So, uh, what’s happening? Don’t normally see you ladies engage with anyone.”

“I need your guidance.”

“Ha, okay, what?”

“I need your guidance in becoming more team oriented. You were there when the Lieutenant gave his orders. Either I learn to be a “team player” or me and my fellow razers will be shamed, and forbidden to serve our duty. It is imperative I learn so I may teach my companions.”

“Annnnd why come to me exactly? I mean I don’t mind the attention, but I ain’t exactly some grand battle strategist.”

“I have observed you interacting with the other humans. You are “social”. The way you humans bond outside of battle clearly has some connection with cooperation in combat situations. I need to learn all I can.”

She paused, going over line she had rehearsed all through the afternoon, it was supposedly a necessity of cooperation amongst humans. “Please help me.”

Briggs scratched his head and chuckled. “Well shit, I guess I can try. Alright, pull up a chair. If we’re gonna do this, we ought to start asap. I get the feeling you’re gonna need a lot of work.”

++++++++++

“Alright, to start off. Humans “socialize” by getting to know each other,” Artie said from across the table. “So let’s begin with some old fashioned human-style conversation.”

The pair looked at eachother in awkward silence.

“Aaaaalright…” Said Briggs, grinning awkwardly. “I’ll start us off then. So, uh, Cindyyyy. Pretty human sounding name. Did you uh, get it changed when you crossed over?”

“No.”

“Oh, uh, that’s inter-“

“I did not get it changed because I never had a name.”

“Oh.”

“We razers are born alike from the blood pits. Names were unnecessary. When we arrived, we were given names from a large list. I do not begrudge it, I suppose, but I am not certain it will ever feel like anything more than a label slapped on me.”

“Wellllll,” Briggs said, seeing this line of questioning was floundering, changed gears. “Well, what are your interests? What do you like to do?”

“Accomplish my missions,” She said with a bit more enthusiasm.

“Of course,” Sighed brigs. “Uh, how about, OUTSIDE of combat?  What do you like to do in your downtime?”

Razer looked at him in silence for an uncomfortably long pause. “…Stand?”

He rubbed his temples. “This is going to take a lot of work.”

++++++++

Cindy stared at the glass of amber liquid set before her. “So you believe this is necessary for me to become social?”

“It’s necessary for me to stand lookin’ at Briggs’s face at least,” Joked Heavy Weapons Specialist Myers. The muscles in his dark-skinned neck tensed while he laughed.

“Aw shut the fuck up, you all know I’m the best looking guy here.” Responded Briggs.

“In competition with my ass maybe.” Added Private Jensen, a female human.

Cindy was so confused by social interaction. They constantly threw jibes and insults at one another, and yet acted like they were harmless jokes. Delilah had once tried to fit in with an insult, but calling Jensen a “feeble sack of tendons to be crushed by her enemies” was apparently not considered an appropriate phrase.

Briggs had turned his attention back to Cindy, laying a hand on her amor plated shoulder. “Well, this stuff makes socializing a LOT easier.”

Cindy nodded, grabbed the glass, and downed it in one gulp.

“SHIT!” Exclaimed Myers, grinning. “She goes all in!”

Cindy shrugged. “My mission is to become team oriented. Any reservations I have are irrelevant in the face of accomplishing my mission.”

“Yeahhhh…. We’re gonna work on that.” Said Briggs. “Do you feel anything yet?”

Cindy frowned. “My senses feel.. off, like there’s something interfering with my brain’s chemistry. You humans purposefully lower your combat effectiveness for pleasure?”

“Cindy, remember, OFF-DUTY. This stuff helps us unwind, loosen up! Just, let it work its magic for a bit, and you’ll feel better about this.”

“Maybe it’ll be easier to loosen up if you aren’t wearing that armor all the time.” Offered Myers.

“But this is my flesh.” Responded Cindy matter-of-factly. “This is not body armor like you soldiers wear.”

“Wait, so all that plating never comes off?”

“Well, some parts now retract to give access to these odd new body parts,” She said, looking down at the round armored protrusions on her chest. “We never had to deal with things like this back in Hell. They’re weird and confusing.”

“Well, uh… We’ll let Jensen advise with that stuff.”

+++++++++++

“Alright, I know videogames are tricky for you with the whole, hand, thing, but this one’s got REALLY simple controls!” Said Briggs, bringing Cindy over to one of the arcade cabinets in the rec room.

“Super Turbo Turkey Puncher 3?”

“It’s a classic. You just need to move the stick to move from turkey to turkey, you press this button to punch and this one to dodge their pecks.”

She observed the button set-up. It WAS comparitavely simple. Even with her more awkward club-blaster hand it wouldn’t be too much of a trial. She gripped the joystick with one hand and laid her other upon the buttons. “So this is another one of those “unwind” things?”

“Yeah! Just give’er a try!”

“I would prefer if I was not being affected by that alcohol substance, but alright. For the sake of the mission.”

“Yo! Try and see if you can beat my high score!”  Shouted Myers from the bar.

“Competition?” Asked Cindy, perking up a little.

“Yeah, there’s a list of the top scorers of the game on there. The better you do, the higher your name gets.”

Cindy felt a trill of eagerness course through her. “Well that sounds… Not entirely bad…” Proving herself in a test of reflexes and aggression? That could be… entertaining… maybe.

The game started, and she began mashing the punch button. The first turkey was red paste in a second. Numbers flashed on the screen, and she felt a thrill.

She leaned in, focus razor-sharp. She was like a machine, tapping the buttons with absurd speed and precision.  The others observed her with growing interest.

The game continued, flashing across her face. She grit her teeth and hunkered down. Turkey after turkey laid slain before her, but they were growing more challenging with every new turkey. These were bigger, and had iron spikes on their beaks. But she would not be brought down by false enemies!

Myers turned to Briggs. “So why you trying to help her out so much?”

Briggs shrugged. “Honestly, I really want to see if its possible. Plus, y’know, I suppose I ought to since we’re, y’know, supposed to work together. I’d LIKE to have some kickass demon warriors watching my back if it can be helped.”

Suddenly, a loud curse in hellspeak jolted them from their conversation. The screen was flashing red text over a black screen. [GAME OVER]

“RRRGHRA!” Roared Cindy as she banged her normal fist on the side of the machine. “FAILURE!”

“Uh, it’s just a game Cindy.”

“But I FAILED at it! How will I unwind and be social if I am not successful?! The game is OVER! I have failed!”

“No, no, that’s just. Games like these are an endurance run, they end at some point. Just because it’s game over doesn’t mean it’s OVER over. Just add a couple more tokens and you’re fine.”

“Tokens?”

“RIght, uh, in the wild these things make you insert these little metal coins to earn more tries at the game. But when you own ‘em you can just set them to add more at the push of a button. Like this.”

He pushed the coin slot button, adding 2 more credits to the game. “C’mon, give it another try. You’re doing good for a first timer!”

Cindy nodded, and turned around to face the group. “MYERS! I HAVE MADE IT MY MISSION TO SURPASS YOUR SCORE!”

Myers raised his glass in acknowledgment, and Cindy resumed to turkey slaughter.
+++++++++


“So this ball game, it is a training exercise for team-work?” Asked Cindy, holding the orange ball in her club-hand.

“Well, you can see it that way I guess.” Responded Briggs, taking the ball. “But just try and play along, and WORK with your team-mate here.”

Briggs had proposed the four break into teams of two, Briggs and Jensen on one team, Myers and Cindy on the other. “And as we’ve all discussed, shots that are based on TEAMWORK, are worth double.” Briggs counted down and tossed the ball into the air.

The game was hectic for a while, Cindy very unused to the rules and necessary movements. She kept managing to score shots, but the other team was consistently climbing above them in points.

“TEAMWORK GIRL!” Shouted Myers from across the court.

She was about to protest that she could make the shot herself, but realized she was falling into a repeat of the training mission. If she could score two teamwork points, they would be even with the others.

She saw Briggs and Jensen moving to intercept her. She could throw the ball at Myers but it wouldn’t make it in time. An idea struck her.  She stuffed the ball in the “palm” of her club arm, aimed it at Myers, and let off a burst of energy.

The Ball shot out of her barrel like a cannon shot, and hit Myers square in the chest. A smaller man would have been knocked over, but the heavy weapons specialist was used to dealing with sudden harsh force.

The ball was hot in his hands, but it just encouraged him to get it into the hoop as soon as possible.
Briggs and Jensen had shocked looks on their faces. “Shit, you can do that? Is that legal? I don’t that that’s allowed in basketball.”

“The ball is in the hoop. The mission is accomplished.” Said Cindy with smug pride.

Briggs shrugged, and conceded.

++++++++++++++

By the end of the week, Cindy had managed to make great strides in playing well with others. She had spoke of her advancements with her sister Razers, and skeptical as they were, they admitted her validity when Cindy managed to pass the next training session.

Soon she was bringing them along with her on “Social Training”. Delilah took well to the inebriating beverages, and Beatrice quite liked the ball game.

And with all four Razers participating, the basketball matches were a lot more even.

Briggs, of course, was smug as a bug as rug to his fellow humans, claiming the credit for helping turn the demons around.

These strides would soon be put to the test, however….

+++++++++++++++

“LISTEN UP MARINES!” Shouted Lieutenant Carlson. “Orders came in, you boys finally have an assignment.”

“Well shit, finally done having us sit on our asses?” Asked Myers.

“Cut the small talk marine, this mission is vital to the preservation of UAC security for the entire planet. At eleven hundred hours, three days ago, a re-connected security feed was observed from this facility.”

The holo-screen in the center of the room flickered to life, displaying the rotating wireframe of a series of buildings.

Cindy’s eye would have widened if it could. “That is… The original UAC facility, on Phobos!”

“Spearhead of the original incursion.” Said Jensen.

The demons in the room immediately felt uncomfortable.

“Yes. And the security feed displayed THIS.”

The screen cut to grainy footage of a large, multilegged creature scuttling down a hallway. The image zoomed in and focused on a freezeframe of the creature, extrapolating a 3d model and presenting similar matches from the UAC database.

Delilah snarled. “-Trites.-“

The creature on the screen was a bizarre mix of arachnid and humanity. What looked like a woman’s head, flipped upside down, covered in eyes and teeth, and supported by a series of spider-like legs.

“Shiiiiit man, I heard about those things. Those are NASTY.” Said Reyes, another marine.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Said Delilah. “Trites are despised by every level of demon society.”

“What, like Lost Souls?”

“No.” Growled Alice. “Lost souls are a manageable nuisance. THESE are a blight!”

“Soooo they aren’t with the nice demons?”

“They aren’t WITH anyone. The only thing they are, is -hungry-.”

“What, so we’re getting sent out on a friggin’ bug hunt?” Asked Briggs.

Lt. Carlson nodded. “Precisely. The UAC isn’t certain exactly HOW these things got here. The prevailing theory is that some piece of old portal tech somehow got reactivated, and the bugs started slipping through. Your mission, is to seek out and eradicate this infestation,  find the cause, and if possible, either contain it or remove it. Are we clear?”

“SIR, YES, SIR.” responded the marines.

“Damn right. You leave at fifteen hundred hours.

++++++++

An hour before they were due to ship off to Phobos, Cindy tracked down Briggs, requesting a moment to talk in private.

“Before we head out, I want to thank you,” said Cindy. “You taught me how to survive here, and helped me to help my fellow Razers. If it weren’t for you, we would not be able to participate in this mission.”

“PFfft, it’s fine. You just needed to get over the initial hurdle, you took to hanging with us fine.”

“No, you chose to help me whine, if the positions were reversed, I might not have. You’ve helped me feel… at home here.” She exhaled deeply, running her hand along the crest of her helm. “And it’s not just that. I feel closer to you all, and even my fellow demons. Like, we are… what is the term you humans have, for a collection born of the same flesh?”

“Uh, I think you mean Family?”

“Yes. Family. I feel like that is what I have now. It is… something to treasure. I think.”

“Jeeze, you’re gonna make me get sappy. Look, I’m happy you’re doing better. Glad I could help.” Briggs moved to leave, but Cindy stopped him, gently placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Briggs. I’m in your debt. You’re owed gratitude.”

“Dude it’s nothing.”

“No, I would like to give you my thanks in a meaningful way. So if you would like, I shall copulate with you.”

“Co-co-copu-WHAT?”

With a distressingly fleshy sound, plates of her chest armor shifted, freeing her bosom. He daren’t look down, but he heard something shift n her crotch as well.

“I know that you humans often enjoy the act of mating. And you have made several references to it in your humor. I feel no discomfort in providing you physical gratification, I have heard many demons have begun engaging in such activities.”

Briggs backed off nervously. “Ah, hehe, look. I’m appreciative, trust me, but, eh, this is REALLY awkward.”

“Am I displeasing to your tastes?” She asked, thrusting out her chest.

“No, no, uh, not that. I mean, no. Its just, I prefer to, me and my ah, partner, get to know eachother better before doing “the deed” you know, hehe.”

“But we know eachother sufficiently. You are Private Marcus Briggs, and I am Cindy of the Seventh Brood of the Fourth Plane and -“

“No, no its more than that! It’s kind of… an intimacy thing, okay? It’s… it’s a complex social ritual, alright? I mean, a random fling im cool with but, I know you well enough to kinda, well, respect you enough to not want to just fuck in a closet out of some weird life-debt thing.”

“You consider the act of mating more… special?”

“I guess, yeah. Call me old fashioned I guess. Heh…”

“Very well. I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable Briggs. I will think of a better way to thank you later.”

“You aren’t upset I turned you down?”

“I am somewhat disheartened that I made you feel awkward Briggs, but I understand your reasoning, I think.”

“Okay, good. I don’t like to leave a girl brokenhearted.”

“To break my heart you would need to tear through my armor plating and ribcage. That would be very difficult.”

“Good to know.”

++++++++

[1630 hours: Phobos UAC Science Facility 1]

The marines had paired off to search the facility for Trite hives. So far, no one had reported anything.

The flashlight at the end of Briggs’ rifle cut through the dusty dark, illuminating a set of consoles splattered with long-dried bloodstains. “Jeeeezus. Can’t believe I’m actually here. Where it all happened.”

“Does it make you… uncomfortable having me here?”

“Oh, no, sorry. Look I don’t bear no fuckin’ grudge. Something some old military guy in some movie i watched that stuck with me. ‘Borders change, allegiances change, nations change.’ Shit was cheesy as hell, but it makes a point man. It’s like my grandpa holding a grudge against the swedes for their side in the pan-EU conflicts. That was generations ago man.”

“That is a… learned philosophy. But we did many terrible things. As much as I appreciate the welcome we have received, I often wonder if we’re worth it.”

“Mannnn don’t worry about stuff like that when we’re on a mission. Look we can have a long talk about that shit later but… Wait. Where the fuck are all the corpses?

“I did not think you were that morbid bri-“

“-No-. I did my research man, Phobos was a slaughter on both sides. There should be like, bones and  shit everywhere…”

He scanned the rooms. Besides bloodstains, claw marks and bulletholes, there was a whole lot of nothing.

“Trites,” Said Cindy gravely. “They’re ravenous. They’ll consume any organic matter they can find. Its no wonder there are no dead remaining.”

“Well. That just brightened my day.”

+++++++++++

[1700 hours: Phobos UAC Science Facility 1]

“*ksszzht*-ESE FUCKERS ARE EVERYWHERE! KEEP MOVING, WE REGROUP AT-*kssshszzt* -ANGAR. DELILAH DO NOT STOP FIRING!”

Cindy and Briggs were running. All throughout the base it had been calm, until, all at once, trites started pouring in from every direction.

The things were relentless, and pursued the marines through every corridor of the facility. Cindy fired a volley of fireballs at their pursuers and blasted the ones in front, but more were coming.

“*ksssszzht*-is Jensen! We found the portal and I think that’s what set them off. We planted charges around the machine but we’re getting heavily bogged down! Some of these fuckers are big!”

Cindy caught sight of a flash of red, and an escape plan hatched in her mind. “BRIGGS! Through here!” She grabbed at him, and tried to pulled him through a heavy set of doors, but as she pulled a trite moved up and bit into Briggs’s leg. He screamed inside his helmet, even while Cindy bashed it away with her cannon arm, aimed it, and fired at a stack of red barrels they had just passed.

***********

The two were sitting in an abandoned kitchen. Cindy was busy attempting to field dress Briggs’s wound. It was bad. Trite’s jaws were like a steel trap.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, my fucking leg, FUUUUUCK! Gaahaaahwd this fucking hurts…” Whimpered Briggs. “Shit, fucking… fucking shit, we’re fucked. We’re fucking fucked. You gotta go on without me, I can’t get anywhere on this! FUCK!”

“Briggs, you need to calm down, remain focused on survival.”

“No, I’m fucked! You can still run. Me, I’m spider chow, look at me!” He gestured at his badly bleeding leg. “This is it for me man, my numbers up. It’s game over man, game over!”

Cindy paused, and looked him square in the eyes. She knelt further, being near face to face with him.

“No,” She said. “We are not out of little metal coins.”

“What-HGURK”

She grabbed him by the armpits, flung him over her shoulder and pulled his arms around her neck. “I am done doing things alone. My mission is to keep my team-mates alive. I will. Not. Fail.” She checked the holo map and plotted a direct course for the hangar bay.

She started charging forward, cannon-arm in front like a battering ram. She bashed open the doors on the opposite wall and immediately began firing at any trite daring to get close. Briggs yelped at every jolt, but held on tight.

“You’ve got a gun, USE IT!” She snarled, reaching behind into Briggs’s side holster and fishing out his laser pistol. She handed it to him, and resumed sprinting at full force.

Briggs fought through the pain, aided by the sheer shock and awe Cindy’s plan produced in him. He tried as hard as possible to steady his aim and take potshots at incoming trites, like a human turret on her shoulders.


+++++++++++++++++++++

[1900 hours: UAC Mars Defense Outpost Haephestus]

Cindy stormed in through the medbay doors. She had rushed in the first second Briggs was declared stable.

He lay in his cot, IV’d up and everything. “Hey Bulldozer,” He said, sounding very tired, but smiling.

Medical Officer Reynolds, the man looking over Briggs, gave Cindy a sagely nod. “It’s okay to talk with him for a bit, but he’s lost a lot of blood so don’t keep up too long. I want to look over him for a day or two, make sure he recovers right.”

Cindy nodded respectfully. “I will be brief,” She said, turning back to Briggs. “How are you feeling?”

“Well, the doc put enough unpronounceable chemicals in me to… keep the leg from bothering me too much.” He said, breathing heavily. “Pride’s kinda wounded though, gotta admit.”

“I’m sorry.” She said, frowning severely. “I shouldn’t have let it get close to you, If I’d-“

“Hey,” He said, weakly. “You don’t get to pull me out of the fucking fire just to.. gah…just to say YOU’RE the one who owes me. You saved my fucking life dude. You definitely get a B+ in teamwork. Hehehehe.. ow… Hurts to laugh.”

Cindy placed her hand on his gently. “Thank you.”

“Aw don’t try and ‘thank me’ again. I lost too much blood to handle that. Heh… crap. I just realized I need to do something else nice for you, since you’ve repaid me in fuckin’ full.”

She twined her fingers around his. “It does not have to have to be a transaction.”

He smiled, weakly. “Well… alright then. Give me a raincheck though, if I tried now I would probably actually die.”

“Alright.” She said, smiling. “I will let you rest. Good night Private Briggs.”

“Just… call me Marcus.”

“Alright Marcus,” She said, walking towards the door. “Oh and before I go.” She flashed him a cocky grin. “I beat your high score last night.”

“Fucking diabolical.” He said, grinning.