Return to Earth: Days Gone Bye

We were back at the house in a matter of minutes, Largo's ship made sure of that.

“You sure about this?” Largo asked. “That leader lady wanted your house not even an hour ago.”

I was fidgeting with the locks on my X-O, these things were a bitch to get off without a machine to do it for you, but I couldn't stand to be in the bastard for another minute, and the military models didn't come off without a docking machine period. The locks on my chest plate finally gave up and unlocked, my fingers were red and sore from the struggle.

“I don't think she'll try anything.” I said, prying a boot from my foot. “I think she may like me.”

“They don't even have any males, how the hell does she even know what you are?”

I shrugged. “Instinct maybe? Maybe I'm just cute.”

“Whatever you say.” Largo conceited. “Lets just hope Cat and her won't get jealous of one another...”

Largo landed the ship a few yards from the house, flicking the switch that dropped the ramp. Before my feet could even touch grass I was assaulted by a barrage of hugs, kisses, wagging tails, and wiggling ears.

“You're home!” She cried, rubbing her cheek against mine. “You're safe!”

“I told you I'd be fine, didn't I?” I consoled her.

Cat grinned from ear to ear, wiping the tears from her face and locking lips with mine.

“Always with the mouth sucking...” Largo grimaced. “Terrans are weird...”

I explained the situation to Cat, though her own vocabulary was limited, she was still able to understand every word. The idea of new scenery seemed exciting to her, but didn't like the idea of leaving the lake as much. But then I told her that it would only be temporary which cheered her right back up.

It took some coercing to get her on to the ship, and by coercing I mean I picked her up in a bear hug and lugged her in. She clinged to my arm as soon as the ship lifted from the ground, refusing to open her eyes even for a second.

“Everything's sealed?” Largo asked, hovering the ship over the giant box that was my home.

“Packed and ready for delivery.” I confirmed. “Enough water to last a week as well.”

“Roger.”

The ship clamped down to the house, pulling it from the ground and lifting it high into the air effortlessly. Cat was still clinging to me like a frightened little girl, refusing to open her eyes and look outside even for a second.

“Cat.” I whispered. “Open your eyes.”

“No!” She refused. “Not meant to fly! No wings!”

“Do I have wings?” I asked.

“...No.”

“Does Largo have wings?”

“...No.”

“See, we're not meant to fly either, so open your eyes already.”

Hesitantly, Cat fluttered her golden eyes open, widening in awe as she saw the world from inside a space craft. We were above the clouds, the sun shining a heavenly glow against them while it slowly descended over the horizon. She held my arm closer to her chest, resting her head on my shoulder and sighing contently to herself.

“Doesn't hurt to fly, does it?” I asked her, placing my cheek on the top of her head.

“No...”

Largo turned his head back to us, throwing up one of his gigantic tree-trunk like arms to get our attention.

“Ey, Lovebirds.” he called out. “We're making a landing soon.”

I watched on the scanners, the lizard women dispersed when Largo lowered us from above the clouds. They looked in awe as the spacecraft hovered gently over their little settlement as if it were a god from the skies above. Largo made especially sure that one of them wasn't under our drop site right in the centre of the village, the last thing we want is to have another incident by squishing one of the poor girls under a few tons of house.

They jumped and fell panicked for a moment when the house fell from the ship, clamping into the ground and unfolding itself into the house I've come to love. I could see Lucretia even from up here eyeing it quizzically. Some poked it with their rifles, others refused to even come near the device.

“You want to come down?” I asked Largo.

“I don't know, what are my chances of being shot?”

“You're going to have to come down there sooner or later, chances are its you that's going to go deep into those tunnels with me.”

“...Ngggh....” Largo groaned. “Fine, but make sure I don't get led in my ass...”

The ship landed a few yards from the house, enough clearing to not trap anyone in their homes or roast someone behind the ship. They gathered around the flying fortress, the ramp lowering and touching the muddy ground below. I stood in front of Largo with my arms outstretched, hoping this was the universal term for “Don't shoot the fucking Chi'tarin.”. It seemed to work, their guns still pointed towards the ground. Largo followed behind me, taking extra care not to slam his knuckles too hard against the ramp or the ground, paranoid of what the residence would do if startled.

“Nobody panic!” I called out, knowing my words were in vain. “This is Largo! He is a Chi'tarin! There is no reason to panic! His kind don't eat sentient creatures!”

“The last time we tried that we started a galactic war...” he mumbled under his breath.


The children seemed more interested in Largo than the adults, surrounding the bulking Chi'tarin and examining him like he was some sort of farm animal. Some even began to climb him, crawling up his arms and his hind legs to sit on his back.

“What are they doing!?” He panicked.

“I think they like you.” I said amused.

The giant Chi'tarin calmed himself, for something so big and so imposing they were easy to startle. He reached over with one of the giant arms he used to keep himself standing and picked one of the children from his back. One with dark brown scales and black hair. She gave him a big toothy grin and cupped each side of his snout.

“Well...They are kind of cute.” He bemused, losing track of the objective at hand.

Cat stepped out of the ship a moment later, the threat of gunfire passed. She moved past Largo and to my side, holding on to my arm with her tail between her legs.

“Sure are a lot...” She whispered to me. “Sure its safe?”

“Its safe...” I reassured her. “They seem to like Largo, which is surprising.”

I spotted Lucretia moved through the crowed, her eyes fixed on Cat with a disappointed frown. Though  it quickly subsided, shaking her head and bringing back the confident grin she had since she showed me around her town hall. She jogged past the rest of her people and stood in front of us, greeting me quickly before returning to examining Cat.

Cat's ears fell against her head, looking back at the silver haired Lizard woman that was seemingly staring her down. I didn't know what to do, nor was I ready for a fight if one broke out. My anxiety was alleviated when Lucretia spotted a cut on Cat's paw that I didn't even notice. She gasped and took Cat's paw in both of her hands, examining it closely before beckoning Cat along.

She spoke softly in her own language, pulling Cat towards a tent with another lizard woman in robes waited not far from our landing spot.

“Well that was easy.” I commented to Largo, who was still busy swinging around all the kids on his back and around him in general.  “You okay with your new friends there?”

“I think I'll manage.” He told me, giggling like an idiot while he tossed girls up into the air and caught them or swing them around gently in a game of helicopter.

“Big scary Chi'tarin, huh?” I muttered to myself, struggling to fight back a giggle of my own.

I managed to set up the house even with Lucretia and few of her confidants following me around and exploring every inch of the magic box, going through drawers before I could find a way to tell them not to. I think one or two of them stole some of my underwear... I refrained from using any sort of technology greater than the room lights, the last thing I need is an audience during movie night.

Largo and I stood at the top of the stairs, the blast door into the old lab remained open, though none of the natives dared go inside. Cat and Lucretia were getting along swimmingly, thank heavens for that. Though they couldn't understand a word one another said, they found comradeship in activities such as braiding one another's hair or ogling at me while I did crazy space man shit.

“How deep do you think it is?” Largo asked, his eyes peered at the darkness beyond the door.

“Not sure...” I shrugged. “Could be anything from your usual facility to an entire town down there. Maybe even bigger if they have a military branch.”

“Think anyone is still down there?”

“God, I hope not...” I muttered. “Even if they did have enough people to maintain a genetically diverse population...I don't want to know what that isolation could do to them after all these years...”

“Hopefully we don't find anyone then...Hopefully we find what we're looking for down there as well...”

I peered out the window to my left, the moonlight reflecting a lunar glow against its glass.

“We'll start tomorrow morning then?” I asked him.

“Sounds good to me, I could use some shut eye.”

“Need a room?”

“Nah, bed in the ship is good enough for me.”

I almost fell over with the sudden impact against my side, Cat tugging at my arm excitedly.

“Daniel!” She cried gleefully. “Can Lucy sleep over!?”

“Lucy?” I asked, looking over at Lucretia sitting at the table, avoiding eye contact.

Cat nodded furiously. “Lucy really likes the house! Would be neat to let her see?”

“Let her see.. Oh, let her see what its like.”  I pondered on it, the lizard girl seemed to have calmed down after I blocked those bullets for her, whats the worst that could happen? “I don't see why not.”

Cat squealed happily and kissed me on the cheek, skipping back to Lucretia and pulling her along. How did they even come to a conclusion of a sleep over? Maybe I should have asked for the details before I gave them the go ahead.

I lied in bed, staring at the ceiling while being sandwiched between two ladies. Cat at my left with her arms wrapped tightly around my neck and Lucretia at my right with her arms around my chest. I didn't even realize what was going on before they hopped into bed, I was expecting them to  sleep downstairs or set up one of the cots I had. The big was bed enough for one more person to be sure, but its hard to move with two people clinging to you like you were a teddy bear.

She seemed to like the pair of pyjamas Cat gave her, though her tail made her pants drag a little bit. Even though I couldn't move, at least I wasn't uncomfortable.

I was up before dawn, prying myself out of their death grip and leaving the two alone while I headed down stairs. A quick breakfast of toast and coffee to get the system going and then off to get my suit put back on. Reluctantly, I stepped into the docking machine and initiated the protocol, and within seconds I was armoured and ready to go.

Largo was already standing by the stairs in their grand hall, the guards eyeing him nervously, like he was going to freak out and kill everyone at a moments notice, not like I could blame them with him wearing that X-O.

Although a human design, X-Os became the main stray in many alien armed forces, created from scratch or reverse engineered from purchased human models. The Chi'tarin, however, adapted to X-Os almost naturally, designing suits that fitted and improved their own physiology. Ancient proverbs say the gods built the Chi'tarin for war, they're large, mean, can tear through most armour with their bare hands, and can bite you in half with their gaping maws. The Chi'tarin X-Os design loses their ability to...Well...Bite things, but makes up for it by enhancing their natural talents to ludicrous degrees.

Largo stood fully armoured before me, his eyes behind two glowing orange visors. Unlike mine, Largo's suit was built for military service, a large rotary chain gun strapped to his right shoulder and a High Frequency Battle Axe, a Chi'tarin favourite, strapped to the left arm for easy access. He was even larger in his plating, standing in brilliant red armour like a statue.

Thankfully, my pulse rifle was returned to me before we left to retrieve Cat and the house, there was no tampering and it was still in working order. I didn't think I would need it, though its always nice to have.

“Ready to go?” Largo asked, curling his shoulders.

“Yeah, lets get this over with...”

I turned back, seeing Cat standing at the doorway, still in her pyjamas. I gave with a reassuring wave, one she returned slowly. With one final nod to Largo, we headed down the stairs and into the facility.

Terran Military Doctrine IX: Human-Xeno operations: Article II: Chi'tarin. The doctrine states that the best entry for a fire team consisting of humans and one or more Chi'tarin into a cramp and possibly hostile area is to keep the smaller humans in front. Depending on the width of the entry point, a Chi'tarin may not be able to turn around and needs all the room to backpedal from incoming hostile threats. This also ensures that the human soldiers have the ability to fire unhindered while the larger Chi'tarin can fire over head for maximum combat efficiency.

The entryway was dark, too dark to see anything further than a few feet. I was accompanied by only the sounds of my own foot steps and the reassuring thud of Largo's massive metal knuckles. The NV kicked in automatically, lighting the walls, floor, and ceiling with a ominous red outline and glow.

“Six corners.” I announced. “Possibly hallways.”

“Which one is the right one?” Largo asked, his chain-gun following the movement of his eyes in his suit.

“Only one way to find out...”

We entered slowly and cautiously, listening for the sound of foot steps within the darkness or even the scraping of metal on metal, by the time humanity abandoned earth, defence androids were already a mainstay in military and business security. But if any of them haven't already reacted to the intruders, then they're either non-existent, on standby, or the more unsettling possibility...Stalker protocol.

I continued down the main hall, Largo turning to his side and strafing over each hallway we pass. The oxygen here was thin and stagnant according to my HUD, most likely before we opened the hatch there was none at all.

“How deep do you think this facility goes?” I asked Largo.

“Looks big enough, may go a few clicks underground, why?”

“Because...” I twisted around the corner, aiming my rifle into the darkness before proceeded down my original course. “If this facility is a few floors deep, then there's probably an office department somewhere up here.”

“And a power & engineering department as well then.” Largo finished my explanation.

The silence of the facility was unsettling, even empty ships in space creak and rumble from time to time. We were accompanied only by our steps and our breath, no fuzz of noise or clanking from deeper in the dark, though I suppose I should be thankful.

“Here it is...” I announced, a large double sided blast door stood on the right of the hall, separating it from all of the single blast doors up until now. “So how do we get inside?”

Largo nudged me to the side, stepping in front of the blast doors and limbering up. With a grunt, he jammed his fingers into the centre, bending and crushing metal between his giant fingers until the locks gave way and the doors slammed open.

“Oh right, I forgot you could do that. Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

We were greeted by the sight of a receptionist desk with an ancient computer on top, there was a door behind and to the right of the desk leading into another room. Unlike the sterile halls we had passed, this office had a carpet flooring, though I couldn't make out the colours with the NV. It felt like almost like a school office, waiting chairs and all.

“I don't think power would be in here.” Largo commented, stepping into the office.

“No, but they might have a map.”

I rummaged through the front desk, flipping through plans after plans until I found what I was looking.

“Right, its about three doors down from here down the hall.” I told Largo.

“I got it.”

The Chi'tarin lumbered out of the office, his giant knuckles banging against the ground becoming quieter and quieter until I heard the distinct sound of a blast door being pried from its resting place. Around thirty seconds later the lights flickered to life, not even a second delay like they haven't been off for a few hundred years.

“We have power.” Largo announced over our comm-link.

“I can see that. Hurry on back.”

Largo returned a few seconds later, finding a corner to sit down in while I did my analysis.

“Oxygen returning to normal.” I announced, my HUD lighting up with info after info. I pulled my helmet from my head. “Everything's good to go.”

“Good.” Largo complained, the guard on his face peeling back. “Feels like a damn plastic bag is on my head with that thing on...”

Now with better light, I examined the map once more, the facility was shaped in a straight line with several hallways carved into the side on both sides.

“Looks like its just an office and low priority personnel.” I explained, looking over the documents. “There's roughly sixty rooms up here, a cafeteria, a gymnasium, and some sort of on-site convenience store. There are three floors below us, the further down the more important people ranked in the hierarchy.”

“So what're saying is the lower we go the better our chances are at getting some answers?” Largo leaned against the wall.

“Exactly.”

“Right then, lets go.”

We left the office, turning to our left and towards the hallway that led to the elevator. We saw Lucretia and a few of her own prowling carefully through the halls, weapons drawn. I waved at her and she waved back, barking something at her soldiers. They lowered their weapons and Lucretia moved to lead from the front.

She spoke to me in a tongue like we've been friends for years, even though just yesterday she tried to cut me up with her sword.

“Guess this place isn't taboo then, huh?” I asked her, walking past her soldiers and towards one of the residential rooms. “Think these are ID locked, Largo?”

Surprisingly, the door opened with a push of my palm against the scanner beside the blast door. The lights in the room came to life as soon as I stepped inside, a rather comfy looking place. It was the size of a small colonist cube, the ones miners and other tradesmen get when they work off-world. Four rooms, a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, and a bedroom by the looks of it. The doors inside were all opened, maybe the former owner of this property didn't bother to close them? Largo stepped inside, hunching over so his head doesn't bump with the ceiling. Lucretia and her own followed soon after, gasping in amazement at the wonders of a long dead world.

“Oh shit.” I laughed, running into the living room. “No fucking way.”

It was like finding an ancient treasure in an old temple. An actual, honest to god, flat screen television. Not a media box, not a holoscreen, but a physical screen with physical buttons. The television was brandished with large white letters spelling “SAMSUNG” under the screen itself. The TV stand was filled with ancient hardware such as DVD players and two hundred years worth of video game consoles ranging from Nintendo to the short lived Okama Gamesphere.

“Check it out, Largo!” I called out like a giddy child. “An actual working Nintendo 64! We only ever get to see these in museums nowadays...”

“Whats with the controller?” He asked, picking it up. “It looks like it was made for Chi'tarin hands.”

I leaped to his shelf, looking over the legacy of video games this person had resting on their shelf. I pulled one out at random, a game that was apparently about a fox that flew a space ship called “Starfox 64”.

“I kind of want to play all of these.” I admitted. “There are thousands of these all over the god damn wall.”

“They must have really liked to play video games.” Largo added, gripping the Nintendo controller firmly in a single hand.

“With how much of that shit was left behind, I wouldn't doubt they had plenty to nab after the exodus.”

“Is there Gone With the Wind?” A familiar voice asked.

I turned to face Cat, her ear flicking and her face beaming while she sat cross legged on the couch.

“Cat? When the hell did you get here?” I asked.

“Got bored.” She admitted. “Followed you.”

“You can't just follow me!” I scolded. “What if it was dangerous!?”

“Can't be dangerous.” She objected. “You're here, and you're strongest there is with X-O!”

Its true that if there was a fire fight that she would have heard it all the way from the house. I opened my mouth to speak again before I realized the room was kind of empty.

“Hey wait, wheres Lucretia?”

Cat pointed towards the bed room. I could hear the giggling before I even entered. Lucretia and her soldiers made themselves at home in the bedroom, lying on the bed or sitting on one of the bean bag chairs while looking through page after page of the books this person had on their shelf.  They were mostly Manga by the looks of it, a Japanese book form that was still relevant on any of the Tokyo or Kyoto planets in the Scutum Arm sector.

It seems that the Lizard Girls weren't the hard boiled warrior race I thought they were. Their prevalent girlish side peaked out and broke professionalism more than you would have expected. Lucretia and two of her subordinates huddled over what looked like a romance series, though they couldn't read the writing, the pictures seemed to have caught their eye. They turned the page and instantly broke out into giddy squealing when the two love interests locked lips, tails wagging and fin-like ears wiggling ecstatically.

I left them to their business, returning to Cat and Largo in the living room.

“They aren't dying in there, are they?” Largo asked with concern.

“No, they just found a bunch of comic books. Must be a new thing for them, but it will make sure they wont follow us into the lower levels for a bit.”

Largo agreed, lumbering out of the room and back into the main hall. “Whenever you're ready.”

I looked at Cat sternly and strictly, her ears lowering against her head. “You stay here where its safe!”

“Fine...” She pouted, crossing her arms and sitting back on the couch.

As doctrine commands, I walked in front of Largo, the giant following behind me with every step.

“Stairs or elevator?” He asked.

“Stairs, I'm afraid to get into an elevator with you.” I joked.

“Whats that supposed to mean?” He asked.

“I'm saying you need to lay off the Mombarian Steak.”

“I don't eat THAT much...” he muttered. “But I could sure go for a Mombarian Steak right about now...”

Largo struggled with the stairs, forcing me to go on ahead while he went down six at a time. The top floor power grid also ran down into the second floor, giving us a good light without the use of our NV. The halls here were wider and longer, enough for ten or so people to stand side by side.

“Pretty big.” Largo commented, advancing further down the endless hall.

“Looks like a lot of the maintenance was done in this area. Maybe even an armoury.”

“Wait, hold on...”

Largo heard it before I did, a loud series of clanking against the concrete ground. It echoed throughout the halls and stopped suddenly. I gripped and slung my rifle from my shoulder, aiming it down the hall and expecting the worst.

“Visitors!? Here!? But I'm not even primped!”

The voice caught me off guard, proper voice with an English accent like from the movies. Stepping from around the corner was a man, no, an android with a silver chassis and a green sweater vest over a white undershirt with a tie and brown uniform shorts that end at the knees. He held one hand against his back and one arm at his side, looking at us with glowing blue eyes.

“Ah! Welcome!” He presented himself with a bow. “I am Alexander Rupert Gittigan II, at your service sir!”

The android stood from his bow, eyeing me over and then eyeing Largo.

“Excuse me, sir.” He spoke with a imitated cough. “But you realize you are followed by a gorilla, no?”

“Oh, this is Largo.” I presented the less than amused Chi'tarin. “He's a Chi'tarin. And I'm Daniel.”

“Daniel! Proper name that is! To think I was beginning to believe that we were forgo-” Alexander stopped himself. “Chi'tarin? Do you mean that this is an extraterrestrial?”

“That's right.” Largo grunted.

“My word! A real life alien!” Alexander gasped. “Professor Arisha would be most astounded to see such a specimen!...”

The android stopped himself, his artificial eyes trailing to the ground.

“But...He would not be with us anymore, would he?” He asked himself, his voice distraught and disappointed.

“Right then!” He quickly brought himself back to attention. “It has been Two hundred and fifty five thousand five hundred days since I was placed in stand by! My old bones creak, but I am ready to be of service Master Daniels!”

“You seem rather eager to help a stranger.” I commented, lowering my rifle.

“My former masters are, as you would say, passed away.” Alexander explained. “I am programmed and trained to assist and aid humans in all manner. And since you are the first human in seven hundred years, that would make you their successor and my new charge!”

“Oh...Well.” I coughed. “Can you show us around then?”

“Can and shall!” he complied happily. “This way Master Daniel! Master Largo!”

“Master Largo.” Largo repeated. “I like that.”

Alexander led in front with both arms behind his back, each step like he was marching in formation. He hummed constantly, switching songs every few moments to keep things fresh.

“So.” I started. “What is this place, exactly?”

“This facility is the final stronghold of Project Salvation.” Alexander explained. “This was the first out of nine stations across the world, back when the project had more man power.”

“What happened to the other stations?” Largo asked.

“Time happened, Master Largo. As the years went on, more and more either abandoned the project and left for other worlds or they died of old age or accidents.” He explained further. “This facility housed the most loyal and the most passionate about the project.”

“What exactly is Project Salvation?” I added the question.

“Glad you asked!” He chirped. “Project Salvation was the Magnum Opus of Professor Mikhail Arisha.”

“Wait, I know that name.” I interrupted. “Wasn't he completely whack.”

Alexander halted his march and spun around, his robotic eyes wide and clearly offended.

“Good lord, Master Daniel!” He gasped. “I will suffer no such insult to the great mind of Professor Arisha! If you continue to say such confounded baseless insinuations then I shall be forced to demand that you raise your arms to ten and two good sir!”

“Alright!” I retreated. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend.”

“Well then...” Alexander coughed. “If it was a simple mistake then there was no harm done I suppose. Forgive me for my uncalled for outburst.”

Alexander turned back and beckoned us to follow along, continuing his tale.

“Project Salvation had one goal--” He raised a finger into the air as he explained. “--to give Earth a rightful successor! Humanity was leaving Earth for greener pastures, and the Professor saw an opportunity to give civilization a second chance.”

“Successors? You mean those animal-women all over the planet?” I asked.

Alexander halted once more, throwing his arms to each side and yelling out with a delighted “Ah!”. He turned to face me, this time a little too close for comfort.

“You mean to tell me that the successors still walk the Earth!?” He asked.

“Well, yeah. But I don't know how, I've yet to meet a male of their species.”

“Then it worked.” He muttered. “By Jove it worked!”

He clapped and cheered. For a seven hundred year old Android, he sure had a wide range of emotions.

“I was placed on stand by before this became news, you see.” He explained. “Though I fought and fought with them, Professor and the last of his colleagues insisted that I go on stand by in case they die before I could be. Seven hundred years of constant memory processing does murder on a chaps mind, you see.”

“So you just woke up?” Largo asked. “That may have been on us.”

“Then I have you to thank!” he chimed. “A good nights rest is vital for the mind, but seven hundred years is a tad too long for my likings.”

“Are you the only android here?” I asked.

“Of course not.” He denied. “Before this facility was re-purposed for Project Salvation, it was a high security military research facility for the Terran government...That is to say that levels three and lower have...A defence android situation.”

“Situation?”

“More of a fiasco, really.” He continues. “The androids were shut down remotely by the Terran government before leaving for Alpha Centauri, but the entire facility was shut down by whomever was last standing here...That being said if someone were to reboot the rest of the facility, the androids stationed here would most likely reboot with it...”

“Shit.” I cursed. “The last thing we want is a cluster fuck of defence bots charging us from every direction...”

I pondered on his words, scratching my chin and looking around the halls. “Where exactly is professor Arisha's logs be held?”

“Third floor is science staff residence.” He explained. “After that are the research labs, testing labs, and the core generator.”

“Can we just restore power to the staff residence?”

“Yes, but the forty androids stationed there would reboot with it...”

I looked back at Largo. “What do you say, big guy? Up for a little scrap?”

Alexander led us into the third floor, his blue eyes working like a high powered flash light in the dark. He led us ahead, towards the power room a few doors down from where we are.

“The Professors room was six doors to your right from the power room.” He explained. “As soon as the power turns on, be prepared for anything.”

Largo and I nodded, our helmets back up for complete protection. The rest of the journey was in silence, following the automaton towards are destination. Without power, I thought Largo was going to pry the door open again, but Alexander stopped him. Without saying a word, he slid his metallic hands into the blast door and twisted, a loud bang could be hurt from the door before he gently slid it open.

“Okay.” I started. “We get the power on, get into position, and blast the fuckers before they can even get a bead on us. Alexander, you stay behind us, I don't want to see you scrapped.”

“That may not be a problem.” Alexander moved past us, flicking all the switches to bring power to the floor.

Each light flickered to life and the sound of machines filled our ears. Before I could ask what the hell, the sound of beeping and moving metal limbs overcame the other noises.

“And just on time.” Alexander sighed. “Bunch of eager fellows, wouldn't you say?”

Largo looked like he was going to smash Alexander to pieces before he spoke up again.

“The Androids will be coming from our left.” he explained. “If I engage them here, then you will have enough room for the blast doors to block out the sounds while you do your work.”

He looked up to Largo. “And I'm sure you wouldn't have come all this way if you weren't curious yourself.”

“Wait...” I stumbled. “You plan to take those things on yourself?”

“It is a servants duty to expunge the ruffians and rascals from the manor, is it not?” He asked. “You go about your business, Master Daniel and Master Largo. I shall stay here and deal with the rabble.”

I didn't want to question him, instead I gave him a quick nod and sprinted down the hall, Largo right in tow. Alexander turned opposite of us, casually strolling down the hall until he met with our would-be attackers. They stood three feet taller than Alexander each, their bladed arms dragging across the ground as they scrambled along with turrets fashioned to their shoulders. A beady red light from each of their heads aimed directly for Alexander.

“Now then.” Alexander spoke up, retrieving a pair of white gloves from his pockets and pulling them over his robotic hands. His eyes turned from an aqua blue to a bright red. “Shall we be about our business?”
-
My palm print opened the door to the professor's home without struggle, letting us in before the carnage could start in the hallway.

“Do you think he'll be alright?” Largo asked, looking behind him as the door closed.

“He seemed pretty confident.”

“Yeah, but he said that there are forty of them.”

“I guess we'll see...”

Arisha's room was rather quaint, with wood panel flooring and light green walls, there was a fire place in the living room with a sofa chair and a rug. In the corner of the living room was a modest computer with a single monitor atop a work desk. Largo stood behind me while I plopped down on the leather computer chair, opening the side drawers to find a computer tower hidden away on the right side.

“Did Alexander talk about a password anything?” Largo asked.

“Well...Lets find out.”

I pressed down on the buttons on both the monitor and the tower, the screen coming to life with a bright blue light followed by a logo that read “WINDOWS”. There was one profile on the computer designated to Professor Arisha, the profile picture was of what I assumed was him having a coffee with a friend. I clicked on it and surprisingly enough, the computer had no password, bringing me straight to the desk top.

“Such a primitive little machine.” Largo commented, observing me while I guided my way through the computer with the mouse.

“They had a working one in the Technology museum on Athens IX.” I explained. “The presenter showed everyone how to use it during a field trip when I was still in middle school.”

The desktop was rather clean, only a few folders on the background of a familiar lake, very different from the cluttered mess I had to deal with. The folders read “Logs”, “Games”, and “Books”. A man of simple tastes I see. My first option was the logs folder for obvious reasons and I was not disappointed. I clicked on it twice and was rewarded with an endless line of video logs over the course of thirty years.

“Where do we start?” I ask, looking over the files in front of me.

“Where else than the beginning?”

I agreed with Largo, it would be stupid to start anywhere else, I clicked on the file designated “log #1” and waited the few seconds it took to load. A man appeared on my screen, the top of his head was completely bald, but the sides were covered with puffy and messy greying hair. The man on the screen reached forward and fixed the camera he was recording through sitting back on his chair and cleaning his glasses before speaking.

“This is the first log of Professor Mikhail Arisha.” He spoke in a heavy accent. “The date is: June 3rd 2235.”

“Everyone seems to be eager to start, the last colony ships are leaving the planet and very few are staying behind. The idea of humanity spreading further throughout the stars is astounding to say the least...But to leave Mother Earth just like that...It is...Startling to say the least... Nevertheless, the opportunity presented to us could change -everything-. Alexander expressed concern over the defence drones locked away in the security hulls, I told him there was nothing to worry about but he insisted on upgrading himself with a few chassis modifications and installation of both basic and advanced combat protocols. If I knew an A.I could be such a worry wort I would have gave him a U.I interface instead.”

Arisha stopped to laugh at his own comment, his eyes trailing to the ground before looking back and giving the camera a reassuring smile.

“I have full confidence that we will succeed, my staff is loyal and passionate! To think, man is to engineer its own successor! To inherit a planet that can still provide from the race that left it behind. We have the resources, the genome samples to create this new race, but what will come out of it? I don't know. Only time will tell.”

The log ended there.

“Handing over your home world, huh?” Largo commented. “Well, not like anyone was using it anyway.”

I scrolled down some, about halfway into the log folder, fifteen years since his first entry. I clicked it and Arisha appeared on screen once more, his face more wrinkled and he was now dawning a rather tacky moustache.

“The first tests were both a failure and a success.” he started right away.

“The first egg to hatch was a little baby girl, eight legs, eight eyes, but the percentage of human DNA was still present in her physical appearance. By the first day she could walk on all fours, though she is growing at a rate of a healthy human baby girl.”

Arisha stopped, looking at the camera with distress.

“The male subject however...Did not survive. He hatched and advanced at the same rate as his sister. But by day two he began to grow rapidly, he became violent and attack several scientists and security personnel, we sedated him but once he woke up he just lashed out again. We called for Alexander and he restrained the subject. By day three, the subject has grown so rapidly that he was an old man, by day four he was nothing but dust...”

He sighed again, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.

“This is the same result across the board. Females are showing positive signs of growth, but males are always regressing in the same way and we just can't figure out why... We decided to call the little spider girl an “Arachne.” The first of her race. They seem to grasp on to genders at an instinctual level.”

Arisha's tone changed from solemn to up beat.

“Mindy, the Arachne, seems to have attached herself to Professor Earhart, following her around and holding on to her like the professor was her mother. Earhart doesn't seem to mind, I think she enjoys the company. But what is more fascinating is her infatuations with Officer Calhoun, the guard stationed in the same daycare that Mindy is. She seems to have developed a...Crush on Calhoun, she watches him constantly from hiding points and becomes bashful when the officer attempts to interact with her. One time she even brought him a flower from Professor O’Donnell's private garden.”

He laughed heartily, removing his glasses and wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.
“Similar incidents are happening across the board. A twin tailed cat we've have come to call a “Nekomata” after the suggestion of Professor Oshiki has been assaulting Professor Maxwell with surprise kisses whenever he is on sight. And one of the lizard-men girls is constantly trying to pick fights with Officer Brew and attempting to “Bully” him. All of these equate to nothing more than school girl crushes but it is heartening to see such progress in their personality.”

The log ended there.

“There are not males.” I said aloud. “They never made it out of the labs...”

“If there aren't any males then how are there still females running around?” Largo asked.

I scrolled to the bottom of the list, hesitantly, I clicked on the final entry in the log. Thirty years into the project, and to my surprise it wasn't Arisha at the computer, but instead a greying guard with a wrinkled face. He looked distraught, holding a baby with bull horns in his arms.

“This...” he stuttered the first words when the recording started. “This is my daughter...”

The guard glared at the camera, he seemed to be trapped between mixed emotions of defeat and fighting back tears.

“Professor Arisha passed away...” he declared. “Went to bed last night and just didn't wake up...”

The baby in his arms began to complain, wiggling her little arms in the air and making loud whines. The man smiled at her and cradled her in his arms before turning back to the camera.

“Most of whats left of us is heading to Alpha Centauri tomorrow, eight others, including myself, decided to stay behind, watch over a few things... Mikhail knew he didn't have long, he gave me the password to his computer and to make the final log in his report. Thirty years, thirty long years of one of the most ambitious projects in the history of mankind. A new race that may one day meet us in the stars, raised and guided by us... We had droids set up a few hundred incubator pods across the globe, each year they'll activate and form a number of a certain sub species depending on scans... The male of any sub species never made it past four days no matter what we did and what changes we made. But they can breed with humans, unfortunately there won't be any of us left in a few years, so the incubator pods will have to do...”

The guard looked away from the camera again, sighing deeply.

“I don't know what will happen, I don't know how far they will get in the grand scheme of things. But this is their planet now and their future is up to them... We've put Alexander on stand by, much to his protests. He refuses to leave the planet, but we don't know what will happen to him if he's left alone, hopefully one day someone will find this and reactivate the old bucket, he's been a good friend to all of us...”

The guard looked at his baby once more, letting her grab on to his finger before he reached for the mouse with his other hand. With no closing statement, the video simply stopped.

“They're all genetically engineered...” Largo commented “No family trees, no heritage, no guidelines, their societies are built from what they have...”

I sat in silence, staring at the screen for a long time before I had it in me to shut the computer down. I stood up from the chair, slinging my rifle across the shoulder.

“Lets go...”

We opened the door to Arisha's home and stepped outside, being greeted by a display of carnage further down the hall. Destroyed drones filled the hall, many of them torn apart or had holes punched clean through. In the centre stood Alexander, his eyes fixating on us while he brushed himself off.

“Ah, there you are.” He spoke up, watching us approach him. “I'm happy to inform you that the hooligans have been dealt with.”

I looked him in the eyes, doing my best to hide my frown. He jumped slightly when I put my hand on his shoulder, giving him a small push. “I'm sorry.”

Alexander never took his eyes off me when I walked past him. The android and the Chi'tarin followed me up into the first floor, I could still hear the chatting and giggling coming from the room we left Cat and the others in. Lucretia and company were still sitting in the bed room, going through comic after comic like crazed fan girls, I hope its just a phase. But Cat sat in the living room, curled on the couch and watching a movie, she seemed to have gotten it working, though I wonder how long it took her to figure out how DVDs work.

She peeled her eyes away from the screen and spotted me with a big smile, hopping from the couch to greet the three of us.

“You're back!” She cheered, spotting Alexander a few seconds later. “New friend?”

“I say!” Alexander gasped. “Seven hundred years and not a single mutation in the genetic code! You are a marvel, young lady!”

He took her paw in his hands and shook. “It is a pleasure to meet you, successor! I am Alexander Rupert Gittigan II, at your service!”

“Cat.” She introduced herself simply with a big smile.

“Cat! Not a very creative name if I do say...”

“Danny gave it to me!” She commented.

“Ah...Somehow I am not surprised.”

Cat giggled and turned her attention to me. Her smile faded away quickly when she noticed the frown on my face and my eyes looking past them.

“Are you okay?” She asked, her ear twitched as she approached.

I finally looked at her, taking in a deep breath and wrapping one of my arms around her back and pulling her close, careful not to crush her with my X-O on. Cat froze for a second before returning my hug.

“I'm fine.” I lied to her. “Lets just go home, okay?”
-

I don't know how much longer we'll stay here, though I wouldn't mind dwelling deeper into the facility. Alexander was outside today for the first time in seven hundred and thirty years, exploring the town under the watchful eye of Lucretia's guard. Now with night fall I laid in bed with Cat at my side, Largo is heading back into Senate space tomorrow so the house might have to stay here for awhile, unless I feel like walking.

I turned to Cat, her gentle purrs filling my ear with every breath. Genetically engineered or not, she was still my girl. I rubbed her ear lightly before laying my hand on her cheek, she smiled and buried herself deeper against the pillow. With a sigh, I kissed her on the forehead and made myself comfortable, drifting off to sleep with the thoughts still in my mind.