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Story Notes:

Beings older than civilization itself sets its sights on the legacy of humans and Ingress; hybrids. A new hero will be needed to make sure this new race created from peace between the giants and humans survives...

Author's Chapter Notes:

It begins

40,000 years ago...

 

"It is done Baris. I have transported the larger branch of the species to another world. Was it wise to leave them on such an inhospitable world? The fauna there is dangerously large" a strange shimmering being asked. "Absolutely Aeris. The environment will serve to fuel their evolution. After all, we did rewrite their genes for adaptability" Baris said. "I do not see the logic of tampering with these two dominant species here. The larger ones we gave adaptability and the smaller ones heightened aggression" Aeries said. "As you well know our species is singular in the cosmos. None have evolved to our level. This particular genus however holds great potential. Rewriting their genetic codes can accelerate their evolution to a possible outcome similar to ours. Intelligent life must shed its corporeal form to achieve true perfection like ours did" Baris said. "Why not let them both coexist? Surely they would crossbreed and gain both abilities" Aeris said. 

 

"Absolutely not. To have both abilities would no doubt lead to destruction and too great a risk to our efforts. No. A hybrid of both species must never exist. Such a species would bring doom to not just this world but countless others. Maybe even us if left unchecked. One species will prevail and evolve to our level. Only time will tell which one" Baris said. "How much time?" Aeris asked. "Many millions of solar revolutions. For this we will go into quantum stasis. Awakening every 10,000 revolutions to check on their progress. If there is an anomaly our sensors will detect it and awaken us to monitor it" Aeris said.  Aeris stared up at the blue world in the far distance. She liked how it looked. She'd seen other worlds but this one seemed more beautiful the longer she looked. Far better than this silent wasteland that shine only when the sun shined on it. Even then it was littered with scars and craters. "It is time" Baris said placing a gently glowing hand on her shoulder. Aeris nodded and they both turned into beams of energy and quickly shot into a cube buried into the rock.

 

June 8, 2160

 

"Control we're approaching the object" a voice said over the comm. "Roger that Weiss. Be careful. Scans couldn't penetrate it so we don't know what it is" Control said. "Don't worry Control. Pritchard can cover me if something happens" Weiss responded. "I'm big. Not invincible Adeline" Pritchard said. "Don't worry Kenneth. It's a cube. Not a bomb...I think" Adeline said. "We don't know what this fucking thing is. I'm a hybrid. Not a bomb disposal robot" he said. "Who would bury a bomb on the fucking moon? Kenneth, get the electron tunneler ready. I need a sample" she said. The 180 ft. tall man in the space suit pulled a device with a long tube out his backpack. The cube in question was nearly as tall as he was. To Adeline it was the size of an office building.  

 

Kenneth sat the device down after pulling out its telescopic legs. He lined it up with the cube. "Get behind my leg" he told her. Adeline got behind his right calf but peeked out. "Engaging" he said pushing the switch. A beam of blue light shot from the device striking the surface of the cube. At first nothing happened until a tiny section glowed. *bang* (sort of. It is space after all). A fragment shot off the cube slicing into Kenneth's left arm. "Shit!" Kenneth said gripping his arm. Spheres of frozen blood sprayed out. "Ken!" Adeline yelled. "I'm...I'm fine. The suit resealed itself" he said. "Your arm! We got to get it looked it" she said worried. "Yeah. You think I'll get workmen's comp for this?" he asked chuckling. "You're sure you're okay?" she asked. Kenneth bent down and picked her up. "I'm fine. Really. Don't worry okay?" he said softly. "Hate to break it up you lovebirds but we need a reading" Control said. "Ahem. Right away control. Stand by" Kenneth said. "Uh...Control we might have an equipment malfunction. Mineral dating has no clue what it's made out of. Nano assembly has been detected but the age has to be wrong. It says it's over 40,000 years old" Kenneth said.

 

"Uh...roger that Pritchard. Try to collect a hull sample" Control said. It was around that moment that a few frozen droplets collided with the hull of the cube. "Control! Something is happening to the object! It's begun to emit a glow!" Weiss yelled. "Withdraw you two! Fall back immediately!" Control yelled. As the two began to hop away from it a blinding flash came from it. Bright enough to drown out the faint illumination the sunlight gave the moon rock. Both turned around. They were speechless. Two beings composed of soft shimmering blue light towered over them. Yes, even the giant Kenneth. Weiss couldn't even see their heads they were so tall. For a fleeting moment Kenneth realized how a human must've felt compared to an Ingress. How his mother felt to his father.

 

"Aeris. We've awoken early" Baris said. "271 revolutions early to be exact. Does that mean there was an anomaly?" she asked. "Most likely. Standby" he said. Weiss and Kenneth were too astounded to run. It was like looking at humanoid shaped auroras. "Confirmed. Sensors detected aberrant DNA. A hybrid of the experiment. That one there" Baris said pointing to Kenneth. Aeris reached down to pick him up. "Kenneth!" Weiss yelled as Aeris easily snatched him up. Kenneth tried to break free but her sheer size mixed with low gravity made that impossible. "How did your predecessors find the other species? The larger ones?" she asked him. Kenneth winced. Her words like the ones from before were in his head. Now however it was like someone shouting into his skull. "Ehat...what do you mean?" he asked. "There were two species on your world. Ones like the female below and others far larger sent to another world. You carry the genes of both" she said.

 

"Ingress? You mean Ingress?" he asked. Aeris knew not this word and probed his mind. "Yes. Ingress" she said. "They moved here after the war from another parallel dimension" he said. "Appears they progressed father than anticipated" Baris said. "Are there more of your kind?" Aeris asked. Kenneth didn't like that tone. Sounded threatening. Oddly though, his mind was unusually resistant to her ability. Aeris briefly thought of using her telepathy to yank the answer out of his head but she could see the mental trauma she was inflicting just talking to him. A brain damaged mind would be useless to her but there was other means to get what she wanted. "Answer" she said squeezing her fingers together. Kenneth screamed over the comm. Weiss could hear it. Even Control could hear it. "Ken!" Weiss yelled. Weiss quickly tapped her omnitool and remotely controlled the electron tunneler. It swiveled as high as it could as she dialed up the power to max. She fired it. "Hmmm" Aeris said as the beam struck her face. She easily shielded herself from it. "Are you harmed?" Baris said. "No. A simple particle beam won't destabilize my matrix" she said. Weiss looked helpless as she saw it had no effect. Aeris raised her foot over her and slammed it down. Weiss barely had time to scream as the sole of light with its 5 toe shaped extrusions came down on her. Telekinetic force held Aeris' form together and easily crushed the human woman in her spacesuit.

 

It was probably fortunate Kenneth couldn't hear her body crunch in the vacuum. He just stared at the red freezing cloud of blood thrown into air and slowly condensing around her foot. "Fuck you! Fuck you! There are fucking thousands of us and they'll kill you all! We fought a war with weapons that could destroy entire cities in an instant and they're only two of you! Humans and ingress came together to fight evil and no way will they let you take our world!" Kenneth ranted. "Take your world? We have no intention of doing that. We only wish to rectify an unacceptable variable in our experiment namely hybrids. After all the hybrids are extinguished then we can leave the two species to their evolutionary futures" Aeris said.

 

Before he could even respond, Aeris cruelly pressed her fingers together. Being a spacesuit, it was tough and didn't just pop. Any rips just sealed right up. Inside the suit was a sloppy mix of blood, bone, and organs, which Aeris let go of. It slowly drifted to the surface and gently bounced. "Strange. I felt emotion from that" Aeris said. "Strange indeed. It would seem in his emotional rant he was telling the truth. Sensors indicate multiple hybrid life forms on the planet" Baris said. "Why didn't we detect them before?" Aeris asked. "Unknown. The population might be too small for a passive scan to detect or it might be a malfunction. Many cycles have passed for the storage until after all. It is not important. We shall travel to the planet and begin cleansing operations" he said. Aeris and Baris joined hands and streaked into the sky toward Earth.

 

"Captain's log. Date June 8, 2160. We have finished patrol of the LaGrange point alpha. This patrol takes longer than the others due to debris from April Colony being gravitationally locked. Thankfully we're scheduled to dock at Ingressa 1; one of the new colonies built after the war to house the Ingress and their families. I know my first officer is happy to see her kids again there" the Captain said turning off the recorder. "Captain.  I'm getting a strange reading coming towards us at high speed" the nav officer said. "Define strange" he asked. "A mass of exotic energy approaching us. It will intersect in 10 seconds!" she yelled. "Shields up! Emergency evasion to port!" the captain said. The heavy cruiser jerked to its right and the bridge crew saw the energy coming toward them. The crew braced for impact. The trailing edge of Aeris and Baris clipped the forward bow of the ship rocking it violently. Conduits sparked everywhere. Systems flickered. "Damage report!" the captain yelled. "Minor damage to the bow on decks 1-5. Shields have failed. Damage control teams are responding" the tactical officer said. "What in the hell was that?!" the captain asked.

 

"Sensors barely got a read on it. Some form of highly condensed meson energy. Similar to particles generated from auroras. It seemed to be two different but very similar projections. Strangely the trajectory came from the moon. An unsettled region" the officer said. "A weapon?" the captain asked. "Possibly. Whatever it was it was extremely powerful. Ark class damage output" the tactical officer said. "Captain it's headed right for Earth. Correction! They have separated! One is going to the Australia continent! The other unknown!" The nav officer said. "Contact Union HQ. Tell them the situation" the Captain ordered.

 

In the span between seconds...

 

"Baris there were hybrids on that vessel" Aeris said. "One thing at a time. Break off and head to the southern region to a populated area. I will land North" he said.

 

17 miles away from Victoria training base and 12,000 ft. up...

 

"Oh yeah this fucking rocks Nara!" a voice yelled over the comm. "Slow down Chad. This isn't a race" Nana said back. "You didn't say that the other night" Chad remarked. "If we weren’t on a closed channel I'd shot your ass" she said flying up to catch up. "You got to admit. Streaking through the clouds at Mach two is amazing. This ACE handles like a dream" he said. "Thank you Chad. I spent many computational cycles to tweak the Advanced Combat Exoframe to your liking" a synthetic voice said. "And it shows Ai. Way smother than those old STRIKE's they used for training. Don't know how mom fought in such clumsy things" he said. Chad touched a keypad and music began playing. "Again with that old music?" Nara said. "Hey it's cool" he said. "You're just liking it because your old idol does" Nara said taking flight lead. "Hey you never met Aaron Pherson while I have. Man is incredible. He killed the Empress all on his own and ended the war!" Chad said.

 

"Can't really argue with that. Come around to 96 degrees" she said. Chad banked the machine to match her. "While we're still on the closed channel can I ask you a question? Am I enough for you? I inherited my mother's human side more than my dad's so I was wondering if you were satisfied with me" Chad asked quietly. Nara turned her head in her battle suit to look at his mech. She decreased speed to hold his machine hand. "Is that why you were so quiet the other night? I thought you were mad at me for putting you inside me so roughly" she said. There was an awkward silence. "Yes I'm satisfied you idiot. Come here" she told him. The flying giantess hugged the machine he was in until a strange steak of light shot over the horizon. "Falling April debris?" she asked. "None was forecasted for today" he said.  They dismissed the strange occurrence. "You tell your parents about us yet?" Chad asked. "No. They won't like their daughter seeing what they call a tiny" Nara replied. "They really need to come to grips with reality. Last census said there were over 200,000 hybrids living on Earth now. Unification is a reality" Chad said. "Who are you telling? I am sleeping with you remember? My parents fought for the Empress. Lost friends in the war. They just don't like humans. Hybrid sized ones at that" she said. Chad was silent. "I'll tell them about us when I get the chance. Chad I want you to know this isn’t some fling for me okay?" she said. Chad was surprised to hear this in her voice.

 

"Nara I want you to know this isn't some fetish or other shit. I care about you too and by the way you need to wash your feet more when wearing those boots all damn day haha!" Chad said speeding away from her. "I'm being sincere and you say that shit about me?! Come back here Chad Cyrus!" she said giving chase. The combat suited flying giantess chased her lover through the sky. Chad expertly flew through cloud banks to shake her but he knew with her sensors that was stupid. Still fun though. Eventually he let her catch him. "Now what did you say about my feet? I’ll make you lick them you cheeky bastard" she said laughing over the comm. All of a sudden a light went off on a comm panel. "Nara wait. Incoming transmission from HQ" he said. They tuned to the frequency. "Hawk flight do you copy?" a voice asked. "Roger HQ we copy. Just finishing the third quarter of our patrol" Chad responded. "Roger Hawk 1. We got a situation coming out of New Perth. Standby for further orders" the voice said. Chad and Nara looked at each other wondering what was happening.

 

"Hawk flight this is Colonel Raam. Just a few minutes ago New Perth went dark. No communications are coming from it. As you know the defense hub for the South Pacific region is based out of there. Orders are to proceed to New Perth and ascertain why we lost contact. Eagle flight will join you enroute" he said. "Roger sir. Diverting to New Perth" Chad said. "New Perth. Isn't that the direction where we saw that weird light shoot to?" Nara asked. "I think it is. Must be something other than a comm glitch to send not just us but Eagle flight; the top aces of our class" Chad said. "Watch yourself" Nara said. "Back at you my goddess of the sky. Throttling to supersonic" Chad said engaging afterburners. As the two broke the sound barrier, New Perth's most recent visitor was busy...

 

It was a regular sunny day in New Perth. The new buildings designed to accommodate the giant residents gleamed like jewels. One could barely tell that the city was once decimated by tsunamis during April Shower decades ago. Human, hybrid, and Ingress lived and worked alongside each other like it was always this way. Of course it wasn't always like this. Like many cities it had its share of problems. Ingress killing people. Humans disappearing (usually cute ones). True Way terror incidents. In fact, most of True Way operations came from the islands north of Australia. It was for this purpose that the Union made New Perth the base of operations for the South Pacific. Over time though these incidents disappeared and the new era truly began.

 

It came with no warning except a flash of light then a horrendous boom. A hybrid mother holding her child in her hands was walking to an ice cream shop. It was girls’ day for them. "Mommy? What's..."*BOOOOM!*. Her mother looked up to where the small child was pointing. Her eyes had just enough to time to register the shimmering mass of light plummeting from the sky before the end. Aeris' landing sent a shockwave through the downtown area toppling buildings. Aeris restored her humanoid form after touching down. Survivors had too crane their necks to even look at her face. The tallest citizen at 250 ft. barely came to her ankles. She was easily over a mile tall. "Hmm...energy signatures. Directed energy weapons. Communications. This would be troublesome" she said raising her hand. Energy glowed around it and then a pulse shot from all directions from it. Whatever was working went dead. Hovercars, aircraft, comm systems. Defense batteries, ships, mechs, everything went dead. She looked around herself as a holographic display hovered in front of her view. "Baris I have landed. My scans indicate there are 9,344 hybrids in this population center. Wouldn't it be easier to obliterate the center itself?" Aeris asked over the telepathic link.

 

"Yes but you know how unadvisable that is. We're here to correct the genetic aberrations not damage viable gene pools. Begin with using the larger species. It will take time but this way is having more precision. While that is being done, work on expanding our control using existing facilities. They should be advanced enough for       

that judging by that vessel we saw" he said. "Understood" Aeris said. She had to admit that destroying the city would be rash. The larger pureblood species was 8,321 while the smaller pureblood species was significantly higher at 155,467. She could barely make out the tiny specks of the smaller species on the surface. She could see the larger species much easier. They were all fleeing from her. She could see them trying to flee in dead vehicles. Some even trying to help each other. Carrying them or digging them out from rubble. It amused her. How two different species cooperated. Her kind was taught that the dominant species was to propagate at the expense of the lesser ones. Survival of the fittest to evolve to ultimate perfection. Like her kind. "Let's begin" she said. Aeris had to scan the mind of a comparable host to exert her powers of control. It was different from telepathy. Telepathy is like reading a book but mind control is like writing a story in a blank book. It's easy to read but harder to write. A different mental discipline indeed. Aeris choose a random Ingress below and grabbed her. She was shouting not to be harmed while salty water came from her eyes. Aeris said nothing as she focused her mental powers on her. Aeris mapped her brain. How it worked. How her neurons fired. The effect wasn't pretty. To use the book analogy again it was like ripping a book open to read it and breaking the spine. Instead of pages falling out. Neurons were fried. Within seconds the Ingress woman was a vegetable and Aeris knew enough to invade an Ingress' mind. She simply tossed her away like so much garbage.   

 

She sat down and in the process crushing any survivors trapped in rubble under her glowing ass. A twinge of feeling crept through her. These lesser species called it pleasure. It perplexed her. Why did she even sit down anyway? A noncorporeal being like herself doesn't feel fatigue. Aeris refocused her thoughts as her hands touched the street below. She could feel conduits. Optic lines that led to comm systems all through the city. With just a thought she willed them back to life only to control them. Anybody trying to call for help saw the system reboot and then freeze. Aeris emitted an intense glow before speaking. To those of the larger species called Ingress. Hear my voice. I'm Aeris and I command you to destroy those that are called hybrids" she said. The immediate effect was astonishing. The few hundred Ingress around her stopped doing what they were doing. An Ingress woman helping a hybrid girl her size dig her human mother out stopped. "Why did you stop? She's hurt!" the hybrid girl yelled. Her mother below wondered what was happening. She could hear her giant daughter's voice yelling. Two pair of giant feet in front of her. One she knew was her daughter and the other she assumed was the one that was helping just moments before.

 

The Ingress woman bent down and picked up an exposed piece of broken rebar. The girl let out a gurgling scream as the Ingress woman jammed it into her with all her might. The mother saw her daughter fall to the ground. Her face looking at hers. Blood coming out her mouth. She screamed as the life left her eyes. The Ingress woman walked off to continue her mental controlled task. Nearly 2 miles from Aeris, an Ingress man is carrying his teenage hybrid daughter in his hands. School had let out early due to it being the tail end of the school term and went to surprise her dad at work. He immediately scooped her up and took off running when the earth shaking blast hit. "You okay there?! I'm not squeezing too hard am I?" her giant after asked. "No. Dad what was that?!" she asked him. "I don't know. I'm getting you to safety and try to call your mother. Hopefully..." he was saying until a wave of energetic force swept over him. He stopped dead in his tracks. "...kill all hybrids" he muttered.

 

The man looked at the girl in his hands with no emotion. "Dad? Daddy?" she asked wondering why he stopped running and looked so strange. He brought her up to his mouth which he opened and threw her in. With no inkling of emotion, he titled his head back. "DADDY DON'T EAT ME!" she said slipping backward. The Ingress swallowed his hybrid daughter and looked around for more targets. He paid no attention to the struggling he felt in his stomach.

 

8 miles from New Perth...

 

"Look alive flight. We got visual" Eagle 1 said. "My god the city is burning. We can rule out equipment malfunction" Eagle 2 said. "Roger that. Hawk 1 and 2, assume diamond formation behind Eagle 2 and 3" Eagle 1 said. "Sir yes sir!" Chad yelled. "Easy Hawk 1. I maybe flight leader but I put my pants on like everybody else. One sir is fine" Eagle 1 said. As they neared the city they throttled down. "What the hell is that?" Eagle 3 asked. "The possible source of the trouble. Combat link everyone. I want all AI's working on this" Eagle 1 said. Out of the combined flight, 3 flew ACE mechs while the other two flew in combat flight suits for their giant sizes. Chad, Eagle 1 and 2 flew mechs. Nara and Eagle 3 had suits. Each one had a AI on board. The mechs used them to control key systems. Tactical, propulsion, reactor control, etc. while the combat suits used them for mainly communications, HUD, medical support, and sensors. Now linked, they could scan father ahead.

 

"Sensors can't pin it down. Best guess is a mass of energy about 6,700 ft. tall. Wait a minute. There's a strange frequency..." Eagle 2 said before a pulse of energy washed over them. "As I was saying a strange frequency. I'm not seeing any damage though to me" Eagle 2 said. "I can confirm that on my ACE too. A kind of radar pulse maybe? Eagle 3, you're falling out of formation. Form back up till I tell you to break. Eagle 3? Eagle 3 respond. Lt. Foster acknowledge!" Eagle 1 yelled. "Nara, what's up with Eagle 3? He's ignoring orders. Nara?" Chad asked over a private comm. Nara wasn't answering. As he wondered what was going on he saw Eagle 3 turn on her back and quickly raise her positron carbine. "...kill all hybrids" Eagle 3 muttered. Quit bolts of red energy shot from the gun slamming into Eagle 2. It plummeted to the ground at over 600 mph. "What the fuck!" Chad said seeing a friendly shoot another out of the sky. He quickly began to loop back as Eagle 3 had stopped to finish the job. 

 

"Have you lost your mind?! Stand down Jule. That’s an order!" Eagle 1 said looping back. "Nara! Eagle 3 went crazy! We have to help Eagle 1 and 2 out!" Chad said. "Warning! Evasive action required!" his AI shouted. Chad instinctively jerked the controls to roll the ACE to the right. Just as he did a red bolt barely missed him. He switched to rear cameras and saw to his astonishment it was Nara who fired. "...kill all hybrids" he heard from her. "Oh my god" he said trying to lose her. Nara was getting closer. Since it wasn't hydraulics that moved her limbs but sinew and muscle, it was natural she responded faster than a machine. The ACE was physically stronger but not as maneuverable. Chad had to think quick. "Fuck!" he said feeling a direct hit. "Shields at 79%" the AI said. It was certain now. This was no accident. No game. She was trying to kill him. "Snap out of it!" he yelled over the comm. No answer.  All of a sudden she was gone from his camera. "Where did she go?" he wondered. A 180 ft. flying woman just doesn't disappear. He couldn't see her on radar.

 

"Shotgun mode" he heard her say on the comm. "That's for close...oh no" Chad said realizing what she had done. It was too late for him to dodge. Nara had flown right over him and matched his speed. Barely 15 ft. from his back. She hid in a blind spot. She knew the vulnerabilities of the ACE sensors. Flying close enough to hide her radar signature. Near his thrusters to hide her heat signature. The powerful blast caused him to tumble to the ground below where he hit hard. "Ow. Fuck. Aw shit" Chad muttered. Seeing her overhead changing her weapon to sniper mode. The most powerful long range mode there is. "Shields at 19%. We won't survive her next attack" the AI said. "Obviously!" Chad said punching the throttle. The mech dragged on the ground and got out of the way just barely. He pulled up and kicked in afterburners. Nara immediately took after him. "Let's try this again" he said. Chad slowed down. "Fuck. I don't wanna kill her" he cursed. Then she disappeared again. "Not this time!" he said rolling over. "Fire autocannons!" he yelled. "Error. IFF confirms friendly" the AI said. Nara aimed her weapon and Chad gripped her arm.

 

"Eagle 2! Jink away!" Eagle 1 shouted. "I can't get a lock! IFF is stopping me! EAGLE 2 MOVE!" Eagle 1 screamed. Chad couldn't look but he heard the loud explosion. "Command! Eagle 2 is down and Hawk 2 has gone rouge! Requesting retreat! Command? Shit! Whatever hit us is jamming the comm! Hawk 1 your status?!" Eagle 1 yelled. "Engaged! IFF is blocking us sir! I do not wish to prosecute Hawk 2!" Chad yelled. "Understood! Use your blade!" he yelled. The blade in question was a melee weapon that was standard issue. Called the "moonlight blade" because of the glowing monofilament edge to it. Chad had to get away from her first though. With his mechanical right arm, he grabbed her arm hard. He could hear her muscles and bone groan under the pressure. With his left arm he yanked hers hard. Chad heard a sickening dislocating pop.

 

Nara cried out in pain and kicked away from him. Chad reached down and griped the hilt of the blade. "Extend!" he yelled to his AI. The blade flooded out to its 100 ft. length. Since using it was pure manual control, the IFF couldn't lock it out. Nara saw what he did and extended her blade out. Chad saw Eagle 1 and Eagle 3 dueling below on the ground just a few feet from the burning wreckage of their fellow wingmate. Then he looked at Nara who had her hand (with the blade in it) pressing against her bad shoulder. Chad was stunned to see her pop it back into place. Nara flexed the arm. "Ingress healing factor all right" he muttered. Chad knew he needed better leverage so he began to descend to the ground. Nara followed.  They both stood facing each other. Chad remembered a practice duel they had about 3 months ago...

 

"First time in a ACE. Think it'll give you an edge this time?" Nara asked picking up a practice sword. The practice swords were actually trees that were smoothed, cut, and treated to be stronger. "Now that I'm not piloting a machine barely half your size? Oh yeah" Chad said stepping into the mat. The practice area was the size of a baseball stadium. Officially this duel was supposed to be until tomorrow but Chad begged a warrant officer the chance to pilot it early. The sensor system was more attuned than his old STRIKE trainer. The AI less cumbersome but more rigid. Logical. Adaptive but "chained". Meaning it meant it couldn't deviate from protocols. Not since the incident with the Omega AI during the war. Another year of training meant he could qualify not just for Eagle flight but to be nano enhanced. The mark of a true Peacekeeper pilot.  He had a crush on this Ingress girl for some time now. She was more than friendly during training.

 

Nara herself sensed his growing attraction. He always sat next to her in class or chow time. Told her jokes. She admired his spirit. Never gave up when shit go tough. She was convinced he was different when they went on survival training. It was two man teams. Naturally, Nara and Chad teamed up. The goal was to navigate back to camp 50 miles away. Not hard for a giant but remember they had a human with them and the main rule was no carrying. A simulation of escort duty. It was going well for a while. Even with the ban of a compass, they used the sun. Then came nightfall. They were lost and cold. Even with the moon out they couldn't get a bearing using landmarks. A rock (or pebble in the case of Nara) looked like all the others. Passing this course was mandatory. Nara at first remembered the North Star and tried finding it. Her hopes were dashed when she realized it couldn't be seen in Australia. "We're lost! We're going to fail!" she said upset. Chad looked up at her. She was actually trembling. "Nara calm down. Use the stars" he said calmly. "Don't you think I thought of that?!" she yelled. "Look at those stars there. Those four ones. Like if you draw a line they make a cross?"

 

"Centuries ago when European sailors traveled to the Southern Hemisphere, they lost the North star and Big Dipper. They thought they were screwed. Then they saw these stars. You draw a cross and it points to the South Pole. That's why this constellation is called the southern cross. We can use that" he said. Nara was stunned at how calmly he addressed the problem. She was a titan to him and he showed more strength and bravery then she did. They began walking again. "How do you know so much about stars?" she asked. "I wanted to live on the moon when I was little. Heard you can see the stars clearer than you ever could on Earth. I began studying stars so I could recognize them when I moved. Life got in the way of that though" Chad said. "Think we'll make it back before the time limit?" she asked. "If we don't we'll fail together" Chad said smiling. With that enthusiastic grin on that small face she began to feel love for him.

 

Chad was surprised to see her not wearing her combat suit. She stood there in lose shorts, shirt, and barefoot. It was nighttime but arena was lit up well enough for him to see her in her giantess glory. The sound sensors picked up the vibrations in the concrete as she stepped. The slaps of bare soles on the cold surface. Then the muffled squeaks of the mat as she stepped onto it. "Trying to distract me already?" Chad asked stepping onto the mat. "Is it working?" she asked. "I'll let you know later" he said taking his trained stance. Chad had sparred with her more than once. She even gave pointers. Body movement. The tensing of muscle. The sudden stop of breathing. Signs of attack. Nara beat him good last time but it was the last time that Chad noticed her footwork. Nara was agile for her giant size. Fast as shit too. Bones stronger than iron. Muscles that propelled her faster than a sports car. Focus on her feet and he might have a clue where she was moving. 

 

Chad kept a screen devoted to her feet. Her legs widened. Her toes curled on the mat for footing before relaxing. "She's about to move" he thought. Then he saw it. Her sword dipped slightly to the right as her left leg tensed. Nara lunged at him with quick speed and Chad moved to the left. Nara missed and Chad swung to hit. Nara barely deflected it. "Surprised?" he asked. Nara was speechless. She never seen him react so fast. Was this because of the ACE? Nara pushed him back and raided her leg to kick. Chad caught it just before she could knock his sword out of his hand. Risky since his hands were metal after all. Her toes were just a few feet from his camera. "Your toes are pretty painted like that" he said. Nara blushed and yanked her foot back. "You gonna take this seriously?" she said. Chad didn't reply.  For the next few minutes, Chad was blocking her strikes. Nara was getting frustrated. In the other matches she would've won by now. Chad watched as she bent down and jumped up. She swung down hard.

 

Chad barely blocked the strike but it was enough to crack his sword and the blow to put him on his knees. Nara twirled her sword with a smug grin. He knew as well as she that he couldn't parry another hit. Nara raised her arms. "I love you" he said to her. Nara was dumbstruck by the confession. She stopped. Chad seized on the opportunity and swung at her sword. The blow connected hard enough to shatter his sword and knock her's clear of the mat. "I win. You lost your sword and I still have a piece of mine" he said. Nara lunged at him. Chad barely had time to restrain her wrists. "You fucking cheated!" she yelled. Chad saw on his screen she had tears in her eyes. "Let me go!" she yelled. Chad pushed her down to her knees and gently to her back. After she was pinned he popped the hatch on the cockpit. Chad hopped out onto her sweaty shirt.

 

Chad cringed at the look she gave him. Chad sat down near the top of her breasts. "I meant what I said you know" he said calmly. Nara relaxed a little. "What makes you think I love you back especially after tonight?" she said. "Why else would you be out here with me? You don't help any other recruits. You partnered with me on survival training. Yeah it was dirty to trick you but this is supposed to be combat. No rules about not tricking the enemy" he said. Nara knew he was right about that. "You're not still mad at me are you?" he asked. "I'd feel better if your fucking mech wasn't holding me down" she said. Chad had the AI release her. Nara sat up and Chad tumbled off. Nara placed her feet around him. "I thought you weren't mad" he said. "I'm not but I can get even" she said pushing her soles together trapping him. Nara rolled his body around a few times laughing at his yells. "There. Now I'm satisfied" she said. Chad laid there trying to regain his balance until she picked him up. Nara gently kissed him. "We're do we go from here?" she asked. "Hopefully where it leads to mind blowing sex" Chad said laughing.

 

Now...

 

"That stance. The same one as before. Damn. Those boots are covering her feet. Hard to get a bearing on when she'll strike. Chad concentrated. He drowned out the sounds of his own breathing. The clang of sword strikes from Eagles 1 and 3. "Her sword! She dipped it!" he thought. Chad dogged right just as Nara lunged. The strike shaved off a thin layer of armor. The combat suit enhanced her speed and strength. Had he not moved the blade would've sliced clean through the armor and into the cockpit. She went straight for a killing blow from the start. He brought his second down to try to knock her's away. This time however she brought hers up enough to hit the blade and not hilt. "Damn. Quick study" he muttered. Chad and Nara fought for an agonizing three minutes. Chads problem was he wasn't trying to kill her while she was. An opportunity presented itself for him when she missed good. A swing right there would sever her carotid artery. The medical system wouldn't be enough to save her. She'd bleed out too fast. Nara took advantage and swiped wide. The blow damaged his right hydraulic shoulder. The fluid loss would freeze his arm within a minute.

 

Chad was losing hope of saving her. He heard a cry from behind and saw that Eagle 1 skewered Eagle 3. Eagle 3 was down. "Need to slow her down" he thought. Chad readied his plasma weapons in his wrists. He knew the IFF wouldn't let him shoot her but she wasn't the target. Chad fired into the dirt. The superheated dirt and sand liquefied and turned to molten glass. It didn't faze Nara. "I love you Goddess of the Sky. I know you're in there. Where's that Ingress girl I fell in love with? The one so mad she lost she punished me with her sweaty feet? The one I've given thought about marrying? Yeah. That's why I was quiet the other night. Not because I feel small around you. I'm worried I'm good enough to be your husband. Come back to me" he pleaded. Nara stopped. She gripped her visored head and screamed. Her hands trembled. She looked up and charged. Nara's feet slipped onto the molten glass and Chad lunged. "Please let me be accurate" he said. The blade slipped between her raised arms and stabbed her in the collarbone.

 

Nara let out a painful scream. A quick x-ray scan revealed he missed her lung by two feet. The end of the blade jutted out of her upper back near her shoulder. The wounded giantess grabbed the blade with her hand and swung her sword down with the other. The impact shattered the giant sword in two. Chad had to act fast as she pulled the broken blade out of her. "Emergency nano-aid system activated" he heard her visor say. The bulk of her combat system was in her visor. He had to get rid of it fast. Chad could already see her bleeding had stopped. Another few minutes and she'd be fully healed carrying her sword while his was broke. And that wasn't all. Chad tried to swing his right arm to punch her head. It barely moved. "Hydraulic failure in right arm" his AI said. Chad bet on everything as he dropped the broken sword and swung with his left arm. As fate would have it, the mind controlled giantess turned her body to deliver a strike. With her head turned the angle was perfect for Chad's truck sized fist.

 

The punch delivered over 100 tons of force to the reinforced combat system. Nara had tried to stab him and came up short but not short enough that it didn't connect. Chad would remember this moment for as long as he lived. It wasn't how close he came to death with 3 feet of giant super sharp metal sticking in his cockpit cabin. No, it was the sound her jaw made as he punched her face. It sounded like someone chopping down an oak tree. The sound of cracking and breaking hard bone. Chad was horrified. Nara was down for the count. A shard of visor stuck in her eye causing it to gush blood. The love of his life and he punched her out badly. "Hawk 1 are you okay?!" Eagle 1 yelled. "...roger. Taken damage but still flight capable. Hawk 2 is down but alive" he responded. Chad watched as the vitreous humor growing back pushed the shard out of her eye. "Excellent job Hawk 1. Collect her and I'll collect Eagle 3" he said. Chad scooped her up and placed her over his shoulder. He watched Eagle 1 walk over to the dead Ingress Eagle 3.

 

"Jesus" Eagle 1 muttered. Eagle 3 was covered in blood. His visor sparked with damage. Just as Eagle 1 moved him they both heard something faint. "Lifesigns stable. Emergency nano-aid complete..." the visor said. Eagle 3 moved. The giant grabbed something off his belt with one hand and Eagle 1 with the other. "Plasma grenade! Get out of there!" Chad yelled seeing the orb. Eagle 1 tried to cut off his hand that held him but before he could the giant bear hugged him. "...kill all hybrids" Eagle 3 muttered. A bright blue green flash of light filled his eyes and he dove for the ground. He had just a second to use his armored body to shield Nara. Chad heard Eagle 1 scream as the grenade exploded. Chad felt the shockwave hit his weak shields. They collapsed easily under the 1 kiloton explosion. Chad prayed his armor would hold out. He was pleasantly surprised that it had. Chad raised the head of his machine to look. Eagle 3 was obliterated. Eagle 1 was a strewed out field of burning debris. It took a moment for it to sink in.

 

Chad tried to call HQ and found that he still couldn't. He picked Nara up again and flew back to base. Along the way he watched as he broken face healed. Slowly since the medical system was gone but even still it haunted him. He loved her blue eyes that reminded him of the waters of a coral reef. He put one out. He loved her pouty lips that kissed his body so many times and gave him such orgasmic pleasure when she was in heat. Those were split. A part of him would've rather died than damage such lovely features. Chad landed and Nara was immediately taken to the med bay.

 

"We lost contact! What the hell happened?!" Colonel Raam yelled. "We were hit with some weird energy. Hawk 2 and Eagle 3 attacked us. I..I was the only one to make it" Chad said. "I want her restrained and sedated!" Raam shouted to The medics. "With all due respect sir...WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!" Chad shouted. "We don't know Lt. Some kind of chatter is coming from Europe. I don't think we're alone in this. Report to medical" Raam ordered. Chad sat in medical wearing a gown. It was cold but that wasn't what worried him. Not far away was Nara. The giant door opened and in came Dr. Zoris in full protective gear. "What's with the suit doc?" Chad asked. The giantess doctor sat down near the table Chad sat on. "It's necessary Lt. Cyrus. We have no clue what caused the Ingress to turn. It could biological for all we know. Your human side might've shielded you as did... Capt. Andrew" she said sadly. "I'm telling you it was that energy" he said. Maybe so but we can't be too careful. Now I need you to take off your clothes" she said. Chad striped off his gown.

 

The giantess carefully moved his arms and legs to see for markings or discolorations. Chad was embarrassed she her covered fingers moved his cock and balls. "Really doc?" he asked annoyed. "Necessary. Need to check all lymph nodes" she said. Chad halfway bought it. He could see her breathing speed up slightly. "How's Nara?" he asked trying to distract himself. "She's healing up nicely. Almost done. She's under sedation and restraint right now. You did what you had to so don't feel bad. You two lovebirds can see each other soon if permitted" she said. "Lovebirds?! No it isn't like that. Besides its against regs" Chad said. "She came to me not long ago asking about how to be intimate with a human sized person safely.  I've seen you two together so I connected the dots. Your secrets safe with me" she said. "...thanks doc" he said. "Well a scan and visual check doesn't show pathogens nor does it show radiation damage. You're clear" she said taking off her helmet. Dr. Zoris is one of two doctors stationed at the base. Really young for a doctor at 24 years of age but talented. She was of Ingress blood. Her family came here just after the war.

 

"Can I see her?" Chad asked. Dr. Zoris thought about the request. "I told you before she's under sedation but she's babbling incoherently. Maybe a familiar face will help. Get dressed and I'll clear it" she said smiling. Chad was grateful for the chance. He was concerned about her babbling. Whatever happened to Nara may have caused her to lose her mind. Chad got dressed and headed to the giant wing of med bay. Here people of Ingress size were treated. It was clear which room Nara was in. Soldiers with rifles at the door. "Restricted" one said barring his way. Before he could object he heard footsteps behind him. Chad turned to see a giant nylon clad toe poking out of a white foam and vinyl slipper. A glance up a nylon wearing leg confirmed it was Dr. Zoris. She bent down to talk to the soldier. "Let him through. He has clearance" she said. "Sorry. No others allowed near her that aren't medical personnel" he replied. "Well this is me saying he's allowed" Zoris said raising her voice. " Colonel's orders" he said back sternly to the giantess. Zoris narrowed her eyes. "As head of Ingress medical I have full authority to override Colonel Raam Private...what's your name? Can't read that tiny writing" she said. "Dithers. Private Dithers" he said. Zoris tapped on her omnitool for a few seconds and grinned.

 

"Well Private Dithers I see you're scheduled for a prostrate exam next week. Now if you don't comply with my request I'll have your regular physician refer you to me" she said placing her long gigantic fingernail underneath his chin. With barely a movement of her finger, she raked her fingernail back. Chad and the two soldiers could hear Dithers' beard stubble making a scratching sound against the fingernail wider than his head and tougher than concrete. "You...you can go in" he stammered. Zoris stood back up. "Thank you very much!" she said smiling warmly. Chad realized her smile hid a possible mean streak. Zoris walked toward Nara as Chad walked up a catwalk. As he walked to the platform sticking out he saw how bad she was off. Nara was almost naked abet from a flimsy gown. She was chained to the 300 ft. long bed spread eagle. Chad saw that the chains were the same kind of chains used to secure large cargo. Carbon steel.

 

The skin on her ankles was red from chaffing. No doubt caused by jerking to get free. Her toes flexed and scrunched as she lightly pulled on her restraints. The clanking sound disturbed him. Her wrists were restrained as her arms pulled behind her. Chad was getting pissed. She was chained up like some giant woman beast. Not a soldier, friend, and lover. Her injuries were almost healed. Just some light bruising around her eye socket and jaw was all the evidence left of their fight. Chad could hear her muttering something odd. "What is she saying?" Chad asked Zoris. Zoris shined a 6-foot-long light into Nara's eye. "She's speaking a northern dialect of Ingress. Didn't know she knew it" she replied. "Nara said her parents are traditionalists. Guess they taught her to speak it. You understand it?" he asked. Zoris shook her head. "Aren't many still alive that do. I was told once that after the great nuclear war the survivors gathered under the four city domes. The first edict handed down but the empress of the time was her language was divine and no other languages were to be spoken" she said.

 

"How do you recognize it then?" Chad asked. Zoris checked Nara's skin around her wrists. "Some words transferred to the prime language out of necessity. Similar to how English is here*" she said. "What words?" he asked. "Experiment and purge" Zoris said seriously. Chad touched a panel that extended his walkway over Nara. It swiveled over to her face. "Nara can you hear me?" Chad said loudly. Nara had been staring up at the ceiling and turned to look at the voice. She saw him. " Sakaita anin Chad?" she asked. "I don't understand you Nara. Speak English please" he said. Nara sighed and closed her eyes. "Is...that you...Chad?" she said. "YES! Yes, it's me" Chad said happy she recognized him. Nara moved her left arm as to grab him and the restraints stopped her. Nara looked confused as to why she was chained up. "You...you fought us. Why?" Chad asked. Nara looked very upset. She was beginning to remember.    

 

(Author's note: This is very true especially in the case of the English language. Some are widely known like tsunami or tornado but some aren't. Like alcohol, syrup, or sugar are Arabic in origin and daughter is actually Hindi for milkmaid. Go figure...) 

 

"I...I didn't want to! She made me! I remember fighting you! Wanting to kill you" she said sobbing. Zoris was nearby taking notes while a camera zoomed in on Nara. "Who is she?" he asked. "She was in our minds. Controlling us. She was in my mind and I was in hers. So many images. All a jumble" Nara muttered. "Baby I need you to focus" Chad said. Nara nodded. "I still can't make out almost all of it but one word kept popping up. Progenitor. Her kind is called Progenitors and she had a name. Aeris" Nara said with wide eyes. "She needs to rest now" Zoris said increasing the sedative. Chad sat there watching her sleep. Two hours went by without him noticing when his wristcomm beeped. "Lt. Cyrus. Please report to C&C" a voice said. Chad looked at Nara whose closed eyes showed movement. She was dreaming and by the looks of how her fingers and ankles twitched, it wasn't a good dream. "I'll keep watch. Go" Dr. Zoris said pushing him with her giant finger. Chad nodded and headed to Command and Control.

 

Meanwhile in New Perth...

 

"Baris your status" Aeris asked over their telepathic link. "My city is under full control. All the larger species is under my control as well. My telepathic sphere of my influence is growing as predicted. Your status?" he asked. "Very much the same. Their communications are amplifying my control. Soon I can expand it. These Ingress as they call them are having a harder time finding hybrids. Wouldn't it be easier to scan a hybrid and control the source itself?" Aeris asked. This was on her mind since arriving but decided to deal with the situation as Baris ordered. Baris was older than her by many many years. Logic dictates that he would have superior experience and decision making skills. For a reason Aeris didn't know that right now wasn't enough. "Do you remember that hybrid we found on this planets moon? I specifically noticed how much power you had to use to peer into his mind. Even if you neural scanned one like we did with these Ingress, are you confident you can control so many thousands and continue generating your telepathic field?" Baris said.

 

That gave her pause. It was true. She did use more energy to break into Kenneth's mind than in theory needed. Controlling a mind even took more energy. It was taking a large amount of energy to control the Ingress and keep her telepathic field going right now. It was the only thing keeping her from controlling the entire continent right now. Soon however that could or would change as she was slowly gathering energy to expand it. "It would be so easy to just control them and order themselves to terminate their lives" she said. "Very true but this is why we included failsafes in these Ingress. Failsafes embedded in their very DNA" he said. "You prepared for this beforehand? Expected this?" Aeris asked surprised. "An experiment of this importance required all possible eventualities to be taken care of. Now I must go. I'm sensing more humans and hybrids coming to impede my work" he said closing the link.

 

Aeris had sensed the fight between the Eagle and Hawk flights. Saw off in the far distance the small mushroom cloud from an explosion. If she had face it would be smirking. Aeris felt satisfaction. Another emotion. These emotions made her curious. Why did she feel them and what others were there? She was wanting to find out. Below her she saw an Ingress man walking around carrying crowbar that was 35 ft. long but to Aeris it was tiny just as he was. She bent forward and picked him up by his waist. The man showed no fear at all as the titanic glowing being held him. "Any luck finding them?" she asked. "Not at this time Aeris. I have killed the ones living on my apartment floor taking refuge. I am about to use this crowbar to pry open some doors in my building" he said with no emotion. As she held him a feeling of...power came over her. She could kill him easily. She had direct control over his little life. She wondered if this feeling would grow if she did. The thumb covering his abdomen being to push on him. At first he didn't react but as the pressure grew he began to shudder and shake. Aeris felt his ribs crack and implode. The tiny giant began to vomit blood bit never cried or begged. His eyes stood locked on her glowing face as she crushed the life out of him. Then a final crack as his spine snapped. His legs went limp as he convulsed. The emotion of power intensified as his death throes increased. Then as he died and laid to the side Aeris gasped. If anyone had been watching, Aeris literally changed color. From a pale blue to pink.

 

Aeris reveled in this emotion. She knew then she wanted to experience more. The problem was in her state there were emotions she couldn't experience. Scanning that Ingress girl from earlier she knew that the emotions she felt right now was instinctual. Only a small part of the whole. There were other emotions she wanted to know. Love, anger, happiness just to name a few. She began to think of how to experience them and was content in knowing there was an entire city to help her...

 

Chapter End Notes:

In the next chapter, Aeris decides to take a more human form to explore her rising emotions and Chad will be asked to take on a daring mission. Look out for the next chapter: Awakening.

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