An Incubus Life - 177 - The Cartwrights (Patreon)

Chapter 177 - Cartwrights

Captain Aida led me to the Marines operations center. Twenty Marines in combat suits monitored screens that contained battles, work camps, and satellite data. It was an extremely tight operation. Even with their helmets off, the suits contained all their audio, so the room was quiet as they worked. Aida explained, “This is just one monitoring station for only ground operations. There are two others on the Shadow Fall. The Navy controls air and space operations from the bridge. The third is shipboard security. Follow me.”

Captain Aida entered a small office with a wall screen and a single chair. She sat in the chair, “You can stand behind me.” It was more of an order than a request.

Aida activated a holographic keyboard and began typing rapidly. She explained as she worked, “We are headed into the transit, so I am requesting two shuttles for the Marines and your companions.” A model of a shuttle appeared on the left, and all my companions were listed as passengers.

She then began to populate the remaining seats with Eladrin Marines until it was full. I noticed each combat unit was thirteen. One Captain, with three squads of four. Each squad had a specific responsibility in the unit.

The second shuttle she requested was on the screen in yellow. She explained dispassionately, “It is currently being serviced.” She tapped some icons, and the scheduled work on the shuttle came up. She scrolled through it quickly. “Nothing major. It will be ready for insertion into the transit. The low aetheric density on this layer is causing the techs nightmares.”

She loaded out the second shuttle and then edited the pilots and co-pilots. I guess she didn’t like the ones that had been automatically assigned, and I felt a need to ask. “Why are you changing the pilots?”

Captain Aida, “The ones that drove my transport when I picked you up are the best on the ship. They have been grounded for their reckless driving again, and this is a way to get them in the air.”

Captain Aida talked while she managed the loadouts of the shuttles and Marines. Rincewind had debriefed us on what to expect, so she was tailoring the crew loadout to what we expected. She was doing it so fast it was hard for me to follow.

I was not even sure why I needed to be here. She had everything well in hand. It still took her almost three hours. When she was done, she turned her chair to face me, her knees bumping mine. “I got every Marine you enhanced except two. It is a good team. Admiral Eshanya is also bringing her two personal guards.”

She stood, our faces inches from each other. “The next step is to have your companions train with the Marines that are going. I am not going to lie; we expect them to keep out of the way during the insertion and, battle and extraction. We will not be responsible for casualties on your team.”

I nodded, accepting the warning. “So, can I return to my room?” I asked, already knowing the answer. Even with my lust aura off, Aida’s eyes were hungry.

“There are some suit functions I have not reviewed with you. For instance, when the suit’s shielding takes heavy fire, it can overheat quickly and cook you inside. There is an emergency sequence to get it off quickly.”

She tapped on the forearm, bringing up the small control projection, and tapped through the screens. Her suit suddenly became baggy and easily fell to the ground. “You try now,” she said, licking her lips. I knew she was hungry for my incubus saliva, and I didn’t want to disappoint. I copied the commands, and my suit joined hers.

We used the chair and desk in the room as we experimented with positions. Forty minutes later, I was the first one back in the armor, leaving a satisfied Captain Aida behind. Rather than go to my quarters, I veered off to go to the brig. I wanted to talk with Rincewind’s daughter before we entered the transit.

Annoyingly, a Marine fell in step behind me. He didn’t interfere with me, but his presence let me know I was not completely trusted, even after all the work I had done to enhance the cores of the crew.

I learned the ship’s layout over the past month and quickly found my way there. Sofiel still occupied the first cell. She looked up, her eyes sunken and dark, and there was no recognition of me in them. I turned to the guard behind me, “Is she okay?”

The guard tapped the screen to look at the details of the prisoner, “She is physically fine. She has her aether contained by a field. She cannot access it or use it.” He reset the screen, and I walked toward the cell that was holding Kristiel.

The blonde half-angelic looked up, her eyes still fierce and full of fight. Rincewind had talked to her a few times in the last month, and she continued to try to escape. “The demon boy visits. What do you want?”

“Has Rincewind told you what is going to happen?” I asked her. She stood and stretched and walked to the force shield of the cell.

“My father said I would be released at the discretion of the succubus.” Her terse tone told me she was not happy. They had treated her well even after she had tried to escape multiple times. Good food, and they had not locked her down like Sofiel.

“We are going to rescue the humans in the transit. The couple from Earth you and Rincewind found. I am here to decide if you are coming along.” I asked calmly.

She punched the force shield, trying to surprise me, and it flared, but I did not flinch; I just waited for her response. “I already told Merlin I would go.” I couldn’t hide a smile as I assumed she thought she could try to escape again.

“Did he tell you I had one of the Eladrin Marine suits made for you?” I replied. “You probably remember getting fitted for it. It was quite invasive, and I didn’t appreciate them not telling me what to expect myself.”

A very slight smirk appeared on her face realizing I had experienced the same anal probe she had, but she hardened quickly. “Demon, I do not care about your charity.”

“Fine. I will tell them to recycle the power armor. You can join us as is,” I replied while turning.

“Wait!” The woman ground her teeth, “Don’t.” She ground out, “I…will…wear…it.”

I nodded, got a seat, and sat down in front of her. She was immediately suspicious. “Good. I would like to talk cordially. First, do you have any funny stories about Rincewind? Or Merlin, as you call him?”

“I only met my father for the first time two months ago,” she said coldly. “For the first nine centuries of my life, he never visited me or knew I lived.”

“Well, you look great for almost being a millennium old.” I had planned to break the ice by talking about Rincewind, but she had shut me down. “Do you have any questions for me? I would like to get to know you better.”

“I know all I need to know about you, incubus. I heard the crew talking, and I know you pervert the cores of the elves, and they laud and praise you for it.” She said angrily. Her own core was about 2.6, so she was very powerful. I only wondered for a heartbeat if I could raise the core of an angelic. I knew Andromeda was a fallen angelic, so angelics could be converted.

“Did Rincewind tell you how I became an incubus?” I asked her, trying to get her to talk and open up.

She finally relaxed slightly. “He said you were converted recently, but it was still your choice to be enslaved to a succubus queen.”

I couldn’t argue the point, “True. I did so of my own free will. I have since been freed of her influence as well. I am here to save the Cartwrights and Andromeda.”

“Fool,” she said mockingly.

“Yeah, people keep calling me that.” I sighed, “Did Merlin tell you about Carrie?”

“Carrie?” She asked, confused, the name not familiar to her.

“Never mind then.” It was good she didn’t know about the seer. “We are going to be training with the Eladrin Marines to prepare to rescue the Cartwrights,” I stood and picked up the chair. “I had thought you might want to join in the training to help with the rescue. But you do not come off as being useful for the endeavor.”

Her face twisted into annoyance and then calmed. “What do I need to do? I want to help and protect Merlin during the rescue.” She clearly knew she was being manipulated, as I was not very good at it.

“I don’t know. You have already tried to escape a few times, and your father and I have protected you from the repercussions.” She grunted, unimpressed. I had hoped I had a good enough feeling to have her return and stay with us in the barracks, but my hopes were dashed as my instincts told me not to trust her. I was even reluctant to take her with us into the transit.

“I will give my word,” she started to say, and I arched my eyebrow. She spat, “My word is better than that of a demon.” Her temper flared as I looked skeptical, and I walked out of the room.

I returned to the barracks and ate with everyone. I told Rincewind I had talked to Kristiel, and it had not gone as well as I had hoped. We both agreed that she would be detained on the shuttle instead of participating in the rescue.

The next few days, we joined the forty Marines, three squads of thirteen, and one Colonel who would coordinate everything the Marines from the shuttle. Eshanya and her two personal guards would make up the rest of the team to give the promised forty-two.

Practicing with the Eladrin quickly got frustrating as they would not give the orcs any weapons. Eshanya was not even around as she was on the other side of the planet dealing with the remnants of the planet’s resistance. She had moved extremely fast, and I knew she had killed hundreds of thousands of people, but she had mostly focused on disarming the people, destroying military manufacturing, and eliminating the city rulers, who were lesser angelics.

Just before the operation, I finally got Sharn, Raguk, and Glasha weapons. Captain Aida presented me with three laser carbines. They were taken from the locals and had small cartridges producing dense beams. It was the most powerful infantry weapon on the planet. A magazine held one hundred shots, but the weapon overheated after about fifty continuous shots.

Eshanya returned to the Shadow Fall, successful in her efforts. All planet-based threats had been neutralized, and she was only concerned with space and transit-based threats. We had to wait an additional day as her Navy redeployed from low orbit to high orbit. I could also tell she was not happy about leaving the Shadow Fall. Especially since half of her crew was deployed across the planet in an effort to mine, refine, and produce repair parts for the massive battleship.

The plan was simple: extract the Cartwrights and then take them back through the transit to Mercanious on one of the shuttles. Then, using the Pyramids on Mercanious, send them back to Earth with the orcs. I would return to the Shadow Fall and help Eshanya rescue Andromeda. However, my companions did not know that last part. They thought I would be returning to Earth with them.

The two dark shuttles lifted off. Our shuttle had my companions, Captain Aida’s squad, and the corporal in charge of coordinating the operation. The other shuttle had Eshanya and the assault Marines. One of Aida’s Marines joked that they were babysitting this operation. In a way, that was true as we were to secure the palace we were assaulting.

The Cartwrights were in a large city in the transit near one of the access portals. According to Rincewind, the city was mostly human and had some wolf beastkin. The shuttle dashed out of the Shadow Fall at an awkward angle, nearly clipping a cliff. According to Captain Aida, these were the best pilots on the Shadow Fall. I suddenly had my doubts.

We raced ahead of the other shuttle, two fighters escorting us, and Captain Aida keyed my suit into the comm traffic. The pilots of the two shuttles were arguing about speed and protocol. They sounded like a married couple. Finally, Eshanya’s commanding voice cracked over the comm channel. “We will take the lead. Fall in behind transit shuttle D-7.”

Our pilot sounded resigned, “Confirmed, moving into tail position.”

We raced over the terrain and reached the transit portal from which Rincewind and Kristiel had entered the Planesia. Kristiel was in her armor, but the suit was locked down; she couldn’t move, and her suit was muted. Captain Aida had the release codes but wasn’t seen using them until everyone was dropped off on Mercanious.

The pilot of the other shuttle came over comms, “Aether focus arrays powering up on the transit portal. Rotating frequency. Locking frequency. Cycling aether. Breech in five…four…three…two…” The shuttle fired a short beam and tore the fabric of reality as the transit opened. “Passage confirmed, entering the transit.”

As the first shuttle entered, I asked Captain Aida, “How did they make such a large portal?”

One of her Marines answered, “Dual tier three aether crystals.”

Our shuttle was right behind them. The transit was familiar on the screens by my seat with a shifting river of colorful lights in the sky. The land below was endless rolling forests with tall, dark black stone mountains to the left and an ocean to the right. My aether senses could feel the slight shift in aether density. We raced just above the trees, and the comm traffic was focused on radar and searching for possible enemies while relating atmospheric readings.

Rincewind was a few seats down, sitting next to the restrained Kristiel. He was focused on the screens as well. “I told you the only threat in this transit is Ramiel, the Deva.”

Captain Aida ignored him as we continued to proceed cautiously. We passed over a city, causing a huge stir. Our pilot briefly circled the city, enjoying in the panic he was causing. He was ordered back into formation.

“How is the pilot still flying?” I asked myself more than anyone else.

“He is one of Eshanya’s children. Don’t be fooled by his nature. He really is the best pilot on the Shadow Fall.” Captain Aida replied. “He even tried to get me to convince you to raise his core.”

“I don’t swing that way,” I said dismissively.

“Oh, no need to worry. I showed him the video of our copulation, and he nearly fainted seeing the size of your phallus,” Captain Aida let out one of her rare smiles before storing it away again.

The shuttle trip was only half an hour before we reached the destination city. Unlike all the other cities I had seen in the transits, this one looked more modern, made of steel and stone. The shuttles started wide circles around the city, and I got to watch forty fighters launch into the air to intercept us.

Captain Aida gave me a play-by-play as we listened in on the comms. “They don’t have anything capable of penetrating our aetheric shielding. Admiral Eshanya will destroy them after they launch an attack to prove how helpless they are against us before entering the city.”

Brin asked from two seats down, “How are they flying? I was told combustible fuel couldn’t be used in the transit?” I remembered the same thing: gunpowder tended to explode as well.

The Marine that answered the earlier question addressed Brin, “That is true. Aetheric batteries, steam, or something else power those fighters.” He tried to study the fighters, but since he couldn’t control the camera, he couldn’t focus on them.

Our lead shuttle opened fire with energy cannons. The weapon lanced from the shuttle with every heartbeat beat, destroying another defensive fighter until they were all gone. I was a bit speechless. The engineer chimed in, “They just used a lot of aether to take out the fighters, but Eshnaya can always recharge the shuttle’s batteries from her own aether core if needed.”

“If these are just shuttles, then how powerful are your fighters?” Aurora asked.

The Marine answered her again as he seemed to be the technical expert in Captain Aida’s squad. “These are drop shuttles. Made to deliver Marines to a planet’s surface from orbit. They are slower, less maneuverable, and have minimal weapons than a fighter.”

I leaned into Captain Aida and asked, “How many aether cores would I have to raise to get one of these?”

She scoffed, “They barely function on these low layers. Operation time is already extremely limited,” she advised. “Since you plan to return to your planet on the 23rd layer, it would be virtually useless, and the maintenance would take all your time.”

Brin had briefed me on the combat suit limitations as well. I guess I could just dream about it. Panic in the city below had civilians fleeing on foot. There were not many vehicles, and the sprawling city had a population of two million, according to the advanced sensors that were rapidly updating.

“It looks like we are disturbing an ant’s nest,” Bedelia noted from the screens.

The lead shuttle moved closer to the largest building in the city. Rincewind noted, “The Deva is not here.” He frowned. “He might have taken the Cartwrights with him.”

The shuttle in front dropped the Marines in line around the palace. Small arms fire erupted, targeting the Eladrin as they fell. Eshanya remained in air—without wings. That was something I would have to try. Could it be done in my human form? My incubus wings were used for mobility in the air, but I expended a small amount of aether to eliminate gravity.

The Marines fired their weapons as they descended to the ground. Their aether shields flared green and and blue as they targeted individually, firing on them first. Eshanya was also starting to descend, and her voice came over the comms on my suit, “The angelic is not here. If the humans are not here, I will not be searching for them, Apollyon. I will be returning to the Shadow Fall.”

My heart sank as I returned, “Understood.” We had come so close to finding the Cartwrights, but I had taken a month to raise the Eladrin crew.

A landing spot was cleared, and we landed. Captain Aida and her squad secured the area. The second shuttle soon landed next to us. Over my comms, I could hear the Eldarin Marines communicate as they entered the facility. Eshanya slowly descended from the sky, straight down to join us.

She addressed me, “No need to enter the complex. The Marines will clear it soon. The Deva is not here, so it looks like I got all dressed for nothing.”

“Thank you for coming, Eshanya,” I was already resigned to not finding the Cartwrights inside. Maybe they had moved them wherever they were holding Andromeda.

“We have a woman matching the target Alpha. Scanning her now.” My hopes rose as I waited. The monotone Marine finally added, “Confirmed. Target Alpha is located and alive. Securing for transport.”

“Target Beta located,” A second Marine intoned. “The male is injured but not critically from the breech. Scanning now to confirm.” A heavy pause. “Confirmed. Securing for transport.”

I waited by the shuttles, and ten minutes later, a middle-aged woman with her wrists secured was surrounded by five Marines. Shortly after, a male excitedly stumbled with six Marines. I recognized William and Eloise Cartwright from the pictures in Iris’ house. We had actually found them.

As they approached, both looked extremely scared. I pulled back my helmet and greeted them once they were together. “Don’t worry, Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright. I am your daughter’s friend, and I am here to rescue you and return you to her.”

Mrs. Cartwright was worried about her husband, but the Marines kept their hands bound. Eloise narrowed her eyes at me, “My daughter has no friends. Who the hell are you?”

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