System Overclocked 2 -ch14- (Patreon)

Not hesitating, Wrench whipped the sword out of it’s sheath at his hip. He had held onto it this entire time more out of a sense of not wanting to give up a useful tool despite it’s size.

Greedy hadn’t bothered to take it from him either and hadn’t even seemed to have noticed it, really.

Slashing wildly at the bag, Wrench took in a deep breath and resolved himself to hold it. Given the carrier wasn’t fully sealed, his oxygen would vanish very quickly.

It wasn’t even a choice though.

Not even a question.

Going home with Goodie was absolutely worth risking his very life over.

The bag parted easily and without an issue.

“— didn’t pick up any at all, actually. I’m afraid they must have all gone elsewhere,” Greedy said smoothly.

“Ah… could I see your Hume list anyways?” Goodie asked with a pleasant tone. “I just want to make sure. You never know. Maybe they were picked up elsewhere and brought here. You’d never even realize that it was them that way.”

“Uh… ah… sure. Sure. One second. Let me get my xxhht,” Greedy responded, now sounding considerably less sure.

“I-thank you. I appreciate that,” said Goodie good naturedly. Wrench didn’t miss the questioning tone to her voice though. She now suspected something was wrong.

All the while they were talking, Wrench was struggling with the bag.

Given the weightlessness of his body, it was hard to get any type of good leverage. Everything just felt weak and unsubstantial.

Struggling, grunting, and fighting with the bag, he managed to get out of it. Pushing it behind him and into the corner.

Given all he’d been through, his body running at a peak for so long, and now depriving himself of

“— you are. This is our current Hume listing. We’ve had a real run on them as of late. People are just adopting them like they’re going out of fashion,” stated Greedy.

“I imagine,” Goodie allowed quietly. “The Hume I’m looking for are three in particular. A Brawler named Seventh, a Solo named Stripe, and a Fixer named Wrench.

“I plan on taking the world apart until I find them. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Grasping at the partially opened hole in the carrier Wrench jerked at it.

It didn’t budge at all.

This carrier was meant to hold in rowdy Hume. The strongest of Brawlers were often what these were rated to.

Wrench had never been able to break out of them even in his past life. They’d been damn near indestructible once you were put inside of one.

The resistance called it being in “time out” or “prison” since all you could do was wait. There wasn’t any other possibility.

Hitting at the hole with his sword, he only managed to tear it open an inch or two further. Slashing at it several times he was starting to make some headway.

Though the carrier did start to spin somewhat with each strike, it wasn’t darting away either. These things were fairly heavy, but not impossibly so.

“I can assure you I haven’t gotten any Hume from the xxhht,” lied Greedy.

There was a humming noise at that from Goodie. She was now highly suspicious Wrench thought. That she was now considering how to proceed.

She was a shrewd, intelligent, and insightful Tongsta as far as Wrench had seen. Outmaneuvering family, friends, and co-workers all while rapidly climbing to the top.

From what he’d guessed at and what she told him, Goodie was a special Tongsta. Special for an innate ability and for how she handled things.

Slamming his blade into the hole once more Wrench was shocked as it cracked in half. Half of the weapon breaking away and flying out of the carrier.

He was left with a broken tool that wouldn’t do him any good at all.

Hacking at the hole once more, he then tried to briefly saw it.

The rip barely enlarged at all, if any.

It wasn’t something he could observe a change through with the naked eye.

“Well, I don’t see them,” Goodie said in a defeated way.

“I’m sorry. I told you that I hadn’t gotten any Hume like that,” Greedy continued to lie, sounding much more confident now. “If I get any in the future that sound like those you’re looking for. I’ll contact you.”

Panicking now, realizing that Goodie was going to leave, Wrench wracked his limited IQ for anything that might get him out of here. That’d get him back home.

He could tell that this area was a purely Tongsta area given the fact that his eyes were quite literally starting to burn and water just from the contact.

Shutting them, he floated there in front of the hole, unable to to much of anything as his head pounded harder and harder with every second.

Fuck it.

“Goodie! Help me!” screamed Wrench with the entirety of his held breath.

As he expended it he felt a burning sensation against his mouth and tongue despite his lack of a sense of taste. This was a very Tongsta only environment and it wouldn’t take long for him to given a chance to forever sleep.

“Wrenchie!?” shouted Goodie.

“Whoa, get back you—ahhh!” screamed Greedy in sudden pain.

The carrier was suddenly jerked to one side and was likely torn open given how the carrier was suddenly pulled out of his hands.

Cracking open one eye to a slit, trying to hold what little air he had left in his lungs, he peered up out of the opening. A Tongsta was looking down at him.

Oddly, the Tongsta didn’t look normal to him.

A green stripe ran along the Tongsta.

In an identical way to the wound he’d repaired on Goodie, in fact.

“Wrench,” breathed the Tongsta a second before tentacles reached in and closed around him. “Get out of my way.”

“I’m getting the xxhht! You horrible xxhht xxhht!” promised Greedy.

“Do it. I encourage you to do that,” growled Goodie, shooting off with Wrench clasped between her tentacles.

He felt light-headed to the point that he could barely think. His enchaned Respiratory System was likely the only reason he wasn’t already unconscious if not dead.

“Ah! Seventh! Stripe!” Goodie exclaimed. A second after that Wrench felt himself being set down.

“Goodie!” cheered Seventh

“Goodie!” Stripe called out at the same time. “Oh no, Wrench, are you okay?”

Taking in a gasping breath when Wrench realized he was in the bucket with the others, he began to breathe in and out deeply. Forcing oxygen into his burning lungs.

Groaning, Wrench turned to his side and curled up into himself.

“He’s okay, Stripe. He was just subjected to spssss space. He’ll be alright. And if he isn’t, we’ll just take him to the best veternarian there is,” Goodie promised in a growl. “Now we just have to wait for the spssss and then we’ll be going home.”

Looking up and out of the bucket, Wrench could see a trembling Goodie hovering over them. There were at least twenty or so tentacles spread out from her in every direction.

Looking very much like a pissed off and enraged Tongsta.

“Get’em Goodie!” Seventh shouted. “They were using Wrench badly!”

“Hm? What?” Goodie asked, her shuddering subsiding for a moment. Part of her blob-like self turned as if to peer down into the bucket. “Are you alright, Seventh?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m okay. They just weren’t nice to Wrench,” Seventh explained. Then she pantomed hitting her own head, and pointed at Wrench.

“They hurt Wrench?” Goodie asked in a deathly cold way.

Seventh, Stripe, and Joy all nodded their heads at that.

Goodie went still then.

As still as a statue.

Nothing more was said.

Stripe got down on her knees next to Wrench and was quickly running her hands across him to see if there was anything wrong. Picking over his clothes and the like while grimacing.

“You smell awful,” Seventh reported.

“I mean, yeah. Probably. I was in a really disgusting place,” Wrench offered back. “Really disgusting. Not somewhere I’d like to go back or ever repeat again.

“What happened to you all after I bailed? Greedy do anything awful?”

“No, not particularly,” Joy answered with a small bounce of her whole body. “They just got to work taking apart the whole Hab to get to you. Though, she did crush a lot of the Lower Parts Brawlers. Crushed them and just threw their bodies into a… a pail, or some sort. She was very unhappy with them.”

Blinking, Wrench was rather surprised about that. It seemed out of character for Greedy, but not entirely so.

If she imagined they were in the way of her making money, then she might be more than willing to do such a thing.

“I’m sorry, I only have a handful of oat bars on me,” Stripe apologized and started pulling them out of the single pocket the Hab dress came with, as well as several from her cleavage. “It was all I could grab given how Greedy pulled apart the Ducts.”

Stripe had already put them down in a pile and tore one open. She didn’t wait for him to take it, but instead, put it right up to his mouth. Forcing the corner of it between his teeth.

“Eat, Wrench. Let’s get calories into you. Right?” asked the beautiful Deme, looking down at him with a warm smile.

Seventh was leaning over the other side of him, also smiling down at him. Her hands were resting on her hips and her eyes locked to his face.

Not fighting, Wrench took a bite, then reached up to take the oat bar from Stripe. He worked it quickly until it was nothing.

By the time he finished the third such oat bar he was feeling more Hume. As if he were a living person once again.

“— right in there!” shouted what sounded like Greedy.

Wrench couldn’t see what was happening, but he imagined some type of police force had just shown up.

There was a sudden and still silence.

Not knowing what was going on, Wrench, Stripe, Seventh, and Joy, just stared up at Goodie. Who didn’t move at all.

Finally, someone else spoke.

“Ma-madam… Lady xxhht… we’re… ah…”

“Yes?” Goodie prompted. “What is it shaper?”

“Shaper? That’s a new one,” Seventh muttered.

“Some type of cop?” Wrench ventured.

“Lady xxhht we’re here because this good round-one said you had… attacked her,” said the voice that Wrench assumed was the ‘shaper’.

“That’s fine. You may arrest her and escort her to the Nav-cerer’s guild building closest to here.

“She stole my property and attempted to hide it from me,” Goodie demanded. “Your clan should be grateful I’m not hot-jumping this entire clan spssss into a star. You may thank me for not doing so.”

“Thank you, Lady xxhht for not-for not putting us in a star,” said a second voice.

“Thank you, Lady xxhht!” said the first voice. “We’ll-we’ll take them into custody immediately.”

“What? How-what? No! No. This can’t—”

There was a plopping noise followed by a groan.

“We’re so-so sorry Lady xxhht. We didn’t—”

“Go. I’m taking possession over this shelter. You may record it in your clan log. Send it to the family governor. They can reach out to me for compensation for what their member did. While you’re there, send the retainers from my spssss to come here,” hissed Goodie. Then she waited for a beat. “I might let the family governor off the hook if they’re very polite when they reach out to me. You might want to let them know that.”

There was no response from the others. Goodie started to tremble again.

“You know… maybe it’s because I’m a bit touchy after getting the flag ship out of combat and to the home clan, only to find out more than half of my friends and crewmates were dead.

“But right now, I’m not in a good mood. Not a good mood at all.

“In fact, I think it definitely could be from getting hit by a hard-shot from a star cannon, surviving, then completing a hot-jump to get the flag ship home while suffering being deliquified.”

There was a low rumbling and crackling noise that started to bleed out from everywhere all at once. A shifting of the world like a giant was picking everything up and giving it a friendly shake.

“Maybe it isn’t and I’m just really pissed off in the moment because of what’s happened here,” Goodie continued now in a voice that promised death to everyone that she could reach. Even Wrench felt himself involuntary swallow. He’d actually fought and killed Tongsta before and right now Goodie felt like someone he wouldn’t want to go after on his best day. In an ambush. With an entire battalion of resistance fighters. “You can stand here and be annoying or get moving to do what I told you to. With celerity.”

“Yes! Lady xxhht! Our apologies!” shrieked two voices at the same time.

There was nothing said after that and the quaking slowly ended.

Then Goodie’s tentacles retracted back into herself until she looked far more as he expected her to. Only for her body to elongate and hover over the bucket.

“Are you okay, Wrenchie? My special boy? Are you alright? Can mommy do anything?” cooed Goodie, all signs of the extremely threatening voice and promise of death gone.

“I could use a bath and a hug, honestly,” Wrench murmured and then held his arms up to Goodie.

“Awww… Wrenchie… mommy will hug you lots but not here. This is-honestly this is horrible. All these poor Hume scattered about in barely habitable containers,” Goodie remarked with disdain. “Let’s fix this Hab up first and foremost. It looks like they were putting it back together but it’s done so sloppily. Nothing is attached either and the supplies are so low.

“We can get these Hume situated and see if there’s a Mender to tend to you in there as well. I’m sure there is given this is a Shelter.

“Once you’re given the all clear, we’ll get back to our own Hab. Okay Wrenchie? Is that okay?”

As goodie spoke, a tentacle slipped down into the bucket and gently laid around Wrench’s shoulders. It was as light as a feather and without any force at all.

She was treating him as if he were made of delicate glass as fine as a spider web.

“That’s fine, Goodie. I’m so glad to see you. So glad. You have no idea,” Wrench confessed, wrapping an arm around Goodie’s tentacle.

“Mmm, Mommy’s glad to see you too, Wrenchie. Mommy needs to celebrate you so much,” promised Goodie. “So, so much. My Wrenchie. My good special boy. You saved mommy all by yourself.

“Then you managed to take care of the engine room enough so that I could jump the ship. The captain told me all about it.

“I’m going to make sure everyone knows that I was only able to jump because of you. My special boy.

“I’ll make the whole universe know how special Hume are. And if they’re too stupid to listen to me… well… maybe I’ll just start jumping clan ships into stars till they do.”

Wrench laughed at that, and patted Goodie’s tentacle more firmly. She sounded as if she were still very angry.

Extremely so.

Seventh and Stripe must have sensed it and quickly wrapped themselves around Goodie’s tentacle as well. Holding tightly to her.

“Oh, my sweet Hume. My good girls and good boy. My special Hume,” Goodie cooed, bending over the bucket more firmly. It was as if she’d spread herself out and was now completely encompassing the bucket. “Don’t think I don’t see you two. I know for a fact my good girls saved Wrench. Stripe, Seventh, I saw you on the feed. You got out of the Hab and went to get him by yourself.

“My good girls. My sweet girls. You three are my ultra super special Hume. Your mommy is so proud of you three. So proud.”

“I missed Goodie,” Seventh remarked and then promptly put her face into Goodie’s tentacle. Then flung her legs up around it and hung onto it like a child hanging onto a parents leg.

“Oh my goodness Seventh you silly goose,” Goodie said with a warm laugh. The cold and frightening under tone to her words was gone now. “Oh… oh fine. One quick little hug won’t hurt.”

Seventh was taken out of the bucket and held up to Goodie’s body.

To which Seventh practically leapt at her and clung to her with her whole body.

“Seventh! You silly silly goof!” laughed Goodie, holding onto the Hume with a tentacle. “My good girl. I missed you, too. I like that dress on you though. I know you’re not normally into that sort of thing as a Brawler, but you fill it out so well.

“Should we get you some more of those? It’s quite flowly and liquid looking on that lean frame of yours.”

“Yes!” Seventh declared, nodding her head wildly, still clinging to Goodie and having most of her face burried into the Tongsta.

“She really does like Goodie,” Stripe remarked, turning back to Wrench. Then she wrapped her arms around his head and drew it into her neck. Holding to him, her hands running up and down his back.

“We all do,” Wrench offered lamely.

“Okay, okay. Come on. You can’t be out of your atmosphere for too long,” Goodie warned, gently setting Seventh back into the bucket. “Okay. Let’s get this taken care of, round up all the Hume here, and get out of here. There’s no reason to stay here even a minute more.

“Besides, all your Hab mates will be so excited to see you again. I did my best to keep them aware of the situation. They’ll be so happy to have you back.”

Thank goodness for Goodie.

Though… she seems far more powerful than before.

And with a great more… prestige. I wonder what happened?

She said she hot-jumped the ship after being wounded?

That the first aid I rendered let her get them out of harms way?

I wonder if they were supposed to all die on that ship last time without her. How much has been changed with her simply being there?

Hm.

Whatever.

I don’t care.

I’m going home with Goodie.

He blinked, watching Goodie carefully moving things around to and from the Hab he assumed. He couldn’t see very well from where he was but it would match what she’d said.

Wait. She said she’s taking over the Shelter, too.

Does that mean they’re all coming with us?

What about the breeding Hab? They’re around here somewhere?

Or at Greedy’s home?

“Goodie!” Wrench called, causing Stripe to jerk away from him in surprise. “Sorry, Stripe.”

Smiling nervously, the Deme nodded her head a bit.

“Hmm? Yes, Wrench?” Goodie asked.

“There’s another Hab somewhere,” he said. Then he pointed at himself, then Joy, and pointed up at Goodie.

“You want me to take her?”

Wrench shook his head. Then he stopped and looked around in frustration. Then he held his arms up toward her as Stripe tended to.

“I… okay, Wrench. Hold on,” Goodie warned. Then she delicately picked him up out of the bucket. “What is it?”

“There’s another Hab,” Wrench stated. Then he pointed at the Shelter Hab, then gestured randomly around the room, and made a shrugging motion. “Another one.”

He leaned over and pointed at the Hume in the Hab, then once agin pointed all around the room.

“There’s… another Shelter with Hume in it?” Goodie asked, demonstrating her uncanny ability to understand Wrench.

“Oh my gosh Goodie you’re the best. I love you mom,” Wrench said excitedly and patted her tentacle rapidly. Grinning at her all the while. Then hugged the same tenticle.

“Awww, such a sweetie. I love you too, Wrenchie. So there’s another Hab, you say. Hm. Let me guess. She was having you studded out?” Goodie asked, clearly jumping to the next piece of it.

Wrench nodded his head wildly.

“You’re intelligent and perfectly round, mom,” Wrench said without feeling any shame at the title, the smile broad across his face.

“Mmm, you’re complimenting mommy again aren’t you. My sweet boy. Okay. Mommy will find the Hab. Don’t you worry. Do you want them as Hab mates?” Goodie asked, all the while moving Hume out of containers and into the Hab as she spoke to him.

He shook his head rapidly.

Having the breeders was most certainly not something he wanted.

Then he hesitated. He paused and held up a single finger.

“There’s one you want?” Goodie prompted.

Wrench nodded his head.

“Is she special to you?” asked Goodie.

Wrench shook his head firmly.

“She’s special in general?”

Once more, Wrench nodded his head up and down.

“Is it the one in the bucket down there?”

Hesitating for a brief moment, Wrench then shook his head. Joy was too close to Pain in his head. She was a lovely woman, but he couldn’t separate the two.

That and he was fairly certain Blue-Bill had a thing for her. He didn’t want to step into that.

“Oh. They’re in the other Hab then? A special Hume in the other Hab where you studded out, but not special to you. Are they pregnant?”

Laughing, Wrench shook his head.

“No one’s pregnant are they,” Goodie intuited with a chuckle. “My special Wrench… mommy thinks you’re more special then anyone ever guessed. You have a great deal of intelligence. You’ve figured out a way to control your own reproductive ability haven’t you?”

Shocked, and surprised, Wrench didn’t respond at first. Then he slowly nodded his head in agreement.

“I knew it. That’s fine. We were planning on making sure we both agreed on you studding out, so that actually makes more sense,” Goodie remarked, emptying a bucket of Hume into the Hab. She did it with infinite care and just held the bucket there. “There we are. Come on. All of you need to come out, darlings. Time to go back to your Hab. Don’t worry, mommy is here. Mommy will make sure you’re all cared for.”

There was a promise behind those words that Wrench didn’t doubt.