Chapter 8: Driving Hunger
Cularities had a little bit of trouble adjusting to the military life in the outpost after arriving there with Boltus, the Explorator. Yesterday evening, they were introduced to some of the staff that maintained and protected the outpost and its assets, what kinds of shifts they were active on their duty, and what they looked out for during their overwatch and patrols. The lieutenant in charge of the outpost, Ralpha Glosn, was kind enough to give Boltus some machinery to tinker with, since tech-priests either can't sleep or were primarily workaholics. Perhaps both. He seemed happy enough working, calibrating, and tuning-up the bipedal mech that was called a sentinel.
Cularities, on the other hand, had less of a warm welcome from the lieutenant. Ralpha had merely gave them a spare bed in which to sleep in, as well as told him the periods where the soldiers take their meals.
Cularities lulled a little as he thought about the day before. How he felt his mustache and beard for the first time. Since he had some time before the lunch rush began, he would dedicate his time updating his logbook entries as he rested on the sleeping bag while in his armor.
Name: Cularities (Self named)
Morphology: Modified *male human, enhanced with Chozo blood, Chozo powered armorsuit technology, and Metroid antibodies.
Description: *I am me, and I am Cularities. I respond with Sir, Sir Cularities, or Cular. I seem to have memories of a past life I have trouble remembering, which means I may have woken up with amnesia. Even when I have woken up in this suit derived from chozo technology, I quickly adapted to this reality far faster than I had expected. This logbook entry will update when necessary.
He made sure to put in any changes he made in his logbook with the asterisk symbol. With that out of the way, Cularities began his long and arduous process of updating his other logbook entries. Starting with those repto-hounds he fought yesterday.
Name: *Cani-reptis Psofimi, aka Repto-hounds
Morphology: Poisonous mammal/reptile organism.
Description: *Predatory animals that gather in packs. They are opportunistic feeders that stalk for large game that are old or dying, and small prey that are too weak to defend themselves. Their favored tactic is to overwhelm their target and inject poison into their bloodstream. They prefer to avoid predators or enemies that are too strong for their hunting packs.
Cularities also asked Ralpha for the name of the repto-hounds he faced the other day.
Name: Gretchin Mek Assistant
Morphology: Bio-engineered fungus/animal hybrid. Small variant.
Description: *Appears to be a subservient caste of the ork species. Cowardly, but can be coerced into fighting enemies when in greater numbers. They seem to be specialized for maintaining technology rather than fighting and warfare.
Name: Ork Mekboss Scraptooth *(Deceased)
Morphology: Bio-engineered fungus/animal cyborg hybrid. Large variant.
Description: *Leader mechanic of the ork species. The crude technology he creates shouldn't function.
Name: Oily Torch
Description: *Uses a type of biological fuel source that is derived from an animal. The molecular chains suggests it might be derived from the orkoid organisms called squigs.
Name: Mushroom
Morphology: *Bio-engineered fungus/animal growth. It seems to act as a surrogate incubator that spawns squigs, gretchins, and orks.
Name: Squig.
Morphology: Bio-engineered fungus/animal hybrid. Hyper mutative animal variant.
Description: *Highly mutative animal. There appears to be fifty or more different subspecies of squig that exist to serve the ork species.
Name: Nob Skark
Morphology: Bio-engineered fungus/animal hybrid. Large leader variant.
Description: *A type of ork that seems to be Tarog's second-in-command. They might or might not be still alive after the power bomb explosion or greater barking toad tactical detonation.
Name: Weirdboy Razza *(Deceased)
Morphology: Bio-engineered fungus/animal hybrid. Psycher specialist variant.
Description: *Had the ability to send green electricity from his staff. His presence alone seemed to have affected the battle.
Name: Huntboss Tarog *(Deceased)
Morphology: Bio-engineered fungus/animal hybrid. Larger leader variant.
Description: *An especially dangerous combatant, specializing in wounding their targets, causing as much pain before delivering the killing blow, and hunting down big game. A veritable hunter dwelling on this jungle world.
With those old entries edited and out of the way, Cularities focused on the new logbook entries he had made more recently.
Name: Lieutenant Ralpha Glosn
Morphology: Male human.
Description: Leader of Outpost POR-22, using a title called an Outpost Master. Seems to have some mistrust of me.
Name: Sergeant Liddy Powell
Morphology: Female human.
Description: Seems to fancy me, but I should keep my distance till I'm certain no ramifications would follow if our relationship becomes... less than professional. Kinda cute, to be honest.
Name: Corporal Figgis Karkit
Morphology: Male human. (Slightly on the heavyset side.)
Description: Has an upbeat and friendly personality, if a little overbearing and compulsive. Seems to hate a certain type of animal called 'fark balls'. No further comments on that topic. Apparently makes great grox burgers. Also no further comments on that topic. I
Name: Magos Exploratus Boltus Albrakan (Informal: Boltus)
Morphology/Machinery: Cyborg organism. Specializes in mechanical maintenance and exploration of the terrain.
Description: Pushy, but robotically methodical and calculating. Seems to want to know how my technology works. I'd have to be careful how to parse such things to him, or else my power suit might be replicated and be used in the wrong hands. Probably misses his temple.
Cularities sighed, slightly wondering how he was able to make these entries. When he accessed his logbook, he could see a keyboard in his peripheral vision. When he thought of a letter, number, or even sentences, the keyboard seems to respond automatically, almost as though it was controlled by telepathic command, or through some kind of synaptic sensitive device. At least it was far easier than using a physical or haptic touch-surface keyboard, and spelling errors were incredibly infrequent.
A soldier walked into the guest bunk that was designated for me. "Hey. Outsider. Cularities, right?"
"Yes?" Cularities answered, looking up at him.
The soldier seemed to have blinked at Cularities and paused for a few seconds. "... Did you sleep in your armor?"
Cularities looked down at his still-armored body. "... Huh. I guess I did. I never really thought about taking it off." He then tapped at the pillow his head rested on. "The pillow is nice and soft though."
The soldier cocked an eyebrow at me. "The lieutenant said that you woke up in that armor with amnesia. I find it hard to believe, however. Have you... tried to take it off?"
"I mean, I can take my helmet off easily enough. Maybe I can do the same with the rest of my suit? Can you stand back a bit, please?" Cularities asked before getting out of his guest bunk and standing up.
"Sure." The soldier said, giving Cularities a wide birth. Once Cularities stood up, his body softly flashes white for a few seconds. What replaced the flash was of a blue body suit that seemed to be perfectly fitted to Cularities' form. There seemed to be a collection of pink crystals that were part of his body suit, which were on his left pectoral, predominantly on his back, the backs of his hands, and on the outer sides of his heels of his feet. This seemed to have made the soldier blink a few times before his senses came back to him. "Where did your armor go?!"
"It didn't go anywhere. I can make it come back." Cularities said. The same white flash was produced from Cularities' body, which made his white power suit materialize and become physically present once more. "See?" Cularities assured, using his left hand to knock on his chest lightly.
The soldier blinked a few times at Cularities' form, pausing a little to let the excitement of the moment run its course. "Right. Well. Xenogear certainly does have a habit of being quirky and hard to understand. Don't know what the deal is with your blue suit under it, but I guess that ain't my business to know. Uh... Wait. What did I came in here for again?"
Cularities blinked a few times at the soldier.
The soldier sighed and palmed his face. "Right. I remember now. Lieutenant Glosn told me to remind you that the first shift breakfast period is in five minutes."
That made Cularities look at the makeshift nightstand he made from a small supply crate. It had a plate with utensils on top of it, with light smears and small crumbs of yesterday's dinner. It was some kind of boiled meat, mixed with gravy, mashed tubers, dried fruits with a bitter metal taste, followed by filtered water. Cularities had to use his left arm the whole time to switch between a fork and a knife to cut the meat apart, which had been a mundane back-and-forth dance. That and since Catachan was a planet that was primarily filled with venomous and poisonous animals, plants, and microbial organisms, Cularities didn't felt keen on taking his armor off of himself. Then again, being able to eat a prepared meal, no matter how bland it was, was something of a luxury. He was unsure how long his body could subsist on energy derived from plants, fungi and animals alone, yet he felt like he would miss the feeling of chewing and swallowing food.
With a sigh of his own, Cularities nodded to the soldier. "Very well. Does the lieutenant expect me to eat with his soldiers?"
"He figured you needed time to adjust in the outpost. It's pretty much the reason why he had you eat at your guest bunk for the first night. See, it's so you could recover from your trek through the jungle, and so we could be sure you weren't carrying any diseases or that you were hiding your symptoms. Not many people can walk through that hell of a wilderness, let alone survive long enough to tell their tales." The soldier stated with a modest nod.
Cularities nodded with the soldier. "Yeah, I can definitely attest to the dangers in that jungle. I think one of the trees tried to eat my brain."
"Also, Lieutenant Glosn would rather get to know you personally before you integrate with our men. I think that means spending some time talking to him before joining us for breakfast. He said it would be the smart thing to do." He added.
"Uh huh." Cularities said, nodding back. "... What's your name?"
"Private Douggindi Walking." He replied.
Cularities blinked and squinted at Douggindi. "Doug... Douggindi? Did I say that right?"
Douggindi laughed. "It's fine. If you want, you can call me Doug. Practically everyone that's close to me does."
Cularities smiled. "Very well, Doug. You may call me Cular. Lead the way." He said with a smiley tone.
But since he's here...
Name: Private Douggindi Walking (Informal: Doug)
Morphology: Male human.
Description: A swatty lad that seems to be at odds with Figgis Karkit. Unremarkable in ability, but is otherwise a vital soldier willing to move up the ranks through honor and duty to his station, and is willing to prove his potential.
And done.
It didn't take very long for Cularities and Douggindi to meet up with Lieutenant Glosn in his private quarters. His roomed happened to be at the top level within the forward With a clap of his boots and a salute, Douggindi left Cularities in Ralpha's company, leaving the room only to stand on the other side of the door.
Ralpha Glosn, seated at his desk, sighed as he parsed and jotted his pen on several documents, with many of the papers detailing a broad range of reports. Once he signed them all, he placed them into a small stack, sighed, and then looked at Cularities. He blinked a few times at Cularities. "Did you sleep in your armor?"
Cularities nodded. "Yes, I did. There are some nasty insects out in the jungle and I didn't want any bed bugs getting intimate with my sleeping body."
"Ah. Well. Not many of us has the luxury of that level of protection." Ralpha nodded. "It must be some good, comfy armor if you're able to sleep in it."
"I'm thankful enough for the bed and meals you provided for me, sir." Cularities nodded back.
"Mm." Ralpha gestured to the window in his private quarters and pointed at the wall of jungle. "So about the, eh, whole business with you and the supposed ork infestation? I'm wondering if you can accompany a detachment that will be investigating this southern part of the Catachan jungle."
"Sounds to me like you want to hire out my services." Cularities pointed out.
"Indeed." Ralpha confirmed, and turned to Cularities. "I've reported to my superiors about you and, since I told them about your desire to become a contractor of sorts, they've given me permission to be their representative and hire you on as an escort. They want to see what you can do when escorting a flamer outfit."
"They want me to lead them to the underground ork base, I take it?" Cularities postulated.
"Despite your claims, having a few witnesses of the astra militarum and Catachan Jungle Fighter outfits confirming the presence of an ork waaagh or their base of operations through official channels would be more optimal. If you can assist us in this endeavor, via escorting the deployed regiments to the waaagh ork base, then you would be granted permission to entertain whatever choice of vocation you wish, as well as inclusion to the civilian populations in Greatglade in the Plains of Repose. Under supervision, that is." Ralpha explained.
"Uh... Under supervision?" Cularities asked in a curious tone.
"It's just a precaution, since... well." Ralpha coughed before counting his fingers. "You're wearing strange armor, you claim of having no memory of whatever life you had asides from what you can recollect, and you and your tech priest friend came back to civilization after supposedly performing a tactical strike on a hidden ork stronghold. Wouldn't you say that is all too convenient?"
Cularities blinked a few times. "When you put it like that, it sounds like I'm some kind of infiltration agent."
"Are you?" Ralpha asked, leaning closer to his desk.
Cularities shook his head. "Honestly, if I were someone other than me listening to myself, I would probably say the story is too incredible. And even then, if I were some infiltration agent, I would probably use a different alibi that was more believable."
"Which leaves us these questions." Ralpha pleaded his fingers together, rested his elbows on the table, and then his chin on his hands. "Why are you here? How did you get here? Where did you come from? Who are you? What are you? And most importantly: when will you become a problem for us?"
Cularities paused before speaking again. "I don't follow with that last question."
"It's simple, really." Ralpha said. "I hedge my beliefs in conveniences. In this galaxy you have to keep a sharp mind and a cautious disposition or else something stronger than you will either take you for granted, take your friends, take your family, take your gear, take your money, take your legacy, take your organs, take your life, or worse. Sometimes not in the order I've listed, and sometimes a combination of those things at once. Not everyone has the same luxuries, you see."
"Really?" Cularities asked.
"Yes. What I am trying to say here is that you are an unknown, and anyone that is an unknown in the Imperium will be investigated by several parties, which would undoubtedly involve the Inquisition." Ralpha informed.
"The who?" Cularities asked.
"The Inquisition." Ralpha repeated, sighed, and leaned into his chair. "Tell me, Cularities. Do you know anything of your past life? Any good books about the glories of The Emperor and his Primarch sons? Holovids describing the creation of the Space Marine chapters? The Lectitio Divinatus?"
Cularities took a longer pause to answer Ralpha's question. "... Those don't ring any bells, I'm afraid."
Ralpha nodded. "And you say that the armor you wear now once belonged to the chozo people?" Ralpha asked.
"Correct." Cularities answered.
Ralpha gestured to Cularities. "See, if I were an inquisitor, I would press into this inconsistency until I either find evidence to the contrary or formulate my own theory and come to my own conclusions. You seem human, and you claim to be an ally to us, yet you have no knowledge of Imperium culture yet you have some knowledge of the xenos that creted your armor. I would call that an inconsistency."
Cularities tilted his head. "Inconsistency? How do you mean?"
"The chozo people, as you called them." Ralpha explained. "See, I have never heard of them in my life. The inquisition would call that an inconsistency, and so, would explore any evidences that would point out whether they existed in the first place."
"But what about my armor? Wouldn't that be proof enough?" Cularities said as he tapped his breastplate.
"If that were true, then they would be inclined to ask you to take your armor off and have the tech priests analyze it. They would also have their librarians perform a psychometry test on you to determine if your mind has been influenced by the chozo xenos. If they feel that you might be less than human, then they would have a genetor perform some tests to determine if you're a mutant or otherwise."
Cularities hardened his gaze at Ralpha, confusion and uncertainty plastering his face. "You make it sound as though the chozo are an enemy."
"And you would know?" Ralpha asked. "If I were to assume you would say they are not our enemy, then I would say that is too horribly convenient."
There was an uncomfortable silence that passed between Cularities and Ralpha. It was a telling silence.
"So what would this be then? The word of an outsider being contested by a respected officer of your military and the suppositions of this Inquisition?" Cularities asked.
"I'm afraid so." Ralpha answered.
Cularities paused, sighed, and then paced in front of Ralpha. "Hmm. If that's the case, then the only thing I have to my benefit is the benefit of the doubt. That wouldn't amount to much in the long run."
"Or not at all, realistically." Ralpha nodded with solemness.
After one more pause, Cularities huffed. "Well if they suffer from denial after I tell them everything that I know, I will remain resolute with my story and help out however I can. Come hell or more orks, I'll work wherever I'm needed."
Ralpha paused for far longer than needed. Cularities couldn't really tell what Ralpha was thinking, but he certainly seemed to be taking his time with his thoughts. However, before too much time passed, after finishing mulling over whatever was in his mind, he popped his mouth a few times, sighed, and then shrugged. "Well hey. It's your bed. You're the one that has to make it and sleep in it."
"What does that mean?" Cularities asked.
"It means I've made up my opinion of you." Ralpha gestured to the door behind Cularities. "You have permission to dine with my men. Before the flamer and scout detachments come, you will be accompanying my outpost staff until the time comes where you will travel to the supposed ork fortress to confirm its existence. From this point on until otherwise, I will vouch that you are an ally to the Imperium. However, I will take no responsibility for whatever trouble you cause, or whatever trouble might come your way. You are dismissed."
Cularities nodded to Ralpha before turning around. He stopped for a second before turning around again. "This still means I cannot fraternize with your sergeant, right?"
Ralpha growled at Cularities. "If you do, then next time I see a space marine, I'll kindly request them to break their foot off in your ass. You may leave now. Shoo shoo!"
Cularities chuckled before taking his leave.
In a room adjacent to the galley in the Plains of Repose Outpost, the soldiers that staff and protect the outpost gathered here to quickly eat their breakfasts before returning to their duties. Cularities sat at his own table, and was currently attacking a bowl of oaty cereal that was bathed in a white fluid substance with a spoon. There was also a side of grilled meat strips and a cup of orange citrus liquid. They were all proportionally small. However, Cularities couldn't whine or argue about it as he began to savor each bite he shoveled into his mouth before washing his palette with the drink provided.
Unfortunately, Cularities had to eat his meal with only one hand, since his right was clad in an arm cannon. The occasional glance from the other soldiers from their respective tables didn't help matters much either. On the other hand, Cularities did become quickly acquainted with Private Douggindi Walking.
Douggindi took the opportunity to sit next to Cularities and ask him question after question about his gear. "So let me get this straight. There's some kind of interface that reacts to your thoughts, but it has no instruction manual that tells you what these abilities and powers do?" Douggindi scoffed as he sipped his own drink. "Not exactly the kind of advanced xenogear I'd want to have if there's no other weapon available out on the field of battle."
Cularities nodded. "Yeah, having an in-system guide would help me out by leaps and bounds. Despite the few times I had to roll my luck in unlocking some of its features, it's been very helpful keeping me alive and surviving the jungle thus far. Take that big monster I saw out there being carved by your mates. I don't think I can take on one of those by myself!"
"Oh, you speak of the Catachan devils? Yeah, they can certainly tear through you like a nail through a sheet of tin foil!" Douggindi exclaimed. "Not to mention that you didn't even have a knife when you woke up! All Catachan jungle fighters would be daft to survive in that green hell without taking a proper knife with them in their kit!"
Cularities shrugged. "Well, whacking things with my arm cannon hasn't steered me wrong just yet."
"What if you need both hands for something that needs both hands to operate? What then?" Douggindi asked.
"... Good question. Let me access my helmet." Cularities's head flashed white, which enabled his helmet to reappear. He then raised his arm cannon and checked through his upgrade interface. After turning off the Beam Cannon upgrade, his right arm temporarily flashed a soft white before vanishing. What was left behind was his right arm. He flexed his hand and smiled. "... Wow. Now this is something I never would have thought to do."
Douggindi chuckled. "Well. That answers that question. Now you can use two knives at once!"
"Which is nice, since I feel that my tool-using dominant hand is my right hand. Speaking of..." Cularities shifted his spoon from his left hand to the now arm cannon-less right hand, while his helmet flashed again, allowing him to fill his face with food once more. His left hand was now free to pick up his cup, and greatly speed up the consumption of his food. Cularities began speaking again with half of his mouth full of food. "Also, I fhimk I can repligate a melee weapom if I wamted to."
"That so? How?" Douggindi asked.
Once Cularities swallowed his food, he began explaining. "I can also change the properties of my arm cannon to fire different elements and with different settings. With a bit of experimentation, I can probably make something similar to a close-quarts combat weapon."
Douggindi smiled wildly and excitedly. "Wow! Think you can show me?"
Cularities blinked a few times. "Uh... Sorry. I don't think Ralpha would like it very much if I did some tests on my weaponry without him sanctioning it first."
Douggindi's smile quickly became dejected, and chuckled weakly. "Ah. Yeah, now that you mention it, he wouldn't like it if we discharged our weapons without reason." Douggindi's smile quickly came back a second later. "But how about if I tag along with you when the flamer and scouter units come by? I can ask Lieutenant Glosn for a temporary unit transfer."
Cularities chuckled. "You really want to see me in action, huh? I mean, I'll have to work under their constraints and restrictions, but I'd be happy to have you come with me, if Glosn allows it."
Suddenly, a new voice interupted them. "Walking, you're a farking git." Cularities and Douggindi turned around to see Corporal Figgis Karkit approaching them. He had a sandwich in his right hand, but used his left to tap Douggindi's shoulder. "If anybody has a better chance to temporarily transfer with the scouter and flamer teams, it'll be me. If there's a chance to meet one of those fark balls, I want first dibs hunting it down and letting a genetor test the corpse before I get the chance to butcher it for rations."
Cularities blinked at Figgis Karkit. Douggindi groaned loudly. "Oh give it a rest, Karkit. Who cares if some round beast soiled your grox burger. It's what you practically rave about every hour since yesterday."
"I care, Walking! It's my food! I made it! I put my care and love into it! If anyone is more deserving to go hunting one of those fark balls, then it better be me! I've been raised in a household that looks down on wasting food, after all." Figgis declared, pounding his chest. "Besides. I outrank you."
Cularities gestured to Figgis and Douggindi. "Gentlemen, please. I wouldn't mind if both of you joined me on a mission into the jungle. It''d be perfectly fine with me to have you two come if I had a say on who goes."
Figgis snarled. "That depends on what Lieutenant Glosn will say about it." He then pointed at Cularities. "I don't know much about you, outsider, but listen well. We don't normally hire strangers to get a cut of the glory. Unless our superiors say otherwise, you do nothing unless you're given an order. Understand?"
Cularities blinked. "... Have I offended you in some way?"
Figgis blinked back at Cularities. He then coughed and shrugged his shoulders. "Just don't be in my way when we find one of those fark ball things." Figgis then took his leave of Douggindi and Cularities.
Cularities blinked a few times more, and turned to Douggindi. "Something bugging him?"
Douggindi sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh that. Don't mind Corporal Karkit. Lieutenant Glosn was chewing him out yesterday for, and I quote, 'gross misuse of a grenade launcher and military equipment for the purposes of hunting down a Catachan Devil' or something."
"Really? What happened?" Cularities asked.
Douggindi smirked as he turned to Cularities and began to tell his story of his excursion with Corporal Karkit and their pursuer, the Catachan devil. He regailed that Figgis had gotten off several lucky timed throws upon the chasing beast's face, while Douggindi was riddling it with the Tauros' multi-laser turret. Once it was blinded, Figgis took the opportunity to mark the coordinates to Lieutenant Ralpha Glosn, whom then relayed the information to headquarters. They sent a couple of Avengers, a type of fast-moving aircraft that was fitted with Krakstorm missiles, which unleashed a strategic blow directly to whatever counted as its brain. Following the death of the assaulting predator, Ralpha then assembled a team that would scavenge, butcher and harvest any usable meat that would be put through several rigorous denaturing processes. Douggindi further explained that Catachan devil meat, though full of proteins, was actually filled with many kinds of toxins and diseases, and was only able to be safely consumed if carefully prepared before it was added to the ration supply.
Despite being so impressed by the Catachan jungle fighters in the outpost, it only reminded Cularities that he was a completely inexperienced fighter in comparison. He was incredibly lucky from evading the hotshot lasgun fire that nearly burned a hole through him, the plenitude of fauna and flora he had to dodge, absorb, bomb, and shoot at while surviving in the jungle, and the underground hidden fortress that once contained a growing army of orks.
Cularities premised that he will need more experience to survive, and more energy to grow and thrive.
I hope that the deployed military forces won't give me too much trouble. I have enough trouble surviving in this grim and dark world as is.
A/N: A guest suggested listing the upgrades after the end of every chapter, so I guess I'll remember to do that.
List of upgrades already attained:
Morph Ball.
List of purchased upgrades:
Morph Ball Bomb, Energy Tank, Energy Drain 1, Boost Ball, Spring Ball, Spider Ball, Timed Bomb, Remote Bomb, Trap Bomb, Weighted Bomb. Energy Magnet, Fusion Suit, Power Beam/Arm Cannon, Scan Visor, Long Beam, Combat Visor, Scatter Beam, Charge Beam, Rapid Beam, Short Beam, Solid Beam, Stun beam, Aeion Tank, Grapple Beam, Missile Tank, Energy-to- Missile Conversion, Aeion Generator, Force Ball, Cross Bomb, Spazer Beam, Armored Powersuit, Power Bomb, Spider Magnet, Speed Booster, Shinespark, Ice Beam, Zero Suit.
List of unlocked purchasable upgrades:
Death Ball, Wide Beam, Laser Beam, Plasma Beam, Wave Beam, Diffusion Beam, Accel Charge, Scope Visor, Thermal Visor, X-Ray Visor, Dark Visor, Echo Visor, Command Visor, Scan Pulse Radar, Lightning Armor, Beam Burst, Phase Drift, Phantom Cloak, Flash Shift.