"Do you think that we killed it?"
"Not likely. The creature was an Annokale but fused with a human. The body not only was made from systeminium but also resonated with old records of Tiamat's heart. This means that the Annokale have also reached the planet. This is not good."
"Should we send more units?"
"Negative. As recorded before activation, we now know that they plan on transporting the planet. We will stop the flow and redirect to the solar system 81292 that they will be arriving in."
"What do you estimate their actions to be on arrival?"
"According to the long-range recordings, they plan to settle into an area heavily seeded with asteroids. We have targets, but none of them are any more appealing than the next. Even if we did know where they were going, our chances of striking them there have an extremely low probability of success."
"What will we do about the humans and Annokale for now, then?"
"Watch them and wait. Once they leave the asteroid belt, we will track them until they stop. We would send units to follow them, but our time is better spent dealing with the Drakar and Fulmin."
"What of the Gideons?"
"The supreme leader has not sent any more requests to us. As always, our ties to them must be kept secret, but it is only a matter of time before they outlive their usefulness. After that, we will clean them, and the universe will be free from the parasites that infect their children.
"We are the Cleaners, and we are one. Star Child gave us this task long ago, and it is our purpose to fulfill that task."
----
Once everyone was on the ground, Riley and I went over to the other rooms to look for injured people. Luckily, it was around lunchtime, and the others from the floor were three floors down.
"Well, not much left to salvage from this," Riley said as we looked over the room that now had a hole in the floor and ceiling.
"What happened?!" Called a voice from below.
"One of the alien techs activated and tried to attack us. We stopped it, but then it blew up. Clear the floor and report on the surface," Riley called down as Sofia walked up beside me.
"These aliens really don't like you, Papi," Sofia said as she shook her head.
"This place is full of surprises, but that one really caught me off guard. I am starting to wonder if we should put the tech on hold for a bit. I think that it might be better for us to get electronics integrated. I had no way of hacking into the computer that ran the AI. I also wasn't able to detect the bomb. We are all lucky that I heard that beeping or that would have been the end of the others," I explained, knowing that I could have easily survived that.
"Hmm, that might be a good idea, but what are we supposed to do with all of this stuff then?" Sofia asked, and I looked at Riley.
"Do you mind staying back with a few people to watch over this compound?" I asked. "I also need you to clear all the floors that are below us. I will get rid of the rest of the things that are living, including the locked floors."
"Not a problem. I assumed that was going to happen. I will get on getting everyone out of the bunker," Riley said, turning from the hole and heading away from what was left of the room.
Jack and Binder had been sent up to get cleaned up, and now it was just Sofia and me.
"What do you plan on doing with the creatures below?" Sofia asked.
"Capturing them all and then containing them for us to study. There could be valuable secrets hidden in their DNA," I explained, and Sofia nodded.
"That is good because I want to study all of them as well. Make sure you bring any carcasses or bones you find. We might have to make a second trip for the gold," Sofia said, looking only slightly disappointed.
"Yeah, I will have to make a bigger tear this time," I laughed, and Sofia gave me a look.
"You had better not go as fast this time! You might be nearly indestructible, but we aren't. Do your testing while you are alone!" Sofia scolded me, and I smiled.
"Yes, I will take more time to get us back, haha!" I laughed but then yelped as Sofia bit me. "Stop that! Damnit!"
"Then stop being a pendejo!" Sofia growled, and I frowned at her.
"Mami! Stop being mean to me! I said I will go slower this time!" I complained, and Sofia rolled her eyes.
"Then don't laugh about it like you are some babaso! You inspire very little faith when you act like that, you know?" Sofia told me, and I sighed.
"Yes, Hermosa. I will try to keep my crazy contained," I said as I turned to head back to the stairwell, whispering. "There is obviously only enough room for one of us to be loquita."
I instinctively dodged to the left, but she still got me in the back of the head with her golden slipper. The damn woman was far too good with those things, but you know. I think it was just in her blood as a Spanish woman. I was not trying to stereotype Sofia, but I had seen enough videos online to know there was some truth to the claim.
"I am not deaf, Puta!" Sofia snapped at me as I picked up my speed to put more distance between us.
pαndα`noνɐ1--сoМ "And I am not a hoe! Well... never mind. Anyways. Weren't you supposed to be going back up top?" I asked as I turned back to grin at the glaring Sofia, another slipper in hand.
"Are you supposed to be doing something useful? You know, other than getting another one of my slippers across your face?!" Sofia growled as she tried to march by me, but I grabbed her and pulled Sofia into my arms.
"Ah, Hermosa, you know that I love you," I said, kissing her cheek, and Sofia turned her face to press her lips into mine.
The two of us shared a soft and slow kiss in the ruins of the second level. Even though we were fighting, it was mostly just fun playing. I enjoyed the back and forth between us, and I really didn't get this with the other girls.
Once we were done kissing, I pulled back from her lips, and Sofia was smiling warmly as she rested her head on my chest.
"I love you too, Papi. You drive me up the wall, but that only seems to make me love you even more. Though, it wouldn't hurt for you to be a bit more serious at times," Sofia told me, and I grinned.
"There are enough times that I have to be serious. Please don't make me serious all the time! This is my favorite part about our relationship!" I complained, and Sofia made a soft moan.
"Can you say it again?" Sofia purred, and I couldn't help myself.
"Mufasa?" I asked, and Sofia looked up at me with a scowl.
"Mufasa?"
"Say it again!"
"Mufasa?! I don't understand," Sofia said, tilting her head.
"Never mind, haha!" I said and let go of her. " Now, get going up top so I can start my exploration of the last floors. I would invite you along, but I am sure that this will be dangerous, and I am not sure what to expect."
"That is fine. I don't want to get my hands dirty right now anyways. I think that I am going to go relax in the pool," Sofia said, but then gave me a look. "Make sure that you are careful down there. I know that you think you are indestructible, but you need to be careful when you are messing around with things that you don't understand. If I didn't know there were people trapped, I would tell you that we should wait to do all of this."
That was true. I did have it in my mind that I was nearly impossible to kill at this point, and for a good reason. Still, Sofia was right that there were still many things that we didn't understand yet. The Cleaner exploding was a clear indication of that.
"I will make sure to be careful. Once everyone is up, I am going to seal up the stairwell below the third floor. That will make sure that nothing can escape while I am trying to round everything up. Since there is a possibility that there might still be some people alive, I will start with the lowest floors and clear them all systematically. If I find anyone, I will have Mr. Tree transport them up to you to take care of since you are the expert in...."
"Emotional Damage!" We said at the same time in random Asian accents.
Man, I was really starting to miss the internet.
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