Chapter 115: We Are Parasite [Bonus Chapter]
Alexis woke up that morning much earlier than normal. Matt typically entered her dreams, and they enjoyed a long night in various locations and positions. However, that night passed by instantly. She looked over and saw Matt still fast asleep. It was very early in the morning, but she had an assignment, so she got up making sure not to disturb him.
The first thing she did was go straight to Alex's bed. For a baby, taking care of him was much easier than expected, but this was likely due to his peculiar birth parents. Despite his abilities, he still ate once in the morning and once at night.
Just as she expected, Alex was awake and playing with the toys left on his bed. When he saw his mother come to his side, he began to reach out for her without making too much noise. The child was very obedient when Matt wasn't awake, and he seemed to be keeping quiet on purpose.
Alexis took him in her arms and began feeding him on the recliner in his room. She thought about the night and frowned slightly. For the last six months, they adventured together in their dreams all over the world. However, last night was the first time that she didn't have a single dream.
However, she wasn't particularly upset. It was only a momentary dissatisfaction. She began to distract her mind with the task she was given. It had been a long time since she left the First Strike Squad to Ren's hands, and it was time to reclaim it. The first stop would be to retrieve her combat suit.
Alexis understood the importance of this task, so she had spent a long time thinking about it. After retrieving her suit, she would take back the command of the First Strike Squad. Then, she would use her influence to reserve a suit for Matt. Once he went through the process, which would likely involve hypnotizing various people, he would vie for the Tactical Medic Suit.
This all hinged on the status of the First Strike Squad which is historically under the captain. But given the current state of the ship, she was unsure who the spies answered to. She would either have to subdue them or eliminate them. Since Matt wanted to lay low for a bit longer, this would mean getting them removed from the squad.
Alexis is reminded of the person nicknamed 'gatekeeper.' After he was sent to recover from his injuries in the infirmary, Matt had infiltrated his mind and discovered the location of the cyborg Cindy. After that, the man dropped out of the First Strike Squad once he lost his support. Now he's spent the last six months just trying to maintain a position in the Second Strike Squad.
Since she left the team to Lieutenant Yamamoto, no one else was removed or demoted. This was most likely due to her not wanting to make big waves while only a temporary leader. However, it was possible that she was also working for someone higher up either before the promotion or later when she had the position.
Alexis checked the time and it just turned to four. Baby Alex was sated and began to nod off. She placed him in a portable levitating pod and brought him along with her. Then, she went into her study and retrieved a locked briefcase containing her suit.
After quietly leaving the room, she went straight for the lift and set her destination to hangar bay one. In the lift, she disengaged the locks and opened the briefcase. Then she initiated the donning procedure and the suit wrapped around her like a living creature.
'Well, it technically is living.' Alexis mused.
As the suit wrapped around her, she suddenly felt something different. This was the first time she wore the suit after evolving. She felt intimate with the fibers of the suit. Once it completely enveloped her, the neckline grew upward toward her hairline.
Tng!
Alexis felt something pierce into the base of her neck. Despite the sound, there was no pain. Instead, she felt a surge of power. The suit became an extension of her nervous system. She gripped her hand into a fist and could feel the absolute control over the suit's functions.
Rather than being frightened, she was excited. The feeling of her strength surging was intoxicating, and she looked forward to beating up the insubordinate soldiers. Her neck felt itchy again, but she ignored it. The next thought she had was bringing a suit to Matt as soon as possible. She wanted him to experience this feeling as well.
When the process finished, she felt that she could communicate with the living metal cells within the suit. It wasn't to the level of holding a conversation with them, but to the point of how she is able to command her arm to move or her leg to move. Because of this, she discovered many new functions to the suit that weren't possible before.
With a single thought, the suit began to break apart and condense together. It passed through the fibers of her military fatigues and camouflaged itself under her clothes. Along with the simple ability to control the suit, she also gained a new feeling being transmitted from the living metal.
Hunger! A voracious insatiable hunger.
Alexis wondered what kind of accidents the researchers had in developing these suits. This kind of consciousness was not simple to subdue. After severing the connection with her superior mental power, the feeling went away. But she still licked her lips as she thought about it.
Feeling her emotions waver, she took a deep breath. Alexis opened the pod next to her and checked on Alex. He was still fast asleep and his resemblance to Matt made her smile. She closed the floating pod when the door to the lift opened. Beyond the doors was a large hangar that contained hundreds of mechanized suits and advanced combat suits.
Alexis walked toward the section that contained the 'Space Marine' suit that belonged to her. The suit was hung up and locked in place by a large metal frame. The frame and the series of locks were connected to a small computer panel. She registered her name and input her access codes.
After confirming with the system, the machine rang out. "Welcome, Commander Alexeyev."
The locks on the suit began to release and the large mechanical body fell downward, landing squarly on its feet. The rudementary AI moved the suit forward and knelt down to allow for ease of entry. The torso, thigh, upper arm and helmet opened up inviting Alexis to enter. She released her inner suit to cover her body once again and walked into the 'Space Marine' combat suit.
Once she was properly settled in the suit, the control mechanism locked around her neck connecting her to the whole suit. The process was superficial at best to protect the user, but since connecting with the inner suit's living metal, she directly connected to the 'Space Marine' suit.
Unlike the inner suit, the combat suits were created from alloys utilizing the living metal. This ensured they were durable but also had a longer life. Because of this, most of the components of the combat suit was inert. The technology that allowed her to control the movements of the suit would wirelessly synch with her brain waves under normal circumstances.
However, due to the extension of her nervous system, Alexis was able to directly control the movements of the suit as if it were her own body. This was at a level of near one-hundred percent compatibility. No matter how well trained a soldier is with their suit, they could only reach eighty-five percent normally.
Also due to the fatigue brought onto the user for controlling the suit, running at full capacity was not recommended. But because of her abilities, this was a null problem. It took her a moment to get readjusted to the suit, but she was quickly able to adapt.
She thought about the brawl with those strange creatures half a year ago and felt that she could obliterate them with half the effort. After getting comfortable, she began to make her way toward the lift to interrupt the First Strike Squad's training.
The best way to retake command was to show up abruptly and beat everyone into submission. Well, a year ago she wouldn't have thought the same way, but her body was teeming with strength, and she wanted to release it all. The little pod containing Alex floated along beside her as she made her way to the centrifuges.
The door opened when they arrived, and by pure coincidence, Ren Yamamoto was already there. She looked over and saw Alexis in her combat suit. The memory of last night came to her mind and she blinked with surprise.
Her face turned red and she stuttered, "C-commander, why… what brings you here today?"
Alexis looked at her strange expression, but before she could comment the rest of the troop arrived in their combat suits. They noticed Alexis and immediately stood at attention. The expressions on their face were a mix of surprise, joy, and fear.
"Hello magots, today is your first day back in hell!" Alexis shouted.