After finishing my work as a surgeon, I didn't just sit idly by. No, after treating Tonks, I decided to take action. Well, actually, it wasn't me personally, but a clone who went out to get what I wanted while my true self stayed behind to watch over Tonks.
The ship was sealed so tightly that not even my ability to transform into blood allowed me to slip through the cracks; there simply weren't any openings. So I had to resort to other methods: [Travel] and Apparition. I never really liked the latter, but I still learned to use it. Apparently, in this world, there are also psionics capable of moving through space, though they're so rare that they seem like a legend.
When I arrived at the space station, I no longer expected to find any other signs of life apart from the aliens that had invaded it. Maybe there was some poor soul still wandering around, but not for long.
The aliens were consuming the ship at an alarming rate, and now that there was no one to stop them, their advance was unstoppable. If things continued like this, they would eventually reach the engines and thrusters. If that happened, our idea of traveling to their home planet would become unfeasible.
That was when I made a decision: to create a squad of clones to face the aliens on my own.
Surprisingly, it turned out to be easier than I had imagined. Being alone and using clones, I could unleash my full power without restrictions, without worrying about anything—not even my own life. It was also the perfect moment to test the capabilities of PSI power.
The captain, as promised, upheld her part of the deal after evacuating the others and setting the ship on course for its final destination. She couldn't give me everything I wanted, but she did give me everything within her reach. Thanks to this new information, when the clones weren't protecting sections of the space station or exterminating aliens, they dedicated themselves to studying every piece of knowledge we had on PSI power.
It was a great solo adventure… well, with clones, but you get the idea.
But back to the main point, I got what I went for. I met with the merchant and bought a pink robotic arm for Tonks. At that time, she hadn't woken up yet, but I wanted to have it ready for her. Even if she didn't use it, at least she would have it as a keepsake… I had noticed her interest in technology.
The arm wasn't just a simple purchase. I spent time working with the merchant to find the perfect design. Additionally, I provided him with the information the captain had given me and sold all the technology I found on the ship. Thanks to this, I had access to multiple upgrade options. As for the cost, well… I resorted to less orthodox methods: I stole credits from corpses and from various locations on the station. It was curious how, in this spacial mission, the gallons no longer held any value, and the currency had been reduced to simple credits.
Lastly, I also came across the [Archmage]. But unlike the merchant, gaining access to him was much more complicated. The only reason I knew where to find him was thanks to the [map]. His location wasn't fixed. He drifted through space along our route, appearing every so often. I managed to send a clone equipped with a space suit to the satellite where he resided.
That's how I discovered that, just like the merchant, the Archmage had also changed. His magical tower was now a space satellite, and the "Archmage" himself had evolved into an artificial intelligence known as ARK-M.A.G.E. (Mystic Authority Global Existence).
Despite the transformation, the structure of the tower—or rather, the satellite—still retained its essence. The difference was that it now operated with and for technology instead of magic. There, I took the opportunity to further improve Tonks' robotic arm.
It was an arm that, in shape, looked exactly like a human one but made of metal, as if it were composed of metallic muscle fibers. Its color was an intense bubblegum pink with a metallic sheen, and on the upper part, over a black section, it had three small pink flowers engraved.
Now that I think about it, it looked a bit like Iron Man's arm from the MCU, but smaller, slimmer, and with a clearly feminine design. Its size was exactly the same as Tonks' original arm.
I hoped she'd like it.
...
Tonks woke up the next morning, fresh as a lettuce—but missing an arm. By this point, the tension between us had eased quite a bit. I knew this because, when she needed a hug, I was able to give it to her. It was a long and silent hug, but a good start. Not that everything was fine—she still held some resentment—but the distance and coldness between us had lessened.
Our relationship improved even more when I presented her with her robotic arm. She went from being a dull and melancholic person to a child on Christmas morning. I asked her if she wanted me to grow her a new arm or if she preferred the mechanical one… and she chose the latter, justifying it with a simple, "only until the end of the mission."
When the others saw Tonks' robotic arm, they were amazed and curious, but they knew it wasn't a good idea to provoke the dark side of the Psionics, so they kept their distance… except for Yexi. She had distanced herself from Tonks and me after the last time, but now, knowing we were going to die, she simply approached without fear. By that time, Tonks was no longer as cold or closed off, so the two of them started chatting and, over time, became something like friends during these months of travel.
That's how we spent those three months, with not much else to do. Tonks constantly tested her robotic arm, playing with all the upgrades I had added. She only regretted not being able to shoot freely inside the ship.
We talked more than we had in all the time before, especially during meals and our usual free time. We didn't touch on the subject of her mother, but we did talk about our relationship. She dedicated herself to reminding me of all my mistakes—not looking for answers most of the time, just venting.
On some occasions, she took advantage of her robotic arm to break a few of my bones, using the excuse that I could recover without a problem. Not that masochism is my thing, but I had to let her. After putting me through a torture worthy of its name, things eased up even more—though she never missed a chance to land a solid metal punch whenever the opportunity arose. At least, in the end, I managed to get a small kiss from her.
With our relationship renewed, the journey became more bearable. I had the chance to teach her more about PSI power and how to upgrade our magic. I myself was able to make progress thanks to my experiments with the clones, while she… well, she needed my active help to succeed, though not as much as before.
Another form of revenge that Tonks discovered—and that truly hurt me—was inviting both me and Yexi to bathe together in the tiny ship's bathroom… but only to bathe. They literally washed each other, with all the sensuality in the world, while I could do nothing but watch, completely unable to do a single thing. She threatened that if I so much as tried to touch her, all the progress we had made would be lost.
So there I was, with the bluest balls in known space, watching them lather each other up without being allowed to touch a single strand of hair. Yexi didn't fare much better either, because Tonks made sure that the contact remained strictly "necessary."
But the real torture came just before we reached our destination. Yexi, who was already friends with Tonks and knew some of our secrets, asked her to convince me to make a robotic arm for her too. Of course, if Tonks asked me, I had no reason to refuse… but she decided to "pay" me in a rather questionable way.
That night, in my room, Tonks… gave me the most painful handjob of my life with her metallic arm. At first, I thought she just needed to learn to control her strength, but I soon realized it wasn't a lack of practice… but pure malice. She tortured me with a steel grip while I stoically endured it, clenching my teeth and holding on like a man. Yexi, sitting to one side, watched us with a mixture of confusion and fascination, not fully understanding our relationship.
It was thirty minutes of mechanical squeezing before Tonks finally took pity on me. Seeing a tear roll down my cheek, she decided to adjust the pressure and, with more careful movements, finally let me finish. But the night wasn't over.
Tonks, with a scientific curiosity that only she could possess in this context, wanted to test other functions of the arm… and used Yexi's pussy as a test bench. The results were exceptional. So exceptional that, when she decided to try it on herself, her shriek of surprise echoed throughout the ship.
In the end, both of them lay sprawled on the bed with their clitorises burning and swollen, while Yexi, between incoherent murmurs, begged me to add the same functions to her future robotic arm. I suppose my high-tech modification ended up being better than any vibrator in the galaxy.
...
It was a long, monotonous, and tense journey. Now, only 12 of the 14 who came to this ship are left.
One of our companions, like Tonks, was injured, but he didn't survive. He was a good soldier, knew his worth, but also understood that our resources were limited and didn't want to waste them on a dead man. So, he said nothing and, in the end, succumbed to his wounds in silence.
The other fallen was a coward. The pressure and fear of what we were going to do were too much for him. He couldn't bear it and ended up blowing his brains out.
My clones did an excellent job against the aliens. The part of the ship we needed intact remained that way, which was a victory in itself. Moreover, my xenological and Psionic studies yielded interesting results. I conducted several experiments and tests, and now I have a clearer idea of how to help Petunia. PSI power could be a viable alternative to magic, and since there are already previous studies on how to awaken this power in people with potential, I had half the work done. I just needed to resolve the issue of the side effects these methods might leave.
Anyway, I protected the ship long enough until we could finally see our destination: a planet. Or something like that. It wasn't very big, maybe the size of the Moon. It looked dark, very dark… but I don't think it was due to a lack of sunlight. From afar, you could see a sun, though a bit farther than what would be ideal for human life. The ship kept moving at a dangerous speed, something we felt throughout the journey. But the momentum wasn't perpetual, and without the ability to maintain it, we were moving only with what was left of our inertia.
Inside the ship, the captain and the remaining marines activated the engines. Just before it became too risky, we detached from the space station. It was a rough separation, but finally, we left behind the place where we had spent several months. We flew towards the planet at a controlled speed, while from the ship, we watched the station slowly approach the dark world… until it crashed.
It was almost artistic. The impact, the explosion, the tremor in the planet's crust… a visual spectacle as terrifying as it was fascinating. However, our luck wasn't great enough for the station to destroy the planet with its collision. So, it was up to us to finish the job.
On the ship, we carried one of the most powerful explosives we could get, capable of blowing up a small planet. We didn't know if this world would be too large for our bomb, but it was the best we had.
The course was set. According to the records we obtained, the planet was riddled with tunnels and caves, an underground labyrinth stretching for miles. Our mission—our final mission—was to descend as deep as possible and detonate the bomb in the core… with the risk of encountering the largest number of aliens we'd ever seen. And possibly many more varieties than we knew.
As we descended, everyone prepared, arming themselves to the teeth with more weapons than they could carry. The atmosphere inside the ship was dense. Some had expressions of utter despair, others of nervousness or determination.
The only ones who didn't seem affected were Tonks and me.
We just sighed in relief… because we were about to put an end to this.
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