Rifleman John Becker chewed bubblegum while watching Galroop the slime climb into the empty spaces between a set of gears. The chewy treat always did help him recover his nerves after getting shot at and nearly blown up numerous times. He really missed the old days, combat was so much more fair back then.

Galroop oozed out of the gear system and said "I can't move it at all. I can't even slow it down slightly. There's far too much torque."

The Rifleman said "Ya, I figured that but it was worth a shot. It's probably helping to move a hundred thousand ton section or something."

Galroop lit up with several multi colored lights as he spoke "It's probably for the best. We don't want to spark Xarkris' ire any more than what's already been done."

"Ya I heard about that. I swear if that Zackery Taylor kid fucks up an operation this huge then I will put in a formal request to never go on another one with him."

"Poor Kerink."

Becker took out the bubblegum from his mouth and put it in the small waste basket by his feet, then pressed his Mecha's intercom again to speak "Yeah, poor Kerink. I've been to see her since she was taken to the psychics. They told me that they'd already been forced to snip away several pieces of her consciousness. Never do I want something like that happening to me. I also talked to Kerink's sister, she visits daily."

"You would have to be a psychic to understand exactly what's being done. But the sound of it's just eerie. What will she even be like once she gets out of there?"

Becker said "Time will tell. Although I do hope she retains that proper 'fuck you' kinda attitude that I've known outa the best kinda soldiers."

Galroop said "Really? The militarys of my people always emphasize calm cold calculating thought and heavily discourage soldiers from giving into their base instincts."

Becker looked at the slime and said "I can't even imagine how the wars of slimes would play out."

"When two slimes like me fight to the death, it turns into a very complicated battle of absorption. But that's really just the barebones basics."

"I've been reading up on some of the endless archives provided by Akma. Beings that have nothing in common with either of us exist."

The slime said "And I'm sure the rules for their conflicts are as alien as ours are from each others. If not then more so."

The break they took to regain their willpower energy passed uneventfully.

When it was just about time to go, Becker asked "So what did it feel like to have your body twisting about within those gears?"

Galroop said "Normal. Why do you ask?"

"...no reason."

The battalion of eight hundred mismatched soldiers marched to a massive entryway that was set to open in five minutes, there they began to set a trap. First they placed an irreparably damaged mecha walker in the path that the androids would travel through and cut the fuel line. Green fuel forcefully sprayed out the pressurized tank, leaving a large pool one hundred feet in diameter and almost a foot deep. The androids had yet to encounter the slimes yet and it would provide the perfect place to hide for the amorphous beings.

The entryway opened to reveal an army of metal clad androids. Hundreds of gun turrets marched in unison, each mounted on dozens of legs. Thin razor sharp discs floated above each of them. The formation intimidated those who had faced down armies before. Only androids could achieve perfect discipline.

The forces of Xarkris analyzed the fuel on the ground. Then decided to march through it. Since the fuel needed a very specific reaction to ignite.

Akmadouric's army stood behind a brown barrier erected by the Tkiktch. White laser beams poured out from the androids and in retaliation the soldiers of Akmadouric's army fired back with exploding larvae, plasma drill cannons and other assorted nastiness that only very specific members could do.

When the slime trap would be sprung would be left up to the coordinator Luke T Ace, who seemed to have perfect timing.

After the battle was over, a scrap recovery drone came out of a seemless hole at the top of the cieling. It checked to see if there were any hostiles remaining then proceeded to drop down using a wire in very much the same way as a spider. Then it cut apart every piece of metal it could find using a small laser and tied them all together with an adhesive.

When it was finished it retreated back into the ceiling with a bundle of metal scrap. When it arrived at the factory, the metal would be used to create more androids. Restoring the consciousness of the fallen may be against the rules for both sides, but upgrading those who could still fight isn't.

Little did it know that a one centimeter long Tkiktch bug had attached itself to the underside of one the pieces of debris being taken. It's stink left a trail that could easily be followed by the any of the Tkiktch.

The dreaming consumer renamed Steve watched on and his mandibles twitched in satisfaction "We will soon know the location of their factories."

Some time later a strike team assembled. Consisting of Galroop, a few other slimes, a pyrokinesis rodent and a semi-intelligent Tkiktch bug that looked like a cockroach with eight antennae. The invasion force's smallest members. Galroop followed the Tkiktch cockroach down a twisting maze of one foot in diameter tunnels and the rest of the strike team followed him in single file. The slimes left residue wherever they went, both for illumination and to see where they had been before.

After several minutes of traversing the cramped tunnels, Galroop felt a slight vibration and a sense of foreboding struck him. Then the section they were in dropped and the angle of the tunnel became very steep. Galroop stuck himself to the walls and grabbed the bug ahead of zir. The other slimes did much the same.

The rodent said from far behind "Damnit there's been a shift" and Akma displayed a series of colored lights in translation, it was times like these that ze realized ze needed to purchase the hearing ability.

Galroop said "I know, and it's almost assured that our scent trail has been broken apart."

Another slime spoke up "Let's go back then."

Galroop agreed "Alright, I do believe that's the safest option for us."

The pyrokinesis rodent spoke up again "Instead of running away, we should split up and cover more ground. Or at least let me go solo. I can move way faster than you slimes."

"Everything we do is a gamble. I'm choosing the option that guarantees our lives. Besides, we can always follow another unbroken scent trail another time, although we will have to pick up the pace when we do it."

They made their way through the cramped tunnels, but soon it became apparent to the strike team that the way back had also changed.

The rodent said "Now we have no choice."

Reluctantly Galroop said "Agreed. We need to split up. What we map out will give the specialists more clues on how these tunnels configure themselves. But more importantly we need to get out of here before the next shift. We don't know what dangers could be inside this evolving network. Everyone, move as fast as you can."

The strike team split up and took different tunnels in a mad dash. Each taking a different path when they encountered a fork in the road. The pyrokinesis rodent flew down the tunnels, spewing flames behind him like a rocket, reaching a reckless speed that would break several bones if he made a mistake. The other slimes flowed down the tunnel. Galroop zirself kept the Tkiktch bug with him. There was still a chance that it could lead zir to the factory if it picked up the trail again.

Several minutes and twenty tunnels later, Galroop felt another vibration "Oh no, another shift."

The tunnel ze was in lurched wildly, and ze increased his stickiness as it began to rotate. Galroop wrapped zirself around the bug in order to provide it a cushion as the geforces pressed zir against the circular wall. Suddenly it's motion stopped completely and Galroop turned zirself from a gel into a liquid. Ze fell apart and spread out. Galroop had to take a moment to reorient zirself before ze could pull zirself back together.

Ze lay there for a several moments just trying to get zir senses in order. All the while the Tkiktch bug was frantically pulling zir away but Galroop stuck firm to it's leg, then ze realized that it had picked up the scent again. After puting zirself back together in a way that was familiar, ze let the bug drag his now frictionless body along the trail again.

As Galroop was dragged along, ze checked the status of the rest of the team to find that there was one casualty "That is the first time in the history of the my people that a slime has ever been crushed." The dead slime had been caught in a square tunnel during the shift and both exits had closed off. Then several tons came down on zir. There was no escape since the cracks were only a molecule wide, much too small for zir to escape. Galroop had never encountered such craftsmanship before, all the pieces that made up this mechanical planet fit together perfectly.

When Galroop saw light ahead, ze surrounded and smothered the Tkiktch bug so it's frantic desire to mate didn't alert the androids. Ze checked the positions of the other strike team members and waited for them to catch up. When they were close enough Galroop oozed into an enourmous factory room. Mimicking the gray steel color that was everywhere.

Innumerable androids were busy at work, cutting apart scrap metal and constructing various sophisticated looking components. Most of the androids were pods with spindly legs lightly walked while sorting various base materials. Others mended various pieces together or attached themselves to hardware in order to programm software for whatever function it was meant for. Rows of regular combat androids came in to receive various All in all it was a very busy scene.

At the center of the room was a monolithic android that stood over a hundred feet tall. It's armor looked thick and bulky to the point of absurdity. Supporting it's massive weight were numerous anti-gravity pads and cylindrical legs. Weapons of every kind covered it from top to bottom. From defensive point defense lasers to missile pods and even a few giant void deconstructors.

A jet of flame erupted from a tunnel above and Galroop looked up to see the pyrokinesis rodent riding at it's head without any regards to stealth at all. Alerting the entire room to his presence. A mad look appeared on the flame-wielding rodents face as he dropped and carried all the column of flames behind him.

Galroop watched as the miniature androids melted in droves and said "Why must all pyrokinesis users be slightly unhinged?" then ze slid down the wall. The rodent made a wonderful flaming mess of the everything within the factory room until the combat androids vaporized him with their lasers. But Galroop decided to use the distraction wisely by slipping inside the monolithic android in the center of the room.

Ze knew that with his current chemical reserves that ze could turn zir amorphous body into a powerful acid for about ten seconds. But there was no reason to use it at this precise moment. Better to wait until a critical moment during battle.