Whether or not I had just died didn’t matter. It was time to go hurt Dearth. But first, I suspected, Dearth was going to hurt me, a lot.

I slipped on my silk pants and walked into Cube’s room. He was no longer on the raised platform, but it seemed that Axle had set up a receiver under his bed too. I looked around the room and saw several more, including one large pad near the door. Most of them were big enough to hold Cube several times over.

“Hey, what’s up, little buddy?” I said, reaching over to scratch Cube as he yawned awake.

The little block of metal surprised me by leaning up into the motion and purring. I smiled, leaning down to look at him up close.

Cube chose that moment to projectile vomit in my face. A stream of pure silver ejected from his gear-like teeth, splashing across my face and clothing.

“SICK!” Cube shouted. “FEEL SICK!”

I wiped at my face and backed off a step, staring at the little block as he began to rattle. Another splash of liquid metal vomit erupted from his mouth, and he began groaning at an escalating volume.

Molls appeared in the hatch behind me. “Is Cube okay?” she called down.

“No, somethings wrong, Molls. Stay back, it's not safe.” I yelled over my shoulder. My front was a mess of hot silver liquid, clinging to my clothing and dripping from my week old beard. I swiped more of it off and threw it on the floor in disgust, as Cube started making a new sound.

The groan began to burble, and suddenly cut out as liquid metal gushed from Cubes mouth. It arced straight up in the air and cascaded down in a fountain, covering Cube wholly. The volume of gushing liquid increased, and Cube’s bed quickly soaked through with it. Splashes landed on the windows, the walls, and even made it as far away as the doors. The vomit poured in a solid sheet of metal off the counter, pooling on the mud-crete floor as Molls gasped from behind me.

She’d come down the stairs. I backed up and held out my arm at her. “Stay back, I don’t know what he’s doing.”

The stream of silver vomit slowed, and the pools of liquid around the room started running backward. Even the material on my shirt and stuck in my stubble rolled free and ran back up the counter to Cube. As it flowed, it formed up around the little box and began growing corners.

A square of flowing liquid metal shaped itself on the counter, much larger than Cube had been. The flow of liquid slowed and eventually stopped, leaving a dingy silvery exterior that reflected the moonlight from outside.

“Cube?” I asked. “You okay, little guy?” All the lights Axle had installed in the room flickered and surged, before stabilizing.

The top of the box opened, and a familiar, but changed and deeper voice shouted, “CUBE FEEL BETTER NOW!”

I glanced between Cube and Molls and shook my head. “Keep an eye on him, please?”

Molls tied her robe tighter and pressed something in the sleeve. Her heating element glowed as it turned on, and she nodded at me. “At least he cleaned up his own mess,” she said.

I smiled at her and leaned back in for a quick kiss. “You’re the best, Molls. I’ll see you later.”

She smiled back but shook her head. “Go kick their ass, Tyson. We’ll be here when you come home. And you will come home.” Her face showed nothing but conviction, and faith. I nodded and left.

My first stop was at the storage barn. I needed more normal clothing. Couldn’t walk into Dearth’s main area wearing silk from dead delves. While rummaging, I found a set of basketball shorts and a matching undershirt, along with a new set of flip-flops. As I exited the storage barn, I walked into a group of people and aliens gathered around.

Lee had found me, and waited by a nearby truck, one arm casually draped around Suzanne. Rayna and Tollya stood in the parking lot nearby, both at their version of attention, staring directly at me. Axle and Jada were there too, seated on a nearby bench and quietly chatting. Phyllis hulked in the background, knelt down and talking to Doofus in a kind tone. Even Morbin was present, standing near the hobbs and pretending to look serious.

Lee approached first, with his wife in tow. “The arrangement is just us two. I’m expected to have you restrained,” he explained, rolling his neck uncomfortably. “Garthrust sent me a pod with a set of cuffs inside, supposed to be able to hold enhanced people like you.”

I nodded. Suzanne stepped in and hugged me without warning. I nodded and patted her back.

“Thank you for doing this,” she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. “You keep putting yourself in harm’s way for us.”

Lee put his arm around her waist and whispered in her ear. She nodded while holding her hands up to cover her mouth, as the tears flowed more freely.

“Don’t mind her,” he said, turning back to me. “You’ll be fine, and so will all of us.”

“Even the whiff of a deal has kept them off us all day,” I said, with a shrug. “But, as long as they have me, and don’t know where the MortBlock is, I want everyone here to be ready for anything. Even if they don’t attack, and things go our way, I’m going to need armed hobbs moving fast.”

Axle raised a claw. “We have a solid operations fund, and BlueCleave just bought their first additions to our humble fleet,” he finished by pointing to the front gate behind me. I turned and was confronted with the sight of several sizable vehicles.

They looked like a standard MRAP armored vehicle to my American-policed eyes, but the engine compartment was too short, and the body had very different doors. Several gullwing doors stood open, for rapid deployment or retrieval of troops. Each heavily-armored door lowered to cover a hardened area of the vehicle, providing comfortable protection for a single occupant. In total, each vehicle had room for fourteen. Two in the front operations cabin, and six along each side.

The center of the truck was dedicated to a long, thick barrel that rose from the middle of the chassis, showing a broad opening at the end.

Tollya stepped up beside me. “STRT M51A,” she growled out, great respect put into each syllable. “They not beautiful yet, but next time you see, you see.” Tollya stepped forward and stretched her arms out to form a square, crouching to see one section of a vehicle's cabin better.

“BlueCleave icon there,” she said. “Maybe some Dearth kill count icons on the side, beneath driver. Really let them know what coming.” The hobb was grinning as she turned back to me. “You see.”

I chuckled and nodded. “I’m looking forward to it, Tollya. And look, about Rayna and the suit,” I started.

She interrupted with, “when do I get mine?” and an eager stare.

“Soon,” I chuckled. “As soon as I can arrange it. You’re number two on my list, and Rayna was number one.”

A brief thought burned through my head, a battalion of armed hobbs, all wearing starfish suits, marching over the top of my enemies, and crushing BuyMort pods beneath their heels.

Rayna interrupted us both with a heavy sigh. “We talk, Tollya. Suit big deal. You should prepare.”

“Rayna,” I said, facing her fully. “I’m glad you’re okay. Keep everyone safe while I’m gone and be ready for my call.”

She nodded and saluted with a fist to her chest. “We coming to get you, if you gone too long. Phyllis coming to help you, so she bring one of these.” The hobb woman produced an ancient looking radio, roughly the size of a brick. “You tell us when to come, BlueCleave army all stay ready.”

“Morbin certainly ready,” my friend announced. He had the bottle of tequila, with only a hearty splash left at the bottom. The worm bounced against the glass as he shook it at me. “I save you a drink.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Very generous of you. I assume you would like to eat the worm?”

He nodded, vigorously. I stepped over and reached down, taking the bottle as he offered it. The liquor burned, and I was honestly glad to avoid the worm. I’d never gotten a taste for those.

Morbin happily guzzled the last of the amber liquid and immediately started chewing. “Hmm!” he grunted. “Chewier than Morbin expect. Not very nice tasting.” He flicked his head a couple of times and swallowed with an audible gulp. “Morbin time!” His long arms raised in a cheer.

I laughed and smiled at the odd little creature, who was rapidly becoming my friend. I knelt down and rested a hand on his undersized shoulder.

“Morbin, if I make it back, we’re gonna fix up that bar. I want to rename it too, I was thinking ‘Morbin’s Time,’ what do you think?”

He gaped up at me, eyes widening in terror. “What? No, it's Morbin time! Not Morbin’s time, that make me sound like prick. Like the fun all about Morbin, no, no Morbin hate that!”

Then he saw the wry smile on my face and started laughing. “You trick Morbin! Yes, okay, good name, I agree we rename bar after my slogan. ‘Morbin’s bar’ just lack creativity.”

“Hey!” Axle yelped. Jada laughed, and Tollya joined her.

I approached Doofus and Phyllis. The dog projected a set of buttons as I approached and pawed at one. “Stay,” his machine voice said.

“I can’t buddy. I have to go hunting, alone.” I crouched down and rubbed his ears the way he liked.

Doofus stared at me, then summoned his button again and pawed it. “Stay.”

I leaned in, and he draped his head around my shoulder with a whine. “I can’t, buddy,” I told him. “I have to do this.”

The collar lit up again when Doofus pulled out of our hug. He pawed at two buttons on the ground this time. “Hunt. Well,” his machine said. I nodded at the dog.

“I’ll come home, buddy, I promise,” I said.

Phyllis sniffed. Her mech had healed her even further throughout the day, and I could barely tell she had been burned so badly. Her hair was still gone entirely, so I tried not to stare at her bald head.

“Making promises you can’t keep, now?” the old lady asked. “They’ll tear you apart without me, you know that.”

“I do. But there’s a good chance I can get in front of the people directing all of this. If that happens, I’m gonna need you Phill,” I said, standing up to face her.

“Oh, I know, dearie, you’re simply helpless without me,” she said. “I’ve already set up a ticket with BuyMortMercMart, all you have to do is press yes, and I’ll zip over via pod in no time flat.”

A notification popped up, showing me the ticket she had crafted. I minimized it in my BuyMort interface for later, and smiled up at the old lady. “Got a joint for the road?” I asked.

Phyllis huffed, but pulled out her pack and shook one out for me. “This is Lemon Haze, don’t you go wasting it now,” she said, before tossing me the joint. I tipped my chin to her in thanks and slid the Lemon Haze behind my ear.

“Thanks, Phill. I’ll be calling for you soon, I hope. Be ready.” I smiled up at her.

“I’m always ready, Tyson, dearie. You know that,” she said, sparking her own new joint to smoke. “Unless I’m asleep.”

I looked at Lee, and he pointed to his wrist. It was time. Tollya approached as I stepped to the side, and I handed her my bag. “I left my weapons at home. If something happens, I want you to have them,” I muttered to her.

The hobb nodded at me, took the bag, and saluted again. I returned the gesture, before I turned away and got in the truck with Lee.

After he took a long moment to reassure his wife and say some goodbyes, Lee got in the driver’s seat of the truck and grunted as he started it. Black smoke chugged from the tailpipe, and the engine roared to life.

“We need a new fleet,” I sighed. I took out the joint and lit it, pulling a heavy cloud of smoke into my lungs. It had been days, and I missed Phyllis’ good weed. With what I was about to go through, I wanted to be sober about as much as I had wanted to crawl out of my nice warm snake-tangle earlier.

Lee’s mustache twitched. He ignored my statement, and my joint, and handed me a set of odd looking handcuffs. The center of them was thick metal, with a set of gears allowing movement at the wrist while not sacrificing any structural integrity.

They were serious cuffs, even the thin metal loop that extended or retracted from the center appeared solid, and the entire thing was far heavier than it should have been. Very dense material. I slid the cuffs on and put my hands in my lap.

“Those are supposed to hold you. I swept 'em for bugs, and there doesn't appear to be any. There was one in the box, which I have stored in a sound-proof safe in my office, so I feel comfortable speaking openly,” Lee said as he reversed out of his parking space.

We drove past the new BlueCleave APC and exited the main gates. I saw Hord on top of them, watching as we left. Before we could get out of sight, he held a salute toward our truck, along with the other hobbs on the wall.

I pressed against the restraints and felt the give in the gears at the center. They would break if I pulled hard enough. “They won’t,” I said. “Hold me, that is,” I added when Lee looked at me funny.

“Well, pretend long enough for me to get clear. This is supposed to be a straight hand-off. I leave you at a determined location, and once I’m clear and moving away, they fill my account with morties, then come get you,” he explained.

“How much you get?” I asked with a wry smile. I took a final puff from the joint and tossed it out the window. I could never smoke as much of those as Phyllis, and Darclaus ravens would clean up the litter anyway.

“As much as I could, two-hundred and fifty million. Every bit of it goes into the grow house if they actually pay up, lord knows we need the expansion with all those new hobbs,” he said.

I raised my cuffs and inspected them closer, looking at the weak points. “How do you feel about feeding even more?” I asked.

Lee’s eyes narrowed and his mustache twitched again. “More?” he asked.

“Yeah, the goal here is to take the Dearth Conglomerate Arizona board MortBlocks. We can’t tolerate these guys having so much power so close to us. If I can kill their leaders, I imagine a lot of the rank and file will just go along to get along. Especially if we have an army of hobbs,” I told him.

“You really think you can get this land away from them?” Lee asked.

I shrugged. “Only chance we have, we can’t keep waiting for them to move against us in force. So far we’ve just been an annoyance. I intend to make us a threat.”

The old man nodded. “You know that’s likely to upset the church and the rest of Dearth, I assume?”

I nodded, slowly. “Tomorrow’s problem. We keep growing, we can keep fighting, and everyone back there can keep living.”

We drove through the forest, unafraid of the yarsps. I knew they would be rebuilding for at least a couple of days before they could return in force. Selling the queen's eggs and killing her entire swarm had set back their growth, even with Tower nearby providing free meat for his pets.

Lee pulled over the truck and left the engine running as we entered the last stretch of paved road into Prescott. The city was replaced completely, a wall of shining black composite rising in the distance, flooding the night sky with lights from within. Behind it all the space elevator hung massive, a cable to the heavens.

“We’re getting close,” Lee said, raising an oversized taser. “I’m supposed to deliver you unconscious, so I’m hoping this does the trick.”

“Hold on,” I said, raising my hand. “Let me adjust the suit first.”

He nodded and I turned to the windshield. “Starfish suit,” I said. The cartoon appeared on the hood of the car, bent over to peer in at me.

“Hello user!” the cartoon exclaimed, waving a pudgy hand at me.

“Will an electric shock render me unconscious?” I asked.

“Yes! But I will immediately awaken you, user!” it explained.

“Can you pause that function for a single time?” I asked.

The cartoon starfish shrugged. “Sure, user. The next time you are shocked, I will not help you regain consciousness.”

“Okay, thank you,” I said. I turned back to Lee and nodded.

“You’re a good man, Tyson. Good hunting,” Lee said. Then he jammed the device into the side of my neck and sparks jolted through me. My entire body clenched for an instant, before blackness took me.