“I don’t care! You worthless woman! I want the fucking pan back!” I groaned in complete horror at the fifth ‘hearing’ if you could call it that. My people were more alive than I initially thought.

This included the fact that idiotic couples got into fights and split up because of their poor, lust filled, choices. This current case involved two of my laborers. The woman in question, I didn’t bother remembering her name, had filed for their divorce because the husband had a, I looked down at the bloody file again, wondering dick while she was busy helping build homes.

The man’s problem was she didn’t spread her legs enough. I allowed him to build up more while the poor woman looked more and more embarrassed and upset before I cut in and chopped the morons legs out from under him, so to speak.

“No,” I said, “You will not be getting a single item that is not registered as yours. If you don’t like it, then you can curb your wondering lusts in the future you dumb fuck.” I groaned inwardly, fucking people and their petty idiocy. The only good thing that came out of this was the vain hope the woman would pick a better man in the future, though sadly that was seldom the case. They always went back to the dick-bags.

I looked toward my ‘guardian’ Trenton about an hour after that last petition, case, whatever and silently cursed him as well. Mostly because of what I was now dealing with. The big man stared straight ahead and angled his head to avoid the...frightening looks of the multitude of women that had piled into my little area. Six in total, six fucking women that had been promised things by my head guard regarding relationships.

I counted to ten, very slowly, while ignoring the screeching women that demanded something is done. One got creative and requested his balls on a plate. Seeing Trenton flinch was enough for me there. “It will be dealt with, for now you will be paid for any and all complications this may have incurred.”

When they had filed out, still pissed, I turned toward him with a brow raised. I wanted a fucking answer. My posture must have told him that because he started speaking in his deep and gravel-filled voice.

“Sorry, sir. They were all just so pretty though.” Oh dear lord, he was a fucking horn-dog. I had Fernando, my General on high (glorified pretty boy that seemed to avoid women,) Duke, my fleet admiral (the old southern boy,) the list really does go on but now I had the captain of my fucking guard who couldn’t keep it in his pants.

“Seriously man? I don’t care if they’re ‘pretty’ keep it in your pants or at least be upfront with them, good God!” The big man didn’t have his visor up, but from the way he was slumping I believed, I got my point across. “Yes, sir!” was his answer.

Rolling my eyes a bit we went on down the seemingly endless list of people that needed someone to act as a ‘judge’ for them. I did my best not to run away, the image of Green hunting me down in all her wrathful, soul-sucking, fury kept me firmly where I was until we finished for the day though.

A final stamp to approve a second Barracks being built closer to the wall for those stationed there and my day was finally done. I pushed back, my wheelchair rolling a bit from the action and let loose a long sigh of relief.

The urge to throw my hands up and scream ‘freedom’ at the top of my lungs was nearly overwhelming.

The only thing that genuinely prevented that was my growing sense of propriety, or whatever it was, responsibility in front of my people? Didn’t matter all that much in the end. I turned toward Trenton and had him leave. Shooting a comment about keeping it in his pants as he left I spent a little bit of time playing with Leo while I had some alone time.

It let me think, go over everything I could think of about the last day or so. They were beginning to blur as this ‘game’ slowly became reality within my mind. The odd message and the status pages were annoying, but I was getting better at ignoring them unless I had to pay attention. The times I had to the System itself seemed to take control and force the matter.

I wasn’t sure if the fucking thing was going off of my personality, some unspoken desire I had stated or simply adapted to whatever user that was added into the games on its own. The fact that even the infinitesimally small amount of it was enough to have an active conversation with it if I wished made me cold with fear at the prospect of the aliens that took Earth having vast amounts of it, or what amount whoever was above them held.

Shaking that depressing thought from my mind, I went back to focusing on Leo. The little guy was such a ball of wonder and joy that I almost forgot I was in a fucked up game designed to kill me.

I had questions, of course, things along the lines of exactly what the real purpose of this shit was. I know it said it was for their amusement in the beginning but it didn’t make much sense, not anyway.

I mean, being of such power merely wanting to slaughter millions for a quick laugh? It couldn’t be that simple, right? All the deaths before the games and no doubt after had to be for a reason; they just had to be.

I went along that little existential crisis for a moment before letting out another sigh, then a yelp when Leo bit me. I wasn’t paying proper attention to the little spazoid. I chucked and rolled him on his back. He kicked his legs and wiggled his little body while making cute little growls and barks as he tried to right himself. I, of course, denied him this and launched a cuddle attack the likes of which he has never known!

When I finished that, and he moved toward running in circles around me on the ground I thought about what I would do now. I needed to prepare everyone for the coming war, badly. If that minor increase to enemy power during the siege was anything to go by the game was still limited resources that the enemy could, or should, have for some reason. I couldn’t even begin to think about what that reason would be, but I knew it wouldn’t last.

At some point, all those vast resources and numbers would be brought to bear, and they would either roll over us or smash into a defensive wall of preparation. I’d prefer the second option in truth.

I had taken Swann from the Battlecruisers for just that reason. It was time for the Siege Tanks and the Predators to begin making a real appearance. He had done enough work for the Battlecruisers to dock in Orion's bays without too many issues and Duke had the training of new people well in hand.

Forced conscription throughout our conquered settlements was also in full effect now. Fernando’s idea, we needed numbers. If we got enough with my current equipment, I could field a reasonably dangerous force. Adding my Heroes, Swann, Fernando, Green, and Nova would only improve that further with their odd little passive boosts to everything. Caspian also had a little something for me.

I was honestly looking forward to that though. He said he finally had some armor for me and had a replacement for the rifle I lost in the last mission. I smiled a bit, thinking about what it would be and how it would look. I had been using the stock Marine armor for a while now.

Don’t get me wrong, it worked just as well as anything to keep me from becoming ‘hole-e,’ but I wanted to have something singularly unique to me. I was selfish like that.

Another hour into whoopin some fuzzy little puppy butt in a game of tug-o-war, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it, the little guy finally yawned and jumped up onto my bunk before turning in a circle and falling asleep.

I smiled at him, Leo did do a lot to ease my issues. I hated the fucker that caused all this, but the puppy is something from him I couldn’t hate.

Sadly all good things must come to an end, and I was promptly removed from my happy seclusion by an irate looking Green. The focus of her ire? Me, naturally. I am unsure what happened in the following few minutes, but I knew it was because I was not being a good little patient and sitting in my wheelchair, but instead was running around my quarters playing with Leo.

When she finally ran out of breath, and my body stopped trying to shut itself down, I sheepishly got into the rolling chair of doom, as I have now dubbed it, and smiled at her as innocently as possible. “Lead on, Dr. Green!”

The fact she smacked me upside my head while grumbling about idiotic patients and their desire to only further their injuries by refusing to follow the orders of their primary caregiver. I personally felt she was being unfair, told her as much. The glare I received shut me up. I needed to remember that pissing off a doctor was never a good idea. You don’t piss off someone that knows that much about the inner workings of your body. The fact she was a woman only made it more desirable to avoid it when able.

When she finally ran out of breath, I snuck in a question, hoping to distract her a bit and gain some more information. “Any news about Nova?” I couldn’t keep the slight desperation for something good out of my voice.

Sighing, Green shook her head a bit. “Not yet, Damian. She’s perfectly healthy from a physical standpoint. Whatever injuries she suffered mentally are behind my ability to manage though. I’ve requested a few of the Ghosts to come in and assist, being adept in the intricacies of the mind. I have a surprisingly large number of Ghosts currently in my building, poking around everywhere, and all but wrestling to help their instructor. It’s cute, in a way, Pierce and Stone have taken to standing outside the room while cloaked and scaring the hell out of my staff by seemingly popping into existence beside them and almost strip searching them.”

She paused, smiling a bit. “I think a few of my nurses have actively been trying to have just that happen. They are rather handsome after all.”

I was thankful for the information but was wondering if she had more than the standard two lungs because that woman could fucking talk. Shaking my head a bit, I had her bring me to Caspians ‘domain’ as a few of the Marines guarding it have begun calling the place.

Apparently, the anti-social little man refused anyone, but Swann entry and the few Marines that had tried were sent to Swann to have their armor removed forcibly. Somehow the little guy managed to weld the armor closed. So much so that the actual removal arms couldn’t fix the issue.

Rolling me into the quarters, I had to agree with it being a ‘domain.’ The damn place had been turned into a mess of mechanical parts and paper. Blinking a bit, not realizing that Green was also shocked into silence, I called out for the man.

“Caspian? Where are you! Cas- Fuck!!!” I shouted in surprise when a pile I had mistaken for a shit ton of paper moved and turned into a bleary-eyed and confused Caspian. Thankfully he did not see me try to draw a weapon and shoot him. Green did, and the light cough she gave had me relax as much as I could.

Promising myself, I would give her something, cookies. I don’t know; I snapped my fingers to get the half-asleep mans attention. “Caspian, it’s Damian. I’m here for the project I had you working on.”

He stared at me in incomprehension before it slowly dawned on him that someone, two someones, were in his domain. I watched his eyes widen, a glance from me in my wheelchair glory, then to Green who had a brow raised and watched his face suddenly flush a bright red. That was interesting, did he have a crush on our local Demon...our good doctor? File that one away for later.

I allowed him a few moments to get his bearings before repeating his name. He started nodding his head like mad and talking far too quickly. “Y-y-y-yes, i-it’s over h-here.” I wasn’t sure how he didn’t bite his tongue with that, but it was what it was.

He led us deeper into the mess that was his domain and revealed the single clear space in the entire area and what I saw on a metal rack was the single most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

It was a purple so dark it seemed more black than anything with golden lines trailing their way in little swirling patterns I related to runic circles. The armor itself was slimmer than the standard Marine armor as well, looking more like the Ghosts but without the tight spandex appearance. This was an entirely streamlines full bodied suit of armor. The left should even seemed to be modeled after a bears head while the left appeared more lupine in nature. The helmet seemed almost unobtrusive compared to the rest of the armor, in fact, I was a bit let down by the little visor like circlet that was the helmet.

Seeing my look, Caspian quickly moved forward and clicked something on the right side of the circlet, and the fucking thing changed. It flowed into a full blown helmet, the sides flaring out like a lion's mane while the face plate was distinctly feline in appearance.

Blinking a bit, I stared at the regal leonine helmet before actively looking at the little box that popped up in my vision when checking out items.

Chimera’s Hold

Specialized Ghost armor - Unique

Usable by Damian Fern alone

Armor: 50

Resistance: 35

Abilities - Cloak, Energy Field, Detection (All spectrums), Deployable Defense Drone.

Description - A unique armor formed out of specialized materials while incorporating the versatility of Ghost armor and the protection of a Marines armor. Capable of maximum usage during infiltration missions and head to head firefights

I couldn’t even begin, how the fuck had he made this? I looked over at him, and for the first time I saw a shit-eating grin on his face, and then he showed me something else. It was a shield. Smaller than the type my Imperial Guard and Marines used. It looked more like a kite shield and seemed to have sharp edges along the sides. My House Symbol was emblazoned on the front.

Chimera’s Bulwark

Specialized Ghost Shield

Usable by Damian Fern alone

Armor: 30

Resistance: 30

Abilities - Extendable Arm Blade

Description - A shield designed for use by Ghosts, lighter than standard shields it is no less durable. Specialized materials used in its creation allows it to extend into a melee weapon and cloak.

I was about to jump out of my chair and jump for joy. Both items were terrific beyond belief. In fact, the only thing keeping me from doing so was the sudden firm grip of both of Green hands and the devilish glare she leveled on me. Apparently, Caspian wasn’t done though. Because he pulled out the single most beautiful weapon, I had ever seen almost immediately after.

Chimera’s Tail

Specialized Gauss Cannon

Usable by Damian Fern alone.

Attack: 90

Pierce: 50

Range: seven miles

Abilities - Snipe, Zoom, Burst Shot, Stun Shot, Poison Shot, Maximized Stability, Psionic Channeling

Description - A specialized Gauss Cannon. It has been modified for Ghost usage. This has led to a decrease in size while maximizing firepower. Limited to one shot at a time. All rounds fired from this weapon have extreme piercing capabilities. Capable of infusing the wielders Psionic Power into each round fired.

The tears were flowing now. I was naming the beauty Clementine. I tore my eyes from the beautiful things arrayed before me and looked Caspian straight in the eye, making him uncomfortable, and said one sentence. “I. Fucking. Love. You.”