Chapter 200 - The Iron Sect II

*(mood song: "Jaymes Young - Infinity")

Meanwhile, in the hangar bay, the lights dimmed as Jennifer arrived, finding Jana and Antalya having a relaxed conversation.

Antalya: "Hmm the illumination dimmed?"

Jana: "Ah, that is-"

Jennifer: "Allow me to answer that"

Jana was relieved to see her teacher: "Of course teacher"

Jennifer: "Esteemed Elder-"

But Antalya interrupted her with a smile: "Call me Antalya"

Jennifer nodded: "Ejem Antalya, we are in the middle of a military operation, so the submarine is hiding"

Antalya got serious: "Military operation... do you require my assistance?"

Jennifer shook her head: "That won't be necessary, there are already soldiers and machines for that task"

Antalya: "Are you sure? even if I'm an engineer I'm also quite a good fighter"

Jennifer: "Yeah, we have many strong and reliable warriors now. I'm sure you have met the Fifth Elder right?"

Antalya: "Fifth elder... Erik that... human?"

Jennifer nodded: "Indeed, he's really strong and resourceful, and then there's Rose and her robot armies, and of course my sister Timberly, they will be alright!"

Antalya: "Is that so? I feel relieved then, my body isn't what it used to be either way haha... I've taken the route of the Dark Matriarch with no choice"

Jennifer: "The Dark Matriarch? Who is that?"

Antalya was surprised: "Oh dear, so your mothers never told you... The only one who ever challenged the empress, that was the Dark Matriarch, she believed we should all live in the wild and just hunt and eat everything, mutating without control, and her daughters and followers even ate each other, it was... madness"

Jana's face paled: "That... sounds terrifying" her voice quivering.

Antalya nodded: "That's why it's important to control what you eat by a shaper, the followers of the Dark Matriarch usually mutated in all manner of forms and ways, becoming different species and killing each other, no longer able to recognize themselves..."

Jennifer: "Did Jana tell you about the genepod?"

Antalya nodded: "Yes, I'm very interested in that technology though..." pointed at her own body "I assume my size will be a problem"

Jennifer nodded: "yeah, we will need to ask Rose to make you a giant pod here"

A voice sounded in the room.

Rose: *Okay, it should take an hour~*

Antalya felt a cold sweat on her back: "It's like a ghost..."

Jennifer shrugged: "You get used to it"

Meanwhile, everyone was waiting for the Golden Dawn group to appear as they should arrive in at most a couple of days according to Rose's calculations from the communications she intercepted from the hacked systems of the Golden Dawn secret laboratory.

In Timberly's room, Erik and Timberly launched powerful blows at each other as each avoided, counter-attacked, and grappled the other.

Timberly was completely used to having legs by now and a tail to swim too, so her martial arts were a bit different from Erik's as she adapted his teachings to her own body. But she could definitely feel it. She moved more efficiently and used her strength better, sending Erik flying almost as many times as he would crash her against the ground or against a wall by using her strength against her.

But she would turn invisible using the time it took Erik to activate his sight to get him into a chokehold, although it stopped working after the first try she kept coming up with creative attacks.

As Timberly tried to throw an uppercut while invisible she saw the room flip over as Erik had tripped her while twisting her body from her back, tripping her momentum.

Timberly heavily hit the floor as she became visible again, gasping for air.

Timberly: "Hah... hah... you... like an eel... how..."

Erik's eyes were glowing a faint blue: "Your footwork and posture" he had also trained to deal with the headache that came with using his electromagnetic sight, able to keep it activated while in combat.

Timberly was gasping for breath: "Cheating... hah... time out..." holding her stomach in pain.

Erik sighed as he stretched: "Fine, should probably train with Inky a bit too, make sure she ain't rusty"

Timberly closed her eyes relieved the training was finally over, as she lay naked on the floor and fell asleep.

Erik shook his head and grabbed a thick blanket and a pillow from a cabinet in the room, put the pillow under her head, and covered her body with the blanket. Both blanket and pillow reeked of sweat and other things, in fact, the entire room reeked, and the exercise didn't help with the smell, but he could only let her sleep for now, there was no need to tell an adult to clean their room anyway.

Erik smiled: "Sleep well goof head" leaving the room as he went to his room.

Erik: [Rose, where is Inky now?]

Rose: [Playing in your bathroom with the daughters and watching cartoons with them]

Erik frowned: [At this time? they were supposed to be watching the education videos i scheduled for them]

Rose: [Well, according to Inky it's better to have fun]

Erik: [What? Math and Physics don't have to be fun, but it's important knowledge to have... it was the daughters or Inky who decided to change channels?]

Rose: [Inky]

Erik: [Seems like she has a lot of free time, perfect~]

Erik entered the room and subtly turned off the television.

Maria: "Daddy we were watching that!"

Zoey: "We need to know if they find land or become stranded forever!"

Erik: "What you were even watching... The Boat? but this ain't even for kids, and it's super old..."

Elena: "B-but it was interesting... it has science too..."

Inky chuckled: "See? They were learning~"

Erik: "A particle accelerator creates a black hole that sucks up all the land mass of the planet turning Earth into a water world, that's fine until here but the story revolves around teenagers on a boat, how's this educational? they are too young for this"

Inky: "It has lots of layers of education-"

Erik clapped: "Okay girls, new homework, select a book you like from the database and read it, then make a report of what you liked about it and if there was anything to learn from that, time limit two weeks"

The daughters pouted a bit but soon got their tablets and looked for a book they liked, their brains were developing several times faster than a normal human child after all, so they could already read after following the teachings of the AI teacher on their tablets. As Erik recycled the programs designed to educate the children of human colonists.

Inky: "We were having fun..."

Erik shook his head: "Sigh, come with me if you are bored"

Inky's eyes lit up: "Do you wanna~ you know? wanna make more kids?" coming out of the bathtub.

Erik: "Heh, maybe if you are still in shape, we are gonna train your martial arts"

Inky instantly lost all her enthusiasm: "Weren't you training that muscle gorilla Timberly?"

Erik: "She's resting"

Inky: "...and you still have energy to spare?"

Erik smiled: "Wanna see for yourself~?" straightening his back as he crossed his arms under his chest, as his breasts bounced up from the motion.

Inky rolled her eyes: "I want to~, sigh, but I'm sure it won't be what I'm thinking. Fine, let me get my spear."

Erik pondered: "A spear... hm... a good martial art... Bo Staff techniques then, that should be useful for you"

Inky took a bone spear from under their bed.

Inky: "Sigh, let's go then"

Erik: "Didn't know you kept that there"

Inky rolled her eyes: "I need to be ready to defend my family at all times after all"

They went up to the recreation room, a corner of which was now a gym for the crew, as they would need plenty of space to use spear techniques while inside a submarine. 

Erik breathed deeply the clean air, way more satisfied with this area to exercise, a pity that Timberly preferred exercising in her room, not wanting others to see her being thrown around.

Erik grabbed two polymer-covered poles and threw one to Inky. 

Inky grabbed it confused: "Can't I just use my spear?"

Erik: "Try this first so we use the same weapon, you can adapt the techniques to your spear later"

Inky: "Hmmm fine" leaving her bone spear on the floor "What next?"

Erik: "We will start with the basics of Bo staff techniques"

Erik positioned himself in front of Inky, holding the Bo staff firmly in both hands. He stood in a relaxed stance, feet shoulder-width apart.

Erik: "First, the grip. Hold the staff with your hands about shoulder-width apart. Make sure you're not gripping too tight, you want control, but also flexibility."

Inky mimicked his stance, holding the staff with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Erik: "Good, now, let's work on Shomenuchi—an overhead strike." He raised the staff above his head, demonstrating the motion. "You strike straight down the middle, aiming for the opponent's head or centerline. Think of it like a sword cut, but focus on using your whole body, not just your arms."

He stepped forward with his right foot and brought the staff down in a powerful arc, the motion quick but controlled.

Inky followed, her movements a little stiff, but she quickly adjusted.

Inky: "I think I get it. It's not that hard~"

Erik nodded: "Let your hips guide the motion. The power of the strike comes from the movement of your whole body, not just the strength of your arms... now, we'll move on to Tsuki, the thrust."

He shifted into a lower stance and extended the staff forward with a precise jab, aiming at an imaginary opponent's midsection.

Erik: "This one is simple, but effective, just keep your arms close to your body when you thrust, and step forward for more power, and remember, the tip of the staff is your point of contact."

Inky followed, thrusting the staff forward with a bit more enthusiasm this time.

Inky: "Okay, this feels more natural, like a spear."

Erik smiled: "I knew it would~ now, let's combine the two. Strike, then thrust, you have to flow between both of the movements like water."

They practiced for a few minutes, Erik occasionally correcting her form.

Erik: "See? Isn't training fun?"

Inky grinned, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow: "Don't get cocky. I'll outlast you soon enough."

Erik chuckled: "That's the spirit, are you ready for more?"

Inky held the staff firmly and chuckled: "Always~ but when do I get to kick your ass?"

Erik shook his head with a smile: "First the basics no need to hurry, now we will move to grabs of the staff and how to release yourself, and also to moves to defend against strikes"

Erik adjusted his grip, holding the staff in a defensive stance. "Alright, let's talk about grabs. In real combat, someone might try to take your weapon, and you need to know how to defend against that."

He walked over to Inky, lightly gripping her staff near the middle. "Now, if I grab here, the goal is to twist your body, not just your arms. You want to break my hold using leverage, not force."

He demonstrated, rotating his hips as he pulled the staff free with a sharp, fluid motion. "See? You use the power of your whole body to escape the grab."

Inky gave a sly smile: "So, I can't just smack you in the face?"

Erik laughed: "That works too, but let's focus on the technique for now."

Inky mirrored his movement, twisting her hips and freeing her staff from his grip, her motion smoother than before.

Erik: "Good! now, let's move to defending against strikes. This is where your reflexes come in. If someone attacks with a strike—" He raised his staff to simulate a downward attack. "—you want to block using both hands on the staff, moving it in the path of the strike like this."

He demonstrated the block, absorbing the impact with both hands firmly gripping the staff.

Inky raised her own staff, blocking his next strike with confidence.

Inky: "Got it, and after I block?"

Erik stepped back, nodding approvingly: "After you block, you can counter, either with a thrust or another strike, it doesn't have to be a downward strike, it can come from the shoulders or from the side too. But the key is to stay fluid—don't let the enemy block or stop your momentum."

They practiced, moving fluidly between blocks and counters, the gym echoing with the sound of their staff's connecting.

Erik smiled: "You're picking this up fast, soon enough, I might actually have to watch my back."

Inky winked: "You better~ or next time, it won't be just a staff in my hands."

Erik chuckled: "I'm looking forward to it, I'm gonna check on Jennifer and Antalya, wanna come?"

Inky shook her head: "I'm gonna practice a bit more while I still have it fresh on my mind"

Erik was proud of her: "That's a good mindset, I'll send you all the exercises to your tablet later"

-- Submarine Pool Bay --

A huge container now occupied most of the room, as Antalya squeezed herself inside, and Jennifer connected oxygenation pumps to her neck, pumping oxygenated water directly into her breathing sacks. She then connected all other devices to track her vitals and connected the device, as a robotic arm took a sample of tissue, and the machine processed it. Jennifer then dropped a sample from herself on another tube on the machine.

The machine would then ignore all similar genes considering them good, and displaying just the rest.

Jennifer reviewed the resulting data but didn't quite understand what to do.

Jana: "Shouldn't we let Rose do it? or ask Erik or Sarah for help so-"

Jennifer: "I-its fine, I can figure this out!" she scrolled through the data "I've read about this, we just need to select the genes to substitute, it should be easy... but there are thousands..."

Erik then entered the room: "What's going on? did Rose make a huge gene editing pod?"

Jana was relieved: "Fifth Elder! indeed, we request your help to perform the gene editing of great elder Antalya"

Jennifer: "I almost had it, no need to-"

Erik: "Jennifer, the life of someone is at stake, nothing other than perfection is acceptable..." he saw her face crumple as a poisonous murky fluid started dripping from her eyes "It's fine to ask for help you know, you have nothing to prove"

Jennifer looked up at him, and then at Jana: "There's nothing more I can teach you" intending to storm off, but Erik stopped her.

Erik: "But I can teach you both"

Jennifer: "Aren't you usually busy?"

Erik smiled: "I'm good at multi-tasking, now let me show you how it's done" he sat in front of the control panel "You have already started the sequencing, you can filter even more if you add more samples" he placed a drop of his blood, and Jana's blood inside it "That didn't do much, but a hundred or so fewer genes to check at least. Now, you first select the auto filter option, and the machine will simulate what each gene does and filter out the most dangerous ones first"

Jennifer: "I knew the manual said something of an auto filter, then what next?"

Erik: "Well this will take some hours, after that, we just have to first go through the recommendations, the settings for the auto filter are also important, from more strict to less, we are starting with the medium setting. When it's over we will have to go over each of the hundreds of genes left to check and decide if we remove them or not based on the simulation, when you remove a gene the machine will tell you if it needs to be replaced and add genes from the provided samples to fill any gaps in the chain."

Jana: "incredible..."

Jennifer: "So that's how it was... should I call Timberly and the others for more samples?"

Erik: "No need for now, it won't change the workload much anyway, while we wait, let's talk about technology, do you both have any questions?"

Jana and Jennifer's faces lit up with enthusiasm: "Yes!"

-- Meanwhile back at the mountain base in the North --

Crabina was studying hard how to become the perfect elder sister, and she had requested Shana to guide her and become her disciple.

Shana was seated on a chair in the communal pool as dozens of kids sat around her, listening to her words.

Shana: "So kids, what do you think is the most important to keep a community standing?"

A kid stood up: "Tradition! My progenitors always say the same"

Shana nodded slightly: "Indeed it is important, though traditions can change over time, both for good or bad"

Another kid: "Family?"

Shana: "A good family is always there for you indeed, but even if we want to consider everyone a part of our family, rifts are bound to happen. We will always prioritize our own family other than the community, and not all families will educate their offspring on the same way."

Kid: "What is the correct answer then?"

Shana waved at everyone, and then at Crabina by her side.

Crabina stepped forward: "Education!" and stepped back again.

Shana nodded with a pleased smile: "Indeed, a common education and values to unite everyone as a community, what you are experiencing right now, and thanks to the Fifth Elder's technology educating large groups of children is much easier" she pointed at a warrior to the side "Now follow your science teacher to the classroom"

Warrior: "Alright kids follow me! today we shall learn the scientific method and some dissection, make sure to carry your tablets. At the second period, you have mapping classes with a virtual teacher"

As everyone left, Shana smiled and closed her eyes: "It's so wonderful that so many can survive, on the other hand..."

Crabina interrupted: "Food?"

Shana nodded: "Our race produces huge amounts of offspring to survive, but now that most easily survive... the population boom is enormous, every couple has produced at least twenty offspring each... we need to hunt leviathans again risking the lives of the tribe... or find a way to grow more food"

Crabina: "Why not asking Daddy?"

Shana nodded: "I tried but they are out of range, only Rose can be contacted, but her answers are vague like she isn't interested... sigh"

Crabina: "What did she say?"

Shana: "To check Erik's algae cultures..."

Crabina: "Oh, I heard Daddy talk about that..." She looked into her tablet and found the entry on Erik's logs "Yeah, algae reactors, using a modified strain of Chlorella algae, it's pressed into bars, pills, or powder... daddy had a pool with the machines I think"

Shana stood up: "Really? show them to me"

Crabina guided her to a room with an Olympic-sized swimming pool full of dense green algae, lots of bubbles, and lamps illuminating the pool. On the left of the room, machines constantly pumped the green water as clear water came on the other side. Pressed bars came out of a conveyor belt and were stacked inside containers by robotic arms.

Shana got closer and tasted one of the bars.

Shana: "Hmm not much flavor, but with this we can thicken any food or soup with much more biomass and nutrients! sigh... we will hold quite a while with this, what a relief"

A bot then entered the room: *Even then, I would recommend hunting something soon too, as the meat from the critters last time is about to run out other than the saved-up samples. Luckily my scans detect a migrating group of gulpers that you could hunt. I will even help with my new construction drone submarines armed with harpoon launchers and nets, and I even created new piloted vehicles.*

Shana was surprised, but by now she was used to Rose doing whatever she wanted and only when she wanted.

Shana: "Understood" She couldn't help but smile "It's been some time since we went on a hunt~"

Crabina cheered too: "The hunt~!"

-- Iron Sect Island Base --

It was a cloudy gloomy day as if it was about to rain any moment.

An old lizardman full of cybernetic upgrades walked down a stone path with a dozen other lizardmen of both genders following behind, his students. 

As they reached the harbor thousands of cyborg lizardmen saluted them as they walked by, some with barely any flesh remaining on their bodies. Their unblinking camera sensors constantly scanning the horizon from their bunkers.

The old lizardman reached the harbor and in front of him stood an enormous ship, more than six hundred meters long and the culmination of generations of work. He was proud of it and wanted nothing more than to get to work already, but first, he must follow the ancestral maintenance rituals.

They got on the boat and a lifeless lizardman stood in front of him, he cut his bloated belly, and they collected some oil and used it to maintain their mechanical parts, they could get rusty if not oiled daily.

One of his apprentices a lizardwoman then inquired: "Master Krei, should I inform you of the schedule for today?"

Krei nodded and she continued.

"Today you are appointed to check on the work on the main guns, as well as applying the maintenance rites to the engine. It should be ready to be tested in three months according to the team assigned to it. Finally, you have to carry out the rituals of connection to install new brains to the ship's control systems"

Master Krei spoke in a raspy machine voice through a speaker on his chest: "I see..." his multitude of robotic eyes twitching and focusing, seeing all spectrums of light "Let's start with the rituals of connection. Have the initiates been prepared?"

Another apprentice answered, this time a male: "Yes, Master Krei, they are honored to become a part of such a beautiful machine"

Master Krei nodded pleased: "As they should be"

They arrived at a room where twelve mummies were connected to a machine via cables on their heads, and twelve new lizardmen and women lay on beds nearby sedated and restrained.

Krei: "Were they members of the sect?"

Apprentice: "No master, they seem to be scouts from the Golden Dawn group, but we couldn't get them to say anything"

Krei waved his robotic hand dismissively: "No matter, after the connection ritual our minds will commune, they will hold no secrets to me"

They placed helmets and restraints on their heads as a drill perforated their heads, most woke up from shock, wanting to scream but no sounds would come out as their bodies had been slightly modified already, a tube on their chests now connecting them to a respiration system.

Then a probe was inserted into their brains as the holes were closed again. Master Krei then grabbed a cable from the ceiling and connected it to a port on his back. Their memories were displayed in front of him as he selectively erased them and inserted new memories related to their new tasks, copying them from the now old brain control systems that were about to die. But suddenly a memory caught his attention, of a strike team leading creatures to climb the cliff at the other side of the island to infiltrate their fortress monastery.

He instantly unplugged the cables and left the room in a hurry.

Krei was panicking, but his voice had no emotions: "ALARM! SOUND THE ALARM! THERE ARE INTRUDERS ON THE FORTRESS!"

Nearby soldiers sprang into action as an alarm started sounding on the ship, and soon after another from the island. But it was soon followed by an explosion from far away and gunfire.

*BOOOM!*

Master Krei could see the thermal image in the distance, something had exploded near their fortress.

Krei murmured to himself through his speaker: "Is it... too late... no... we still have the ship, it's ours!"

Krei shouted: "RAISE THE BRIDGES, AND POINT THE GUNS AT THE HARBOR, IF ANYTHING SUSPICIOUS APPEARS OPEN FIRE!"

His orders were quickly relayed as massive naval guns pointed at the harbor, the nearby cyborg soldiers pointing their guns to the path from the fortress, if the fortress defenses were broken then it was over for the Iron Sect, but Krei couldn't abandon the ship, it was more important than anything to him.

Master Krei: "No one will take this ship from us!"