Chapter 178 - Ancestors Retribution

*(mood song: "Nine Lashes - Anthem Of The Lonely")

A lizardman small fishing fleet sailed calmly over the ocean, the kids and adults both enjoying the day, when... the alarm was given the lookout rung the bell.

Lookout: "leviathan incoming! everyone to position!"

Everyone's faces got serious, leviathan's were too strong for them, so they shot a flare asking for help. Their leader knew it was no use though the monster was moving too fast.

Leader: "get the young and elderly inside! We shall fight to the death!"

Lookout: "w-wait a... IT HAS NO FACE, IT'S A METAL BOAT!"

Leader: "impossible! no boat can cross the horizon that fast..." the metallic monster was dangerously close now "TO THE DEATH!!!" the other lizardmen echoed but... the metallic monster just flew by, like a stone bouncing on the surface of the water.

The lizardmen were relieved as the metallic beast went away to the horizon.

Leader: "sigh... seems like we will live to see another day... huh? do you guys hear that?"

A whistling sound quickly closed in followed by an almost instant explosion that tore the entire boat to bits.

-- Inside the submarine --

Erik: "good shot, but isn't it a bit of a waste? we could just ram them, at this speed they wouldn't be able to do anything anyway"

Rose: "heh, we can't stop to kill every rat we see, and ramming them would damage the submarine, this is just the most efficient method..."

Erik: "hmmm well microcracks in the material accumulate I suppose..."

Amanda: "Indeed they do, the hull's integrity is decreasing, and as we bounce on the water the entire submarine bends up and down, all this sagging will deform the entire hull and inside piping, I've already redirected life support to the minimum as most pipes are cracking, the repair nanobots are working overtime-"

Rose: "it's fine... I made this submarine, and if need be I can make a better and bigger one now"

Amanda: "b-but... without it we will be left stranded..."

Rose: "it's fine, we left them far behind, but the bot army will eventually catch up, no need to worry, now that the facility is partially restored at least, we won't lack transportation, we just won't be able to submerge for a while"

Erik: "oh? did it affect the pumps?"

Rose: "haha... everything, it affected everything, but... I'm keeping a close eye on every system, so don't worry"

Erik: "okay, also..." he turned to Amanda "can you change your face a bit?"

Amanda: "my face? why?"

Erik: "well, you look like Sarah, I don't want her to freak out when she sees you..."

Amanda looked around at the octopeople, Timberly drinking an entire barrel of smoothie, while Inky chewed on an arm, Rose and her metallic glowing body chuckling to herself every time any lizardmen died, or Erik that wasn't similar to his past form at all: "...I believe my face will be... the least of her worries, but I shall randomize it more if that makes you feel better"

Erik: "thanks"

Any boats or small settlements they spotted would have their days counted, as high caliber railgun rounds tore them to shreds, the planet itself wanted them dead, and there was no place for mercy, only bloodshed, and utter extermination followed their path.

No matter how many reinforcements came their way, the submarine could produce and machine its own metal rod ammunition, hoping for them to run out of ammo was a futile thought, as for energy, thanks to the electric sea slugs the bioreactor could produce any extra energy needed.

-- Back at the Lizardmen floating fort city --

Sarah had been dragged around through multiple rusted corridors and tight spaces, having to make the holes faster or go around living areas from time to time, she had been walking all day and was exhausted, the rancid heavy air also didn't help, as her lungs hurt from the strenuous effort.

Sarah: "Are we... hah.. hah.. are we there yet...?"

Erbkag and the other kids grabbed her hands as they dragged the exhausted Sarah.

Erbkag: "we are almost there, the old man should be waiting"

Sarah: "the old man? your caretaker?"

Erbkag nodded: "yeah, the old man gives us food and a place to sleep, I'm sure he will help you"

Sarah: "...what's his name?"

Kringib: " we just call him old man, but... his name was Dratkan... I think"

Sarah: "you aren't sure?"

Kringib shrugged: "we always call him old man, he used to be important or something like that so he has quite a bit of money, but he doesn't like talking about the past, he gets too sad"

Sarah: "I see..."

They came out on a sewer pipe entrance onto an alley between two scrap metal buildings, artificial lights shone on the ceiling, and lifeless lizardmen dragged themselves around the streets.

Sarah: "where is this?"

Kringib: "this is the workforce city, all weapons, clothes etcetera..., it all happens here, all the artisans live here"

Sarah: "shouldn't they be rich then? why are they looking lifeless and poor?"

The kids were confused.

Kringib: "poor...? they have clothes, food to wear, and a place to sleep, they are rich!"

Sarah wasn't convinced, but let it go: "I see... let's go then..."

Rose: [don't touch anything, I feel sickness in a lot of them]

Sarah: [Rose... why are they so poor?]

Rose: [you could just ask them, but if I had to guess, their bosses don't live in this dump]

Sarah: [It's so unfair...]

Rose: [Earth is the same isn't it? not everyone can live on land or on floating cities, according to Erik's memories most people just do anything for money, barely keeping alive by selling scrap from the bottom of the ocean...]

Sarah: [that is different, they didn't put the effort to study and overcome their limits]

Rose: [some have an easier start... your family is wealthy and supported you in your education right? some can't do that]

Sarah: [hmph, you can't know something like that just from conjectures, all of us in the space program have a similar origin anyway]

Rose: [hehe... are you sure? so Erik's family was wealthy too?]

Sarah raised a brow: [well... he never told me otherwise]

Rose: [Well Erik's older brother had mental problems... expensive and violent mental problems, and not just him, Antonio was just a scraper from the surface world that started as an orphan scraper, took him a long time to get there]

Sarah: [I didn't know that... but how do you know?]

Rose: [Well Erik is quite sociable and good at getting people to talk, as for Erik himself... maybe he didn't want you to see him like that?]

Sarah: [hmmm maybe-] a lizardman little girl pulled her hand suddenly.

little girl: "are you okay? you look sad ancestor"

Sarah: " ah sorry, I was just thinking..."

The kids then stopped in front of a somewhat decent house, made of clean steel and with metallic carved bone decorations on the outside.

Erbkag turned around as he knocked on the door: "this is the place ancestor"

Heavy steps were then heard as a raspy voice came from the other side of the door.

"Who is it?"

Kringib: "it's us grandpa!"

The door then creaked open as a huge but thin old lizardman opened the door.

Dratkan: "where did you guys go? I was looking-" he then noticed Sarah that was still wearing the translation helmet "who... what?"

Sarah: "A pleasure to meet you Mr. Dratkan, my name is Sarah"

Dratkan: "hoh... now this will be an interesting talk... come in, come in"

Everyone entered the old man's house, the interior was spacious and furnitured, and artificial red light illuminated the interior, flickering from time to time, while a smell of mold and dust engulfed the room. Lots of decorations littered the walls while finely carved furniture decorated the rest, from desiccated animals, to paintings and vases made of carved bones, though there were clear signs of missing decorations as the dust was thinner in those areas, as well as the paint looking newer.

The old man pointed to a sofa in the living room and they all sat down, there were two long sofas one in front of the other, both padded and covered in a elastic silver leather. Sarah sat down comfortably for the first time in a while, if the air didn't smell so bad she might even have been able to relax.

Dratkan: "so... Sarah... can you tell me your circumstances?"

Sarah nodded: "I could but... would you believe it?"

Dratkan chuckled: "kukuku... I certainly don't know everything, but our family secret records have knowledge the general public can't access..."

Sarah: "so I came from Space on a spaceship, you know what that is?"

Dratkan's eyes dilated and he took out a hollow carved bone smoking pipe, and after adding some dried algae leaves light it up, taking a big inhale: "...so the day came after all... are you an ancestor then?"

Sarah: "...I crashed here by accident"

Dratkan: "I see... so the ancestors aren't even looking for us anymore... anything you would like to know?"

Sarah: "yes... first, what's the state of this city? why are the artisans here poor?"

Dratkan first looked at the kids: "we are gonna have adult conversations, please go upstairs kids" the kids nodded and went away "...well that one is easy, their masters can afford to live on the surface, but they can't, here artisans are organized on families, from the moment you are born you will inherit your parent's position, including... servitude to the same master, only if the merits are a lot and your master wills it would a family be able to live on the surface"

Sarah: "so you can't go to the surface?"

Dratkan: "haha... of course we can, how would we eat then?, we just have to exit to the North port, the rest belong to the surface inhabitants"

Sarah: "I see... then..." she looked around "are you rich? your house looks way better than the others..."

Dratkan became somber: "I... I used to live on the surface with my family, my... wife, young daughter, and... my older son..."

Sarah: "...did something happen?"

Dratkan gritted his teeth: "my son's greed happened..."

Sarah was confused but also intrigued: "your son?"

Dratkan took another big inhale of smoke and looked on sadly at the fire in the pipe: "yes, my son... he... he took everything I had... I made sure he never suffered any hardships, we had him on the surface and he always had the best of the best... but as he grew older he wanted more and more, and even despised those living on the lower floors despite his parents being from there... he wasted money left and right... sigh...." another puff of smoke " and soon his hefty allowance wasn't enough, he stole things around the house to gamble, his mother's jewelry, his sister's toys... nothing was too much for him... nothing..., we both spoiled him too much, no matter how many times he got into fights or lost gambles we kept paying his debts but... alas..."

Sarah: "so... what happened to your wife and daughter?"

Dratkan: "...as I was saying... my son spent much more than he really had, and that soon meant spending money borrowed from others, so one day he came back covered in wounds and we healed him, but..." the old man's fists tensed "the moment he woke up... he kidnapped his younger sister and sold her to a brothel... his mother couldn't take it and was beaten and raped to death when she went to get her back..."

Sarah: "...and your son? is he still alive?"

Dratkan: "no... he isn't... I made sure of that... that beast... I couldn't take it anymore" he pointed to a lizardman skull hung on the wall "so I gutted him like the beast he was.."

Sarah: "oh... I see... that must have been hard..."

Dratkan: "to be honest his mother.. was the only one stopping me from beating him half dead... he always used her to get his way, to get more and more... and this is the result..."

Sarah: "and why don't you live on the surface?"

Dratkan: "heh... even if my son died... debts are eternal, I had to sell my surface house and title to pay them all, luckily I could still move our things back here with the remaining money"

Sarah: "so... you are rich?"

Dratkan shrugged: "am I? I don't work anymore, I just sell one thing or another from time to time to have money to eat, all these things have no meaning for me anymore..."

Sarah pointed up at the ceiling: "what about the kids?"

Dratkan inhaled the smoke deeply: "that... they are the very reason I'm still alive... after I moved back here all alone I... started drinking and wasting away, but I saw one of the kids being beaten up for stealing food one day and I just clicked, there are many injustices in the world as it is so... if I could at least manage to solve those in front of me... there would still be meaning in my life..."

Sarah shed some tears: "that's... quite moving"

Dratkan: "most tragedies are, now... I think it's your turn, what do you expect to achieve on this world?"

Sarah: "well I would like to escape and get another spaceship"

Dratkan: "another spaceship? haha... well maybe the pope would have one, but I doubt he would give it up even if he did"

Rose: [ask him about that pope]

Sarah: "the pope? who is that? and why would he have a spaceship?"

Dratkan: "the pope is the strongest lizardman on the planet that lives in the sacred city, he accumulates most of the recovered relics from the ancestors, so if someone had a spaceship... then that would be him"

Rose: [hah! I don't need their relics and scrap parts, I will build a spaceship myself when the resources are available and the moment is right, you just need to get to the port area and we will rescue you]

Sarah: "I see... first I would need to escape to the port and get a boat though..."

Dratkan: "that... I can help you with, but... on one condition"

Sarah lifted an eyebrow: "what is it?"

Dratkan pointed up: "that you take the kids with you"

Sarah: "that, I'm not sure I-"

Rose suddenly interrupted her with a cold tone: [just say yes]

Sarah: [are you sure it's okay?]

Rose: [yeah, they are small, what could they do anyway haha~]

Sarah didn't like Rose's tone but she didn't give it more thought and nodded: "I can do that"

Dratkan: "good" and stood up "then follow me, I have some relics that could be useful, I might be a bag of bones, but I will help you get those kids out"

Sarah stood up: "okay"

Dratkan then went to the stairs to the upper floor and lifted up some of the carved bone boards, underneath a multitude of objects were covered in leather. Dratkan dragged out two big ones that turned to be coffers when he lifted the cloths, and opened both. The first coffer contained a slightly rusty powerarmor with an angular design and slightly cracked helmet visor, and the other one what seemed to be a highly decorated huge railgun.

Dratkan: "these should be useful for our escape..."

Sarah: "aren't you coming too?"

Dratkan shook his head: "I am, but you guys will need someone to distract the guards while you steal a boat to escape, I don't plan on escaping alive..."

Sarah nodded somberly: "...When do we leave?"

Dratkan: "At dawn, rest for some hours, I need to get ready and talk to the kids" and went up.

Sarah: [ when will you guys arrive?]

Rose: [hmmm we will try to be there a bit past dawn...]

Sarah: [good, I'm counting on you...]

Rose: [...? anything else?]

Sarah: [can we... take that old man to?]

Rose: [no, I won't]

Sarah: [I see... Rose, you can't blame an entire race for their ancestor's mistake, that would be like a caveman clobbing an alien and humanity getting extermined as revenge nowadays...]

Rose: [don't be mistaken, for me they are just like a plague, like mites crawling all over my body..., this ain't a massacre, but a pest control...]

-- Back at the submarine --

Rose sighed "really..."

Erik: "hm? what is it?"

Rose: "we need to go faster..."

Erik: "...is Sarah in danger?"

Rose: "yeah, but she's also getting stupid ideas..."

Erik: "stupid ideas?"

Rose scoffed: "she wants to rescue some lizardmen, you give a hand and they take the arm"

Erik: "well, she doesn't know what you went through and what that would mean to you..."

Rose: "I allowed her to bring some orphans as they would make good research materials, but to bring adult ones... no way"

Erik: "she will understand, don't worry... you are the planet itself, your will... is the greater good!"

Rose: "...what a smoothie you are... yeah, we'll see then"

Erik: "well... if you ask me, you are the closest thing to a god I have ever seen, to defile such a being calls for proper retribution... but how will we even go faster at this point? we can't reduce weight, as that would be suicide..."

Rose: "...bubbles, if we redirect life support and redirect microbubbles to exit around the hull that will reduce friction with the water and increase acceleration"

Erik: "...that's a good idea, hope water doesn't end up seeping through though, there's a funny story from long ago on Earth of a submarine that sunk due to a toilet malfunction"

Rose shook her head: "that's cause it was designed by humans, not me so don't worry, go check on the weapon systems and the ductility of the piping systems if you are free"

Erik sighed: "sure thing"

Rose was connected to every system on the submarine, and with a thought, the submarine's internal structure started to change thanks to the nanobots. As Erik left, she looked at the black surface of the ocean at night through the cameras of the submarine, her mind getting lost in the horizon as she muttered.

Rose: "my will huh..." her face got cold, the coldness soon replaced by anger as she gritted her teeth "unfortunately for them... their betrayal is something they will never comprehend and I will never forget... crippling an ARK mind to near insanity and poisoning it for generations... kukuku~ I will kill them all..." for a moment after that, a metallic giggling laugh was heard on all systems and facilities Rose was connected to, she couldn't contain herself from laughing as she was so close to being free of those pests.