A Joytoy’s Journey to become a Hive-Queen [A SCS Fanfic]

Chapter 66 – Dressed to kill

*Knock knock*

“Is this thing on?”

*Knock knock*

“Ah. Okay, wonderful. Ehem, hello! Just wanted to give my heartfelt congratulations for finally getting over yourself! Took you long enough to figure your emotional mess out!”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘be more friendly’? I’m friendliness incarnate! Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

“Anyways, big congrats to Myriad and Bloodhound! What a heartfelt moment. You might also like to know that your performance went over really well on stream! Expect a whole lot more business soon. Cheerio!”

  -  ??? Your friendly, neighbourhood Maniac

The armor did not come in a package that we would have expected. The box was much the same as ever, with the ever present kitsune woman holding up a strange symbol, although it was smaller than we would have thought.

What really confused Us was what was inside the box. Instead of a set of armor or clothing, it was a mix between big patches of strange looking fabric, and multiple accessories. Okay, the term accessories might be the wrong one, these were not anything made to look fancy or stylish, instead they looked more like attachment points.

That said, it didn’t take long for Us to figure out how it all worked. Kaysa explained to Us that the patches of fabric were in effect a collection of specialised nanites, combined with some other materials for protective strength. The accessories were meant, as we had expected, as some sort of attachment point. Four bracelets, two going around our wrists, two around our ankles, a collar of some variety for our neck, as well as a sort of belt. 

We disrobed, not caring much for anyone seeing Us, and quickly began to put on the accessories. Once that was done, we placed the fabric on our body at various locations, according to Kaysa’s instructions. Once they were all where they were supposed to be, strangely sticking to our skin without any trouble, the entire thing began to move and shift.

We could design the outfit to some degree using our augs, although we were limited in what we could do. Not that we really wanted to change the design, the one that Kaysa had preprogrammed looked amazing.

The accessories, as well as acting as attachment points, and also shifting their design by themselves, were also the various Hard-Light emitters and other technological doodads that Kaysa had told Us about. Leaving the tiara where it was for now, we took off our mechanical ears, while the armor shifted around Us.

The feeling of our ears coming off was a bit strange. There was a weird popping noise, and the feeling of a pressure shift, before they came off, and our hearing returned to normal. It was strange, really, after having it the last couple of days. We had gotten so used to having them, that the world without them sounded almost dull and boring, as if we were partially deaf.

Our new ears looked both much the same as the old ones, but also very different. Mainly, that was because they now had a semi realistic feel to them, with proper fur and skin. They were still very much mechanical underneath, but at first glance you could easily mistake them for real fox ears.

Putting them on was, once again, a strange experience. This set was a bit more intrusive than our old ones, although Kaysa guaranteed Us that we could take them off if we wanted without any issues. After a strange cold feeling on our scalp, as well as a total loss of hearing for a moment, everything returned to what we were used to, with the difference of the sounds being even more refined now, if that was even possible. We could hear sounds we otherwise couldn’t, which made Us blink in surprise for a moment. The world suddenly felt richer and more refined, which was decidedly weird, but also kind of pleasant, in a strange way.

By the time our ears were on, the armor had finished shifting, forming a rather risque set of clothes, or armor, that left much of our body uncovered. Not what you would typically expect from armor, really, it was much more in line with all those fancy video game armors we’ve seen on the feeds.

Despite that, we could no longer feel the wind on our skin, and the temperatures felt comfortably cool and fresh, despite the warmth of the day. After some testing we noticed that we could still touch our skin, but if we tried to punch ourselves, our fist was stopped by a Hard-Light shield that was only barely visible.

Taking a moment to inspect ourselves through the eyes of our Queen’s Guard, we did a little twirl.

Our stomach and much of our back was exposed. A thin, semi-transparent poncho-like piece of cloth covered our shoulders, reaching roughly towards the half of our back, as well as over our breasts.

Talking about our breasts, they were covered in a strange piece of fabric that reminded Us more of nipple pasties, rather than proper clothes, but they were much, much bigger than that. They reached halfway around our back, and covered our sides and breasts, hinting at what was hidden away, but strangely managing to look sensual and elegant, with only a hint of the provocative sluttiness that you would typically expect from such a design.

They stuck to our skin fast, without any additional attachment, and were rather hard to remove, much to our surprise. Of course, they left our cleavage entirely uncovered, forming a rather provocative two piece top.

The rest of the armor followed much the same design, with thin panties that managed to walk the fine line between sensuality and slutty provocation, covered by a two piece skirt that was much like the poncho, semi-transparent and cut in just the right way to coyly hide what was underneath, without blocking the view of our assets entirely.

The belt had seamlessly formed along the rim of the panties, being almost invisible, while still retaining its rigid form. It was not unpleasant, but made pulling off the skirt or our panties almost impossible. Nobody would be able to just rip our armor off of Us, which was great to know.

Our legs were covered by semi-transparent thigh-highs that stuck close to our skin, while our arms were covered by similar pieces of fabric, looking almost velvet-y. The entire design was in a dark violet, almost black, with a sheen of brighter purple playing around it in the light. There were some silver metallic accents woven into the look, which really helped offset the dark tones.

Really, we loved it.

Of course there was also a tail. Or rather, two tails. Following the same colour as our hair, and our new ears, they were part of the armor and looked a little less realistic. They were fully articulate, however, automatically helping Us balance, while swaying sensually otherwise.

Inspection complete, we returned our attention to the box, and pulled out our tiara. It was a rather simple design, weaving seamlessly into our look, without drawing too much attention. Putting it on, it connected to our augs, and after checking them over for a moment, we found out that we could set different programs to be used automatically. Interesting, but not particularly useful right now.

Next up were our new boots. These were much less over the top, although they still weren’t in a style we would have expected. Rather than proper boots, they reminded Us more of fancy sandals. That said, they did cover our feet in a thin layer of nearly invisible Hard-Light that protected them from both the elements and any attacks. They didn’t have any heels, which probably was for the best, and were as sinfully comfortable as the rest of our new ensemble.

Lastly, we pulled out the PRISM. The accessories had shifted to fit the design, and the PRISM fit well over our right forearm. It was much less obvious than the Pristine Fortress was, which we now had equipped on our left forearm, and fit way better with the rest of our new design. 

Taking a moment, we perused the aug options for the PRISM, finding it to be similar to the one of the Pristine Fortress, just with a lot more options. Nodding to ourselves, we finished our inspection of our new gear, and turned to look around.

Chloe had gotten an entirely new set of armor, following the design of the first, but looking even more dangerous. It was a bit sleeker and with less bulk, but with more weapon hardpoints. She had lost the two additional mechanical arms that the previous armor had, instead replacing them with four arm-like structures on her back, all holding some small pistol.

At the moment she was playing around with how they could store away, which was damn fucking cool, especially considering how it all looked in tandem with the mechanical tail.

Bobby was busy going over his own gear, not that we could see any new additions, and so we returned our attention back to Kaysa in our virtual realm.

“Okay. Now that we have new gear, let’s talk Hexclaws. We kind of want more broodmothers, for more Hexclaw throughput, but we also don’t know what else we can get. Primarily transportation is a concern. The Corvette is nice, but it kind of sucks that we need to rely on Jenna for the shuttles, especially since she also needs them. Is there anything we can get to alleviate that? We were also thinking about getting something similar to the Corvette for our own use, but we aren’t sure if that’s a good idea, or even an option, for that matter.”

There are plenty of Hexclaws that could perform the same duty as the Corvette, just more organic instead of mechanical. If you wish to go for a similarly large flying home base, there is the Mark XIX Carrion Cutter. It comes in at 45000 points at base, and is slightly smaller than the Corvette at the moment. That is about the largest Hexclaw you can get at Class II, and it is missing many of the features that makes the Carrion Cutter great, at least until you can upgrade your Hexclaw Swarm Intelligence Catalogue to Class III.

The main benefit it would have, once you can upgrade it, would be the teleportation technology that it offers to get your Hexclaws on the ground quickly. That said, I do not believe that it is worth purchasing at the moment. It’s a lot of points that would not be immediately useful to you, although it might be worthwhile keeping it in mind after you are done here.

We nodded at that, “Yeah. Maybe we should focus on what we could get right now, to make the expedition go over smoothly. Everything else can wait, if we make as many points as we did so far, we don’t think we need to worry about having the funds in the future. Any recommendations?”

Your best bet would be more Broodmothers, perhaps a few more Progenitor Hexclaws, as well as a more dedicated combat force. You have your Juggernaut and the Medics for any medical emergencies, and you do have a number of capable War Drones, but they are all rather specific in what they could do. More Sabertooths, maybe some Siverin Bile Spewers, and, of course, some aerial units would be very helpful as well.

“Let’s talk aerial units first. Put some points aside for the Broodmothers, maybe a progenitor or two, but we could really use some aerial drones. We imagine there are some useful ones there?”

Indeed. You could either go for a swarm of smaller models, or a few slightly larger ones. The Mark XI Envoli Glinthawk is a mid-sized flying Hexclaw, meant for dive attacks and dealing with larger aerial threats. It can tangle with a model Eleven, although that is about the largest flying model it can easily contend with. A model Twelve might be something it can kill, as long as it gets the drop on it, but they are not meant for that. They are fast, semi-resilient, and can deal with larger groups of smaller units. Their main weapon is a poisonous gas that inhibits antithesis biology, in sufficient doses even enough to melt their flesh.

If you want something smaller, the Mark VII Envoli Raptor is slightly less than half the size of the Mark XI Envoli Glinthawk and more specialised to work in flocks of around a dozen Hexclaws. These you can obtain with your specialised Broodmother, although they would cost you a significant amount of biomass. They are one of the largest Hexclaws your Broodmothers can produce, but are very good at aerial denial.

We nodded at that. “Both sound useful. If we get a mix, what would the best way to go around obtaining them?”

If you get two more specialised Broodmothers, plus two more normal Broodmothers, you can produce a useful number of them without falling short on other Hexclaw production. A Mark XI Envoli Glinthawk is 1750 points a pop, quite expensive, but still point efficient for what they can do. Half a dozen of them is going to give you a good basis, with four or five flocks of Mark VII Envoli Raptors produced by your Broodmothers to round out your Hive.

“We assume we have to head back to the Corvette to get it all?”

That would be helpful, yes.

“Okay.” Turning our attention to Jenna, we addressed her. “Jenna, we need to head over to the Corvette for some upgrades. Can you send Us a shuttle over?”

“Sure thing. Anything else you need?”

“Nah, we’re just going to get some more Broodmothers. We might get a flying base for ourselves soon. Oh, that reminds me, Kaysa, how easily can we move the Broodmothers?”

Easily enough that it doesn’t require a complete tear down of the Corvette, although it will be complicated and time consuming. I would advise you to wait until you have some time off.

“Fair enough.”

“A second flying base? Big plans, huh?” Jenna asked with a smile in her voice.

“Always. The Corvette is nice, but if our Hive grows any more, we’ll end up claiming all your shuttles all the time to move all of Us around, and that doesn’t sound helpful.”

“That’s fair. Not that I’m complaining, easier logistics is always nice. I’ll probably get the Corvette decked out fully at Class II soon, and hopefully I can upgrade part of it to Class III once we are done here, although, truth be told, that is highly unlikely, considering how expensive Class III gear is. Even with all the points we make here, that wouldn’t even make a dent in the cost of a fully upgraded Class III Corvette.”

“Yeah, we can see that. We’ll probably focus on our Hexclaws first as well.”

The shuttle arrived soon after, and we boarded it, followed by our Queen’s Guard. Chloe and Bobby were busy discussing the next part of the expedition, and we kept one ear on their conversation, just to make sure we didn’t miss anything important. Bellona had reorganised our fronts to ensure we wouldn’t be surprised by anything the antithesis were doing, although, considering that so far we only dealt with the outer circle of the Hive, things would become much more dangerous relatively quickly.

We had to make sure we were prepared.

Getting the Broodmothers went quickly, Snuffles had already begun to shuttle biomass back to the Corvette, and so they immediately began production of more Hexclaws. We got three Mark XI Envoli Glinthawks, deciding to keep our points in reserve for when we needed it. The three Glinthawks immediately went to task, scouting out the area and dealing with any small pocket of xenos that was too far away for Jenna to reliably hit them.

Of course, one of them decided upon a name and became their de-facto leader. Kiori was not a name we would have thought of, but she liked it, and it seemed fitting enough.

After we were done, we regrouped with Bobby and Chloe, who had already finished putting together a plan for our next outing. We would go around the outer circle and hit as many xeno hives as we could, before we would start delving deeper. Chloe had decided to start building basic defences underground, in the caves that we cleared, just to make double sure any xenos wouldn’t be able to rebuild.

We would continue Hexclaw production and send squads there to work as additional guards. Most of Us would continue as it were, clearing out some of the tunnels further away, and make sure that no xeno would sneak past.

So far things were going according to plan across the board, although one of the other groups had gotten in a bit of a tight spot when a model Nine-S got the jump on them. Nobody died, but one Samurai got injured badly, and we had sent the Medical corp out to make sure everyone could get medical attention, if they needed it.

“Ready?” Bobby asked Us when we finished up our preparation.

“As ready as we’re going to be.”

“Same. Let’s go hit some hives,” Chloe said with enthusiasm, hefting a huge new rifle that glowed an ominous red.

As we had expected, things went chaotic the moment we returned to clearing out the xenos. The antithesis had used our break to move some forces around, and soon we found ourselves in an outright firefight in the midst of some narrow tunnels. Some model Fives were stationed behind the wave of model Threes and Fours, all coordinated by two model Sixes, and that made advancing a bit of a nightmare.

We made use of the PRISM immediately, attaching two Hard-Light shields to Bobby and Chloe. The ability to anchor Hard-Light constructs relative to others was a godsend, and made organising our defences so much easier.

Using our right arm to send Lance after Lance down the tunnel, we used our left to project a basic shield with the Pristine Fortress. Bobby and Chloe let their weapons roar, cutting down the first few rows of xenos, but the main issue was the model Fives, which got protected by another group.

It really showed the danger of model Sixes, able to organise the otherwise relatively stupid mass of xenos. Our Assassins were crawling along the walls to get the drop on them, but they wouldn’t get too far away from Us, which meant that we had to push deeper.

Jenna’s Sentinels were doing their best to take the brunt of the ranged volleys, enabling us to push ever so slowly. With a flick of our wrist we killed a model Nine that was camouflaging itself as a rock, outlined by the software of our new airs, waiting to get an opportunity to ambush us.

“Cover your ears!” Chloe grumbled, then switched her weapon to a grenade launcher.

A couple of thwumbs later, the entire cave was filled with the shrill cry of whatever weird grenades she used to melt the xenos. We added to the chaos by firing a couple of flesh eater nanites into the mix, using our Lance.

Finally we got close enough for our Assassins to take out one of the model Sixes, which made the entire scenario a little less stressful. The second got hit by a stray shot from Bobby’s shotgun, and it stumbled back.

With the formation finally broken, Jenna’s Sentinels rushed in and began to clear out the front of the xeno horde, while our War Drones focused their fire on the model Six and model Fives. With the tide turned, it only took a couple of minutes to clean up.

Chloe placed one of her bombs, before Bobby put down one of his devices.

“Alright. Onto the next. Keep your senses sharp.”

We nodded, before we followed him. Then we were interrupted by Jenna.

“Ehm, guys? We might have a bit of a problem. It seems the Hive is acting up. I can see a large group of xenos coming from the north. They have a few model Eights burrowing out of the ground, and I can see at least two model Fifteens, a model Sixteen, and two model Eighteens. Not sure what else is there.”

Bobby cursed under his breath. “Okay, do you know what’s going on? Myriad, did you have Tiny mess around?”

We raised our hands in surrender, “We only had Tiny clean out at the edges, poke around a bit. So far she didn’t push deeper than that, to prevent exactly this kind of scenario.”

“I think it’s more to do with me,” Jenna interjected, “I’ve been shredding anything coming to the surface. And since Myriad has her new flyers around, maybe that spooked them.”

“Possible. Do you think you can deal with it, Legion?”

“I can try. Between the Enforcer and the Corvette I should be able to clear out most of them. I’m more worried about what it means for the rest of the Hive.”

Bobby nodded to himself. “Yeah. Try to clear them out, if you need help, let us know. We might have to change our plans a bit.”

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