Path of the Hunters [PART 4] (NSFW)

"I am not sure." She studied Dart, then looked at the still-energetically licking Aurora. "I think she is the more affectionate of the two. She may grow up 'armlessly. But Dart... 'E seems more cautious and much more vocal. 'E will be, per'aps, very bossy."

*

Sunny chuckled. "Yeah. Better than nothing." She laid her head on his shoulder. He was comfortable as hell. "And even with all the shit that happened today, you came through just fine," she pointed out.

*

He blushed. "Today with Yue."

He smirked. "Dart does seem to be a loudmouth. But I think he'll answer to Aurora before anything, even though he's the elder."

*

"Ha! It's gonna take more than an army of knife-weildin' punks to take me down. Shit, I'm the one that brought up Nova; I got a rep to defend."

*

He smiled. "So, how did it feel adventuring with her? A nice change of pace, I'm sure."

"Of course." Laughing, Aurélie settled Dart in their crib and retrieved Aurora, letting the girl lick her face a few times before resting her beside her brother. "We'll 'ave to get them a real crib once this is over."

*

Sunny smirked. "Shit, you kids and your reps."

*

He nodded. "I think it's a power she's got."

"If there's anything left of our house, I have a number of things stored in the basement."

*

"Not my fault Nova'd never let me live it down, god forbid Sol joins in. Ugh! So fuckin' annoying, those two!"

*

"Hm? A power? Well that would explain a bit. Do tell."

There was a roar of jets as a pelican flew in and landed on a pad across from Cross and family, upon opening the hatch, a group of humans were escorted out of it with their hands behind their heads with SS marines behind them pointing their assault rifles at them, urging them along none to gently. Damien jogged into the landing bay, located them, then walked up to one of them, looked him in the eye for a moment, then broke the man's jaw with a powerful right hook. "ONI bastards. Treat that idiot with as little painkillers as possible, then shove them all into the prison. Looks like ONI didn't quite get my message, now I'm going to have to get ugly." A dark smile crossed his face, "Guess what boys? We just got ourselves our first ONI Prowler." The marines smiled and nodded as they shoved the ONI personel forward and resumed their trip to the base's prison.

"I know. But I am going with the assumption that there is nothing left."

*

Sunny chuckled. "Yeah, I've seen how they act around each other. But with Nova bein' a dad and all, some of that's gonna go away. It's natural." She stretched, body rubbing against his.

*

Star blinked, watching. "Um... Hm..."

"Yeah, that's gonna be annoying. After I'd worked so hard on preparing all that, too..."

*

Briggs smirked. "He just better not get all super mushy on me. Neither of us would let him live that down."

*

Cross' eyes narrowed. "I got a bad feeling about this..."

Damien's smile faded when he took note of them, "Well fuck. Thought you folk would have turned in for the night."

"Nova... She walked over and kissed him softly. "We will get more, non?"

*

The dog chuckled. "'Course not. I sure as hell wouldn't."

*

Trip pressed his face into Cross's shoulder, wary. Star shrugged, stroking the boy's back gently. "Not exactly."

He smiled. "Yeah, I guess so."

*

"Damn right. If he got the balls to put me down when he's the better, he's gonna catch all hell from me."

*

"What was that all about?" Cross asked, getting to the point.

He sighed, "They're ONI spooks. Let's just say that what you saw in the pelican earlier today has ONI's footprints all over it, and it left me with a less-than-friendly attitude towards them." He almost added the fact that they wouldn't be leaving the place alive, but it was something better left unsaid.

"Bonne. Now I am going to take a shower. You get to stay 'ere and make sure they settle down."

*

She smirked. "Good to know."

*

"What exactly do they do?"

"Oh, sure," Nova mused. "Just hand me the short stick, why don't ya?"

*

He returned the smirk. "Now get down here, so I can kiss you."

*

"Judging by your reaction to them, I'd say they're spies, or something that amounts to that."

"That's what a 'spook' is, Cross, but that ain't why I hate them so much. And Star, they do what they want. ONI is almost completly autonomous."

"You can take one after me," she pointed out and kissed him again.

*

"No problem." She licked his lips before laying hers on them.

*

"Well... Why exactly do you hate them?"

"Fair enough," he said, smiling.

*

He wrapped an arm around her, bringing them closer together.

*

"...This is about your little secret."

He went silent and his face hardened. "Don't."

Smiling, she went towards the bathroom, reaching into the makeshift crib to pet the babies before going in.

*

She kneaded his shoulders, deepening the kiss.

*

"Mrow?"

He turned back to the twins, grinning. "Looks like you're stuck with me."

*

He smirked against her lips, sliding his tongue over them for a brief moment.

*

His eyes narrowed. "What did they do to Katherine?... Or should I say Mrs. Jackson?"

Aurora yipped, wanting to be up. She'd figured out that the area they were in was for sleeping, but she was too happy to be tired.

*

She met his tongue with her own, lapping.

*

Star blinked, completely baffled, and Trip cocked his head. "Why does Katherine have a last name?"

Nova chuckled. "Oh, you want to be up, huh?" He reached down, stroked
her head fondly. "Sorry, kid. It's your bedtime."

*

He laughed into her mouth, pulled her closer. She had a great body, and
was a damn-good kisser; a winning combo.

*

"Because she wasn't originally a computer program. Nothing engineered straight outta science is as complicated as her. So, it stands to reason that she was once alive..."

She wriggled, jarring Dart, who began to yip as well.

*

Her tongue darted into his mouth, lapping, seeking out his taste.

*

"Hang on, who's Katherine?"

"Smart AIs like Katherine have a very unique way of being made..." He started, a brief flash of pain crossed his face, this wasn't a pleasent subject for him. "They require the scanning of a living brain, this process copies the brain into a computer, this includes everything, memories, personality, everything. There is a side-effect, though...this process destroys the brain being scanned."

Katherine appeared behind Damien, floating text appearing in front of her. "I'm Damien's person AI."

"Ten years ago, I was just an ODST sniper, a damn good one I might add. I was on leave for a week, and during that war, it was not something to be taken for granted. My plans involved me, my newlywed wife, and several hard and sturdy surfaces in our new house. Three days into it, ONI came a knockin', with a 'request' that I 'volunteer' for a project of theirs. If I refused, a horrific and fatal 'accident' may or may not befall Katherine when I left to go back to my job. Naturally, I volunteered. I ended up part of the 'Sparton-III' project, though their reasons behind stuffing me in one of the II's armors is beyond me, I figured that if I managed to live long enough, despite the rather short lifespan III's had due to our 'mass-produced' nature. I wasn't expecting them to go back on their word, though looking back on it, I'm not that surprised. ONI never have been the most trustworthy of branches..."

Nova sighed. "Oh, all right, but just for a little while." He picked both babies up, cradling them in his arms.

*

His tongue lapped back... And she tasted good. Hot Damn!

*

"They put her through this 'smart AI' program, behind your back... This ONI sounds like our DEA: some of the most corrupt bastards in law enforcement."

Pleased to have gotten her way, Aurora cooed, straining to press close to her father.

*

Her tail began to wag as she lapped at his mouth, tongue tangling with his. Yeah, she'd be all over him if wasn't so damn tired.

*

"How come Katherine's not talking?" Trip asked quietly. His mind was working quickly, putting things together.

Star's was as well, pity stirring. "Those bastards," she murmured.