"Damn crazy galaxy,"
I muttered, a small grin tugging at my lips.
"But at least the pay's good."
Just as I was settling back into my thoughts, the bridge doors slid open, and in walked my battle brothers, looking a bit worse for wear but fully conscious and clearly in good spirits.
"Yo, Drac! Check out this s*it!"
Paul said, waving his holo phone at me.
"Flip-Flop Commandos? What the actual f*ck? Is that what people are calling us now?"
I let out a chuckle, nodding at the screen in front of me.
"Yup, seems like we've gone viral."
Darius shook his head, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"F*ck me, we're not even trying, and now we're some kind of meme. Flip-Flop Commandos? Seriously were iron fenrirs! Fenrirs!"
Airid laughed, clapping Robert on the shoulder.
"At least we didn't make a fool of ourselves alone. Check out the guy who chucked his flip-flops while running making It look like he was aiming for the militants. Oh wait, that was you, Drac!"
"Hey, those flip-flops were getting In my f*cking way,"
I shot back, smirking.
"Not gonna let bad footwear slow me down."
Julian, who'd been more quiet as usual, sat down in one of the chairs, shaking his head as he swiped through more of the comments.
"Flip-Flop chain coming to a planet near you? What is wrong with these people?"
"They love chaos,"
I said, finishing off my coffee.
"And we gave 'em one hell of a show."
Darius grabbed the holo phone, scrolling through more of the comments.
"They keep this up, we'll have our own fan club. Hell, f*ck It I'll take it. Maybe we can sell some merch, Flip-Flop Commandos: The Official Line of Beachwear."
"Don't give them ideas,"
Paul said, chuckling.
"Next thing you know, we'll be getting sponsorship deals for vacation brands. 'Tired of the usual mercenary gear? Fight in style with our exclusive beach collection.'"
"Yeah, we could run with that,"
I replied, shaking my head at the absurdity of it all.
"Now that the galaxy knows we can kill in flip-flops, they'll expect us to keep it up."
Julian chuckled.
"I'll pass. Tactical footwear, all the way."
"Alright, alright,"
I said, cutting off the banter.
"Fun's over, ladies. We've got a job to finish."
I swiveled in my chair, fingers flying across the controls.
"Setting a course for the system's gravity well. We're hitting the hyperspace lane back to E*rth."
As Invicta powered up, the familiar hum of the engines vibrating beneath us, the ship shifted course toward the system's gravity well, right in front of the hyperspace line.
"Time to head back to civilization,"
I muttered, staring out at the stars beyond the viewport.
As the ship's systems aligned for the full throttle thrust, I couldn't help but glance at the newsfeed one last time.
The chaos on Uyiescapus Prime was still unfolding, but we were done with it. The credits were in, the job was complete, and now, we were heading home.
"S*x, d*ugs and rock and roll here we come,"
I said softly.
"And next time,"
Darius added.
"maybe we leave the flip-flops at home."
The others chuckled, and I smiled, feeling the familiar pull as the ship fired Its chemical thrusters.
...
2201.11.24 86 days later
The thud of fists against flesh echoed throughout Invictas gym, a space normally reserved for keeping us in shape, now turned into our makeshift fight club.
For nearly three months, we'd been sparring like this every day. Initially, it had been to burn off the aggressive energy that the serum had left behind, but now it had become routine.
A way to push our limits, stay sharp, and honestly? Just vent the constant urge to kill something.
Darius came at me first, swinging a brutal right hook aimed at my jaw.
I ducked under it, spinning on my heel to counter with a sharp elbow to his ribs.
He grunted In anger, stumbling back, but kept his stance solid. Behind him, Julian and Paul circled, waiting for their openings.
Robert and Airid were already down, sprawled on the mats catching their breath after I floored them with a combination of brutal strikes.
The last few months had changed things. At first, I could handle them all without breaking a sweat thanks to my extensive training and combat experience.
But with each sparring session, they'd improved. My ruthless beatings had toughened them, made them sharper, faster, and more brutal.
Paul, taking advantage of my focus on Darius, lunged in from the left, aiming a knee at my side.
I blocked it with my forearm, but Julian took the opening, driving a punch into my stomach. I stumbled back but quickly recovered, using their momentum against them.
A quick sweep of my leg sent Julian to the floor, while I grabbed Paul by the arm and flipped him over my shoulder.
Darius, seeing his window, charged in with everything he had, fists flying. I blocked two punches but caught a glancing blow to the side of my head.
For a split second, stars danced in my vision, but I snapped back, catching Darius by the neck and slamming him into the mat. He grunted as he hit the floor, his breath knocked out of him.
"Down,"
I muttered, standing over him as the others lay in various states of temporal disability. My chest heaved with exhaustion, and sweat dripped down my face. Barely. I'd won, but just barely. That wasn't happening a few weeks ago.
"Nice try, schmucks,"
I said, offering a hand to Darius, who accepted it with a grin.
"F*ck, you're still a beast,"
He muttered, rolling his neck as he stood up. The others slowly gathered themselves, still catching their breath.
"But we're getting close."
"Yeah, yeah,"
I said, cracking my knuckles.
"You're all giving me one hell of a fight these days. That's a good sign."
Paul, still rubbing his side from where I'd flipped him, grinned.
"You've been making us into monsters, Drac. We're starting to like it."
I chuckled.
"Alright, let's hit the showers, then meet me at the common area and bring some beers and snacks we need to talk about what's next."
We filed out of the gym, drenched in sweat but still buzzing with the adrenaline that came from a good fight.
After showering and changing into some fresh clothes, we gathered in the common area.
The table was already stacked with cold beers and enough food to feed at least 20 baseline humans.
I cracked open a beer, taking a long sip before addressing the group.
"Alright,"
I said, leaning back in my chair,
"We almost died twice now, the mess on that colony full of crazies was a breeze, showing us just how effective our current augmentations are but compared to the horrors of the galaxy were still no better than ants so here's the plan: first, we're getting our tattoos re-inked, then, we'll be getting some additional augmentations."
Paul raised his beer.
"What kind of augments are we talking about this time?"
"Well for starters we might as well get those fancy cybernetic lenses with a microchip In our brains which will be needed If we want to upgrade our armor to exoskeleton armor"
I said, tapping my temple.
"Next are the cybernetic synthetic stimulants Implants that will make sure we keep going even if we're on the brink of death, basically, no matter how banged up we get, we'll stay in the fight."
I added.
"Were also gonna be getting some nano wiring sewn Into our tendons and ceramic grafting for our bones to make sure we don't f*ck up our own arm by throwing a punch with 110 percent strength because we can't feel pain"