When Eisen walked home from work, he held his nose high at those walking with them. Once black and polished to a mirror’s shine, his shoes got bits of disgusting dust on them. Though the sun blared hot sunshine onto his dark dress coat, he refused to compromise and remove it. Those ahead of him turned back at the sound of his approach, only to pick up the pace when they spotted him, their coworker. This, of course, was fine with Eisen, for they clashed with him down to their plain clothing.
Eisen shook his head, thinking they would’ve enjoyed each other more if they only had a shred of his genius. For example, they would’ve dressed more professionally for an esteemed programming company. Yet, like the mechanics who dared tell him to use antifreeze for his car in the middle of summer, they wore casual attire. Likewise, they wouldn’t need Eisen to double-check their work if they only bothered to look into the code deep enough, finding obvious errors like missing parentheses and extra semicolons. His work, though, never needed double-checking.
As the congregation reached the bus stop, Eisen walked onward without a word, and the group sighed in relief.
Even as his inferior peers relaxed, Eisen pulled out the latest and most expensive iPhone and pressed it on. Soon, he opened the map app, and, after tapping in the address of his home, it suggested that he turn back to the bus stop. He gritted his teeth and shook his head, thinking about how stupid the app was and wondering if he could replace it. Then, it beeped and vibrated, displaying a couple of text messages. The first one was from the mechanic, saying that they had just towed his car to the shop to be fixed. The second one was his boss mentioning something about Chevis, his hated rival, and he dismissed the message.
Soon, he pocketed the iPhone, narrowing his eyes as his face turned white, and he walked down the sidewalk.
Eisen paused, turning his brown eyes to a path through a forest. His slim stomach tightened, and he desired to walk around the forest, less his suit and shoes required dry cleaning. Yet, if he did walk through it, his travel time would be cut by thirty minutes. He stood for several moments, a duel playing in his mind even as he brushed his long hair and sighed in defeat. He then stepped forward to the forest path, a perilous yet lucrative shortcut.
It felt much cooler being in the shade, yet his face only became whiter. Already, some mud got onto his shoes, and he thought about how much he will be spending by the time the day ended. At least a thousand, and it’s so early in the week. Yet, he shook his head even as a branch rubbed against his hair, knowing that his expenses could afford to fix his broken car, which was only six months old, and clean his dirty clothes.
Branches snapped, and he turned his head at the source. An animal, maybe? His fists clenched, and his stance firmed as the bushed wiggled and snapped closer to him. Finally, his gaze steeled, and his teeth exposed.
A long acute muzzle, made from blackened metal, poked out from the bush, with eyes of a pair of small screens that glowed yellow. It spotted Eisen, who blinked as it stepped out from the undergrowth, exposing more of its blackened metal though its torso was painted white. Soon, it stood before him, its trio of tails, tipped white, wiggling behind.
Eisen’s right eye squinted, yet he remained firm even as the strange thing shifted its triangular ears and its head shifted up and down. An image of a fox appeared in his head, though this was larger, at least double a fox’s size, and it sat down, its tails pointed at the sky. It made a shrilled whistle, and he resisted the urge to cover his ears, instead tightening his grip. It stopped whistling, and it spoke French at him.
Eisen sneered and let out a laugh that made the fox-like machine pause. “Oh, I see, Clevis. You’re distracting me with this toy of yours so you can add flaws to my code, just to claim that you ‘found’ them to our boss. In fact, this farce is proof that you broke into my car and broke it!” His hands shook in rage even as he pulled out his iPhone once more. “When I call the boss about this, your career is ov-”
“Oh, I apologize,” the robotic device said, cutting in. “I thought you spoke French.”
Eisen rolled his eyes, setting the iPhone up and snapping a picture. “Nice try, Clevis.”
“This machine has no recollection of his Clevis,” the fox robot replied. “I am Manasu-8, created from another sector in the galaxy. I have come seeking aid for the Kitsune Federation.”
“Charming, Chevis,” Eisen said, picking up a stick and walking around this Manasu-8. “This ends now. I’ll disassemble your toy, and once the boss sees this, you’ll be fired.”
“I am not stating a falsehood.” Manasu-8 turned its mechanical neck so it could look at Eisen. “As I said, I came here to this planet you called Earth, seeking help. An invasion force is attacking—”
“Enough!” Eisen stabbed his stick into the seams of Manasu-8’s back.
“Stop. This is beyond you.” Manasu-8’s eyes turned red.
Eisen’s expression darkened. “There is nothing beyond me.”
He pried the panel open—
A mass of smoke poured out, hovering in the air before it flew to Eisen’s hand. He blinked, shaking his hand, yet the smoke clung on somehow. It gave out a blue glow for a second even as the smoke moved up his arm.
“Oh, dear,” Manasu-8 said, its head moving up and down even as Eisen stepped back, shaking his arm. “That was all the nanomachines I was supplied with.”
“What are you— GAH!” Eisen coughed, bits of the cloud entering his mouth and nose. He dropped the stick and iPhone, the smoke thinning out as it encompassed his entire body. His body itched, both outside and inside, and he heard something buzzing within his ears.
“Nanomachines, specifically the kind that can edit the genetic code of a species.” Manasu-8’s eyes turned green even as Eisen slapped his ear a few times. “I can see that they are rewriting your body as we speak.” The eyes turned red. “I was supplied with enough to transform five volunteers to join my makers. But since you absorbed all of the nanomachines, my mission is now almost a failure.”
“You’re not making sense!” Eisen’s back popped a bit, and he winced, falling to his knees. His back snapped, yet he felt no pain before it relaxed. The hair on his hand thickened and blackened even as more sprouted, pushing the cuffs away. He wiggled his feet, which felt too large for his shoes before they ripped at the front. They stretched longer, with his toenails thickening and turning whiter even as the same black hair formed on the top and his socks ripped into shreds. His ears moved and stretched upwards, becoming triangular even as black fur grew on the exterior and white fur within. “What is going on?!”
“I told you.” Manasu-8 snapped its jaws onto Eisen’s coat even as his nose blackened. “You are transforming into another species, one in the image like my creators. Due to this, and because this mission almost failed due to you, you are conscripted.”
“No!” Eisen tugged against Manasu-8 like a trapped fox, but its hold only strengthened. Then, with ease, it twisted around and dragged Eisen against the ground, with him grunting. His stomach turned and groaned from the changes before pressing against his clothes. Then, the buttons on his shirt, coat, and pants popped off even as the sleeves and leggings became loose. Finally, it tugged on Eisen; his eyes widened with horror. “Let me go!”
“I must complete my assigned task, regardless of your desire.”
Eisen groaned and swallowed before sliding out from the loose clothing. Manasu-8 paused even as he tried to stand on two, only for his back to scream out in protest, and he fell on all four. His mouth and nose pushed forward, with bones snapping, and fur grew on his face. Whiskers sprout out just behind the nose even as his limbs changed shape and length, with his little toes moving up on his back paws, yet his hand-paws remained hand-like with opposing thumbs, though with thick white claws. Fur grew on his back, as brown as his hair which remained long, even as his torso sprouted white fur. Yet, his belly swelled like a balloon, its fat pressing against his limbs.
“This must be a dream!” Eisen flipped his hand-paws over, with thick pads forming on them. “It can’t be real!”
“Psychological issues and discrepancies are irrelevant.” Manasu-8 snapped its jaws onto Eisen’s neck scruff, fast enough that he couldn’t react and slow enough that it didn’t cause pain. His limbs went limp, and, though Eisen was larger than it, it dragged him with no issue. “Come now, conscript.”
“Stop!” Eisen tried to move his now four legs, yet they only pulled closer to himself. His belly fattened up before it spread up his neck and limbs. His cheeks puffed up, paws thickened, and belly jiggled with every sway. “Why am I SO FAT now?!”
“Analyzing data,” Manasu-8 said, its eyes turning green, even as they came into a clearing, which contained nothing. But then it beeped, and countless hexagonal shapes flickered, its distortions clear, before disappearing. Within was a steel ship, painted blue and shined cold in the light. Its wings, feather-like, spread out at a hundred twenty-five feet, even as the vessel lay midair. Its tails, five in number, pointed back in a square with one at the center, its tips glowing red. A fox-like head stuck out on the front, its eyes closed, and a door opened when Manasu-8 approached with his conscript. “Hypothesis: Three factors, perhaps only one but likely all three, contribute to this development. One: the nanomachines use all the energy that it has been supplied with, and any unneeded energy will turn into adipose tissue on the recipient. Two: the data was flawed, with the nanomachine being programmed with and given excessive energy for the task. Three: By absorbing all the nanomachines meant for five humans, you are given *more* energy for the task at hand, and thus the excess energy the nanomachines were left with turned into fat.”
“Stop it! Turn me back!”
“I’m afraid that I cannot do that.” Yellow solid lights formed before them, much like stairs, and Manasu-8 stepped on them with Eisen in tow. The door closed behind them, and it dragged Eisen down a hallway with white walls and white light. Eisen continued changes, with a black triangular mark forming on his white muzzle with the whiskers. His hair, once smooth, became shaggy, and Eisen groaned a bit. “The nanomachines are programmed to transform you and maintain your form, even helping you in sickness and injury. Unfortunately, it is impossible to restore you without disabling them, which we cannot afford to do at this time.”
The two went into the room where the ship’s ‘head’ would be, and Manasu-8 released Eisen. But, even as Eisen stood up and lumbered to the door, which shut when he approached, it went to the controls. He rubbed and scratched against the steel door, his mouth wide, even as he groaned, with lumps forming on his rear. They extended out, three in number, and became covered in thick brown fur. He stopped and stood before it, and when he turned back, three tails extended as long as his body, tipped in white. He blinked at the new tails, and he thought about moving them when they did on their own.
“What am I?!” Eisen rubbed against his muzzle even as the ship shook a bit. Manasu-8 stepped away from the controls, its eyes turning white as it sat in front of him, only six inches shorter from the shoulders. Eisen grabbed Manasu-8 against the shoulders and tried to shake it, only to shake himself. “Answer me!”
“You are in the form much like my creators,” Manasu-8 answered, tilting its head. “They called themselves Kitsune.”
“Kitsune?” Eisen blinked, turning to his tails. “But that’s just a Japanese myth!”
“This is not the first time I come to Earth,” Manasu-8 replied, ignoring Eisen’s gasp. “I, other robots, and even Kitsune have come here. Sometimes to observe, others to spread knowledge. Our records of Earth went back millennials when we discovered a species much like Kitsune in looks.”
Eisen shook his head, stumbling as he walked since his belly rubbed against his stomach. “This must be a dream. Yes, just a dream.” Manasu-8 twitched its tails even as Eisen sucked in his lips. “There’s no way this is real. After all, what kind of universe is this if there are magical foxes in space? Especially since they look so much like foxes!”
“I thought I confirmed it to you,” Manasu-8 said, and Eisen’s ears flattened back. “This is no dream. We came here first because Earth has foxes. We even took a few in for study. But they do not have the same brainpower as Kitsune. They even say that the universe was playing a practical joke for that. So we settled with you humans because you were nothing more than a consolation prize.”
“No, no, no.” Eisen’s eyes widened at Manasu-8. “This is all a lie. Magic isn’t real!” Eisen flopped onto his belly, balance even as he pressed his paw pads against his face. “This is just a hallucination. That’s it!” Eisen pointed at Manasu-8, glaring. “Those ‘nanomachines’ are nothing more than some kind of gas! All planned by Chevis all along! He damaged the engine, forcing me to swallow my pride and walk home, even through the forest, where I met you, his creation!” He waddled over to Manasu-8, who stared back with glowing yellow eyes. “And you tricked me into thinking you were glitching out, getting me to open the trap door and exposing me with some hallucinate gas!”
Manasu-8’s eyes dimmed. “I cannot compute your logic.”
“But it makes perfect sense!” Eisen lunged at Manasu-8 and gripped its neck. “When I wake up, I’ll be in a forest. People, likely doctors, will find me, only to strap me into a jacket and stuff me into a room. Then, Chevis’s plan to replace me at work will be complete!”
Eisen’s face turned red even as his eyes widened, and he exposed his teeth, with wrinkles around them. He tried to bulge or even squeeze Manasu-8, but it remained still. Finally, Manasu-8’s eyes turned green, turning its head up and down before grabbing Eisen’s front legs. Then, without any effort, it pulled Eisen off of him, tossing him onto his back.
“I detect that your stress levels are high,” Manasu-8 said, and Eisen struggled to roll himself back onto his paws. “I suggest that you calm down. And it is time.” Its eyes turned yellow as it turned back to the controls, pressing some buttons and pulling some levers. “Engines are warmed up. Sensors cloaking particles activated. Visual cloak activated.”
Eisen gulped, finally rolling back onto his belly, yet his back legs hung high. “What are you doing?”
“Completing preparations.” Manasu-8 pressed a button. “Artificial gravity at full power.” It typed on the control panels. “Course is set for the Kitsune Federation, within the Kitsune Sector.”
Eisen blinked, with his fur standing straight even as he pushed his front legs up, back on all fours with his belly rubbing against the floor. He opened his mouth, only for a jolt from the ship knocking him onto his side. He wiggled his legs; a whirling sound reverberated on the bridge. He sucked his lips once more, his tails tucked under his legs.
“Oh, no.” Eisen’s voice was small. “This is real.”
“Correct,” Manasu-8 said even as holographic screens turned on, showing either the outside or radar. “I am satisfied that you have not lost all reason.”
“I am being taken by some kind of robot.” Eisen’s ears folded down to his shoulders even as he pushed himself back up. “And I have turned into a Kitsune.” His face then turned blue. “Take me back! I’ll do anything!”
“I cannot do that,” Manasu-8 said, stepping back from the controls. “Your change, as I told you, is irreversible. Your nanomachines are programmed to keep you in that form.”
“Then tell your creators or leaders that it was all an accident!” Eisen lumbered over to Manasu-8. “That I haven’t volunteered to do any experiments you were set out to do!”
“Even so,” Manasu-8 turned away, its eyes turned blue, “the Kitsune need help. The Sobaka from the Inu Sector has been invading for some time. From your comprehension of time, for about a century. Few new Kitsunes are born, with most fighting a fruitless war, and though robots, such as I, are fighting on the front lines, resources are growing thinner. Not helped by the Sobaka consuming any resources they take their paws on.”
Eisen shook his head. “I don’t have a clue on what you’re talking about. But if you want a fighter or a soldier, I’m not your guy! I’m a programmer! So put me in a computer or robotic or whatever department, and I’ll assist far better that way!”
Manasu-8 tilted its head, its eyes turning yellow even as they dimmed. “I cannot make any promises. However, I can give you the background of this conflict if that is what you’re confused about.”
Eisen slapped both hand-paws against his face, his belly splaying underneath him. “Not what I meant, but sure.”
Manasu-8’s eyes brightened, turning blue. “To explain, the Sobaka is much like what you call canines or dogs. However, they are easily at least three times larger than your largest one.” Eisen gulped, sweat forming on his face. “Their empire consumed many resources to fuel their machines, and they invade planet after planet since their own supply was running thin. Though the Kitsune have technology that seemed like magic to you, such as our cloaking and holographic devices, we never faced a force that could overwhelm us with pure power until a century ago. Their ships have automatic targeted and firing systems for miles, which can even detect an attack and even block and counterattack in turn. For every one ship we managed to take down, we lost five at the best of times. So, the Kitsune sent me to your planet to see if the experimental nanomachines can transform your kind into Kitsune.”
“And it worked.” Eisen set his hand-paws on his belly. “With some massive glitches. Can’t you at least get those nanomachines to burn away this fat faster?”
“I am afraid I was not programmed to do that,” Manasu-8 replied, and Eisen screamed in horror.
# # #
A couple of days passed, with Eisen lying on a bed, his face pale and refusing to eat. Manasu-8 didn’t comment on it when checking him up, instead returning to the controls to make some adjustments each time. It explained to Eisen before that their ability to bypass the limits of light’s speed is done by hopping through what they called hyperspace. The engines could only jump into hyperspace, a dimension without time, space, or matter, for a few moments before returning to regular space. Yet, this simple technique allowed traveling across the galaxy, hopping from system to system.
Yet, all Eisen could think about was back home. He betted that his hated rival Chevis had already taken his place at work, which caused him to clench his fist. Unfortunately, that prank or sabotage of his car worked, resulting in him being lost in space. His eyes narrowed even as he plotted a way to get revenge on him.
Soon, the monitor within the room turned on, displaying a greenish planet, though with a sizable brown spot on it. When the door slid open, Eisen lifted his head at it, and Manasu-8 stepped in. He sighed, getting up from the bed even as Manasu-8 approached.
“We will reach the designated planet within an hour,” Manasu-8 said, its yellow eyes bright. Then, they turned green, turning its head up and down at Eisen before they turned yellow once more. “It is best that you get ready.”
“What do you mean?” Eisen asked, and before he received an answer, Manasu-8 reached up to him. It bit into his scruff, and his limbs went limp. He blinked even as Manasu-8 dragged him out of his room. “What are you doing?”
“Making sure that you get ready,” Manasu-8 replied, dragging him down the hallway before tossing him into a room.
Eisen rolled a bit, dazed before the door slid shut before he got up. He waddled over to it, scratching against the door before he heard a click. He blinked, turning around at the room and feeling grate underneath him before water sprayed on top of him.
“What?”
A thick foam poured out from the top, soaking his entire body. He wiggled before a series of scrubbers extended out from the walls and scratched against his body. He yipped, covered his mouth, and blushed as the scrubs rubbed his body from head to toe to tails. Then water sprayed once more, from all angles this time, washing off the foam and causing his shaggy hair to cover his eyes. Finally, air blew through the room, his fur fluffing up as he and the room dried up.
Eisen pulled his hair back as the door slid open, Manasu-8 stepping in and grabbing his scruff once more, pulling him out. “This isn’t necessary, you know!”
“I have concluded that it is,” Manasu-8 replied, pulling Eisen into another room with some kind of clothing. “You have been neglecting your health.”
Eisen growled, flattening his ears back.
# # #
An hour passed, with the ship orbiting around the planet. Its antigravity systems, which ‘repelled’ itself through space, readjusted as it entered the planet’s gravity well. Soon, its wings extended out as it hovered above lush forests and fiends, even passing over farmlands. An occasional Kitsune looked up at the ship, sometimes shaking their heads while others beamed with pride.
Soon, the ship stopped a few feet above a flat field, where a group of three Kitsunes waited. The ones with white furs with black underbellies, like twins if it weren’t for one having one more tail than the other, tapped against their hovering tablets. The centermost one, with green fur and a white torso and five tails, typed into his own, with a holographic keyboard projected underneath it. One of his tails twitched as he read the brief message, and he sighed, readjusting his pale green uniform and cap before putting the tablet to sleep. He shook his head, and the other two Kitsunes turned to him.
“Got a report from Manasu-8,” the green-coated Kitsune said. “It said that the first human it approached misunderstood its intention, thinking it was a hoax, and opened the nanomachines compartment. So now, instead of five humans turned Kitsunes, we only have one.”
“That isn’t good, General Hiroto,” the rightmost Kitsune said, shaking her head while her three tails puffed up.
“Even so, this is proof that the nanomachines we programmed work, right?” the leftmost Kitsune to General Hiroto said, rubbing his chin while swaying his two tails. “We can send it to another mission with more nanomachines and even keep a stock of them if it wants to recruit more.”
General Hiroto turned to the leftmost one, one of his ears flattened back when the ship’s door slid open. Manasu-8 came out, dragging a whimpering Eisen while the two Kitsune gasped. Eisen’s pale green shirt strained against his belly, with the buttons at the breaking point and the vest left open. Soon, it dropped him in front of General Hiroto, whose ears flattened back, and before Eisen could say anything, both white Kitsunes stepped forward and poked his belly.
“This is most unusual,” the left one said, with Eisen blushing. “What do you think caused this, Nari?”
“Likely extra mass from the change, Ji,” Nari replied, typing into her tablet. “After all, the matter needs to go somewhere.”
“Oh, I haven’t thought of that,” Ji said, typing into his tablet. “With that in mind, the next batch will be most improved.”
Eisen’s ears flattened back. “I didn’t ask for this.”
“OK, son,” General Hiroto said, standing before Eisen. “What is your name?”
“Eisen,” he replied, his ears flattened back to his shoulders.
“Eisen. Strange name.” General Hiroto shrugged, and both white Kitsunes stepped back, stuffing their tablets into their coats. Manasu-8 stepped forward, removing a card from the back of its head and handing it over to him. “Glad that you freshened up and dressed. We have Sobaka invading this planet. It’s the last inner planet before they reach the capital planet. We need you on the front lines. Manasu-8, take him there.”
“No! Wait!” Eisen said even as Manasu-8 bit into his scruff once more. “I’m a programmer, not a soldier!” Manasu-8 dragged him back to the ship; Eisen’s eyes widened more. “Take me anywhere but the battlefield!”
The ship’s door shut, and, in a few minutes, the vessel vibrated a bit, with a blueish glow from each of its tails. Soon, it repelled itself forward, back into the sky even as its wings gave bluish waves. General Hiroto sighed, taking his hat off for a moment to wipe his brow before turning back to the other two, who had already pulled out their own tablets and typed into them, staring at each other.
“What are you two doing?”
“We’re making a bet,” Ji answered, not looking back. “About how long this Eisen will last.”
# # #
Eisen lay on the brown ground within the next hour, his hand-paws pressing against his helmet even as the unbuttoned sleeves clung against his front legs. His eyes were wide and shaking, with a laser rifle floating next to him even as Manasu-8 sat next to him. One of the several Kitsunes within the trench poked his massive belly, causing him to grunt.
Ahead and above were a few massive ships, spherical in shape. Six dog-shaped heads were on the edge of each vessel, designed like a Belgian Tervuren, which glowed red. Eisen sighed and, swallowing, poked his head up from the trenches. Manasu-8 pulled him back down, and a second later, a red laser fired out from one of the heads, piercing through the dirt behind Eisen for several feet.
“I have told you during the travel,” Manasu-8 said, its eyes red. “The Sobaka designed their ships so that their turrets fire upon anything they see for miles.”
“Our new recruit isn’t very bright,” the one poking Eisen said, shaking his own head. “Maybe it was a mistake to recruit humans, even if they can turn into Kitsunes.”
Eisen’s face turned red even as he took off his helmet. “I didn’t want to be here.”
“You’ve been saying that for the past hour,” the other Kitsune said, smacking Eisen’s head. “Quit whining and help us!”
Eisen sighed, putting his helmet back on while rubbing his chin. “OK. OK.” Eisen closed his eyes. “Anything that you know for certain about those ships?”
“That they’re near impossible to stop,” the poking Kitsune said. “Their automatic turrets react quick and fire hard. Thick steels give away to them as though they were cloth, and even energy shields only last minutes before their powers get drained or overheated.”
“What about speed?”
“They move slow. As in, if that group there break up and meet up at the other end of the planet, it’ll take years kind of slow,” the smacking Kitsune said, who shook his head. “But those turrets react faster than our fastest ships, and they have several layers of armor. So, what is the need for speed when nothing last against them?”
“And they can hit anything more miles, even detecting any incoming attack,” Eisen said, sweat forming on his brow.
“Exactly,” the poking Kitsune said. “What is the point of asking these questions?”
“I’m trying to think of a possible weak point,” Eisen admitted before he sighed and flopped his back against the trench’s wall, with one of the buttons popping off. “But, so far, I have nothing. If it was some glitch in a program, I would fix it, but I have no clue on the battlefield.”
“Great.” The slapping Kitsune slammed his face against Eisen’s belly, causing it to jiggle and Eisen to blush more. “Just what we needed.” He pulled his head off and pressed a button on his collar. Soon, a tablet zoomed over to him and Eisen, floating before them while coming to life. “A programmer who has no clue on our technology and less of a clue on warfare.”
Eisen’s face turned white. “I’m one of the best, if not the best, programmer in my world.” Then, without warning, he grabbed the tablet and typed into it. “Even if others contest it, especially Chevis, I know exactly what I’m doing with computers.”
“Hey! Our technology is beyond you!” The slapping Kitsune shouted at Eisen, who ignored him even as he typed and opened stuff more. “And besides, that is—” He paused, blinking as the display showed the battlefield from above, with red dots all around, sometimes moving. “What did you just do?”
“Given that those ships have an automatic targeting system, I figured that they have a kind of computer within each of them.” Eisen grabbed his floating rifle and poked it up from the trenches. At once, one of the red dots turned green, and a red laser pierced through it, slicing it in half and digging into the ground. “See?”
“But-but how?!” The poking Kitsune said, his eyes wide even as Manasu-8 leaned over, its eyes green. “We’ve been trying to hack into their computers for decades! How can someone like you do something that is beyond you!?”
Eisen’s expression darkened. “There is nothing beyond me.” He typed into the tablet some more. “Besides, even though you and those Sobaka use a different system from my world, they rely on logical patterns. All that is needed is finding the right pattern and exploiting it.”’
“Huh,” the slapping Kitsune said even as Manasu-8’s eyes turned yellow. “That is impressive.”
“Finally. Someone who appreciates my genius.” Eisen tapped into the tablet some more, his brown eyes shining. “And now, since those turrets rely on communications with the ship’s computers to run, if I do this—” He tapped on each ship before poking his head out once more. “And now the test.”
Manasu-8 pulled Eisen back down, yet no response from the Sobaka’s ship came. Instead, Manasu-8’s eyes turned green even as the other Kitsunes blinked, with one poking her head out.
“What did you do?” she asked.
“I disconnect the turrets from each ship’s computers,” Eisen answered, showing the tablet to her and the others. “And then I set them on a loop. Those Sobaka will have to reset each system to get it back running once they find out.”
“Giving us a chance to fight back,” the female Kitsune said, her muzzle forming a grin. “Brilliant!” She pressed her collar and said, “Everyone, the enemy’s ships’ weapon systems are disabled. Take them down!”
She grabbed her hovering rifle and fired upon the Sobaka’s ships. One by one, with heavier firepower, more Kitsunes came out from their own trenches and fired up them. Finally, a few Kitsunes ships came in, firing plasma volleys at the Sobaka’s ships, with the turrets exploding off. Soon, more explosions came from each of those ships, bursting into flames as they crashed down, the ground shaking.
# # #
Eisen walked down a hallway, wearing a more fitting uniform, and had a proud grin while Manasu-8 led him. Though only a day passed from the battle, multiple Kitsunes cheered his name. The surviving Sobaka from the fallen ships surrendered and took in as prisoners, each demanding how their turrets were disabled, but they were asked questions instead.
Soon, they entered a room where General Hiroto, Ji, and Nari stood behind a desk. General Hiroto nodded at Eisen, who grinned back, even as Ji and Nari glanced at each other and shifted a bit. General Hiroto gestured with one of his tails, and Nari pulled up a box, carved and printed as though it was running water. She opened it, revealing a metal, and General Hiroto pulled it out and wrapped it around Eisen’s thick neck.
“For your ingenuity on the battlefield, we offer you one of our highest rewards,” General Hiroto said, and Eisen nodded. “It seems that we underestimated you human programmers.”
“It’s no worries,” Eisen said, his teeth shining. “Most of my fellow coworkers underestimate my genius too.”
“Indeed,” General Hiroto rubbed his chin, one of his hand-paws pressed against a card. “We’ll be sure to recruit more humans as soon as we figure out what caused your tubby form. In the meantime, we have another planet under attack by the Sobaka. We want you to deal with them just like you dealt with this invasion.”
Eisen’s blinked, no longer grinning. “But-but sir, I told you! I’m a programmer who never wants to be in a war!” Manasu-8 bit into his scruff again and dragged him out. “I have a better use than being on the front lines!”
The door slid shut behind Eisen and Manasu-8, and General Hiroto sighed, shaking his head. “What do you think of him?”
Ji blinked before answering. “Not as stupid as I thought, but not as smart as he thinks.”
General Hiroto nodded a bit, picking up the card once more. “Eisen mentioned someone called Chevis, who he seems to think created Manasu-8 before realizing otherwise. If Eisen thinks he could do something like that, we should recruit him for our science labs.”
“Consider it done, general,” Nari said with a grin.