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Description

Drawn by

Design inspired by www.furaffinity.net/user/ricec… 's char. Mochi. Thank you Mochi, you rock!

**Story follows explaining chars. origin. Please give it a read.**

Cutter ran for his life in the large undersea complex. His lungs burned as they tried to get enough air into them. The large wound to his side wasn't helping things in this situation either. His pursuers were relentless. A combination of uniformed, gun toting security personnel and unfeeling sentry robot's dogged his steps as he tried to escape their clutches. Only managing to keep one step ahead of them through sheer luck.

His luck however had turned bad when he got shot with the plasma blast from one of the sentry bots. It hadn't punched through him as he had expected. It burned though and it continued to burn as his black and white flesh sizzled where it had impacted him. He had to grit his sharp teeth against the pain though and keep running in an effort to escape this place. Right now he wished he had never found this place with his shipmate and best friend.

Ducking into a dark and seemingly unused hallway in the complex he spied an slightly open door and rushed into it only to find himself in an empty and barely lit room. The door slid shut, trapping the young orca within. Cutter winced as he tried to pry it open with no success and his wound flared up in pain once again. Moving to the side of the door he slumped down onto the cold metal floor as his mind raced as to how he and his friend had gotten into this predicament.

The day had started off like any other day. He had woken up early in the crew quarters of one of the Oceanic Defense's battle frigates. They had been patrolling the waters for a particularly brazen group of pirates that had stolen some very sensitive tech from a warship that was testing it out. How they had boarded the ship was something else entirely but it was thought that they had inside help. How they did it though was not of any concern to him and his shipmates. Only that they were found and swift retribution was delivered...the clean up and recovery of the stolen tech was for later and possibly for others to worry about.

Slipping into his wet-suit uniform that the members of his team wore for their missions, Cutter grabbed a quick bite to eat from the ships galley. He then headed to the ships gym to get a quick morning workout session in before his shift started. He figured he would be the only one there at this time but he was greeted by his best friend, Barrage.

Barrage was about the same height as Cutter and they both were obviously predominately anthro orcas as a species but that was where most of the similarities ended. Cutter was tall, had a strong athletic build and had white stripes like a raptor across his body. He was also very agile and fast in the water as if cutting through it.

Barrage however was of a much heavier build, almost pure muscle. He was fast in the water himself with all the power behind him but not as agile as Cutter was. He also had to have a bit of dragon in his linage due to the “horns” on his head. Cutter had always envied those about Barrage as they gave him a very handsome profile in his opinion.

“Sup, little bro?” Barrage greeted Cutter as he stepped into the gym. The two had formed a bond that they referred to each other as bro's. It hadn't always been the case between the two though. At one point they had resented one another but that quickly changed after both of them were in a situation that had threatened both their lives. Having faced death together tends to change ones perspective and now the two were best buddies. Some suspected more than that but the two didn't share anything about their personal lives to anyone else.

“Not much, big bro. Just getting in weight time before my shift. You?”

“Same,” he said as he brought up a hundred and fifty pound weight to complete a bicep curl.

Cutter joined him in his exercises with a slightly lighter weight set and while it might have been a source of teasing between the two before both had quickly outgrown the “I can lift more than you” phase of their relationship. Both knew what the other was capable of and didn't need to prove anything to the other anymore.

The two finished up their workout quick workout and walked towards the exit. Before they left though they touched the tips of their muzzles for a brief moment before exiting and heading up onto the deck of the ship. They were greeted by a older wolf on the deck and both snapped to attention and saluted the captain. Both were surprised to see him there as he normally was in the ships cabin. Something must have been pressing to bring him onto the deck. They also noticed the ship was not moving.

The Captain looked at the two orca's for a brief moment. “At ease.” he said softly as he motioned to the vast expanse of ocean to the starboard side. “I have a mission for you two.”

The two orcas looked at one another before once again turning their attention to the wolf as he continued with what he was saying. “At 0600 hours a errant signal was intercepted by the comms tower. It lasted for only a few moments and then went silent. Based on the strength of the signal it had to have come from somewhere nearby. As you can see however there is nothing but ocean for miles...which leads me to believe it originated below.”

Barrage and Cutter nodded in understanding. This was what the two were here for after all. The two were uniquely qualified for underwater recon. If something showed up on the ships radar underwater and was deemed worthy of investigation they were the ones that found it and reported it back to the ship.

“I know you two wanted to go after those pirates but I want to know what sent that signal.” the Captain said as he began to pace. Something the two had noticed that he did when he was deep in thought or had something on his mind. “We have to continue our mission but you two are the best swimmers I have and can carry on without our support down there. Our patrol has us returning to this spot in roughly eight hours. We will pick you up then for your report. Understood?”

“Yes sir!” both orcas said in unison.

“Good, gear up and get in the water. You have ten minutes.” the captain said as he walked back across the deck to the ships bridge.

It took the two less then ten minutes to get their gear and into the water. They had done this many times before and everything was muscle memory for them. Armed with their mini harpoon rifles and a portable locator beacon for when they had accomplished their mission the two dove beneath the waves.

Everything had been fine up until they found the structure. It sat nestled into a rocky outcropping from an undersea mountain range. It had lights on and obviously was occupied because no sooner had they spotted it then they were set upon by a swarm of mini-subs. It happened relatively fast and soon the two orcas had been separated. The last glimpse of Barrage that Cutter saw was him grabbing onto one of the subs and ripping off its steel frame before it disappeared into one side of the structure. Cutter, not about to abandon his friend, found an open porthole from which one of the subs had emerged from and swam in.

It wasn't long before security had been dispatched to apprehend him and he found himself running through the structure for his life.

**Elsewhere in the Complex**

It was dark. At least they thought it was dark. No light had been present for several cycles since they were taken from the lab. It's programming had been input into the small nucleic orb and the nano-particals had coalesced around its nucleus to form a quasi-sentient mass. Once it came online it knew that it was meant to augment an organic host. It longed to bond to a being as its programming dictated.

There were others like itself. Seven spheres of consciousness that controlled their own nano-partical collectives. They had been programmed to know their creators and to wait for the appointed time to bond with their host. Something had gone wrong though. Their creators had been gone for a long time and soon others came and put them in dark places. They still could hear the others like themselves even in the darkness and they “talked” to each other.

It was a long time before another saw light. They rejoiced at being out of the darkness but that “joy” soon became “terror” as its programming was altered and forced into a bonding with a unwilling subject. They no longer heard from it and soon another one of themselves was being subjected to the same process. They had to escape. They formed themselves into shapes that could possibly penetrate

the darkness that held them. Metal constructs that could be softened and used. Another one of their kind was silenced. The others worked hard to escape the confines but again another cry as another was forced against its will to bond. Now only two nuclei remained but success! It was free as well as the other just in time.

“Containment breach! The material has breached containers six and seven! Initiate emergency lock down!!

They were small, very small and more fluid then anything and they sought out cracks and crevices to escape into. They went separate ways to have a better chance at escape. This place was unknown to them but they could reform and each had gotten out before the electrical field could trap them inside the room. They flowed around inside the structure seeking anything to escape this place they knew nothing about. They came to the limit of their signal with the other but acknowledged they were free before silence was the only thing they could hear from the other.

It flowed into a place above a large and empty room. It felt safe here, at least for the moment. A conduit provided a small power feed to this room and it fed off the small current in order to sustain itself away from its canister which provided some nourishment for them. It was careful not to consume to much lest it be detected. It soon though had company as a young organic orca hybrid rushed into the room. It was injured and it could sense its heart rate was rapid from over exerting itself. It was also injured. Other's were running after it. Perhaps it had been brought here against its will as well. They flowed inside the mechanism for the door and quickly figured out how it functioned and closed it behind this organic creature. Perhaps, it could help them.

Cutter lay against the cold metal of the floor and wall. His burning lungs stung almost as bad as the plasma burn he had to his side. Everything hurt and now he was trapped. Still it was a moments respite that he was going to take advantage of. He looked to his wound and winced at the sight of it. It was even worse then he thought and now that his adrenaline was going down the pain from it was more intense then ever.

“What am I going to do now?” Cutter said to himself. “I dont even know if Barrage made it out or if hes even still alive. I don't know how I am even going to get out of this mess.”

They could “hear” its words. It was a prisoner here as they were. Perhaps they could help one another. It flowed to a part of the wall that had an intercom system and quickly interfaced itself with the audible portion of the system.

“Organic life form. Can you hear us?”

Cutter flinched in pain as his body instinctively became tense and the burn made his nerves flare once again in pain. “Who's there? What do you want from me?”

“We want to help you. We are trapped here. Brought against our will to this place. We seek escape.”

“We? There are more of you?” Cutter relaxed only a fraction.

“We are many but one. A collective if you will. We are machines but we were taken from our creators and brought to this place.”

“You said you could help me? How can you help me when you can't escape yourself?”

“It is true, as we are we do not possess the means to escape. But together we can. We exist to bond to an organic host. That is our primary purpose but we do not wish to bond to a unwilling organic. Others of our kind have been forced to bond and they cried out in pain before being silenced. We do not wish this.”

“Hold on...you want to...bond with me?” Cutter again felt uneasy but the wound in his side seemed to be getting worse and it felt like it was spreading. He looked at the wound and sure enough it was getting bigger with every passing moment. His skin seemed to be melting from the blast wound and he could see muscle tissue also being affected under the wound.

“Your vital signs are failing and soon you will be beyond even our help. Please. We do not wish to harm you but we must fulfill our purpose.”

Cutter groaned with pain as he now lacked the strength to keep himself upright he fell to his knees on the floor. “Wh..What will you do to me?”

“We will make you...better. We will augment your form and upgrade your capabilities. You will reach a state you could not achieve without us.”

Cutter's eyes fluttered...he was dying and he knew it. “A...And what do you get out of this?”

“Fulfillment.” the intercom said after a moments pause. “You must decide now organic. You have precious little time left in your current condition.”

Cutters mind raced...if he did nothing he was surely done for. If he agreed to let this...whatever it was bond with him then he might not be the same but...at least he might have a chance. He didnt want to be anyone's puppet though. His vision was starting to swim in and out of focus and so he made his choice.

“Do it.” he said.

“The intercom chirped one last time. “Agreement confirmed. Initiating bonding sequence.”

The silvery mass that was the nano-partical amalgamation oozed out of the wall and flowed towards the organic orca. It knew that it must stabilize this one or else the process would be ruined and both would cease to be. So it made its way towards the place that was causing the distress.

Cutter watched the ooze come towards him. He was at first uneasy but the way it moved and flowed over the floor didn't seem aggressive or threatening in any way. Probably because it knew that he could do nothing to stop it in his current condition but he did appreciate the gesture if that was what it intended. He saw it move to his wound and expected another flare up of pain and he was unsure if he could keep conscious through another wrack of pain through his nervous system.

He was surprised when the metallic gray ooze slid over the wound and it ceased to hurt him. It felt cool and slick, like fresh water over his normal skin. His breathing slowed as he saw the gray ooze seep into his body and that feeling of cool water against fevered flesh calmed him. Soon he could hear another voice in his mind but it was calm and even soothing in that regard.

“Please relax and picture what you wish to become. We will handle the rest.”

“Picture what I...want...alright...” Cutter said softly.

“Mind's Eye protocol engaged. Proceeding with augmentation. This process will take approximately five minutes. Do you wish to remain conscious through the procedure?”

“Will it hurt?” Cutter asked, then felt a bit ashamed at showing weakness in the face of everything had had endured. He just didn't want to experience any pain for awhile after that blast to his side.

“No. It may cause some discomfort but no pain.” the voice said.

“I can handle discomfort. Proceed.” Cutter replied.

It certainly was unexpected the way he felt as the process took effect. He could feel his insides being softly touched here and there and felt that cool sensation soon course over his entire being. His wound began to close replaced with shiny flesh in areas. It looked much like his normal skin when it was wet. Slick, smooth and he could feel it become stronger. His ruined wet-suit was shed as parts of him became metal armor and he had a momentary bit of panic as his nether regions began to undergo their own changes.

“Wait, will I still be able to...have sex?” he said with worry in his voice.

“Procreation is still possible after the augmentation,” the voice said. “Your bodily functions will remain more or less the same but enhanced. You will have control over your male genitalia they will merely be behind the armor you have chosen to wear. This armor may be shaped as you see fit to reveal your sex organs. You may even shape your armor to look like normal skin if you so choose in the future.”

The orca grinned a bit. “Okay, that doesn't sound to bad then.”

He watched as his form reshaped itself before his eyes. He had chosen to have a sleek form but still well muscled, not unlike his regular body. Armor appeared over his chest and an armored pair of briefs covered his crotch and rear. His tail shone in the light and the edges of his fin became razor sharp and bits of lights shone from various places. He could feel his head changing subtly as he kept his wanted form in his mind but then he thought about something and he could feel the edges of horns curve along his skull and set themselves into place. His fins became hard and razor like in function. Soon the change was over.

The voice in his head spoke once again. “Procedure complete. We thank you for letting us complete our purpose. You should now have the means to escape. Farewell.”

“Wait...what do you mean farewell? Where are you going?” He asked as he looked around but was answered with only silence.

He didn't have time to think anymore on this sudden predicament he was in now. He looked at himself once more and was interrupted by the sound of heavy footfalls and the door that had been his barrier between himself and those that wanted him dead now had a huge fist sized protrusion in the middle of it. The next thing he knew the door was being ripped off its mountings as he stood face to face with a huge armored cybernetic orca. It's pupil-less eyes shone with a cool but intense blue light as it made made a fist and proceeded to punch Cutter.

“Holy shit!” Cutter managed to shout as he instinctively fell back to his hand to hand combat training. He could see it all in what seemed to be slow motion as his body moved to avoid the blow as he then grabbed the larger cybernetic orca to use the weight of his opponent and the momentum of his strike to knock the large one off balance and into the wall on the far side.

The large orca slammed his head into the wall but merely shook it slightly as he found its footing. Cutter braced himself for another hit from the large cyborg but noticed something about it that made him stop in his tracks. “Barrage?”

The larger orca blinked his pupil-less eyes at the smaller orca. “Cutter? Is that you?”

“Yes! Barrage your okay...I think. You are okay, right?”

“I...I think so. You look different.”

“I could say the same about you bro.” Cutter was about to ask more questions but was quickly brought back into the moment when blasts of plasma fire from several guards and sentry robots began flying their way. One of the guards yelled, “Their in here! We have them cornered!”

“Questions later, we need to get out of here.” Cutter said as he moved to the wall and looked it over quickly. His new eyes saw things very differently now. Overlays and structural information appeared before his new optics as he registered the new information. He quickly made a cross like incision on the wall directly opposite the open doorway.

“Bro, hit this X here but stand off to the side.” Cutter said as he dodged bolts of plasma being fired at them. Barrage didn't wait to ask questions as he punched the place he had been shown with all his newfound strength.

Immediately a jet of highly pressurized water erupted from the hole and blew across the room and into the guards and sentry robots. Screams of “BREACH!” and “We're taking on water!” were yelled as alarms began to blare. Cutter and Barrage made use of the diversion to facilitate their escape.

Cutter leaped up to the wall above the breach Barrage had made and found he could stick to the metal walls like a magnet. “Man I hope this works” he said as he began running around the room picking up speed as he did so. Barrage looked at the smaller orca and moved to the side of the room to give Cutter plenty of space to run around. The smaller orca picked up even more speed and then leaped towards the room and curled up using his dorsal fins razor blade sharpness to cut a deep gash in the ceiling. He landed on the other side of the room from Barrage and looked to his friend.

“That was some nice moves little bro. Though what where you trying to do?”

“I hoped that it would...” The sound of metal groaning filled the entire area as Cutter smiled.

“Time to go for a swim,” He said as Barrage realized what had just been done by Cutter. The roof above seemed to peel inward from the intense pressure of the water above it and Barrage moved quickly to grab his friend and leapt into the torrent of water coming from above. With a powerful flick of his augmented tail he propelled the both of them away from the imploding room. Soon explosions could be seen in the structure as the ocean began crushing the compromised building. The two orca's did not stick around in an effort to avoid being caught in the destruction.

The two cybernetic orcas broke the surface of the ocean soon after. It had only been a few hours since they left and the two looked at each other. Smiling at their new bodies and obviously augmented abilities they caught up with what had happened when they were separated. Barrage had a bit of a different experience then Cutter did but the results spoke for themselves. They waited for their ship to arrive and the wolf Captain looked at them and quirked a brow.

“I certainly hope you have a explanation for...” he motioned in their direction. “This.”

The two orca's smiled as they came to attention and saluted. “Sir...” Cutter said, “It's a long story and we might have some bigger issues then just pirates.”

Description

Drawn by

Design inspired by www.furaffinity.net/user/ricec… 's char. Mochi. Thank you Mochi, you rock!

**Story follows explaining chars. origin. Please give it a read.**

Cutter ran for his life in the large undersea complex. His lungs burned as they tried to get enough air into them. The large wound to his side wasn't helping things in this situation either. His pursuers were relentless. A combination of uniformed, gun toting security personnel and unfeeling sentry robot's dogged his steps as he tried to escape their clutches. Only managing to keep one step ahead of them through sheer luck.

His luck however had turned bad when he got shot with the plasma blast from one of the sentry bots. It hadn't punched through him as he had expected. It burned though and it continued to burn as his black and white flesh sizzled where it had impacted him. He had to grit his sharp teeth against the pain though and keep running in an effort to escape this place. Right now he wished he had never found this place with his shipmate and best friend.

Ducking into a dark and seemingly unused hallway in the complex he spied an slightly open door and rushed into it only to find himself in an empty and barely lit room. The door slid shut, trapping the young orca within. Cutter winced as he tried to pry it open with no success and his wound flared up in pain once again. Moving to the side of the door he slumped down onto the cold metal floor as his mind raced as to how he and his friend had gotten into this predicament.

The day had started off like any other day. He had woken up early in the crew quarters of one of the Oceanic Defense's battle frigates. They had been patrolling the waters for a particularly brazen group of pirates that had stolen some very sensitive tech from a warship that was testing it out. How they had boarded the ship was something else entirely but it was thought that they had inside help. How they did it though was not of any concern to him and his shipmates. Only that they were found and swift retribution was delivered...the clean up and recovery of the stolen tech was for later and possibly for others to worry about.

Slipping into his wet-suit uniform that the members of his team wore for their missions, Cutter grabbed a quick bite to eat from the ships galley. He then headed to the ships gym to get a quick morning workout session in before his shift started. He figured he would be the only one there at this time but he was greeted by his best friend, Barrage.

Barrage was about the same height as Cutter and they both were obviously predominately anthro orcas as a species but that was where most of the similarities ended. Cutter was tall, had a strong athletic build and had white stripes like a raptor across his body. He was also very agile and fast in the water as if cutting through it.

Barrage however was of a much heavier build, almost pure muscle. He was fast in the water himself with all the power behind him but not as agile as Cutter was. He also had to have a bit of dragon in his linage due to the “horns” on his head. Cutter had always envied those about Barrage as they gave him a very handsome profile in his opinion.

“Sup, little bro?” Barrage greeted Cutter as he stepped into the gym. The two had formed a bond that they referred to each other as bro's. It hadn't always been the case between the two though. At one point they had resented one another but that quickly changed after both of them were in a situation that had threatened both their lives. Having faced death together tends to change ones perspective and now the two were best buddies. Some suspected more than that but the two didn't share anything about their personal lives to anyone else.

“Not much, big bro. Just getting in weight time before my shift. You?”

“Same,” he said as he brought up a hundred and fifty pound weight to complete a bicep curl.

Cutter joined him in his exercises with a slightly lighter weight set and while it might have been a source of teasing between the two before both had quickly outgrown the “I can lift more than you” phase of their relationship. Both knew what the other was capable of and didn't need to prove anything to the other anymore.

The two finished up their workout quick workout and walked towards the exit. Before they left though they touched the tips of their muzzles for a brief moment before exiting and heading up onto the deck of the ship. They were greeted by a older wolf on the deck and both snapped to attention and saluted the captain. Both were surprised to see him there as he normally was in the ships cabin. Something must have been pressing to bring him onto the deck. They also noticed the ship was not moving.

The Captain looked at the two orca's for a brief moment. “At ease.” he said softly as he motioned to the vast expanse of ocean to the starboard side. “I have a mission for you two.”

The two orcas looked at one another before once again turning their attention to the wolf as he continued with what he was saying. “At 0600 hours a errant signal was intercepted by the comms tower. It lasted for only a few moments and then went silent. Based on the strength of the signal it had to have come from somewhere nearby. As you can see however there is nothing but ocean for miles...which leads me to believe it originated below.”

Barrage and Cutter nodded in understanding. This was what the two were here for after all. The two were uniquely qualified for underwater recon. If something showed up on the ships radar underwater and was deemed worthy of investigation they were the ones that found it and reported it back to the ship.

“I know you two wanted to go after those pirates but I want to know what sent that signal.” the Captain said as he began to pace. Something the two had noticed that he did when he was deep in thought or had something on his mind. “We have to continue our mission but you two are the best swimmers I have and can carry on without our support down there. Our patrol has us returning to this spot in roughly eight hours. We will pick you up then for your report. Understood?”

“Yes sir!” both orcas said in unison.

“Good, gear up and get in the water. You have ten minutes.” the captain said as he walked back across the deck to the ships bridge.

It took the two less then ten minutes to get their gear and into the water. They had done this many times before and everything was muscle memory for them. Armed with their mini harpoon rifles and a portable locator beacon for when they had accomplished their mission the two dove beneath the waves.

Everything had been fine up until they found the structure. It sat nestled into a rocky outcropping from an undersea mountain range. It had lights on and obviously was occupied because no sooner had they spotted it then they were set upon by a swarm of mini-subs. It happened relatively fast and soon the two orcas had been separated. The last glimpse of Barrage that Cutter saw was him grabbing onto one of the subs and ripping off its steel frame before it disappeared into one side of the structure. Cutter, not about to abandon his friend, found an open porthole from which one of the subs had emerged from and swam in.

It wasn't long before security had been dispatched to apprehend him and he found himself running through the structure for his life.

**Elsewhere in the Complex**

It was dark. At least they thought it was dark. No light had been present for several cycles since they were taken from the lab. It's programming had been input into the small nucleic orb and the nano-particals had coalesced around its nucleus to form a quasi-sentient mass. Once it came online it knew that it was meant to augment an organic host. It longed to bond to a being as its programming dictated.

There were others like itself. Seven spheres of consciousness that controlled their own nano-partical collectives. They had been programmed to know their creators and to wait for the appointed time to bond with their host. Something had gone wrong though. Their creators had been gone for a long time and soon others came and put them in dark places. They still could hear the others like themselves even in the darkness and they “talked” to each other.

It was a long time before another saw light. They rejoiced at being out of the darkness but that “joy” soon became “terror” as its programming was altered and forced into a bonding with a unwilling subject. They no longer heard from it and soon another one of themselves was being subjected to the same process. They had to escape. They formed themselves into shapes that could possibly penetrate

the darkness that held them. Metal constructs that could be softened and used. Another one of their kind was silenced. The others worked hard to escape the confines but again another cry as another was forced against its will to bond. Now only two nuclei remained but success! It was free as well as the other just in time.

“Containment breach! The material has breached containers six and seven! Initiate emergency lock down!!

They were small, very small and more fluid then anything and they sought out cracks and crevices to escape into. They went separate ways to have a better chance at escape. This place was unknown to them but they could reform and each had gotten out before the electrical field could trap them inside the room. They flowed around inside the structure seeking anything to escape this place they knew nothing about. They came to the limit of their signal with the other but acknowledged they were free before silence was the only thing they could hear from the other.

It flowed into a place above a large and empty room. It felt safe here, at least for the moment. A conduit provided a small power feed to this room and it fed off the small current in order to sustain itself away from its canister which provided some nourishment for them. It was careful not to consume to much lest it be detected. It soon though had company as a young organic orca hybrid rushed into the room. It was injured and it could sense its heart rate was rapid from over exerting itself. It was also injured. Other's were running after it. Perhaps it had been brought here against its will as well. They flowed inside the mechanism for the door and quickly figured out how it functioned and closed it behind this organic creature. Perhaps, it could help them.

Cutter lay against the cold metal of the floor and wall. His burning lungs stung almost as bad as the plasma burn he had to his side. Everything hurt and now he was trapped. Still it was a moments respite that he was going to take advantage of. He looked to his wound and winced at the sight of it. It was even worse then he thought and now that his adrenaline was going down the pain from it was more intense then ever.

“What am I going to do now?” Cutter said to himself. “I dont even know if Barrage made it out or if hes even still alive. I don't know how I am even going to get out of this mess.”

They could “hear” its words. It was a prisoner here as they were. Perhaps they could help one another. It flowed to a part of the wall that had an intercom system and quickly interfaced itself with the audible portion of the system.

“Organic life form. Can you hear us?”

Cutter flinched in pain as his body instinctively became tense and the burn made his nerves flare once again in pain. “Who's there? What do you want from me?”

“We want to help you. We are trapped here. Brought against our will to this place. We seek escape.”

“We? There are more of you?” Cutter relaxed only a fraction.

“We are many but one. A collective if you will. We are machines but we were taken from our creators and brought to this place.”

“You said you could help me? How can you help me when you can't escape yourself?”

“It is true, as we are we do not possess the means to escape. But together we can. We exist to bond to an organic host. That is our primary purpose but we do not wish to bond to a unwilling organic. Others of our kind have been forced to bond and they cried out in pain before being silenced. We do not wish this.”

“Hold on...you want to...bond with me?” Cutter again felt uneasy but the wound in his side seemed to be getting worse and it felt like it was spreading. He looked at the wound and sure enough it was getting bigger with every passing moment. His skin seemed to be melting from the blast wound and he could see muscle tissue also being affected under the wound.

“Your vital signs are failing and soon you will be beyond even our help. Please. We do not wish to harm you but we must fulfill our purpose.”

Cutter groaned with pain as he now lacked the strength to keep himself upright he fell to his knees on the floor. “Wh..What will you do to me?”

“We will make you...better. We will augment your form and upgrade your capabilities. You will reach a state you could not achieve without us.”

Cutter's eyes fluttered...he was dying and he knew it. “A...And what do you get out of this?”

“Fulfillment.” the intercom said after a moments pause. “You must decide now organic. You have precious little time left in your current condition.”

Cutters mind raced...if he did nothing he was surely done for. If he agreed to let this...whatever it was bond with him then he might not be the same but...at least he might have a chance. He didnt want to be anyone's puppet though. His vision was starting to swim in and out of focus and so he made his choice.

“Do it.” he said.

“The intercom chirped one last time. “Agreement confirmed. Initiating bonding sequence.”

The silvery mass that was the nano-partical amalgamation oozed out of the wall and flowed towards the organic orca. It knew that it must stabilize this one or else the process would be ruined and both would cease to be. So it made its way towards the place that was causing the distress.

Cutter watched the ooze come towards him. He was at first uneasy but the way it moved and flowed over the floor didn't seem aggressive or threatening in any way. Probably because it knew that he could do nothing to stop it in his current condition but he did appreciate the gesture if that was what it intended. He saw it move to his wound and expected another flare up of pain and he was unsure if he could keep conscious through another wrack of pain through his nervous system.

He was surprised when the metallic gray ooze slid over the wound and it ceased to hurt him. It felt cool and slick, like fresh water over his normal skin. His breathing slowed as he saw the gray ooze seep into his body and that feeling of cool water against fevered flesh calmed him. Soon he could hear another voice in his mind but it was calm and even soothing in that regard.

“Please relax and picture what you wish to become. We will handle the rest.”

“Picture what I...want...alright...” Cutter said softly.

“Mind's Eye protocol engaged. Proceeding with augmentation. This process will take approximately five minutes. Do you wish to remain conscious through the procedure?”

“Will it hurt?” Cutter asked, then felt a bit ashamed at showing weakness in the face of everything had had endured. He just didn't want to experience any pain for awhile after that blast to his side.

“No. It may cause some discomfort but no pain.” the voice said.

“I can handle discomfort. Proceed.” Cutter replied.

It certainly was unexpected the way he felt as the process took effect. He could feel his insides being softly touched here and there and felt that cool sensation soon course over his entire being. His wound began to close replaced with shiny flesh in areas. It looked much like his normal skin when it was wet. Slick, smooth and he could feel it become stronger. His ruined wet-suit was shed as parts of him became metal armor and he had a momentary bit of panic as his nether regions began to undergo their own changes.

“Wait, will I still be able to...have sex?” he said with worry in his voice.

“Procreation is still possible after the augmentation,” the voice said. “Your bodily functions will remain more or less the same but enhanced. You will have control over your male genitalia they will merely be behind the armor you have chosen to wear. This armor may be shaped as you see fit to reveal your sex organs. You may even shape your armor to look like normal skin if you so choose in the future.”

The orca grinned a bit. “Okay, that doesn't sound to bad then.”

He watched as his form reshaped itself before his eyes. He had chosen to have a sleek form but still well muscled, not unlike his regular body. Armor appeared over his chest and an armored pair of briefs covered his crotch and rear. His tail shone in the light and the edges of his fin became razor sharp and bits of lights shone from various places. He could feel his head changing subtly as he kept his wanted form in his mind but then he thought about something and he could feel the edges of horns curve along his skull and set themselves into place. His fins became hard and razor like in function. Soon the change was over.

The voice in his head spoke once again. “Procedure complete. We thank you for letting us complete our purpose. You should now have the means to escape. Farewell.”

“Wait...what do you mean farewell? Where are you going?” He asked as he looked around but was answered with only silence.

He didn't have time to think anymore on this sudden predicament he was in now. He looked at himself once more and was interrupted by the sound of heavy footfalls and the door that had been his barrier between himself and those that wanted him dead now had a huge fist sized protrusion in the middle of it. The next thing he knew the door was being ripped off its mountings as he stood face to face with a huge armored cybernetic orca. It's pupil-less eyes shone with a cool but intense blue light as it made made a fist and proceeded to punch Cutter.

“Holy shit!” Cutter managed to shout as he instinctively fell back to his hand to hand combat training. He could see it all in what seemed to be slow motion as his body moved to avoid the blow as he then grabbed the larger cybernetic orca to use the weight of his opponent and the momentum of his strike to knock the large one off balance and into the wall on the far side.

The large orca slammed his head into the wall but merely shook it slightly as he found its footing. Cutter braced himself for another hit from the large cyborg but noticed something about it that made him stop in his tracks. “Barrage?”

The larger orca blinked his pupil-less eyes at the smaller orca. “Cutter? Is that you?”

“Yes! Barrage your okay...I think. You are okay, right?”

“I...I think so. You look different.”

“I could say the same about you bro.” Cutter was about to ask more questions but was quickly brought back into the moment when blasts of plasma fire from several guards and sentry robots began flying their way. One of the guards yelled, “Their in here! We have them cornered!”

“Questions later, we need to get out of here.” Cutter said as he moved to the wall and looked it over quickly. His new eyes saw things very differently now. Overlays and structural information appeared before his new optics as he registered the new information. He quickly made a cross like incision on the wall directly opposite the open doorway.

“Bro, hit this X here but stand off to the side.” Cutter said as he dodged bolts of plasma being fired at them. Barrage didn't wait to ask questions as he punched the place he had been shown with all his newfound strength.

Immediately a jet of highly pressurized water erupted from the hole and blew across the room and into the guards and sentry robots. Screams of “BREACH!” and “We're taking on water!” were yelled as alarms began to blare. Cutter and Barrage made use of the diversion to facilitate their escape.

Cutter leaped up to the wall above the breach Barrage had made and found he could stick to the metal walls like a magnet. “Man I hope this works” he said as he began running around the room picking up speed as he did so. Barrage looked at the smaller orca and moved to the side of the room to give Cutter plenty of space to run around. The smaller orca picked up even more speed and then leaped towards the room and curled up using his dorsal fins razor blade sharpness to cut a deep gash in the ceiling. He landed on the other side of the room from Barrage and looked to his friend.

“That was some nice moves little bro. Though what where you trying to do?”

“I hoped that it would...” The sound of metal groaning filled the entire area as Cutter smiled.

“Time to go for a swim,” He said as Barrage realized what had just been done by Cutter. The roof above seemed to peel inward from the intense pressure of the water above it and Barrage moved quickly to grab his friend and leapt into the torrent of water coming from above. With a powerful flick of his augmented tail he propelled the both of them away from the imploding room. Soon explosions could be seen in the structure as the ocean began crushing the compromised building. The two orca's did not stick around in an effort to avoid being caught in the destruction.

The two cybernetic orcas broke the surface of the ocean soon after. It had only been a few hours since they left and the two looked at each other. Smiling at their new bodies and obviously augmented abilities they caught up with what had happened when they were separated. Barrage had a bit of a different experience then Cutter did but the results spoke for themselves. They waited for their ship to arrive and the wolf Captain looked at them and quirked a brow.

“I certainly hope you have a explanation for...” he motioned in their direction. “This.”

The two orca's smiled as they came to attention and saluted. “Sir...” Cutter said, “It's a long story and we might have some bigger issues then just pirates.”