*(mood song: "Bachman Turner Overdrive-Taking care of business")
-- Aboard the Flagship - Deck 5 --
The metallic clang of impossibly heavy weights echoed through the newly constructed gymnasium as Timberly gripped a barbell loaded with Rose's experimental high-density metal plates, and special magnetic platforms on the floor allowed for increased lifting difficulty using magnetic fields. Each plate weighed as much as a small car, yet she lifted them with the fluid grace of someone handling feathers, her enhanced muscle fibers rippling beneath her pale, fluctuating skin.
"KREEEEE-HAHAHA-SCREEEEECH!" Timberly's delighted screeches filled the air as she completed another rep, her translation collar struggling to keep up with her rapid-fire excitement. The sound was like a dolphin having the time of its life, but louder and deafening.
Rose, observing from the doorway with Erik, shook her head in amazement: "I calibrated those weights for someone three times normal octopeople size. She's treating them like toys."
Erik grinned, his enhanced vision automatically analyzing the magnetic fields generated by the weights: "Well, she is the strongest of the elder matriarch sisters after all. Her genes, along with the constant exercise and proper enhancements, do make her quite strong."
Timberly noticed them watching and dropped the weights with a thunderous crash that made the entire deck vibrate. She bounced over on her legs, her skin unconsciously shifting to a slightly pinker hue as she saw Erik, a wide grin on her face, revealing her sharp teeth. Smiling was another trait acquired from the influence of human culture on octopeople, along with her clothes, too, thin and elastic exercise shorts that struggled to contain her, along with an exercise sport bra.
"Erik! Rose! KRREEE-SCREECH!" she called out, barely containing her excitement: "This gym is amazing! The weights are soooo heavy I can actually feel my muscles working! You should try lifting with me!"
Erik laughed, his nanobot-reinforced spine automatically letting out a blue glow: "I think I'll stick to weights that won't crush me if I drop them."
"SCREEEE-HEHE!" Timberly's natural laugh mixed with her translated words as she playfully flexed, her skin shifting through subtle color variations. "Don't worry, I'll protect you if anything goes wrong! How did humans call it... spotter, yes, I will spot you~ "
Rose smiled slightly: "Careful, Timberly, Erik might take you up on that offer~"
Erik shrugged: "Fine, why not, but put me half the weight you were using."
Timberly nodded enthusiastically, then she looked at Rose: "And you... Do machines exercise? It's fine if you have other things to do..."
Rose chuckled: "Well, I guess I could test my operational parameters, why not~"
Timberly pouted slightly: "Is that so... well, so be it." She then cheerfully turned to Erik "Let's start with some bench press?"
Erik nodded, lying down on the bench as Timberly took down half the weights on each side and set her hands below the bar.
Timberly: "Spotter ready~"
Erik grabbed the bar, lowered it to his bust, and pushed back up with a thunderous push. He repeated one set after another as veins bulged on his arms, and small sparks bounced off his skin from the effort "HAH! HAH! HAH!"
Meanwhile Rose didn't need an spotter, she easily grabbed the same weight Timberly was lifting and doubled it, laying down and lifting it slowly rep after rep as her body glowed, the effort not facing her much as the avatar bodies didn't feel pain, thinking to herself "maybe I should remake a new body or create more reinforced avatars since this one contains a fragment of my body... can't risk damaging it... Oh?"
Timberly was getting excited as she observed Erik lift: "That's right, keep going~" as something started to get in the way of Erik's vision.
Erik set down the bar: "...are you alright? Seems like your shorts are about to burst..." looking at Timberly's package, still containing her monster inside somehow.
Rose: "Those are made of reinforced carbon fibers just for her, made on the new 3D particle printer, anyway... I can take over as the spotter if you can't keep going?"
Timberly: "N-NO! I CAN DO IT! I just need... ugh... phew... deep breaths.... just some... deep... breaths... very deep... shit!" The elastic finally gave way as her elephant-sized rod slid up against her chest.
Erik sighed: "We can continue at another-"
Timberly: "... It's fine, no? It's a natural reaction when seeing someone as beautiful and sexy as you, no? I can control myself, I PROMISE!"
Erik: "...really? cause we have a lot left to do afterwards."
Rose was chuckling: " Come on, Erik, she promised~ what could possibly happen~ hehehe~" extending her arms in an exaggerated motion.
Erik looked at the huge dick literally dripping precum and sighed, blushing a bit: "Just rub one out and we can continue after that, okay?"
Timberly smiled widely: "Oh? Will you lend me a hand then? ...or a hole? I wouldn't mind lending you mine~" as she took off her clothes, her bust as well as her huge member exposed as she fingered her dripping wet pussy "what about it, wanna help me out~"
Rose: "Yeah, Erik, let's help her~" Rose suddenly grew a huge glowing member the size of her arm.
Erik: "Well, I could do with some hip exercise and cardio", letting his skin-tight suit fall to the floor, revealing his huge breasts and extremely toned body, his dick also standing to attention. "Alright, lie down on the bench." Comparing his cock to Timberly's was like comparing a horse's cock to an elephant's, but it was still huge.
Timberly: "Okay~" Timberly laid down on the bench, her defined body bare to see, with her huge boobs dropping to the sides and oozing violet milk from the excitement, while her elephant-sized meat rod stood at full mast, dripping fluids. Below it, her pussy was twitching open and dripping fluids to the floor. Meanwhile, her skin kept changing colors in response to her excitement.
Erik put the tip of his dick to the entrance of her pussy and lightly moved it up and down.
Timberly: "hmmm~ fuck me already~"
Erik snickered as he pushed his own meat rod in, all in one go. His dick reached all the way into her womb, sliding between the slimy eggs inside.
*Ahnnn~* Timberly's legs embraced Erik, pushing him all the way inside her slimy depths "Yeah, just like that~"
Rose, on the other hand, walked to the side and caressed Timberly's cock, getting on top and muffling her mouth with her pussy, letting Timberly lick her juices. Rose's mouth lubbed itself as she lifted the tip of Timberly's cock and pushed herself down, taking it down her throat with ease, as she started giving her a blowjow, her jaw expanded easily, and as she didn't need to breath she could go as deep as she wanted, and for as long as she wanted.
The room filled with Timberly's muffled moans under Rose, as well as the clapping of flesh as Erik pounded Timberly's pussy, and Rose's wet sounds as she kept going down till she reached the base, a huge bulge stretching her neck and abdomen.
Erik whistled, impressed as Rose looked up at him, giving him a wink from Timberly's crotch. Meanwhile, Timberly grabbed Rose's hips firmly as she licked deep inside her pussy and sucked on her clit, her hips occasionally pumping up as she dug her cock deeper inside Rose.
Time passed as Timberly's pumps became more hurried and frequent, and her legs firmly locked Erik in place, her firm muscles tightening and locking his dick deep inside. *AHN~* "Im close~! ahhh cumming!" her left hand then pushed Rose's head down as her hips pumped up, slamming into Rose's face as her stomach soon started inflating, huge eggs going up Timberly's meat rod and into Rose.
Erik could barely pump using all his strength: "Damn, you are tight! ugh- im close too... cumming!" and came a huge load inside Timberly as his balls tightened and churned with fluid.
Minutes passed like that, and eventually Timberly released her hold on both of them, as Erik pulled out and Rose uncorked herself with a pop, a rain of semen and eggs bigger than fists coming out of her mouth and onto the floor.
Timberly: "Phew! hah... hah... i... really needed that~ ready to keep exercising?"
Erik looked at the mess and shrugged: "Sure, but we might have to consider making a separate private gym or bigger showers... I can imagine such excitements would be common among the octopeople" putting his cock inside Timberly's mouth as she cleaned him off "a giant open space gym might not be that good of an idea..."
Rose finished coughing out enough and nodded deeply with a serious face while wiping semen off her mouth with the back of her hand: "Well, sex is also exercise... but yeah, I will need to reuse all this available organic biomass, maybe a reactor, or maybe as a form of sustenance as protein powder once freeze dryed... I will give it some thought... anyways~" she stroked her glowing cock while she spread her pussy for both of them to see "isn't it my turn now?"
Timberly's rod quickly regained strength at the sight, as she finished cleaning Erik and just started to give him a blowjob while fingering his pussy.
Rose: "I will take that as a yes~" aligning herself and penetrating Timberly.
Erik: "Wasn't it just once- fuck... you are quite eager huh?" looking down at Timberly as she sucked him to the base and grabbed her head "alright then, careful with the teeth~" starting to slide deep down her throat, pumping in and out with ease as Timberly gagged, all while her meat rod stood like a flag pole, hard as iron for attention.
Timberly took her mouth off Erik's dick for a moment and pointed at her cock, panting: "Hey... do you wanna... you know~" pushing a fourth finger inside Erik's pussy as she sped up, and soon fully fisted into his pussy.
Erik: "Ugh... that... too big... just your fist... big enough already- ugh... hah... hah... shit, let me give you a hand." he pushed his cock back inside her mouth and grabbed her cock with both hands, stroking it.
Time passed as Timberly was once again driven to orgasm, her stomach inflating as she took load after load down her throat, while her own sperm and eggs spewed up and rained down like a hot splash, staining the entire surrounding area.
Finally, Rose came and pulled out, her entire body glowing in excitement: "hah~ can't ever get tired of this dopamine high~"
Erik pulled out of Timberly's mouth with a pop and sat on a nearby bench, as Timberly licked her lips with a satisfied face.
Timberly: "We should do this once in a while~"
Erik: "Hah... hah... sure, but I will ask Inky and Sarah if they wanna join next time, don't want them to feel left out"
Timberly shrugged: "Sure, that's fine." She patted her full belly.
As Erik left the room, though, Timberly stopped Rose: "So... when will I... you know, be able to get pregnant from Erik?"
Rose: "Well, it would require quite the drastic transformation on your reproductive system, like the one Inky had to go through, but different from her, you are the main reproductor of your race, so it might not be wise, however... if your sperm becomes more compatible, you could soon impregnate him..."
Timberly: "It does sound tempting, but he doesn't seem to want that, so it's better he impregnates me"
Rose: "In that case, you will need quite a bit more loads and a lot of my special smoothies, Inky's and Sarah's DNA should also be satisfactory for that goal"
Timberly nodded, determined: "Alright" disappearing as she turned invisible.
-- Lower decks --
Meanwhile, on the lower decks, the massive ship buzzed with organized chaos as about a hundred octopeople made their way from the cramped submarine to their new home, some having been born inside the submarine, the octopeople didn't have birthing pools on the submarine though so impregnation was carried out the normal slower way thankfully, severely reducing birth rates.
The ship's interior was a marvel of engineering, with multiple floors of interconnected spaces, each designed for different functions, as well as apartments set on the upper decks, using ship and spaceship parts set on top.
Jana guided a group of young adults and families through Deck 7, her tentacles moving gracefully as she explained the layout: "The lower hull contains our new storage facilities and ballast systems. We also have room to expand with empty utility rooms."
Young octopeople rushed through the corridors of Deck 6, their excited screeches echoing as they discovered the massive aquarium Rose had installed. A kelp forest with fish and cultivated sea anemones and clams, creating an underwater garden like the ones at the underwater mountain base. The central tank was extensive, to be able to grow kelp for cooking oil.
On Deck 5, families were settling into their assigned quarters. The living spaces were a significant upgrade from the submarine's cramped conditions – each family unit had separate sleeping chambers, a small common area, and access to shared facilities, as well as a connected pad to request garments or equipment that were made by Rose and delivered to each individual via bot or directly into their room using her nanobots through the vent ducts, she had provided a uniform and clothes to all the octopeople, the clothes were made to fit and slightly elastic and water proof using nano fibers that don't let water through so octopeople could even bathe in them if they wanted.
Sarah, her four-month pregnancy now clearly visible beneath her modified jumpsuit, supervised the medical bay setup alongside other octopeople, and an apprentice who had requested to be assigned to her. Her experience showed in the efficient way she organized the medical supplies, her enhanced reflexes still sharp despite her condition.
Her apprentice Yenna, was a warrior but was very interested in medicine after Sarah had saved her life, she had been injured during the battle against the Iron Sect and the golden dawn merchan unions' monsters as a monster had tore her guts open and ripped off two of her tentacle legs, but Sarah had performed a surgery and saved her life, even reattaching the lost tentacles, even though they would grow again it was much better to keep them connected, and since she had to remain on bed for some weeks she had studied about medivine extensively.
Yenna nodded thoughtfully: "The medical pods Rose designed are fascinating. They can treat injuries we never thought possible to heal." making an inventory of all the equipment on a tablet.
Sarah nodded, one hand unconsciously resting on her growing belly: "Rose's technology saved Erik's life more than once. We're lucky to have her expertise – and her friendship."
As if summoned by her name, Rose's nanobots coalesced from the ceilings and floors into her familiar avatar beside them, the ship's hull providing unlimited raw material for her manifestations: "The medical bay is fully operational now. I've also installed specialized equipment for octopeople physiology – their reproductive cycles require specific environmental controls after all, some birth pools should increase their life quality and allow otherwise would-be mothers to keep working on their assigned daily tasks."
Sarah wasn't surprised anymore by Rose's apparitions: " I see, the ship should be big enough for way more population after all, I've estimated it should be able to hold around 20000 individuals comfortably, so increasing our population is a good idea"
Rose: "Yeah, the more the merrier, as they say~" looking at Sarah's belly.
-- underwater mountain base --
Back at the underwater mountain base, chaos reigned in the overcrowded incubation chambers. The pools that once comfortably housed a few hundred eggs now overflowed with thousands, the murky water barely maintaining proper temperature and nutrient levels.
Shana surveyed the scene with growing concern: "We need to move more of our people to the outside for now. The incubation pools are beyond capacity."
A scout, her small frame darting between the pools, reported breathlessly: "Elder, we've had three more bacterial infections this morning. The sanitation systems can't keep up with this population density."
The overcrowding had created a perfect storm of problems. Young octopeople, barely past their juvenile stage, were being thrust into adult responsibilities without proper guidance.
Traditional family structures had collapsed under the sheer numbers – it was impossible to track parentage when thousands of eggs were fertilized collectively in the communal pools.
In the expanded kelp farms, workers moved frantically to harvest enough food for the growing population. The farms that once seemed vast now appeared insufficient as hermaphroditic octopeople reproduced at unprecedented rates.
A Hunter-Captain, missing one of her tentacles from a recent leviathan hunt, addressed a group of nervous young octopeople: "We lost twenty-five scouts, twelve hunters, and three warriors to the deep hunting expeditions this month. The gulper fish are getting more aggressive, but we need the protein for the growing population, so today I shall start your training as a proper tracking team to spot new prey for the hunting teams."
The octopeople, barely adults themselves, gripped their harpoons with trembling hands. The old training programs had been accelerated out of necessity – what once took months now had to be accomplished in weeks.
Back at the base, an announcement was spread all along by Rose: *Flagship with Erik and the Elders approaching the horizon, proceed to the newly built docking station above the ice for sighting onto the horizon*
Excitement exploded on the base as everyone started to get ready.
-- flagship Aquilon battleship --
The long journey was almost over as, away in the horizon, they could start to see structures over the ice. Erik stood on the deck, his enhanced vision looking into the distance. A wall of ice blocking their path.
Erik activated his communication system: *Rose, are you seeing what I'm seeing, how are we gonna get through the ice?.*
Rose's voice responded directly in his mind: [I'm working on something right now, but we gotta hurry, population density has exceeded all safety parameters on the base, and 40% of the current inhabitants are living in huts outside again. The sanitation crisis alone could cause a plague if not addressed immediately.]
Erik nodded deep in thought: [ Let's get there fast, can we build a giant chainsaw, or what's your plan to deal with the ice? maybe a huge microwave emitter?]
Rose: [a small project I've been working on, a ionized plasma cannon at the front of the ship~ you might wanna hold on tight~]
At that moment, the entire flagship violently vibrated and then... *FWOOOSH* A giant plume of ionized blue flame impacted the ice wall, instantly creating a wall of steam as the ice sublimated. The steam quickly cooled down as it started to fall down as snow. The boat started to be pushed back slightly as the turbines spun faster in response.
In the control room, Amanda and other octopeople monitored all the sensors to make sure the ship didn't hit the ice walls on the sides.
-- Back at the base --
Crabina, Erik's adopted crab-girl daughter, waited on the docking platform at the top of the ice with barely contained excitement. Her four arms – two human-like, two ending in powerful claws – fidgeted nervously as she watched into the horizon along with Anhuka and multiple other octopeople.
"Dad's coming home," she whispered to herself, her intelligent eyes scanning the distance.
Then a flash of blue light was seen along with steam.
Anhuka: "That must be them" longing in her voice.
-- Jungle Planet --
Meanwhile, on the distant jungle world, Antonio's team had spent hours deeper in the underground facility. The captured natives lay unconscious, secured with restraints fashioned from equipment straps.
Monico worked frantically at a neural interface console: "Guardian, are you getting anything from the brain scan?"
The metallic voice responded through the facility's speakers: [Neural patterns... analyzing... translating... creating comprehensive linguistic database...]
A three-dimensional hologram appeared, showing fragmented memories from the captured native's mind. Images of tree hollows carved into living wood, underground burrows hidden beneath the forest floor, and, most disturbingly, ritualistic gatherings around fires where humanoid figures consumed what appeared to be their own kind and had sex all at the same time.
[Language structure... primitive but functional... approximately 847 unique vocalizations... survival-based culture... territory concept central... detecting concerning behavioral patterns...]
Antonio leaned forward: "What kind of patterns?"
[Cross-tribal warfare... capture females for forced reproduction... males killed and consumed... infertile eggs harvested for nutrition... aggressive expansion through violence and cannibalism...]
Elena shuddered: "Great, so they're organized cannibals... just freaking amazing, shit"
Monico frowned: "Might be a survival adaptation to this hostile environment, but it makes long-term cooperation impossible." As he uploaded the linguistic data to their translation systems, at least they would understand some words now.
The tribal leader began stirring, his six eyes blinking in confusion as he focused on the humans surrounding him. His mouth moved, producing clicking sounds and guttural vocalizations.
The guardian's translation came through the speakers: [He says... 'Metal-spirits bring thunder-death... we serve sky-hunters now... please no kill-consume our flesh...']
Antonio kept his weapon visible but lowered: "Tell him we don't eat people. We want to understand this place and the dangers in the forest, and how do they survive."
After the guardian translated, the native's posture relaxed slightly. He began a rapid series of clicks and whistles, gesturing toward the facility around them.
[He explains... forest contains 'Great Devourers'... pack hunters larger than trees... his tribe survives by hiding in carved tree-hollows and underground burrows... they mark territories with scent-glands... survival through concealment, not confrontation...]
The native's voice took on a reverent tone as he continued.
[He calls this facility... 'Metal-Heart-of-Ancestors'... sacred place of the before-time... spirits of ancient ones guard it... only sky-hunters can enter without angering ancestor-spirits...]
Elena exchanged glances with Antonio: "They've known about this place for generations but been too afraid to enter it too much, it seems."
Antonio: "They probably got fried by the security systems till it eventually went offline"
Over the following hours, more natives were brought to consciousness and questioned. The guardian's growing database revealed a complex tribal society based on survival, territorial warfare, and ritualistic cannibalism that served both nutritional and population control purposes.
Several younger natives showed intense curiosity about human technology, offering to help repair systems in exchange for protection and knowledge. Their leader, a scarred warrior called 'Stone-Tooth,' communicated through the guardian's expanding translation system.
[Stone-Tooth offers... tribal alliance... his warriors will guard facility entrances and hunt for food... in exchange for thunder-weapons and protection from Great Devourers...]
Antonio considered this carefully: "Local knowledge could be valuable, but their cultural practices..."
Monico shrugged: "As long as they don't try to eat us or try to kidnap us, I can work with anyone. We will have to leave at some point anyway."
Elena wasn't as optimistic: "Their entire civilization is built on violence and exploitation. This feels like making deals with predators, do we really need them?."
Antonio pondered: "They could be useful for now, as long as they don't get too close.
[Stone-Tooth insists... sky-hunters are the greatest warriors... stronger than ancestor-spirits... tribe will follow sky-hunter laws while learning sky-hunter magic...]
Antonio nodded: "That will have to do for now, but we are getting out of here as soon as we can, scan all their brains, guardian, tell them it's a meditation exercise wearing the... helmet of knowledge."
[Understood...]
That night, as the humans settled into their temporary quarters within the facility, the guardian's sensors detected movement in the surrounding hallways. Antonio had posted watches, but trusted the facility's defensive systems to provide early warning.
Around 3 am, the guardian's voice woke Antonio from restless sleep: [Alert... unauthorized entry attempt... four signatures in the residential sector... intent appears hostile...]
Antonio's enhanced reflexes kicked in immediately. He grabbed his rifle and moved silently through the corridor, his three centuries of military conditioning and experience guiding every step, his steps not making any sound as he approached the next corridor.
His genetically enhanced hearing picked up soft footsteps and whispered clicking sounds near Elena's quarters. The guardian provided real-time translation: [They plan... capture sky-female... force egg-laying ceremony... create hybrid offspring for tribal strength...]
Antonio's enhanced vision switched to thermal imaging, revealing the exact positions of all four intruders. His tactical analysis, perfected through centuries of military operations, and cybernetically and genetically enhanced senses, calculated optimal firing solutions in milliseconds.
The first native never heard him coming – a silenced shot to the head dropped him instantly. The second spun around just in time to see Antonio's muzzle flash before the bullet punched through his chest.
The remaining two tried to flee, but Antonio's genetically enhanced speed made escape impossible. Two more precise shots ended the threat permanently, each bullet placed with surgical precision.
Elena emerged from her quarters, weapon drawn and ready: "What happened?"
Antonio's voice was cold and calculating, his tensed musculature relaxing as the threat was neutralized: "Cultural education. They tried to kidnap you for their breeding rituals. It won't happen again."
The next morning, the native tribe discovered the bodies arranged prominently near their temporary camp. Stone-Tooth examined the corpses with professional interest, noting the precision of the kills before approaching Antonio.
[Stone-Tooth declares... 'Sky-hunter shows power beyond Great Devourers... tribe understands... no touch sky-female... sky-hunter is war-spirit made flesh...']
But Antonio wasn't finished establishing his dominance. Over the following days, he demonstrated human weapons technology by hunting some of the forest's most dangerous predators. Using thermal imaging, enhanced reflexes, and precision rifles, he systematically eliminated creatures that had terrorized the native tribes for generations.
When he returned with the corpse of a massive Great Devourer – a bear-sized predator with armored hide and venomous claws that had killed dozens of tribal warriors – the entire tribe treated him with the kind of awe normally reserved for mythological figures.
The natives watched in stunned silence as Antonio single-handedly dragged the enormous carcass into their camp, his military-grade body musculature providing the necessary strength for such a feat.
[Stone-Tooth proclaims... 'Sky-hunter is the greatest warrior-spirit... stronger than ancestors... mightier than forest-gods... tribe serves Sky-hunter now and forever...']
While the natives feasted on the Great Devourer's meat, Antonio discussed strategy with his team.
Antonio: "This arrangement works for now, but once we get this base operational, we're implementing full lockdown protocols. I don't trust their tribal politics long-term."
Elena nodded, checking her weapons: "Agreed. They're useful for local knowledge, and we need manpower to restore the facility, but once that's done, I say we ditch them all."
Monico looked up from his technical work: "I agree, the guardian's linguistic database is nearly complete. We should be able to communicate with any tribal variants we encounter anyway, the females are the best to scan as they have different dialects. We might find more useful tribes to help us manage the spaceship, and we could train some technicians... HR was never my forte, though..."
Elena sighed: "If only Erik was here..."
Antonio: "HAHA true, he always convinced others even on the strangest of virtual simulations. I can negotiate too, though"
Monico shook his head: "Your way of negotiating is a hammer, and not everyone is a nail..."
Antonio chuckled: "You can hammer anything if you hit hard enough hahaha!"
Elena and Monico shook their heads in resignation.
-- Main Octopeople Base --
A Week Later, the flagship's massive plasma emitter and hull cut through the northern ice fields, Rose's nanobots reinforcing the ship's structure as it cut through thick ice walls with a thunderous roar. The plasma engulfed the ice ahead as the prow broke through the layers underwater. The frontal plasma cannon never stopped spewing plasma as the ship scraped the walls on the sides. The ship's powerful engines and reinforced exterior made short work of the frozen barriers that had previously made a northern approach impossible.
As they approached the underwater mountain base, the sight that greeted them was breathtaking. Rising thirty meters above the submerged mountain tip, a magnificent structure stood on pillars of reinforced bioalloy, rising above the ice with multiple floors, organic polyps growing along the supports like living decorations as some emerged from the water.
Erik whistled appreciatively: "Rose, you've outdone yourself. That's going to be our launch facility?"
Rose's avatar appeared beside him, pride evident in her voice: "The surface platform will house the particle fabricator, launch systems, satellite manufacturing, expanded armory, and defensive installations. All connected to the underwater base via a central elevator shaft, along with the docking port. We... I... will need to find a way to periodically melt the ice around from now on, though it could be a defense system on its own, though the creatures living on the ice are still a threat."
On the platform's docking area, figures could be seen waiting eagerly for their arrival. As the ship's massive form settled into the specially constructed port, Shana and Megan stood ready to greet the returning heroes. Behind them, the magnificent surface platform gleamed in the sunlight, and underneath its bio-alloy pillars covered in living polyps that pulsed with bioluminescent patterns, illuminating the waters below.
Rose's construction robots had completed the massive structure during their absence – a launch facility capable of producing and deploying spacecraft, complete with particle fabricators, satellite manufacturing bays, armories, and defensive systems. An elevator shaft descended through the mountain, connecting the surface platform to the underwater base below, as well as docking ports for the submarine and the new flagship.
-- At the Docking base --
As the docking tubes connected, the emotional reunions began immediately. Elder Shana, the wisest and oldest of the matriarch sisters, moved with incredible underwater grace as she swam up and jumped onto the platform to greet Erik and the others.
Shana embraced Erik with traditional formality: "Welcome home, Erik. The months have been challenging, but we've maintained order. How was Sarah's rescue from the southern... lizardman territories?"
Erik hugged her back respectfully: "Dangerous but successful. The techno-barbarians were well-organized, but we managed to steal one of their ships and capture some prisoners."
Elder Megan, her curvy form moving elegantly on her tentacles, approached with obvious relief: "Thank the depths you're all safe. The population crisis has tested our limits, but we've endured."
As the gangways lowered, Timberly bounded down to the platform and immediately leaped into her sisters' arms, her impressive height making her tower over most of the others present.
"Shana! Megan!" Timberly's delighted screeches echoed across the platform as she embraced her sisters. "KREEE-SCREECH! I have so much to tell you!"
Behind them, the towering figure of High Elder Artalia descended more slowly, her six-meter height requiring the use of the ship's largest cargo ramp. The ancient survivor moved with dignity befitting her age and status.
Artalia looked at the structures, as well as all the octopeople gathered around, now all looking at her in awe, and smiled. She would have to learn fast all these new technologies quickly to be able to help. She felt full of motivation as she muttered to herself, "The Octopeople Empire... it shall be reborn!"