A Viper's Nest

"Why are we back here?" John asked as Security Chief Yutsi led him through the main doors of the Combat Arena.

Once Ambassador Zorna's ship had left the station, John had been instructed to follow the Security Chief for the day. She had led him out of the docking bay, through the station's many corridors, onto the main concourse and then towards the Combat Arena.

"I've reviewed the training you have received so far and decided that you need to start over," Yutsi replied.

She walked over to where Trainer Tetzu was standing and placed her right thumb onto a nearby pad, signing herself in. John smiled at Tetzu as he signed himself in as well. Returning the smile, Tetzu shook her head when she saw John was about to say something.

"This way John," Yutsi called out as she headed to the Arena's locker room.

The entrance to the Combat Arena was a simple square room, just large enough for a desk, a chair, and a few screens. After signing in, you walked through a barrier that reminded John of a turnstile, just made for and by Vipers. Once through, you walked along a short corridor to another set of double doors, the room beyond was rectangular and was the Arena's locker room. Like the rest of the station and the Cruiser, the rooms and corridors were made of the same light grey material, with lights recessed into the ceiling.

"What's wrong with the training I have received so far?" John asked as he watched the Security Chief deactivate her collar. Instinctively he looked away.

"You're more than welcome to look, John," Yutsi said as she turned around.

John looked back and saw that she was now naked. The light from above shined off her coal-black scales and reflected off her pink eyes. Yutsi's turquoise bioluminescence shined brightly as John's eyes played over her naked body. He had already seen it on the softer inner part of her hood, as well as her long tongue and mouth. What John had not yet seen was her turquoise nipples, both were large and erect. His eyes lingered on Yutsi's very large breasts, bigger than Trainer Tetzu's.

"Do all Terran males have a fascination with breasts?" she asked with a smile.

"Some do," John admitted.

Yutsi swished her tail back and forth and John noticed that there was a swirly pattern of turquoise bioluminescence on the top of it. On the underside, he could see a turquoise outline of the larger scales.

"That's enough," the Security Chief said as she activated the collar for her Armoured Nanosuit.

John's attention was pulled away from the glow emanating from Yutsi's pussy as her body was covered in Nanos. When her collar had stopped emitting the now-familiar neon blue light, she walked over to a nearby locker and placed her right hand against a palm scanner. The device beeped and then opened the sealed compartment. John watched as Yutsi removed two holsters, each one containing a pistol. She placed one of them against her right hip, the holster snapping against her armoured thigh.

"Your turn," Yutsi said as she walked over to where John was standing, "you'll find your new collar in that locker behind you," John turned around as she finished speaking.

The locker itself was eight feet tall, made out of metal and painted dark grey. Looking at it, John could see that his name was being displayed on the locker's display. Placing his right hand against the palm reading, he watched as it scanned his hand and then heard it chime. Pulling the locker open, John found the collar for his Armoured Nanosuit resting on one of the three small shelves, set at waist height.

"How come these lockers are so large?" John asked as he picked up the collar, "I've never seen anyone wearing anything other than a Nanosuit," he said while turning around and looking up at the Security Chief.

"Clothing does exist within The Matriarchy," Yutsi replied, "however, most of the Vipers you'll encounter on the station are in the military," she said and watched John as he deactivated his collar.

"Who all wear Nanosuit Uniforms?" John asked as the Security Chief looked up and down his now naked body. Yutsi nodded as John turned around to place his collar inside the locker. "Are you sure this is my new collar?" he asked. Looking at it again, John could see that all bar one of the extra reservoirs had been removed.

"It is," Yutsi replied, "I had most of your modifications removed," she said and then watched as John activated the collar.

The skintight bodysuit appeared first, designed to create a thermal barrier and prevent any potential issues arising from the armour layer. The material clung to his body as though it was a second skin. When he had designed it, John had made sure that his feet were well protected and that the area around his groin and backside acted similarly to underwear. Once the first layer had completely covered his body, minus his head, the armour layer appeared.

John walked over to a nearby mirror and watched as the Nanos travelled across his body. The first thing that he noticed was that the black carbon fibre look had been replaced by the standard gunmetal appearance all Armoured Nanosuits had. John then saw that the armoured gauntlets were gone, along with the grappling hooks. However, when his collar had finished deploying, he was glad to see that the clothing and his alterations to the helmet remained. It deployed around his head and then folded back into the armoured neckpiece.

"Much better," Security Chief Yutsi said as John turned around.

"How come most of my additions have gone?" he asked.

"Who are you?" came Yutsi's reply.

"What do you mean?" John asked, not sure what she meant.

"Well, who are you?" she repeated, "what rank do you have in the military? What position do you hold within Matriarchy society?" Yutsi asked. John thought about the questions and then realised what she meant. He looked up at the Security Chief and she smiled at him.

"As I'm sure you are quite aware John," she said, "Vipers enjoy sex, especially with males," Yutsi handed the second holster to John as she continued to speak. "Sometimes we forget our place, our duty, and focus too much on the next sexual release. Both your guards and Trainer Tetzu have been reminded of this fact," she said as John placed the holster onto his right thigh. The holster mag-locked onto his Armoured Nanosuit.

"While you do hold the Terran rank of Captain, you are not a member of The Matriarchy or our military," she said, "we of course welcomed you with open arms. It is not often that we encounter a new race or even one who we thought primitive," Yutsi continued to talk as she turned to her right and walked towards the end of the locker room. As she walked, the Security Officer gestured to John for him to follow.

After exiting the locker room, John followed Yutsi down a series of corridors and then entered the Combat Arena itself. Looking around, he could see that the configuration had been reset to what John had seen on his first visit. In front of them was a simple firing range. Targets of various sizes had been set up in front of where he was standing and John recognised both the pistol and rifle firing ranges. Yutsi walked over to the pistol range and stood to one side, gesturing for John to take his place inside one of the booths.

Each booth was separated by a ten-foot wall that looked as though it was made from reinforced concrete. Standing inside the booth nearest to the Security Chief, to his right and set at waist height for John, was a wooden bench that held the practice clips for his pistol.

"Load the first clip into your pistol," Yutsi ordered.

John pulled out the pistol that he had been given and picked up the first clip from the nearby bench. Remembering what Trainer Tetzu had told him, the gun was called a Standard Pistol Mark One Male or SPMk1-M for short. The pistol was made exclusively for male Vipers. To John, it looked just like his family heirloom, a black Beretta M9A4. However, the SPMk1 was chunkier, fired rounds that were made by Nanobots, and the pistol was not over one hundred years old.

"I'll start the first firing exercise," the Security Chief said, "don't activate your helmet as I want to see how good your aim is without the built-in assist." John nodded and aimed, making sure to hold the gun with both hands. He heard a beeping noise and then the targets down range appeared.

*****

One Hour Later:

"That's enough, John," Yutsi said as she appeared at the back of the booth he was using.

Over the last hour, Security Chief Yutsi had tasked John with going through every pistol firing drill that she knew. She even came up with a few new ones just to keep the exercise going. John had surprised her with his pistol skills, ability to hit targets when not using aim assist, and his stamina.

"While I enjoy shooting guns just as much as the next guy," John said as he turned around to look at her, "can I rest for a bit?" he asked.

"We're done for now," Yutsi replied as she looked down at John, "I'm impressed. After watching the footage of your two previous combat exercises, as well as the alterations you made to your armour, I thought Trainer Tetzu had been giving you too much leeway," she said.

"What made you think that?" John asked.

"As I was saying before," Yutsi replied, "you're essentially a civilian, you should not have been given so much access to our technology. However," she said as the Security Officer stepped forward, "you're very good. I'd rate you as being close to one of our Spec Op teams," she then smiled at John.

"Believe it or not," he replied, "before I got stranded at the other end of the galaxy, I was a former member of the UN's Special Forces," John said while returning the smile.

"Considering how well you adapt to changing circumstances and come up with tactics that even I would not have thought of, I believe you," the Security Officer said. "Now, holster your pistol and follow me," she ordered.

*****

Nisku twirled her right index finger in the drink that had been placed in front of her. She was currently sitting with her sister inside one of the station's bars. Etsala was next to her and was about three drinks away from getting drunk.

The bar itself was a large dome, just off the main concourse of the station. The walls were painted a dark grey and rose to twelve feet in height, with the top of the dome around thirty feet high. Hovering in the centre of the room and just below the top of the dome, was a golden chandelier. When switched on, the bar was filled with multi-coloured light as the chandelier went through all of the colours of the rainbow. At ground level and in the centre of the room was the bar itself. A full circle of smooth, off-white metal, set just above the average waist height of a Viper. Set at regular intervals around the circle were thirty stools. Currently, only ten Vipers were sitting at the bar, Nisku and Etsala amongst them.

"It's so unfair!" Etsala complained as she picked up her drink and downed it in one, "we did nothing wrong, yet we've been reassigned. Damn that Viper!" she said angrily. Etsala waved at one of the waitresses behind the bar.

The Viper stepped forward and her scales seemed to glow, much stronger than most Viper's bioluminescence. Looking closely at the waitress, Nisku saw that she was an albino and that her body had been covered in fluorescent paint. Her scales had been painted with intricate patterns and as Nisku looked closer she realised that the Viper was naked. With the light from above changing between the colours of the rainbow, the fluorescent paint glowed vibrantly.

"Easy on the drink," Nisku replied, "we have to report for work in a few hours," she said. The brightly coloured Viper approached them, "it's okay, we won't be ordering any more drinks," Nisku said, stopping her sister from having any more.

"No fair," Etsala said as the waitress walked away and headed over to another Viper sitting nearby.

"Come on," Nisku said as she got off the stool, "let's get you to Medical, see if the Doctor can detox you before work," Nisku then took hold of her sister's left arm.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Etsala said as she was half-dragged out of the bar.

A few of the other patrons watched the two guards as they headed for the double doors, shielding their eyes as the gloom of the bar was pierced by the bright light from outside. The naked waitress, standing behind the bar, sighed as she watched them leave.

*****

"The next part of your training will be with the grenades that The Matriarchy uses," Security Chief Yutsi said as she walked over to a different section of the Combat Arena. John was following close behind, his helmet deployed as instructed.

As they stopped in front of the grenade training area, John could see a series of walls, made from different types of material, a few vehicles that he did not recognise, target dummies, and several protective booths.

"Here," Yutsi said as she picked up a small black box and handed it to John.

He took it from her and examined the box. It reminded him of a deck box, similar in design and appearance to what people used for card games. However, the black box he was holding had a blue light on the front, some kind of attachment on the back, and a rectangular opening on the bottom.

"What is it?" John asked.

"That's one of our grenade dispensers," Yutsi replied, "hold it against your waist and when your HUD asks if you wish to attach it, double blink your eyelids," the Security Chief turned around when she finished speaking and picked up another box.

John watched as she pressed it against her waist and after a few seconds, she removed her hand. The grenade dispenser was now fixed to her Armoured Nanosuit. Following her instructions, John placed the dispenser onto his waist and he watched as a message appeared inside his helmet. Blinking twice, he felt the box attach itself to his Nanosuit.

"Your HUD should now show say that you have ten grenades," the Security Chief said.

"Er..yes, I can see them now," John replied. His heads-up display informed him that he currently had no pistol or rifle equipped, no ammo for either of the two guns, the grenade dispenser had ten grenades available, his Armoured Nanosuit was running at one hundred per cent power, its integrity was all in the green, and that John's health was at one hundred per cent.

"Follow me and I'll explain what to do next," Yutsi ordered.

She led John over to one of the protected booths and waited for him to enter. Placing her right hand against a scanner, the booth's sliding door closed shut and locked. John watched as Yutsi pressed down the blue light and a small round object dropped out of the bottom.

"When it's your turn, press down the blue light and double blink when it asks if you want an anti-personnel grenade," the Security Chief said. She held out her right hand and John could see the small grenade in the palm of her hand. "Find the button on the top, press it down once and then throw the grenade at your target," Yutsi said. John watched as she primed the grenade and then threw it at a nearby group of target dummies. A few seconds later and the grenade exploded, shredding the dummies. "Your turn," the Security Chief said as she stepped backwards and out of John's way.

Stepping forwards, he pressed his right thumb against the blue light of the grenade dispenser and a message was displayed inside his helmet. It was asking John if he wanted an anti-personnel grenade to be created by the dispenser. Shortly after blinking his eyes twice, a small round grenade dropped out of the bottom of his dispenser and John caught it. Looking closely at the grenade in his hand, to John, it just looked like a ball of black plastic with a button on the top. Pressing the button down, he threw it overarm at a different group of target dummies. A few seconds later and the anti-personnel grenade exploded, shredding the dummies.

"Not bad," Yutsi said, "I assume you've used grenades before?" she asked.

"I have," John nodded, "although ours are bigger and heavier," he said.

"That's because these are micro grenades," the Security Chief said as her dispenser dropped another grenade into her right hand. "We do use larger ones, however, most of our infantry use these," Yutsi then turned to face John. "This is an anti-vehicle grenade," she said, "when it's your turn, press the button, blink once to change which type of grenade the dispenser will make," Yutsi said as she pressed the button on the grenade and threw it at a nearby vehicle. It hit the mockup, stuck to it like a sticky grenade and then exploded. A medium-size hole was formed from the explosion.

John stepped forward once the Security Chief was out of the way and activated his grenade dispenser. The message before was displayed on his HUD and then John blinked once. It changed from anti-personnel to anti-vehicle. Double blinking, a small red grenade fell into his right hand. Activating it, John threw it at one of the vehicles and missed. Shortly after the grenade hit the ground it exploded, creating a small crater.

"Is your aim assist still off?" Yutsi asked and John nodded, "try throwing another grenade but this time turn on aim assist," she said.

Remembering how to switch it on, John dispensed, activated, and then threw another anti-vehicle grenade. This time, when he was about to throw it, his helmet displayed a dotted line that showed the best path for John to throw the grenade. Following the path as he threw, he could see it highlighted by his HUD. The anti-vehicle grenade followed the predicted route and stuck to the vehicle. A few seconds later and there was now a medium-sized hole.

"Not bad John," Yutsi said, "there are other types of grenade that the dispenser can make, however, as I'm sure you've noticed each grenade uses different amounts of Nanos," the Security Chief finished talking and once again activated her grenade dispenser. This time a blue grenade appeared a few seconds later. "This one is EMP and the Nanos have now run out," Yutsi said.

John looked at the ammo count and noticed that after he had selected the anti-vehicle grenade, it dropped from nine to four. Pressing the blue button, John blinked until his HUD displayed EMP, he then double blinked and watched the ammo count drop down to zero. The grenade dropped into his hand and he looked at it. Just like the previous two, it was a small sphere, similar in size and shape to a golf ball.

"What happens if I change my mind and want to use a different grenade?" John asked.

"Press the blue light twice and the top will flip open," Yutsi replied, "drop the grenade back inside, close the top and the dispenser will reclaim the Nanos," she said. John watched as the Security Chief demonstrated what she had just said. He tried it himself and watched as the ammo count displayed by his helmet's HUD increased.

*****

"Attention!" Commander Zesta called out.

The main hanger for Border Station Five echoed to the sound of several hundred Viper feet stamping to attention. Shortly afterwards, as the door to their Dropship opened and the ramp descended, several hundred fists slammed against their chests as Matriarchs Eztuh, Ossih, and Szaki walked down the ramp.

The trio of Vipers was each wearing a sheer, full-body dress. Each one was tied behind the neck, had a V shape down their torsos and showed off an ample amount of cleavage. The dress went down past their waists where a simple leather belt was tied, a split was on each side which showed off their thighs, and then the dresses ended about a foot from the ground.

Each Matriarch had different colourings and scale patterns. Eztuh's primary scale colour was navy blue and covered the majority of her body. Her secondary scale colour was a creamy yellow. It started on her bottom jaw, covered the whole of the softer inner parts of her hood, went down her neck, across her very large breasts and nipples, down her abdomen and most intimate of areas and stopped at the insides of her thick thighs. It could also be seen on the soles of her feet, the underside of her tail and from each elbow, covering her whole forearm and hands.