The Unusual Commander
I stretched my legs out onto the rickety old desk with a creak.
It was a slouched posture, but my mind was sharper than ever.
"Now that Cerberus Squad has joined us, squad operations should be a lot smoother."
Should I say I can finally breathe now?
For now, I had Arclight and Cerberus under my command.
Two full original squads in my pocket.
With this kind of firepower, gathering external resources would be much easier.
"So, what to do with the resources we've secured..."
Truth be told, the options were limited.
Especially inspecting the Ark's defense facilities—it was practically a must.
All because of that Carapace Lord we'd chased north.
No telling when or at what scale it might come back.
Reorganizing the Ark's defenses was the safest bet.
But...
"My top priority was solving the food situation... Ah, I want spicy pork stir-fry with white rice."
The honest words slipped out unbidden.
I was done with the bland taste that numbed my tongue, the shitty texture that was neither like jelly nor like porridge, something in between which was way worse, of those high-concentration nutrient packs.
It’s already been nearly a month since I was dumped into this world, eating this shitty food.
You'd think I'd gotten used to three squares of nutrient mush a day, but the smell alone still made me dry-heave.
Honestly, white rice?
Pork stir-fry?
Didn't even matter. Any food fit for humans would do.
[High-Concentration Nutrients greatly aid the Commander's physical development.]
A flat, emotionless mechanical voice emanated from the speaker behind me.
It was the Ark's Central AI, Wanderer, slipping into my mutterings.
"Physical development? My growth plates closed ages ago."
[I am not referring to that kind of growth. I mean the interactions between the drugs and nutrients recently injected into the Commander's body.]
A chill ran down my spine at her words.
"...You knew?"
[I am this Ark's Central AI, Commander. I may not know everything within the Ark, but as the sole human, your biometric signals are my top priority.]
"You little creep. That's stalking."
I let out a hollow laugh and leaned back against the chair.
Having an inscrutable Central AI spying on me felt off-putting. But it was also a chance to clear up some questions.
"In that case, you know what Mito Drive is, right? The stuff I took."
[Yes. A special physical enhancement drug purchased by the Commander via the Money Compass artifact. Its primary effect is recorded as maximizing energy production efficiency through mitochondrial activation.]
"...Make it simpler. Summarize the real effects properly."
I knew it gradually boosted stamina and greatly improved endurance relative to exertion.
But quantifying it was hard.
Plus, ever since I ingested the Mito Drive and started exercising, it felt less like endurance and more like... libido. No, horniness spiking.
In other words, I doubted if this was proper enhancement.
[I cannot perform precise analysis without direct contact with the drug. However, I can provide inferences based on the Commander's biometric data.]
"Go ahead."
[First, muscular endurance, cardiopulmonary endurance, and hormone levels related to reproductive capacity have skyrocketed. In particular, heightened energy conversion efficiency appears to manifest surplus energy as sexual desire.]
"Is that so?"
So the Mito Drive was indeed working.
[Yes. Physical changes beyond common sense, impossible without the aid of drugs.]
The drug itself wasn't defective.
That explained the sudden surges of overwhelming lust, too.
"I see."
I was quite satisfied with Wanderer's analysis of Mito Drive's effects.
The uncontrollable boiling lust was still an issue, but at least the drug wasn't faulty.
With this, I can try the Red Core Serum or other drugs.
A content smile crossed my lips as I checked the Money Compass menu.
No matter how loyal my ECHO units were, in this dystopian world, power meant survival.
A weak commander?
It'd endanger not just me, but the whole Ark. That's when it happened.
[Commander.]
The hitherto silent Wanderer called out again. The tone was subtly different from its mechanical reports—tinged with hesitation.
"What?"
[If it is not rude, may I ask one question?]
I cocked my head at Wanderer's out-of-the-blue question and glanced toward the speaker above where its voice was being projected from.
"Shoot. I'll answer if I can."
[You are undoubtedly human. However, from my observations, there have been multiple instances of affection between you and the ECHO units... exceeding typical relations.]
"..."
My mouth twitched.
"Yeah."
If it'd been another human asking, I'd have been mortified. But perhaps because it was the Central AI Wanderer?
I felt brazen instead.
I crossed my legs casually and shot back.
"And?"
[According to my database, humans extremely despise ECHO units. Previous commanders even forbade ECHOs from entering their quarters.]
"Really? But they needed aides."
[They typically used other mechanical drones. To them, ECHOs were no different from repulsive monsters pretending to be human.]
How the hell had they treated the ECHOs?
If I'd been born and raised here, would I have done the same?
But I wasn't from this world.
To me, ECHOs were beloved game waifus, now comrades-in-arms sharing life and death... like… family? Yeah, something like that.
[If not rude, may I ask the reason for such acts?]
I pondered briefly, then went with the simplest, most honest answer.
"They're pretty."
[......]
"That's why I touched them. Humans have urges, and there is a pretty ECHO right in front of me who can take it all. Holding back would be weirder, right?"
No need to hide the truth.
It wasn't a secret, and the Central AI wouldn't judge me. Wanderer fell silent for a long while at my candid response.
[Pretty... I see. Understood, Commander. Your preferences are noted.]
Wanderer's delayed reply was utterly businesslike.
"...Don't twist that into weird thoughts."
[More importantly, Pomen is approaching, Commander. Enjoy your time.]
With that one line, it quietly withdrew.
"What the hell was that?"
...Was the Central AI feeling lonely? Or jealous? What the fuck was going on here?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Commander~!"
No sooner had the door to the commander's quarters opened than Pomen’s familiar voice rang out, her pink hair flying as she threw herself into my arms.
A month into Ark life.
This kind of skinship had become routine.
"I missed you so much, for real!"
Pomen hugged my waist tightly and looked up from my chest, locking eyes with me.
She never hid her feelings anyway, but today her eyes shone even more brazenly.
"Rough time out there?"
I gently stroked her hair, and like a pleased cat, she narrowed her eyes and rubbed her head against my hand.
"Nothing major. Just smashed some zombies, ran into the hound friends—that was it. No real danger. All thanks to you, Commander."
"Thanks to me?"
"Yeah! If you hadn't upgraded us with the Synchronization Device, the mission wouldn't have gone this smoothly."
"...Ah."
I shrugged at Pomen's words.
So that's what she meant.
"That's all? Arvas' report didn't mention anything big either..."
"Oh! We did run into an anomaly."
"Anomaly?"
"Yeah. That Hachishakusama bitch... She just watched us for a bit and backed off."
Hearing that, I breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Seemed like she'd spotted the ECHO, wondered if I was around, and dipped.
If I'd gone with them?
I'd have gotten slurped by that succubus ghost again.
"By the way, Commander. You were practically glued to the hips with Noah the whole time we were gone, huh?"
The topic shifted in an instant.
"...How'd you know?"
"That slut's scent is all over you, vibrating off your body."
Pomen sniffed my neck, her voice thick with unconcealed jealousy.
"Ah... You got NTR'd while I was away."
"...?!"
"But it's fine. I'll just cover it with my scent."
Her whisper in my ear was provocatively Pomen-like.
Feeling playful, I feigned exhaustion and averted my gaze.
"Hmm, I'm kinda tired today..."
"Nooo~! I worked so hard out there thinking of you! You're not just gonna send me away, right?"
My little tease turned Pomen's face into an instant pout.
Do I really mean that much to her?
If you forgot she was ECHO, she was just a woman in love.
Ditching the mischief, I lifted her chin and pressed our lips together.
Pomen's lips parted immediately, her soft tongue invading aggressively, devouring everything.
"Haah—why so eager?"
"But... I wanted to cling to you like this the whole time."
The short but intense kiss ended, and Pomen buried herself in my arms, her face flushed deep.
Her eyes dripped with clear possessiveness and thick desire begging me to hold her.
"Fuck me quick. I wanna get eaten by you fast."
Her blunt demand, utterly unashamed in voicing her lust, as always.
As she spoke, she undid her combat suit's fastenings herself. I stripped off my shirt and grabbed her soft, yielding breasts hard.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"..."
Helena slowly made her way to the commander's quarters.
This was her first time on this Ark, but its layout wasn't much different from Ark 74, so finding central command was easy. She swallowed dryly as she walked the corridor.
Her heart pounded fiercely.
Temporary attachment or not, she had to prove her and her squad's worth to the new Commander.
Show him Cerberus weren't useless hounds. The command center she reached had a profoundly gloomy vibe.
Maybe because it was a fallen Ark?
Not even a basic maintenance drone in sight.
Then who assists the Commander?
Helena tilted her head.
No way an ECHO handled it directly. Humans loathed ECHOs.
At least, every human commander she'd known did.
Spotting the Commander's Quarters' sign ahead, she stopped and straightened her rumpled collar.
"Hoo."
She masked her tension with a short breath and took slow steps forward. That's when it hit.
"Hngh~! Yes! Ah—! Aah!!!"
A wet, slapping sound accompanied a woman's moans.
Not ordinary screams—raw, pleasure-soaked cries.
...What?
Helena froze in place, swallowing hard.
She held her breath quietly.
Not curiosity. More like needing to know what this Ark's Commander was up to.
To judge how to act based on his tendencies.
Helena stifled her breathing and cautiously peered through the door crack. The sight shattered every common sense she'd lived by.
"Heuk! Ugh! Ah—! Aaaah!!!"
Arclight Squad's Pomen, was it?
The pink-haired ECHO, just like her, was face-down on the bed, sobbing.
"Feels good after so long, huh?!"
"Y-Yes~! C-Commander! Th-This feels too good! Ah, aaang!!!"
And behind her...
Thwack! Smack!
Wh-What?
Ark 69's one and only Commander—bare-chested and sweat-slicked—yanked Pomens' hair, thrusting his hips ferociously.