Page 4 of Prize for the Alien Grumpus

"Sir, with all due respect..." One of his men shifts from foot to foot. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

I drop my head back and sigh.

These weaklings scatter like leaves in a storm. Three of them hit the ground face-first, begging for mercy. Pathetic. The fourth pisses himself and drops his weapon.

"I can't get a decent fight anymore. Everyone just runs away, or falls to their knees and begs for their lives. Are there no real warriors left in this fading Galaxy?"

My roar echoes off the basement walls. The sound brings back memories of better days, when opponents actually fought back instead of cowering.

Heavy footsteps from the stairwell. A massive shape emerges from the shadows, ducking to clear the doorframe. This one's different - carries himself like he knows how to throw down. His grey hide ripples with cybernetic enhancements.

"I, Gork, challenge."

His knuckles crack like gunshots in the confined space. Finally. Someone with a spine.

The air crackles with potential violence. My fur stands on end, electricity dancing between my horns. The scent of ozone mingles with his mechanical oil smell.

"At least one of you has some balls."

He towers over his companions, nearly matching my height. The smaller ones scramble out of our way, pressing against the walls.

"Been waiting centuries for a proper fight."

My claws extend with a satisfyingsnikt. Gork's cybernetic eyes whir as they focus on my stance. Smart. Studying before engaging.

The basement feels too small for what's about to happen. Perfect.

Gork launches into an elaborate display, his cybernetic limbs whirring. His foot slices through the air in a high arc. Another kick. A backflip. More kicks.

The basement echoes with his shouts. "Hi-YAH! WATAAAAH!"

My ears flatten against my skull. The sound grates worse than malfunctioning ship engines.

He springs off the wall, tumbling through the air. His chrome-plated legs flash under the fluorescent lights. More yelling. Always with the yelling.

"I've studied Kur Lee under a Grandmaster." He lands in what he probably thinks is an impressive stance. "I can split a stack of Novarian timber fifty pieces thick without getting so much as a splinter. You're about to experience a whole new meaning of pain. A whole spectrum of pain! Like a rainbow!"

The urge to yawn nearly overwhelms me. I raise my hand and backhand him with barely any effort.

His augmented body crashes through the concrete wall. Dust and debris rain down where he vanishes into the darkness beyond.

"You should have called it a Painbow." I brush fragments of wall from my fur. "That would have been witty AND succinct."

The remaining Grolgath raise their weapons. The air fills with the staccato of gunfire, bullets pinging off my hide like raindrops.

"Oh yes, right there." I clutch my sides, doubling over with laughter. "That spot's been itching for centuries."

More bullets spray across my chest. The sensation reminds me of those massage chairs in luxury spaceports.

"This isn't helping your case, you know." I straighten up, stretching my arms overhead. "I am he who dines on your entrails and thoroughly delights in the experience. I am the missing lugnut from an easy-to-assemble stardrive. I am KRAMPUS."

My claws tear through the first soldier before he can reload. The second tries to run - his spine snaps like kindling in my grip. The third's head makes a satisfying crunch against the concrete pillar.

Support beams groan as I rampage through the basement. My fists punch through walls, my kicks demolish storage units. The hated cryo pod crumples beneath my heel, centuries of frost-covered metal reduced to scrap.

Bodies and debris litter the floor. The basement lies in ruins, structural integrity compromised. Dust settles in my fur as silence returns.

That female's scent still lingers. Faint, but trackable. She freed me from that prison - perhaps she can tell me where and when I've landed.

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