Starting In Starship Troopers

[Congratulations, You have successfully completed your mission and have fully awoken your system as a Jumper, in a Jump Chain. As a Reward you have been given an Inventory, You can move onto your next mission, or you can return to the universe of Starship Troopers and take your next mission at a later time.]

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"Wake up asshole!" I hear an angry, distorted and concernful shout and feel a harsh smack against my face, only causing a slight pain in the agony my entire body is experiencing…that only matches the worst times during the augmentation process.

"Wha-?!" I hear myself ask my voice garbled and broken sounding to my ears.

'Was…that system prompt…real?'

Opening my eyes…my vision is off somehow like there's a giant…weightless black curtain over my right eye where the jutting rock smashed my visor.

"You're lucky to be alive, I didn't design that armor to take that kind of abuse…nor you for that matter…I've got Fargo working on an implant to replace your eye…" Vanessa says to me and damn does she look sexy and angry all at the same time, before releasing a heavy burden filled sigh as she leans in and presses a chaste kiss against my lips, as her fingers gently caress my face.

"The others are about to come in…there's someone special here for you to meet as well…if you ever do something like that again…" a sob slips out of Vanessa's lips and even though it hurts like a mother fucker I raise my arm that is covered in angry red skin, that looks like it is that of a fire survivor and cup her chin, gently rubbing my thumb along her plump kissable lips.

"I'm not sorry for what I did Vanessa…but I'm sorry that I hurt you and made you worry…"

"Asshole…why do you make it so hard to be mad at you?!" Vanessa asks as another heavy sigh explodes out of her lips making my thumb feel warm and moist.

"Just my natural charm!" I try to tease but I cough up a blood clot flecking her face with flecks of blood.

"Sorry…"

"It's fine…I've spent the last week covered in your blood trying to stabilize your condition…as much as we boosted your natural healing abilities, the qualitative effects of dozens of nukes and hundreds of hundred thousands of tons of rock…Fargo was able to recover most of the data…what were those two giant bugs in the cavern system I know we saw hundreds of Queens."

"Wrong, those little sacks of flesh aren't Queens they're like extensions of the Queen…like a wifi extender…to convey the Queen's orders…the Queen was that massive chitinous mass…next to that pit of teeth and spindly legs." I quickly move to correct Vanessa's who's mouth drops open, "Jax, are you sure about that?!"

"One hundred percent, especially with the way all of the bugs moved to serve it and the one next to it food…"

"I have to convey this information to high command…" Vanessa says to me and rushes for the door once open, Diz, Mercury and Becky enter…my little glass room…Becky with a baby that couldn't be more than a few months old.

'Good for her, I bet she's a great mother.' I smile internally though I feel something in my chest while looking at the baby feeling uncomfortable…I look at Mercury.

Mercury's glaring at me worries me is slightly unnerving…but mostly all I see is self-loathing and regret in her eyes.

"I thought I trained heroism and stupidity out of you Marine!"

"Not with the stories of the beautiful Valkyrie Saint Selena…that plagued every base you trained us on." I shoot back at Becky and love the way a rosey blush paints her cheeks and neck.

"Who's the little one there? She's adorable and is gonna grow up to be a heartbreaker like her mom."

"More like her father-dad." I hear Diz and Mercury murmur together and can't help but frown, while feeling an illogical flash of jealousy and hate towards this father of Becky's baby girl…that has seemingly caught Mercury's attention even after what we shared.

'Guess it meant more to me than her…or I destroyed whatever was between us back on Klendathu…yeah that's probably it."

"Well…I haven't named her yet…I wanted her father to name her…when they met…I didn't know he was going to try and blow himself up killing a Queen's nest…"

"Wait-whaaa?!!!" My words and thoughts are identical as it clicks when the little girl opens her sleepy blue eyes and gurgles while looking at me…I suddenly feel weightless and simultaneously wrapped around her tiny little fingers.

'I'm a father…'

"Can you hold her?" Becky asks me with concern for me and…our daughter clear in her voice, not trusting myself to speak I nod and wiggle further up in the dentist chair/style bed and Becky gently lowers our daughter into my waiting arms, she starts to tell me make sure I support her head, but this isn't my first baby…

"Hello little one, sorry I missed so much already…" I murmur and feel my eyes sting as she gurgle laughs.

'Mom, Jennifer…Amanda, meet your granddaughter and niece.' I say in my head as a few drops of moisture run down my face, and I lean forward pressing my lips against the little girl's forehead…my little girl's forehead.

"Can we name her Amanda?" I ask Becky, my voice coming out as an emotional crackle, that has some heat bleeding into my cheeks…the agony in my body temporarily forgotten.

"Of course we can." Becky murmurs and her voice sounds even stranger in that soft almost dazed dreamy voice instead of the commanding military officer or the sexy vixen…needing some loving.

Mercury walks over and leans forward pressing her lips against mine, "If you ever do something like that to me again, I will chain you up someplace safe and keep you all to myself." Mercury huskily murmurs in my ear making my lower body twitch, which just causes a new floor of pain that makes my whole body flinch and I fight back a groan as my little girls starts trying to put her fingers in my mouth and tug on my bottom lip, while angrily gurgling and kicking her feet.

'She doesn't like sharing papa's attention does she?' The thought brings a warmth to me though I don't notice but it seems every woman in that room shares a similar thought and shoots glares at each other.

"If I have to choose between saving the people I love or my own hide I will always pick the people I love." I say while looking into Mercury's teary eyes enjoying the light blush on her face before turning my head and staring into Becky's eyes seeing that she understands I turn to Diz who's blushing even more than Mercury and shyly/nervously rubbing her arms, a smirk coming to my lips as I turn my head back to Amanda and give her the same determined look which settles down her little tantrum.

"Did Johnny make it?" I ask my voice choking with afterthought even though we have had our problems. He's still my brother and I love him.

"He's fine in a tank getting his leg rebuilt." Diz jumps to offer the information on Johnny's condition.

'Good, I was afraid…my being here might…cause a ripple effect and kill the main cast but so far it hasn't…'

Suddenly the door to the lab opens and a panting red faced Carmen enters the main part of the lab, spotting me she runs over to my little enclosure stopping beside my bed hunching over resting her hands on her knees as she tries to catch her breath.

Becky reaches over and gently takes Amanda away from my look of hurt and betrayal and Amanda's own cries make a regretful expression fall over her complexion.

"She needs to eat and have her diaper change before going down for a nap it's taken me a month or longer to get her on a schedule, don't worry I'm going to keep our daughter from you." A bit of serious teasing in her voice as she leans over and initiates as soft passionate kiss.

"After all, I waited years to find the boy that saved me and my mom at Destiny…I'm damn sure not letting go of the man he became…ever." Becky murmurs against my lips before turning away and leaving my enclosure and lab to the very unhappy cries of Amanda.

"You're awake, Doctor Blake said you'd recover but…" Carmen says while sucking down breaths of air hesitation in her body language…like she wants to jump on me and hug me but her eyes travel my body and she restrains herself.

I see Diz glaring at Carmen from behind her and can't help the internal smirk, 'Snooze your loose, early bird gets the worm…well dragon in this case, guess you shouldn't have been obsessed with a tool.'

Spending a few more hours with the girls Diz confesses to me and apologizes for it taking her so long to realize I was the one she should have been chasing instead of Johnny, before running out of the room with tears in her eyes when I don't give her a reaction that she was hoping for.

Only to come back a few hours later as the strong willed tomboy who forced a school and a bunch of guys to take her seriously as team captain of Jumpball demanding I accept her and her feelings much to Vanessa's and Fargo's amusement.

To me it was minorly annoying to Mercury them were fighting words and the two went at each other like to fat people fighting over the last Twinkie in a post apoptaliptic setting.