After countless days of war the strategist was assigned to force a conclusion. A new unit was also brought in. There was excitement in the ranks. Impatience. Rikka, my mechanic, chided me as I dragged myself back from solo training. "If you die, I can't help you," she said. "Stay alive. Hey ... is there something you want?" The words dug inside me. A violent force of desire suddenly surged up from some deep place. I replied: "I ... want to mate. I want to devour flesh. I want to fuck your perfect body with the force of life itself."