Approaching the lair of the serpent queen, Scar and the ooman female slow their run to a fast walk. Scar stops to inspect a piece of serpent detritus left behind at the entrance. The black beast which left this behind has not been gone long--the organic material still retains is tacky composition.
The ooman female unwisely wanders into the moist inky darkness of the serpents’ home. Scar remains behind in order to stand guard. He listens closely to the sounds the ooman female’s shoes make on the floor. He will know if she is in trouble.
A part of Scar wrestles with the knowledge that should the female be impregnated, she will simply be fulfilling her intended purpose. Yet, another part of him does not wish to see the female succumb to the will of the serpent queen. Inside him, grows one of the queen's cruel spawn. Every so often, there is a strange flutter below his warrior's breast. It is a feeling no being should ever know. He will not allow the same to happen to the ooman. She has fought too bravely, and come too far--saving his life more than once already.
The serpent queen and her devil offspring will perish when he detonates his wrist device at the heart of the chuf'trhat. No more deaths--save those of the vile beasts--need happen this day.
After a short time, Scar joins the female in the labyrinth of bones and blackened organic matter. The female is struggling to free the ooman male he saw her with before his impregnation. Charging into the room, Scar levels his shoulder cannon. She cannot be allowed to free the ooman male. All of the queen’s progeny must die with her. The ooman female spies the three red dots hovering over her male companion and races to cut Scar off. Shoving him, she shakes her head furiously.
“No! Please, I need to help him,” the ooman cries.
Scar tries to muscle past her, to get another shot at the ooman male, but the female continues to get in his way. Chittering loudly, Scar shakes his head. He makes a motion at his chest to signify a serpent bursting forth. With a nod of her head, the female returns her attention to her fellow ooman.
“You have to kill me, Lex!” the ooman says between violent shudders. “I can feel it. It’s inside of me. You can’t let them reach the surface. Not even one.”
“I know,” the ooman called Lex answers. She reaches into a pocket and retrieves a small ooman weapon.
“Please, Lex…Just do it!” the cocooned ooman cries again.
There is a sound like breaking bones, and the the ooman convulses involuntarily. The ooman’s unbearable pain is reflected in his quivering voice.
“Do it, Lex!” he cries yet again.
Lex aims her weapon at the ooman’s head, but her hands will not cooperate. She sobs and applies only minimal pressure to the trigger. Another loud crack of bone. The ooman on the wall shudders and his eyes roll up in his head. The cracking of his sternum is louder even than Lex’s desperate wail.
“I’m sorry, Sebastian!” Lex hollers. And then she pulls the trigger.
The back of ooman Sebastian’s head explodes like a ripe melon as the bullet exits his skull and slams into the organic matter behind him. His head snaps back with the force and then rocks forward, settling on his chest. No doubt the ooman is dead. Lex ooman's body is racked by tremors and she sobs uncontrollably. She drops her weapon on the ground and walks away.
While impressed that such a small weapon could pack such a big punch, Scar also feels the ooman female’s pain. She had been close to the other ooman. That much Scar had observed. Being forced to kill someone she cared deeply for could not have been easy. But she had done it.
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An even louder crack of bone interrupts Scar’s thoughts. Followed by a meaty squish. Like a net being propelled at a prey beast, the serpent worm in the Sebastian ooman’s chest launches itself directly at Scar. Free of its bony prison, the serpent thinks of only two things: kill and infest. If one is impossible, it will do the other. Not a complicated beast to figure out.
Scar catches the serpent worm mid flight. He snaps its neck with a powerful twist of his thumb. The worm grows still in his clawed hand and he tosses it away. The newly blooded yautja warrior shakes his beaded head in utter disgust. He returns his attention to the Sebastian ooman. Disappointment floods Scar’s heart and causes his stomach to drop.
Shame that the female destroyed such a fine skull. It will no longer do as a trophy. He should not have missed severing it from the ooman’s body—while the ooman fled merely hours before. And what of the small weapon the female carried? When, and where, had she obtained it? She had not been armed when he met her in the dark corridors. How much damage could that weapon have inflicted had she turned it on him? After the damage done to the ooman Sebastian’s skull; Scar has no desire to find out. He is grateful she left it behind.
Realizing that his ooman companion is still wandering the dangerous serpent labyrinth, Scar heads in the direction Lex went. He peers over his shoulder once more and growls. Such a waste of a perfect skull.
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Scar catches up with the Lex in a small antechamber. Dozens of serpent eggs are spread throughout the room. Some implanters have already expired, after passing on their deadly gift. Others eggs are on the verge of opening—sensing the Lex’s body heat and respiration nearby. Scar flicks open his wrist device with a frustrated growl. She should not have come in here. The Lex stares at Scar’s device and he feels the need to explain its function. He points to his wrist device and makes a hand gesture to signify a flowering explosion. The Lex nods.
“That thing is a bomb? That’s great! I hope it kills every one of these bastards!” the Lex roars.
Her anger encourages Scar. She will need that anger. There are many miles between this lair and the surface. He will do his best to help her get back. However, should she fall behind, he will have no choice but to leave her. The serpent worm has been inside of him for far too long. Even the most skilled yautja physicians cannot save him now. Nothing is more important than stopping the serpent hoard. This hunt has gotten out of hand. Time to set matters right.
Scar sets the timer on his wrist device and tosses it into the midst of the serpent eggs. Scar nods toward the exit and the Lex acknowledges him with a nod of her own. The last remaining yautja and the solitary ooman female take off running.
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The entire sprint back through the pyramid, the Lex manages to keep up stride for stride. They make it back to the frozen borehole in record time. Only while attempting to navigate around the mess oomans call supplies is Scar forced to slow down. His massive bulk makes it difficult to move around the many loose items littering the floor. The Lex looks over her shoulder but keeps running.
The female reaches an ooman lift and extends her hand to punch in the necessary code. She turns and peers at Scar with frightened eyes. The fingers of her hand are covered in serpent jelly. The vile beasts have been here.
A fierce growl echoes off the walls of the frozen ground around them. A large serpent leaps onto Scars back, knocking away his shoulder cannon. Scar falls to his knees and attempts to bodily hurl the beast backward. It pierces his right shoulder, from the back, with its murderous tail. The pain is excruciating but Scar manages to keep his composure. He rears back in order to throw the creature. It hisses and draws back it elongated head. Preparing for the killing strike—it snaps its inner jaw. The Lex grabs a large ooman weapon and aims it at the creature.
“You are one ugly…” the Lex says.
Before she can finish her statement, the serpent strikes. With the large weapon, the Lex blows the front of its double mauled face through the back of its black elongated head. Scar growls and tosses the lifeless serpent away before its blood can pour over his body. The body slides on the frozen ground, halting at the talons of several more of its serpent brethren.
Lex shakes her head emphatically and leaps onto the lift. Scar follows her lead, as the lift lurches forward. The serpents launch themselves at the lift, but are much too slow. The lift climbs rapidly toward the entrance of the borehole.