Arachna awoke.

Her eight limbs floated in a gelatinous, viscous substance that comfortingly trapped in warmth. Where was she? What was this place? Who was she?

Arachna.

That was her name. Imprinted into her mind by the Hive Mother. The knowledge of her name seeped into her consciousness like light pouring in through a keyhole, unlocking a vast array of knowledge. Her self-awareness gradually dawned on her inside the utter blackness that was her still-unborn self.

Her history. Her race. The Krath. The knowledge of ten thousand generations of a once-mighty race that had ruled the stars. Knowledge selectively managed and passed down from mother to child. Knowledge bequeathed like a sacred heirloom fit for a beloved daughter.

But all that didn't matter. Not now anyway. She felt a welling deep within her, an uncontrollable urge like a raging storm. It subsumed her will, instinct taking control as she felt the need to...peck?

Not fully realizing what she was doing, Arachna thrust her beak forward, piercing a slit in the amniotic sac that held together her egg. In an instant, the warm liquid surrounding her burst out of the hole, collapsing the sac. It coated her carapaced body like an outer layer of skin.

But she still wasn't free.

Her body was enshrouded in darkness and trapped in by something else. It was as if she was inside another creature—something larger than herself. Had her egg been incubating within a host?

A second layer of liquid surrounded her now. It tasted different—sweet. Like the blood of an injured animal. Was it blood? How did she know what blood tasted like? Again, her instincts overwhelmed her.

Peck, peck, peck.

A cage of bones surrounded the sweet liquid. A rib cage? She thrashed her body left and right, struggling to free herself. Opening her mouth, she bit down hard on one of the entrapping bones. Crunch. It snapped in two.

Light filled her vision. Violet light. Beautiful light.

Arachna thrust her head upward and tasted her first breath of air. It felt amazing. This must be what it felt like to be born.

She immediately knew something else of importance. Arachna was a queenling. Perhaps one of the last. And this was her hatching.

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Curling her head downward, she stared at the body of her host. She instinctively recognized him as a Yumen male. The creature wore foggy glass spectacles. Behind them, his eyes were rolled toward the back of his head. His cheeks were covered in scruffy hair, and on his head was a small green hat.

What had this man been in life? Cryptic symbols were formed on his bloodied, ripped jacket.

Engineer Carlsen

Her mind fumbled with the letters. Then her inborn memories gradually pieced them together. She could sound out the words in her mind's eye even if she didn't fully understand them. Suddenly, bits of knowledge flowed into her.

An engineer was a type of job for working with machines.

How she knew that she wasn't entirely sure. She also wasn't sure what a Carlsen was.

Arachna bowed her head in reverence. This Yumen had given his life to serve as her host. A worthy sacrifice. One that must be honored.

Yumens were normally meant to serve as delicious meals, but on rare occasions, could serve a higher purpose, as this one had. The man wore a look of horror on his face, perhaps frozen in place since his time of death. The look was so peaceful. So calming. The man must have felt honored to die in such a noble way.

As she gazed into Engineer Carlsen's pale-colored face, she felt a sense of familiarity coat her mind like a gentle blanket on a cold winter's day. Something about this man seemed so intimate. Like he was a part of her.

Rotating her head, she scanned the room. It was filled with dim, violet light—Xitherium. She felt at home in this place, even if there were so many Yumen mechanical constructs. Long cylindrical tubes filled with synthesized Xitherium lined the walls of the room. The purple light they emitted was welcoming, joyful.

An enormous machine took up the room's center. The Xitherium tubes fed into it. Did that thing eat Xitherium just like the Krath?

The mechanical apparatus emitted a gentle hum. There were more Yumen symbols written on it and a variety of dials and knobs that she didn't recognize.

FTL Drive Class Z-92

Odd. Her mind was flooded with another intuition of sorts. This knowledge wasn't born of the Krath. It was so foreign and yet so familiar. This machine was of central importance to this place. An engine.

She visualized it in her mind. Somehow she knew it. Understood it. It was a complex thing but not so different than a Krath. It needed Xitherium to move fast. Apparently, it went very fast. Inside, it was filled with a precisely tuned process for releasing interdimensional energy through the combustion of Xitherium. How did she know that?

Her host. The man named Engineer Carlsen had worked on this thing. Was this man now a part of her? How could that be?

The man had intimate knowledge of this thing. Some of the knowledge had now been passed onto her. Whatever this thing was, she sensed that its power was enormous. It consumed more Xitherium than a Hive Mother.

She turned her attention back to the dead man at her feet. Her twin stomachs rumbled as she stared down at him. The man looked so exposed. He was lying down on a cold metal floor, blood pooling near his side.

Sweet, sweet, delicious blood.

The scent of it filled her nostrils. Irresistible. As a hatchling, she'd need sustenance. The Xitherium in this chamber would provide that. But no amount of Xitherium could taste nearly as good as fresh Yumen flesh.

She gnashed her beak together and clicked. It was time to honor the dead.

And begin her feast.

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Starship Eschaton