Raptor One – Chapter 49

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I get up from the floor, i was hidden in a corner of a untouched room where the xenomorph goo did not reach yet, with a sigh i head out of the room and start walking, the walk was never boring i had to stop or dodge the sudden xenomorph appearing, the cloaking surprisingly holding all this time as i move my way south, closer to the bridge elevator, and to the queens quarter.

After some time walking, trying to keep my cool under all the movement I'm seeing and feeling, i find a strange room, after doing a closer inspection i find it’s a hospital ward, the curiosity got the best of me so i decided to look inside, but the door was jammed with xenomorph goo.

I give the door a good pull, but it does not move, the sound of creaking metal and hardened goo under stress resounds, only a facehugger move close to investigate, but after finding nothing it moves away.

I take a deep and slow breath, the scent of flammable material is overwhelming, and very terrifying for me as Avali, we tend to burn easily, just like the xenomorphs, i grunt a little and pull again at the door, this time the door opens fully with only a simple and low shriek of metal as the hardened xenomorph goo breaks apart, i do manage to think properly and move with the door and get the surprise and horror of a facehugger flying at mach 13 into the side wall and crawling away as it failed to surprise me, that was hiding beside the door of which it missed the face, my face.

Not wanting to give in to the wishes of the RNG god i just gave a light prod with the hardened goo and feel if something was inside, the sound of hard material hitting squishy goo gives a low sound, but enough to give me a detailed layout of the room and it’s inhabitants, the good things about having a bat like hearing.

There’s two drones and a warrior inside, three spaced eggs lies whitin, it’s contents clear to me even not seeing inside it, no rogue facehuggers.

Walking inside, my head look at the closest menace, then i look at the last two, i think of dealing with it in one attack, but after some thinking i find it not possible, they are at impossible angles to hit in one motion, and all the ways to attack will trigger the eggs on me, and just like that, game over.

I just sigh and try some medicine on the drone, it did not detect my approach so it was free for some unhealth care.

When it felt the needle pierce it’s spine it tried to struggle, but the medicine and my combat skills kept it silent and immobile, the consequential venom to the brain made it die a silent death.

Nanites sure are good at what it does, be it to save or kill.

The second target close to me was a warrior, awfully blissful in it’s hiding place, unknown of it’s demise, it was fast to react to the needle, but it was too late, all it could do was give a simple jerk before paralyzing in place, soon after it died in silence too.

One last one before i can sweep the place clean and start searching for goodies, if I'm lucky I'll find the medical supplies used by the marines.

Approaching the last drone in this hospital ward was a little more hard, it did feel something wrong, but soon it returned to idling in it’s hole, where i was waiting it, watching it’s body relax after some minutes later, i moved in a need into it’s back, just like the rest, it was dead after some minor movement.

I give a glancing look at the area, not big, but not small too, as i was about to search the place however, i started to feel the thump of footsteps, big boy is returning, so i decide to abort the plan and hide in a corner, close to one of the eggs, the closer to the enemy, the less ways it’ll think of finding you.

Just as i thought, the big guy decided to take a look where i was, it’s big frame passing the door and scanning the place, at a glance it does not seen out of place, but if it decides to look closer there may be a hunt for me sooner than i want it to happen.

And yeah, it did look closer at the unmoving xenomorphs, and found they are dead.

It’s shrill scream was loud, yet hurt my ears as i felt everything close to me start moving, even the eggs on the ward opened after some movement, the one i was close to detected me for some miracle, but i managed to roll away from the facehugger shotgun it launched my way, the facehugger itself looking around in a frenzy.

Good part of all this is that they failed to find me a second time and moved out in search for me, so the area’s clear, but the queen will have more defenders and watchers later...

This place better have some medical treasure for me or I'll sue this simulation!

After looking around... Six times, i did manage to find something of value.

Hidden by hardened goo was a full on medic power armor, tower shield, weapon, supply, all.

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I just got very giddy, the me inside just yelled to suit up, but the me outside reminded I'm Avali, so no suiting up.

I groan in displeasure, the only thing i can outfit for use are the needle gauntlet, the tower shield that is not that useful to me, and the medic gun hidden on the suit shoulders.

Working fast i manage to adapt the needle gauntlet into my left hand, and after some tinkering i managed to plug the shoulder cannons into my neck sensor, Sigma did give some curious remarks about my thought process as the design did work if not for the lack of defense.

Again, after the sixth try i managed to correctly drill my nanites into the needle gauntlet, now my punch can kill or punch the life back into someone, crazy call this move, gangster medicine.

Moving out from the medical ward i see the area looking like someone poked a hornet nest, is this simulation even wanting for me to complete this?

Taking extra care as i move under the now alert xenomorphs i weave deeper south, using side corridors and interconnected rooms.

At last i did manage to get close to the open area, the access area to the elevator is on the other side, but this open area, that i can’t guess what it is anymore is now the queens chamber, and is full of eggs, not to mention all the lurking xenomorphs and the two praetorians close by.

This is looking near impossible, can’t run, they are faster, specially the facehuggers, can’t fight, I'm in enemy territory, that’s suicide, can’t use a side route, there’s only one way inside the bridge.

Can’t curse or I'll be exposed almost instantly.

Okay, I'll have to go all out here, harness the fury, slow your perception of time, unlock your psionic flow, let your instinct out, but don’t let it take over...

Okay here i go.

Diving between eggs, not letting it lock on to me as i pass, never staying in one place for too long, i manage to close one quarter of the way as i dive under eggs, dodge happy facehuggers as they jump my way, and passing under the blind spots of the xenomorphs, but after managing my first one quarter I'm detected by a close xenomorph, a drone, so i have no choice but to dive into it, before it can hiss in alarm I'm already on it’s back, my free hand making a silence sign, a way to make the xenomorph choke leaving it open for anesthesia, of which i gave it on the lower mouth with the needle gauntlet before disappearing from it’s detection range as i move forward.

This needle gauntlet is already making itself useful.

As i dodge and dive under the many xenomorphs and it’s happy facehuggers i manage to make it to the second quarter of the way, the queen however is looking very confused at the acts of her brood, but did not act on it yet.

I manage to get lucky and move in a mostly unwatched area, of which there’s only eggs, having no xenomorph close by to hinder me i manage to move another quarter and not trigger the egg mine that are those things.

Only one quarter left before i can jump inside the corridor that leads to the bridge elevator, this time however the crossing was very turbulent as i feel the shockwave of gunshots, they fired the main cannons on the upper deck, this is bad.

I hold a curse inside as i feel the whole area decompress, there’s no emergency doors working on the upper deck to keep the oxygen inside, that means I'll lose my best weapon, my ears, i curse as my body miss a xenomorph by a inch as i land roughly beside it, it’s eyeless face looks at my semi visible contour as my cloak struggle to reform it’s energy back into me.

Despite being knocked down i manage to lunge at the drone, dodging it’s tail and giving it a anesthesia punch to the jaw before sprinting out of the way, the praetorians did not see me, but the queen did manage to have enough focus to see my semi cloaked shadow before i started sprinting away, her high pitch screech resounded one last time before the air was finally too thin to allow sound to travel.

I manage to see a warrior jumping my way, it’s attack will land on me, but i managed to double up before it landed, so it’s attack missed, but the action gave the other xenomorphs the chance to attack as the cloak destabilized again, the drone that decided that spiting acid was a good idea managed to hit, yes, it a egg that is, because i was already far as i used the loss of gravity to speed up my movement.

I almost nail the flight route to the corridor, but the praetorian was having none of me, so it launched it’s tail my way with surprising dexterity and strength, i was almost divided into two before the cloaking managed to stabilize enough to not let my location get known again, the attack changed my flight course slightly.

I hit the side wall of the corridor leading to the bridge two times before losing enough momentum to stop, the wound is grievous, i lost a kidney, a lung, and everything in between until my shoulder where my left arm almost got chopped off.

There was not blood spray, my nanite blood wont leave my body without my permission, reducing nanite loss.

Gritting my teeth i start using the shoulder medical gun and my medical skills to stitch myself together in seconds, my lost organs already recovered and repaired by the nanites as i glide the last meters to the ship elevator to the bridge, my left arm still numb and non working as i press the elevator button.

The elevator give me no response and there’s xenomorph incoming.

I just rip off the elevator panel and test the energy, ok, the controls, not working, rerouting control system to neck sensor, done.

I look up to find the blinking of descending elevator, so i untangle myself from the elevator wire and get ready to fight.

My left arm is still not working, and there’s a lot of xenomorphs coming my way, i need a miracle.

And a miracle just happened, the elevator door opened before the xenomorphs got close enough, so i dive in and punch the button to the bridge and watch the double door close.

I manage to dodge a tail, and hold a grin as the elevator door cuts it off for me as it moves up to the bridge.

I sigh as i feel the bridge autonomous gravity drive as the door opens.

Walking inside i see nothing, the area is untouched, so i walk to a console, my left arm dangling beside me while i let out a jet of red smoke, the mask opening to let me grunt in pain, finally I'm almost done with this bullshit.

I lean on a console as i gasp for air, the pain clouding my mind as i let my neurons relax, just like that i slump to the floor, my pain sensor overloaded.

This pain however tells me that I'm alive, and that my left arm is finally working as i give it some small flex, it’s feeling returning to me as i get up, and just in case do a check up on myself for chestbusters.

None.

I can’t get up, my body don’t have energy for that...

“Hey... Nail head leader, still alive...” i ask, my voice weak.

“Feather brain! You okay there buddy?” i hear the platoon leader voice, his tone showing worry.

“Yeah, just had to stitch myself together two times to get to the bridge, I'm out of gas, got some?” i reply back, my voice returning a little to normal.

“Haha! Hear it boys! We got someone on the bridge, from now on the rest is easy! Feather brain, we got the hangar bay secured and open, what do you got for us and the party poppers?” he ask me

“Colony Ship can’t be salvaged with minimal loses, unable to reach the bridge before killing the queen, grr...” i grunt as i get up, looking at the blinking light, Artificial intelligence.

“I got contact, A.I, should have access to the civilians and their status along with their ejection codes, and I'm pretty sure this black box is the A.I that’s looking at me, i got things to solve and civilians to save, Omega out.” i say before getting to work.....