Hancock says in amazement as he studies the Cave Queen’s artwork, “This is incredible! It’s like a photograph!”
The Queen chirps, and Lopez jumps, not expecting the direction of the Queen to be almost behind her, “Yaenk you.”
Lopez whispers, “Sh-She’s here?”
Hancock chuckles, “It is her home now.”
“W-Where…? I… was hoping I could see…”
Hancock asks, “You want my helmet? She’s right in front of you.”
Lopez squeaks, “C-Cave Queen?”
The large alien chirps warmly in her own voice, “Yeck?”
“Um… M-My name is Levi… Um… You’re a lot like… um… my favorite creature on Earth. And… I, um… just wanted to meet you… F-For a little bit… I’m sorry if that sounds dumb.”
The Cave Queen replies, “Kay koo much. Me-I, yearn.”
Coulson –Rena, specifically- explains, “She can’t pronounce some syllables, and she can only handle so much, sorry, Doc.”
“I-it’s okay…”
The Queen says warmly though, “I meek. Cave Quee. Nyike kuu meek you, Yevi.” Hancock sees it coming, but Lopez doesn’t. The Queen gently touches Lopez’s hand, and the young woman jumps. She squeaks quickly though, “S-Sorry! I-um, I don’t mind… I just wasn’t prepared…”
The Queen cautiously touches her again, and Rena giggles, “She likes how warm we are. Be careful, Doc. You may never leave.”
Lopez chuckles nervously. Hancock watches as Lopez grins sheeplishly, though, idly playing with the Queen’s touch as much as the Queen is idly touching her. Lopez says softly to Hancock, “She’s so soft…”
He chuckles, replying, “She’s also the size of a car.”
Lopez’s eyes widen, more clearly trying to picture the being in front of her. He sets the suit and helmet down, taking his own off to hand it to Lopez. He states, “It’s pretty clean. Take a look.”
She puts his helmet on without much hesitation, and she gasps when she undoubtedly lays eyes on the Queen, needing to look up to see the Queen’s face. The Queen giggles warmly, saying brightly, “You not avraid?”
Lopez mutters, “No… Y-… You’re beautiful… I…” She sniffles, “I never got to see or touch a real… I… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t compare you… I just… um…” Lopez looks down sheepishly, unsure what else to say.
The Queen states warmly, “Yaenk you, Yevi. You beankeeful, koo.”
Lopez laughs in disbelief. Hancock is just enjoying the show. It’s not often Lopez shows joy or happiness in such a way, even with him. She truly is fascinated by the Queen, and she begins asking many of the questions everyone asks the Queen; how old she is, what her world was like, if she’s doing okay in space. She answers as best as she can every time, seemingly possessing no capacity for frustration or boredom.
After a little while, Hancock finally jumps in to add, “By the way, Cave Queen, we brought you a small gift. It’s a helmet and skirt to protect your eyes and your eggs.”
Lopez squeaks, suddenly remembering, “Yes! That! Um.. It’s auto-polarizing, like this room, so you should be able to see safely anywhere. B-But, if it’s okay, I’d like you to wear it while we brighten this room to test its function.”
Rena cautions, “If I may, Doctor. Light harms the plants, too. Might be better to take her into the light lock and start with a flashlight.”
Lopez nods fervently, “Oh my gosh, yes! Sorry! I didn’t even remember or think of the plants!”
The Queen smiles warmly, asking through Rena, “This will allow me to travel to the lab on my own?”
Lopez nods, “Yes. Th-though, I’m not military, s-so I can’t speak for escorts or not.”
The Queen nods. They help her put on the skirt and helmet. The skirt looks kind of awkward and restricts the Queen’s ‘legs’ some, but she is able to adjust quickly. She fidgets more with the helmet, which seems to be uncomfortable on the Queen’s two ball-like protrusions on the top of her head or the shroud that hangs down from her head. The team that modeled the helmet tried to be mindful of leaving space, but clearly, the appendages are more sensitive than even the Queen realized. Captain Long limits scientific research on the Queen, so it’s only hypothesized currently that the two orbs on her head are her ears, similar to a 3-dimensional frog’s ears. Coupled with her ability to ‘view’ her surroundings perfectly even in true total darkness, they believe her ears act as sonar, though she doesn’t chirp continuously like a bat, meaning her ears probably use ambient noise to clarify what her eyes see.
Looking at the helmet now, it’s obvious covering her ears won’t work very well. But, for a temporary solution, the helmet and skirt will give a free member of the fleet more freedom. And, Lopez will turn over her observations for improvements to be made. Of that, Hancock has no doubt.
They lead her into the light lock, and Hancock pulls out his flashlight. He asks, “Ready?”
The Queen replies, “Yeck.”
He nods, “Here goes.” He aims the light away from her and turns it on. Lopez quickly asks, “Anything?”
The Queen says with some surprise via Rena, “The helmet adjusted, but now I have trouble seeing anything but a circle.” Rena’s voice is loud, implying the Queen’s ears also let her adjust the voices of her vocal host.
Lopez is quick to open her laptop, but Hancock gently stops her. “I think it’s working, Doc. She’s probably seeing what we see, now. In a lit up hallway, it won’t be an issue.”
Lopez stares for a second, realizing she’s letting her emotions take over. She nods, “Right. Um… Does anything feel tingly or burning, Cave Queen?”
The alien studies her body for a moment. Just in the reflected light, she’s more visible. She replies through Rena, “Nothing, I think.”
“O-Okay. Rex, go slow.”
Hancock nods, “Yes Ma’am. He gently turns the light towards the Queen. She gently tightens on Rena, apparently a little nervous herself, but she stands by patiently. The beam of the flashlight is about to touch her, and he asks, “Still okay?”
She nods, “Yes.”
Hancock slowly turns the light onto her ‘legs’, several of the ones out in front of her. He holds the beam on them.
True to suspicions, the Queen appears to be transluscent; not quite see-through, but Hancock can make out what look like muscle fibers, twitching a little as they support her weight. He can also see purplish lines spidering across her tentacles. He would guess that these are her blood vessels.
Lopez asks, “Any change?”
The Queen shakes her head. “None yet.”
Hancock slowly works the light towards her center of mass, up her torso, and to the helmet. Thankfully, both pieces seem to be working well. Lopez checks to make sure she isn’t trying to tought it out, but it seems the Queen’s eyes are the most sensitive part as far as light.
Next is the real test, though. They’ll be turning on the lights in the hallway “light lock” they’re in.
The Queen readies to shield herself with a blanket Rena brought. Hancock is ready on the light switch. Lopez says, “Three seconds, Rex. Turn them off after…”
He nods. He turns the lights on, counts to three, and then turns them off. The Queen looks at them curiously. She states, “It… Didn’t hurt at all.”
Rena asks, “Ready for longer, then?”
The alien nods.
Hancock turns the lights on, keeping his hand by the switch just in case.
Lopez is awestruck once more. The Queen’s whole body is a cloudy pinkish-bluish mix, with many of her organs visible as slightly darker colored shapes. Her lungs seem to be working opposite of each other, constantly pumping air in even as air is going out, and she has what appear to be four lungs, working in two opposing pairs. Her vocal cords are visible, and they seem to flutter occasionally like she’s about to chirp or purring or something, but it isn’t audible. Most fascinating, though, is the long, coiled organ in her lower torso, just above where her skirt starts and would be her swollen abdomen. The organ looks kind of like a croissant, but it seems to squish itself by twisting at one end, cascading the squeeze along its full coiled length, and relaxing just about one inch or so after the squeeze. Before any one pinch has cascated to the end, another one is starting.
Lopez asks softly, “Is that your heart?”
The Queen looks down at her torso. She replies, “I don’t know..”
Hancock looks at the much larger lines leaving the organ, spidering off into the much smaller blood vessels. Hancock replies, “I would guess so, but… seems a little inefficient, doesn’t it?”
Rena replies warmly, “Could be why she’s so silent when she’s standing still though.”
Lopez adds, “It’s like a pinch pump. Short of something with an impeller, it would let her keep a steady, continuous flow of blood. And, with more muscle groups, it’s possible she –her species- don’t experience fibrillations without being able to keep blood flowing. If a group stops, the other groups can still move blood.”
“I see… Weird that we can make these observations just… you know… looking at it.”
The Queen chirps a giggle, replying, “Your hearts are very noisy. I asked Mina what the noise in your bodies was, and she said hearts. You MUST hear when you try to sleep, yes?”
Hancock chuckles, and Rena replies warmly, “It’s not often we hear our own. And it’s usually not bothersome.”
Hancock remarks, “My question is, if the Queen’s species evolved to be so totally silent, making them the perfect ambush predators, is there something you used to hunt on your world? Animals you eat?”
The Queen looks down, and then away. She replies softly, “I have a story in my memories, but I don’t know who told it or when. The story told of the beautiful world, the stars in the sky, the rain, snow, leaves, rocks, and creatures of all media… things I’ve never experienced…”
“Because you couldn’t go outside…” murmurs Lopez, seemingly following.
The Queen nods, adding quietly through Rena, “I don’t remember much else, but… I’ve always wondered why it was. I then… overheard a surface dweller claim a Queen bigger than me had to be… killed… for stealing…” Rena’s voice pauses as the Queen seems to be searching for a word. Strangely enough, however her telepathic translation works, it’s rare that the correct words don’t come out of the host's mouth. She doesn’t seem to be able to force her words out, either. Her own voice chirps out a word as close to human syllables as she can get, meaning it’s not pronounced at all like a human; “Yee-kik-rr-oooo-rrr,” The R’s and ‘oo’ roll more like a bird warbling, but it’s clear she’s doing her best. Rena’s voice adds, “Living creature, but not… easy to communicate with. Host must be intelligent; communicate with. Otherwise, eggs at even greater risk.”
Hancock says, “Sounds like livestock, then. You think that Queen was stealing them for food?”
The Queen looks at him, saying calmly through Rena, “I never thought it until I learned of you and the Grodurns. I had no idea why, but I never once thought living beings would eat others.”
“N-not all of us do!” squeaks Lopez. Hancock knows she does, but he also would bet she’d stop if it bothers her new favorite friend onboard. “Sorry… i-if it bothers you…”
The Queen smiles, replying, “We eat what is available, and what is necessary, and then what we want if we can. I do not fault you. I simply never knew it was a concept.”
Lopez sighs. He’s in agreement. Space frog isn’t the best thing he’s ever had, but it beats bread and water alone. There are also some other livestock on the ships for much longer journeys, but the rationing on them is intense, thanks to their own high intake of grains. Ironically, the lobster population is flourishing. They make good disposal –or recycling- of biological material of livestock –and for those who’ve signed off on it- deceased humans. While it’s not a lobster’s ideal diet, Hancock has heard they’ve been doing well from Kenzie, which is why lobster comes up rather surprisingly often. Quite often, Hancock forgets these ships were built as self-sustaining luxury cruise ships.
The Queen studies the room with the lights on, saying, “This is quite incredible, Levi. Thank you.”
Lopez blushes and fidgets. She replies softly, “I can’t take credit for this one, b-but if you need anything at all, someone can reach me.”
The Queen nods. They show her how to recharge the helmet, how to open and close the doors more properly, and the route to the lab, though there’s only one of her laid eggs surviving, and it’s in Lieutenant Kane’s care now –primarily to let the protestors think they’ve won until the instigators can be rooted out-. Plus, unlikely anywhere is safer than the care of a mysterious supersoldier.
And with that, Lopez reluctantly leaves. Hancock is just glad this task was more like a vacation for her, from how much enjoyment she got out of it. No one deserves it more.
He follows her. His job as her assistant only ends when she’s done for the day. And, that’s too often a rare occurrence.
***
Helmdraav Khla walks through the security checkpoint to the holding area housing mostly Grodrrns. She was offered an upgrade to a real room and bed for her service, but she politely refused. She is thankful, but she doesn’t want to be uplifted if none of the others have been. And, though his situation has improved, it’s unlikely Jardzen Dzor is going to be offered much anytime soon. Maybe a bed, but Khla suspects the humans are intentionally trying to keep him a little weaker. If he escapes, they’ll have no way of stopping him short of killing him. He knows about their water hoses, their shock weapons, and their gas weapons. Dzor was a soldier long ago and faced much worse. Khla only knows this because her Chulm’chn was defending Dzor to his bondmate. She was afraid Dzor would get Jardzen Khla killed, but Khla insisted Dzor was a war hero.
Neezha has trouble believing it. She has no doubt Dzor was mighty as a soldier, but he’s aggressive and mean, and he’s had an ingrown scale about something BEFORE the humans. Khla knows Jardzen is about as high as normal Grodrrns can elevate to without knowing someone close to the Haeroczaas or the Saurmynnyka herself. And, Jardzens get a lot of autonomy to keep them content. Rebelious Jardzens are easy for the Fievegal to deal with, but they still don’t want to. The only other sort of promotion would be to settle down on a world and govern, but even Khla doubts Dzor wants that. He likes being mobile and superior in more ways than just title.
But, he is at least not putting up a fight every chance he gets. He knows, if he is to escape, he only gets one shot, and Khla believes he doesn’t have a full plan yet. Especially because the captured Grodrrn ships could be anywhere in the fleet at any given time, depending on what they’re being used for.
And today, Khla has news that might just keep him mild mannered. She walks briskly to hers and Dzor’s cell box. She’s allowed to come and go pretty freely, but must be escorted once she leaves the holding area. Even with Dzor, as long as the guards signal she’s allowed, she can let herself in and out of her cell. Dzor just has to be seated in his usual spot. If he does decide to rebel and won’t sit, Khla can’t open the door. Fortunately, it’s rare he tries to flex his muscles and scales. The humans are easily intimidated, but this only makes them more defensive –and likely to shoot-.
Khla is buzzed in, and she walks excitedly into the cell. Dzor is laying down and has his eyes closed, but he knows she’s there. He can usually hear her footsteps before even reaching the door to the holding area itself, though he’s been fooled by the other Grodrrns coming and going for lab work.
Surprisingly, Dzor contributed to the ongoing experiment taking place on Khla without much questioning or objection. He knows what’s being attempted, and he’s curious to see where it goes… If the humans can complete it before he is free.
Which excites Khla at the thought. She says warmly, “Yarjen Jor?”
He grunts at her, acknowledging her. He may have been napping before she arrived. But, she doesn’t care. Not with this.
“They’ve done it!” She grins warmly.
“Doon whut?” asks Dzor gruffly. He often seems like he’s making a point of staying difficult to understand. This, of course, hasn’t fazed Captain Long.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Khla sits down beside him, showing him the electronic tablet she was given. She can’t keep it long, and at no time can Dzor touch it, but he’s allowed to look.
The screen shows a time-lapsed video of a yellowish goo shifting. Dzor watches with one eye open. It’s then shifting to a darker picture as the camera navigates through a twisting and winding organ. The goo is then deposited. Next are brief snips of similar locale, but the goo has started taking form, rounding off, gaining a solid outer… shell.
Dzor’s eyes are wide open now, and he watches as what is definitely an egg is taking shape.
The Jardzen is stunned. He’s not sure what to say at first. When his usual demeanor returns, he says gruffly, “{That could be a human.}”
Khla smiles, saying in English, “The last image is from today, Yarjen. They successfully got embryo to start, and decided to see eef my body could do what needed. Eet eez. Shell only start though. Not very theeck yet.”
Dzor stares at the image a moment longer in stunned silence. He looks away and growls, “{Still a long way from hatching.}”
She replies softly, “You are still Baskylla Yarjen. I will not dispute. But, I thought you should see, Yarjen.”
She stands up to move away from him, but he suddenly asks, “You okye weeth theess? Weeth my… {You okay with this? With my…}” He trails off.
Khla smiles, replying softly, “I would not volunteer otherwise. Am thankful you accept, too. Eez compleecated situation. But, I will be Chulm’chn eef you not w-…”
Dzor quickly spits out, “{I…!}” He pauses, adding more solemnly, “Omm preeznor. Hov no sah. {Am prisoner. (I) have no say.}”
Khla is touched. It’s not for her sake, but he does care. The speed of his initial start is clear evidence he wants to be a Chulm’chn. His tone shifted to truly sad when he said he won’t have a say.
Khla smiles, replying, “{We will figure it out, Yarjen.}” She takes a seat, adding, “I was exceeted to tell you, but I’m sorry eef unprofessional.”
The large Grodrrn snorts in amusement. He replies, “{It’s okay. As you say, the situation is complex.}” He scoffs, adding, “{Seems unreal…}”
“{I know. I bit my tongue earlier when they showed me… was bleeding whole time in the meeting.}”
“{Meeting?}” asks Dzor deviously. There are some meetings, not many, but some, that Khla has asked him not to pry on. She would tell him, but it would destroy everything she’s worked for. He’s kidding now, knowing that the meetings she is allowed to talk about are meaningless or mundane.
Surprisingly, though, she answers, “Was meeting about signal anomaly. Seence planetary recovery I fly, we detect signal. Strange though, because never grow stronger or weaker.”
The Baskylla Jardzen scoffs again, joking, “{Humans are new to the universe. Many signals to learn.}”
“I know. But, this one was on shuttle, and only one direction. And, eet pulsed just a leetle.”
At ‘pulsed’, Dzor’s smirk dissolves. The humans know the gravionic pulse very well now. And, it tends to ‘splash’ across signal detection with a heavy wave, showing some signal in all directions. The other means Grodrrns have of tracking are similar in that they grow or shrink on distance, and echo a lot, making a portion of the signal seem omni-directional.
Dzor isn’t old by Grodrrn standards in any stretch, but he’s undeniably mature. He’s been in one of the infrequent skirmishes with the few rival sovereignties to the Fievegal. Only one of them has an interstellar detection system comparable to the Fievegal’s gravionic pulse.
And, that system is completely undetectable on a device that can detect the gravionic pulse, which is the only interstellar signal the humans know to listen for with certainty.
Dzor’s scales tighten. This foreboding realization is almost as bad as the moment his ship reached the human fleet’s threshold; when he was certain he was about to die.
Death with what’s coming would be a luxury by comparison.
Dzor is on his feet in an instant. He roars, “{GO! FIND YU-CAPTAIN LONG! WE MUST LEAVE THIS PLACE!}” Khla is startled back to her feet, and she nervously looks up at him.
Dzor says quickly, “{YOU MUST GO! NO TIME!}”
“Y-Yarjen…?”
Dzor paces. Helpless is not a suit he has ever worn. It doesn’t fit him. He wants to tear it off, but it’s strangling him. He knows he’s scaring her, but he doesn’t have time. He turns to the camera, snarling, “HOOMINS! WE MOOST LEEV! TILL COPTON LONG! Z-ZARAKSINS! FLEET COMING! HURRY!”
The human voice comes across in the cell, “Settle down, Yarjen. You’re not making sense.”
Dzor roars furiously, “TILL HER TUU LEEV! NOW!”
“I’m not warning you again, Yarjen. Calm-…”
Dzor roars thunderously at the wall. The whole box shakes. And, just as suddenly, he stops. He is as silent as a moon.
Khla’s heart is racing and her body feels cold. She stares at Dzor with wide eyes. He stands eerily silently, given what just happened.
He then murmurs, “{I see… It’s already been too long.}”
Khla realizes he’s listening now. Listening intently, she hears something strange. A metal on metal ‘clonk’ that touches the whole ship, but not violently so.
A moment later, a deep gonging fills the ship.
“General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands, man your battlestations!”
***
~There’s something strangely poetic about a battle in the stars. No matter the size of the battlefield or the scope of the units in play, the grandest of battles are infinitesimally small compared to the void surrounding them. There are only flashes of light and drifting destruction.
It never really occurs to anyone how truly silent space is. Not until everything is powered down. No birds cawing, no waves crashing, and no screams. There are no sharks to claim the bodies lost to the void. No water to dilute the blood. You don’t hear the reports of cannon fire. And, if your enemy knows what they’re doing better than you do, you never know they’re coming.~
No warning. Metal impacts started tapping the hull, and then General Quarters sounded. The announcement repeats as Chief Grey navigates the crowds moving in every direction.
“General Quarters! General Quarters! All hands man your battlestations! Combat teams repel boarders! Repeat; Combat teams, repel boarders! This is not a drill!”
Captain Long’s voice comes next, “This is the Captain! Providence jump was interrupted by enemy vessels! Give no quarter and defend this ship! We MUST protect the Providence!”
Grey looks outside when he passes a viewport. It’s certainly not the Grodrrns this time. The enemy fleet is over 50 strong in cruiser-class to carrier-class ships alone, it looks like. The largest ship is about the size of the Grodrrn battleships, which makes it larger than the Polonia, but it’s completely different. It looks like a gyroscope almost, but with ships extending out of the three standard axes for omnidirectional combat focus, it seems. The rings attaching the ‘bows’ of each ‘ship’-point are also robust and wide. Its orb-shaped profile is large, and from it, a swarm of small dots are racing toward the fleet. Bright whitish purple beams of energy streak into the human fleet from the enemy ships, though Grey can’t feel any distinct impacts.
Regardless, he continues jogging. It doesn’t take him long to find his first skirmish. Smoke has filled the hall where the boarding craft bored into the ship, but the figures are roughly human-height. Marines trade fire with them, keeping to cover as best as possible.
Grey kneels with Mina, Fisher, and Brown, asking over the gunfire, “Everyone else!?”
Fisher replies, “No idea, Chief! These guys cut us off.”
Several of the hostiles have fallen already, and the rest are holding cover inside their boarding craft, with several leaning over each other to fire. Mina carefully aims as the others keep them suppressed.
With careful headshots, Mina is able to put them down one at a time. One of the other marines with them is hit by the aliens. Several manage to pull him to safety, but not before one is hit in the shoulder doing so. He falls and begins seizing like he was just hit with a taser. Grey notices one of the aliens adjust something on its weapon.
Not if he can help it. Whatever death ray weapon the alien is tuning, it won’t serve any good. He storms the gap as he tosses his rifle aside to draw his shotgun. One alien springs out to fire on him, but a quick shotgun blast tosses it onto its back. Grey pumps the next round in, slowing as he reaches the door. He blasts an alien firing on marines or civilians up the other way. Its back armor ruptures, and gas spews out. But, Grey is already whirling into the doorway to fire round three. He whirls back as several inside try to spray him with fire, but Fisher is already swooping low in a deep lunge. The petty officer fires two bursts of his rifle and dives across the doorway to the other side.
Grey pins a grenade and holds the spoon. It’s the last one he could find. They aren’t making more for now for obvious reasons. But, Grey’s used a lot of grenades in his life. Given the size of the boarding craft, it won’t rupture. He releases the spoon as squeaky, buzzy noises are chattered at him from inside.
Grey taunts as he cooks the grenade, “Sugar? You got it.” He tosses the grenade into the boarding craft. Half a second later, a deep whump and a blast of fire and metal erupts from the craft with high pitch humming squeals.
Grey and Fisher nod at each other, and Mina places a hand on Grey’s back, letting him know she’s right behind him. Grey and Fisher whirl in, Grey low and Fisher high.
The remaining hostiles are down. Grey says calmly, “Make sure they’re all dead.”
With the current moment under control, the marines survey their enemy. It doesn’t take but one good look to recognize their new adversary.
Mina, wearing only a teeshirt and shorts with her boots, remarks dryly, “Well, if it isn’t our ol’ pals back from whatever toilet they got flushed down.”
Fisher adds, “I already hate the roachies more than the crocs.”
Grey turns to the two marines hit. He asks, “Dead?”
“No Chief!” calls back Brown. “Unconscious.”
“Both?”
“Burn marks, but yeah. Chief, they look okay otherwise.”
Mina asks, “They want us alive?”
Grey replies, “Maybe. Doesn’t change how I want ‘em. Alright marines! We have to take control of the hangar. It’s where the bulk of our gear is! Brown, take a few marines and get them somewhere safe. If you have to sneak, disguise, or kill your way to the hangar, do it. I suspect we’ll have the advantage in numbers.”
The marines cheer, “Oo-rah!” while the Navy fighters cheer, “Hoo-yah!”
The aliens become more numerous with every passing minute, though. Grey’s group just arrives when one boarding craft that was attached now detatches, leaving behind an airlocking door. Moments later, another boarding craft docks at the same spot, unloading 20 more of the insectoid invaders.
Several more marines go down in the skirmish that follows. All of them are incapacitated by the alien blasters, but none of them have anything more serious than burns. Given the aggression the bugs are showing, Grey doesn’t expect their desire for unharmed humans has anything benign about the intent.
The Polonia’s artillery finally thunders in reply to the enemy ships, but it’s not the full arsenal. It’s quite possible the bugs have disabled or captured several sections of the ship already. They’re moving fast and there’s a lot of them.
The damage control’s voice comes over the intercom, with some static garbling it, “Fire fire fire. Class alpha fire reported three-tack-three-seven-seven-tack-three, starboard engine room. Away, Flying Squad, away.”
Fisher calls over the gunfire, “Alpha!? What’s there to burn alpha in the engine rooms!?”
Grey shouts, “Shut up and focus!”
Mina calls out, “Isn’t the oh-two garden back there?”
“Nothing we can do! Keep-…!” Grey is cut off by Fisher taking a shot from the bugs meant for Grey. Fisher collapses seemingly lifelessly, and Grey curses under his breath. Mina manages to snipe the one that just shot Fisher, but ten more are present and firing at them.
Grey manages to pull Fisher into the room at his back and checks Fisher’s vitals. He’s alive, but unconscious. Grey tries slapping Fisher’s cheek just in case, but to no avail. The Chief rejoins the firefight. Two more marines have already collapsed from the alien weapon fire.
The DCO adds over the announcing circuit, “Hull pressurization lost in compartment oh-nine-tack-two-one-tack-twelve; Zebra is set; shoring team access rupture from outer hull.”
Mina cries out, “Are they nuts!? Spacewalk in this weather!?”
Grey retorts, “I don’t know! One o’clock!”
“Got him!” Mina fires just as a bug is charging to the next closest room. It collapses against the wall, spewing foggy gas into the hall. Mina yells, “And why are these things breathing farts!?”
“KEEP FIRING!”
One of the marines near Grey collapses, and another cries out, “Contacts rear!”
It’s every soldier’s nightmare. They were barely holding as it was. Now, they’re being attacked from both sides and outnumbered. Mina scrambles across the hall they’re in, as the wall cubby she was using for cover guarded her only from the front hostiles. Grey pulls her shirt collar to help her, narrowly avoiding a shot himself. He feels the static tingle on his blindside cheek. He snaps out, “Anyone know where the Stranger is!?”
“Lieutenant Kane!?” asks another. “I think I heard he was on the Andromeda!”
“They better be doing better than we are, then!”
Shouting comes up the hall from the front group. Gunfire startles them and makes short of the aliens there.
A male voice yells, “CHECK HALL!”
“CLEAR!” yell the marines with the first voice.
He yells, “FIRE!”
A thunderous barrage of bullets roars up the hall, and those aliens at the rear that don’t fall immediately flee down a side hall.
The new marines jog up, led by Chief Marvoni. Marvoni orders, “Seal this door for now! Who’s in charge?”
Grey stands up with Mina, asking, “Marvoni?”
Marvoni turns, relieved. “Chief Grey? Glad you made it. We cleared here to berthing. Tachi took a team to clear to the hangar, but…”
Grey finishes the thought undoubtedly about to come out, “The roaches keep pouring in. Got it.” Grey spots Long standing timidly in the middle of the group. Marvoni replies, “That’s right, Chief. Full volleys seem to scare them though. At least for now. You good?”
“Fisher and two others went down here. Brown’s tending to two more back a ways, but…”
“I hate to say it Chief, but I think we need to regroup. The bugs appear to be using non-lethals. If…”
“I know… It’s crossed my mind, too.”
Mina is stunned. She shouts, “You two CAN’T be serious! We are NOT leaving them behind! Not like this!”
Grey replies, “They’re not dying. If we don’t move fast though, they’ll surround us again. And if we all get hit, we lose. We need to get to a defensible position fast.”
“I can’t believe YOU TWO of all people…!” Mina is cut off by, “CONTACTS FORWARD!” “…REAR!” finishes another voice simultaneously. The bugs coordinated a new flank.
Marvoni yells, “COVER! OPEN FIRE!”
The marines scramble out of the hall. Ten of the twenty or so fall in just that short time.
Grey yells, “KARMA! I GOT IT! TO HELL WITH THESE DAMN BUGS!” He keeps firing, kneeling to pick up a second rifle. He can’t even see down one of the guns, but he doesn’t care. He uses both at the same time to spray bullets down the hall in blind hope.
Marvoni tries to give orders and coordinate defense, but he takes a hit. He’s not unconscious instantly, but he sinks helplessly to a seated position.
Mina notices Long flinching more than firing. She quickly darts over to the teen, squeezing in beside her. The auburn haired teen, in her armor thankfully, for what little good it may be doing, jumps briefly. Mina says as calmly as she can, “Breathe, Long! You’re gonna be fine! We all are! Take your time, aim, and shoot.” Mina fires a few times, taking out two bugs.
“W-What are they planning…?” whimpers Long. Mina cuts her off though, saying, “Don’t think about it! Don’t ask questions! We’re soldiers. All we have to do is follow orders. And your orders are to aim and shoot.”
Long nods, trying to steady herself. She manages to join Mina, firing several bursts up the hall. Long doesn’t hit anything, but her bullets keep bug heads in cover instead of shooting back.
Mina encourages her, “We got this! Keep fighting!”
Grey shouts across the hall as conscious marines are dwindling, “Long, you have the little one!?”
She nods nervously.
“Then protect her! Be ferocious!”
Long nods. She breathes deeply several times. She fires several more times. Still no hits, but Mina drops another.
Mina asks, “What little one!?”
Grey calls out, “She’ll tell you later! But Coulson, we’re losing this hall!”
“I know Chief! I’m sorry!”
“You weren’t wrong, but it didn’t matter! Now it does! Behind me and one door down is an escape scuttle to the maintenance corridor! I WILL get you two to that corridor! You will not stop! You will not ask questions! You WILL regroup at the hangar! Got it!?”
“B-But-…” “NO BUTS! READY!? GO! GO! GO!” Chief Alexander Grey, former United States Marine Corps First Sergeant-turned-Remnant Navy Chief Petty Officer, does the unthinkable. He whirls out into the hallway and fires at the behind group of aliens. Mina and Long have maybe a second. Mina has enough presence of mind to pull Long, and they run with their heads down to the cubby containing the escape scuttle. It’s a tight fit, but Mina wings the door open quickly. An automatic Zebra door closes the threshold to the hall if anything happens, but this door has the airtight dogs as well.
Mina orders Long through, whirling to signal Grey. Miraculously, he’s still standing as alien bullets zip by him. Mina calls, “Chief! Come on!” She already noticed and put it out of her mind that she, Long, and Grey are the only ones left standing in the hallway.
Grey smiles at her. He has one of his rifles aimed vertically up, and he is looking at her with his blind eye. He says calmly, “Karma.” As if his protective barrier suddenly vanished, a dozen of the alien blasts hit him, and his body tenses. In so doing, his ready trigger finger on the vertical rifle squeezes, and the weapon fires into the overhead. Before Mina can even blink, a metal door slams across in front of her, isolating the hallway. The escape scuttle is silent for only a moment.
When the shock wears off, Mina screams, “CHIEF! CHIEF!” She pounds on the door. “CHIEF GREY!” She pounds on the door for a moment. Long stares in horror.
The announcement over the intercom is sickening for more reasons than one, “Hull pressurization lost in corridor second deck frames one-three-zero to one-four-zero, port side. Shoring team not responding. All hands avoid port second deck corridor frames one-three-zero to one-four-zero.”
Mina doesn’t even have to look. She knows what frames she’s at, roughly. She sinks to her knees and tries to process.
She doesn’t feel the fire as much anymore. If the marines are going down this quickly, how are civilians faring? What IS being done to anyone incapacitated? Are the bugs dragging them onto the boarding craft?
Mina collects herself as much as she can and stands up. She has a job to do, and only doing it has a chance of saving anyone. She climbs into the maintenance corridor and dogs the hatch behind her. She says to Long, “Let’s keep moving. We need reinforcements.”
“W-What about…” Long trails off for a moment. She starts to whimper, “H-He can’t be dead… Can he? Ch-Chief Grey w-wouldn’t…”
“Don’t think like that. Clear your mind. If we focus on what an idiot he is, we’ll get distracted. We need to find Chief Tachibana, or another squad, and start…”
“There’s so many!”
Mina whirls to face the teen. “We both signed up to be marines, right? We can’t pick our enemies, we can’t pick our battlefields, and we certainly can’t pick when we relax. All we can do is keep going. We’re trapped out here, and either we win, or we lose. That’s it.”
Long seems a little more disheartened. Mina sighs, saying, “What’s this ‘little one’? A doll?”
Long hesitates. She pulls her EVA suit open enough to reveal the special holster holding a very distinctive and easily recognizable egg, but with a nearly fully-formed embryo inside. “You have Kane’s egg!?” asks Mina in surprise.
Long shakes her head. “Th-The Queen gave this one to me when we met her. Sh-she was going to discard it because she had too many…”
Mina relaxes. Seeing the tiny life in Long’s care is breathtakingly beautiful, and it’s also a little re-invigorating. She says softly, “For this little one.” She puts her fist out. Long looks at it confused for a moment. Mina adds, “For the future of this little one, for Chiefs Grey and Marvoni, for Fisher, for everyone. Let’s do this.”
“W-What will we…?”
“I don’t care. Stay alive? Fight? Both? As long as we’re free and killing bugs, we win. So let’s do it.”
Long puts her fist to Mina’s, “O-okay!”
They both say together, “Oo-rah!”
***