Their advance to the bridge was met by only some resistance with the Kaskari struggling to keep them at bay. As more of them fell, the more of them joined the Mortes and an insurmountable army now converged on the bridge. Not too far behind Archon and Lazarus, Sergei couldn’t help but be enamoured by how the alien ship looked. As they crossed yet another threshold the bluish light above turned orange and the doors slammed shut trapping Sergei on the other side. He ignited the energy blade and tried to cut his way through but was surprised to find the metal resistant to his efforts.
‘It won’t budge!’
‘No matter, there has to be another way,’ came the voice of Lazarus in his thoughts. ‘We’ll go on ahead. Remember, you have the symbiote now. Use it.’
Sergei growled in frustration and began retracing his steps with only the fluctuating light to guide him. The alien corridors proved to be a maze and it wasn’t long before he encountered something else. A metal door to his left opened and a blood-soaked alien stumbled out into the corridor. They had marks across their skin and their body glowed under the orange light. Psionic power bristled in the air and Naoki allowed the symbiote to work its way across his body. The alien finally saw him and directed something akin to a pistol at him. Before they could pull the trigger, Sergei engaged his blink allowing him to avoid the shot. The world shifted into dark greys as he went from one reality to the next in such a manner that it was like skimming stones across the surface of a body of war. He lunged at the alien and before he could stop himself bit into their neck, ripping away sinews of flesh. The alien let out a cry that was swiftly silenced as Sergei released his grip and the body fell to the ground. His head pounded and he fell into the wall, sliding down he looked at the convulsing body before him.
‘What do I call you anyway?’
Sergei managed to get to his feet and stepped over the body of the dead alien. He pressed onward until he emerged out onto a platform.
After some hopeless wandering he emerged out onto an open platform. In front of him, a group of aliens guarded the shuttle station. When they saw his partially transformed Mortan shape they opened fire without hesitation. The heat of plasma slamming against his body would have killed a normal man but Sergei engaged his blink in a way that made him flicker. For every shot that burned his skin, another harmlessly breezed past him. Soon enough, Vasha Ten’ allowed itself to fully cover him and he made his move. His right arm ignited into an aetherial blade that allowed him to fire off a shot or two at two of the present aliens. Unlike him, they couldn’t easily dodge and hit the ground. Those remaining sought the safety of the shuttle so he barrelled toward them and made right as the shuttle began moving forward. He had collided with one and hit the floor. A series of shots began hitting his back and he had to react quickly. First stabbing the alien beneath him, he lethargically faced the two remaining. The two released a charged blast that staggered him further. Before they could bring him to the ground he lunged for one, stabbing its chest. The remaining one pushed its weapon close to his stomach and fired. That made him spin, and he held his charring stomach.
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He could hardly believe he felt relief hearing that. He spun and shot the alien with his own aetherial blast. It flopped to the floor and he took a minute to catch his breath. All the while, a long tunnel whizzed by. He felt it starting to slow, not that he had any idea where the next stop would even land him. Need to reconnect with Lazarus and Archon. They must have made it by now surely.
A pain hit his forehead and he dropped to one knee. From his shoulder, the shadow had manifested at his side.
Sergei crawled over to one of the bodies and stared at it for a while before he could resist no longer. He carved open the head and forcibly removed a chunk of the brain. With little hesitation, he began eating and the effect was almost instantaneous. The charred wounds to his exoskin began to heal and he felt reinvigorated. The alien shuttle also came to rest. He stumbled forward when his shadow stepped out of him again.
‘Why do you say that?’
Sergei almost wanted to question it but he pressed forward, he came across bodies both alien and human who had succumbed to this conflict. Even some Mortans lay at rest their symbiotes torn from their bodies.
Sergei approached the metal door and it opened once he got close. The small boxed room was indeed full of alien equipment. Before he could move any further his legs compelled him to the nearest wall. He turned and then the symbiotic flesh burst from his back and he met the wall. He didn’t struggle as it began coating him, creating a fullcocoon. ‘You’re sure this is the right thing to do?’