I woke up to New Earth's twin suns as they peeked over the hills that surrounded Neo Terra City. I sighed, and looked over to my clock. 4:56. My alarm was set for 5. I turned off the alarm, and got out of bed. As per my routine, I checked my calendar. Friday the twelfth, 2357. I sighed. One more grueling day of work, and then blissful weekend.

My morning routine was a blur. I showered, dressed, ate, and was out the door around 5:30. From my average-sized apartment on the top floor, I took the stairs ten floors down to the subterranean parking garage, where I ran into someone I knew. She was a recently graduated officer from the Academy where I worked. She had been one of the better students, even if she'd been a bit inept in the social field.

"Good morning, sir." She said.
"Hm? Oh, good morning, Anna. How have you been?"
"Pretty good. Actually, there was something I was wondering about."
"What's that?" I asked.
"Well, I went into intelligence after graduating, specifically Swarm Operations."
"Oh? That's nice. What's that got to do with me, though?"
"I... I read the after-action report of the Xander Incident. Why didn't you ever talk about it?"
My face instantly went hard. "You read the report. Why do you need to ask?"
"But..." She started, but I held up my hand.
"Let me ask you something. If you'd gone through what I went through, lost everyone that went up with you, lost your fiance to those... those things... If all of that could've been avoided if you'd been properly informed of the situation, would you want to talk about it?"
"Surely you can't pin all of the blame on bad intelligence?"

I looked her right in the eyes. "Parker Queen had hundreds of successfully executed missions under his belt. The team sent up was his team, each man and woman with just as much experience as him. But we went up there unprepared because we weren't told what was waiting. We died up there because no one bothered to tell us one important piece of information: The scientists on the Xander had been experimenting on The Swarm, mutating them. How were we supposed to fight things we'd never seen before? Maybe, if we'd been told, we could've actually succeeded that day. But instead..."
"I understand your point," She interrupted, "but then why keep serving?"
"What?" I asked.
"If you're a victim, why keep working for the military?"
"Because" I said. "The Swarm is a bigger problem, now more than ever."

The drive to the base was uneventful. Traffic was light, and despite last night's snowstorm, the roads were clear. I made good time getting to the base. At the checkpoint, I showed my ID, and they waved me in. I drove a bit farther, until I arrived at my destination. I got out of my car, and walked up to the double doors. I opened them, and moved through the commons to the Admin Office. One of the secretaries, whom I didn't recognize, saluted me as I walked in.
"At ease." I said. The salute fell, and I looked the secretary in the eyes. "What's your name, son?" I asked.
"Greg Simmons." Came the sharp reply.
"Look, Greg, the only time I ever enforce rank is when I need to reinforce discipline. Otherwise, don't worry about saluting me."
The secretary nodded, and looked back to his work. I continued on to my office. I opened the door, turned on the lights, sat down at my desk, and powered up my computer. It asked me for my security credentials, and I put them in. Satisfied, the computer allowed me in.

I turned away from the computer screen, and looked at my desk. For once, no paperwork was waiting for me. No transfer notices, no requests for disciplinary action. Nothing. I looked at the lone photo on my desk. It was of me and my fiancé before that fateful mission that took her and twenty-two other Marines away, as well as five scientists. She was beautiful in the picture, her emerald eyes, her chocolate-brown hair, her beautiful smile...

I was broken out of my memories when a someone entered my office. The way he carried himself spoke volumes about him. He sat down across from me, and looked right into my eyes.
"Space Marine Captain Miles Hanson." He said, more a statement than a question.
"I'm retired now, actually." I pointed out. "Who are you? Why are you here?"
"My name is Roger Vernont. I'm the divisional commander of the New Earth SMC Chapter, and their operations within this system. I'm here to draft you."

"I refuse." I said flatly. "I left active duty ten years ago, after the Xander Incident cost me the only person I ever cared about, my job, and my reputation. I came here to New Earth to escape from that. Now I actually found something else I can do. I'm head of administration here at New Earth's Officer Training Academy. I'm not going back into service, and you can't make me give up this post. As an administrator of a military instruction position, I'm given the option to refuse."
"I think you'll be rescinding that." Roger said flatly.
"And why might that be?" I asked.
"Two reasons. First: It's The Swarm."
"Big deal. The Swarm is hardly a new threat." I said. "They pop up in the news every other day with another battle fought, another ship lost, another hive destroyed, another mission failed."
"Which leads me to my second reason." He looked me right in my eyes. "Miles, it's her. It's Kelly."

I calmly rose from my seat and walked to the door. I closed it, locked it, and moved to the window. I looked outside as I spoke. It was looking like it would be a beautiful day. The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky. I refused to let the man see the pain in my eyes as I spoke.
"You realize the implications of what you've just told me, right?" I asked.
"I do."
"You understand that there is no way of knowing how far gone she is?"
"I do."
"You know that, given our previous relationship and my track record, there is no way of knowing how I will react to her should she contact me?"
"I do."
"You know that, if she has managed to assimilate other broods, other Queens, her brood would be far more powerful than anything else you've ever faced before, Kaal' Thaasan or Swarm?"
"I do."
"And you understand that, given my extensive experience in combat against both Kaal' Thassan and Swarm threats, that I will need to be given total command over whatever unit is being used for this mission if you want them to have a chance of coming out alive?"
He hesitated for a moment, but gave another "I do."

I turned to face him as he stood. "Then I suppose that I've been drafted." I said with a smile. He thanked me, and left after I unlocked the door. I sat back down at my desk, and picked up the phone. "Front desk, this is Miles Hanson. I need all of our files on The Swarm. I don't care if I'm cleared or not."
I got confirmation of my request. Satisfied, I put the phone back, and picked up the picture of me and Kelly. "Looks like you were right after all, Kelly."

I tried to concentrate on flying the dropship from Earth to the Xander. I found that concentrating was impossible, though. There was too much running through my head. What had happened to the members of the station staff? Would the same thing happen to us? Why were there scientists here, when all they would do was get in the way? How long would this take? I looked over to my co-pilot, Kelly Swanson. She looked at me, and smiled. She was my fiance, the woman I would finally marry after we finished this mission. I turned back to my controls. Over the helmet com, I could hear the leader of the force, Parker Queen, barking instructions to his subordinates. I thought I heard something about "Protecting the egg-heads," and I couldn't help but shake my head. The scientists were just untrained, unarmed personnel who would just get in the way.

I turned my attention back to the station they were approaching. I looked for the hangar, and adjusted the approach slightly. Over the ship radio, I said "Five minutes. Helmets on, weapons loaded." Behind me, I heard the hiss from the suit life-support systems. I took a deep breath, and fine-tuned the approach. The dropship was going in too fast, so I deployed the retro-boosters. I felt the ship shudder, and prayed that the hunk of junk would hold together.

It did, and the landing gear deployed successfully to boot. I quickly cut the thrusters, and unbuckled. I spun around, and grabbed the 10mm MP6 pulse SMG I'd been issued. Kelly did the same. I slapped in a clip, and charged the weapon. I looked into the passenger bay, where the twenty Marines were loading their weapons, while the five scientists twiddled their thumbs. They had argued about having to wear the suits, saying that they would be hindered. Eventually, they settled on wearing lighter, more flexible suits, though they still had to have the helmets. Parker walked to the door control panel at the end of the bay, and pressed a few buttons. The door opened, and the Marines filed out. Kelly and I filed out behind the scientists, and into the hangar. From there, our first objective was the mess hall.

In all of my career as a Space Marine, I had never seen a scene of carnage quite like this one. In front of me were the mangled bodies of several downed Swarmlings and Hunters and scientists alike. The Swarmlings were about the size of a large dog, with three large claws on each foot. Their bodies were a universal mottled brown, covered in scales like a dragon's, with teeth to match. The Hunters were six feet tall easily, the whole thing about ten feet, and had long, snake-like bodies. Both arms ended in a pair of long, scythe-like talons. Mouths were full of highly toxic, interlocking needles. They sported the same dragon-like scales as the Swarmlings. I thumbed the selector switch of my MP6 from safety to three-round burst.

Oddly, the Swarmlings and Hunters were far from the typical uniformity of the Swarm. Some Swarmlings displayed longer claws, or the beginnings of wings. Some of the Hunters showed additional claws developing.

Over on the other side of the mess hall, the tables from the mess hall had been gathered into a barricade. Parker gave the all clear, and the troops and scientists filed in. The reactions were mixed among the force. The scientists immediately ran over to the corpses and set upon them. The Marines were a bit less enthusiastic. Parker turned to face his charges, and was greeted by the sight of one Marine opening his helmet and vomiting. The Marine gasped for air, then wiped a small line of spit from his chin, and reattached the helmet.

I couldn't blame the poor guy. Over the radio, Parker said "I want to see those tables moved to provide cover. We have two exits to cover. Get it done." We went to work immediately, though we were slowed by the scientists' insistence to not step on the corpses, and the discovery of some of the rotted bodies of the station's crew. After about thirty minutes, though, we had moved the tables to block the door ways. It was just in time too.

Kelly and I were covering the entrance on the side we had come in through. I heard shots come from the other barricade, and eventually was treated to the sight of Swarmlings and Hunters coming at their barricade. They were live versions of the corpses in the room. We helped hold the line, firing at any of the ones that got past the other Marines' rifles. They were fast little buggers, but not tough. They were ripped up fairly easily by gunfire, but there were a lot of them, and some of them got through. I took a bite to my right arm, and the pain was blinding. I didn't see Kelly take a hit, thank God, but I did see a Marine go down when a Swarmling jumped over the barricade and into his face, shattering his helmet, and another when one of the Hunters dragged its claws through her chest. I heard both of their screams over the helmet radio, and heard a scream over the radio when a Marine on the other barricade took a fatal hit.

When the things stopped coming, Kelly had me get my wound checked out. They needed me to stay back for observation. She sighed, and looked at the scientists, and frowned. I knew what she was thinking, because I was thinking the same thing. The scientists were only getting in the way. They were five untrained people that could've been replaced with trained soldiers.

Are you OK, Miles? I didn't see what got you. Kelly's voice sounded in my head.
I shook my head. One of the Swarmlings leaped over the barricade and took a bite. I thought. It didn't bite through the armor, but it broke the bone on the inside. It hurts like shit, but the armor already locked the arm. I won't be able to do much.
Kelly put her hand on mine. I winced. I know you'll make it through. You're a strong guy.

I was about to reply when Parker came over the radio. "Listen up, everyone! We are splitting up. Our objectives are as they were. Investigate the Xander's core, and get out alive. We are splitting into three teams."

I was stuck back at the mess hall leading "Home Team". Parker would lead "Alpha Team" to the living quarters, and from there to the core. Kelly was with "Beta Team", and would be moving to the archives, where they would try to figure out what happened on the station. Before they left, though, the scientists confirmed my suspicions; Whatever these things were, they weren't normal Swarm. How far they were from normal, though, was going to be a shock to us all.

About an hour later, I was still waiting around for something to happen. The men at the barricades had turned away the occasional Swarmling, but otherwise, all was quiet on the home front. I was almost glad to have Parker call me up, since it broke the dull monotony.
"Miles, this is Parker. Report."
"Miles here. Everything is all clear on our side."
"Any word from Beta?"
"They ran into one or two Swarmlings, but other than that they are fine. I'll keep you posted."
"Great. Parker out."
I took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. One of the scientists came up to me. "Yes?"
"We have some new information about Swarm creatures we found."
I stood up. "Show me."
The scientist brought me over to a place where one of the dissected corpses was laid down, and knelt down beside it. The scientist pointed to the head of the Swarmling.
"It really is fascinating. These creatures have developed a structure in their brains that we only see in a few select cases."
"What kind of cases, exactly?" I asked.

"Typically, the structure is only found in hives about to change queens, or that have just changed queens. However, this station couldn't have any other broods on it, so there couldn't be another Swarm Queen to replace this one."
"What about telepaths like Kelly or me?" I asked. "I remember reading a report about how Swarm Queens have taken in telepaths as a way to try to expand their control over their broods. Is it possible that a telepath could become a Queen?"
The scientist frowned. "It is possible, but I've never heard of a case that ended well for the psychic involved, even considering the infestation. Most times a psychic is taken by the swarm, the virus hits the right switches in the mind to deactivate a psychic's psionic abilities. In the rare case where the psychic isn't 'turned off,' The Swarm's virus causes an uncontrollable increase in the psychic's ability, and the heart over-works itself trying to keep up the supply of blood."

I frowned. "Doesn't sound like a pleasant way to go."
The scientist nodded. "There are rumors in the research community about a possible way to circumvent the psychic turn-off without the uncontrollable increase, but it would require a genetic mutation that is found in very few people." He paused, then as an afterthought added, "If I remember correctly, there was a report on the subject that put forward you and Kelly as such people, along with about a dozen others or so. However, it's only a rumor."
I nodded. "Either way, let's not test it."
The scientist nodded. Changing the subject, he said, "So, any word from Beta?"
I was about to answer when...
Miles!
Kelly?
Miles, we are under attack!
What? Where are you?
We are at the archive! There's too many of them! You have to hel...
Her mind tore away. A tear rolled down my cheek. I wouldn't lose her. I grabbed my gun with my left hand. I looked at the scientist. "Beta Team is under attack. I'm mounting a relief. You are to stay here, and keep working on why they're looking for a Queen to imprint onto."

After fighting my way through an occasional Swarmling, I was almost to the Archives when Parker called me up again.
"Miles, talk to me."
"Parker? What's your situation?"
"Out of the fire and into the furnace. You?"
"Oh, nothing. Just mounting a one-man rescue mission."
"What!? You left the mess hall? Are you insane?! Get your ass back or I'll..."
"You'll what? Shoot me? Demote me? I have duty to family. Kill me when she's safe."
"Damn it, Miles!"
I cut the radio line, and looked up. The rattle of gunfire was apparent, and I braced myself for what I would see.

It was a scene of carnage not unlike what had been seen in the mess hall. Dead bodies of Swarm and Marines alike were strewn everywhere. It was a bloody mess, and even worse, the Archive terminal was totaled.

Kelly was hard pressed to stay alive. The rest of her team had been killed in the initial ambush and the bloodbath that followed it in the short ten minutes since she had contacted me. She was running out of ammo. A Swarmling came charging her from her right. Kelly let a burst of fire loose. Another to her left, and another burst. A Hunter in front of her got the last shot Kelly had in her SMG, but it was still coming. Kelly switched to her pistol, and plugged one round after the other into the alien. She reloaded, and turned to her left in time to see two Swarmlings charging her. She plugged one, then stabbed the other with her knife. A Hunter came from the same direction, and she plugged it as well. A Hunter moved up behind her. I didn't let it get far, and drove my knife into it with all my might. Kelly nodded, then raised her pistol. I ducked and rolled under the gun as she fired, hitting the Swarmling that was moving up. I drew my SMG and burst fired at some Swarmlings.

When the flow of aliens stopped, we took inventory. I had gone out of SMG ammunition, but we had scavenged plenty of pistol ammo, as well as rifles and rifle ammo from the dead Marines.
You OK, Kelly?
Fine now that you're here. How's your arm?
Still hurts like shit. Running here from the Mess Hall didn't help.
You bring anyone else?
Nope.
Why the hell not?
They made a major breakthrough that I wanted them to follow up on. They needed all the protection they could get.
Then we should get back before more Swarm come.

We got up, but stopped when Parker came through the door to the archive, gun raised. When he saw us, he lowered the weapon.
"The hell did I miss?"
"Fill you in later." I promised.
Parker nodded. "Well, we should start back to camp."

When we returned to camp, Alpha Team had already returned. I did some mental math. Three Marines and a scientist went down during the first attack, with two injuries, a Marine and a scientist. Parker had lost one during an attack on his Alpha Team, and one was injured. Kelly's Beta Team had been annihilated, though she was uninjured. Out of the twenty three Marines that had come here, there were fourteen left, two of them injured. Four scientists were alive, one injured. They couldn't risk splitting up agai...

"They're coming from above!" I looked up to see Swarmlings breaking through the vent covers and dropping down on them. "Open fire!"
Rifles popped, cutting through the falling aliens. However, about two minutes in, one of the Marines shouted through the radio, saying "Hunters! They're attacking at the barricades!"

Then, everything went straight to hell. We were caught between the falling Swarmlings and the Hunters at the barricades, when it happened. A spine as long as my forearm drove its way into the Marine next to me. I watched in horror as a thick purple goo slowly spread over the Marine's armor.

Another spine tore through some of my armor, leaving a small trail of the goo. I looked up to see a Hunter staring me down, mouthful of needles bared in a menacing grin. I let off a quick burst, and caught the Hunter in the chest. I looked around. The other marines and scientists were quickly being taken down. Kelly was standing right behind me. I didn't think. I just grabbed her and ran.

We ran for what felt like hours, gunning down the Swarm as we found them. Eventually, we just stopped and sat down, catching our breath. I took the chance to scrape off the purple goop with my knife. It looked like... No, there was no way.
Miles?
Yeah, Kelly?
I can't raise anyone on the radio. I... I'm scared. What do we do?
The queen... We kill the queen. Then the brood goes dormant until another one takes over.
The core...
I nodded. Energy for sustenance, room for eggs. I stood, and looked over to her. We need to go now. Every second we wait is another second lost.

Our journey to the station core was eerily quiet. No Swarmlings attacked us, no Hunters popped into view. It remained silent until we passed the door to the document-locker.

Miles?
Yeah?
We should check out the doc-room.
Why?
We might find something in there that could help us figure out what happened here.
You're probably right, but we need to be quick.
Right. Fifteen minutes tops.

We found things I'd never dreamed of. The UTA, my United Terran Alliance, was researching, among other things, ways to control The Swarm, to use it as a weapon. They'd developed prototype technology that could scramble the Hive-link that a Swarm Queen shared with it's brood. They'd discovered that telepaths could actually control small numbers of Swarm creatures, provided they were severed from the Hive-link. Telepaths like us. This station was also testing the adaptive capability of The Swarm, and had detailed methods for altering Swarmlings into a strain that could only be controlled by telepaths.

They also had files on registered psychics in the service. Files on me and Kelly. The files were annotated with things like "suitable candidate", "likely to reject", and "further info required". Kelly's file and mine were marked "acquire for project at all costs".
K-Kelly... This... I...
How could this be? Are we nothing but tools for the UTA? And are they really trying to use The Swarm as a weapon? Could they really do something like that?
We can ask after we get off of this forsaken station. Come on, we need to kill the queen, and get to the hangar.
Kelly nodded, and moved to the door. It opened, and she stepped through...

And right into the claws of a Hunter. I heard the chatter of her rifle, killing the Hunter even as its claws tore through her stomach. "KELLY!" Tears streamed down my face. I ran forward, catching her as she fell.
"M...Miles." Kelly whispered. "I feel cold."
"N...no, you'll be OK. You'll be OK." I said as I held Kelly gingerly.
I couldn't hope to get her to a ship without pacifying the brood on the station first, but if I left her there, she'd die. I had to stay with her. I carried Kelly towards the core.

The core was like nothing that I had ever seen. The walls and floors were coated with the same purple slime that had spread from the Hunter spines: The Creeper, a substance that was just as alive as the rest of The Swarm. The stuff seemed to stick to my boots as I walked. All along the walls, green eggs pulsed, each one like a heart. In the middle of the room, sitting on six spidery legs, was the Swarm Queen. It looked at me with its glowing yellow eyes, and I instantly felt dizzy. I had touched its mind, felt the staggering weight of its mental connection with its brood. It looked at Kelly, and let out a low hiss. I gingerly set Kelly onto the ground, and pulled out my rifle. I carefully took aim, and shot the thing dead, then liberally emptied my clip into it. Then I picked up Kelly and turned to leave, when my heart sank.

Blocking my way was a Hunter, a flap of carapace on its shoulder peeled back to reveal a dangerous-looking spine. I slowly knelt down, and placed Kelly's unmoving body back on the floor. Then, as fast as I could, I pulled my pistol from its holster and took aim. The Hunter flexed at the same time I took my shot. My round penetrated the Hunter's headcase. The spine hit me directly, forcing its way through my stomach, and out the other side. The pain was far too much for me. The last thing I remember thinking before I blacked out was how no one would know the truth of what happened here.

When I came to, my head was spinning, but my side wasn't in much pain as it should have been. I tried to stand, but I couldn't. The Creeper had grown over my body, leaving only my head exposed. My vision was fuzzy, but as I looked around, I could see a figure standing at the other side of the room. Why weren't she helping me? I shouted "HEY!", and she looked over at me. She ran over to me. As my vision cleared, I thought she looked a lot like Kelly, but the girl was different.

Kelly had beautiful brown hair, and she only grew it to her shoulders. This one had black hair down to her back. Kelly's skin had been a beautiful tan. This... thing, I decided, was covered in a brown carapace like the other creatures of The Swarm, though her face was left untouched... I was unsure if the figure really was who I thought it was.

Miles...
K-Kelly? That can't be you, can it?
It is, Miles.
Kelly... I'm sorry, Kelly.
Why? The scientists were right. Without a Swarm Queen to lead it, a creature of The Swarm is susceptible to other influences. What the scientists hadn't counted on was a telepath becoming a Queen.
Kelly, please. This isn't you.
You're right, Miles. It's better. I have power. I could do anything if I wanted to. But something is missing: You.
Me? Kelly, what are you talking about?
Don't you get it Miles? They figured it out. How to control The Swarm. I can do it. You could too. All you'd have to do is join me. Just accept the change, Miles. I want you by my side.
Kelly, I can't do that. No matter how badly I may want to, it's The Swarm! I can't see myself doing that, even if it is with you, and you damn-well know why!

She knelt down beside me. All you have to do is let me in. Give in to me, to my will. She moved her face an inch from mine. Just try to say no. Do it, and I'll let you go. You have my word.
Then, she kissed me. As she kissed me, she flooded my mind with thoughts of her. Love. Adoration. Obedience. Bliss. I struggled to keep my mind clear, but she was strong. I closed my eyes, tried to concentrate.

There. That's it. Just obey. It feels good to do exactly as I say.
The cocoon that had wrapped around me stimulated my body, clouding my mind with arousal. At the same time, I could feel a new presence in my mind. It was vast, undefined, yet I felt like I could pick out the individual pieces. I realized with a shock that I was feeling a connection to The Swarm, to a brood... to her brood. I could tap into their senses. I could see what they saw, hear what they heard.

Just forget about leaving me, Miles. Stay here with me. Stay by my side.
Kelly... please... stop...
Why would I want to do that? Miles, I don't want to lose you. Just stay with me.
Stay? A wave of pleasure rocked my body as I thought the word. Kelly, I... I managed to clear my head. I can't. Please... Please let me leave.

The fog cleared out of my mind. I looked at Kelly. She had on a frown. You really are a stubborn one, Miles. Once you've decided on something, there's no changing your mind. She smiled, her eyes flashed. I always loved that about you.
Kelly, I-
Miles, I love you. We will meet again, eventually. Maybe then, you will have changed your mind.

The cocoon around my body receded slowly. My armor was gone. My body felt different. There was an odd feeling throughout it, an almost... density. I could still feel Kelly's brood in my mind, though the connection was less overpowering. My muscles felt more concentrated, too.

This is... What did you do to me?
You are incomplete, Miles. Consider it a parting gift.
What do you mean, 'incomplete'?
I was changing you in anticipation of you joining me. When you said no, I worked to keep you outwardly human. However, you are now anything but.
What do you-
Your skin will harden if something hits it. Your mind can work much faster and more efficiently. Your senses are sharper. Your body is stronger, and regulates its own temperature more effectively. You wounds will heal faster, and your body will even be able to produce most of what it needs without much external fuel.
And the link? The... I can still...
Irreversible. Once you've joined The Swarm, you can't leave. You'll always be with us. With me. Wherever you go. You can dull it as much as you want, but it will always be there.
I shivered. So can you tap into my senses like you can with your brood?
Not quite like I can with my brood. You would be able to tell when I'm trying to tap into your senses. You could dull your connection with me. The distance will also make it hard to keep tabs on you.
I stood up, and looked Kelly in the eyes. I love you. Even now.
I love you too. Now go.

I turned and walked towards the exit of the room. I'll be seeing you again, eventually.

Kelly allowed me to leave the station. From the core, I wasted no time in getting to the hangar, grabbing the dropship, and getting the hell off of that forsaken thing. I set the autopilot to take me back down to Earth while I grabbed a spare suit from the dropship's storage locker.
About an hour later, I cut the autopilot, and was at the controls for a while until I was hailed by my destination: Pearl Harbor.

"Unidentified craft, you are entering restricted military airspace. Identify yourself immediately or you will be shot down."
"This is captain Miles Hanson, UTA Space Marines. 1st division, 5th brigade, 8th battalion, C company. I'm here on return from my mission to the Xander, but I need to talk with my commander."
"Hang on, I'll patch you through."
There was a short silence. "Miles?"
"Commander Owen."
"How'd the mission go, son? I've been in the dark for a while."
"Sir, the mission was an absolute failure. The station was crawling with The Swarm. Everyone else... I'm the only one left, sir."
"What? You mean... The others..."
"Sir, I'm requesting permission to land for a full debrief."
"Permission granted, Captain. Clear for landing on pad 34."

I took the dropship in slow, trying to keep my head level. I was already starting to come up with questions and answers. When I landed, I was escorted to the debrief by a pair of armed guards. Even once I arrived, they remained close at hand.

Across the room from me was Pearl's command staff, all eagerly awaiting my report.
"The mission to investigate the Xander's sudden cease in communications was, in a way, successful. The force sent up discovered the cause."
"And that cause would be?" One of the commanders asked.
"Swarm." I said simply. "We encountered hostile Swarm organisms onboard the Xander."
"How bad were the casualties?" Another commander asked.
"I'm the only one that made it off of the station."
"Were any left on the station, to your knowledge?" The third asked.

I swallowed hard, and nodded, knowing that I was sealing her fate. "My co-pilot, Kelly Swanson... She was taken... captured and changed."

"You mean to tell us that..." The commander didn't finish.
"Yes sirs. She's been infested. She allowed me to go free on account of our previous relationship."
"Which would be?"
"Engaged for marriage."
There was a silence. The three commanders looked at each other silently.

"You have our deepest condolences." One said finally. "Do you have any questions?"
I didn't think, I simply spoke. "We found documents onboard the Xander, detailing UTA research into the possibility of using the Swarm as a weapon against other factions. Kelly's file, as well as my own, were among the documents, where we were listed as highly valuable subjects."
I looked right at each of them. "Was that mission just a way to further UTA research? Did those men and women die so that the UTA could try to control the Swarm?"

There was a long silence. "Captain Miles Hanson, you are hereby relieved of active duty." One finally said. "You will be put on the reserve list, and are to take up a non-combat role within the week."
I was stunned. "Then it was just a test!" I said coldly.
"We didn't say that." A commander said.
I shook my head angrily. "No, but you didn't deny it either."

One of the commanders stood angrily. "On account of your previous service record, we will allow that comment to go unpunished." He took a deep breath. "Leave. Now."

Now, Miles looked at the force assembled in front of him. He couldn't help but think back to Parker, to how he'd felt in this situation. In front of Miles was the best that New Earth's chapter had to offer. Fifty elite Space Marines, each with just as much experience as Parker. He cleared his head. Now wasn't the time for remembering.

"Alright, boys, here's the situation. We're being dropped off on Saranis." That statement alone was enough to fill in many of the blanks. "For those of you in need of a refresher course, Saranis is home to some of the purest Kaithennu crystals that have ever been seen. A crystal the size of a basketball can power a Supercarrier's warp drive on its own. However, these crystals are also incredibly important to our foes. Kaal'Thaasans use them in their ships as well, not to mention in their energy weapons, and The Swarm uses them as catalysts for accelerated mutations."
"We are currently in control of the largest deposits on the planet, with Swarm and Kaal'Thaasan forces controlling smaller deposits. However, recently, Swarm attacks against the largest deposit on the planet, Sigma-Echo, has intensified, coinciding with a certain brood's appearance on the scene."

He paused as this information set in. "We are going to Sigma-Echo to reinforce, and, if possible, eliminate the threat."

The snap of rifles filled the air, and Miles was instantly on alert. Where was the contact? What should he be expecting? A beam-rifle? A set of lethal talons? He turned to look at the other three men with him.
Two rifles were pointed at him, his 2iC laying dead on the ground, a bullet hole obvious against the green of his armored helmet.
"What the hell!" Miles said, lifting his own rifle. "Your side, damn it!"
More rifle fire filled the air. Miles took three shots to his gut, one to a lung, but he'd managed to take one out with him. The other soldier now stood over him, rifle barrel pointed between Miles' eyes.

Then, the man's body was torn in half at the waist, blood and gore spilling everywhere. Fighting past the darkness that slowly encroached on his vision, the building numbness throughout his body, and the deafening silence that flooded his ears, she was there.

"Don't die on me, Miles!" She said. Through the deafness, those words struck a chord in him. She pressed down on his chest and gut, fighting to slow or stop him from bleeding out. She looked familiar. The emerald eyes, the chocolate-brown hair... He had to remind himself that it wasn't really her, no matter how badly he wanted it to be. She'd been taken from him, turned into a monster, into an enemy.

Why, then, did he keep having that dream? Since his arrival on Saranis a month ago, he'd had that dream every night. Deciphering the meaning was simple: Kelly was going to save Miles from a betrayal. That raised even more questions, though. Why would he be betrayed? How would she be able to save him?

Miles sighed. A month of heavy combat, of looking over his shoulder, of close calls and near misses. Today, he was supposed to provide a situational report to High Command, but there wasn't much to report. He walked out of the metal structure that was his barracks, and moved quickly to the communications center.

"Commander Miles, your line's waiting." The comms officer said.

Miles nodded. "Thanks." He walked over to one of the hand-helds on the wall, and put it up to his ear.
"Miles Hanson, Access code Cmd–001–SiEc."
There was a short tone to tell him that he was connected.

"...gress on capturing that bitch?" The commander said.
"Excuse me?" Miles said.
"She's still at large, even with Miles there to lead." Came the voice of Roger Vernont. Miles checked the mode of his hand-held. Receive only.
"We both know how important she is to the project." The commander said. "She's survived the infestation, and actually controls an entire brood of her own, even assimilated smaller broods into her own."
"That's a lot of power." Roger said. "What makes you so sure that she'll give it up willingly?"
"She won't." The commander said. "That's why we put Miles on that planet. All that needs to be done now is to use him as bait to lure her in."
"I get it." Roger said. "Then, we capture her, recondition her, and use her brood as a weapon."

Miles couldn't take anymore. He hung up, and left the comms center. Meanwhile, his mind was racing. He was being used! Again! The UTA hadn't changed at all! They'd used him before, and now they were doing it again! They were using him to get to...

To Kelly. Miles felt the link to her. As always, it was there. He sighed, and focused on it.

Kelly?
Miles? Is that you?
No, Kelly. I'm the other human that you've created a psionic link with.
Why are you contacting me? She asked. It's been ten years.
The UTA... They're still using me, Kelly. Even after all this time, all they want is the power. They want you, and they were going to use me to get you.
What do you mean, Miles? Where are you?
Sigma-Echo.
You're on Saranis? I... This is a lot to process.
Where are you, Kelly?
It took a moment for that thought to register with her. Just follow your link, Miles. I'll be waiting.

Miles had left the base on the premise of some solo recon. After that, he'd quickly deactivated his tracker, stripped off his armor, and bolted, following the connection that he had with Kelly and her brood. It wasn't long before he'd arrived on the Creeper, and he was met by a pair of Swarmlings, ready to attack this intruder.
They stopped when they felt his connection to their own brood. They remained motionless, torn between slaying this obvious intruder, and welcoming a member of their brood. Then, they turned and began walking towards the center of the Creeper. Miles followed.

She looked as she had back on the Xander, not a day older, no worse for wear. She was still beautiful.
Do you trust me?
I do, my queen-to-be.
She smiled. Lower your mental defenses. Welcome this change as it envelopes you. Embrace this new form, this new purpose.
Miles nodded, and took a deep breath. Slowly, the cocoon formed around his body, and as it did, his thoughts turned, not to fear, but to anticipation. Rebirth...

The snipers were shocked. Kelly had actually left the safety of her hole in the dirt. One of them drew a bead on her leg, hoping that the shot would be painful enough to sever her control. He tightened his trigger, removing the slack behind it. He took a deep breath.
"Holy shit!" His spotter gasped. "Look! Coming out of the cavern!"
The sniper forced himself to give up the perfect shot to follow protocol and see what had his partner so riled up.

He would've dropped the rifle if it hadn't been on the bipod. The figure looked like Kelly. Same shining emerald eyes, same brown carapace, same general appearance. But the face... The sniper had only seen one person who looked like that, and he'd disappeared a few days ago on recon.

"Is... Is that Miles?" He said, disbelieving. That was the second to last thing that entered his mind. The last thing that entered his mind were Kelly's talons.