The comms panel beeped plaintively.
"Hive ante-chamber, respond."
A hand stretched out towards it, the owner pulling himself up on a table to do so. A desperately waving finger connected with the intended control, and a two-way link was opened. "Sir…"
"Private, I want you to terminate the hive immediately," interrupted Haines. "They're too big a threat to remain alive."
"Sir… it's too late…"
There was a scream abruptly cut off, and then silence.
"Private? Respond, damn you!"
A soft clicking echoed around the room, as though plastic controls were being tapped by claws.
With a groan of taxed machinery, the massive airlock that led into the nest rumbled open. Alarms wailed as black shapes emerged into the pristine whiteness of Blackstar Laboratories.
At the other end of the facility, Haines froze at the distant sound.
"They're out," he muttered, and switched off the comms panel. "Corporal! What news of Gorson?"
"The General is on his way, sir. I've informed him of the situation, and he has a full APC of troops en route."
"And our defences?"
"We've got men in all the major chokepoints out of E-block. Sir, two drones have no hope of breaking through that." The soldier pointed to a large hologram that dominated the makeshift command centre at the entrance to Blackstar. Blue dots pulsed in little groups here and there on the schematic. "The moment any of them get attacked, we'll know about it even if they're killed before they can get a message out."
Haines shivered slightly. "Could the full hive break through them?"
The other shrugged. "Probably," he admitted. "If they get hit badly, they're under orders to fall back. But if the hive tries anything, their losses will be so heavy that they'll be destroyed by the time they get here."
A set of dots winked out, and Haines' heartbeat became a whine. "Tell that was a malfunction," he whimpered.
The corporal stared at the display. "I don't understand… how could they get wiped out that quickly? The air shafts are on a different system to E-block…"
Another group winked out, leaving three others.
The soldier hurried to the door. "I need to get out there. Something's wrong." He left Haines to his fears.
The door opened again almost immediately, and Haines jerked. Hukken walked through and slammed the door behind him.
"Doctor?" Hukken asked pitifully. "I… I couldn't stay out there. I needed to see that the defences are holding."
The comms opened. "All right, check in, men," came the voice of the corporal. "I want this channel open at all times. We need to make sure that… incoming!"
The rapid chatter of weapons fire echoed through the small room. There was a scream, several utterly inhuman screeches, and then silence. Another group of dots winked out on the hologram.
Hukken slowly backed away into a corner, shivering. Haines just stared into space.
"They're coming," he said.
The door opened, and both scientists started.
"Nice little mess you've created here," Gorson commented coolly.
Haines nodded gratefully, not caring about the ominous edge to Gorson's words. "But you can get us out of, General, I know it!" he said like an eager puppy.
More screams echoed over the comms, and another group of dots flashed and vanished.
Gorson stared at the display for a second, and then turned away. "This room isn't secure. I want you out in the main lobby. From there, we can organise some defences to contain them.
The last dots winked out on the monitor as they left.
***
[Well planned,] said Shadow, looking around at the remnants of the soldiers and pushing down the slight regretful nausea.
Kail smiled back mentally. [I knew that all those hours of studying the facility for potential weaknesses wouldn't go to waste. Though I never would have thought that I'd be exploiting them. Now I'm glad that I didn't point out to Haines that the walls between the airshafts weren't strong enough.]
The two former-humans felt a wave of approval flow over them. [Your differences have helped the hive,] the Queen said softly. [I look forward to watching you develop. But this was only the first barrier.]
Kail nodded instinctively, then remembered that the Queen could neither see nor understand the human affectation. [Gorson will have arrived by now, no doubt. That man's no fool. There won't be any weaknesses to exploit against him, and the additional forces he will have brought make a head-on attack suicidal. If we are to escape Blackstar, a more subtle approach is required.]
[Find the weakness, and then strike at it,] the Queen replied thoughtfully. [The strategy of the tail. Your mind feels like that throughout, little one; direct, but cunning. You serve the hive, mind and body. The human you once were is now dead. Serve well… Spiketail.]
Kail stopped as the full import of these words hit her. But no, it was not Kail thinking… the Queen was right. Elizabeth Kail died in that room. She had been replaced by… Spiketail…
[Thank you, Matriarch,] she said, emotions of pride and gratitude flooding through the link so strongly that the nearby drones looked up in slight confusion.
The Queen laughed. [A small thing. Now go, my prey-children, and find the weakness.]
[As you say, Matriarch,] said Shadow. [You lead the way… Spiketail. You know this place better than I do.]
She leapt off through the white corridors of Blackstar, and he followed in silence, waiting for her to speak.
[What She said seemed so right…] Spiketail said finally. [Kail is dead. And the name She gave me… that felt right as well.]
[That's how I felt, as well. The drones believe that a Queen can look into your soul and know who and what you are. Not in so many words, of course; the soul is a meaningless concept to their… our… kind.]
[How did you become Shadow?]
Shadow laughed. [She said that when She first felt my mind drifting through the hive, it was like a little shadow on the wall where none should be. That's what I've been all my life. The shadow where none should be.] The last sounded a little wistful.
Spiketail came to a halt. [I sense them ahead.]
Shadow reached out with his senses, and transmitted his agreement. [Gorson brought quite a few. Looks like nearly forty humans and a couple of synthetics. Evenly spread out to cover all possible entrances.]
Spiketail cursed. [Plus the automated ceiling turrets. How are we supposed to deal with all that?]
[Maybe we don't have to. You've fitted into thinking like an Alien very quickly – far quicker than I did. But this is an instance where we need to think like humans…]
***
[An impressive defensive position, General Gorson.]
Gorson swore, and spun. "They can see us!" he hissed. "Motion trackers!"
[Honestly, General, do you really think that you would be able to deal with us by looking for motion? How do you know that we didn't move out of sight before contacting you?]
"Never hurts to try all the possibilities," said Gorson, continuing to turn and holding his assault rifle steady.
[True. Let me get to the point: we're not particularly keen on taking on all that firepower. We have nothing against you. All we want is to get outside. Let us leave, and we'll leave you alone. On the other hand, if you do want to hold this out to the bitter end… you'll take losses as well. We might even win. This is a way to end it cleanly. Isn't that what we both want?] The voice paused. [How about two of us come down so we can talk about this face-to-face? With a guarantee of mutual safety, of course.]
Gorson considered this. He'd let a new Alien hive swarm out onto Earth over his dead body, but just talking… and besides, they might learn something important. "All right, Alien. Come out. But if you touch any of my men…"
[Likewise,] said the voice, with an almost visible grin.
The contact faded, and Gorson turned to his troops. "Men, we've got a pair of Aliens incoming. They're here to talk, not kill. If you see just the two of them, keep your distance but don't shoot. If more turn up, give 'em all a one-way ticket to hell!"
"Yes sir!"
"Sir! Over there!"
Gorson looked in the indicated direction. A pair of shadows had separated from the wall, and coalesced into a pair of Xenomorph drones.
He could feel a trickle of sweat run down his collar. He considered himself fearless, but the sheer size of these creatures was unnerving. He was used to the normal bugs, but these ones were a third as long again. The really disturbing part was that despite their large size, they moved with lethal agility.
[General,] said one of them. He couldn't tell which.
[Things have changed a bit since you opened Blackstar, General,] said the other with a snide tone that was 'audible' through the rasping tones. The rogue scientist, no doubt.
"Dr. Kail, I presume. And I'm afraid I don't know your companion's name…"
[Call me Shadow. What I was doesn't matter.]
[Perhaps we should go somewhere less exposed?] suggested Kail.
Gorson's face darkened. "So you can rip us apart in private?"
[If we stay here, what's to stop you from shooting us down right now?]
"You're in no position to dictate terms… Shadow. But to keep things civil, let's go into the office over there. Haines, Hukken, this way. And bring RES Seven."
The two drones moved tamely towards the room. Haines stared after them in mute terror.
"You don't need me there, sir!" he hissed, a pleading edge in his voice. "This is a military matter, surely!"
Gorson looked at him contemptuously. "This is your facility, Haines. Don't tell me you're scared of a couple of bugs. You've been working with them for months now."
The other whimpered. "You haven't been up close and personal with them."
Gorson looked at him for a few seconds, and then said in low, neutral tones, "As official military liaison to this facility, I'm ordering you in there. Does that make you feel better?"
Haines nodded pitifully. Gorson looked up and saw the two xenomorphs waiting outside the office, a faintly amused air about them. He swore silently. First rule of negotiations: never show disunity. No matter. It wasn't as though it made a difference.
Hukken came over, closely followed by the towering figure of Seven. [Your orders, General?] the drone said quietly.
"Just be ready," Gorson replied, looking over Blackstar's only true success. He looked at the other two 'successes'. Seven seemed… smaller somehow. Less threatening.
Probably his imagination. Gorson walked over to the office, and gestured for Shadow and Kail to go in before following them in.
Haines shut the door behind them, and then crept into a corner as far away from Kail as possible.
"I'm listening," said Gorson harshly after a few seconds.
[We have nothing more to add,] said Shadow bluntly.
"Your deal is unacceptable," Gorson replied just as bluntly. "We have a superior position. You are correct that we want to end this as bloodlessly as possible, but unless you persuade me that there is a better way than this, the answer is no."
[What is your opinion, Dr. Haines?] Kail asked.
Shit, they're better at this than I thought, thought Gorson irritably. So much for not making a difference.
Haines hesitated, and then shook his head violently. "The General has my full confidence," he said.
All three xenomorphs tensed slightly.
"Perhaps we can come to an agreement, however," said Gorson smoothly, and the atmosphere relaxed. "Both of you have suffered at the hands of Blackstar, but we can make up for it. You are both human, whatever form you have. Both of you had the retrovirus forced on you, but you can be cured." Haines flinched – Gorson must have guessed what had happened in the lab. "Do you think that we would develop something like this without needed a reverse-treatment? Given a little time, you can both be restored. Why do you serve the hive? There is no future for you save horror and death."
[You want us join you in destroying the hive?] asked Kail.
Gorson sighed. "I want you to join us for your own sakes. What happens from there is as much or as little to do with you as wish."
There was silence.
[I think we have nothing more to say to each other,] said Kail.
Gorson's face darkened. "You decline?"
Kail spat, and acid melted into the table. [You don't understand, Gorson. We did not join the hive out of spite or vengeance. Blackstar could never be anything but a failure. You can take the xenomorph out of the hive, but you can't take the hive out of the xenomorph. Even one with the mind of a human. It's coded into our very being. Neither of us have any wish to be human again. Humanity is weakness. This… is freedom from that. From weakness. From fear. We will leave now. You will face us in battle soon enough.]
"Yes, you will…" Gorson whispered. "Fire."
With that, the three humans raised their carbines. Hails of metallic death streaked from the barrels. If they had had anything less than xenomorph reactions, Shadow and Spiketail would have died right there.
[You bastard!] Shadow shrieked. [We were negotiating!]
Gorson laughed cruelly. "You made your choice. You can't negotiate with a bug." A spray of fire found its mark, and Spiketail screeched as acid blood sprayed from her side.
"Seven, finish that one off."
RES Seven moved forward, claws at the ready. Spiketail got up, and leapt aside from a spray of fire from Haines.
[I told you that your time would come,] she hissed. She dived past Seven, who turned to give chase before Shadow's tail clubbed him backwards.
Haines squealed as the apparition of vengeance lunged forwards. The carbine clicked empty, and then Spiketail was on him. He managed one final scream before her inner jaws smashed through his left eye socket, killing him instantly.
Gorson swore. "Hukken, back out. Seven, you can take these two. Remember your training, marine!"
Hukken spun and began to run for the door. Spiketail was faster, and with a swing of her tail sent him flying headfirst into the wall. Gorson swore again, and closed the door.
Which just left the three xenomorphs. They paused, Spiketail on one side of Seven, Shadow on the other.
[You can't win,] Seven said finally. [You'll all be slaughtered like the animals you are.]
[Look who's talking,] Shadow replied.
Seven drew himself up. [I am a soldier of the United States Colonial Marine Corps. I serve mankind. How I do that is irrelevant. Now you will both die.]
He lunged for Shadow, perhaps sensing that he was the weaker opponent. Shadow backed down, flicking out his tail.
Spiketail pounced, screeching. There was a blur of claws, teeth and blood, and then the two separated, both looking the worse for wear.
Shadow moved in now, taking advantage of the lull. The combatants' claws flashed, and Shadow backed away, a huge gash in his side. Seven roared in triumph, moved in for the kill… and crashed to the ground, Spiketail on top of him.
There was a crack as her inner jaws hammered through the ex-marine's head carapacing, and then silence apart from the hissing of acid.
[Thanks,] said Shadow weakly. [I thought that was it for a moment.]
[You distracted him earlier. We're even.] Spiketail looked towards the door and hissed. [We're no closer to solving the problem of escape than we were before. Two dead scientists and one dead traitor, and we're separated from the hive.]
And then she smiled slowly. [As a former department head, I have the codes to access the security mainframe. Including the sentry turrets. Since Gorson was kind enough to invite us into their temporary headquarters… Blackstar is ours.]
***
Hukken woke to screams.
The rapid thudding of various firearms seemed to come in time with the pounding of his headache. He opened his eyes, and saw that the room was empty save for the eviscerated form of a drone, and the corpse of Haines.
It had all gone wrong. Disconnected memories flashed through his mind; Haines' insanity and Kail's transformation… Gorson opening Blackstar… the hive's release…
Something hit the wall hard, yanking him back to reality. Blackstar was lost. If they had been winning, there would be no screams.
Survival was all that mattered now. Gorson's APCs would provide a means of escape.
Hukken opened the door and slipped through it. The lobby was a scene of chaos; only half a dozen marines remained standing against the Aliens. The rest were dead or dying, ripped open by xenomorph claws or the reprogrammed sentry guns.
The weapons went dry simultaneously, and the soldiers were engulfed in a wave of flashing claws and teeth.
Hukken exited Blackstar Laboratories just as the last scream was cut off. With the barrier between him and his nightmares, he ran towards the looming shapes of the APCs.
He stumbled through to the cockpit of the vehicle, slamming the panel that closed the rear doors. "Get us out of here, quick! I'm the only survivor!"
The pilot said, and did, nothing.
"Come on! They'll be after us any second!" He grabbed the man's shoulder and shook him.
And recoiled in horror as he felt the blood.
There was a faint scraping noise behind him, and Hukken spun, trying to draw a pistol that he didn't have.
[And so it ends,] hissed Spiketail.
The scientist looked up into the pitiless apparition. "Please, Elizabeth… what could I do to hurt you? You've escaped. What does one human matter?"
[My name is Spiketail,] she cut across him. [As for harm… hah! This isn't about you being a threat. This is you being capable of helping the hive, one way or the other. Probably as a host. There's enough flesh in the facility to allow everyone to gorge themselves. Relax,] she continued soothingly, [you won't feel a thing. Until it breaks out, of course.]
"There must be something I can do…" he whined. "Earth is dying. There are reports of hives turning on each other. I can give you an advantage. Just… just don't kill me! Access codes! I can give you the codes to hack into just about anything!"
Spiketail gave him a long, cool look. [Very well. I hate to think what your DNA would do to your child, anyway.]
Hukken reached for the keypad of the APC eagerly, but she stopped him. [Not that way. I have something more direct in mind. After all, we wouldn't want you to mistype those codes, would we?]
Hukken stifled a scream as she grabbed his head in a vice-like grip. He felt the raw, vicious power of her mind invading his, looking for the promised codes. Memories spilled through his mind and into hers, the man funnelling them as he realised that it was the only way he could survive.
The ordeal was over as suddenly as it began. Spiketail gave him one last look before leaving. [Pray that we do not meet again,] she said.
Hukken rose to his feet, and ran. He ran as he had never run before, faster than even his dash to the APCs. The feeling of having his mind ripped open chased him until he could run no more. Gasping for breath, he turned to look back. The lights were off in Blackstar, leaving it a dark hole in the view.
He turned towards the lights of the city centre, and walked towards them, leaving behind the darkness.
A poetic way of putting it, he thought.
***
"And that is my sorry tale," said Hukken with a twisted smile. "Two hundred men and women died there from Blackstar alone, and one of the key tactical forces controlling the fight against the hives was killed as well. And I survived. All because I didn't have the guts to stand up and die for the sake of my species. No doubt because of those access codes I gave to Kail... Spiketail... they were able to hack into spaceport security and stow away here. Am I right, Shadow?"
Everyone jumped, and soft laughter echoed through their minds from the drone. No one else had seen him return. [It was far from easy, but those codes helped,] he replied. [You've changed. The Hukken I knew would never have told that tale, or at least not in that uncensored way.]
Hukken smiled again, and again there was no humour there. "Some events have a way of sticking in the mind and forcing you to go over them."
[There's hope for you yet. Hope for all of you, actually.] The drone moved forward and activated the helm control panel with surprising delicacy. [I had a little time to analyse possible solutions to our problem before you woke up, and there is a way. But it is an option that you would never choose willingly; hence, we had to take control. There.] Shadow moved back.
Hector shifted around the drone, keeping as far away as possible, and glanced at the plotted course. "You're insane," he said instantly.
[I said you would never choose to do this willingly,] Shadow pointed out. [Do you have a better plan in mind, Captain?]
"The Kavash Nebula is a death-trap," Hector said bluntly. "If it's a choice between being ripped apart by you and losing ourselves in there, I choose the former."
"What's going on?" asked Jake.
Hector glanced at him. "An anomaly. This… thing has plotted a course that takes us straight through it to a system on the other side. Out of the thirty-nine ships that have gone through it, thirty-seven have vanished without a trace. Those two survivors only mapped the outskirts. We'll be going through the heart."
[By your reasoning, it's death either way.] There was a subtle difference to this 'voice', suggesting that it had another owner. A feminine tinge, but not a little girl tone, more of a femme fatale one.
Another drone moved in through the main bridge entrance. Jake noted that both Shadow and the newcomer felt different to the drones he was used to. Those just… were. Shadow had an air of constant hesitation about the universe in general.
The newcomer was different again. It produced an atmosphere of barely suppressed aggression.
Spiketail.
Spiketail advanced towards Hector slowly as she continued, [But if you follow Shadow's plan, there is a chance that you will survive. Nothing is certain. Just like the fact of your death should you decide not to cooperate is not… certain…]
She lunged, grabbing the man. Her jaws snapped open, and her inner set shrieked towards his neck, stopping so close that it grazed his skin.
[Merely… likely…] she hissed. She retreated to the door and fell silent.
Jake thought that he'd never seen anything more terrifying than that silent figure.
[Thank you, Spiketail,] commented Shadow irritably.
[It worked,] replied Spiketail. [They were unsure. Now they are merely terrified of us. An improvement, I think.]
"You leave us no choice," said Hector. His voice was level, but his pale features belied his true feelings about Spiketail's unsubtle message.
[Then get your crew back to the capsules,] replied Shadow, ignoring the faint 'I told you so' signals Spiketail was sending him. [And you, Captain, will complete the authorisation for this course. Time and power are short…]
***
Silence.
The crew had returned to their hypersleep capsules, and the hive was hibernating. Nothing breathed.
The computer chattered to itself, meaningless bleeps echoing through the bridge occasionally.
It discovered that the ship had entered a bubble in the nebula, clear of stellar gas and debris. After cross-referencing with its internal database, it concluded that the system within the bubble was not on record. Carefully storing the information, and giving the new system the tag of 'NMR-752', it continued to analyse the readings.
Closer to the system now. The computer noted that there were five planets, including one that appeared to be habitable. It analysed the atmosphere, and discovered that the planet was environmentally and ecologically active.
The computer stored the data, and then went back to analysing the local area.
It noted an irregularity within the E-space drives – a small imbalance in the power transfer matrix.
It corrected the irregularity, noting that the drain on the power core from the drives had increased slightly. It recalculated the maximum possible range, and compared it to the distance to the target. The distance was still within range.
Another irregularity attracted its attention. The ship was slowing. If the Charon went below a certain critical velocity, it would lose velocity and need to reactivate the E-space drives from scratch. Accordingly, the computer diverted more power to the drives to maintain speed.
Power drain increased rapidly. A tortured whining echoed through the ship as the power transfer matrix was strained beyond its normal limits.
And then, with an explosion that rocked the ship, the E-space drive overloaded.
Shadow woke from his hibernation, the alarms screaming. Around him, the rest of the hive were also rousing themselves. Threads of confusion ricocheted through the hive mind.
He sent an intention to check on the humans, to find out what had happened, and left. He felt Spiketail follow him. Neither said anything. Both had a good idea of what had happened to the ship.
The air shafts twisted and turned before coming to a small grille. Shadow tore it open with a flick of his claws and dived through.
The cryochamber beyond was filled with drowsy humans, some desperately trying to adjust to the sudden change. There were a few moans of surprise as they saw the lithe black drones drop into their midst, but Shadow ignored them, heading straight for Hector.
[What's going on?] he asked bluntly.
Hector looked up, laughed bitterly, and rotated the display above his hypersleep capsule so that the drones could see.
Critical E-space drive overload at T+00:01:16:29.
Power core status: 1% power remaining.
Estimated time of power core failure: 7 minutes.
Current location: 5 light-years from destination, sector 197845 Kavash Nebula.
[At least we tried,] said Shadow quietly.
Jake looked up, the last of the hypersleep sickness wearing off. For a moment, he saw Shadow not as the black terror that he appeared, but another person.
"It failed, though, didn't it?" said Hector. "We're all doomed. And no doubt your lot will now turn to the only supplies they have."
[It's not over yet,] said Spiketail suddenly. Her tail snaked out and pointed at a small icon in the corner of the display.
The icon was a series of concentric rings, with a blue dot just above the centre.
"We'll never get the power together for a landing," said Hector.
[And if we don't even try?] demanded Shadow.
"Shadow's right," said Jake. "We've got a chance, however remote it is. We need to get to the bridge and start work."
"I'm telling you, it won't work!" barked Hector. "The power will run out and we'll be coasting. This ship is not aerodynamic – if we hit atmosphere without power, we'll just drop and explode."
[Again, you seem to think you have a choice,] said Spiketail sibilantly.
Hector stared at her, and then laughed mirthlessly. "All right. If we're going to die, we might as well do it on an impossible chance."
The journey to the bridge went in a blur. Shadow moved forward to stare through the forward portholes.
A little green orb was visible through the windows, growing rapidly. It was already possible to pick out each of the three continents visible, as the ship juddered with reverse thrust.
The lights went out as power was diverted. Hector's brow creased with concentration as he played the helm controls like a piano. The Charon groaned in protest as he tried to turn it away from a direct impact on the surface.
The planet grew until it filled the slowly turning view.
And then the juddering stopped. The engines had run out of power, and they were now flying a five thousand ton glider without any form of aerodynamics.
***
On the planet below, the native life forms looked up to see a blazing star falling through the sky.
The heat from the star radiated off, and the trees closest to it burst into flame. Flying creatures swarmed away from the inferno.
The star continued to fall at an angle, dropping all the time.
And then it hit the tree line.
The trees of NMR-752-M1 were even larger and sturdier than the largest Earth trees, but they were battered aside like matchsticks by the five thousand ton behemoth.
As the Charon ploughed into the ground, shockwaves resonated across the landscape. The ship created a huge furrow behind it, not being noticeably slowed by the landscape.
A huge cliff loomed in front of the fiery wreck, and it shuddered as the ship slammed into it, and finally stopped.
Nothing moved.
The forest slowly returned to normal, and the thing that had been watching the entire scene got up onto a rock pile on the cliff.
So. There were newcomers to the planet.
The wreck, and particularly its occupants, was of great interest to the watcher. But he was patient. Patience was a trait he had learned during his five-year imprisonment on the planet.
Now, of course, he could leave anytime he wanted. But this place was a paradise for a hunter.
So he had returned.
Ironic. Most of those shipwrecked on this planet wished to leave, but couldn't. He and his kin could, but didn't want to.
He sighed. Now that the smoke was clearing, he could see the shape of the wreck, and recognised the design. Nothing that he hadn't dealt with before. Not too much of a challenge.
These aliens were adaptable, but physically puny. They seldom survived for more than a week here. And they were technologically backward. They might hold some interest – they were cunning – but no challenge.
Not for a Yautja, anyway.
***
NEW STRANDED VESSEL LOCATED
ANALYSING OCCUPANTS
OCCUPANTS IDENTIFIED: TWO DIFFERENT SPECIES
FIRST SPECIES: MAMMALIAN BIPEDAL SPECIES DESIGNATION 'HUMAN'
ORIGIN: PLANET NY27957-4, KNOWN BY NATIVES AS 'EARTH'
SECOND SPECIES: ARTIFICIAL BIOMECHANOID (MODIFIED GENOME) DESIGNATION 'XENOMORPH'
ORIGIN: N/A
THREAT LEVEL OF COMBINED STRANDED: LOW
SUGGESTED PROCEDURE: OBSERVATION AND TESTING
CALCULATION ENDS
***
Blackness.
That was his first impression. Complete blackness. It was a sensation he hadn't experienced since his transformation. His senses had always been alive with the sensing of heat, electrical signals, his sonar, plus all the usual senses - although 'normal' vision was a little weird, due to having the light-sensitive cells buried beneath the exoskeleton.
As a sensation, it was terrifying.
[Hello? Is anyone else here?]
Shadow tried to move, and pain flooded through him. The Alien nervous system located the sources of pain, and relayed the information to him in great detail. His tail, right leg, and left foot were all crushed by something.
There was a soft groan from nearby. Human.
"What happened?" the groaner asked. That quiet one, Jake, by the sound of it.
[Two possibilities,] said Shadow, relieved at not being alone. [We're either dead, and in some variety of afterlife, or we're alive and survived the crash.]
Something crashed, and a spark of pain and irritation hit him over the hive link. Spiketail, it would seem, was also alive.
'Sight', in its various forms, was slowly returning to him. They were clearly on the bridge of the Charon, and he could tell that consciousness was slowly returning to several others on the bridge. His heat sense could tell that the outer hull of the ship was at an incredible temperature. He could also tell, due to the lack of electrical signals, that several people had died.
He crawled slowly out from under the collapsed control panel, feeling the damage to his body repairing already.
His sense slowly strengthened, and once more he could 'see' through the walls of the bridge. The details were fuzzy, but he could see many cooling bodies. He counted them. Seven.
There only had been thirteen humans on board.
As he moved towards the door to see if they were trapped by the wreckage, he stumbled over the dead body of Captain Caraeus Hector.