Alien: Post-Apocalypse

Chapter 11: Phoenix Rising

The Director sat in a dark room with several screens, interfaces, microphones, and other electronics surrounding him so that he could control his entire organization from the security of his reinforced control room deep underground in a classified location. One of the monitors before him displayed a conference room occupied by the three generals of Phoenix's military branch, while another displayed the highlight footage from The Citadel replaying for perhaps the dozenth time. The Director couldn't help but scoff at what he saw. The Project Defense Sect, Phoenix's private military, was easily the most well funded aspect of the organization due to Phoenix's militaristic doctrine. With that in mind, he couldn't understand how the whole operation had ended in such a colossal failure.

He placed a finger over the small button at the base of the microphone in front of him, allowing him to speak directly to his generals within the conference room via audio speakers mounted on the walls. "Gentlemen, please explain to me how you managed to fail at reclaiming my organizations most important research facility," he began, though his tone of voice contradicted his calm and professional choice of words.

The response came through the speakers beneath the screen showing the conference room. "You've seen the recordings, but I suppose I shouldn't expect a civilian to understand the logistics of what happened," said General Harver. Quickly, General Willschmitt butted in.

"Sir, what my colleague is trying to say is that the radioactivity within The Citadel will make in uninhabitable for the next several thousand years, so it wouldn't have mattered if we had reclaimed it or not," he said in a much more composed tone than that of General Harver.

"Don't insult my intelligence. I'm well aware of how radiation works. However, I suppose I shouldn't expect a General to understand that our research and development teams have already devised several methods of purging radiation," The Director said mockingly. "Also, I realize that this ordeal cost you a son, General Harver, but the next time you speak out of line to me like that, you'll find yourself inheriting his rank."

"Understood," Harver said begrudgingly.

"Good. Now, explain to me how your men managed to get themselves slaughtered on a simple sweep and secure mission," said The Director, not caring how harsh he might have sounded.

The third general, General Pierce, answered for his peers. "I regret to report that the failure was due to unforeseeable circumstances as well as gross incompetence of the soldiers themselves."

"I see. And what of Captain Carlson and his men who survived?" asked The Director.

"They're all being treated for radiation poisoning, as well as sickness induced by chemicals that the medical staff aren't even familiar with. Should he recover, Captain Carlson will being facing demotion and perhaps even a court martial for dereliction of duty." replied Willschmitt.

The Director took a moment to consider all of the information and use it to form a plan of action. "No matter. Phoenix is still quite capable of recovering from this stronger than ever; as is our nature. Here is what you are going to do: send the rest of the battalion from which Carlson's company was detached from, along with technicians and proper radiation purging equipment, and ensure that they finish what Carlson and his men started. I want The Citadel operational again in a week's time. Furthermore, the alien species that was being researched at The Citadel is extremely valuable to the organization. Unfortunately, all specimens either died or escaped. However, we know that, before the war, there was a brief infestation of these creatures, and several of their hives were present in the region. Organize and dispatch a group of flight teams to scan the area for one of their hives. Once one has been located I want a task group of special forces to infiltrate it and secure as many new specimens as possible, unharmed. Is all of that understood?"

"Yes, sir," the three generals responded in unison.

"For your sakes, you had better hope it is. None of you are as irreplaceable as you may think," The Director finished before cutting the electronic link. He then turned in his large U shaped desk to face yet another screen. From the screen, he read the most recent report from the research facility containing Captain Carlson and his men. The Director was very interested in what had caused the strange mutation of the civilians in The Citadel as well as its possible uses. He allowed himself a sinister grin at the notion that he had properly deceived the generals into thinking that the soldiers were under medical care when they were in fact test subjects now.

No need for them to know that. All I have to do now is have the researchers send them a false report saying that they all succumbed to the radiation poisoning, he thought to himself. He touched the screen, initiating a video recording of one of the subjects who had already began the process of mutation. The man convulsed and thrashed about in his restraints while screaming in an almost feral manner. Interesting...

…

As The Praetorian Guard stepped in front of him, Thoulux was unsure of how he should respond. "Ah yes, our newest addition. Allow me to personally welcome you to the hive," Donterus said powerfully. To Thoulux's credit, he stood firm and showed no signs of intimidation as his gaze turned upward to meet that of the praetorian before him. He then boldly took a step toward Donterus and held out his hand in greeting the same way Qarinna had done to him.

"I am pleased to serve the hive in repayment, honored praetorian," he said with as much confidence as he could muster.

The Praetorian Guard paused for only a brief moment, slightly surprised by Thoulux's actions. He then placed his much larger palm against Thoulux's with almost enough force to push to warrior back but not quite. "Intrepid yet respectful." he observed aloud before lowering his hand back to his side. The praetorian took a moment to size Thoulux up before stating, "I believe you will make a fine addition to the hive's warriors." Without saying another word, he turned to pick up the massive chunk of resin he had been carrying and strode out of the chamber, causing a slight vibration in the ground with each step.

"You've done well; Donterus is not easily impressed. You especially did well to show confidence in his presence. He has been known to maul cowards," said Qarinna, her mental voice making it clear that she herself was impressed as well.

"Duly noted" Thoulux replied.

"Now, as I was saying, you will begin by assisting our siblings with removing the resin on that wall over there," said the female warrior, gesturing toward in the direction of the wall she was referring to.

Thoulux acknowledged Qarinna's instructions before making his way to the chitinous surface. He noticed that the other xenomorphs were using their tails and claws to crack the resin and tear it away. Others would come and carry the decayed resin away while still others would follow behind those destroying the old chitin to replace it with new resin, which quickly hardened to maintain the wall's structural sufficiency. Thoulux took his place among his new siblings and swung his tail into the brittle surface. To his relief, the old resin cracked apart as the tip of his tail drilled into the wall. As he pulled his blade free, he reached his hands into the center of the spider web of cracks and tore several loose chunks away.

Well, that was simple, he thought. But the scale of such an undertaking struck him as he realized just how much surface area he and the dozen or so other xenomorphs working along side him had to cover. He gave a low sigh of resignation before continuing to work. As he continued his monotonous task, he let his mind wonder. His thoughts seemed to naturally revert to Verexa. I hope she is fairing well, he thought. Just then, through a pleasant coincidence, her sweet voice entered his mind.

…

Standing in the same spot that she had been standing for some time now, Verexa couldn't quite decide what to do with herself. She was still well ahead of schedule, and it didn't seem that anyone from her assigned hunting party was present yet. Feeling a bit out of place, she reached out to Thoulux telepathically. She was very pleased to find that she could still speak with him despite the fact that he was nearly on the opposite end of the hive. "I miss you already. I wish I could spend time with you while I wait, but I understand that you are busy," she said.

"I miss you as well, and I am eagerly looking forward to our rest hours. Perhaps you could make some friends while you hunt?" he suggested kindly.

"I suppose you're right; it would certainly help to make us more welcome amongst our new siblings." she replied.

"Agreed. I hope all goes well for you and that your hunt is very fruitful. I will see you as soon as we've completed our respective tasks for the day. I love you," Thoulux said warmly.

"I love you too, and I'm looking forward to seeing you again as well. Take care, my love." And with that, their mental conversation ended all too soon. Verexa then began searching for something to do while she waited. She wasn't particularly hungry, and she obviously didn't have any acquaintances yet, so she decided to take Thoulux's advice. It was then that she noticed the only other lone xenomorph in the chamber sitting neatly near the back corner of the room with a cut of meat in her hands. A trio of drones passed to Verexa's right, and she stopped one of them.

"Pardon me, who is that in the corner, and why is she alone?" she inquired. The drone she was speaking to happened to be the only male out of the three. In fact, she noted that out of the dozens of xenomorphs in the room only seven were male.

The drone directed his focus toward the xenomorph in question and then turned back to Verexa. "Ah, her name is Nelasier. She's a proud member of the hive and one of our best huntresses. However, she is telepathically mute – well, mostly. She can project emotions and feelings, like any other xenomorph, but she is simply without a mental voice. She keeps to herself for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, she does her best to compensate her lack of speech through physical gestures when necessary." he said matter-of-factly.

Verexa was shocked. She had never heard of such a thing. "I don't quite understand. How is that possible?" she said.

"No one is quite sure, not even The Empress. Since she was born, she simply has never spoken. Perhaps she just doesn't wish to do so," he replied.

Still trying to clear her surprise at this revelation, she said, "Would she object to my company?"

"I doubt it, so long as you don't seek to ridicule her. She is good-natured despite her condition."

"Thank you," Verexa finished politely. With that, the drone turned to catch up with the other two drones he had been with.

Verexa started to contemplate what it would be like to be unable to speak to anyone but stopped herself. On a whim, she decided that she would introduce herself while she waited on the rest of her hunting party. She crossed the long meeting chamber until she stood a couple meters in front of Nelasier, who was still sitting and nibbling on the small cut of meat held between her hands. Nelasier looked up to the stranger who had approached her.

A number a vestigial traits – both physical and psychological – often manifest themselves in xenomorphs from their human hosts, some more common than others. Such traits include having five fingers instead of the usual four, having only two joints on each leg at the knees and ankles, and, perhaps most common of all, the desire to find a mate despite the fact that all females aside from queens are infertile. However, the trait that Verexa first noticed in Nelasier was that she could clearly see the upper half of a humanoid skull underneath her semi-transparent carapace. The nose and eye sockets were empty, and the back of the beige bone fused seamlessly into the black chitin of the rest of her elongated skull. Verexa wasn't disturbed by this bodily feature as a human might be; she merely found such a rare trait interesting.

After a second or two of observation, Verexa sat in front of her and introduced herself. "Hello, Nelasier. My name is Verexa," she said, maintaining her polite tone.

Nelasier hesitated for only a short moment before taking the meat into one hand and using the other to gesture. She brought the tips of all four fingers on her free hand together, placed the tips of her fingers over her heart, and then extended her arm in a slow, upward arch, opening her hand palm up toward Verexa as she did so. All the while, Verexa could feel the emotions associated with a pleasant greeting emanating from her. The overall meaning was clear: 'I am pleased to meet you.' Then, Nelasier froze and began frantically searching for a way to explain her inability to speak to her new acquaintance, something that she had never found a good way of doing. Fortunately, her siblings all knew by now, and so did Verexa.

"Please, Relax. I understand that you cannot speak. I would give you my sympathy, but something tells me that you don't want it." Verexa said kindly.

Nelasier nodded her head up and down a couple times, which seemed to indicate yes, appreciation, or both. She then brought her tail blade up and used it to slice the piece of meat in half. Verexa noted that the blade was double edged, completely straight, and ended with two smaller blades branching off in a V shape, as opposed to her own standard curved blade. Nelasier now held two even pieces of meat in either hand and offered one to Verexa in a sharing gesture.

"Thank you very much," Verexa said as she accepted it gingerly and took a small bite even though she wasn't very hungry. It was actually a very choice cut of meat and was pleasantly juicy. "I've been told that you're a very skilled huntress. One of the hive's best, in fact" she continued.

Nelasier tilted and bowed her head slightly at the compliment. Her emotions reflected that she was flattered.

"I've been tasked with hunting later today. Right now, I'm waiting on the rest of my party." Verexa stated.

At that, Nelasier looked back at her, seemingly surprised. She placed her free hand over her chest and nodded her head twice. 'Me too.' It seemed that they belonged to the same hunting party for the day. There was an unmistakable aura of gladness about both of them at this revelation.

"Excellent! I must say that I'm excited about hunting along side you. It's a good way to develop friendships, after all," she replied sincerely.

A few minutes passed while they continued to chat and finish their slices of meat. During that time, Verexa got more accustom to Nelasier's way of communicating. It was certainly different, but it was merely a minor inconvenience at worst. Before long, a new group of four xenomorphs entered: a drone, two sentries, and one warrior. The warrior was the only male among them. One of the sentries, who was the leader of group and was well aged and experienced as evident by the numerous scars all over her jet black body, stepped ahead and called out, "Nelasier and Verexa?" Her mental voice was projected toward all within the meeting chamber. Nelasier quickly got to her feet and strode toward the rest of the hunting group, closely followed by Verexa. They crossed the chamber and stood in front of the sentry in charge.

"Greetings. My name is Yulsira, as I'm sure that Nelasier has failed to introduce me to you, thanks to her disability," the hunt leader said curtly. Nelasier hung her head slightly at this.

"There is no need to be so harsh," Verexa stated in her new friend's defense.

Yulsira stepped directly in front of Verexa so that she stood face to face with her, despite the fact that Verexa had a slight height advantage. "Learn your place, cur! I did not have the privilege of choosing the group whom I hunt with; otherwise, I certainly would not have chosen a mute and an adopted traitor!" she said scornfully.

It took every ounce of Verexa's self control to prevent her from personally giving Yulsira a few new scars. Verexa was no traitor to her birth queen, and the wretch standing in front of her had no right to speak of her or Nelasier in such a way. Nevertheless, she restrained herself, but did not give a response. To reinforce her decision, Nelasier cautiously placed a hand on Verexa's shoulder and shook her head side to side slightly, seemingly to discourage a retaliation.

Yulsira backed away slightly before saying, "Now, without further sedition, we can get this hunt underway. Follow me." With no further discussion, she took to all fours and sprinted into the nearest tunnel that lead to an exit to the hive with the other five xenomorphs under her direction right behind her.

As the group ran, Verexa did her best to memorize a mental map of the various tunnels they traversed. They passed several of their siblings along the way, and as the hunting party exited through one of several surface level entrances to the hive, she noticed a group of four enforcers standing guard. The heavily built xenomorphs were very similar to warriors but had much heavier exoskeletons and thick plated carapaces around their skulls, which featured a thick spike protruding from each of their foreheads. Their heavy build made it difficult for them to move at any appreciable speed, but they made an excellent secondary line of defense should an enemy ever breech the hive. Enforcers were also a fairly rare class of xenomorphs, and Verexa was impressed to see that such guards were posted at each of the surface level entrances; a testament to the hive's integrity and numbers.

After a while of travel time, the hunting party found themselves in a lively patch of land compared to the rest of the wastelands. Healthy desert grasses and even a few full grown trees – something that Verexa had not seen in quite some time – could be seen in all directions. The group came to a halt and Yulsira addressed them.

"As always, our main source of prey will be coyotes and white-tailed deer, but if you find anything substantial enough to help feed the hive, kill it. Verexa and Nelasier, since the two of you seem so fond of each other, you will pair up to hunt," she said with contempt clear in her mental voice. Regardless, they were both pleased with their assigned hunting partners. Indicating the other sentry present, Yulsira continued. "Chyress, you and I shall hunt together," she said. "Silna, you will find a high vantage point and be prepared to cut off any prey that we give chase to." she said to the drone. "And finally, Fornuss, you will stand ready to bring down any larger prey, should any of us call for your assistance." she said to the male warrior. "The sun has reached its apex for the day, and when it sets down on the horizon once again, you shall return to this very spot with or without any fresh kill, so that we may return to the hive" she finished. And with that, the five huntresses took off, leaving the warrior to wait until he was needed.

…

Fornuss watched as the others departed to begin the hunt, but his focus primarily remained on one in particular. This new sentry from outside the hive – Verexa, as Yulsira had called her – particularly struck his fancy. He watched as her lithe body carried her gracefully alongside her hunting partner. Unbeknownst to her, he stood and admired her rather attractive form for as long as he could until she disappeared from view. Afterward, he thought back on the disagreement he had witnessed between Verexa and Yulsira, and he couldn't help but feel enticed by her fiery attitude. Perhaps its high time that I claimed a new mate, Fornuss thought smugly to himself while trying to imagine a way to impress her.

…

Thoulux continued his toil for what seemed like days, when in reality it had hardly been a few hours. He was now going about the task of replacing the old chitin that he and his siblings had removed with new resin, which he excreted through his mouth. It was a very strange feeling at first, since he'd never done so before in his life, but it eventually became just another part of the routine. Again he let his mind wonder, and it immediately went to the recent memory of his brief conversation with Verexa before she left to hunt. He felt ashamed that he had cut the conversation short, but at the time, there was someone else trying to speak privately with him. He had assumed it was someone trying to give him new instructions about the task at hand and so he wrapped up his conversation with Verexa, fortunately without forgetting to wish her a good hunt and remind her of his love.

He had been frustrated to find out that it was not someone attempting to relay directions to him, but rather a young drone introducing herself to him. That was all well and good until the drone began to suggest, among other things, that she and Thoulux find a quiet place together after their work was done. He had promptly turned down her offer, perhaps a bit rudely, but that was none of his concern. He felt some pride at his loyalty toward Verexa, but he still felt bad that he had been unable to speak with her again, for she had already left to hunt and was beyond his telepathic range. All the more reason to look forward to seeing her again, he thought positively.

Taking a moment to step back and admire his handy work, Thoulux watched as the resin he had just placed quickly hardened into a nice, smooth surface to replace the decayed and cracked chitin. He had worked up a considerable thirst, but he couldn't remember the way back to to the drinking pool. Fortunately, he noticed that a couple of the xenomorphs he had been working along side with were gathered in front of the water tracks along the tunnel walls behind him. Upon approaching the water tracks himself, he found that the flow of water was indeed still steady enough to drink from. He leaned forward and began sating his thirst. Suddenly, a female warrior stood beside him and began to drink as well. Thoulux quickly recognized her as Qarinna. She drank in a few gulps before turning her attention toward him, and he also did the same.

"Hello, Thoulux. I'm glad to say that I am very pleased with your hard work. I suppose that I'll allow you to be finished for the day by sundown; someone will be here to replace you for the night." she said.

"Excellent. I must admit that I will be happy to be relieved." Thoulux replied.

"Yes, I understand how you feel. I've decided to begin my rest hours at sunset as well. Perhaps you would like to join me to share a meal together? I would certainly like to get to know you better." she invited in an almost sultry tone.

Not this again, Thoulux thought, thinking back to the drone who had made a similar request of him earlier. "Maybe some other time. I have something else I had planned on attending to." He responded evasively, realizing that 'someone' would have been a more accurate choice of words as opposed to 'something.'

"Very well..." Qarinna replied with a hint of disappointment in her mental voice. Returning to a more hopeful tone of voice, she continued. "If we find mutual free time tomorrow, we could spend it together."

"I would rather not," Thoulux stated flatly.

Qarinna took a moment before speaking again, seemingly unsure of what to make of her quarry's reply. "Your scent disagrees with your words; I can tell that you have not yet taken a mate, yet you are searching for one. Perhaps I could be your first." she eventually said. There was still hope in her voice, along with no small amount of infatuation.

Thoulux took a deep breath and exhaled heavily in a sigh of frustration. Indeed, Qarinna would potentially make a fine mate for him, and her offer was very tempting. However, his thoughts returned to Verexa, her beauty, the growing relationship that they already shared, and the strong loyalty that he felt toward her as a result of what they had endured together. He also considered Orren's dedication toward his only mate and his own agreement with Orren's views. Bearing these things in mind, Thoulux made his decision.

"I'm sorry, but I'm currently courting someone else, someone whom I feel very strongly for. I do not think it would be fair to her if I were to pursue a relationship with someone else as well as her. Verexa is the only one who holds my interest, and I'm asking you to respect that." he said as politely as he could while still making his decision clear.

Qarinna was stunned by this, and she felt the sting of rejection in her heart. Verexa? The sentry that accompanied him into the hive, no doubt, she reasoned. "I... I see. Well then... if, for any reason, the two of you are not-" she began to say before Thoulux interrupted.

"Qarinna, please. Do not press this situation any further," he said firmly.

The female warrior turned her head slightly away from him with a feeling of shame. "I'll just... leave you to your work then." she said with resignation before walking away with her shoulders sagging.

Thoulux watched Qarinna sulk away, and he took a moment to think about what had just happened. Under different circumstances, he could certainly see Qarinna become a close friend of his, but her advance on him was unwelcome. Although he felt some guilt at rejecting her, he knew that he had made the right decision. He decided it was best to pay no further heed to it and get back to his previous task.

…

Verexa and Nelasier stalked through the tall desert grass and bushes with great stealth and agility. So far, they hadn't seen anything of adequate size to be considered prey, but they continued to search. Despite the lack of prey, Verexa couldn't help but enjoy the rush that came with hunting. Aside from hers and Thoulux's brief encounter with the small pack of coyotes, it had been quite some time since she had hunted along side a fellow xenomorph for the good of the hive. She was in her element and was eager to do her part to serve The Empress and her regime.

The pair of huntresses eventually came behind a line of bushes, and they silently came to a halt. Verexa's trans-visual senses allowed her to perceive the three deer on the opposite side of the bushes about twenty meters away, and it was a certainty that Nelasier was aware of them as well. She telepathically informed her partner that she was ready, but Nelasier shook her head in disagreement. Verexa was confused at first, but decided to focus her perception a bit more to get a closer look, so to speak. Upon doing so, she found that the trio of deer consisted of a fawn, a doe, and a buck. The fawn would provide hardly enough meat to make it worth killing, especially considering that it would grow up to have children of its own, thus helping to maintain the hive's food supply. The doe was considerably larger, but Verexa could tell that she was, in fact, pregnant at the moment. Again, it seemed best to spare her for the sake of maintaining the food supply. The buck, on the other hand, was a fine specimen, and was not valuable in the same way as the fawn or the doe. His flesh was definitely worth the most in the form of food.

"I understand. No need to kill the mother or the child. That buck will do well to sustain the hive, though." Verexa said. Nelasier gave a slight grin, revealing her silvery fangs, and nodded her head twice in agreement. With that, they both tensed their muscles in anticipation. In perfect unison, they two xenomorphs leaped over the bushes and sprinted toward the grazing deer. They were within five meters of the furred creatures before they even reacted. The doe took off in one direction, with the fawn doing its best to keep up, while the buck ran in another direction as both huntresses followed right on its tail. Once she was close enough, Nelasier gave a vicious hiss as she swiped her tail low, severing the lower half of one the buck's hind legs. The creature tumbled awkwardly to the ground, waling in pain and kicking its remaining three limbs. Verexa instantly pounced on top it and delivered the killing blow by sending her inner maw through its skull and retracting it, along with some of the deer's brain matter.

Nelasier now stood at Verexa's side, as the latter got up from the deer and faced her partner. "An excellent kill! We make an outstanding hunting pair, if I do say so myself!"she said excitedly, giving a genuine smile. Nelasier nodded in agreement, clenching her fist in triumph and smiling in return. Verexa then crouched down to pick up the heavy buck, and Nelasier voluntarily grabbed its front legs and began to carry half of its weight. Verexa could certainly have carried it back on her own, but it was a long distance back to the meeting point, so she definitely appreciated her partner's help. "Thank you, sister." she said kindly.

There was great significance in the fact that she had referred to Nelasier as her sister, and unbeknownst to her, Nelasier would have given almost anything to call her sister in return. Very few of her siblings cared to have anything to do with her, let alone extend such pleasantries her way, which she was unfortunately limited in her ability to reciprocate when they did. Unable to do anything more, the mute sentry simply smiled inwardly and sufficed it to send appreciative emotions toward her new friend. They continued walking, with the large deer held between them, back toward the meeting spot as the sun continued to approach the horizon. Once they reached the spot at which the hunting party had initially split up, they found Fornuss sitting casually atop of a dead mountain lion with a hole in its chest, presumably where he had jabbed it with his tail.

"Quite the kill, isn't it?" he asked conceitedly.

The pair of huntresses gingerly set down their own prey. "Yes, I suppose it is," Verexa answered after standing back up. "Did you find it, or did it find you?"

"I found it, of course!" Fornuss responded with an undertone of indignation. He was trying to act every bit the esteemed warrior of the hive he was, but Verexa didn't seem impressed.

"I see. Well done." she said indifferently, taking a seat next to Nelasier in order to wait for the other three members of the hunting party to return.

After calming himself from his petty outburst, Fornuss struggled to find something else to say. Eventually, he resigned to just ignore it and let it go. His plan to win her favor had backfired, but he knew that he would have other opportunities to make up for it once they returned to the hive. The three xenomorphs simply relaxed in silence while they awaited their siblings.

Just before the sun reached the horizon, Yulsira, Chyress, and Silna returned with nothing but a few jack rabbits to show for their efforts. Once again, Verexa called upon her self control to resist the urge to taunt Yulsira and her meager catch. Looking at the deer and the mountain lion that the others had slain, Yulsira said, "Good work. This should keep the hive sated for some time. That is a particularly impressive kill, Fornuss." The fact that she did not give any specific acknowledgment toward Verexa's and Nelasier's deer did not go unnoticed by the two.

"Thank you, Hunt Mistress," said Fornuss pompously while getting up and hoisting the dead feline over his shoulder. Nelasier and Verexa also rose to pick up the buck, but Fornuss approached and halted them. "Please, allow me," he said, as he boastfully lifted the heavy deer onto his other shoulder. As he walked away, following Yulsira and the others back to the hive, Verexa turned to her friend confusedly. Nelasier simply turned both of her palms upward in an 'oh well' gesture, and they followed the rest of their group away from the setting sun.

…

Thoulux continued to work until he saw a xenomorph approaching behind him, thanks to his peripheral senses, at which point, he turned to face her. It was Qarinna again, and hopefully she was only coming to inform him that he was now relieved for the day. "Hello again, Qarinna," he said in a professional tone.

"Hello. The sun has set, so I just came to tell you that you're finished for the time being. Enjoy your rest hours." she said equally as professionally, but there was still a twinge of regret and perhaps even sadness present in her voice.

"Thank you, and the same to you. I'll be on my way then," he replied.

"Before you go, I... wanted to apologize about earlier. I sincerely wish the best for you and Verexa, and I hope that she is everything you're looking for in a mate." Qarinna said solemnly yet truthfully.

Thoulux was relieved by what she had said. He placed a reassuring hand on the female warrior's shoulder but kept her at arm's length. "Qarinna, please don't dwell on this. Simply leave it in the past, and know that you'll find an excellent mate for yourself soon enough," he encouraged.

Qarinna noticeably lifted her head a little at this. "Right... Thank you," she said with some of her pride returning to her mental voice.

With that, Thoulux brought his hand back to his side and sauntered away, feeling very pleased at how that ordeal had been resolved.

…

The hunting party, now laden with fresh kill, entered the hive via the same entrance through which they had left from. Verexa noted with some humor that Fornuss was now practically panting from the exertion of carrying both the mountain lion and the white-tailed deer; his boastful display once again back firing on him.

They were on their way to the fresh kill chamber when Yulsira handed off the jack rabbit she had been carrying to Chyress and came to a halt while the others continued on. "Verexa, stay behind to speak with me for a moment," she ordered.

Verexa stopped, turned around, and made her way over to the older sentry in the seemingly empty room. "What is it that you need?" she inquired curtly.

Yulsira splayed her feet slightly while crouching forward a bit and bearing her claws. As she assumed her fighting stance, she gave a low hiss a waved her tail in anticipation. "You and I are going to have a bit of a spar, so that I may teach you the repercussions of speaking out against me!" She explained threateningly.

Surprised by Yulsira's actions, Verexa took a similar fighting stance. "Very well! You have no right to talk rot about your siblings, and I'll certainly enjoy reinforcing that point." she retorted.

Without another word, Yulsira lunged forward, but Verexa deftly dodged her initial attack. The older sentry whipped around, before Verexa could retaliate, and caught her by the shoulders in an attempt to force her to the ground. Just before she lost her balance, Verexa managed to rake her claws against Yulsira's left side, causing her to recoil in pain. Verexa quickly backed away to successfully escape the other sentry's grasp. The strike had been a lucky one, but she was somewhat satisfied that she had, indeed, added to Yulsira's plethora of scars. However, there was no time to revel, for Verexa now had a slight advantage and knew that she needed to seize the opportunity. She flexed her powerful legs and leaped directly at Yulsira. However, just as she collided into her, the older sentry twisted so that she actually landed on top of Verexa; a testament to Yulsira's greater experience. Quickly recovering from the sudden change of advantage, Verexa brought her legs up and delivered a kick to Yulsira's gut before she managed to land a hit. The kick knocked Yulsira to the side as well as winding her. Both sentries got back to their feet simultaneously. Verexa immediately went after her opponent again, who regained her breath just in time to catch the younger sentry's hands in her own. The two pushed against each other, stuck in an even deadlock.

Suddenly, a tail wrapped around Yulsira's ankles and pulled back, tripping her and causing her to fall face first onto the ground with a small cracking noise. However, it wasn't Verexa's tail that had tripped her. Yulsira rolled over, revealing a hairline fracture in the smooth carapace over her skull, and found Nelasier and Verexa standing over her, now side by side. As Yulsira scrambled to her feet, it became clear that Nelasier had actually stayed behind in order to help her friend should she need it. The older sentry now found herself in a two versus one fight, which she would surely lose. But before anyone made another move, a powerful, feminine voice, not too unlike the queen's, was heard in the minds of each of the three.

"Cease and desist!" the voice commanded. All three sentries immediately lowered their aggression and turned to face the praetorian that was now entering the chamber. Verexa realized that the praetorian must be the hive's Praetorian Heir; the individual that would succeed The Empress, if she were ever to be killed, by becoming the new queen of the hive. She was an extension of the queen's power, and therefore, her word was law.

"Honored praetorian, I was merely-" Yulsira began to explain before being interrupted by The Praetorian Heir.

"Speak only when asked to do so while you are in my presence, Yulsira." she said in a calm yet commanding voice, silencing the unruly hunt mistress. She then turned her attention to Verexa. "You are Verexa, correct? One of the newcomers to the hive?" she asked flatly.

"Yes, respected praetorian," she answered.

"And you realize that this is hardly the way to make a good first impression on your new family?"

"Yes, respected praetorian," she repeated.

"Very well," the praetorian said before addressing all three of them. "I have no interest in each of your personal opinions on what caused this. Yulsira, your role as a hunt leader does not permit you to ridicule those under your guidance, especially when their hunt is more successful than your own. Verexa and Nelasier, from here onward, you will respect your hunt master or mistress under any circumstances. The next time that any of you decide to strike out at one another outside of training, your next sparring partner will be either myself or Donterus, and I guarantee that you will not walk away unscathed. Now, the three of you are to go separate ways and await your task for the days to come."

With that, they each immediately exited the chamber through three different tunnels. Before she got very far, Verexa reached out to Nelasier on a private link of telepathy. "Thank you for the assistance, and I am sorry for getting you into trouble as well. I hope to see you again tomorrow. Until then, take care, my friend," she said. Of course, the only response that she got was the positive emotion of happiness, which was enough for her.

With that settled, Verexa did her best to put the day's events behind her, and she began eagerly looking forward to seeing Thoulux as soon as she found him in the hive. Without noticing, her pace quickened with her enthusiasm.

…

Two humans, each wearing Phoenix flight uniforms, sat at the controls of a small, jet reconnaissance plane. They carefully watched the screens in front of them, which displayed images of the ground below them through several filters including heat signature reading, infrared, electronic signature reading, standard night vision, and several others. They had been flying for hours without seeing anything, and they were approaching bingo fuel levels. Suddenly, one of the scanners reported an anomaly, which was shown on the heat reading camera. It appeared to be a large, black dome with several holes through which heat was being vented.

"Looks like we found one," said one of the humans to his co-pilot.

"Roger that. Let's get back to base and see if this earns us a pay raise," said the co-pilot.

"I still think we should just nuke 'em from up here. Nothing good ever comes from these things," said the first.

"Yeah, well, you know they don't care about what you or I think. If the boss wants to bring in a few of those freaks alive, that's fine with me so long as I'm not the one who has to go get 'em."

"I guess you're right. Log the coordinates of the hive, and let's go home."

Author's Note: The Praetorian Heir doesn't have a name because she may one day become a queen, and queen's are known by titles, not names, in this universe. Anyways, this was the second longest chapter to date (only a couple hundred fewer words less than Citadel of Demons), and I hope you all enjoyed the little fight scene as well as the further description of the hive, the new characters, the foreshadowing of future conflict, the bit of love drama, and the all important character development. Things are about pick up with the plot as far as main conflict and in Thoulux's and Verexa's relationship (still staying T rated, sorry).

Happy (late) Independence Day to all my fellow Americans, and a huge thank you to everyone who reads this story world wide. Please comment, follow, review, PM me, etc., and have an awesome day!

I do not own anything in this story except the plot and characters.