Deneve woke finally.
She let out a gasp of surprise as she realized where she was.
She was stuck to the wall, her arms and legs cocooned in a web-like substance.
The walls were cocooned with a substance not unlike the Xenomorph hive's, but it was clearly burnt and clawed. She noticed what appeared to be honeycombs in the ceiling and on some of the walls. Some were as big as she was.
The others were stuck to walls nearby, and were awake.
"Guys!" She called urgently.
"Deneve!" She heard Marc respond.
She noticed that the floor wasn't a floor. It was a river of golden syrup-like liquid that slowly flowed several ways.
"Ah, you're awake." She heard an odd voice.
A creature appeared from one of the passageways.
It was a beautiful one at that.
It had a large body, that was reminiscent of a cocoon, and its head was small and black. It had two blue eyes that were striped like a bug's and two red horns lined the sides of its face. A coat of white fur decorated the upper part and four small arms were clearly visible nestled amongst it. Six beautiful wings allowed it to fly, each one looking like a red flower petal with black spots on the lower end.
"My name is Volcarona. You're in…my home." It was a she, Deneve noticed, as it introduced herself.
"How and why are we here?" Mat asked.
"How? I discovered the beautiful young girl here in intercourse with that young man. You I found still mating with her. I must say that you're an interesting group. Many humans have I found, but never a group this…hormonal. I saved you, more or less. Those violent creatures with silver armor for skin were wrecking your camp while you gave in to your urges. Especially the one with the silver eyes and the scars. Elijah, I believe he is called." She answered blithely, having a slight buzzing tone to her voice.
"So why are we here, and why are we tied up?" Deneve asked.
"To understand that, you'd have to know more about my kind. I suppose a meal with you two wouldn't be any trouble. Let me…" The webbing dissolved as she spoke, and Marc noticed she seemed to be released some sort of pheromone that destroyed their bindings.
"Did you manage to get our clothes?" Mat asked, concerned about decency.
"Oh, I did. But I personally despise them. Nothing but markings of human arrogance. Mating is the purpose of life, and clothing contradicts that. After our dinner is concluded, I shall return them to you." She explained, and began floating slowly to the north.
The four slowly walked on the thin walkways that allowed those without wings to travel. Deneve noticed that the walkways were riddled with marks that were reminiscent of insect feet.
"If you don't mind me saying, I don't think mating is the purpose of life, you know." Mat spoke carefully.
"Well, I suppose each to his own opinion. My role in this place defines my purpose. Not unlike the activities you engaged in when I found you four." She responded lightly.
"What do you mean?" Marc asked.
"You'll understand when I explain. There are services you will render in exchange for my assistance." She answered dismissively as they finally entered a large room.
A table had been constructed out of their cocooning, and the walls were decorated with what appeared to be things from when the humans were in control of the space station.
Several chairs were at the table, except for a throne-like seat at the end.
"My apologies if I seem arrogant. I find myself only comfortable sitting in those kinds of seats. Chairs are rather irritating to attempt to relax in." She explained and seated herself in it. True to her words, since she had no legs and her arms were tiny and useless, the throne had been built to seat her comfortably.
The four looked at each other and shrugged before sitting in the chairs.
"Ah, now we can get to business. But first, I'm sure you are quite hungry." She spoke, and uttered a strange trilling sound. Several odd creatures appeared, ones that appeared to be a larval form of her species.
They were about the size of a large dog, and had the same base body as she did. The same fur and the same head, but six red spike-like petals protruded from the fur as well. They moved very quickly, despite having tiny legs and no arms.
"Enjoy the meal, guests." Deneve heard one of them speak in a male voice that was similar to Volcarona's. They somehow managed to place several dinner plates filled with food.
"We found your food and drink, and realized we had plenty of the same thing that was well preserved enough to be eaten. Enjoy." Volcarona explained quickly, and began eating her food. It was the same golden syrup that flowing through the halls.
"Now to get to business finally. I'll give you the long version." She began.
When humans were in control of the space station, they began conducting biological experiments at the genetics level. They thought they could create a powerful bio-weapon not unlike the Xenomorphs.
They bonded the DNA of moths, the DNA of several flowering plants, the DNA of insects that made honey, and the DNA of a Fireth (a large volcanic beast that had been discovered on another planet that was capable of manipulating fire).
And they created the Volcarona.
We were capable of almost all they had dreamed of.
The only problem was our reproductive systems.
The two they had created, a male and a female, had mated. However, the egg remained unfertilized. It was discovered that it would need a specific reagent to impregnate the female.
Eventually, it was discovered to be human sperm. When it was injected into the female's reproductive opening (I believe humans refer to it as a vagina), the egg was ready to be fertilized.
The male successfully mated with the female, and she began producing eggs.
The scientists were overjoyed to find their experiment had succeeded after so many failures and retrieved the egg for study.
Unfortunately, they had not realized that once fertilized, the female would continue to produce thousands of eggs before it would need to be mated with again.
They failed to notice the eggs that were hidden in the female's room.
By the time someone noticed, over three thousand eggs had been laid and four hundred were about to hatch.
The scientists were overwhelmed by the larva, creatures they called Larvestas.
They were unprepared to deal with our ability to create and manipulate fires.
We killed most and captured some.
Those we captured we tried to eat, but we found that they tasted horrible.
Eventually, several dozen squads of military personal were dispatched to put us down and get the labs back under their control.
They were equipped with anti-fire gear and pressurized water guns.
They killed hundreds of us, but we drove them back and managed to seal the doors, locking us in.
We lasted for three months, starving without any knowledge of what we could eat.
The corpses of the humans were too disgusting to even consider eating.
Finally, it was discovered that the female Volcarona was capable of producing nourishment. If given further human sperm, she would use it to produce a golden syrup humans called honey.
Finally we were saved.
At first, production was slow.
We relieved the first human prisoners of their testicles, but it produced little sperm and resulted in either the subject dying from blood loss or becoming useless.
The second test was more efficient, but contamination was rampant.
We used the captured females to "milk" the males, since we lacked hands to perform the actions necessary for males to eject the substance we required. Unfortunately, when the sperm was collected it was often contaminated due to human contact and it lowered the quality of the honey produced.
Human population soared as a side effect, and we discovered that females conducting the collections were often impregnated due to the large amount of sperm they were exposed to.
Not to mention we were wasting twenty percent of our honey to feed the males and five percent went to feeding the females.
The third test was far more efficient.
A device that the humans referred to as a cow-milking machine became very useful. Female humans were sent to the labs, as we had set aside some of us to research humans.
If properly positioned, we were able to harvest three times as much sperm in half the time, and it was pure and uncontaminated. Production rates soared and reproduction rates in humans dropped to zero.
The few remaining fresh corpses were harvested of their sperm and were found to be pure enough, further increasing production for several weeks.
Human females were found to produce a strange liquid that was called milk. It appeared to serve the same purpose as our honey, and we studied further.
The milk was just as nourishing as our honey to the recently born larva, and was actually far safer, as our honey was fatally poisonous to those without our developed systems and some larva didn't have them yet.
So survival rates increased to 99%, the 1% being occasional sickness.
Females were found to produce more when pregnant, so we diverted a small amount of sperm. Production rates increased dramatically.
We were completely self-sufficient, able to survive without any contact to the outside area.
So we were not aware when the humans were killed and the other aliens took over the Interceptor.
Until we met several Xenomorphs that had travelled into the hive through the vents.
They were at first hostile, but then curious. Their leader, a hybrid called Narissa, was eager to meet us. We met our guests cordially and discovered they were the victims of human experiments as well.
We allowed them after many requests to try our honey. To our immediate surprise, they were unharmed by it.
She was interested to know that we required sperm to survive, and struck a deal with us.
They supplied us with their sperm, which was several hundred times more than our highest production rate ever, and we supplied them with honey and the human babies that were produced from the milk-producing section.
Even the first time was incredibly profitable. She had only five males of her kind, and she had insisted we try their sperm.
After knowing about their kind more, it was surprising to us that they had reproductive systems. It was clear that their eggs and facehuggers produced many warriors, but they still retained genitalia.
She explained that they did mate, but in the direction of a new queen. According to her, once they had defeated their enemies, Narissa would become the Xenomorph Queen. That was shocking, especially to us.
Mating was a daily part of life, with many of us mating with each other multiple times a day.
It was considered a normal and natural thing, but some of them never mated in their entire lifespan.
We made an interesting offer.
Narissa herself believed that her fellows should be allowed the chance to mate.
So, we offered to interbreed with them.
Naturally, our sperm and eggs were incompatible with theirs, but we still mated. This allowed them to feel the excitement of mating without breaking their rules.
In exchange, we requested Narissa not reveal anything about our existence to anybody. Only a few entrances into our hive exist, and all are well hidden and well protected.
Until it was discovered that we were not incompatible entirely.
In a move for peace, the current dominant male of our tribe mated with a female Xenomorph.
She gave birth to a terrible creature, one that was eventually referred to as the Nidhogg.
A terrible creature, it was dangerous and ravenous.
We decided to move it quietly into the deepest and largest part of the station. Within weeks, it was an ocean of blood, with corpses everywhere.
It was soon known to be a place where only those wishing to die went. Nobody even knew what lived there but Narissa and us.
So life continued peacefully for us.
Until the Drakon stumbled upon several Xenomorphs transporting several crates of their sperm to our hive.
They executed the Xenomorphs, and stole the crates. However, they could not open them due to the security on the boxes, leaving them unknowing of what they had.
We promptly launched an attack and killed several of them with no casualties before escaping with the crates.
Elijah was furious to know he didn't know about us, and was determined to find us and find out who and what we were.
We increased security protocols and started shifting routes. The sperm deliveries were being shipped through the large vents that the Drakon could not fit in.
Everything continued peacefully until we captured a female Drakon.
She was a scientist, and not nearly as violent as the rest of them.
They were unaware of her disappearance.
She called herself Lenan.
Lenan being here marked another advancement.
With her permission, we extracted an egg from her ovaries and a sample of her breast milk.
As it turned out, Drakon milk was by far the purest and most nourishing, even surpassing ours in terms of purity.
She agreed, in exchange for permission to live in the hive, to allow us to extract her milk.
For three years she's lived with us now.
Elijah still wishes to find us, and possibly exterminate us should we refuse to join him.
"And that brings us to present day." She finished, and continued eating.
"Can we meet Lenan?" Mat asked.
"Of course. But that brings us to the service you must render." She answered.
"And what is that?" Deneve asked, already having a sense of dread.
"I must have some of your lovely breast milk. I had a liking for this girl since I saw her. Since the Yautja lacks mammary functions, she will provide another service, one that I will elaborate on later. You two gentlemen will provide me with your sperm." She finished.
"You're going to milk me." Deneve asked in disbelief.
"To put it bluntly, yes. Keep in mind, others who have not appreciated my hospitality have ended as a charred corpse." She responded sternly.
"How many of you are there? You said that one Volcarona can lay thousands of eggs with one fertilization. With the amount of Xenomorph and human sperm you're talking…" Marc interrupted suddenly.
"My last count placed my brother and sister Volcaronas at three hundred thousand, and over thirty billion Larvestas. There are currently forty trillion eggs safely stored and being added to several stories down." She answered, to their disbelief.
"T-that's impossible. Forty trillion eggs? How long does it take to hatch one, and how long does it take for the Larvestas to grow into adults?" Mat stuttered.
"Depends. Naturally, even with the gigantic amount of honey we have, we can't feed trillions of Larvestas long. Most don't and won't hatch for years. Generally, without us stopping the natural process, it takes a week to hatch an egg. It takes twenty years for a Larvesta to complete the cocoon and a week to finish the metamorphosis into a Volcarona." She answered.
"They outnumber everything on this ship by far. They could destroy the Drakon singlehandedly through sheer numbers." Phoeba muttered.
"Which bring me to an urgent question. We're assembling a force to destroy the Drakon once and for all. Elijah's going to take over the ship if we don't." Mat took his chance.
"I see. I will discuss it with the others AFTER you complete your side of the deal. Follow my children over there. They'll lead you to your destination. Don't get lost, and don't mess with the honey." She mused slowly.
"It's a deal." Marc nodded.
The group stood and walked towards the four Larvestas waiting.
"Considering the fact we're not squeamish about being naked around each other…things just get weirder and weirder." Mat whispered to Deneve.
"How do you think I feel? Considering the fact last time we were awake we were having sex with each other, it's a miracle we haven't died of embarrassment." She replied angrily.
"Looks like it's our stop." Marc interrupted and gestured to the Larvestas gesturing towards them.
"So it is. We'll meet up later." Deneve and Phoeba nodded as they left.
"My stop." Phoeba suddenly spoke, and pointed to another hallway. The Larvestas gestured in assent.
"Okay. See you." Deneve nodded and continued on her way.
"Here it is." One of them spoke and led her into the final chamber.
Deneve walked into the room.
It was small with a steel examination table with attached handcuffs, a counter filled with several containers of medicines and supplies, and a machine with two mechanical arms that had a pair of suction cups with tubes attached to them.
"Deneve, right?" She heard the familiar metallic tone of the Drakon.
Lenan stepped out.
Having never seen a female of their kind, she was taken off balance.
She was armored like the males, but she retained a female shape that was almost exactly like a human's.
Instead of wearing special gear like the soldiers she'd seen did, Lenan wore a simple dress. She wore a grey-dyed loincloth at her waist that appeared to be made of a much finer and softer version of the silk that made up the webbing of the hive, and she was also clad in two simple silk straps that created an "x" across her chest but didn't cover her breasts. She had wings that were slightly smaller and more defined than Elijah's, and the crest on her forehead was more eminent.
The skin that was visible was almost silver and scaled. The armor was naturally part of her and very strong yet light. Her breasts were large and like the rest of her skin, scaled like a lizard's.
"It is nice to finally meet you. The hive has been buzzing about the new arrivals." She greeted Deneve and extended her hand.
"Likewise." Deneve shook her clawed hands, which were covered in small pieces of armor with many chinks. Her fingers ended in razor-sharp claws, yet she was capable of using them without cutting anything.
"If you'll just sit here, I'll get this over with." She led her to the table and began setting things up.
"Is it painful?" Deneve asked as her arms and legs were handcuffed.
"No, but it feels weird. That's why we have to strap you down, or else you might break something." She explained, and reached for the arms of the machine.
She placed the suction cups at Deneve's breasts and prepared the machine.
"Again…this is going to feel very weird." Lenan warned her.
"How weird?" Deneve asked curiously.
"…Imagine someone tickling you between your legs. That kind of weird." She answered.
The machine turned on.
The oddest feeling came over her. It was this odd sucking feeling that was wearing away at her chest.
"It'll take a minute since you're not exactly pregnant." Lenan told her over the sounds of the machine.
She nodded in response, and began writhing in uncomfortable pain.
Minutes later the machine finally made an odd sound, and suddenly the tube connected to the suction cups started filling and pushing white frothing liquid towards the storage container attached to the machine.
She felt like screaming, but she didn't find the will to. She was unable to stop it, only able to struggle and flail about as she was milked.
Finally the machine shut off.
"There. I know it feels weird. Trust me…they do it a lot longer on me." Lenan uncuffed her and gave her a pat on the shoulder.
"That…was…weird. I've never felt anything like that before." Deneve gasped for air, coughing as well.
"Come with me. Have to clean you up and all." Lenan gestured, and she managed to stand and follow.
She led her into a shower and turned it on.
"Got to make sure you aren't contaminated! Standard procedure!" Lenan yelled over the noise, and tossed her a washcloth.
"…" Deneve looked a little nervous.
"For Volcarona's sake! I'm a girl, too!" She sighed irritably and took the cloth. She began rubbing her breasts with it, and cleaned her body as well.
She shut the shower off and gave her a container.
"That's Herathimane. It eases the swelling from the machine." She explained, and Deneve opened it.
It was pink and the container was freezing.
At the Drakon's direction, she rubbed the creamy substance on her breasts. True to Lenan's word, it eased the pain.
"And my final gift. These should fit you." She gave Deneve a set of white silk clothes that was similar to hers.
She slipped them on.
It was a simple strap that wrapped around her neck and covered her breasts just barely. It exposed all of her back and was basically just a long strip of white silk that was tied to the front of the skirt and wrapped around her neck, and a short skirt with slits at each side.
"I imagine your lover will find that attractive." Deneve whirled around as Lenan said that.
"…Trust me. I know what it's like to be in a relationship and in love." Lenan smiled sadly, and showed her to the entrance.
"…Thank you, Lenan." Deneve finally spoke, and the Drakon kissed her cheek.
"A sign of trust where I come from." Lenan explained quickly and left.
Deneve sighed as a Larvesta came.
"I will show you to your quarters. You will be sharing with Marc. This way." He spoke slowly, and led her away.
"…I wonder…who she loved." Deneve thought to herself, giving one last look that way.