In the cold of space, a small rusty-colored planetoid drifted closer to the warped planet and the two ships orbiting it. As it moved nearer, a strange melody echoed in the void. The free-wandering mass began to sing.

Wernglshal kluu'thukunn brorvlnkr'shkeknfrawln trrgazdr-

GHROTH.

The smaller planetoid stopped emitting sound, and even stopped moving altogether. Then it opened its eye, a massive hideous red eye that glared down at the planet. No feelings of any sort came from the immense being, except for those of feeling the presence before it and feeling the gaze set on it. It knew whose gaze it felt.

The Servant of the King. You speak to me.

STAY YOUR SONG. SHE WILL AWAKEN IN HER OWN TIME. FOR NOW, I ALLOW HER TO PLAY THAT SHE YET RETAINS HUMANITY. THROUGH THIS, SHE SHALL BE STRIPPED AND RID OF IT, BECOMING THE FEASTING MASS I WANT BEFORE I CRUSH HER.

Your word, Servant of the King.

ALL HAIL SALDOR, SERVANT OF THE KING.

Ghroth, the Harbinger of awakening of all things ancient and mad, closed his eye.

All hail the Servant of the King.

Nearby, on a comparatively small helium-mining ship, Madoka stopped in the hallway and shuddered. "Did you guys feel that?"

Hitomi glanced around momentarily, but didn't stop walking. "Feel what?"

Madoka glanced between Homura, who they were taking to the mess hall, and Hitomi. "I don't know. I just feel like... something is wrong." Seeing that they didn't quite get her meaning, she shook her head. "Never mind. Let's just go meet Mami and get something to eat." She did want to find Mami, but for a different reason. She knew something was wrong, and Mami would understand Madoka's sense of foreboding. And she needed to make sure her friends were all right.

Sayaka screamed in anguish and rage, immediately charging at the monstrous black creature that came through the door. Over the sound of her own voice, she could barely hear Akamiya and Nakashima screaming. The beast wrenched its ridged prehensile tail from Kyosuke's body and turned to face her, but both were to be disappointed. Kyoko crashed across the room, flying across in front of Sayaka and cutting her off. Kyoko added her own voice to the screams and the creature's vile hisses, a war cry as she practically flew with her momentum, running along the wall and tackling the creature into the wall.

Sayaka had been forced to slow down, but now she had a chance to better approach the situation. She ducked in, grabbing Kyosuke and dragging him away from the melee that was unfolding. Only a few meters away, Kyoko grappled with a monster easily two feet taller than her, and it looked like it was hunched over. Its claws wrapped around her arms and began to dig in, tearing the sleeve and drawing blood. Its tail whipped around her, lashing at her back and leaving only shreds of her shirt behind. Through it all, she held the creature against the wall.

"Sayaka! Get down!"

Acting on instinct, Sayaka threw herself over Kyosuke, protecting and shielding his body with her own. At the same time, Kyoko, who had shouted the order, grabbed the creature's shoulder and what she perceived to be its throat and threw it across the bridge. Tumbling through the air, it crashed onto the metal deck and slammed into the large transparent view port at the front. Quickly righting itself the creature thrashed its spiny tail about, waving the long knife-like tip in Kyoko's direction.

Akamiya and Nakashima rushed for the door. Kyoko caught Akamiya's arm, stopping her. "If that window were compromised, there's some kind of shield that would come down, right?"

Trying to get Kyoko's hand off of her, Akamiya barely managed to catch the question. "Wha- uh, yes! It cuts off the entire front section of the bridge. Let me-"

Kyoko spotted the line on the floor where the emergency wall would come up from. She also saw a control console on the other side of it. "Stay here."

Before Sayaka or the others could even think to try and stop her, Kyoko bolted across the bridge. The creature charged as well, it toothy maw gaping open as it screeched. Kyoko leapt off the floor, landing on the back of the captain's chair and coming to an instant halt. Her foe kept coming, leaping into the air to tackle her to the floor. Leaning forward, Kyoko pushed off of the chair and headbutted the monster in the chest, knocking it out of the air. Both fell back down and were up again right away. The pointed tail darted in to impale her. Kyoko snapped her wrist down and caught it, pulling it around behind her and wrapping it around her waist. She clamped her other hand further along its tail and pulled the beast in toward her, kicking it away again with all her strength.

The tail broke off in her hand, and the monster flew back into the window. The transparent material, though much stronger than glass, cracked under the impact. Kyoko ripped the tail apart in her hands, throwing the pieces down at the feet of the creature that was now regaining its footing. She stopped momentarily, seeing the blood dripping from the shredded tail eating into the metal plating beneath it.

Growling, she noticed the burning sensation coming from her own clothes. The acidic blood began to eat into the skin on her legs and arms. Breathing heavily, she pointed her finger accusingly at the beast before her. "You and I aren't through! But-" She turned on her heel and dashed across to the console, smashing her fist into its screen and grabbing a handful of wiring. She hadn't planned out how to do this, nor had she known she could do it until the moment came. It was almost purely instinctual. Raw power channeled through her body into the console, jolting the computer core and shocking it into obeying her will. Electricity flew from the console, scorching her now-bare arms and setting her hair on fire.

The emergency door slammed shut, closing her and her foe off from the rest of the ship.

She turned back to face it, head wreathed in flames that were consuming her hair. The electricity ran through her body, stimulating her muscles and causing them to involuntarily tense. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"

Sayaka stood up, all but forgetting about Kyosuke. "Kyoko!"

A monotone computerized voice came over the ship-wide speakers. "Warning! Complete depressurization of the forward bridge! Warning! Complete depressurization of the forward bridge!"

"KYOKO!"

Madoka had just arrived in the mess hall with Hitomi and Homura, where they found Captain Douglas talking with Mami, when the alarm went off. They had all heard the announcement.

Tyrone stood up and rushed to a control panel next to the door. "Computer! Shipboard life signs! Now!"

"Seventeen life signs on board."

The captain pointed across the room. "Someone check the hamster cage!"

Mami got up and ran to the other side of the mess hall where she found a small, pudgy ball of fluff obliviously chewing away at the side of an almond. She shook her head. "Tiberius is fine."

Tyrone turned back to the panel. "Computer! Rollcall! Now!"

"Captain Tyrone Douglas, mess hall, alive. Naomi Akamiya, bridge, alive. Kagomi Akihara, sick bay, alive. Chie Nakashima, bridge, alive. Mio Fukawa, sick bay, alive. Daichi Kagima, engineering, alive. Rorland Douglas, engineering, alive. Hitomi Shizuki, mess hall, alive. Homura Akemi, mess hall, alive. Satoshi Osakawa, sick bay, comatose. Kenichi Ira, cargo hold, deceased. Kousaka Tamahoshi, engineering, deceased. Kyosuke Kamijou, bridge, deceased."

Madoka practically had to catch Hitomi to keep her from collapsing to the floor.

"Alert! Unidentified life forms on board! Three in mess hall! One on bridge! One in sick bay! One in engineering! Three unreadable! Two in mess hall! One on bridge! Three unknown xenomorphic life forms! One, larva, mess hall! One, larva, sick bay! One, adult, engineering!"

Madoka looked up from where she had set Hitomi down at one of the tables. "Xenomorphic?"

"And one hamster, mess hall, alive."

Mami held up her hand. "Wait a second. Madoka, would the ship's scanners likely not recognize us?"

Tyrone answered first. "I guess not, but then-"

Mami finished for him. "There's only three?"

Homura cut in. "Why wouldn't the ship recognize you? It should, shouldn't it?"

Shaking her head, Madoka diverted the subject to something for more pressing. "It said xenomorphic. And there's a larva here in the mess hall?"

Homura shrugged. "What's a larva?"

The door opened and Akihara entered the mess with Fukawa on her heels. "Captain, what's going on? We heard that the bridge depressurized? Is anyone hurt?"

"Is anyone hurt!?" Hitomi stood up, shouting over everyone else and silencing them. "People are dead! My husband is dead! There are monsters on the ship!"

A shrill scream echoed through the ship, setting all of them on edge. Homura jumped at the sound. "What the hell was that?"

Tyrone mashed the keys on the control panel. "Computer! Ship-wide speakers! Track and announce all life forms on board!"

"Confirmed."

He turned and kicked in a bulkhead beside the panel, pulled the metal plating out and tossed it aside, then reached in and pulled out a pair of pistols. He handed one to Fukawa. "We're headed to engineering. Front or back?"

Fukawa hefted the weapon and grimaced. "Back."

Akihara cut in. "Sir, she's injured."

Ignoring her, he stepped out into the hall. "Sick bay, first. We need a few e-tags."

As the captain had commanded, the ship's computer announced a change the moment it was detected. "Alien xenomorph adult has exited engineering."

Gritting his teeth, the captain looked back at the group still waiting in the mess hall. "Alright, I'm in front. Mami is right behind me. Kaname, Akemi, stay in the middle with Miss Shizuki. Akihara brings up the rear with Fukawa acting rear guard."

Akihara, Hitomi, and Homura all had their individual complaints that he totally ignored. Mami took up her position, and Madoka pulled Homura and Hitomi along with her. Fukawa nudged Akihara into complying as well, and the group began moving.

"Alien xenomorph larva has exited mess hall. Two unreadable life forms have left mess hall."

Hitomi raised her voice. "Captain, it's following us. Where the hell is it?"

Fukawa called from the back. "I can't see anything behind us."

Madoka glanced behind her. "What if it's under the floor?" She stopped. "Akihara, get down."

Instead of doing as she was told, the woman spun to look behind her. Having silently dropped from the ceiling, a hideous black monster now stood hunched between her and Fukawa. It wrapped its large clawed hands around her head, holding her in place. Its toothy maw opened and a smaller tongue-like appendage tipped with another mouth shot out, punching through her head and splattering Madoka with blood. It dropped her and pounced after Madoka. Behind it, Fukawa raised her gun and fired three shots into its dark exoskeleton. Spurts of greenish liquid came from the spots where she hit it, and the monster growled in pain. It turned to her, leaving Madoka.

Fukawa backpedaled, turned, and ran the other direction. The alien launched after her, tearing through the halls and carelessly ripping up the floor plating as it went.

"Kagomi Akihara, deceased."

Hitomi grabbed Madoka's arm. "Come on, we have to get out of here!"

The five of them barreled down the halls as fast as their feet could carry them, making their way down to the sick bay. Nearly skidding to a halt, Tyrone stopped in front of the door, opened it, and rushed in. Mami stood just outside, watching as he tore the room apart around the still-comatose Osakawa. Homura, Hitomi, and Madoka stopped behind her.

"What is he doing?" Homura peered it, then looked back at Mami. "Has he gone crazy?"

Hitomi grabbed Homura and pulled her away. "You saw that thing too! That's what we're up against! He's looking for the larva, because I hope to God that what we saw was the adult!"

Madoka shoved them apart and stepped into the sick bay. "Can I get a towel?"