Third Invid War: Dandelions

by General Chaos

...A total lunar eclipse, the Red Sox defeated the Curse, and DANDELIONS HAS BEEN UPDATED AFTER TEN YEARS! The Apocalypse is coming!

9. Chapter Nine

Dandelions: Chapter 9 of 9

"Gnnngh," Dennis grunted, hauling on the roaring craft's direction as much as he could, as the hive filled his vision. He released the first set of missiles; they shot into the hive and the first few Scouts coming at him even as he left the next set of arms behind.

Kevin had been thorough; as he had claimed, a darkness of entrance was directly in front of them, opening to receive them. Zinnert cut the thrust, praying it was enough, in enough time in order to stop before they hit the first turn...

The organic gut of the hive opening loomed, then was around them, as Zinnert fought for manuverability.

Behind the Alpha, the protoplex barrier shimmered to life; much, much too late to do anything.

Zinnert flipped more controls.

"Watch out!" he shouted to the back. "This thing's going to Battloid!"

Even as he spoke, Kevin was getting the scare of his life.

The seats were shifting; rotating and simultaneously moving backwards in a stomach-turning motion. In a couple seconds, they were two meters upwards and vertically oriented, Dennis's seat below Kevin's. But that was not all...

Outside, the changes had not stopped at the shift in legs and arms; the cockpit had folded down into a chest, and a head had manifested from its old position underneath the mecha. Plating and geometries shifted in boggling ways, and where there had been a fighter was now a black Battloid Alpha, pounding forward into the enemy's heart.

There were thuds; Scouts clinging parasitically on it, choking its movement and prying with blind persistent claws at the hull and the fragile pilots within. It was the work of a couple seconds to detach and dispose of them with the Battloid rifle or a carefully placed stomp. More fell on the Alpha, but were shaken off, as Dennis broke for the first opening and dashed the mecha into a temporary clear.

Kevin shuddered with the feeling of each death, but his lips were drawn back in a snarl of rage, his mind ranging for more attackers.

"Dennis! Combat Troopers coming from the northwest corridor! Take the other one!"

"Thanks!" Zinnert panted. He had never been in the Invid's world so intimately before; the screech of claws on metal and the asymnetrical geometry of the hive was going to haunt him. Trusting in the rogue's advice, he ran the Battloid onward.

"Lift shaft should be down here. Just jump the sumbitch down; they keep the prisoners on the lowest level is my guess." The lieutenant acknowledged it: then they were again among the mindless, scarlet, clinging insanity of the hive swarm.

"Morons!" Kevin snorted. "They do that, the Troopers can't get us without hitting them."

Zinnert ignored it, swatting away the Scouts from the Alpha in a nightmare. Once again, they found a clear area, and a corridor ending in the shaft. Not even thinking, they plummeted into it. Dennis activated parts of the console; canisters were released, falling with and past them as they dropped.

Kevin raked his consciousness through the area, looking for more hostiles, and found--

"DENNIS! Wait! This one!"

Swearing, barely in time, Dennis got the Battloid's foot thrusters roaring, cutting the fall. They halted before the corridor Kevin indicated, and caromed through.

Neither noticed in the rush that the Scouts had left off their pursuit.

"What?"

"I felt a Solugi mind there--imprisoned. That's where they're keeping the prisoners..." He panted in the adrenaline rush, his mind racing. "That way, quick."

Zinnert guided the Shadow Alpha along, the shock of each footfall transmitting itself to the two men as they sweated. It was Kevin who realized first that there was something wrong.

"There should be more enemy. Invid are persistent; they don't decide to try later!"

"You ought to know!" Zinnert snapped. "Quiet, I'm--oh, Jesus Harold Christ there's---" Abruptly, the mecha backpedaled, but not before screens, eyes and Hivesong told Kevin the truth as it rose to view.

In front of them, the gray and orange Battloid loomed and lunged.

The crash was terrific.

The Alpha's servos screamed in mechanic agony as its left arm was nearly ripped off. Lights flared in the cockpit as Dennis, lip bleeding, grunted and fought to stay erect. If they went down, they were both dead.

Deadlock, as the Alpha fought against the Invid's weight; then, there was a microsecond of give, and the mecha lurched forward, lunging and punching with all its power toward the Assault Battloid's cockpit. The Invid mecha's arm raised to deflect the blow, but it was enough time for Dennis to regain his hold on the Alpha's autocannon. It was held awkwardly in the mecha's grip; Dennis did not need to see to know that the left shoulder was sparking from the initial assault. Gritting his teeth, he managed to switch hands and fired.

The Assault Battloid's shoulder took the hit and reeled. One of the shoulder-mounted cannons was now damaged at least.

Dennis took the opening to switch to weaponry. The TWR-25 cannons mounted on the head of the Terran mecha blazed; the Gamun's armor scorched as the lasers etched into it. Oryo'i was forced to fall back in order to recoup.

Then, the Terran mecha turned and ran.

"Coward!" she screamed, her eyes slitted with rage. Shkud would have her head on a pike... Snarling, she took off after it, forced to run in the confines of the passageway. Then she shrieked.

The Alpha bore down on her, full tilt; she did not even have time to get the cannons targeted before it was upon her.

With the battloid's arms protecting her vulnerable cockpit, she didn't see until too late the Alpha's leap. In a moment of disoriented horror, she did not quite realize the mecha was vaulting clumsily, using hers' shoulders as a pommel horse. Before comprehension fully hit her, the VAF-8R was gone down the corridor, moving in deper.

"JESUS." Dennis panted, sweat trickling into his mouth. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck.... Can't believe I did that. Can't use missiles in this goddamned corridor."

"She's going to be after us," Kevin said, skin clammy with shock. "We can't take her on like this."

"Do you think I don't fucking KNOW that?" Dennis spat. He left off, concentrated on losing their opponent. "If she gets clams after us--"

"Get to a good area, Dennis. Let me out and at the Cyclone. Two's better than one, especially with it."

"What if..."

"No Scouts within the mile on our level. I think we've got enough time...I hope."

It was the longest two minutes of their respective lives. But around a corner, Zinnert managed to execute a transition to fighter. The canopy popped; Kevin was out even before the mechamorphosis was complete.

Gritting his teeth, the scout clawed at the compartment panel; after a sick second or two; it popped and the Ferret was out. Zinnert was barely back in Battloid before the thump of the Invid's treads heralded her arrival.

Trying to buy his companion time to unfold and mount the Ferret, Dennis charged her. He was at a disadvantage in close combat and knew it. Without missiles, all he had was the GU-25 and the head lasers; the Invid had plasma and particle beam cannons, even though one was incapacitated, and her mecha's servos were still intact. Dennis's impossibly executed leap had not helped the VAF's rent arm all that much.

He saw the remaining particle cannon swivel and target him; he dodged, fighting to keep enough of an opening to target her without her gaining a fix on him. He had learned enough from Matt's accounts of his clash with this particular Invid that she usually did not fire unless she was certain of making a hit.

Oryo'i, for her own part, was studying the Human mecha with narrowed eyes as she pursued it. Despite the damage she had already done to it, after the move the Terran had already managed she was not going to underestimate anything the Human might do. The human's teammates had already proven to be quite innovative if the situation pressed. It was fairly obvious, though, what he had come here for. Shkud seemed to have had a strategy he was not letting her in on.

Fools! For one human female? Are they mad? Or stupid? Or both?

Her forehead damp with very human perspiration, she moved in on the Alpha, dodging agilely the autocannon's shot. It took out a goodly portion of the hive wall behind her.

Now if only she could pin him long enough for the Iigai and Torabs to arrive, there might be some answers. She had reservations on killing the human outright; valuable information might die with him. Targeting the Alpha as it tried to circle around her, her eyes fixed on its knees. With that sort of mecha, immobilization would also mean destruction of any thruster capacity, preventing escape...

Oryo'i did not expect distraction. Her attention was broken as a yodeling figure in a Cyclone blazed straight at her. Before she could move, the human had streaked between her mecha's legs and according to her screens, was retreating out the back way. It began to curve back around...

What? TWO pilots in the craft?

An explosion shook her, hard; screaming in frustration, she realized the second beam cannon was now out of commission.

Fool, fool, fool! What is the matter with you, Oryo'i?? You--

She no longer noticed the Cyclone; it was the lesser of the two dangers. Angry, she plunged after the Alpha.

oooooooooooooooooooo

What the hell? There ain't no guards...

Gwen could not follow this train of thought. Already fatigued by the half-suicidal journey of a couple hundred miles, she was plummeting into the very innards of the hive.

No sooner than they were on firm footing, they cut the power; no need to attract hostiles with protuculture output. The Super Saber up ahead was already running into the hive. Losing Lieutenant Ulm was the last thing she wanted; swallowing hard, she followed his lead.

No Scouts, no Troopers, no nothin'. Sure, patrols, but you'd think they'd be after us after we'd got this far.

Maybe...Maybe they already... Gwen bit her lip, the roiling in her gut not completely from the fear of being in the enemy's territory.

She hadn't meant for it to get this far...

Angry at herself, she changed that.

No, she had. A kid whose only wrong was to get in the way of me... and I let her get...

God. What have I become?

Did it start the day those Enforcers picked me up on the streets of Louisville?

And the worst part--

Matt hadn't even shouted. Just a sad, disappointed look that was in itself worse than any thrashing her mama had ever given her...

What the hell have I turned into? Whatever it is, it's never gonna get trusted by the team.

Ever. Again.

They were huddled in a niche in the wall now, a half-mile in that had been completely undisturbed.

Ulm was speaking quietly. "If we'd been the first ones to penetrate, they'd have been on us like--pardon the analogy--ticks on a dog. There's been no interference so far."

Gwen nodded. "My guess--the hive's stuff is concentrated on another mecha that's a lot more of a threat. Guess."

A terse nod in return.

"We've gotta find them, Matt."

"Either them or Mandy. But Amanda at least'll be stationary, and she has no way to fight back. The others'll keep until we can get to them. Keep down for a bit, until I confirm that the hive traffic's really not here."

Gwen complied.

"You're...angry, aren't you?" she said after a couple of minutes. He hadn't spoken much during the trip.

There was a pause.

"I can't lie, Gwendolyn.

"Yes, I am angry. You betrayed a trust we placed in you. But that's past. What's done is done. We can only migitate it now, not reverse it. If only you'd--" he broke off.

"What?"

"Understood the reasons for it. But no... That was impossible..."

"What?"

"Your attempts on Kevin didn't help him a lot. He's got problems more serious than you realize. You're better off not knowing what they were. And the Invid don't need to know those liabilities."

"Kevin?..."

"Enough of that, Gwen. The Invid'll find us if we don't keep moving."

The two moved slowly, further into the dark.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Kevin accelerated his bike, dashing back between the Gamun's legs as its pilot again turned attention toward the Alpha. An H-90 blast to one did nothing much physically, but it at least took away her concentration for a second, enough for Dennis to get in another shot. He circled around the leg as Oryo'i attempted to stomp him out of the picture, hassling her like matador to a technological bull.

C'mon, you... Leave Dennis alone--your real gripe should be with me... sister.

He had no idea about the ammo Dennis had left, but after that initial discharge on the rush, it could not be all that much. And they were hard to come by. How many invaluable resources had they used to rescue one person?

We're crazy. Nuts. Absolutely---WOOOLLLPPH!!!!

He should have remembered that Assault Battloids had plasma cannons in both arms.

The Cyclone's mechanics shrieked in torture as the blast went home. The left arm--the one he had forgotten about being armed--had aimed and fired almost as an afterthought, while her concentration remained on Dennis.

Control lost, Kevin realized what was about to happen, and kicked.

The Ferret did not even reach the wall before it exploded, its systems destroyed by the hit.

He landed hard; rolled from the Battloid's treads even as he tried to get his breath back; bruised but no worse thanks to his CVR. The Invid mecha returned its full attention to Dennis, who had had some time to recoup--but not nearly enough.

Can't stand by and watch him buy it...if he does, I'm done too...

The Alpha had managed to get out of its pin against the wall, and the black and the orange-and-gray forms were again circling, waiting for openings. Kevin threw out a mental net. What it retrieved signaled that the Scouts for some reason were still trying to get down, but with no success. Quite a few were otherwise involved; and then Kevin realized those canisters Dennis had discharged on the way down...

Lures of live protoculture and explosives. So that was what he had been messing with back at base outside the Alpha. Not only a load of false leads for the simple-minded Scouts, but possibly damaging as well. That Sentinels War experience--Dennis had learned some interesting tricks.

Dennis, you sneaky, sneaky son of a bitch... The renegade would have laughed if he had time. But the two were locked in combat, the slightest thing could tip their even balance...His mind scrambled. Why had she been down here? Weren't prisoners normally on the lower level... Shocked, he remembered that the plans weren't being followed here. They were up a couple of levels , near, or at... If she had been out of her mecha when the alert came through... It might be... It might be that...

Kevin realized that he was not completely helpless. If he were lucky, there was still a mecha that he could use.

Whirling, he edged past, and ran.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Dennis did not even notice Kevin's movement. He was much too busy keeping

himself alive.

The Invid was far more talented than initially noticed; it was just a matter of time before she wore him down, and the transmutee obviously knew it. She was not even using her plasma cannons, apparently saving them for the coup de grace. Dennis tasted blood, lunged and struck, meeting only air as the alien mecha dodged, then moved in again. The human had only lost more ground instead, and he did not even have the time to curse before they began their circle again.

Oryo'i was not Shkud; there was no pleasure in her expression as she looked for a way to disable the Alpha quickly, except maybe in doing a job well. She very much wanted to take the Human alive, for he might yield up information that would corrobate his female companion's. And there was his companion, who, if not dead, was another possible useful source. Although, there had been something about the other...

This time, she kept her presence of mind as the Human's autocannon attempted another shot at her, the blast going wild. The Alpha could not have had much left, and she was as aware as Dennis that in close quarters, it was she who still had the advantage.

He was fast enough to move his leg before the plasma cannon went home, but the shot still connected enough to transmit up to the pilot, and he made a incoherent yell of despair.

Great, Amanda prisoner, Kevin probably dead, and I'm about to become slug dinner. How the mighty hath fallen. Of course, the Regent's troops weren't that bright...

As the REF is, I'm no example either...

oooooooooooooooooooo

The hive floors thudded as footfalls, far more rapid than most of the Malorosm could make them, clunked their way inward, their owner pushing them as fast and hard as possible.

The corridor opened into an enormous hangar, dimly glowing with hive biolumescence, puffs of steam escaping from whatever passed for Invid hydraulic powering. It could have easily housed one of the smaller Human star vessels, a Garfish perhaps. Instead, in the dimness, many smaller somethings stood, the hazy light flickered on slick surfaces.

The footsteps and ragged breathing wended its way amongst them, and halted.

Then, they picked up, acclerated, and suddenly stopped.

A split-second later, there was a clang, and a pained grunt of wind knocked out. There was a scuffle, as if someone were trying to haul themself up, and then a second, sudden, final clang.

Half a minute later, one of the metallic objects in that hangar stirred.

oooooooooooooooooooo

"Matt, where are you?" Gwen called out. Any reply that might have been made was drowned out in static. She heard Invid mecha coming her way yet again, and neccessity prevented her from continuing.

And it had all started the minute they had first heard the Enforcers coming down the hallway. Two humans in Cyclone armor were no match for three Enforcers and six Sentinels, especially in their own territory. She had dodged for one side, the lieutenant for the other. Unfortunately, in Ulm's case, the Enforcers had decided to turn down the side-passage he had chosen, and he had to run to avoid being found. Further attempts to find him had been foiled. They were probably both hopelessly lost by now, a fact Gwen grimly tried to ignore.

If she did not, her already iffy mental state would be done for. The memories...

The Enforcer, the needle that took her blood, the small bloody patch on her arm where her skin had been razored off, and the countless hours of terror, want, and cruelty by Invid and human alike...

That was what she had given Amanda.

Gwendolyn supposed her own current situation was nothing better than what she had deserved for that.

She sidled further down the passage she had been in since she had been separated from Matt. She had gotten quite a good practice at it during the past half-hour. When the passage suddenly opened into blackness, she almost fell backwards.

Two seconds later, she almost did it again. It took that long for her to realize what the room contained.

Sweet Jesus... she cursed softly to herself.

She knew for a fact that the humanoid castes spent much more time out of their battloids than the other breeds of Invid. For the first time, she now knew where they actually put that mecha in their down-time.

She was in a mecha bay. Its roof disappeared in the darkness, but she strongly suspected that mobile apertures in the ceiling allowed for easy exit from the hive for pilots. There was only a couple of those Battloids around; the rest either hadn't yet been assigned for use by lower Invid, or, in the case of the dark, empty Enforcer armor, was further proof that even the Scientist-caste Invid themselves liked an unsuited stroll every so often. Shaking, she wandered in further among them, trying to find a place to hide, her H-90 up and despite her terror icily still.

She took in a rapid breath.

Something had just entered inside with her.

Crouching, she hid behind an Enforcer shell as best as she could, tasting her own sweat. Through her helmet, she heard slow footfalls, moving at an unhurried pace.

Matt? Gwen almost called, and then realized that even on these floors, CVR boots made a distinct thump. It was completely absent from this new arrival.

Like countless other humans before her, she thought the thud of heart on ribcage would give her away as the footfalls came closer, homing in on her. Or so Gwendolyn thought, before her eye caught the large space beyond her position. It was significantly empty. Suddenly, there was a gasp, and the footfalls picked up, to an almost run, before stopping less than ten feet away from where Gwen was. She could hear breathing, and then a series of shocked, wordless murmurs, all of which seemed to be in a masculine baritone. Then there was a pad of feet, circling the open area.

No second doubts now; she had only a matter of time before she was found.

In one swift motion, she was out from behind the Enforcer and pointing the H-90 at his head.

"Okay, buster! Move, and I'll--"

The silhouette yelped and whirled. Gwen was put off by the other's speed; before she realized it, he was trying to rush her.

Coldly, she aimed and fired.

There was a scream of pain as the Gallant shot burned his left bicep. In a second, she had the newcomer spraddled against the nearest wall, the muzzle readied again at his skull.

"Don't move, " she whispered. "Whoever you are, I got a pistol aimed point-blank at the back of your head. I got a rabbit running full speed once at two hundred yards off, so if you move, honey, you better tell me which part of your skull you don't need. All right, what the hell are ya doing in here?"

In what lighting there was, she could make out that her captive was several inches taller than her--forcing her to raise her gun arm--had straight light mid-back-length hair, and a squarish, somewhat Slavic face, currently contorted in fear and in pain from her hit. She could smell the stink of burnt flesh, and an acrid odor underneath it that betokened something slightly unusual about the quality of the prisoner's physiology.

The chitinous light armor he was wearing left no doubt to Gwen who--or what--she had taken captive.

oooooooooooooooooooo

This is it, Dennis thought, as the Assault Battloid moved in cautiously.

His autocannon was empty, and there was no other way he could move. The problem was, he knew it. He just wish the information would sink in to his rival and she would act on it. Watching her sidle up to him was almost funny, in a perverse way. At least he seemed to have acquitted himself well...

Oryo'i licked her lips.

Is this another ruse? she thought. The Human's doing nothing at all... It has to be another trick.

Slowly, she raised her Gamun's arm and the plasma cannon in it, intending to do a final disable on the other mecha before its pilot could change his mind.

Zinnert, calmly watching his death coming, caught a flicker of movment out of the corner of his eye. Automatically, his eyes flickered over and then he realized he wished he hadn't.

Another Assault Battloid had arrived at last to reinforce Oryo'i. This one, a mecha in spring green with construction-orange trim, was fully armed and fresh.

Dennis now realized that the dignity of death was denied him. With a sinking heart, he watched as they prepared to take him prisoner.

At that same time, Oryo'i caught the new Battloid's image in her rear screens.

What? She was incredulous. This had not been planned.

She reached out, and gave an incoherent cry of shock.

WHO'S in there??? It's not--

The mentality in there was not the one she expected, was not any she had encountered in the hive or Shkud's service. Though she could feel the pilot's presence sharply, for one disoriented moment she doubted whether the pilot was

even Invid.

And yet--and yet... Somehow, she almost knew... Her cannon sagged.

She failed to realize that moment of utter confusion had been a moment far too long for Dennis.

"Now!" he shouted, lunging foward, hoping for enough clearance, firing his last two missiles as he did so.

The projectiles shot out from behind the Alpha, curled foward into the gray Invid mecha, and detonated.

The explosions hit the Battloid in the right side and left knee--the combination knocking her to the left, even as the knee gave out from underneath the other missile's punishment. Gracefully, its pilot still stunned, it pitched over and lay inertly.

Oryo'i heard the dull smack of her own head as it collided with the side of her cockpit, and then there was only darkness.

Clammy from his own reaction, Dennis whirled to take on the other--

"Hi!" the familliar voice chirped over the tac net. "Fancy meeting you like this!"

Dennis clawed incoherently at his radio. "What?"

Staring, his brown eyes tracked from the fallen Oryo'i to the green Invid mecha.

It raised an arm and wiggled its claws at him.

"K-kevin?" he stammered.

"In the mecha, so to speak," came Kevin's ironic voice over the net. "Do you think this is my color? And is the precise term for this "Gamun-jacking?""

"Whatever you like, Kevin," Zinnert said faintly. "Whatever you like."

"C'mon," Kevin said, awkwardly turning. "We've got to get to the cells quickly. I'll lead."

oooooooooooooooooooo

"Took your what?" Gwen hissed in shock.

"Someone took my mecha."

The prisoner whispered this, feeling the chill of the Terran weapon against his head, the English coming hard to him. The gun barrel did not so much as shift a hair. Gwen's eyes were wide in blank astonishment at this frankly unique piece of news, but she did not allow it to break her concentration.

"This is somethin'. And if I even catch you looking like you're gonna mind-call your friends, you better kiss your head goodbye." The male Invid did not even twitch, only his mint-green eyes blinking. He seemed to be taking the threat with some consideration.

"I swear I will not, on my honor as a child of the Regis," he said, still tense around his nose with pain. "You have me at advantage." His eyes blinked in consternation. "Why would anyone want my Gamun?"

"Like Mount Everest."

"What?"

"It was there, whatever you are."

"My name is Miragai. Please, let me off this wall. I swore an oath."

"Fine lot of good it'll do me the human when my back is turned." Her arm was beginning to hurt; she obliged him so she could train the Gallant down between his shoulderblades. Now that the light fell more directly she could make out that his hair was an orangish-streaked blond and that his uniform was in a bright green-and-orange scheme. He showed no inclination to try her, but she kept her pistol at ready. "What were you doing in here--uh, Miragai?" she demanded.

"What are YOU doing in here, Human?" he shot back, then hissed in pain as she yanked on his wounded arm, reminded that it was she with the armanents. "I was alerted to a--disturbance in the hive and came here to collect my mecha, which is obviously absent. You were here instead."

"Them's the breaks," she said shortly. "Walk before me and keep your hands at your sides. I have something to take care of. And then, we are gonna leave."

oooooooooooooooooooo

Siaga looked up, the white-streaked red of her hair falling back to reveal her face, eyes wide. Regardless of race, expressions of shock seemed to be universal. Her lemon eyes flickered back and forth and widened. Abruptly, she was on her feet.

"Human!" she hissed.

The opposing cell's incumbent did not seem to notice or move her fetal curl on the floor; asleep or worse, the Invid did not know for certain.

"Amanda," she tried again. "Listen."

Amanda did hear that but was choosing not to acknowledge; trying seemed to be too much or a trial. Siaga persisted, for the sudden painful feeling she was experiencing... Was this what Humans called "hope"?

Amanda still refused to notice, the physical and emotional trauma occupying her attention seemed more important. But, then, something else began to impinge on her narrowed eyes-closed perceptions.

Voices?

oooooooooooooooooooo

Elsewhere, in a room unoccupied due to to the distractions of previous events, a hand reached out, its owner surveying a liquid-crystal display. It read: 000:02:00:00. The hand reached out, and with a quick, decisive flick, tapped a button.

Unstoppably, the numbers began to tick down.

oooooooooooooooooooo

The malachite-armored figure plunged ahead with intent accuracy, the olive-drab lagging a foot behind as they dashed through the corridor. They had had to leave the mecha behind; this passage was too small.

"There! Another hundred feet!" Kevin panted. Dennis acknowledged and fought to keep up with the rogue's mad dash. Kevin scanned the corridor. He reached out, to the mind he had only glanced on earlier, that had given him a hint on where to go.

Is anyone there? he asked.

oooooooooooooooooooo

What? Amanda thought. The curl of her position was broken, as she

abruptly brought her head up, eyes wide.

NO. Oh god, don't torture me like this. I'm hallucinating.

They can't be voices.

Not in English. Real English.

Not...

She got on her knees, ignoring the pain from her battered frame, and then her feet, blinded by the energy grid. Across the way, Siaga was laughing, an unprecedented noise. Most shockingly, it sounded human and joyful.

"Human! Your kin is rescuing you!"

"No..."

"True!"

Footfalls pounding towards them, the distinctive clunk of CVR armor, and shrieking in surprise, she recognized the voices. It can't have been...

Two familliar figures eclipsed her vision. Even as she was lurching foward, one stopped, as the other fitted a barrel to an H-90. A second later, the light grid flickered out.

"Kevin...Dennis..." she cried, tears running down her face.

"Amanda!" the second CO shouted. "Stand back, and guard your face." She went against the wall and crossed her arms over her head automatically. She shuddered at the deafening roar, her ears ringing with the aftermath. Her eyes opening again, she saw a gaping hole where the hated ceramic bars had been.

Somehow, she lurched out, and was then again imprisoned in a pair of armored arms. She was completely immobilized by the crushing grip and did not even care, for she knew whose it was.

"Oh shit...your face--" Kevin murmured, still panting. "What did they do to you?" A gauntleted hand cupped her aching cheek with fumbling care, but she did not respond, her face pressed into his breastplate as she shook convulsively. "Easy..."

"We have to get out, O'Shea!" The rogue mentally kicked himself awake and remembered, beginning to draw Amanda along.

Siaga's laugh turned into a yelp of surprise. "Release me! Please!"

When Dennis seemed to hesitate, Amanda whispered. "Do it. She's going to get de-evolved."

Siaga was already protecting her own exposed skin as Zinnert aimed at the edge of the cell. There was a dazzling blast of light as the ceramic and wall splintered under the attack. Siaga needed no prompting to dash through the remnants, her peppermint hair flying. "Where?" she asked her saviors.

"We've got to get to the..."

There was a sudden click, causing all four's heads to shoot up, eyes wide.

A Sentinel stepped into the passageway, rifle trained on them, behind which were several other Sentinels and Enforcers. On the other side, yet more Invid filled the space, all weapons aimed at rescuers and prisoners alike.

They were effectively surrounded by more than a dozen of the aliens.

Through the ranks stepped an armored Oryo'i, helmet off, rifle also up. Her expression was tired and resigned.

"I wouldn't think so. I've got other plans," a soft voice drawled. It was not hers.

In the dead silence, another figure stepped out from between the ranks. The four took in the scene; then, there was a muffled obscenity from Dennis, combatting with Amanda's terrified mew. Shkud stood there, enjoying himself, letting the captives take in the full impact of his appearance. He began to inspect his nails as he began to speak again.

"You know, you really were quite obliging. I'm amazed at how gullible you apes can be. Do you really think I'd have allowed that female to live if I didn't have something in mind?" The slitted, feline eyes narrowed in amusement. "My thanks to you," he said to Siaga, "Solugi. A pity that you didn't realize that I could remain an observer in your mind and not make myself known to you. It seems my timing was just perfect."

"You bastard!" Siaga shrieked. "You iigaari-witted--"

Shkud's eyes narrowed. "Shut your prattling, Condemmed." Siaga wailed and doubled over, clutching her head. The others, frozen, did not move to help her. Coolly, the dominant Invid went on.

"As I was saying, I had something in mind. It went off even better than I planned. Not only did I get another human possibly amenable to persuasion in my hands, I got the actual reason for my inquiry." The emerald eyes focused on the bright green figure standing frozen there, its arms still wrapped around the quaking figure of the blond human.

"You were always such an idealistic fool, Kayagh."

Oryo'i visibly started, causing a low chuckle to rise in his throat. "What? You didn't even recognize your former research partner, Solugi? I'm surprised. Then again, I suppose wallowing in filth as he's been doing can mask an identity."

"It...was...before we were transmuted," she said distantly.

"You, Shkud," Kevin managed at last, "were always such a smug asshole."

"Ah, Kayagh, but who's got the weapons aimed at them?"

"I'm trying to think of a creative way to say, "drop dead,"" the renegade said politely, "and I'm completely failing."

"But you see," Shkud whispered, "You, Kayagh, are going to wish you could drop dead."

Dennis and Kevin stared at each other, then released their holds on their H-90s. Shkud looked pleased. "Oryo'i, Malar, strip them and search for hidden weaponry." Looking ill, she did so. Amanda was forced away from Kevin and over to the side; she placed a hand on the agonized Siaga's shoulder in a comforting manner, and found her hand over Amanda's, squeezing hard.

"Forgive me," Siaga whispered. "I had no idea why he had placed you near--"

"It's not your fault," the human managed. Over to the side, clatters rose, as the CVR hit the ground.

"Good try," Kevin said. "It might have worked, Dennis." He felt the hands of the loyalist Solugi patting him down for hidden weaponry, now that he was reduced to the basic Elms coverall.

Shkud said sweetly off to the side. "Not with my--"

"Shut up, Shkud. I wasn't asking you," Kevin said flatly. "By the way, what's with the new vogue in eyes and height? Those must've been some growth hormones the Regis gave you."

Suddenly Kevin stiffened, his breath catching, as a white-hot needle stabbed into his mind, and behind it, a sullen power that made his guts go cold.

There was only one contact in his experience that had been more powerful, and that was that of the Invid Regis.

This is what, a voice cooed in him. Shkud's all right--but much stronger. And with a swollen, arrogant corruption that was a perverted form of the consciousness Kevin had once known. A mental giggle followed on the heels of that, and Kevin realized that somehow, some way, he was following Kevin's very thoughts. Slowly, the presence withdrew, leaving the renegade Solugi panting and trying to ignore the fact that most likely this was only the slightest taste of what probably awaited him.

Spirit of Light, what had Shkud become?

That one mockingly indicated his own figure with a sweep of his hand. "Behold, Kayagh, the new pinnacle of Invid evolution. But you won't have the pleasure for long."

oooooooooooooooooooo

Head like a hole

Black as your soul

I'd rather die

Than give you control

--Nine Inch Nails, "Head Like A Hole"

Dennis was next to the pale-haired Invid. With a flick of his eyes, he noted her set, tense expression. It seemd that at the least, she was not pleased about something, and Dennis could take a few guesses. For all the trouble this woman had caused them, the discontent was plainly obvious.

As had happened time and time again in the course of the wars ever since Maximillian Sterling's fateful encounter, he was also realizing that the enemy could also be, in her own way, beautiful.

This thought took a distant second to the main business occupying his mind: the future was bleak indeed, insofar as they had any. Compared to Kevin, though... The figure in front of him was rigid; Dennis could see the periodic shivers quiver through the scout's frame.

Anathema to the collective, he remembered Kevin saying. Compared to the magnitude of Kevin's actions, his and Amanda's roles were just so much small potatoes. And if the punishment were to fit the crime... Dennis shuddered. There were a few things worse than death; considering the tall, red-haired humanoid with the inhuman eyes, he would probably try all of them on Kevin.

You stupid bastard, he thought of Kevin, grieving. What made you think you had to join us and spend all those years hiding your nature? Look at what we've given you in return. Were we that attractive to you? He flinched in pain; the Sentinel pinning his arms had decided to tighten the grip of its claws. The red-and-pink Invid woman off to the side was panting in stress; he looked over and tried to give her a comforting glance, which was a bit of a joke considering the situation. She did not respond, her head drooping in exhaustion and despair. He could not see Amanda; but periodic whimpers from near his locale sounded like hers. From the looks of the enormous bruises on her face and neck, she had received her fair share of the mutant Invid's tender attentions.

Kevin tested the restraints pinning his arms, and winced. The Enforcers had placed his wrists in cuffs set into the wall, effectively immobilizing him and leaving his body wide open. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead.

"Well, Kayagh, how do you like the accomodations?"

"Well, Shkud, I certainly didn't know you were into BDSM," Kevin retorted, attempting a mocking tone overshadowed by the shake in his voice. "Especially not with other males. You learn more every day about the people around you."

"This was a gift, dear Kayagh. I had an impression from your companion that one of your like was coming, and I wanted to plan a...reception." Kevin pulled again and jumped, his eyes widening. Shkud looked on with interest, hands on hips. "I see you've found that pressure on the anchors activates an electrical charge. Do you find it of interest?" He tilted his head, raising his eyebrows. "I've always wanted to do this sort of experiment." The look in Kevin's eyes was not translated into words, but Shkud laughed nonetheless.

"I'm quite sorry, I don't think that's wise. I'm too valuable a resource to the Queen-Mother."

Kevin deliberately yanked on the restraint; this time the shock made him cry out, and the two female Solugi jerked in empathic unison. Shkud laughed again, and the renegade's eyes widened in understanding and horror.

"You are the most disgusting piece of shit it's ever been my displeasure to meet, Shkud," Kevin growled hoarsely. "The idea of you enjoying the feeling of my pain, reflected to you--"

The green, slitted eyes narrowed, and the mock-humor was gone. Kevin stood as high as he could as the Kulagi stalked nearer with fluid, inhuman grace, until the two were less than three feet apart. Shkud still stood some inches taller than Kevin, and he had to lean down.

"And you wonder why, Solugi?

"You disgust me. Granted, you Solugi were flawed. You forsake the collective because of some superficial--resemblance--with the animals on this planet... And to even become like them! Madness! Is it any wonder we were given the power on this occupation? You are not even worth crushing under my heel, trahl.

"I'm going to see you beg for death, Kayagh. And I am going to make your companions watch--especially that female..."

"Like hell!" Kevin shouted in fury.

The blow rocked Kevin back against the wall, tugging on the restraints again, arching him with agony. Shkud tsked. "Not nice to provoke me like that. After all, I need you...recognizable." Kevin recovered, his eyes blazing. From where they were, his companions could see a trickle of dark green trailing out of the corner of his mouth.

The renegade's reaction to the comment was self-evident, as the Kulagi began to laugh again, full-throated this time. Kevin, trembling in rage and terror, looked over to the three held by the Sentinels, and closed his eyes. Then he seemed to make a decision, even as his interrogator forgot to inquire his mind as he savored his triumph.

The blob of green-tinted spittle hit Shkud dead square in the face, cutting off his gloating.

The eyes went glacially cold, and the face contorted in rage.

Silently, a hand went up, and Shkud stared at the results wiped onto his

fingers.

"You DARE..." Shkud said silibantly.

The Kulagi's eyes narrowed. A flicker of something metallic was in one hand as he darted it forward.

Kevin's scream of agony shrilled.

So did Amanda's.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Hey man, how will you feel

When all you have and all you own

Is your only true friend

When above you in the firmament

Flow the blood of the prophets

Out of your reach

From your aching speech

--Peter Murphy, "The Line Between the Devil's Teeth"

A searing, acidic weight crushed his thoughts even as the blade went to the hilt in his shoulder, slamming into his consiciousness like a tsunami. He fought helplessly, as the mass of the Kulagi's hate began to knife memories, emotions, thoughts and knowledge from him. Paralyzed by the double mental and physical attacks, Kevin writhed helplessly as he began to be picked apart from inside. But somehow, he kept fighting...

Where did he get that power?

Suddenly, he saw himself as how Shkud saw him, and the attack left him reeling again. Craven, cowardly, disobedient, traitorous, and weak, a betrayer of all the Invid was, a being refusing to see his place in the Hive and properly adhere to the ordained nature of things, and with nothing of Shkud's power. And to even associate with the vermin who infested this world--as if they bore any more resemblance to them than in appearance! What an utterly debased creature he was, so fouled he had no right to even the term of Solugi.

Kevin shuddered in grief, made all the more painful by the fact it partly contained the truth. Shkud reveled in his power as it squashed the helpless psyche again, and he who had once been called Kayagh began to surrender to the pain and despair from which there was no relief. He was nothing, a mere, half-completed shadow of the grandeur that was Kulagi.

And yet, a small, angry, and entirely human voice inside retorted:

Grandeur? This--is grandeur?

In his mind, a soft voice spoke, as Miranda read a book, years ago. "I may speak in the tongues of men and angels, but if I have not love, I am no more than a blaring trumpet or clanging cymbal..."

The Solugi's pain-transfixed thoughts rallied, and began to push back. There was momentary surprise from the Invid torturing him. The thoughts were coherent and determined, even in hurt.

I may be weak, Shkud, I may be a coward, I may be a traitor, but you have done nothing for all your power, except destroy, and hurt, and kill, and torment, you dog. You're nothing, you bastard. Nobody'll weep for you, when you're gone. I think more of these people--people you bastard--than you will ever understand, or ever be capable of understanding. I think of them far more highly than I will ever think of you. You aren't even worth my consideration.

There was a blanked moment of incredulity, as the Kulagi's ego struggled at the concept of a mere Solugi thinking less of him than a human. Then, a venomous tide of rage scalded Kevin/Kayagh's mind again. Ouside, he could hear ribs break, as Shkud's fists pummeled into his sternum. He could feel the electrical surges spasm his muscles as he involuntarily tried to protect himself.

Light flared as he opened his eyes to Amanda screaming in horror.

"Quiet her!" Shkud snarled, his face barely human anymore, a transparent mask to the nature undeneath.

Oryo'i had her arms wrapped around her torso armor, a line between her pale brows. She stared at him with incomprehension. "My lord--he is transferring his pain to me..."

"Shut the human up or by the mother YOU will feel it!"

The pain nearly blacked himself out, but he managed to catch Amanda's eyes; she stopped screaming, her eyes wide and dry.

"Quit picking on the animals, Shkud! You said it first." Kevin felt a cough burble up; bringing with it the fermented taste of his own blood. More than ribs broken--even the action of clearing his lungs made the edges in his vision go dark from the unbelievable pain. "Scared somebody might hear?"

Oryo'i shuddered. Kevin sent her a desperate thought.

Oryo'i, this is what you're serving under! Do you want this monster to be running your life?

Kayagh, you are the one who erred! Oryo'i tried censure, but it rang patently false, and he could hear the sickness she felt at what was happening to him.

Was he truly broadcasting his pain that wide?

A momentary glimpse of himself out of her eyes; he looked a sight...

LISTEN, damn you! It can't go like this forever! It'll be you, someday!

Shkud was turning back to him. But he knew Oryo'i had heard him...

Shkud pulled out the scalpel from where it was imbedded in Kevin's shoulder, making the renegade almost faint from the pain--but sagging on the anchors would electrocute him... Fresh wet warmth trickled down his shoulder and chest, soaking into his coverall. But Kevin had had enough time to partially recoup... He seemed to be observing it from a far-distant perspective, the pain strangely diconnected as somehow, someway, he managed to take on even now the detachment of his zazen practice. The Kulagi's mind clawed at him and could find nothing more than surface purchase at first.

Give, you offal! GIVE! the adder-like hiss of Shkud's thoughts coated his mind.

Kevin complied. He gave, but it was not what Shkud wanted.

The flight of a killdeer, the glow of sunlight off of dandelions, Malcolm's and Sherry's improvised waltz to a sixty-five year old tune... Ruthlessly, Kevin rammed them down one after the other, even as the weakness from the blood loss began to set in...the very humanity of those thoughts leaving nothing that Shkud wanted to understand or comprehend, a constant taunt against a being who considered the race less than nothing.

If he was lucky, it would enrage the Kulagi so that he would be killed--or die--before Shkud got what he really wanted.

In the concrete world, Shkud, his eyes dilated until they were merely emerald rims surrounding abyssal black centers, wiped off the blade and almost daintily began to cut.

oooooooooooooooooooo

After the second or third incision, Amanda and Dennis could no longer bear to look. The Sentinels' hold on them prevented them from covering their eyes but they both tightly squeezed them shut. It did nothing to block their hearing. And they heard every moment.

By this point, Shkud had decided to turn off the electrical charge. It was no fun if the prisoner's sagging killed him before Shkud was done.

The screams were much more infrequent now, and weaker. How much longer, before they stopped altogether? And there was the ragged sobbing off to the side, as Siaga took full communion in what was happening to Kevin.

"You're disappointing, Kayagh." Shkud commented. "Perhaps I should have made your female companion go first--she was more rewarding than you." A hoarse whimper was all his response, and bubbling, ragged breathing.

Nobody noticed the thumps of movement nearing the main entrance, and their stopping.

"It seems that I'll actually have to start on the internal organs next..." Shkud sighed. "Messy." Oryo'i bared her teeth in a rictus as a shiver went through her armored frame. Shkud shook his head mornfully, and took a cloth to clean the dripping blade. He narrowed his eyes again, looking for a place to begin.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Red.

Color of wrath, color of rage. Color of the sleeping reptile in the brain when it came alive. Nothing mammalian could stand against it.

The red boiled into vision, blanking out all that might have been rational, as the reptile roared.

oooooooooooooooooooo

The bellow shattered everything; no scream of pain or horror, but of utter hatred. Oryo'i stared wildly about at the shout, the Enforcers dashing about, and in the middle of it, even Shkud dropped the knife, startled.

Whistles and then explosions of missiles slamming into the hive chamber; and an olive-drab armored figure plummeted into the middle of it, the black-on-yellow tree insignia on its shoulder briefly visible as it rushed forward like the hammer of God.

oooooooooooooooooooo

The red did not totally blank his vision. He saw the struggling figures, arms motionless in mecha claws. Carefully, with limpid clarity, he aimed and shouted the fire codes.

The Sentinels startled as the missiles shrieked in; most impacted within a couple of feet of them. One did hit, shattering the eye of the armor and reducing the head inside to pulp as it detonated. As the claws loosened in death, its captive broke and rolled as the mecha began to slump to the ground, her red-and-white hair flying. The rifle, attached to the arm, broke free, and the slender figure dove for it.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Matthew Ulm dove, his rifle fixed and prepared to fire, noting the tall figure in front of the slumped. Oh, he'd make this bastard talk, for certain. He'd certainly be in no position to vivisect Kevin with an H-90 to his head and his hive on the line...

He did not quite notice the zestful smile appearing on the Invid's teeth.

Suddenly, the Invid was leaping--at him, holding himself in the air far longer than gravity would allow. A momentary glimpse of slitted pupils and wild red hair, and Matt was blinded by a hot white light.

Something clattered on the ground, and his suddenly bare right arm testified that his arm shield unit had mysteriously disappeared. The bar of energy completed its arc, and Matt was barely out of the way before it darted forward again.

Matt had watched his own share of Star Wars--he did not need to see the light's relationship to the clenched fist of the Invid to have an idea of the implications.

That's not possible!

There was a hissing sound, and a smoking wisp where part of his foot armor had been. The cat-eyed Invid chuckled, enjoying himself.

Matthew growled and charged, firing another missile.

It did not even hit, detonating instead somewhere on the chamber ceiling. Inhumanly fast, the Invid darted in; even with the mecha's assistance the lieutenant barely made out of the path of a cut that would have disemboweled him. Underneath the fury, a tiny portion of fear was making itself known.

My god, nothing's that fast, is it? What is this thing? The servos on one leg had been damaged; chest heaving, Matt had to cope with the Cyclone's weight on the weakened appendage, Fighting to cope, he made for the air. The psionic weapon slashed at him again, and he was nearly killed in the blaze of horror that broke his focus.

He was hovering. So was the Invid, his feet invisibly supported several meters off terra firma.

Under the hatred, Ulm was beginning to get the small cold sensation that he was in farther over his head than he'd thought.

Grinning, the black-and-scarlet figure lunged at him again.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Siaga, her teeth bared and sweat sopping her uniform, aimed and convulsively fired at the Invid mecha still holding the humans, their having not reacted yet. The two shrills of shock and abrupt silence were hardly even noticed in the vast orchestra of agony that still shook her psyche from her willing communion with Kayagh's torment. The Terrans needed no prompting; as the Sentinel shells fell, they were running, the male human taking up one of the dropped energy shields.

Pain exploded through her, true pain, rending her guts, scalding her flesh. She began to fall, quite helplessly, the weapon falling from her loosened hands, but not before she saw a fleeting image of Oryo'i, pistol still raised, face twisted in anger and anguish.

As she folded to the floor, she saw another image; the yellow-haired young female, her eyes wide and mouth opened, changing her direction and running for her, a hand reached out.

With her fading strength, Siaga of the Invid extended her own, the green-smeared digits spreading as though in supplication.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Dennis saw the charcoal-armored Invid woman begin to turn away, catch the sight of him, and the the amber eyes beginning to widen in shock. She whipped around and fired, but the discharges were harmlessly absorbed by the energy lens still projected by the shield.

Then, there was the shock of impact as his body impacted hers, and his face was full of a hissing, clawing, white-haired demon, her pistol spinning out of use.

My God, she's strong, he thought, as he pushed the shield forward, trying to prevent her nails going for his eyes. Ducking under her grasp, he made one final lunge, dropping the shield.

She staggered forward, and before she could react, he hit her precisely in the base of the skull with a clenched fist.

She was human enough to feel it; she slumped bonelessly, unconscious.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Ulm dodged the psionic blade's attack, barely in time. He could feel the chill of his left arm now stripped of its shield, the labor of his overworked, aging heart, the fight for him to get enough oxygen to his system. The sensations were lost in the deadly dance of strike and counterstrike, defend and move, and the wrath that still deadened his mind to all but killing his opponent. At another level, he knew that even with the Super Saber's CADS systems both out and whirring, periodic discharge of missiles and the Cyclone's power behind him, he was outclassed.

Badly.

The Invid's unarmored figure leapt and sidestepped like a phantom devil, constantly out of Matt's reach, often almost within contact, if only to taunt and take further bits off. Trying to hit him was like trying to damage a flame. The speed and power were unbelievable. Nothing human was that fast... but his opponent was not.

Matt was aware that he was being backed up against a wall; he tried to buy time, as the Kulagi toyed with him, shaving his battlesuit off piece by piece.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Elsewhere, in the paralyzed silence of the hive, its normal function and direction lost in the uproar in the audience chamber, the Solugi Miragai was prodded, sweating, into a vast room.

"What are you doing, human? If you are going to--"

There was a sharp jab into his back, felt even through the padding and ceramic of his flight armor. "Shut up, or I'll by god shut you up," the clear female soprano snapped. Swallowing, her prisoner complied.

They were unchallenged as they crossed the floor, the room dead silent. "What's going on?" Gwen wondered to herself. "Did the others cause THAT much of a fuss?" The two made their way closer to a huge glowing hemisphere in the center of the room. The human in the Cyclone wondered what might be the best spot, and then--

Her eyes lit on a small object situated within a couple feet of the hive power core. Urging Miragai along, she got within visual distance.

"Oh my G--" she choked.

"What?"

Getting herself under control, she said quite clearly. "It's a bomb."

"WHAT?" Miragai half-screamed, forcing a further jab into his back with the H-90.

"I think my CO got here first," she explained in a low, rapid voice. "There's a timer on that thing; there's less than forty-five minutes left before everything in this hive explodes. If we stay, we go with it."

"Can you stop it?"

"I ain't no bomb-squad, Invid. If I tried, I might trigger it prematurely. We humans make damn sure nobody hostile can get away with tryin' to disable it without gettin' it in the face." And I'm not gonna even try, she added silently.

Too late, she realized what Miragai was trying to do. Even as he made mental contact, before she could fire, his face transfixed with horror.

"No! What has he done?? How could he?" he said in English, gasping in reaction, doubling over as he protected his midriff. Her rage replaced by astonishment, Gwen stared as he panted, shuddering.

After a few seconds, he seemed to break the contact and straightened again, his face taut with hurt, pale green eyes flat.

Emotionlessly, he said, "I will go with you. There is nothing left here for me."

Even more astonished, Gwen gaped underneath her helmet at this sudden change in loyalty. She had no idea what had just happened in his telepathic communion with the hive; but the reaction had been too sincere to be faked. And somehow, she felt curiously resistant to leaving him here to die with the rest of his hive. Miragai had done nothing as far as she could see to warrant that quick a judgement. Especially after Amanda...

Finally, she said in a brittle voice, "Keep in front of me, and for both our sakes, you better find the fastest way out."

oooooooooooooooooooo

Matt wheeled crazily, his directional thrusters now gone. Of his Super Saber, little was left except shredded and disabled servoes and fragmented plating, for the Invid had put in many a blow. The CADS were gone, his missile systems worthless, nothing left except the last dregs of his backpack thrusters helping him to elude that deadly blade. Still, Ulm himself was untouched. He had a fair idea why, and from the sadistic smile on his opponent's face, it looked to be right on target.

Ulm got too close; a hiss, and suddenly he was falling.

The impact nearly knocked him out. He rolled to his back, just in time to see the tall figure hit the floor and stand over him. Detached, Ulm watched the white light-bar swing back for the last stroke at his neck.

There was a roar.

Shkud staggered, the blade diappearing, a look of shock on his face. He put up a hand to his side, then brought it up.

"What?" he said blankly.

There were two more reports; Shkud arched, then began to topple. Something warm splashed Ulm's face and armor in tune with the blasts as the Invid's side erupted in a green splatter. Ulm barely managed to roll out of the way as the Kulagi nearly fell on him.

Shkud writhed, no longer feeling anything below his chest, trying to drag himself back to his feet and failing. Desperately, he attempted to activate his healing abilities, but it was too little too late--even as he tried, his bodily systems eroded and shut down.

Through dimming vision and perception, he managed to turn his face in the direction where the shots had come from.

No! It could... not be! Killed, by that? No, I can... not...will... not...

"A present from my sister, you son of a bitch," the human said thickly, and fired one last time.

Shkud, Lord of the Kulagi, slipped several feet across the floor from the impact of the blast, smearing blood in his wake, and settled in final stillness, the snake eyes open and glassy.

Silence slammed a lid over all, except for the thud of bootsoles as the young woman dropped the heavy Invid rifle and made a beeline for the other figure curled on the floor.

Miraculously, it moved as Amanda skidded to her knees by it, the knees of her coverall soaking in green fluid. The fogging yellow eyes opened and focused on her in an effort; Siaga may have smiled.

"Hold your peace, Human... nothing... you can do..." The hands clamped over her midriff moved; Amanda knew from what lay under it that there was nothing in either Invid or Human science that would help Siaga now.

"S-siaga...I'm so sorry..."

Siaga did smile. "You grieve... for me? Young one... better death as a Solugi... than life... as a drone... Little while... knew your life... knew to feel... grateful for that..." She rallied, pulled in one final, gurgling breath. "Amanda... save... my brother..." A gout of fluid came up from her mouth, and she went limp, the wide sulfur eyes fixing.

Amanda, stared, blankly raised her hand, and closed Siaga's eyes. She stared blankly a few seconds at the dead woman, before the reality crashed in on her. Shooting to her feet, she repeated, "'Save my brother--'" the Invid's last words reaching her all of a sudden. She nearly vomited at she saw the wreckage still sagging against the opposite wall.

Matt and Dennis were already there; a couple of quick pulls on the trigger released the cuffs from the wall. Dennis staggered as he caught the falling weight in his arms; the bloody body barely twitched in response. A arm flopped to the side, revealing the slicing wound the late Lord Shkud had opened there, dribbling Invid ichor.

"We can't carry him like this, we'll kill him!" Dennis spat.

"We'll die if we stay, Zinnert!" Ulm barked hoarsely back. "I set a bomb at the power core, and it has less than thirty minutes before it goes off. We'll have to take our chances."

"The Alpha's half a mile off," Zinnert said. "Sunshine apparently anticipated our coming and had the reception planned here in advance. I'm just hoping that after our earlier fights the thing can still fly."

"What about her?" Matt said, indicating the unconscious Oryo'i.

"We haven't time to get her too," Zinnert replied. "Come on."

Amanda managed to grab Oryo'i's pistol. "I'll take point."

Matt nodded shortly, removing the pieces of his ruined Cyclone from his CVR. "You take his legs, I'll take his upper body." Dennis complied and the two managed to lift Kevin's ravaged figure.

The next several minutes extended to numb eternity, as they tried to move as fast as they could with their burden, which only occasionally moaned. There were a couple of bad spots were they thought Enforcers or Sentinels were about to shoot them down, but they all seemed unmotivated and confused, not even noting the humans sneaking by. To Amanda's eyes they all looked as though they were acting like chickens with their heads cut off; she was more correct than she knew.

The Alpha was still in gerwalk where Dennis had left it, there having not been enough time for the Invid to do anything about it. The Assault Battloid next to it was still undamaged, but the only one who could pilot it was currently bleeding his life out onto the hive floor. Amanda leapt up into the rear cockpit, tearing out the medkit and shuddering as the two men handed up Kevin's limp figure. The stench of ichor was overwhelming. As Amanda began frantically to staunch the wounds of the softly whimpering Invid, the two officers crammed into the front and began to bring the engines to life.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Dennis swore. "Lot of bleed from the prior damage-- I hope the Shadow system's still functional."

"Fifteen minutes left," Matthew said, checking gauges. "Let's get the hell out."

The engines whined to life, and the craft began to lift.

oooooooooooooooooooo

The gray palled from black, bringing a horrific headache along with it. Muttering, she shook her head and opened her eyes to dead silence.

For a couple of minutes, all she could do was stare.

Then, she shakily rose to her feet, still not believing, her eyes on the two bodies lying there.

The Kulagi lay half on his side in a pooling smear of his own blood, his uniform soaked black with it where it contacted the floor and his long red hair clotted with it. For the first time in several years, his countenance wasn't contorted in pride, hate, or anger. The face wore a vaguely surprised look, the eyes open and dilated. From the look of the gaping hole in his side, he was quite thoroughly dead.

Siaga was curled up in another pool of fluid, her hands verdegris with drying ichor as they lay loosely over the gut wound that had killed her. The eyes were closed and the face peaceful, the lips curved, as though savoring some quiet, deep triumph.

Oryo'i stood, looking numbly on the carnage, unable to make a coherent thought.

"So, Shkud, is this the superiority to humanity you so claimed? Slaughtering ourselves as they do?" The corpses on the floor made no response.

Numbly, she turned on her heel and began to run.

oooooooooooooooooooo

The Alpha limped through the hive passageways, making for the first open passage. Abruptly, light--daylight--blazed around them. The Alpha accelerated as far as safe, unimpeded by the hive shields. Scouts started to rise and make a half-hearted pursuit, but the Alpha left them behind.

"We're out," Ulm declared. "Only a couple of minutes left. We've got to get a couple of miles away before the blast wave hits. How's he doing?"

Blankly, the back seat replied, "I don't know. There's so many wounds--I've only managed to stop the bleeding on the worst of them. Internal damage, and his blood pressure's too low."

"Shit," Ulm said. The interior of the cockpit stank like a compost heap. Amanda did not reply, instead cutting off yet another gauze strip to close the seven-inch-long slashes, her hands smeared with reeking fluid. There was another whimper of pain as she jogged his snapped ribs, but binding them would have to wait. His eyes suddenly opened, staring at empty space.

"Who's there?" the barely audible whisper came. "Get out of my head..."

"Kevin," Amanda said softly, "It's all right. It's me. I'm here."

There was a slight flicker, although the scout's eyes still did not see her. "Mandy? Is that you?" His lips moved in a smile. "Good..." The eyelids closed as he slipped back into unconsciouness.

"Hope Gwen managed to get out," Ulm said to himself.

"What?" Dennis yelped. "You brought along---"

"Her means of apology." Ulm murmured, nursing the protesting VAF along. "I don't think we should worry that much. Gwen's a born survivor, and she had the same plan in mind as me. I believe in her power to get out."

"...Oh, shit," Zinnert muttered. "We've got company. One lone bogie still on our tail, and Marauder by designation."

"Oryo'i," Ulm said detachedly, bringing the image up on visuals. "Looks like she's in a bad way herself. Better gun it."

"Fantoma," Dennis swore. "Doesn't she know when to quit?" The Alpha was making headway; the Invid craft falling behind. "You'd think, considering what her dear lord was, she'd've--"

oooooooooooooooooooo

The last second disappeared from the LCD screen, and space dissolved into plasma. The hive power core gone, the chain reaction roared through the rest of the hive with lightning swiftness. In seconds, it was lost in a hemisphere of energy, taking transmission towers and Invid patrols with it.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Oryo'i screamed as the hive's death hit her, and then again, seconds after, as the blast wave rocked her craft, nearly causing the battered mecha to smash into the ground. She was forced to fight to stay aloft, all thoughts of pursuit forgotten.

oooooooooooooooooooo

The pain slammed into Kevin O'Shea's lacerated psyche at the same time. Hundreds upon hundreds of the minds of Invid, Iigaari and Malorosm, Iigai and Torab crying out, as they faded into brilliant oblivion, their ghosts left behind to torment him.

It was too much, and he was so tired, and so consumed with self-hate.

The loving darkness opened its arms, and took him in.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Amanda screamed in terror as the bloody figure on her lap convulsed violently and half sat up, eyes wide open, back arched and face contorted in a silent scream. As though a switch had been flipped, the body went limp again, eyes still open, chest still rising and falling, but with not a hint of personality left aware behind the blue irises...

oooooooooooooooooooo

Around a corner, two faces peeked into the massive, freezing hollow of the old ampitheatre. One was gray-eyed and light-skinned, the other lower down and ebony dark, eyes flitting.

"It's almost noon," the upper one said in a low rumble. The lower face nodded.

"Everyone's relocated now to Base Two. There's that steam-tunnel network we can hide in. You have any idea on where are available spots to move?"

Gerald shook his head, his breath steaming. "Not yet, Miranda. We'll give another twenty-four hours, just in case."

"Optimist."

"I try hard." Wilson did not seem convinced. "Did the kid settle down?"

"A little. That was a helluva fit this morning."

"I have to admit, 'Randa--she's weird. Any ideas why?"

"This coming from someone whose father used to be forty feet tall?" The big man winced at the woman's cool tone. "I still haven't ruled out what those Flower spores did to her."

"They're it." Miranda nodded at Gerald's statement. "Let's keep the sensors peeled."

"Doi's looking on the radar. She'll tell us."

Minutes passed and the two, hiding against possible hostile sensors, began to relax in boredom. They jerked awake at the hailing beep on their coms.

Wilson replied and listened, his pale eyes going wide.

"Gotcha, Sherry. We'll meet the crew here." The halfbreed looked up at Miranda. "She just got a bogie with the right callnumber. It's them."

Miranda's eyes widened, hope, for the first time, returning to them. "All?"

Gerald shook his head. "Don't know."

The next fifteen minutes were eternity, as a couple of the medics and repair personnel snuck up to wait with them. At long last, a low rumble built to thunder, and the hole in the roof was eclipsed.

Miranda bit back a swearword as she saw the Alpha drop through. The thing looked as though it had taken on an entire hive; the external hull gouged and scratched as though claws had been trying to peel it off, and burned in a couple places with plasma hits. It settled, and she was running to the craft as the canopy began to lift.

Two figures got out first; if the mecha looked bad, the experience of seeing the two CO's was infinitely worse: smeared with drying green fluid, swaying, eyes looking as though they'd stared into the maw of Hell itself. Involuntarily, she swore at the sight. If they hadn't taken on the Invid race single-handedly, she didn't know what they...she squashed the notion. What the hell did she think they'd done, gone macrameing or deconstructing Henry James?

"Amanda?"

Ulm said hoarsely. "We got her."

Gerald glanced at the Alpha, eyes widening in fear, and Ulm interjected, "Alive. But..."

"You need medics?"

Dennis fought with himself and blurted out, "It's not her, it's Kevin."

Whirling on his heel, the CO turned and began to lope back to the tattered VAF-8R. Ulm, utterly exhausted, eyes glimmering with fear, took a sling stretcher from one of the meds without another word and followed him. Miranda and Gerald tried to follow them and got a look of sharp reproof.

The two shifted the mecha to pure fighter and then began to move around in the rear cockpit. Momentarily, the others heard Mandy's voice, but so ragged it was nearly unrecognizable. The two core members on the floor stared at each other, completely in the dark at to what was going on and worrying.

After several more minutes, Ulm got out, supporting and carefully helping lower the stretcher and the body it supported to the ground; Zinnert cautiously negotiated himself and his end out as well. Behind them, the battered face of Amanda Pierson popped up for the first time, her eyes red and a huge, blackening blotch spreading across one freckled cheek. She was shaking. Her coverall was covered with ichor as well. Fresh ichor.

Miranda and Gerald loped over to the burdened COs, attempting to offer help. Miranda, swallowing, was the first one to reach them.

For a second, she thought the limp figure on the stretcher had had a run-in of the violent kind with the enemy, splattering his shredded coverall, and there was an instant of pride in what Kevin had done. It was not until she heard Gerald Wilson's single, heartfelt curseword that she saw.

The dark-haired head of the body rolled to the side, the eyes open and blank, living but not much beyond that.

Out of one corner of Kevin O'Shea's mouth liquid trickled, etching a pine-green line down his chin.

"Sweet Jesus God," she said.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Lady Asaav, an urgent report, the Brain said. Solugi Oryo'i has just contacted with terrible news.

The figure in the Orbital Hive's control chamber straightened in surprise. "What?"

A small group of humans managed to infiltrate a major hive in Lord Shkud's domain, in order to rescue a human prisoner. Shkud was there at the time, and had taken most of them captive for interrogations. Somehow, the humans managed to destroy the hive and assassinate Shkud.

"Shkud? Assassinated?" she blurted out in incomprehension, for only one of a very few times since the beginning of the occupation. This was unheard of. "How?"

Not yet fully known. Oryo'i was still suffering shock from the hive's destruction. But apparently the human still free had managed to interrupt Kulagi Shkud's questioning of a renegade Solugi amongst them.

Asaav had regained her composure. "Unbelievable," she murmured, shaking her head, the chin-length pale green hair fluffing out as she did so. "A renegade, even. What madness has seized them?" Restlessly, the brown and burgundy figure paced on the floor, the only sign of showing her agitation. "What an incredible tragedy. Have the others been notified yet?"

As we speak, Lady.

The female Kulagi continued to pace, her aristocratic brows furrowed in thought. "Contact those with whom I have been speaking with. We must figure a way of preventing this in the future. We meet tomorrow, an orbit from now. Extend my consolations to the others on Shkud's death."

Done.

"You are dismissed. I must think."

The Brain's presence was gone, leaving Asaav mentally alone.

So he was no more. A major setback for the occupation as a whole, for his...aberrancies beside, Shkud's means had always managed to get the most yield of Flowers out of his segment of the planet. It had been his ideas and policies that had made the rest of the Kulagi adopt their current policy for the occupation. Yes, on the whole, it was deleterious.

But for her own goals...

Asaav stopped, her mind brewing, her face closed.

After a minute, the brushed-aluminum eyes with their slashes of pupil narrowed, and her lips curved in private amusement.

oooooooooooooooooooo

A bitter night coated the woods. The snow had decided to quit falling, but the cloud-cover overhead darkened the night, unbroken except for a small campfire. There were two huddled around it, but no word was spoken.

"D'you want some tea?" one said.

The second, shivering in a blanket, made a face and then seeing the steam rising off the top, reconsidered. A hand reached out and a mug was placed in it.

"I can get you some more cold gear if you like. Sorry nothin' my size fits you."

"No," the second said at last. "I'll be all right. This uniform and armor was made for extremes in temperature."

"I'm...sorry," Gwen said.

"So am I," Miragai said in exhaustion. "You can sleep. I promise I won't escape."

The amber eyes slanted over, deliberated, and looking at the semi-collapsed figure, compromised mentally by deciding to fall asleep after whenever he decided to. She nearly nodded off, and dimly realized the idea might be sabotaged by her own weariness.

"Human?"

She jerked back awake. "Mhhn?"

"What will happen now?"

She had not exactly been thinking of direction when somehow she had managed to tear out of the hive with less than twenty minutes to spare, praying that the arms wrapped around her middle would not decide to strangle her all of a sudden. Nor had she been thinking when the horizon behind them flared blindingly, and her "prisoner" had made a hoarse noise of pain. Even now, his pale green eyes were grayed with reaction.

Now she had to think.

She had played Judas to the Elms, and as Ulm had implied, they would never trust her again. They might pretend to, but in a scenario where it was truly needed, when lives might depend on it...

There was no way she could ever return. Especially with her involuntary traveling companion. She strongly doubted they would welcome the Invid with her.

She remembered that the hive lay--had lain--to the northeast from the base.

She sighed. "North. We head north tomorrow."

oooooooooooooooooooo

A couple of hundred miles to the south, a lone figure made its way through the icy woods, trying to move as quickly as possible without running. It had discovered in the past few months that such movements in certain areas attracted unfriendly attention. While the traveler had little fear of being killed, the kind of things she might have to do might attract even more unfriendly attention, which was the last thing she wanted at the time. She was desperately needed elsewhere; being sidetracked would not help anyone.

The furtive moon, peeking through the clouds, picked stars of reflection out of her hair as she moved.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Sweat trickled down into Oryo'i's collar, and she inserted a finger into it to try and cool her neck off. She, however, was full aware that this section of the Orbital Hive's mean temperature was not all that warm. Her perspiring was for entirely different reasons.

It was the hardest effort she ever made in her current life, but at last, she managed to put a foot foward, and stepped through the door and into the audience chamber of Kulagi Asaav. For a moment, she saw the ruling Invid's tall figure, and her heart contracted as though in a clenching fist.

She was down on on knee even before Asaav noticed her presence, eyes fixed on the floor, her pulse thumping so loudly she felt it could be heard throughout the entire room, the knowledge of her shame constant in her mind. She had allowed the murder of one of the Kulagi and the destruction of a major hive and over a thousand Invid, and she was fully expecting not to walk out being able to pilot a Gamun. She would be lucky if she were allowed to live.

"I have come as you have ordered, Lady Asaav. As the Kulagi with the closest geographical area of control to my lord, you have full juristiction over me, and my--actions." Oryo'i was impressed; she had managed to say it with only the slightest tremor to her voice. She could feel Asaav's attention on her.

I must look a sight, Oryo'i thought. Her face was bruised from striking portions of the cockpit in her desperate battle to stay alive in her foundering mecha, as it had been battered by the blast wave of the hive's explosion; a battle that she thought was quite pointless in retrospect. At least, she would not have had to face this.

"Solugi Oryo'i." the calm, unaffected voice said. "Thank you for being prompt. We have business to attend to.

"In this conflict, your ruling lord died as an indirect result of your actions, as did many of our kind. However, I must illustrate the fact that the root cause was your capture of the human female, an action in and of itself a good thing, as we must need to learn more of this species' battle tatics in order to firm our own plans. However, it cannot be helped that humans seems to be strangely--comitted to each other, often to foolish extents. Nor did you know that in addition to the initial rescue attempt, a second had entered, unknown by you or the others of your hive. Furthermore, none of us had any idea the humans were being helped by a traitor to us, and you most certainly did not. So it is not something that was under your control.

"Our lamented brother Shkud was well known to be--intransigent--on certain things. One of them being, of course, his relentless persecution of you once you failed to please him. Unfortunately, his failure was to see what you were trying. Or what was aiding the humans."

Asaav smiled. Allow the Solugi to think what she was thinking for a little while longer, in order to ensure my hold over her. The results ought to be most...rewarding. The Solugi was still hunched in her kneel, waiting for the blow to fall.

She paused for a couple of minutes.

"Shkud's failure was to see that events might happen that would not favor his plans, or that an accident might temporarily thwart his goals and that of the occupation. He could not conceive of events going wrong, especialy concerning himself. This made him completely incapable of seeing what you had tried to attempt, and in fact ultimately deprived him of his life."

Oryo'i was stunned. A Kulagi, admitting that one of their own was flawed? Asaav continued.

"I wonder what he might have thought had your original plan had went as intended. It was without sanction, true, but it was created with a great deal of foresight as to what might be needed in the future in combatting the native population. Those are talents we need. Shkud would most certainly have deevolved you had he been alive--" a shiver trembled the Solugi's slender frame, "but that is a foolish and hot-headed waste of resources." Silence again, then:

"Rise, Solugi Oryo'i."

Oryo'i complied. The Kulagi's silver, inhuman eyes were neutral, but there seemed no censure. There was movement behind her, but years under Shkud's control had taught Oryo'i to keep her attention on a superior at all times.

"We of the Kulagi are now one less of our number. Your lord's death will have repercussions in control and territory issues, unless someone else is willing to take up his post. And the remaining twenty-three of us have our own pressing issues."

Oryo'i blinked foolishly, trying to understand Asaav's point. Her concentration was broken, as she saw the sources of the movement resolve in the dimness to five other tall humanoid figures, all clad in the distinctive uniform of the Kulagi. Her heart going cold, she thought, Mother, she's going to de-evolve me after all. But I expected it, did I not?

A smile, at long last, crossed Asaav's glacial features. Numbly, Oryo'i felt the background level of power rise, as the other five moved foward...

"Oryo'i, the Council has deliberated on this issue, and I have added in my input. Due to my earlier work, it has been agreed on. You will be that replacement."

"WHAT?" Oryo'i yelped in pure shock. Asaav did not take note, as the power suddenly spiked and energy began to form a nimbus around her.

"Oryo'i, prepare yourself for bio-reconstruction and transmutation!"

Confused, the subordinate Invid almost fled, but it was too late.

The other five Kulagi began to draw on their own immense power, and to feed it to the Kulagi in front of them, Asaav's figure suddenly going incandescent with the concentrated energy given her. As the focus, she shaped and directed it, toward the figure in front of her.

She lifted her hands, and began.

An intense blaze shot out of each palm, the protoculture-driven energy catching Oryo'i as she stood in astonishment, enveloping her.

The form she had known for six-and-a-half Terran years fell away, leaving nothing in the firestorm save a globe of light; her consciousness disembodied, kept coherent by the psychokinetic matrix holding it in place. Carefully controlling it, Asaav, with the help of the others, began bit by bit to reconstruct Oryo'i's genetic code. In seconds, a figure began reforming out of the primal tumult.

An indistinguishable time later, the energy output faded and disappeared, leaving afterimages in its wake.

The figure that had reappeared out of the Invid energy swayed, murmuring in confusion. Oryo'i blankly felt herself. Nothing seemed different than from before, at first. What did they do? Something seemed different about the uniform that had reappeared with her--a different color pattern. She felt taller, by a few inches...

Asaav's mind-voice entered her thoughts. I would remind you that this was approved by the Council on my recommendation, Oryo'i. I sincerely hope that you would act appropiately about that in future events, when dealing with me. Please do not betray my trust in you.

What approved? Oryo'i thought. The slender hands seemed unchanged, but her figure, slimmer? Or taller. Where were her bruises? And where did this new and boundless energy come from? She'd been exhausted; now she felt as though she could take on a battalion of humans unaided...

"Welcome, Kulagi Oryo'i, to our ranks."

With another shock, and beginning exhaltation, Oryo'i understood.

She pushed her silver hair out of orange, cat-slitted eyes, and nodded for the first time to Asaav and the five others as equal to equals.

And she smiled.

End Book One:

Lightning Crashes