So nice to have people who actually like my work for a change. Have a look at the reviews for Empires Collide to see what I have to go through with it…
Yes, the Yautja twins are the same as the ones from Hades. I changed the names slightly, as I said, to fit in with Veriea's system. I feel kind of silly now, knowing that it isn't 'official' lore, but it makes it all nice and ordered, I suppose.
On with the story.
Shadow sighed.
Staying here was probably a waste of time. The damn things were asleep. As should he – he was reaching the point where he needed to enter a dormant state again.
Aliens don't sleep as such. Their metabolism is so efficient that they can potentially keep going forever. However, they do benefit from entering a state of dormancy every now and again. This speeds up recuperation, increases their already impressive regenerative abilities, and allows for most of the fantastic adaptive bio-chemistry of their bodies to make any suitable adjustments to the local environment.
And abruptly, it was light.
The planet's orbit, combined with the nebula, played strange tricks with sunrise and sunset. Their was no such thing as twilight on Hades – just pitch-black night and bright day.
The creatures inside the shelter stirred, and Shadow caught a faint clicking noise. There was a pause, and then they came out.
They were impressive physically. Easily seven, maybe even eight foot tall, if you ignored his tail they were only slightly smaller than him. They would tower over a human.
They wore some kind of body armour that seemed to be a mixture of leather and metal, with sections of…
He stared. There was no doubt about it – that was Alien skin. Only covering certain vital areas, but it was there.
>It would seem that they've encountered our kind before,> commented Spiketail. >Can we kill them now?>
Shadow never had a chance to even think of an answer, as the larger one looked up.
Othar'a peered at the curious black shape in the tree, and then realised what it was. "Pauk! Brother, two kainde amedha in the tree!"
Kal'Arak'e never had a chance to respond, as they pounced.
There was no time to even think about the ki its-pa – only just time to extend the wristblades.
The first xenomorph hissed viciously at her, but Othar'a held her ground and feinted with the blades. Almost casually, the drone retaliated with a flick of the tail and smashed into her chest armour. Thanking the gods for the awu'asa, Othar'a retreated, whirling the blades to try and fend the creature off.
The second drone attacked Kal'Arak'e. This one seemed to be more cautious than its companion, and avoided his whirling defence with ease without making any serious attack. Getting more confident, he lunged with both wristblades, hoping to catch the creature by surprise.
It stumbled, and then leapt onto a tree trunk. He was just about to press home the advantage when a shriek split the air.
Othar'a was in trouble. Her opponent had been using a very fixed style of attack, and she had tried to exploit it at the same moment that it changed. With a vicious swipe from its claws, it laid her arm open. Blood sprayed, and the creature hissed in triumph.
Kal'Arak'e leapt at it, knocking it off balance, and it screeched in fury. Drawing back the wristblades for a killing blow, he was caught by his own manoeuvre by the other Alien.
The second drone's jaws snapped open, the inner pair about to shoot out… then it stopped.
"You probably don't understand me, kainde amedha, but if you kill him you lose your hive-mate." Ignoring her wounded arm, Othar'a stood next to the first drone with the combi-stick ready to extend right through its head.
>Any ideas would be appreciated, Spiketail.> said Shadow desperately.
>Why me? You're the one with one of the things at your mercy.>
>You got us into this mess. Think!>
>All right, all right! Close your jaws. You can still kill it, but it looks less threatening.>
Shadow did so, but made no other move. The other creature said something, but it was meaningless clicking to him.
The one that he was on top of replied, and the first, with great reluctance, withdrew the weapon.
Shadow leapt backwards, knocking the creature away from Spiketail. It screeched, but withdrew.
"That got us out of that situation. What now?" asked Othar'a. "Attack?"
"No. Let's just… go. We weren't looking for a fight, and even with ki its-pa, I don't fancy our chances."
They moved away from the clearing, and were relieved to note that the Aliens didn't follow.
"What the holy pauk were those things?" said Othar'a. "We've both fought kainde amedha before, and they don't act anything like those… demons!"
Kal'Arak'e shook his head, still in shock from the speed and viciousness of the fight. "Not only bigger and stronger, but faster and a lot more cunning. Not to mention intelligent – no normal drone would have reacted to that threat. I don't know, sister. This area may be safer from the normal threats, but with those things around…"
>I wouldn't want to fight one of those again,> hissed Spiketail. > Fast, strong, and with a large array of tricks. I haven't yet seen any armour that could take a full tail strike without a scratch.>
>Yes. I just hope that they're going for good. If you hadn't attacked them like that, things might have turned out differently. You just had to go psycho then, didn't you.>
Spiketail sighed, and then pounced sideways, knocking him into a tree. With a swift slash of her claws, she pinned him in place. > I'm sick and tired of your bloody mind, always being so self-righteous and sure that the Alien way isn't the right way. You can't stay in the middle ground, Shadow! You switch on your aggression when you need it, and then you become all human again.> She slowly brought her head close to his, and drew her lips back in a snarl. > The Queen once made you make a choice. Remember? Time you considered your situation, and remembered the choice you made.>
>Spiketail. Let me up. Now.>
>DO YOU REMEMBER?>
>Of course I fricking remember! Now will you get off?>
>No! This is where it either starts or ends, Shadow! You need to make that choice again. Because this time, you don't have any excuses. You can't say anything about obeying the Hive, because there isn't one. Not any more, not with Spineback in charge. Before, we were part of it all! When the old Queen was alive, if we had been given a choice about whether we wanted to leave, we wouldn't. DON'T ARGUE, SHADOW! You wouldn't have!>
>You don't know me! You haven't followed my path, Spiketail! You got an overdose, remember? You're less human than me! You got a head start! And don't give me that about excuses, I made my choice!>
>You're only lying to yourself. You've only made one human kill in cold blood, and that was at the command of the Queen. And when the Queen commands, you must obey.> Spiketail withdrew, and Shadow got up with a hiss. > You need to make that choice again. Without any external influence.>
>I've killed plenty of times.>
Spiketail snarled. > Don't make me pin you down again. It's not the same. The only way that I can break you out of your loop is by getting you to kill something of your own species. You might use the Alien part of your mind to allow yourself to attack and commit acts of violence, but if you kill one of your own kind there's nothing to shield you from the consequences.>
>I won't follow that path. Don't try to make me.>
>Then this is where it ends. Go back to Asphodel. Live among your precious humans. Don't think about coming back.>
Shadow stared at her in shock. Without another word, Spiketail leapt into the trees and was lost to sight.
POSSIBLE INSTABILITY IN HIVE 743 – ASPHODEL LINKED
NEW QUEEN GENERATED POSSIBLE THREAT TO ASPHODEL
BEGINNING NEW CALCULATION
NEW ORDER CREATED: ASPHODEL 212-GAMMA
ASPHODEL 212-GAMMA STORED
CALCULATION ENDS
Deep in the holds of the Asphodel, Holly stared at a computer screen.
"You must be kidding. It took scientists months to develop this program. And they had full military backing."
"Oh, no, Miss Chance," said Vathris. "This is the real thing, all right. Within your grasp, should you want it. Not perfect, but we're working on ironing out the problems you mentioned."
Holly reached convulsively out towards the display, and then pulled back.
"No," she said. "Not yet. I don't want to take the risk if it's not perfect."
"We could always work on improving it further. Not just the basic one. Would you like that?"
She shrugged. "Just tell me what you can come up with, and I'll let you know." She stared around the room. "How on earth did you get all this equipment? It's not standard on a warship, I know that much."
"T-T has been generous. In exchange for a few little projects, we've been given all we need."
She looked hard at the Aphodel's captain. "Is this one of those projects? From what you've told me about T-T…"
"T-T is curious about this field, but this isn't a particular project, no."
She turned back to the display, admiring the thing on the screen. "Not many of the crew would like this. Of the Charon or the Asphodel."
"Why do you think we do the research in the basements? Come. People might notice that we're missing…"
First battle between the Yautja and the Hive. And a mysterious basement project… plus what's this 'T-T'? Look out for the next chapter…