>Shadow!>
Shadow jumped. The words were faint, but it was unmistakeably Spiketail.
>Don't interrupt, there's no time! The Hive and the Asphodel are about to be attacked by another hive. I'm trying to deal with the Queen at this end…> The voice had been growing fainter by the second, and it abruptly went completely silent.
A strange relief flooded through him, that she had tried to contact him after their argument. It was quickly pushed aside by urgency – if Spiketail was trying to take on a Queen by herself, the attack must be a big one.
"What's up?" asked Elysa.
>There's an attack coming! Warn the people on the Asphodel, make sure they get plenty of weapons! It's an Alien hive!>
Elysa didn't question him, just sprinted for the doors.
Now came the bit he wasn't looking forward to. Tackling the Hive.
He ran at speed for the little dome-shaped structure, and sensed a change at that moment. As he moved to the central chamber, he saw the Spineback's cocoon shiver.
With a loud crack, it split, and the new Queen emerged.
¬Ah… so cramped in there after a while…¬ She turned to face him, and sensed that something was wrong. ¬Well? Speak!¬
>We're under attack by another hive… matriarch.> The final word was in insincere hiss, but Spineback ignored the slight.
¬So another Queen has declared war on us. The fool will pay. Assemble the forces – all drones, to the trees. Praetorians, guard me here.¬
>I have alerted the humans. They will come with aid soon. And Spiketail is attempting to deal with the opposing Queen directly.>
Spineback hissed. ¬I suppose the humans will be useful. Spiketail will not succeed, though. Even before I transformed, I would have known it would be unlikely. Now, with the knowledge of my power, it is impossible.¬
>She's resourceful.>
¬Enough! There is no time for discussion. I shall rely on you to lead the drones – I will have enough to be concerned with here.¬
"The Tjau'ke Thwei didn't say anything about how to deal with a situation like this, did they?" said Kal'Arak'e sadly. "I think we are about to meet the Black Warrior. So much for an honourable success of the chiva."
"We're not hosts yet," snarled Othar'a.
There was a soft hiss from the egg chamber, and a drone poked its head into the corridor.
"Wonderful," muttered Kal'Arak'e. "An audience."
The drone looked at first them, and then at the assembling swarm of facehuggers.
And then, in one swift movement, it ripped apart one of the parasites. The creatures moved everywhere, self-preservation overcoming the Queen's control.
Some leapt at the Predators, but in such an uncoordinated way that they were fended off with ease. The drone killed swathes of them. Acid blood sprayed everywhere.
And then it was over.
Othar'a flicked a skewered facehugger off her ki-its pa, and turned to face the newcomer.
"I don't think that one belongs to this hive," said Kal'Arak'e. "The size… it must be from that clearing, the ones we met before."
The drone hissed, and then moved back through the egg chamber.
¬Do you know what you've just done?¬ screamed the Raphael's Queen. ¬You destroyed my children! Slaughtered them, as though they were unwanted hosts! Not even in war are the eggs destroyed with such callousness!¬
>Guess what: I don't care. Now you know what it is like to feel loss. Something which I think you've had too little of,> replied Spiketail coolly. > You've clearly had a sheltered life insofar as it's possible on this world. I intend to destroy everything here.>
Her opponent's voice abruptly calmed. ¬No matter. Eggs can be replaced. Hives rebuilt. Drones replaced. I shall enjoy killing you for the pain you have inflicted, but even if you were to leave now… you can't do any permanent harm.¬
Spiketail hissed. She should have known that the Queen wouldn't back down because of a few squashed facehuggers.
That left only one option. And given the choice, she would rather join Shadow fighting the oversized Aliens on the Asphodel.
This was when the universe found out what happened when a drone faced a Queen in combat.
She realised that there were footsteps behind her, and spotted the two strangers following her.
They had been tough opponents before. They might be able to help.
There was a chance.
"Sister, by my bearings the drone is heading for the centre of the hive. That will take us straight to the Queen. I had thought that we might take on a Praetorian, but a full Matriarch…"
"Who knows what will happen? Besides, do you think that when this is over we would be able to stand before the Elder with pride, and say that we retreated from this confrontation?" Othar'a paused, and said more softly, "M-di h'dlak, m-di h'chak, brother."
"Nan-de than gaun, sister," replied Kal'Arak'e.
The corridor opened out, and they found themselves in the central area. At the end of the room, the Queen rested. Around her, three Praetorians rose up, and hissed.
"Well, you wanted a Praetorian skull, brother…" said Othar'a with a chuckle. "You may have the chance to get one…"
Shadow reviewed the drones, and then scanned the humans on the ground. Fourteen drones lay in wait in the trees, ready for the signal to attack. Twenty humans stood below them, armed with a mixture of pulse rifles and shotguns.
And then it began.
A swarm of flying Aliens dived for the waiting drones. Shadow dodged one, and lashed out with his tail. The creature was knocked off-balance slightly, but no other damage was done.
It leapt, screeching. Shadow spun, claws at the ready, and again made contact. Blood spurted from the wound, but the creature seemed unaffected.
"Shadow!" yelled Holly "Get them to the ground, we can shoot them off you!"
>To the ground!> he called, dodging a flick from the creature's long tail. The distinctive kreeo of pulse rifle fire sounded, and the attackers died in swathes. A roar of triumph from the humans was quickly drowned out by a roar of a different kind.
The huge drone with four arms and long jaws burst through the tree line. With a swipe of its claws, it shredded the ground where the motley group had been standing moments before.
Holly backed away, firing steadily at the behemoth, but through either general mutation of the Alien DNA or the tough skin of the creature's host, the AP shells did little except chip its armour.
It roared again, and charged. Shadow leapt onto the creature's back, and clawed deep.
To his horror, despite the force of the blow, his claws slid off the creature's hide. It didn't even seem to notice the attack, and he was knocked off by another flyer.
With a long scooping motion, the monster picked up Holly and swung her towards its jaws. As it opened them to release its inner ones, Holly triggered the grenade launcher.
It seemed puzzled as the little capsule was sent straight down its throat. It choked, trying to remove the obstruction, and dropped her. She dived for cover just as the grenade detonated, sending acid everywhere.
There was no time to celebrate, though as another huge monster reminiscent of the bizarre crocodile-beast that had attacked them back at the Charon was charging towards her.
Shadow was locked in combat with a more traditional drone that was slightly larger than him, and had strange mandible-like protrusions around its jaws. Dodging its lunges, he spat out his inner jaws. They punched straight into the drone's head, but it somehow withstood the blow.
Holly's opponent had evidently learned from its colleague's mistake, and was trying to kill her with its claws and tails. Due to its thick armour, it somehow survived two grenade hits before she decided it was a waste of ammo.
"Holly! Are you there?"
She slapped the comlink control on her arm. "I'm kinda busy here, Vathris!" she yelled, dodging another swipe from the creature.
"The technicians believe that they can use the Asphodel's weapon systems! Get everyone to retreat from the tree line, we're going to blast them!"
"I hope it works," she commented. "Back! Back from the trees! Shadow, get them back!"
The mandible-drone snarled, and flicked its tail. Acid sprayed from Shadow's chest, but it was little more than a flesh wound. >Retreat! The humans are going to destroy the main army of them!>
A groaning sound echoed across the clearing as the Asphodel's turrets slowly rotated, fighting against the creepers that had grown into the systems. The six three-metre long gun barrels aimed towards the skirmish, and fired.
Three of the weapons groaned again, some damage to the power lines preventing them from firing. The remaining three began spinning, yellow arcs of electricity coursing along them.
Three coherent beams of energy lanced into the huge Alien swarm. Trees were incinerated instantly by the blasts, and Aliens were reduced to ash in seconds. The remaining fifteen or so drones stared at the destruction, the sheer amount of death shocking even their simple minds.
The end was swift and brutal. Despite their thick armour and terrifying strength, the creatures were wiped out one by one in rapid succession by the Hive.
It was over.
The Queen screamed as the last of her minions was killed. Building up the hive to that size had taken her entire life. All destroyed in minutes.
¬Your hive may have won the war, but I can still vent my fury on you, drone,¬ she hissed. ¬Guards! Take the Hunters for implantation. Leave the drone to me.¬
Spiketail's heart leapt. Somehow, the Hive had destroyed their attackers. > It was your choice to attack us,> she replied. > This is what comes of attacking without warning or knowing what you're up against.>
¬No choice,¬ muttered the Queen. ¬Maybe it'll leave me alone now. But I will still kill you!¬
With a huge crack, the resin struts that supported the Queen snapped. As the Praetorians lunged forward to attack the Hunters, the Queen of the Raphael flexed her muscles.
With a screech that shook the ancient metal of the ship, She charged. Spiketail leapt to the side, and only just avoided the huge tail stinger that flashed towards her.
The Queen swiped with her claws, ripping chunks out of the ground as Spiketail dodged again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Hunters spinning their spears, desperately fending off the Praetorians without being able to counterattack.
Again the Queen lunged with terrifying speed for so large a creature. Inner jaws flew, taking a chunk out of Spiketail's side.
The Queen abruptly paused. ¬Did you really think that you could face me in combat and survive, let alone win? You've not even struck back yet.¬
A screech ripped through the air as a Praetorian was speared by one of the Hunters. It fell, thrashing, before falling still.
As though in slow motion, the Queen turned to see the battle.
Queen's can't see straight backwards. And Spiketail was now in Her blind spot.
She leapt, claws flashing. Even with surprise, she almost missed as the Queen leapt away, realising Her mistake.
The Queen screeched, more in anger than pain, as Spiketail ripped into Her back. The massive tail snapped forwards, almost impaling the drone, but Spiketail dodged.
The Queen back away, slamming into a wall, and Spiketail was forced to leap off to avoid being squashed.
¬Nice move,¬ she snarled. ¬But you won't get another opening like that.¬
For the first time since Haines had injected her with the retrovirus, Spiketail felt fear. She had attacked with all her strength, and yet her opponent had only been infuriated further.
Othar'a gave a yell of triumph as she lunged, sending her combistick straight through the Praetorian's throat. With a twisting wrench, she neatly decapitated the creature.
The last remaining Praetorian hissed, and slowly backed off. Its attention switch cost the creature its life, as Kal'Arak'e spun the ki-its pa and neatly threw it, skewering the monster and pinning it to the hive walls. It gave one final wail of pain, and then fell limp.
The two Predators turned to face the other battle scene. Both combatants were bloody, but had escaped any serious injury.
With a screech that was almost tangible, the Queen charged at the drone. It moved to avoid the behemoth, but was a shade too slow. The blow sent the Alien flying, and it slammed into the wall of the Hive.
"Sister, the thing is distracted. No Yautja was ever called syuit-de for backing down from a kainde Queen. We have our trophies, let's go!"
Othar'a clicked sadly. "Go if you want. That drone will die if we don't intervene."
"Are you l'ulij-bpe? Not even an Elder dares face a matriarch with only ki-its pa! Come on!"
With a roar of challenge, Othar'a charged, and threw the combistick. It was a perfect shot, going straight through the creature's right leg.
It crashed to the ground with a hiss of pain, but got up almost instantly. With a sharp jerk, it yanked out the weapon and snapped it. Acid dripped to the floor, and hissed as it found a patch of bare metal.
The monster just looked at the Predator, not even hissing. Othar'a extended her wristblades to their full length, and heard Kal'Arak'e do the same next to her.
"You stayed, then," she commented.
"The Elder will never believe us if we survive this," he replied. "Time to squash this oversized zabin."
The drone hissed, and moved away to the Queen's left side. Realising the wisdom of the move, Othar'a moved to the creature's right side.
With a roar of challenge, the Queen charged Kal'Arak'e. Both Othar'a and the drone leapt for the monster's back at the same time, and stabbed deep. Acid bubbled from the wounds, and the matriarch screeched in fury. The tail whipped back and forth, knocking into them, but they clung on like grim death.
Kal'Arak'e charged, avoiding the flailing of the creature, and tossed his recovered ki-its pa to Othar'a. "The neck! Go for the neck!"
The Queen reared up, and lunged for the only opponent within her reach – Kal'Arak'e. As Othar'a hacked down with the combistick, the Queen of the Raphael spat.
The strike ripped through the matriarch's neck, cleaving the head off completely. With a strange slowness, the body crumpled.
Kal'Arak'e screamed. The acid spittle had burnt through the armour on his arm. Othar'a ran to him, and yanked off the armour, but the damage was done.
"Looks like we got that honourable trophy," he said softly. "I hope I'm there to see the Elder's face…" He fell limp, unconscious.
Othar'a stared at the limp body. "No… come on, brother. It wasn't that bad, surely…"
She sensed a presence next to her, and looked up to see the drone. "Back!" she snarled, and waved the wristblades at the Alien.
Spiketail sighed. It had obviously been too much to hope for that these 'Hunters' as the Queen had called them, would trust her.
A noise that would have been too faint for anything but an Alien to hear reached her, and she spun to see Shadow.
>You're here! I was worried that you might have…> She stopped, remembering her demand of him.
>Let's just leave it at you're happy to see me, and forget the Alien-or-human thing for the moment, shall we? I was worried about you too, Spike. When you said you were going to take on a Queen… I see you've made some friends.>
The uninjured Hunter looked up again, and said something defensive.
>If only we could understand them! Make them understand we want to help…> said Spiketail sadly.
>You've changed your tune a bit,> commented Shadow. > What happened to 'can we kill them now'?>
>Got left behind when they stayed to help me kill the Queen when they could have run for it. Come on Shadow, you're better at this than I am. Help me help them. I owe them that at least.>
>Maybe if I could get closer, I could link with them…>
Othar'a sensed something approaching, and leapt to her feet, combistick at the ready. "Get back, I –" She stopped, realising with horror that another drone had arrived and was approaching.
The newcomer bowed its head, and generally tried to look unthreatening. She hesitated, and then lowered the ki-its pa. She tensed as it returned to normal, but didn't react.
With crude gestures, it got across an idea of communicating. And a need to be close to be able to do so.
The final gesture was something about standing up… with a rush, she realised that it was talking about Kal'Arak'e. If they could help him somehow…
In a move that went against every instinct that she had, she moved towards the drone until they were face to face. She felt a faint pressure, similar to that of being in a hive with a Queen, but nothing more.
With a rapid movement, the drone's hands snapped out, and grasped her head. She struggled for a moment, as the creature drew her head towards its crest.
The two heads made contact, and everything went black.
Phew! My most prolific chapter yet. Hope you like…