Yay, a network I can plug my laptop into!
Merry Christmas everyone.

Demon Stars Revival: danke : )

Greenleaf7: hope you have a good trip : ) and I've put the urls for those pics up on my bio page like you said to, thanks for telling me how to do it.

Enjoy the new chapter, the doodles on my bio page and have a good holiday : D

A flood of sensations bombarded the young chestbuster as it took in its first frantic breath. Scents and sounds formed patterns and images in its mind, creating a swirling, ever changing view of its surroundings. It could feel the heat of its host's body, keeping its coils warm as it swayed to and fro, mouth agape, drifting in the new feelings. It stretched and twitched its four stubby mandibles awkwardly, unused to using the tiny structures.
It was then abruptly jolted out of its post emergence trance by the return of the near crippling need for food. It cried out, its voice rising high and wobbly to echo around the tunnel. Its Queen was near, it could feel her, yet she had not welcomed her child into the world. It could feel waves of terror and revulsion coming from her, frightening the hatchling, where they being attacked? It may have been only a few minutes out of the dormant, parasitic part of its life cycle yet the fear its Queen was emitting triggered reflexes inside it as old as the species itself.
It writhed its long body until it was free of its host and dropped to the grid floor. The hunger pangs suppressed for the moment by its need to protect its Queen, it slithered over the surface, towards the source of the scared signals.

Joanne and Kelly didn't dare to move as the worm freed itself and began to approach. Kelly pulled at Joanne's sleeve, trying to get her attention.

"Joanne, you've got a hold on it, right? Its not gonna eat us or anything?"

Joanne continued staring at the strange, blood covered creature making its way towards them, eyes distant. It reached their feet and reared up, making fast clicking noises.

"Joanne…"

Suddenly the creature hissed and lunged at Kelly, snapping furiously. Without thinking Joanne grabbed the worm, pulling it away from Kelly.

"No! Leave her alone!" Joanne said out loud, holding the worm so that its head was turned to her.

"Joanne! Am I gonna shoot this thing right here, right now?" Kelly said, levelling the gun at the worm, breaths coming fast after the shock of the lunge, "can we use it?"

"Yes," Joanne blurted out, "Its just, confused…"

The worm's coils where hanging limp from Joanne's grasp, the head turned towards her even though it had no eyes that she could see. Close to she could see faint veins throbbing under its thin, translucent skin, while the top of its 'head' was covered with a hard pale substance, scratched in places and splattered with vivid green from its violent emergence. It had small, silvery nubs growing from underneath the 'cap' on the top of its head, which looked very out of place on the creamy coloured being. It also had many small, but sharp looking teeth, surrounded by four stumpy mandibles, which it was waving gently as it studied Joanne.
A low hissing sound began buzzing round the tunnel and Joanne looked alarmed for a minute,

"No!" She said, letting go of the worm, "I am, I…" Joanne suddenly stopped talking and determination flashed across her features. Kelly felt a ripple pulse through her as Joanne glared at the creature focusing full on it, while it reared up again with its small jaws wide in a snarl. For a moment they stared at each other, and then the worm, making upset, cringing noises, put its head to the floor.

"It's ok Kelly. I've got it now." Joanne said, looking at the other girl for the first time in a long time.

"So what's the deal, it just escape your control for a bit back there?" Kelly said, not lowering the gun.

"No, its more like, erm, ugh it's hard to explain… Look I can't control this thing, but I don't have to."

"You are making no sense Joanne" Kelly said, holding her aim steady.

"I told you before, it wants to be told what to do, its waiting for orders! I guess these things must live in groups, and that's why it was sending out that little mental signal I picked up on. It was trying to contact its family or its pack or something. But I stepped in before they did, so now it takes orders from me. But…"

"But what?" Kelly said.

"But I don't look or smell anything like one of those things." Joanne continued. "And that's alright because the strength of my mental link with it sorta overrides it. But when I picked it up it almost went into shock, I think it was the touch that did it more than anything. I don't physically feel like the one it's meant to be taking orders from, and that along with all the other stuff made it fight my link with it." Joanne sighed, looking back at the grovelling alien. "But its ok now. I convinced it."

"How? And will it happen again?"

"As long as I don't touch it, or go too near it, I think we'll be ok. And convincing it was no problem once I realised it's just an infant. You ever babysat some unruly kids? All they need is for you to be firm and not give into them and they'll soon quieten down. Bizarrely it's the same with this thing."

Kelly eyed to worm critically. "Is it going to be any actual help do you think? A worm isn't exactly the protector I had in mind."

"I don't know." Joanne said quietly, "but it's really hungry, and there's only one reason things eat loads having come out of a larvae stage, and that's to grow."

"Maybe you where right all along, maybe this isn't such a good idea…"

"But we've come this far Kelly! We might as well see if it can be useful."

A long creedling sound came from the worm as it turned its head upwards a little towards Joanne. She nodded and the creature turned, making its way to one of the many black furry bodies that where in the tunnel.

"I can't believe how many different emotions it has." Joanne said, eyes following the worm's progress. "that alone says it won't stay a little worm for very long, only more complex creatures need such an advanced brain."

"Maybe alien worms are different." Kelly said, having finally lowered the gun as the creature had slithered off.

"But think about it! Worms just need to know how to eat and move and, and simple stuff like that. Why would worms need to say sorry or ask for permission to feed, like it did just now?"

"That's what it was doing?"

"It'll become something better Kelly, just wait." Joanne said, sending out her mind through the corridors around them. "Besides there's still no one else around, so we're pretty safe here."

"Alright." Kelly said, coming back over to where Joanne sat. "How long do you think we'll have to wait?"

Joanne looked back at the worm, which was swallowing a strip of flesh it had pulled off in a series of snapping head movements. "I dunno. Just until it moults or pupates or whatever it's species do."

Bite. Tear. Swallow.
The chestbuster thought of little else as it frantically bolted down chunks and strips of flesh.
The need to eat filled it.
It was content, its still young mind happy in the simple actions that feeding required, forgetting the terrible doubt that had assailed it moments before. Its mental bond waxed strong and true in its head, overriding its olfactory sensors which were trying to tell it something was very wrong. It played over the dying memory as it fed, before it faded beyond recognition…

It had been so confused, either of the two creatures not what it had been expecting in a Queen. Yet its need to protect the one it was bonded to had led it to attack the other, similar creature. And it had been stopped by the one it was trying to serve, but in that moment of contact it froze, unable to simply trust its mind link with her anymore…
She was so wrong!
Her hands had been harsh and dry, their roughness stinging against its thin, delicate skin. Her alien smell had filled its world, and the sounds she made where unrecognisable to the young creature. It hissed with surprise and distaste.
Then it was dropped, and her outlandish scent and touch was gone, her presence filling its mind, commanding and powerful.
Doubt was washed away in its mind, the stressful events being cleansed from it. Grovelling beneath her it begged pardon, of course she was its Queen, what else could she be? Seeming satisfied she withdrew her imposing presence, and began chattering with the other creature.
After a short while it asked permission to feed, it was still ravenous having not fed all the while inside its host, and she consented, which led it to the present…

Then the memory was gone, its long term memory having not developed enough to remember the events.
And now it was at ease as it fed, knowing it was safe in its Queen's presence.