Chapter 41: Love, Death and Robots.
Breaching charges had been set at entry points all around the compound, on their Grand Patriach's command everyone hit their detonators, "Clan Mason open up!" Remal yelled as the charges on the main blast doors blew creating a circular hole pattern in the centre of the door which was way too big to breach with anything less than a ship-mounted railgun.
He'd always wanted to use that phrase since he'd seen something similar on a TV show he'd used to watch in his off hours back on the homeworld about a genius crime-fighting detective male who with the support of his kick tail guard pride would solve crimes and rescue people in need in their city, it was silly he knew but it was something that had always helped him get through his lonely hours and now here he was a tail kicking Seeker of Truth kicking doors and helping people himself, funny how things work out.
"Hit it now my beauty queen!" King Yoshi yelled from inside his powered armoured suit which made his voice sound somewhat mechanical through the exterior speakers.
The giant Xeno queen bellowed a screech and charged full tilt at the weakened door with her head down like a living bulldozer, smashing dead centre into the circle which caused the metal to simply give way and crash inwards as the enraged Xeno punched clean through the weakened circle.
No sooner had queen Citrus punched clean through the door than Remal and his team rushed through the breach with king Yoshi in tow, each of them had their weapons in the shoulder and their blades in easy reach.
King Yoshi looked like a walking tank inside his mech style battle suit, weapons were hanging off it all over the place each of the shoulders mounted gimbals spinning around to seek targets as his head panned back and forth.
They'd breached into what appeared to be a combination of a hanger and a loading dock with crates, equipment and vehicles taking up pretty much all of the vast available space.
"Watch the catwalks!" Remal yelled as he saw the four tiers above them identifiable by the yellow metal railings that stood out against the dark metal walls, the Seekers covered their arcs of fire as they moved and formed up on queen Citrus who now stood in the centre of the room on her rear legs looking every bit the fearsome and regal queen that she was, her golden plated head crest shining under the bright artificial lights that shone down from the ceiling.
Remal instantly heard the blaring of alarm klaxons all around them, "All personnel to the shelters, the facility has been breached by hostile forces unknown, all combat teams and synths to the surface access immediately, extermination teams to the subject containment, I want a facility-wide lockdown and purge immediately!" a shrill female voice screamed through the speakers in the human language of English.
"We must get to this subject containment immediately! I will not allow them to harm our beloved daughter!" Yoshi yelled over the din of the klaxons.
Citrus nodded her huge head in agreement, "There are more here, I feel them, it feels like a hive in here, so many voices calling out in the dark begging to be saved and what feels like...a queen! There's another queen here!" Citrus exclaimed.
"A queen? Are you sure my love?" Yoshi exclaimed and Citrus nodded.
"We have to move quickly! They have a captive hive here and they are going to kill them rather than let us get to them!" Citrus exclaimed.
But before they had a chance to advance further a pair of elevator doors at the rear of the large room opened and unleashed eight what appeared to be humans dressed in white, grey and black combat suits out into the room.
Remal could instantly tell that there was something wrong with these humans, it was like they were there and not there at the same time, as his eyes could see them but his mind could not feel them like they were simply a hole in his senses, plus even at this distance, he could see there was something wrong with their faces, they were pale white-grey in colour and their eyes were simply white.
"Protect the king and queen!" Remal yelled and the four Seekers dashed forwards towards the advancing enemy who rather than seek cover from their advancing enemy who was now pouring into the breach simply charged right at them firing.
They seemed to be using some kind of projectile weapons that Remal could see ripping past him as he ran, he was ducking and weaving between the shots but his first observation was that these odd humans were a lot faster than the normal ones he was used to and more than one shot managed to clip his shielding as he dashed forwards, their reflexes were far sharper than normal.
As Remal drew close to the nearest one to him he got a far better look at his opponent and he swiftly realised this was no ordinary human, it was merely made to look human, but it appeared to be some kind of robot, instead of skin its face which was that of a human male was covered in what appeared to be some kind of silicone polymer, there were also blatant join lines and seams where pieces of its head had simply been snapped on to other parts, it was freaky.
The artificial human turned and with utterly lifeless eyes fired its weapon at Remal who thanks to his Dream Warrior reflexes was able to dodge out of its way before firing his own weapon in return, his weapon was a scaled-down version of the standard Clan Mason assault rifle which used both plasma and Railgun slugs to do an incredible amount of damage in a compact form, Remal's version was more like a submachine gun than a rifle but that didn't mean it was inferior, just much more suited for close up work.
He currently had it in plasma mode and the weapon made a series of high pitched pop noises as it fired sending a stream of small plasma shots right into the chest of the odd faux human-robot, the superheated plasma burned right through it leaving large melted holes spewing smoke out of both sides in their wake, it looked like he'd shot a waxwork of some kind the way it melted and thick white liquid poured from the wounds.
The faux human began to shake and make a high pitched noise that sounded like it was talking in high-speed gibberish, that's when Remal noticed the electricity arcing all around it and his suit sensors went crazy.
"It's going to blow!" he yelled diving backwards from the robot a mere second before it detonated and showered its comrades in molten plastic and shrapnel, they didn't even flinch, simply kept moving forwards firing at the fast-moving Seekers who all dodged and weaved between their shots.
A sudden screech to his right made Remal turn just in time to see queen Citrus grab one of the faux humans in her large hands and tear it in half before throwing both halves to the floor in disgust, to both their amazements the robot didn't seem to care it simply raised its rifle and continued firing at her sending a continual stream of metal into her shielding.
Citrus responded by raising her huge foot and stamping on the droid like it was a bug, squashing it flat with a burst of white goo spurting out from under massive foot, she made a disgusted noise before hopping over to a nearby vehicle and using it to scrape the mess from under her foot like she was scraping fire tiger shit off her shoe.
The other Seekers finished off the synthetic humans that had come out of the large elevator cab and Remal could see that all around the hanger it was much the same story, other synths had come out both on the ground level and the higher ones and were shooting down onto the invading Clan members but they hadn't reckoned on both the Seekers and Hunters being able to both run up walls and leap huge heights in the form of the Yautja Hunters.
"Everyone into the elevator! We're going down to the subject containment level!" Yoshi yelled and he charged into the large elevator cab followed by his queen who to Remal's utter amazement managed to compress herself enough to be able to fit along with the additional Seekers.
Yoshi tried the lift controls and when they didn't respond to him he tore the control panel cover off and began bypassing it with the fluid speed of a highly skilled engineer, pulling wires and splicing into them to override the controls and sending their lift down into the depths of the facility.
As a Dream Warrior Remal was attuned to psychic frequencies used by Xenos to communicate, before the invention of the voice modulators he'd heard that all Clan members were required to receive the kiss of one of the queens in order to get a dose of royal jelly which would enable them to be part of the hive, though apparently the Battle Angels under queen Zara had found a process by which to extract the royal jelly from the queen and administer it to anyone who wished it or was dating a Xeno and he figured that it was probably a great relief to the kings not to have their queen having to kiss so many strangers.
As they began to descend Remal's senses lit up like a freedom day tree revealing to him just how many captive Xenos were down here, he could feel them as well as hear them and what he felt brought pure grief to his young heart.
They were scared, terrified in fact, from the huge jumble of emotions and thoughts that he found himself swimming in like an ocean he could garner they were locked in cages of some kind and that the synthetic humans were going from cage to cage exterminating their beloved brothers and sisters right before their eyes.
He turned to look at Citrus who was looking directly down at him, "You feel it too don't you little one?' she asked with pure anger and grief flooding her regal voice.
"So much pain, so much fear, it's like an ocean of terror" he exclaimed feeling one of the other Seekers place a hand on his shoulder as he hung his head.
"These fucking cowards are exterminating these poor children like they are animals! Slaughtering them in cold blood!" Citrus spat in pure anger and hate.
"I swear this to you noble queen if they have harmed your beloved daughter and our beloved sister in any way they will pay in more than just blood!" Remal snarled in pure anger at the senseless cold-blooded murder of these innocent beings.
The mighty queen placed a large hand on his small back utterly covering his entire back with the size of it, "Well said little one, well said, this Clan is more than just a collection of races working together for mutual benefit, it is a family, a perfect giant hive and we all have our place in it, together we are strong because we know that no matter what our hive will come for us, bleed for us and save us no matter what, today we will not only save my beloved daughter but show these other poor innocent Xenos the power of a truly unified hive, through our actions, we will show them what good looks like because they have already seen evil" she snarled and Remal nodded rolling his shoulders and clutching at his weapon.
Suddenly the doors pinged open to reveal a narrow corridor that Remal and the others knew Citrus was going to have a few problems moving down, "Go! I will protect my queen, stop those murders from killing any more innocent Xenos!" King Yoshi yelled as Citrus dropped to all fours and threaded herself out of the elevator cab.
Remal looked at his fellow Seekers and in unison, the four nodded before speeding off down the corridor as fast as their legs could carry them.
As they ran Remal had to force himself not to look into the small cube-like cells that had already been opened because inside it looked like the helpless captive Xenos within had been sprayed with some kind of flame weapon which had burnt them to death all while trapped with no escape within the glass walls, their chard and smoking bodies twisted and petrified into poses of agony in their final moments.
It filled Remal's heart with pure rage and disgust, how any sentient being could do this to another was utterly beyond him, were they bereft of mercy, of empathy?
Could they not see the pain and fear that they caused these poor creatures?
Whatever the answer maybe he silently swore to the Great Tree that he would be his instrument of justice for this unforgivable act, in the name of the Great Tree and the Eternal Huntress he would put down the animals who wore human skin who would do such things to their fellow sentients and it was a promise that he felt echo through the hearts and minds of his fellow Seekers who ran alongside him, one of which was human.
A loud screeching noise ahead of them caught their attention and the Seekers turned the corner to find a team of four synthetic humans all dressed in a form of heavy armour with large silver tanks upon their backs and large tubular weapons that were leaking flames ahead of them, they were just about to open the first cage in the second row of cells having already burned what had to be at least twenty or more innocent Xenos alive in the first row.
"Not one more innocent life lost!" Xtam bellowed making the four synthetics stop and turn to look at the four oddly matched armoured soldiers that now faced them down, the Seekers didn't even hesitate they charged them.
"Watch the flames!" Remal yelled as he ran shooting at the synthetics which happened to be moving in slow motion as the Seekers hit tp speed to prevent them from creating a wall of flames in the narrow corridor, now Seeker armour was flameproof and resistant to incredibly high temperatures as it had to be able to pass through the atmosphere of a planet on reentry but none of them fancied being lit on fire funnily enough.
A point that was further hammered home as Remal used one of his daggers to slice through the fuel line after ducking under the synthetic's large weapon, this caused a jet of the thick viscous looking liquid it was being fed with to spurt out as the hose danced about like a snake with its head cut off doing into death throes.
It also had the side effect of igniting the whole synthetic human on fire utterly engulfing him in a pillar of golden flame, "It's going to blow!" Xtam yelled and the four Seeker instantly turned on their heels and retreated as the tank exploded behind them sending a ball of flames washing down the corridor after them that broke on the wall of the corner like a wave against the shore.
When the four Seekers popped their heads back around the corner again the four synthetics were nothing more than a few burning artificial limbs and melting parts, it seemed Remal had taken the four of them out with a single knife slice.
"Nice work little brother! That will show those Xeno murdering fucks!" Micheal yelled slapping the little Raptorian firmly on the back as they stared at the black, scorched area where the four synths had once been.
Remal smiled up at his fellow Seeker through his helmet, he was indeed proud that he managed to stop these synthetic bastards from murdering any more innocents, he imagined this is what the detective male Raptorian and his beloved crime-fighting guard pride must have felt like when they put a stop to yet another dastardly plot to either kidnap innocent males from the loving arms of their prides or unleash deadly mimics into tower homes in order to make the prides sell their homes at incredibly cheap rates because they were not safe for their beloved pride to live in.
Suddenly Citrus and Yoshi appeared next to them and looked at the scene before them, "Good work Seekers, you have saved many innocent lives here, but there is more work to be done! We must find our beloved daughter, I can feel her, she is close and she still lives and fights to stay that way, we must reach her, come let us go, the Battle Angels will free and tend to these poor innocent souls" queen Citrus hissed.
Remal thumbed his comms, "Blue three to any Battle Angel call sign have located captive Xenos, repeat have located captive Xenos, they require immediate emergency extraction, possible multiple injuries, over" Remal said.
"This is Angel four we have your current coordinates locked in Blue three, hold fast the Angels are coming!" a distinctly male Xeno voice modulator replied.
"Negative Angel Four Blue team is tasked with escorting and protecting Blue King and Blue Queen, we are proceeding deeper into the facility to rescue Xipa Longclaw" Remal replied as the team began to head down the corridor past all the cages that had Xenos pressing themselves against the glass trying desperately to reach out the queen that was right in front of them in hope that she would release them and take them to safety or help them rescue their own beloved queen.
"Roger that Blue three message received may the Great Huntress bless your hunt for our beloved sister and may the Great Tree's mighty branches shield you till you reach her, Angel four over and out" the male Xeno said.
"Angels are coming for the captive Xenos" Remal reported and Citrus nodded her huge head.
"Worry not innocent ones, soon you will be free and we will return you to the arms of your beloved queen and her to your loving arms, this I swear to you on my own hive," Citrus said using her telepathic voice to reach al of the captive Xenos, suddenly the sound of running boots up ahead reach all of their ears.
"But first we have murdering pauks to slaughter" Citrus snarled as Yoshi stepped forwards and locked all of his mighty weapons onto the bend ahead of them.
"Amen to that my beauty queen" he snarled.
As the synthetics reached the corner Yoshi and Citrus opened fire, Yoshi with his plethora of heavy armaments and Citrus with the turret on her back, the synths never even knew what hit them they simply splattered like balloons filled with white paint under the incredible barrage, though some of them did manage to retreat behind the bend to return fire.
Much to Remal's surprise the blind fire from the oddly shaped weapons that they fired from the hip seemed to be just as accurate as if they were standing and firing directly at them, projectiles were still pinging off both Yoshi and Citrus's shielding despite the synths not being able to see them.
"On me Seekers!" Xtam yelled and rushed forwards with the rest of the Blue team following him, the four Seekers ran down the corridor so fast that they were forced to use the wall to make the turn, running up it across the ceiling and down the other side flipping over and landing right behind the synths.
Remal had to drop his top half forwards and flip his tail up in the air to act as an air brake while his legs spread and his claws dug in to shed his momentum quickly, he'd been told more than once while practising this trick in the temple that he looked surprisingly sexy while sliding backwards with his tail in the air and his legs spread apart like that.
But the synths really didn't seem to appreciate the provocative pose that the young Seeker adapted to shed his velocity as they tried to turn around to fire at him, Remal dug his claws into the metal of the floor and compressing the powerful muscles of his thick muscular thighs launched himself forwards through the air like a living missile drawing both of his daggers as he spun like a corkscrew.
The razor-sharp blades crippled limbs easily, severing control lines and what must be either hydraulic or coolant lines which sent white fluid spurting from the deep cuts, but the synths never batted an eyelid, they simply adapted to the loss by using their other still working limb to try and grab him, but for Remal being short here was really an advantage because as the synths lunged forwards to try and grab him, he simply kicked off the wall behind him and dove forwards rolling into a knee slide that took him right through two sets of open legs, slicing the knees as he did.
The crippled synths fell forwards and Remal quickly turns and took out their one remaining limb basically crippling them and rendering them helpless, he stood and glanced to see the rest of his team finishing the others off, one of which was just learning the hard way why its a very bad idea to shoot at a Yautja if you are not sure of a clean kill shot because as he fired at Xtam the massive Yautja simply turned and tore the synths head clean from its shoulders before turning and pitching it like a baseball right into the side of another's head knocking it off its feet.
"We taking prisoners my queen?" Remal respectfully asked pointing to his two crippled synths who were flopping about on the floor helplessly without any working limbs to follow the commands of their still functioning brains.
Citrus snarled and went to lift her foot to stamp down on the pair till Yoshi stepped forwards and held her, "Not so fast my beauty queen, I've never seen synthetics like this before, it might be worth taking a still functioning specimen back to the hive for study, would let us know what we're up against and develop effective countermeasures for future engagements" he said.
Citrus let out a low hiss but then nodded her large crested head, "Seeker Remal tell the Angels to pick up these two 'prisoners' for return to my hive" she said and Remal nodded and did as she bid of him.
The large queen lifted her crested head suddenly and began to look around, there was a distinct worry and agitation to her movements, "What's wrong my beauty queen?" Yoshi asked quickly.
"Our daughter, she is close and I sense fear and anger, she is in immediate danger! We must go! Quickly this way!" she screeched and with that, the team took off down the corridor following the running Xeno queen.
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Xipa whipped her tail sending the speared synthetic soldier barreling into four of his companions scattering them like walking talking bowling pins, in her hands, she held the large odd-looking weapon that she'd snatched from his hands and also the odd-looking eyepiece that seemed to be wired into it, it wasn't exactly made for a Xeno but she was sure she could give it to Paul, so before the synths were able to recover she vanished back into the maze of crates back to where her new friends were hiding.
"Here take this," she said holding out the large gun and headset to the newly awaken Paul who was currently crouched cowering in fear behind a crate.
"A smartgun? But I've never fired a weapon in my life, I'm a scientist, not a soldier" he said pitifully.
"Not going to be a better time to learn, we need every advantage we can get, we just need to hold out until my Clan get here," she said pressing the large heavy weapon into his hand watching him sag under its weight.
Paul looked like he was about to argue until a large crested head appeared next to his and issued a low hiss noise which shut him up right quick, funnily enough not many people want to argue with a rather annoyed Xeno queen, something bout it being bad for your health and all that.
So as Paul wrestled with the large weapon and placed the headset on Xipa turned and peered out between the crates, the synthetics were doing a grid search of the room moving in teams of four to try and flush them out of hiding, between them she and the queen had taken down two teams already ambushing them, but as soon as their comrades found the bodies they simply called for more and now there were even more heavily armed variants walking around.
"Huh ok, it looks like this gun actually self targets things, no wonder they call it a Smartgun," Paul said suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Xipa asked turning her long domed head to look at him.
"Well when I look at you guys through the visor a red box appears around you and I can feel the gun tugging at my hands slightly like it's trying to adjust its aim to compensate," he said.
"You had best not point that human toy anywhere near me human or I will tear it from your grasp and if you are lucky I may let you let go first" the queen hissed darkly making Paul swallow hard.
"G-Got it," he said in a soft squeak like voice.
Suddenly a group of synths appeared behind them and just by sheer dumb luck Paul happened to be looking the right way, the moment they appeared his gun lit them up in red and adjusted his aim, he pulled the trigger simply out of reflex.
The noise of the huge automatic weapon firing in this kind of close confine was deafening but the gun certainly did its job, it was adjusting constantly while Paul held down the trigger more out of fear than any form of control, if the gun hadn't been doing the aiming he'd have just been firing it in a straight line right into the boxes and crates, but sheer dumb luck allowed him to utterly shred the synths before they got chance to get a single shot off.
"Holy shit! Nice job Paul!" Xipa said as she looked at the shredded and sparking synthetics, Paul looked utterly confused as Xipa pulled yet another Smartgun from the pile and pulled the headset off them placing it on her own domed head with some work.
"Ok, we gotta move!" Xipa exclaimed pointing with her large gun barrel deeper into the maze of shelves, quickly the group turned and ran just as the gunfire started to rain down on their position, the queen snarled and yelped in pain a moment later and both Paul and Xipa turned to see her clutching her left arm.
Green acidic blood was leaking from between her fingers, "It's nothing just a flesh wound let us go!" the queen snapped angrily as both went to her aid though Paul was not getting anywhere near the acid.
They drove further in but as they suddenly hit the back wall Xipa realised they made a rather fatal error here, there were no doors on this side of the room, no escape and now the synths had a trail to follow right to them, they were trapped like rats in a cage.
"This is it guys, last stand time they are all around us, I-I'm sorry I failed you both" Xipa said lowering her head in guilt.
The big queen placed her large hand on Xipa's shoulder, "Do not be sorry little one, you have done more for me in these last hours than any have ever done for me, if we are to die here then so be it, I will go down fighting as a free Xeno as I know you will, the only question remains is whether this young human will join us, or will he surrender to them in hope of leniency?" the queen said turning her large crested head to look at the very scared looking Paul.
"There will be no leniency for me, not from them to them I am a traitor, I let you out and that means they will exterminate me just as readily as they will you, I don't want to fight I am not a soldier, I'm not made for this, but I have no choice and I would rather go down fighting and at least have one person have positive memories of me and my actions rather than be looked at as a thing of utter contempt by everyone, so yes I'll fight with you, its the right thing to do, just don't expect me to be any good at it," he said.
This genuinely seemed to surprise the queen and she placed a now acid-free hand on his shoulder, "It seems Xipa was indeed right about you little one, you do have a good heart, so then let us stand together come what may" she said.
The three very mismatched comrades turned and stood back to back each of them facing a different direction bracing themselves as they heard the footsteps getting closer and closer through the shelves, Xipa could feel her heart hammering in her chest getting stronger and faster with every footstep she heard.
Suddenly out of nowhere, there was a bellowing screech from the far side of the room, a screech that sounded almost familiar somehow.
That's when it hit her like a hard slap because she had been hooked into the telepathic network of the queen she'd been helping she had failed to notice the presence of another here, but now as the screech was echoing from the metallic wall around her Xipa felt her presence bursting into both her mind and her heart.
"M-Mom?" Xipa stammered in utter disbelief.
Suddenly the whole room lit up like a fireworks display was happening in every single row and from where they were not one of them could see a damn thing except flashes of light from the near continual automatic gunfire between the shelves, well that and body parts flying up into the air here and there.
"What the hell is happening!?" Paul exclaimed in fear clutching at his gun and swinging it back and forth trying to find something to shoot at.
"I-I-I think my mother is here a-a-and if she's here t-t-that means..." Xipa began to stammer until the realisation hit her like a slap.
"The Clan is here! The Clan is here! They found me! We're saved!' Xipa screeched happily as joy as she had never known found her heart, unfortunately, her screeching also allowed something else to find them.
No sooner had Xipa started yelling and jumping about four large synthetics rounded the corner holding what appeared to be smartguns just like they were using and with their inhuman reflex times neither Xipa nor Paul had time to raise their own weapons to defend themselves, "Oh no" Xipa just had time to say before they began firing.
From out of no-where a little ball of blue like streaked past them and put itself between the small group and the synthetics, it was bouncing around in the gap like a pinball dosed up with speed and playing a game of the floor is lava on a fucking trampoline, Xipa's mouth just had time to drop open and her brain to realise it was somehow stopping the bullets reaching them before a second far larger one streaked past with what sounded like a bellowing Yautja roar travelling in its wake.
The larger streak vaulted over the smaller one and landed in the middle of the synthetics, before they even had the chance to react it grabbed the nearest synth and began to use it as a club to hit the others, in such tight confines it scattered them with a single swing.
No sooner had it done this than the much smaller blur moved and landed on top of the nearest synth where it morphed into what appeared to be an armoured Raptorian for a moment tearing the synths head to shreds with its armoured foot claws before kicking off it and heading to the next.
In less time than it took than Paul to yell "What the fuck!?" the synths were utterly destroyed and the two blue blurs stopped moving morphing back into their normal shapes revealing one armoured Raptorian and one armoured Yautja both wearing the deep rich blue armour of the Seekers of Truth.
Xipa utterly collapsed as a sense of pure joy and utter relief washed through her, in less time than it took for her legs to give way and her to sink to the floor the Yautja appeared at her side and quickly caught her scooping her up off her feet, "This is Blue one to all call signs we have Xipa we have Xipa, our sister is safe and sound" the large Yautja male said in a deep gravelly voice that sent a shiver of very pleasant tingles shooting down Xipa's spine to the very tip of her tail.
Suddenly the large queen began to move forwards, "Unhand her hunter or I will make you regret it! She may not be born of my hive but I will defend her!" she snarled angrily.
Suddenly the little Raptorian appeared out of nowhere directly in front of the angry queen and held its hands out to the sides, "Fear not noble queen we mean Xipa no harm, she is our beloved sister and we are here to save her, not to harm her" it said in what Xipa recognised as a masculine voice, the Raptorian males had much higher voices than their female counterparts but this little revelation shocked her more than she realised, she never knew that the Seekers had male Raptorians among their number.
The queen stopped dead and looked down in utter shock and surprise at the little creature that stood boldly before her with his arms spread wide to stop her advance, "You are from her hive? From her Clan?' the queen asked cocking her head to one side curiously.
"That's right noble queen, we are Seekers of Truth from Clan Mason here to rescue our beloved sister and those she defends, right now at this very moment our Clan are fighting upstairs to free what I assume are your children from their confines after these vile synthetic bastards tried to eliminate them like the true cowards they are," the little Raptorian said.
Suddenly the queen's tail swished and she looked upwards, "My children! Tell me Seeker are they safe!? Are they unharmed!? Tell me!" she shrieked.
The little Raptorian hung his head in what might have been shame, "The vile cowards had already started killing when we arrived, we stopped them but we were too late to save some from their cowardly actions but I swear this to you noble queen what has been done to those innocent souls here today and in days past will not be forgotten by Clan Mason and I swear this to you we will make them pay double for every innocent life they have harmed or taken, I give you my word as a Seeker" he said.
The queen snarled angrily and then punched her huge fist into a metal support beam making a huge fist-shaped dent in it, "Cowards! Murdering cowards!" she screamed her voice laden with grief and anger as she scanned the minds of her children in an attempt to see who's voices she could no longer hear.
Suddenly out of nowhere another huge shape rounded the corner and to Xipa's surprise and true delight she came face to face with her mother.
"M-Mom!?" Xipa exclaimed jumping down from the protective arms of the Seeker that held her and running as quickly as her wounded body would allow into the four-armed grasp of her beloved queen.
"Oh, my beloved little one! It is so good to see you and hold you again" Citrus purred softly nuzzling her head against her beloved hatchings head.
"Alright, rooms secure we're...Xipa!" another very familiar voice exclaimed and Xipa's head popped up to see what appeared to be a human-shaped mech standing between the shelves.
"F-Father!? You are here too!?" Xipa exclaimed.
Suddenly the mech opened and her beloved father stepped out of the armoured suit rushing forwards to throw his arms around Xipa trapping her in a three-way hug, "Oh my beloved daughter it brings my heart such relief and joy to see you alive" he said hugging both her and Citrus at the same time.
"I-I-I can't believe you came here too!" Xipa exclaimed in confusion.
"Well, you didn't believe that I'd let your mother go running off on a Dark Star call without me now, did you? Who knows what sort of trouble she'd get up to" king Yoshi said playfully as he stroked his beloved daughters domed head.
Citrus gave her king a playful flick with her tail and she grinned up at her, "Thank you both so so much, you came for me, you really came for me" Xipa said her voice cracking with emotion.
"This is what it is to be part of Clan Mason Xipa, call and we come, this is what Grand Patriarch Jack and Grand Matriach Tik eleth have preached and hammered into everyone since day one, we are one giant family, one perfect hive, no one person any more or less important than anyone else, we stand together as one always," Citrus said and Xipa nodded now fully understanding the weight of the oath that she had called upon and revelling in it.
Suddenly she released her parent and her king stepped back into his armour letting it lock up and hide him from view again, "Hey come meet my new friends, I do believe I've found us a new queen who might be very interested in what the Clan life can offer her and her hive" Xipa said gesturing to the other queen.
Citrus, bold as brass walked right up to the other queen, "Greetings sister let me first offer you my deepest and most heartfelt condolences on the loss of some of your beloved hatchings, it pained my own heart like they were of my own hive to see what those cowards did before we were able to stop them, but rest assured the hatchings that yet live are being given the very best of care, right now brothers and sisters of mine fight to not only free them but to take them to safety, you have my word of honour as a fellow hive queen that they will be given the very best of care and treatment at our hands till they are safely back in yours where they belong" Citrus said.
The other queens tail swished and she nodded and hung her crested head, "Thank you sister it warms my heart to hear those words from one who truly understands my pain and my loss" she said.
Citrus stepped forwards and placed her large hands on the queen's shoulders, "Come dear sister, let us take you to them, let us show you the joys of a true hive of your own, let us show you the power of true acceptance and love like you will find no-where else in this universe, let us show u the truth of the Clan we call Mason" Citrus said.
The other queen nodded her large head, "Pease lead on sister I wish to see with my own eyes the wonders your beloved hatchling allowed me to glimpse in her beautiful mind" she said and Citrus began to lead her back the way they'd come.
Xipa turned just in time to see the Seekers disarm Paul and hoist him to his feet, "Please be gentle with him dear Seekers, he may be of their people but he save both of us, he is as much a prisoner here as I was, just with very different bars and chains, his were the lives of his family" Xipa said.
The little male Raptorian looked up at Paul and nodded, "Very well sister, we will treat him with honour that one who has aided one of our sisters in her time of need deserves, come along human if you do not resist and give no trouble you will not be harmed and Clan Mason will give you care, you have my word" he said and Paul nodded shooting one last look at Xipa.
"Thank you for keeping your word, Vielen dank," he said in a soft voice and she nodded as he was led away.
Suddenly a large hand appeared on her shoulder, "Those wounds look painful sister here allow me" the large Yautja Seeker said and before Xipa could utter a word in protest she was scooped up off her feet and into a bridal carry, "Now let's get you out of here shall we" he said while Xipa just nodded dumbly and let her head rest against his huge metallic chest as he began to walk through the rows of shelves and past the scene of utter devastation he and her parents had unleashed on those who had tried to harm her, all the while wondering if she should ask if he'd had his mate hunt yet.