Guys, get ready for a hefty dose of Long Overdue exposition and storytelling. As well as some creature v creature action and a twist or two…enjoy

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The Asclepheus was hell.

Above everything else it was, it was a hive of horrors, not fit for supporting life. Yes, it had recyclable oxygen, water where you knew how to find it, and food if you were strong enough to kill for it. It was home to creatures from many different worlds, of many different shapes and sizes, Xenomorphs that controlled bowels of the ship near the cooling towers and Black Yautja that had seized the control decks.

Only the strongest and most brutal of creatures could make this ship their home.

This was a ship where even Xenomorphs and Black Yautja were dying in droves.

But known only to a few, the ship had recently become home to a creature that was brutal and unfeeling enough to make this ship quite cosy. When most sentients used the word monster, it was used to describe something that was simply a threat.

To a Canary, a Cat is a monster.

To a Cat, a Dog is a monster.

Even to a stone age Human, a Tiger or a Lion was a monster.

This creature was not a monster in that regard. It was not simply a threat; it was uncaring, unfeeling, it didn't kill because it needed to survive. It didn't kill to protect its territory; nor did it kill to defend its own or its hive.

No, it killed because deep down, inside the armoured carapace that was its hide…it enjoyed it.

Scattered all around the halls of the Asclepheus, were the bloody, battered and torn open carcasses of many alien creatures. These were the Troll creatures that gave the Yautja hunting party and the Myrmidons such trouble earlier.

They were unpleasant creatures, but they were tough, able to survive great injury, and they reproduced at an insanely rapid rate. Right now, all that was left of them, were a bunch of mutilated corpses, ripped to shreds and disembowelled. Sat there, in the centre of a pile of corpses of the Troll creatures, was a figure sat on its haunches, gnawing on the headless stump of a corpse. The creature's wings were folded into its back, its long tail swinging back and forth, the scythe-like blade of its tail slick with blood.

The crunching of bone filled the air as the creature began to chew on the Troll's spinal cord.

This creature was the spawn of the Kamad known as Rezeal, and it had grown quite a lot since its birth. When it was born it could stand at a mere 6 feet, now it had grown well above 10 feet, and it still hadn't grown to its full size.

The flesh of Troll was helping with that rapid growth.

A group of Xenomorph warriors crawled out of the nearby air-vents, expecting to find some new hosts to spawn new Xenomorphs. Imagine their collective disappointment when they found that all their potential hosts had been killed at the hand of their new Hive member.

The Warriors could sense the new Xenomorph from the moment it had taken root in the bowels of Rezeal. They approached, hissing, and snarling as they crawled over the many bodies their sibling was gorging itself on.

Like all Xenomorphs, this one was connected to the Hivemind, it could hear its brethren approaching, hear their hisses that conveyed disappointment, like elder sibling scalding it on its actions.

The largest of the warriors got close, drool spilling from its mouth as it hissed at the newcomer. Most likely it could hear the disappointment of its Queen within its head, telling it to discipline the Young one.

What it wasn't expecting, was for the newcomer to swing its tail at it, the Scythe-tail cleaving through the Warrior like a hot knife through butter. Acidic blood sprayed all over the place, melting through the piled corpses, the warrior screeching in pain as it lost its lower half.

The warrior's screeches were cut short when its younger sibling reached over and clamped its massive maw over its head. Mandible tusks breaking through skull plating and serrated teeth slicing through flesh, the secondary mouth piercing through the warrior's brains.

Green acidic blood poured freely into the new Xenomorph's mouth, the young one freely munching on the head of the lead warrior, very much enjoying the taste of its kin's flesh. The other warriors immediately backed up, hissing in fear as their brethren quickly turned on them, especially when it glared at them with red eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.

This Xenomorph was not just another cog in the system of the hive, it could hear the thoughts of every hive member just like its siblings. But unlike every other Xenomorph in the hive, its thoughts were hidden.

It could access all the collected memories and knowledge of the hive, but it could refuse to share its own.

It was an individual.

This was the trait of only a few members of the Xenomorph species. The Queens, the Empresses, and the rare, almost mythical Kings. However, this Xenomorph was not yet full grown to be considered a King of a hive, it was still a juvenile. Until this Xenomorph reached its full-grown adult state, it was a Predator, a hunter with a lust for blood and death. It wouldn't capture prey alive to birth more Xenomorphs, it would hone its skills and perfect its form of killing.

This creature was a ReaperMorph.

And like its blood father, it was a natural born killer.

The other Warriors bowed down in what could only be described as fear and submission as the ReaperMorph continued devouring the contents of the lead warrior's skull. Green brain matter stuck between its teeth and green blood dripping down its maw, hissing as it dissolved the corpses below.

Hell had a King, and he was hungry.


Sophie had to believe that if there was a god, he hated her guts.

To Sophie, the sound of hundreds of Black Yautja snarling and roaring, splaying their mandibles and shaking their heads from side to side was a bigger sign of that than anything. The Welcoming party to the returning Black Yautja hunters was large, and it simply scared Sophie about how many there were.

All the Black Yautja killed by Eli, Rezeal, Erik, the Myrmidons, Sha'ra and the other Yautja…were miniscule in numbers compared to how many there were here.

There had to be thousands at the very least, all huge, heavily armed, and viscous.

Sophie could only look on in horror as she lay there on the back of Qul'Tan's Hellsteed. The Shorter of the Pale Twins riding steadily to make sure she didn't fall from her place.

"Don't worry girl, none of them will harm you. As long as Lord Ma'Zax wills it" The Pale Yautja said with a relaxed tone of voice.

The Hellsteeds all came to a halt, snarling like predators rather than shorting like horses. The hooves and clawed back legs scraping against the metallic floor of the halls. Black Yautja began approaching, some obviously there to take the reins of the Hellsteeds and take them back to whatever holding pens they had on board.

The Elite Hunters all dismounted from their steeds, a few still nursing the wounds they received, Mh'Jax had already patched up his wounded arm from when Eli had stabbed him. But unlike the other elites he didn't ask for help, in fact when one healer came to attend him, he grabbed them by the throat and threw them to the floor.

Mh'Jax's pride was wounded more than his flesh.

The leader of the Black Yautja emerged from the crowd, his red cloak flowing behind him and his scared face bearing a look of relief that at the very least he was going to receive somewhat positive news.

"You had better have good news" Ma'Zax asked with his arms behind his back.

"My lord…we bring you a gift" Tra'Kan gestured to the back where Tra'Zen, the silent Pale Twin, had hoisted Sophie off Qul'Tan's saddle and onto his armoured shoulder.

Sophie could feel the eyes of every Black Yautja there glaring at her, at any moment one of these alien hunters could rush in and tear her to pieces. Her only saving grace was that they would have to get through Tra'Zen first, and from what little she could see, the colossal mute was not someone to be taken lightly. With a shrug of his shoulders, Tra'Zen lifted Sophie up and placed her on her feet, making sure not to simply drop her on the hard ground.

She was an asset now, after all.

"And who is this?" Ma'Zax asked as he looked at the young human.

Sophie looked back and forth between all the unfriendly faces gathered around her, waiting for one of them to speak up. But when she noticed how intently the Elder was looking at her, she realized that the question was not directed at any Hunter, but at her.

"I am waiting little one" Ma'Zax announced, crouching down to her eye level.

"M-my name is…Sophie" She stuttered in utter fear.

"Hmm…and tell me, little one. Do you know what I want from you?" Ma'Zax asked in an eerily calm tone.

"N…No…" Sophie stuttered.

"…Good, that makes things all the more interesting" Ma'Zax grinned as he gestured for Tra'Zen to carry her away.


"It's…It's a Void Ship"

Everyone stood there, silent after Eli said those words, words that if he said them to any other Kamad or member of the Empire would strike fear deep into their hearts. But there they stood, unmoving, unflinching as looks of confusion spread across their faces.

Sasha, one of the most outspoken of the group, was the first to ask.

"The fuck is a Void ship?"

The Myrmidons and Yautja all exchanged confused glances, the only one who seemed to flinch at the words Void Ship was Zen'Tau. The Elder Yautja glanced around the room before his eyes widened and he walked over to Eli.

The grave looks on the Elder's face spoke volumes as he said "You can't be serious, Void Ships are a Myth, no one alive knows how to make one, yet alone Oomans…no offence" the Elder directed at the Myrmidons.

"None taken" Baako replied, waving his hand.

"I am serious, and Void Ships aren't a Myth…just a well-kept secret" Eli replied to Zen'Tau, the Elder walking away and running his organic hand through his dreadlocks wearily.

"Eli, can you please fill us in on what the fuck a Void Ship is?" Erik asked.

"You had better sit down…it's a long story, one all of you need to hear" Eli replied as he walked over to one of the ridges and sitting down.

Norma, The Myrmdions and the Yautja all seemed curious enough and all began to sit around the Kamad, creating a circle of sorts. The only thing missing from the setting was a campfire and an open bag of marshmallows. The ambient blue light of the nearby sun creating a comforting glow against the faces of all those gathered.

"What I'm about to tell you is considered top secret under Imperial law. Most of the citizens of the Kamad Empire aren't privy to this information…so I would greatly appreciate if you kept this information to yourselves" Eli asked as he clasped his armoured hands.

A few nods and replies of affirmation were exchanged between those present.

"Long ago…before I was born, before the Human race had taken their first steps upright, before the Blood Feud between Yautja and Black Yautja…there were two races that controlled the vast reaches of known space, my people The Kamads…and the Ossians"

"Ossians?" Erik asked.

"You would know them by different names. I believe this ship isn't the first creation of theirs your species have come across" Eli replied.

"…The derelict…on LV426?" Erik asked with widening eyes.

"You've got to be fucking kidding? Space Jockeys?" Sasha asked.

"You call them Space Jockeys, or Engineers. The Yautja know them as the Mala'Kak, but my people knew them as the Ossians" Eli leaned forward and clasped his armoured hands together.

"While my People are masters of warfare and the Yautja are masters of Hunting, the Ossians were the greatest Geneticists in the known universe. Their skills ranged from Biology, Anatomy, Biological Engineering and the terraforming of dead and desolate worlds" Eli held out his outstretched hand before typing a few controls into his wrist pad.

Outstretching his hand so that palm pointed upward, Eli typed in one more control causing the armour plating covering his palm to shift and light up. With a flash of light, three bright holographic images materialized in the centre of the circle.

Three images, all of which showed an image of an alien life-form.

One looked like a tall Human, with pale white skin, a bald head, and pitch-black eyes. Very exaggerated facial features one would find on a Renaissance statue. It was wearing what could only be assumed was a biomechanical suit that covered its entire body.

Another was humanoid-ish, it stood on two legs and had two arms, but its skin was covered in strange bony protrusions, its stature was hunched, and its feet looked like the feet of a rhino or a Hippo. Its face resembled that of a mutated elephant with huge eyes and a trunk that seemed to connect into its exposed sternum. It wore a body suit much like the first alien, only it was less like a secondary skin and more like an armoured suit.

The third was an image that Erik and the Myrmidons recognised. The Alien 'Space Jockey' found on the Derelict on LV426 by the crew of the Nostromo. Only this one wasn't fossilized, it had the same bony protrusions and trunk connected to its sternum, only it was fused to a chair much like the one described by Ellen Ripley's crewmates.

"I don't get it…which ones are the Ossians?" Norma asked with curiosity gleaming in her eyes as her xenobiologist brain went into overdrive.

"All of them…they were the best Bio-Engineers in the universe, they tended to make alterations to themselves quite a bit, but the three largest groups of them tended to look like these" Eli said, gesturing to the holographic depictions of the Ossians.

"For thousands of years, the Ossians and the Kamads controlled the bulk of the known universe…between our strength and their knowledge, there was nothing we couldn't accomplish. No threats we couldn't handle, no goals that we couldn't attain. But then again, like all great alliances, it was bound to end…due to our hubris" Eli continued.

"What happened?" Yeyinde asked.

"We thought we were on the brink of something amazing, something that could change space travel forever. A ship that could allow us to travel thousands of lightyears in the blink of an eye, a ship so powerful that it could bend the reality of time and space…the Void Ship" Eli announced as the Hologram changed.

What took the place of the three types of Ossian, was a single colossal image of a ship. The group could only guess how monumentally large this ship was, it was long and shaped like an arrow. The exterior was clearly heavily designed like the Derelict of LV426, yet it contained some of the same design elements of the ship that Eli and Rezeal had arrived in.

"The idea was to create a miniature black hole, that the Drive core and the Energy core would work in tandem to tear a hole in the fabric of space, creating a gateway that would allow the ship to jump from one point in the universe to another, lightyears away" Eli explained.

"Create a Black Hole? Are you fucking serious!?" Sasha exclaimed.

"Like I said…Hubris. We wanted to progress, and the Ossians had never been wrong before. So, the orders were given, and the ship was built…then came the test. The first Void Ship was piloted by a crew of almost entirely Ossians, with a few Kamads loyal to the empire to make sure things ran smoothly" Eli continued.

"Everything seemed alright, the systems tests were green, and the ship was ready…or so we thought. The first test wasn't supposed to be anything too intense, a safe distance from one solar system to another, a short hop if anything. The ship jumped when it was supposed to…but when the ship reappeared on the other end, it was…well…" Eli stopped to change the Hologram once again.

The Hologram of the Void Ship changed once again, only now, it looked like the ship had been through a meat grinder. The hull had been ripped to pieces, huge gaping holes crisscrossing the outer layer, many segments of the ship heavily damaged or just plain missing.

"When we opened up the ship, the crew had been torn to shreds, little more than chunks of quivering meat and bones, the only survivors being a group of 15 Ossians and a single Kamad, all driven completely insane, babbling about things they couldn't comprehend, murmuring little phrases here that we couldn't make out, speaking in tongues none of us could recognise" Eli explained.

"That sounds like some horror movie shit" Sasha replied with a look of disbelief.

"Call it what you want…soon after that the Ossians began looking deeper into the technology, trying to research what they could from their survivors. The Kamad was brought back to the homeworld and kept under constant surveillance. But as we were caring for our disturbed brother, the Ossians were building other Void ships, trying to update the technology or 'fix' what had gone wrong" Eli further explained.

Eli then closed his palm, the holograms flickering out and disappearing, clasping his armoured hands Eli seemed to let out a long and wearied sigh. Norma and Erik both understood that whatever Eli had to say wasn't exactly something you traded with people willy nilly.

"After that…everything seemed to start going to hell" Eli began speaking again.

"Something happened between our peoples, a divide, hundreds of thousands of years of friendship between the Ossians and the Kamads…broken in a few short years"

"What exactly? I mean a bond of hundreds of thousands of years doesn't sound like something that's easily broken" Hanzo asked.

"It was something my grandfather couldn't allow, if he did, he would have shamed my people, his ancestors and trampled on the beliefs and morals of every being in the Empire…" Eli continued.

"…The Ossians were masters at genetic engineering, but they also seeded and tampered with the genetics of life on planets that had yet to produce sentient life. Through all their experiments they always dreamt of creating a perfect race, one capable of living up to their expectations, one capable of growing and adapting at exceptional rates, a species unhindered by morality or imperfections of the flesh, a species that could one day rule the Universe…a Perfect species" Eli said, looking up at the ceiling of the room and the black bone-like ridges that made up its interior.

Erik, Sha'ra, the Myrmidons and the Yautja all followed Eli's gaze and recognised the similarities between the interior of the room, and the interior of a Xenomorph hive. It was obvious that these Ossians were greatly inspired by the Xenomorphs, the Myrmidons knew that the Human race's first encounter with the Xenomorphs was now in the heart of an Ossian ship.

"The Xenomorphs…they created the Xenomorphs, and that's why you broke with them" Erik replied, his hands clenching into fists.

"No…they didn't..." Eli then looked at Erik dead in the eye before replying.

"They created you"


It was easy to forget that the Asclepheus was home to not only Xenomorphs and Black Yautja, but all manner of alien organisms harvested for research purposes. Many of these creatures of course fell prey to the Xenomorph facehuggers and spawned new and terrifying breeds of xeno.

Some creatures were killed by the invading Black Yautja. The Troll like creatures were killed by the Yautja hunting party and the Myrmidons, and a few plain and simply were killed for food by Eli and Rezeal.

However, this didn't mean every one of the creatures was dead.

One such creature, a massive Primate-like alien, nicknamed the Armis Kong, twice the height of a T-Rex with skull-white bony armour plates instead of fur. The Armis was a predatory animal, greatly resembling an earth Silverback in posture and body proportions.

The Xenomrophs tended to stay away from creatures that grew as large as the Armis Kong, it was big and powerful enough to kill even the largest of Xenomorphs, even the Queen and her praetorians would have trouble taking it on. Armour plating that put the best tanks to shame, a muscle fibers as strong as carbon steel not to mention a powerful set of jaws that were quickly making short work of its most recent prey.

The Armis had managed to take down a Skarnak, one of the giant scorpion creatures that gave Eli and Rezeal trouble a few days ago. The Skarnak's armour plating stood no chance against the bone crunching jaws of the Armis, meat and blood spilled onto the floor as the Armis munched on the corpse of the freshly killed creature.

A single hammer fist to the mid-section, effectively breaking the creature in two and cutting off it's mobility, making it all too easy for the Armis to tear the Skarnak apart piece by piece and enjoy its fresh meal.

Yet again, unlike earth Gorrilas, the Armis was strictly carnivorous, and was thoroughly enjoying the Skarnak's juicy lobster-like flesh.

*Crunch,Crunch,Crunch*

The Armis tore off one of the Skarnak's claws and popped it into it's waiting maw. The back teeth of the Armis were designed for breaking down hard foods and crushing armour plating like nuts. Right now, the Skarnak's heavily armoured carapace and big meaty claws, were nothing but food for the mighty predator.

The Armis suddenly perked up, its huge nostrils flaring as it picked up a scent, its pitch-black eyes with single white pupils scanning the area for signs of movement.

The giant ape rose to a cautious stance, grunting loudly to try and scare off any scavengers that wanted its kill. But when the Armis scanned the area, it knew it was being watched by something dangerous, something that wasn't interested in scavenging.

The Armis didn't see the giant, black shape slowly and silently descending from the ceiling.

The Armis turned quickly enough to see its attacker lunge towards it. The Armis' giant arms grabbing the giant black shape and throwing it away, the giant ape backing up to create some distance between it and its mystery attacker.

"RUAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" the Armis Kong let out a loud roar, baring its teeth.

The attacker stepped into the light, showing its mighty form to the Armis. The element of surprise gone so the creature may as well play fair.

Now standing at a whopping 30 feet tall, this Xenomorph was unlike any other on the ship, it was not bulky nor skinny, it was lean like an apex predator. Its skin was covered in armoured plates, its claws were like giant meat hooks, sprouting from its back were two huge wings spanning twice the length of its body. Its head crest was bladed yet more streamlined in shape and at the end of its long tail was a blade resembling a scythe.

And unlike any other Xenomorph, this one had two blood red reptilian eyes.

This was the ReaperMorph, the spawn of the Kamad Elite, Rezeal.

"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAARGH!"

The ReaperMorph let out a snarl of its own, splaying open it's mandible lower jaw, revealing rows of serrated silver teeth that extended longer when it opened its mouth, two mandible tusks 6-foot-long each, and a secondary mouth also filled with razor sharp teeth.

The Armis had a challenger for the crown.

The two Apex predators began circling each other, neither one backing down in the face of their opponent. The hallways of the Asclepheus were huge, huge enough to allow predators of their size free movement.

The two gigantic alpha predators charged at each other, the Armis beat its chest before breaking into a dash while the ReaperMorph propelled itself at the Armis with a single beat of its powerful wings.

When the two predators clashed, the ground shook, the slamming of bone armour against armoured carapace echoed through the air. The ReaperMorph was quick, much quicker, and more agile than the Armis, thanks to its lean physicality as opposed to the Armis' bulky form. Using its superior agility, the ReaperMorph weaved out of the Armis arms like a snake, its wings folding into its back as it did.

The ReaperMorph found its way behind the Armis and quickly wrapped its tail around the Armis' waist. The armour plating covering the ReaperMorph's tail was also barbed with razor sharp blades, like a natural razor wire.

Next the ReaperMorph wrapped one of its powerful arms around the throat of the Armis from behind, the next arm grabbed the wrist of the mighty primate. With only one arm free, the Armis flailed around, roaring and snarling, trying to shake the xenomorph free. But with every move the ReaperMorph's claws sank in deep, slicing through the Armis' thick leather hide and drawing blood.

The Armis snarled angrily as the ReaperMorph craned its head back; its lower jaw splitting wide open into a cavernous maw full of razor-sharp teeth as hard as diamond. With one lunge the Reapermorph's jaws engulfed the head and shoulders of the Armis, blood spraying down the creature as the Reapermorph's teeth cut through the Armis' shoulder plating.

The ReaperMorph's tusks pierced through the chinks in the Armis' armour and sliced through hide, flesh, and bone, finding their mark in the Armis' lungs. Slicing open the organs and allowing blood to begin spilling into them.

"RUAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" The Armis let out a howl of pain as it swung its arm at the Reapermorph's head. It's thick and heavy fist colliding with the monstrosity's skull; an audible crack could be heard as the Reapermorph's skull cracked under the power of the blow, another few straight hits and the ReaperMorph relinquished its grasp on the Armis.

The mighty alien primate fell to all fours; seemingly gasping for air before it coughed up nearly a gallon's worth of blood, the ReaperMorph's tusks had done their job and the Armis was very much done for. But when the mighty primate turned around it saw something that would chill anyone to the bone.

The ReaperMorph was healing; it's skull almost automatically cracking back into place as it glared at its wounded enemy. The ReaperMorph had inherited one of its father's most useful biological traits; it could regenerate.

With a crackling snap of bone setting itself back into place the ReaperMorph reared its head back, the Armis fully expected another lunge and braced itself; only when the ReaperMorph's head lunged, out of its mouth spewed forth a jet of bright green flame that covered the upper torso of the Armis.

The primate let out a deep based roar of pain as it began to panic; acidic flame engulfing its form as it flailed around trying to extinguish the fire with its movement. Only the ReaperMorph had its eyes on its enemy and zeroed in.

*RRRRRRRICRACK!*

The ReaperMorph's scythe tail struck true and pierced through the Armis' armoured shoulder, severing the nerves and tendons connecting its left arm to the rest of its body. The mighty primate didn't have time to react as the ReaperMorph's trail withdrew from the shoulder and slashed across the back of the Armis' legs, severing its calf muscles and the tendons holding its legs up.

The Armis fell to the ground; unable to defend itself as the hellish ReaperMorph loomed over it; wings spread open like the harbinger of doom, a huge taloned foot slamming into the Armis' back; planting it face first into the floor. With a long snarl the ReaperMorph flared its mandibles and exposed its secondary mouth, ready to strike.

The Armis let out one last groan of pain before the air was filled with the sound of a skull cracking and blood splattering all over the floor. The mighty Primate now lay there, dead at the feet of the massive monstrosity that had made the Asclepheus its home. The ReaperMorph stood atop the corpse of the Alpha predator; spread its wings and flared its mandibles; letting out a loud and long screech of dominance.

"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"


"They…they what?" Erik asked as the colour seemed to drain from his face.

"They created you…their magnum opus, humanity…striped from their flesh and moulded into their own image. You were supposed to be their inheritors…the ones that would take the steps towards further perfection" Eli continued.

"You realize how fucking crazy that sounds right?" Sasha asked.

"…You want proof? Look no further than dear Norma here" Eli gestured to the hybrid.

"Me? What do I have to do with this?" Norma asked.

"No other species in the galaxy, besides the Xenomorphs has the ability to adapt as fast and as varied as you humans…the fact that Norma became a Hybrid simply by being infused with my blood shows just how versatile your DNA is" Eli answered.

"But…that doesn't prove aliens fucking made us" Baako replied, earning a few scowls from the Yautja.

"…no offence to any aliens present" he smirked.

"Believe it or not, you humans have a very unique genetic history" Eli shrugged.

"Ok, let's just say we believe you, what happened next?" Erik asked.

"The Ossians planted the seeds for your eventual birth before the Void ship experiment…afterwards…the Ossians went rogue, they began destroying the very worlds they colonized, slaughtering the species that they created with Virus bombings, orbital gene saturation, leaving once fertile worlds full of life as nothing but empty husks or worse…" Eli continued.

"…then they set their sights on you" Eli closed his palm, the visual holograms disappearing as he did.

"There are stories…of the Engineers of worlds destroying their creations, fearful that their own children would be their destruction" Zen'Tau spoke up.

"Did your people ever have any dealing with them?" Erik asked.

"If we did, it was before the divide, any relics or information on them has probably been lost or left on the home world in the clutches of the Black Yautja" Sha'ra replied.

"Nothing but a few mysterious skulls and spinal columns on old walls?" Eli asked.

"Here and there" Zen'Tau nodded.

"Well, that leaves one question, what stopped these fuckers from exterminating us?" Erik asked.

"My Grandfather, Eli Vakran the 2nd" Eli opened his palm once again.

The image that shot up was of a Kamad, adorned in perhaps the most regal and ornamental armour anyone present had seen, wielding a mighty blade, and letting out his mandibles in a vicious war-cry. To say the Kamad shown was imposing was an understatement, his face looked worn, his eyes full of fire and his dreadlocks reached the back of his waist.

"Whoa, that's your grandad?" Norma asked.

"God of war much?" Baako chuckled.

"My Grandfather is probably the basis for most of your earthly deities, Zeus, Odin, Thor, Ares, you name a brutal war-god it's probably based on him" Eli huffed.

"Hell of a resume, what did he do?" Hanzo asked.

"He waged war on the Ossians…the war raged for 200 long years, by the end, not a single Ossian lived. Their research outposts were destroyed, their colonies put to the sword, the final battle on their homeworld was so bloody that my grandfather stepped down as Emperor, the first time it happened in my people's history" Eli's head hung.

"He committed one genocide to stop another" Eli closed his palm.

"But…the void ships?" Erik asked.

"Thrown into Black Holes, supernovas, destroyed down to the last atom…the point of this whole story being that this thing we are sitting in should not exist" Eli stood up and took a few steps towards the glowing energy core.

"This…ship is an abomination…an afront to nature…and it has to be destroyed" Eli glared at the core with seething contempt.

"Ok, the black hole stuff may have been creepy but…what about it in itself is so dangerous?" Norma asked.

Eli closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"The Void ship didn't simply create a gateway through space…it created a gateway that split through our reality itself, to a place of unimaginable horrors. A Place where the laws of physics and causality no longer matter…a Void of reality…" Eli turned to the others.

"…a place devoid of rationality, where your worst nightmares would come alive, where the dead gods of a trillion worlds rotted and contorted into abominations you couldn't even fathom…no light, no dark, no life, no death, no beginning or ending…" Eli walked closer to the others.

"…my people called it the Void, the Ossians called it the blackness…you would call it hell" Eli finished.

"…How do you know this?" Hanzo asked.

"…that Kamad that we saved from the first void ship…one day he began talking again…he told us what he saw, what he fought and what happened to the rest of the crew…when my grandfather found out, every single Void Ship the Ossians ever made was destroyed and every mind involved in making them was put to the sword" Eli explained.

The air hanging around them was so tense it could be cut with a knife, the revelation of what the ship they were standing in was, wasn't something one could shake off easily.

"Well…we had better make us a plan…because this ship won't destroy itself" Erik broke the silence.


Dr Blair ran through the corridors of the ship, panic in his eyes and sweat running down his brow. The scientist was on his last few inches of rope now, he had done something he couldn't turn away from, that Kamad had exposed him, and even if he had been impregnated by a Xenomorph he would have told all the others of what he did by now.

Blair knew of a way out, it was a long shot, but near the rear hanger bays were a handful of spare escape pods. If he could make it to them, then he could…

The Doctor stopped short of that idea and fell to all fours, gasping and wheezing as sweat dripped from his forehead.

'There's no use…they'll track me down and kill me, I'm a dead man…FUCK' Blair swore in his head.

"Going somewhere Doc?" came a voice from behind him, followed by the footfalls of heavy armoured boots.

Blair turned to see a Black armoured figure in full Myrmidon regalia, holding a Pulse Rifle at the ready. The red eye lens of the helmet glowing menacingly as he approached.

Michael Stratford, the 'Rookie' of Alpha Squad had caught up with him.

Of course, it would be a Myrmidon to do him in.

"Not looking too good there, not putting the Cardio in?" the Myrmidon asked, tilting his head.

"Don't taunt me…just fucking do it" Blair cursed between wheezes.

"Doctor, if I was going to kill you, I would have done it by now" Michael said before crouching down.

"Besides, If I killed you, then Mr Weyland would be VERY upset with me" he smiled behind his visor.

"What?" Blair asked with a shocked look.

This Myrmidon was working for Weyland?

"Come on Doc, let's find your exit, at your own pace this time" Michael smiled, offering Blair his hand.


I know, fuck me it took a long time to get this one out, but I think under the circumstances you guys can find it in your hearts to forgive me. We are in the final stretch of this story, and I swear to make these next few the best I can write.

As you can tell, the Void Ship is heavily inspired by the Event Horizon and the Void Ship from the Episode 'Army of Ghosts' from Doctor Who. I just love the concept and making the Asclepheus a Jacked-up version of both was always the plan!

The ReaperMorph is also a creation I am proud of, the most roided out and terrifying Xenomorph I could think of, hopefully you think so too.

Also, SHOCK! The Rookie is a traitor!? Holy hell! You'll get your answers to that one next chapter as well as more action and less exposition.

Please as always tell me what you thought! Leave a Comment! Keep reading my other stories! Enjoy!

See you guys soon.