Okay, I'm back! And now we're gonna see exactly how this rescue can play out! Let's hope that Kira and Kai know what they are doing!
Kira and Kai made it to the Weyland complex where Star ran to try and rescue Chase and Sugarcube. Kai pulled over some distance away so as not to draw attention, and the two stealthily made their way to the building.
"Okay, so... how are we gonna get in?" Kira asked.
"We'll see if there's an area that's being unpatrolled, and we'll see if we can get in through a ventilation duct or something." Kai said.
The two got closer... only to find that most of the security appeared to have gone inside the actual building.
"You think they know about Star already?" Kira asked.
Kai peered into the distance at the WY vehicles with the few, frantically-transmitting officers.
"...I think so. And from the look of it, they have their attention mainly on the primary entrance of the building. Maybe they have a certain area of the place contained." Kai said.
"So..." Kira began. "...how are we gonna get inside?"
Kai looked around, and saw a ladder on the side of the complex. He beckoned Kira to follow him quickly, so as to avoid being caught by the Weyland security operatives. They climbed up the three-story ladder to the roof, completely in the blind spot of the security squad.
"Okay... now to find a feasible entry point." Kai said.
Right after he said this... he happened to spot a series of ducts on the roof. One was expelling steam (or some kind of white gas) into the air, and had the word "OUT" painted on the side. Right next to it, in an L-bend away from the OUT-duct, was another duct that had nothing coming out, but was marked with "IN".
"It's an input vent!" Kai said. "Must be for channeling fresh air into the building and cooling tower. We'll get in through there!"
"Okay." Kira said.
Kai picked up a long steel chain that was sitting next to the duct, and tied it in a double-knot to a tall antenna tower that was also on top of the building. He tossed the chain into the duct... and after it fell for a moment, came the sound of a bang from within, followed by a faint hum they heard drop in pitch and volume.
"...There goes the intake fan." Kai said. "But at least we can pass through without it slicing us up!"
The two heroes rappelled their way down into the dark air duct, Kai leading the way down. They passed the broken fan with the chain tangled around the center, its eight long steel blades looking menacing in the dim light. Right here, it was safe for them to just drop down, since the fan was only five feet above the vent's bottom.
Once they had descended presumably three stories, as indicated from the height of their descent, they saw, at the other end of the L-bend at the bottom, was a wide vent cover. They made their way over to it, and Kai kicked it out of its frame (granted it took several attempts with it being screwed into the wall). With that, they made the short drop into a hallway lined with several doors to the laboratories.
"Okay... now we need to find out where Star went!" Kira said.
"Hopefully, if we find her, we'll also find Chase and Sugarcube!" Kai said.
"So let's go!" Kira said.
The two then rushed in the direction that, from what they could tell, went for the back of the facility, since that is where Kira felt Star's brainwaves emanating from... yet they felt strangely faint and more distant to Kira than they had been earlier...
(XXXX)
Chase and Sugarcube were both frantically searching for a way out of the building. There was no way they could get through the security system that Star had tripped.
"What are we supposed to do?" Chase asked his mother. "There's no way out of here!"
"We'll think of something, sweetheart." Sugarcube said. "I'm sure that we can... wait..."
She trailed off as she slowly brought her hands up towards her head, which she angled downward, and touched the tips of her index fingers to her temples.
"What? What is it, Mom?" Chase asked.
Sugarcube brought her hands down, and lifted her head, her mouth hanging agape.
"...Kai's here! I can sense his brainwaves!" Sugarcube said.
"Are you sure?" Chase asked.
"Absolutely." Sugarcube said. "I've known your father long enough to identify his brain patterns."
The two Xenos began to head in the direction of where the neural signals were emanating from. Given how close they felt, Sugarcube assumed that they were likely on the same side of the security divider as them…
(XXXX)
Kira and Kai both ventured deeper into the complex, the latter leading the way with his handgun pointed in front of himself. They were making their way through several engineering bays and laboratories, Kira barely able to pinpoint Star's position due to her weak brainwaves.
"Ngh… I really hope she wasn't knocked out by a security operative or something..." Kira said.
"Can't be much farther, though..." Kai said.
Eventually, they reached a high-security wing with several controlled-environment chambers. They appeared to be using these special labs for experimenting with biological tissue of Xenomorphs and other extraterrestrials. After a bit of searching and sifting… they eventually came to a chamber where they were experimenting with pressure-sensors that allow the shaping of Xenomorph capture resin. Resting on the top of it, with the resin shaped to its body… was a lone female Xenomorph.
"Star!" Kira said, relieved to see her daughter.
She immediately rushed over to see if she was alright, Kai following behind her.
"Star?" Kira asked, nudging the female Drone's shoulder. "Star? Can you hear me?"
Star did not stir. She was breathing just fine, albeit slowly. Kira, however, was not able to figure out why Star was not waking up, no matter what she did. She started tapping her on the head, torso, and feet. No form of awakening yielded the intended effect.
"Kai… what's wrong with Star?" Kira asked.
"I'm not sure..." Kai said, stepping forward and beginning to touch and prod Star in a similar fashion to a medical examination. "...I've never seen anything like this happen before… except..."
Kira's eyes lit up. "Except what?" she asked.
Just as Kai was getting ready to answer… the sound of chuckling could be heard. What was even more strange was that it was telepathic. It was human voices in their head… but bizarre hissing from some direction in the real world.
Kira and Kai both looked in the direction where they could sense the presence from, and happened to spot four Xenomorphs, all of a different caste, entering the chamber.
"Well, what have we got here?" the Praetorian said.
"Some nice, young humans..." the Drone said.
"...Fresh meat that has wandered onto our domain..." the Warrior said.
"...and we won't let them have their way with our future Queen!" the Boiler said.
Kai reached behind his back, going for his handgun but not pulling it out yet, as the Xenos approached.
"Who are you all?" he asked. "What are you talking about?"
"We know that humans are cruel, horrible beings who enjoy the suffering of our kind!" the Praetorian said.
"What?" Kira asked.
"Don't act ignorant!" the Warrior said. "You have done more than enough damage to the existence of our species!"
"No… you've got it all wrong!" Kira said. "The people who experimented on you are the ones who don't like you! We, however, actually care about Xenos that are emotional, like us! The feral ones, however..."
"You lie!" the Drone said.
"And what did you do to my daughter!?" Kira shouted. "Why isn't she waking up!?"
"You'd better have a way to wake her, or else!" Kai threatened.
"It's too late!" the Warrior said. "Your daughter has consumed the royal jelly, and has already slipped into the Transformation Sleep... and during the months in her hibernation, slowly metabolizing the potent jelly, she shall undergo a spectacular metamorphosis, and awaken... as a Queen!"
"She shall be without her memories! And she will act on pure, primordial instinct!" the Praetorian said.
"What?" Kai asked, surprised.
"No…!" Kira uttered, looking back at the unconscious Star.
"And now… it is time for you to pay the price for what you have done to our species!" the Praetorian said. "Have at them, brothers!"
Just as the Drone, Warrior, and Boiler began to hiss and get into a crouching position to pounce the two humans, Kai whipped out his suppressed handgun. He leveled the weapon on all of the Xenos, giving them a cold, stoic glare.
"Stand down..." he said, firmly.
"You fool..." the Boiler said. "...you try to challenge a pack of Xenomorphs?"
Angered by this smart remark, Kai fired at the boiler, hitting it on the left side of the chest. This caused a massive explosion of acidic blood, which Kai and Kira, thanks to their enhanced movement and senses, were able to quickly move out of range of before it could land on them. For good measure, he put a couple of rounds in the legs and lower torso of the Drone and Warrior as well.
The Warrior's blood spewed out of the wound like a garden hose, dissolving the floor of the control chamber, up to the point where the loss of blood caused the Xeno to collapse on the floor. The Drone simply clutched its wound, which was not as bad as the other two, but was still spilling quite a lot of blood.
The Praetorian let out a wrathful shriek, forcing Kai and Kira to cover their ears.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!? YOU'VE MURDERED MY BROTHERS! YOU MONSTERS!" the Praetorian shouted.
Kira pulled out her own handgun, which she happened to bring with her after Star ran off, immediately discharging two bullets at the Praetorian. They hit him in the head. He clutched the wounds as blood poured out, and stumbled around due to loss of balance.
"That's what you get for trying to take my daughter away from me!" Kira shouted.
The Drone briefly tried to ignore its injury and make an attempt to rush for the pair of them… but Kai finished him off with multiple shots to the head. The only Xeno specimen that was left alive was the injured Praetorian.
"...Y-you..." he said, injured but fierce. "...you have… ruined… EVERYTHING…!"
Kai shrugged. "Hey, if you try to get your revenge on people this way… I'd say you had it coming. Punish the offenders, not the associates!"
"...W-well..." the Praetorian struggled to speak, falling to his knees. "...soon… your daughter… will become… o-our… s… s-savior… and… av… enger..."
After several more hoarse breaths… the Praetorian collapsed as his breathing stopped. Kira was still in utter shock at what had happened in those few moments. It felt like something that was beyond her comprehension, when just a few years ago… it would have seemed more probable to her.
"Well… I always thought that every genetically-engineered Xenos that had the mental capacity of a human would be kind… no matter what..." Kira said. "...but… I guess I was wrong..."
"There's always gonna be the odd ones out. The spiteful ones who hate humans, period." Kai said.
With that, the two turned their attention back to the hibernating Star.
"So… what should we do, now that we know she's drank… royal jelly?" Kira asked.
"We have to pump her stomach!" Kai said. "It's the only way to stop her metabolizing the royal jelly!"
(XXXX)
Chase and Sugarcube were making their way through a series of doors, having some difficulty navigating the area, and even opening some of the doors, as they all had a different type of electronic lock mechanism.
"How much farther are they?" Chase asked.
"Not far..." Sugarcube said, focusing her telepathic senses. "...let's keep moving, and hope that the security teams don't close in on us!"
(XXXX)
After a quick search, Kai found a gastric lavage pump and wheeled it back to the control chamber where Star and Kira were. It looked like one that was designed for human use, but right now, they had no other alternative. Without delay, Kira held Star's head backward while Kai fed the tube down the latter's throat via her inner mouth.
Once it was at the estimate length that Kai had marked on it, they activated the machine, which began to suck out Star's stomach contents. With some minor convulsing in the female Drone's abdominal region, a thick, white fluid began to move up the tube. It continued for a while, up until the tube began to leak near Star's mouth as the fluid became clear; it was now suctioning straight stomach acid, no longer diluted by the jelly.
"Okay, I think that should do it." Kai said, switching off the machine.
He carefully removed the now-damaged tube from Star's throat. Large holes filled it, and some pieces were probably in her stomach now, but the new gastric acid would dissolve what was left of it.
"Will she be alright?" Kira asked.
"She should be up in a little while..." Kai said. "...but in the meantime, we need to keep the WY security force off our backs!"
The two peered into the main hallway to see that the squad has not engaged yet. Still, they needed a way to know what they were up to until Star would awaken.
"I'll see if there's a WY scanner transceiver around here. It'll let us pick up on their conversation over their radio." Kai said.
While Kira stayed behind, gun drawn and standing between Star and the door, Kai went off into the complex to find what he described. He was hoping to get every bit of help they could get with the resources available… but it was about to be better than he was hoping…
"Kai! You've come!" came the voice of Sugarcube.
Kai, sensing a presence behind him, turned to see his all-too-familiar family. His eyes went wide and his jaw agape at the sight of them, and then his eyes filled with tears as a smile appeared on his face. He was so relieved that they were unharmed.
"Sugar… Chase… you're both okay!" he said.
Well, managed to get out another chapter! Don't really have much else to say, other than… keep holding on...