The chamber shot away, the green light showing dark walls of rock flying past in a blur, as if they were falling into a chasm. No air, no surface, nothing but the water and the darkness. There was no point fighting, all resistance was impossible and she had a vision of being sucked into a whirlpool, a deep abyss like an undersea trench. Starved of air, she clenched her jaw to prevent herself from reflexively breathing in.

Then suddenly, they were in the open, the world turned upside down and she gulped in shock. A flat impact of the water smacked into her, driving the short-lived breath from her body and she plunged under again, water booming in her ears like cannon fire while the force of it held her down beneath the surface. She struggled, pushing upwards with all her strength, desperate to reach again the sweetness of the oxygen she had momentarily tasted.

Bursting upwards, she gasped as air and life returned. A crash of water and Scar resurfaced beside her, sucking air into his lungs. As the flashes and spots began to clear from her vison, the corpse glow of the algae all around them illuminated the dark slabbed walls of yet another chamber. Behind them, a long column of white water roared from an opening near the roof of the cavern, pouring down into the pool beneath. There was a shore of rock not far away and they both struck out hurriedly towards it, pulling themselves out of the water in silence.

Lex lay on the stone floor, shaking. It was hot in this chamber, even hotter than it had been on the higher levels. Pale feelers of steam drifted in the dead, still air, the water already evaporating off her skin in the febrile warmth. She breathed deeply, staring upwards. The green radiance was intense here, she guessed the geothermal activity was more intense here too. She could see places where rivers of mineral rock had pushed their way out between the dark smoothness of the slabs over the centuries, creating huge, glittering stalactites. In some places, steam leaked from cracks in the stone.

In between the spurs of flowing rock, on the ceiling above and the walls around her, complex hieroglyphs and frescos could be glimpsed in the vivid glow. She squinted, trying to make out the depictions of the hard meat and hunters, their bodies contorted in attitudes of violence or pain.

"This has got to be the least fun planet we've ever visited," She said, still out of breath, "I won't be recommending it as a vacation destination."

"Vay-kay-shun?" His said, next to her, "I remember the sound of this word, but not… its meaning."

"It's when you take time out."

"Out of what? For what… purrrrpose?"

"To relax. Sleep. I don't know… lie on a beach."

"Beach?"

"You know…" She thought for a moment, "A coastal area… where the sea meets the land, sand is there…"

"To do…what?"

"Whatever you enjoy."

He seemed to be considering this as he pushed himself to his feet "Soundsss pleasant."

"Perhaps if we escape, you can try it."

"Perhaps if we escape you can… come with me."

"Let's get one thing straight," Lex rose to her feet, "We are co-operating right now because we both want to get out of here and find the children. That doesn't mean I've forgiven you or that I'm taking you back."

He glanced across at her, eyes narrowed, but made no reply.

Letting out a breath, she pushed her wet hair back from her face, knotting it behind her head and looking around. She opened the wristcom, but there was still no signal, "We must be pretty far underground again. All this rock must still be interfering with the damn thing," She flipped it closed, "Where do you think we are?"

He was studying the carvings on the walls, his spikey brows furrowed, "Somewhere we do not wish to be."

"Are we getting nearer to the centre of the hive?"

"Yes. Her scent is everywhere; the Queen."

"Scar, we don't have time to kill a Queen!"

He spun round, "You think I want this? Think I am enjoying it?"

"I think this is what you live for!"

"Not with my offspring's lives at stake. We are being driven. The labyrinth does that, as you know."

Lex subsided a little, 'We have to work together,' She told herself, taking a deep breath, 'Fighting solves nothing.'

"How close is she?"

"Close," His jaws curled up, "You have no idea how foul the hard meat oestrous is to my scent ducts."

"I'll take your word for it."

Some sixth sense made her look up. Movement on the ceiling of the chamber made her breath hiss between her teeth. 'They must have been there all along!'

They were slinking through the darkness, but she saw them, their bodies luminous where they were coated with the iridescent slime.

"Are you ready?" She drew the plasma gun.

He unsheathed the ki'cti-pa, lynx-eyes on the ceiling, "Always."

"Enough."

Xala clapped her hands once, her palms coming together with a doom-laden crack. The two fighters sprang up from the floor of the keh'rite and sidled to opposite sides of the combat square, eyeing each other warily.

The D'tai N'as {trans: Combat Master} paced over quickly and stood between them, "Ito you must put the weight of your body behind your blows, or they will not signify when they land. Cease to hold back."

She turned to the other small figure, "Spyrro, you must learn more discipline. You must control your temper. You are supposed to be a warrior – not a child squabbling with her playmates."

Spyrro watched her, but she did not glare. She had learned not to antagonise the Combat Master, finding it was easier simply to comply. 'At least I am learning useful skills,' She thought 'All of this may help me to escape… and will not Mei'Savir and Mei'Varsi be surprised when they see how much better I have become at fighting? I am surely better than my brothers by now!"

Xala was still talking "You are not without skill, but see that you remember what I have told you. Now, you must eat. The scion shall come with me. Ito, you will accompany us."

"Yes, D'Tai N'as." The two juveniles dipped their heads to show their obedience, Spyrro managing to keep the resentment off her face by thinking about the blows she would receive if she did not. Silently, she followed the trainer along more long metal corridors, giving a hidden sigh that Xala had not simply sent her off on her own to find food, 'This place is a maze and I am hungry.'

They entered a huge room and her skin prickled, sensing eyes on her. There were lots more female yautja here, at least Spyrro thought they were female. They did not smell like her Father, but more like Xala and the other females she had met so far. She looked around her, boldly meeting the eyes of even the adult females that looked up from their food to watch her.

"Why do they stare?" The question was out of her mouth, before she realised she had asked it.

Xala paused a moment before answering, "Curiosity. They wish to see you."

"What for?"

"You are the scion of the GhaRan-S'i-Ka."

"Scion?" Spyrro's brows creased "What does that mean?"

"You are descended from her." Spyrro's confusion must have shown in her face, "Your father is descended from her," Xala put her head on one side, "Did he not explain such matters to you?"

Spyrro still did not understand "Descended?" She muttered, as the D'Tai N'as turned away from her to speak to another female.

"It means he is her offspring." Ito said, behind her, "She is his Mother."

That word Spyrro did know, though she could scarcely believe her ears. She spun round "You lie!"

The older girl's tranquil expression did not change. She seemed neither angry nor concerned by the accusation, she simply shrugged – as if indicating that Spyrro might believe her or not.

Spyrro stared at her, jaws open "Who says this?" She said finally.

"All." Ito's eyes flitted around the room "All say it. The GhaRan-S'i-Ka herself says it."

Spyrro found she would have to wait until later to turn over this shocking news, because, at that moment Xala turned and walked over to the place where other females were already helping themselves to food. Spyrro followed after the combat master and her growling stomach made her turn all her attention to satisfying her hunger.

All the food was unfamiliar, so she copied the combat master and Ito, taking the same things they took. Spyrro did not recognise any of it – but that didn't matter. Meals with her family were unpredictable: they consisted of the game meat of whichever planet they happened to be on, along with any vegetation Mei'Varsi deemed to be edible. Spyrro was always hungry and she had grown up with a father and brothers whose appetites were at least as large and as greedy as hers. She knew that any unclaimed food would be seized and ravenously devoured, despite any of Mei'Varsi's arch reprimands. She was used to eating whatever she was given quickly and without making a fuss.

She had chewed her way through a dish of stringy, red meat and unidentifiable roots, and was busily devouring a handful of sweet, orange fruit. Then the words of the combat master came back again, about her bei ng the scion of the GhaRan-S'i-Ka. Glancing up, she could see many eyes still on her.

'Why does it matter? What business is it of theirs whose blood I am?' She glowered as she chewed, sneaking a glance at Xala who sat on her left. The combat master was ripping apart of a chunk of meat, speaking to another female in between mouthfuls, 'She would probably strike me for interrupting her…'.

Ito sat on her right, eating in the same quiet, self-contained manner she had displayed when fighting. Spyrro burned to ask her more questions but did not trust her, so she stayed silent. Her chewing slowed as she thought of her own Mother, 'Mei'Varsi is a female and a warrior too, but she is not like these others. She never hits me. She allows me to speak freely! And now I am not allowed to even mention her name…"

A bitter taste welled up in her mouth, making it hard to swallow.

"Finish your food, child." Xala was looking at her.

She forced down the fruit, though it now tasted oddly sour, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.

"Hrrrm and wipe that petulant look off your face, also." The D'Tai N'as observed, one spiny brow raised "Where you are going, sullenness will not be tolerated."

With a great effort, Spyrro did as she was bid, forcing her brows relax and her jaws to unclench. Xala watched her efforts, one mandible curling up in the ghost of a smile.

"Well enough," She said, "Now come. We have been summoned"

"Summoned to where?"

"To the one who rules us, child. The GhaRan-S'i-Ka wishes to speak with you." She flicked a hand, "Ito, come."

Spyrro trailed after them, keeping her brow clear and her expression obediently blank.

Scar raised the spear as the glowing shapes of the hard meat dropped from above. One landed directly on him and he impaled it through the chest, heaving it off into the water to evade the corrosive blood splatter. Beside him, Lex fired the plasma cannon, hard meat corpses falling to the ground as another dropped onto his shoulders. He grabbed it by the throat as it snapped its razor jaws at him, using the spear head to slice off the front of its long, smooth head. A few feet away was another shadowy corridor.

"In there! We have to find a defensible position."

"But it could be full of the hard meat!"

"At least they can only come at us one at a time."

They backed towards the dark opening, Scar spinning the spear in a criss-cross pattern of death whilst from behind him, Lex picked off the glowing shapes with the plasma cannon. As they reached the mouth of the tunnel, she swung to face it, gun at the ready.

"It's too dark!" She hissed. He didn't argue but swivelled round as they switched positions. She turned the gun on their pursuers, while his gaze flicked from the passageway to the hard meat in the cave and back again. No enemies barred their way and he laid hold of her waist again, pulling her into the dark.

He kept his eyes on the tunnel as they moved, trusting she would cover their retreat, but there was no movement behind them. Turning swiftly backwards, he saw one of the hard meat vault over the plasma fire and leap towards her, claws extended, razor teeth trailing spittle. He released her and shot out a hand, catching it by the throat, smashing it, skull-first, against the wall of the tunnel. She blasted it with the plasma gun, flicking the muzzle up quickly to catch another drone that was bounding towards them.

He dragged her faster, adrenalin pounding through his veins now, all of this feeling at once familiar but excitingly new: the dark claustrophobic confines of the Pyramid, enemies in pursuit, the harsh breaths of the human female next to him as she laid waste to the hard meat right and left. Grinning to himself he pivoted and whirled the spear, dealing out death to the kainde amehde, purring to himself as they fell.

He was slipping into the trance-like state of battle, the hard meat moving as if through tar, the lurid, green colour of them making it easy. He could almost see the arc of their movements mapped out in front of him as he dodged and swung and stabbed, cutting them out of the air. He threw himself into the attack, hammering them backwards, the rattle of the growl in his throat verging on laughter.

Then, the kainde amehde from the cavern halted, the drones hanging back in the tunnel entrance.

Lex was panting, beside him, "Why aren't they attacking?"

Then she gasped, the noise a little slice of horror in the quiet.

He turned… in front of them the phosphorescence illuminated a huge space, ghastly light making the walls and ceiling and floor of the cavern shine. In the midst of it all, she sat as if floating in a world of curling vapour; her immense body smeared with shimmering mucus; spidery limbs folded round her. She was vast, as big as the one they had faced in the Earth Pyramid. One set of arms was crossed beneath her chin; as if dreaming of death for all but her offspring. Scar noticed the egg sac behind her was held in place by thick strands of sparkling slime, instead of metal struts, as he would have expected if she had been kept contained, 'Are the hard meat in this Pyramid allowed to roam free by intention… or have they broken free?'

He was so transfixed by the sight of her that, for a moment, he did not notice the eggs. There were many of them in the room. He and Lex stood in one of the few spots where they were not thickly clustered. They too shone with the same putrid luminescence, showing the nightmarish form of the Queen in all her terrible glory. Even as Scar's jaws curled at the thick, hormonal stink of her, he could not help but respect her - the living embodiment of destruction.

"There are other tunnels," Lex murmured next to him "We should run…"

"Do not … run, it attracts her attention…"

"Walk, then."

The Queen's movements were sluggish, her jaws emerging from under the chitinous hood of her crested head. She turned languidly in their direction, as if in a drugged stupor. Her jaws split slowly, showing needle teeth and she flexed long, dagger-tipped fingers. Her breath was a cloud of glowing vapor. Above them and all around them, the ceiling and walls of the chamber bulged and steamed, the stench of corrosive liquids filling the air, 'Of course, she has located the egg chamber close to the place where it will be the hottest… near to these foul chemicals – '

Clinging onto each other, they edged backwards towards the other tunnel, trying to move slowly enough to not trigger the pods that were everywhere in the hot, misty chamber. As they moved, he could see shadows clustering in his peripheral vision: the drones were gathering, "Mustering to protect the Queen. They would all die for her without a thought…"

His arm tightened around Lex's waist, gripping the spear with his other hand, glancing behind them as they edged backwards into another tunnel.

"Be ready. When one attacks, all will attack… we must make a stand. There is no other choice."

"Yes, there is."

He glanced down and saw the silver spheres in her hand. "Explosives? How – "

"Took them from that female I shot, while you were out cold."

He stared down at her. For just a second, in her black irises, he saw forests burning, a feverish reflection of the flames already raging inside him. Stupidly, insanely, he wanted to push her down and have her right there on the floor of the chamber.

He shook his head fiercely, redirecting his gaze back to the hordes of glowing bodies that stood ranged against them.

Isaac ran his talons over the controls of the Chameleon and grinned as the console whirred into life, "I missed you too, Cammy." He said under his breath, delighted to find her still running smoothly.

Beside him, Varrik reached out, flipping the switch that fired up the turbines and Isaac all but growled at him "Get your hands off the controls!"

Varrik did not understand the human language but he must have understood the tone of Isaac's voice. He turned and seized Isaac by the throat, bringing his face up very close to his own, "You watch your mouth, boy!"

Isaac's eyes glowed and he began to growl, baring his sharp, white canines.

Rika entered the cockpit, followed by Selim and Halkrath, and checked as he saw them facing off against each other, "Are you both mad?"

The yautja captain did not take his eyes off Isaac, "He needs to learn to hold his tongue!"

"Open the hangar doors, or we will all end up losing our heads."

Varrik shot him an enraged golden glare, but then he dropped Isaac and turned from the console, opening his gauntlet.

Isaac said nothing but seated himself in the pilot's chair, strapping himself in and bending back to the console, his talons hardly pausing their flickering dance over the controls. Selim hurriedly joined him, flipping switches, checking fuel gauges and life support, preparing the ship for take-off. He threw himself down into the co-pilot seat, pulling the harness across his body. Isaac engaged the engines and the craft shuddered as they fired, Selim touching the control that brought up the view of the closed hangar doors.

Varrik slid his talons across the controls of his gauntlet his jaws moving soundlessly. The doors remained shut; as solid and impenetrable as an iron fortress.

"Varrik, what are you waiting for?" Rika said, quietly.

"I need to enter the access code." The yautja captain pressed the controls with the tip of a talon.

"So, enter it."

"I am trying… I think it may have been… changed."

"What?!"

"The one I have is not working!"

Selim looked from one to the other "Tell me one of you has a code to open the doors?!"

"Surely, they cannot have changed it so quickly – " Rika exclaimed.

"Silence!" Varrik squinted at the wristcom, "Let me try it again!"

All fell silent except the rumble of the engines as he tapped the controls again, his brow drawing down in a scowl. Isaac felt the seconds drain away like blood, his eyes flicking between the doors and the Rough Skull captain, 'He's still drunk, like the other one said! He can't do it!'

At that moment, there was the thunder of metal and the doors began to move, sliding apart with tortuous sluggishness as Isaac watched, his heart in his mouth. Coming back to himself, he flipped the last couple of switches to boost the engine and the Chameleon began to rise, lifting off the deck as he pulled on the steering column.

A green light blinked into life beside the viewscreen and both he and Selim's heads turned sharply towards the alert that signalled some incoming transmission. Isaac leapt forward as if burned and smacked his hand down on the manual override control, blocking out all outside interference. As the void of space became visible between the two halves of the door, he seized the steering column again.
"Strap yourselves down." He said, in English, forgetting that the Rough Skulls could not understand him. Varrik was still scowling at his gauntlet and the scientist had just finished securing his enormous equipment case. Only Rika seemed to have presence of mind enough to realise what was going to happen and he buckled into the second co-pilot seat a moment before Isaac engaged the Chameleon's thrusters.

The ship lurched forward, a sudden burst of speed launching it towards the still-opening hangar doors. Varrik and Halkrath flew backwards, hitting the back wall, of the cockpit with a sickening clang, their skulls striking metal.

"You are going to kill us!" Varrik bellowed, the force of the thrusters pinning him to the wall.

"Someone is trying to access the ship's control centre!"Isaac was too panicked to remember to speak yautja, his eyes flitting over to the green flashing communique alert.

"Brother, we will not make it – " Selim gasped, his head glued to the back of his chair as they hurtled towards the still too-narrow gap. Gritting his teeth, Isaac hauled the steering column to the right. The two Rough Skulls were flung across the cockpit again as the ship tilted, turning onto its side. The Chameleon shot sideways through the gap and into space, the body of the ship scraping a glancing blow on one of the hangar doors with a tormented squeal.

"We hit something!" Selim cried, beside him.

Isaac skimmed the impact report that was already scrolling rapidly down the screen "Superficial damage," He bawled back over the roar of the engines, "She can take it! We need to activate camouflage – "

Selim fought his way forward, and pressed his fingers down on the buttons that engaged the Chameleon's stealth drive. At once, the lighting in the cockpit changed to a pacific blue. On the screen the image of the Void Cutter rapidly shrank, diminishing steadily. Not until it was a speck, no different from any other star, did Isaac ease down the thrusters. They were still going fast enough to get them away from the area, but the two Rough Skulls pinioned to the wall of the cockpit tumbled heavily onto the deck.

Varrik was first to his feet, striding towards on Isaac. He seized him by the shoulders even as Isaac fumbled to unfasten himself from the pilot seat, "You little idiot! Do you realise you could have killed us all?"

Isaac glared up at him "You prefer that I let us be … trapped ?"

"You did not give the doors time to open!"

Selim was beside them, yanking at Varrik's arms, "Let my brother go!"

"There was an incoming transmission!" Isaac stared up at Varrik, his eyes burning as his face turned pale. He was so angry that his grasp of the yautja language, never very fluent, had deserted him "Someone was trying to access the Chameleon's controls – tell him Selim!"

"Someone was trying to access the console," Selim yanked at Varrik's arm again, "My brother wanted to get us out before they could seal the doors."

Varrik glanced at Selim and then back at Isaac. Slowly, his grip on Isaac's shoulder loosened and then he released him, "I suppose I must believe you, but you could have given us warning!"

Isaac allowed himself to relax, his hand moving away from the surgical knife concealed along his arm, "I did what was needed… to escape." He said, the words coming back to him now his pulse had slowed down from a whirr. He drew a deep breath as he watched the Rough Skull stalk away, 'He's just as mean as S'Kia! They're all the same; throwing their weight around as if they've got a permanent fucking headache!'

"Hey Selim, what's the yautja word for bad-tempered son-of-a-bitch? Their curse words always sound a lot filthier than human ones – " He turned to his brother, only to find his twin wasn't paying attention to him. Instead, he was staring vacantly at his green-stained hands.

"Sel!" Isaac hissed, "Snap out of it."

"I killed him Ize." His brother said, quietly, "His heart has stopped beating forever, because of me."

"Yeah, you killed him. But you've killed plenty of times before now, on the hunt. I've seen you do it."

"Not like this." The look Selim turned on him was strange, as if he were pleading with Isaac for something that he could not name, "He was not prey. He was yautja, the same as we are… and I took his life."

"Half-yautja. And you didn't want to kill him, Sel. Shit – he wanted to kill us!"

"I never thought it would be like this." Selim was shaking his head, "Mei'Savir, he never said – "

"Hey, you did what you had to." Isaac took a firm hold of his brother's hands "You think I wanted to take that risk with the Chameleon and put us all in danger?"

Selim gave a pale smile, "I think you probably gained some enjoyment from it."

Isaac gave a reluctant answering smile, knowing he could not lie to his twin "Well maybe I did, but I didn't put us at risk for no reason. I wanted us to escape. We have to get out and we have to find Spyrro and Mom and S'Kia. You did what was necessary and so did I. No sense in feeling guilty about any of it when we have absolutely zero choice - it's them or us!"

Hey all it's the weekend and I have just about had it with this damn document editing system! Corrected a few errors that snuck in due to formating. If you enjoy reading please follow, favourite and review as I always enjoy reading them.

Lexia - glad you screamed with happiness and not anything else!

Kagami18 yeah Scar has done bad stuff. Lex could totally go off at this point and nobody would blame her!

LovyDovy7: Glad you love it so much and find the relationship believable. The reason the boys aren't worried about Spyrro right now is they're busy fleeing for their lives - they'll think of her later!

Tenjp: Yeah, Scar needs to tune into Lex's wavelength - but can he do it though?

Guest: thanks so much! I would love to write for tv or be published one day, that's the dream right?