Hey everyone.
Sorry about the wait but this one had been giving me writer's block on what to write.
As always, leave me a constructive review or two.
Chapter 17- A forgotten monument.
After what felt like several hours of navigating deeper into the labyrinth-like mines, the small band of initiates had finally reached the location of the first attacks against the mining colony. They were in a small excavated cavern at the lowest levels that had not yet been mined. The seams of ore, encased like arteries in the walls, were untouched and the machinery and tools that were lying around in the snow had barely been used.
There were no dead miners or marine guards here, no doubt the first to be taken to be used as hosts. There was no sign that any human had ever been down here.
"Here we are." Alaric said, looking around and decloaking. "The site of the first attacks."
The initiates decloaked too after some hesitation. They looked around, expecting to see the entrance from which the Xenomorphs attacked the colony. There was nothing that they could detect that the Xenomorphs had been here. There were no tracks or anything.
Just like in the tunnel, the Xenomorphs were hiding their presence.
Fel'tak checked his mask's multiple visions.
"I don't see anything." he confirmed. "Nothing's lurking in wait for us."
"Search around. There must be a tunnel or passageway." Alaric ordered.
Leaving Kra'vyx to rest against a drill rig, the rest of the initiates went about searching for where the Xenomorphs gained entry to the mines.
It was evident that wherever the Xenomorphs entered was well concealed or was not in this sector exactly. The information Andrzej sent was rough at best, much like all their information on this genus of Xenomorph. Alaric directed Mal'fax to examine the ground for any tunnel, Fel'tak to check the north, Ly'enta to the east while Kra'vyx volunteered, in a show of determination against his injuries, to head to the west while he checked the south.
They spent the next half hour searching for a tunnel, a fissure, anything that would allow those Xenomorphs entry but there was nothing. Their masks were not able to detect anything, designed for hunting prey, not even holes in a wall.
Fel'tak was busy mumbling about the futility of finding anything while Ly'enta was fervently jabbing the walls with her hand, looking for a loose section of rock. Mal'fax gave the walls taps with his hammer, the ringing of metal against rock echoing in the mines. Kra'vyx in the meantime was just trying to keep his balance, almost falling over before Alaric abandoned his search and rushed to his side.
Alaric caught Kra'vyx before he hit the ground.
"Kra'vyx, don't push yourself too hard." Alaric cautioned, helping the battered initiate to his feet. "You still need to recover."
He sat Kra'vyx down on a crate that was lying nearby. Kra'vyx didn't say a word. Alaric could see in the initiate's eyes, one of depression and a sense of uselessness. He was the most beat up out of all of them and he had no trophy to show for it.
Alaric took this time to reassure Kra'vyx of their situation
"Kra'vyx, it's okay." Alaric comforted. "If you're worried about claiming a trophy, there is still plenty of time to do so."
Kra'vyx didn't respond. He only looked out into space. Alaric tried some positive reinforcement.
"Kra'vyx, you are tough." Alaric commended. "Seeing that you're standing after all that damage that bastard did to you proves that. Most people that I've seen, even Yautja I've sparred with, wouldn't have weathered something like that."
Kra'vyx still had his head down and Alaric then decided to reveal a secret he had been keeping from him.
"Listen. Before we left Lai'kairis, I made a promise to Ja'anya." Alaric told him.
Kra'vyx looked up to Alaric at the mention of his sister's name with question. Alaric then clarified on how Ja'anya is involved with this.
"If you are wondering if there is a bond between me and Ja'anya, yes there is." Alaric revealed, making Kra'vyx's eyes go wide.
"She told me how she feared for us, like how your father met his end." Alaric explained. "She was afraid that she would lose one or even both of us. I told her, swore to her, that we would all make it back and I don't intend on breaking that promise. But to do so, we need to stay strong and vigilant. You need to be. We all need to be. We came this far, proved what we are capable of and we'll go the rest of the way. I swear it."
Those words reached through to the initiate. What Kra'vyx had grown to suspect was true. Alaric and his sister were in love. The image of them together as a pair filled his mind and a new sense of duty had sprung. He would make sure that Alaric would return to Ja'anya. Kra'vyx nodded and with new determination, and a sense of purpose, he heaved himself up. Alaric praised him for his effort.
And not a moment to soon
Mal'fax, despite being known for his calm, gave a large pile of rubble a kick in a rare fit of frustration and watched as the rocks rolled or bounced off in different directions. However, one lump of rock went rolling into an ice covered corner of the northern and western walls and crashed right through the lower ice stalagmites. A dark hole was revealed, an instant contrast between it and the ice around it.
Mal'fax had found their target.
"Alaric, over there." Mal'fax called out, pointing to the hole.
Alaric jogged over and saw what Mal'fax found as Ly'enta and Fel'tak took notice and joined them. Kra'vyx hobbled over from his crate, slowly regaining his balance and joined them.
"I think I found what we're looking for." Mal'fax concluded.
What Mal'fax was pointing at, after some closer inspection was in fact a large ice passageway, one that looked like it was opened a few weeks ago, the same time from which the Xenomorphs first struck The tunnel was roughly square in shape, four meters in height and width and had a thick covering of long snow covered icicles, possibly growing slowly over when the section was opened, were hanging down the entrance. Alaric walked up to it, gesturing to them to the initiates to stay back and cautiously shone his mask lamps down the passage through gaps in the ice. He could not see any hostiles down the tunnel, which seemed to go deeper into the planet but he did notice something in the snow. Smashing the icicles out of his way, too easily as the ice shattered with little force, he could see some partially buried mining gear. He gestured to the initiates to cover him as he cautiously walked over to the equipment, keeping a lookout for any Xenomorphs in hiding and did a quick search. His suspicions were confirmed when he pulled out a stack of mining charges, a flashlight and a map with an area outside from the mines highlighted.
'Yep.'He thought as he placed the charges back in their case and picked them up. 'Definitely the colonists.'
He walked back outside, grabbed one of the intact icicles, and snapped it off, with an uncharacteristic crack, before examining it. Checking the crystalline structure within, he saw that it wasn't formed naturally. They smashed too easily and were not as smooth. He postulated that the Xenomorphs had secreted their characteristic resin onto the wall and let it drip down as icicles would when forming.
Convincing camouflage to the untrained eye.
Gesturing the others to follow, he walked down the tunnel.
"The Bugs are definitely in this direction." he told them. "They camouflaged the entrance to hide the way."
Fel'tak followed first with his stave out and ready. Kra'vyx hobbled through, using the wall to support himself. Ly'enta followed next while Mal'fax took the rear.
"These prey are much smarter then anyone back on Lai'kairis could ever think." Mal'fax remarked.
"No one even knows that these prey exist, let alone what they think." Ly'enta pointed out.
"Well, let's head down the tunnel and see if their hive is on the other side." Alaric told them, leading the way.
Fel'tak chose this moment to make a statement, otherwise known as complaining.
"We're gonna get lost down here." He warned, pointing down to the darkness.
"Relax, this is a tunnel, not a labyrinth." Alaric assured. "We keep following it till we get to the other end."
Following was proving to be more easily said then done.
This tunnel was leading them, winding like a river down ever deeper into the planet. The snow on the ground was a thick carpet that had hidden slicks of ice just waiting to get them. And the temperature was plummeting as well, as if they were back on the barren surface. They could see it in the steaming plumes of their breath. Their armors' thermal heating was coping with the drop but it was agreed not to stay at these depths for too long. And the deeper they went, the colder it got.
Was the core of this planet a heart of ice?
The first thing that struck them about this tunnel as they reached a sizable depth was the darkness. Not the darkness that came from an ice enclosed tunnel, but from a tunnel from which nothing was reflecting. It was evident when Alaric shone his mask lamps further down the tunnel. Instead of the beams reflecting off the ice and illuminating a great distance, it only covered the range that it was designed for.
"Is it me or is the ice not reflecting anymore." Ly'enta asked, stopping to look at a section of the ice wall.
She was right. While all of the ice they had seen previous had a crystal-like quality, this particular ice did not. It was dull and dark. Alaric stopped the walk to inspect the ice and saw that instead of the dark reflecting blue he saw earthy black within the ice. He assumed that it was the natural rock showing under the ice. But upon closer examination, he saw that the rock behind wasn't in a natural state. It looked more geometrical then organic.
And it wasn't that far under the ice.
"Wait a minute." Alaric said, tapping on the ice.
He struck the ice with the butt of his pulse rifle several times until the ice gave way and shattered like crystal glass. What Alaric saw underneath the thick ice shell was a positive sign that they were heading in the right direction.
He was looking at a wall of solid stone.
Stone blocks.
"Good eyes, Ly'enta." Alaric praised, running a finger on the stone.
Ly'enta was pleased with herself at getting Alaric's praise.
"This is definitely of Yautja crafting." Mal'fax confirmed as Alaric moved out of the way. "But how old, is the question."
The large initiate looked at the stone wall and examined it, trying to get a date on it from his teachings of history. Mal'fax, despite his large size suggesting differently, was something of a history buff, able to remember meticulous details about any time period. It was suggested that he would become a scholar later in life but Mal'fax thought the lifestyle was too dull, being the more 'hands on' type.
However, this particular find was proving to be troublesome. While he was able to get a rough time from which the stone was carved, he couldn't work out what clan these were carved by as there were no identifying marks regarding clan allegiance or tools.
And the date from which these stones were carved sent a chill down his spine.
"This stone is dating from the end of the Dark Times." he concluded softly.
His fellow initiates murmured at the mention of that time.
"Dark Times?" Alaric asked, questioning the Yautja
"The dark ages from which our race lost so much." Mal'kah explained
"Lost so much?" Alaric questioned with a hint of puzzlement. "I fought Yautja many times and your tech is far superior to any humans."
"That's now." Mal'fax corrected. "Back then, when your race was still fighting with crude bronze weapons, we had far more powerful technology, more powerful then what we have now. Our understanding of our ancient past is only handed down by word of mouth from the ancients or from ancient tomes. And even those are sketchy at best, and subject to opinion."
Fel'tak, at this point, barged forward.
"As much as we enjoy listening to you being the teacher, can we please move on?" he asked, with a hint of urging. "This tunnel is freezing enough without you blathering too."
Kra'vyx stumbled and hit the ground. He struggled to regain his footing and Mal'fax rushed over to help him up.
"Just keep talking. Your breath will even the temperature out." Alaric joked.
"Oh, ha, ha, ha. Very clever." Fel'tak praised mockingly.
Kra'vyx got to his feet and regained his balance, using the tunnel wall as support. Alaric led them further down the tunnel, assuring them that the tunnel should be ending soon. And they didn't have much farther to go. In the distance was a long stretch of tunnel and, when zoomed in with their masks, they could see that the tunnel was becoming brighter and there was light at the end of the tunnel.
"We're getting near the end of the tunnel." Alaric said.
"About time." Fel'tak said, barging his way forward.
He was answered for his rudeness by slipping on a hidden slick of ice, landing on his butt and skidding down the tunnel for a few feet. His friends chuckled at his displeasure as he picked himself up and rubbed his cold bruised rear. Alaric carefully stepped over the slick and led them down the tunnel's exit.
The temperature was getting even colder then before and now they could feel a strong breeze coming in from the tunnel's exit. Snow was billowing inside in clouds, causing snow banks to grow steadily, even when they trudged through them.
They wished that they had kept their makeshift cloaks after all.
Mal'fax, due to his larger build, was unfortunately used as a living windscreen by his friends as they huddled behind him. Alaric however trudged forward unhindered, his hair bands jingling in the wind. A scene reminiscent of when they first crash landed here.
Nearing the end of the tunnel, they saw that a thick mist was creeping in like a malevolent plasmid creature. They all stopped as the result of this unexpected, possibly unnatural phenomenon. The tunnels end was obscured in this mist, adding an ominous sense of dread as to what resided beyond. Alaric cautiously stepped through, keeping his pulse rifle raised and his finger on the trigger. He vanished from sight for a few moments, the initiates waiting behind for him before he stuck a hand out and gestured them to follow.
They eventually stepped out into the light, arriving on a large carved stone platform protruding from the rock wall of a vast, miles wide cavern and saw something that caught their attention, and their breaths, in an instant, making them remove their masks to see if it was a trick of their sight.
What they saw in the center of this mist filled cavern, resting on an ice encrusted spire of rock, was a monolithic Yautja temple, the one that fitted the rough thermal scan perfectly. And the sheer size of it was enough to make even Alaric's jaw drop. Beams of light and the faint trickle of falling snow could be seen shining down upon it from fissures high up in the cavern's ceiling and the parts of the temple that was being illuminated confirmed what they had suspected.
The temple was indeed the hive as there was hive webbing covering all over it and stretching from the surroundings to it like a spider's web. This, combined with the many millennia of ice and snow accumulation, obscured many of the temple's cosmetic features. The intricate glyphs and statues that would be leading up to and decorating the temple were now nothing more then misshapen lumps of webbed and iced stone.
Directly in front of them, leading up to the temple was a massive and equally monolithic stone bridge that stretched across a dark subterranean sea that was surrounding the temple, it's supporting pillars sunk deep into the sea. This bridge too had been assimilated by the hive but in a lesser degree the more it stretched from the temple and it was more consumed by the snow and ice at their end with only the occasional arterial tendril leeching on the stone.
"Well, we now know where they are." Alaric said, slipping his mask back on and zooming in to examine the temple more closely. "And, Ancestors, they've been busy."
Alaric carefully scanned the whole area with his mask, zooming as far as he could into every possible hiding place, keeping a watch for any Xenomorphs patrolling the temple and if there were any other tunnels from which they could escape. So far he wasn't seeing any patrols or any other tunnel leading away from the temple. If there were any Xenomorphs here, they were either off on a raid or lurking inside their hive. If they were not in this area, at least they would be cut off from reinforcements when the tunnel goes up.
Then he, the initiates, and the Archangels could hunt those stragglers down.
Alaric also saw that in the walls of the cavern, even under the platform that they were standing on that there were frozen glaciers seeping through the rock faces. The glaciers were all located at eight different directional points in perfect alignment like an eight pointed star. And they all flowed down to the sea below. He came to the assumption that in the ancient past, water flowed into this cavern that formed the sea below them but it has since frozen solid.
However, why didn't the sea freeze too?
"I don't see any mutated bugs patrolling." Alaric pointed out. "They must be inside napping or out hunting."
He couldn't be sure as there way no way that he could hail Andrezj from this position for any information. Alaric wasted no time, reaching for his pack of charges while the initiates were still gaping in awe at the sight. He sat down on the ground and got to work, looking out over the temple every now and then as he carefully took out all the charges.
The initiates were busy gazing on the temple turned hive.
"By the gods." Ly'enta murmured in wonder. "I've never seen a temple of this size. You could fit nine or even ten initiation temples inside this one.
"No clan today could've built a temple like that." Mal'fax said. "No knowledge on how to even build one like this survives to this day."
He walked closer to the bridge as Kra'vyx let go of his shoulder and slumped against the tunnel wall. Mal'fax knelt at one of the bridge's abutments near them. He then started to carefully clean off the ice and strands of hive webbing as best he could so that he could try to find some identifiable marks or maybe even a clan glyph. Unfortunately, as he tore off the webbing, the stone underneath cracked and crumbled, destroying any markings beneath.
Mal'fax gave an annoyed grunt to himself as he let the crumbled masonry drop through his fingers.
Another thing he broke unintentionally.
"The hive has encroached on the stone for too long." he said, walking back. "Impossible to remove without the right gear."
"What clan would build a temple like this, deep in a deathworld?" Fel'tak questioned, looking down at the shear drop under the bridge and platform. "See how deep this water goes? Like Cetanu himself is lurking about down there."
He then knocked a piece of ice off the edge with his foot and watched as it went plummeting down through the mist, plopping into the water with an echoing splash and disappeared into the dark void.
"Just like that ice cavern from before." he compared. "It just keeps going."
Kra'vyx was still looking at the temple from where he was leaning on the cavern wall. He had never took his eyes off it. The stories that the oldest Ancients told were once again filling his head. The clan who fought the God-Prey. The prisons constructed to lock away the evil. The clan that vanished from the face of history. In his opiate addled head, the pieces were slowly fitting together.
"It was the unknown clan who imprisoned the God-Prey." Kra'vyx said. "The legends that the Ancients spoke of. They're true after all."
His friends looked back to him when he said that.
"Are you still going on about the stories?" Fel'tak asked, walking back to them. "This is place is creepy enough without those tales being told."
"Well, what else can it be?" Kra'vyx pointed out.
Alaric looked up from the charge he was working on.
"What stories?" Alaric asked, plugging in it's detonator.
The initiates looked to each other with uncertainty in their eyes. They seemed hesitant to even talk about the subject. Those tales of a horror from an age long past were not something that the clan of Lai'kairis talked about often. It was something that was told once and only once to each generation.
"You lot have gone quiet." Alaric pointed out, setting the charge before working on another. "Is this a taboo subject?"
It was evident that they were reluctant to talk about what they knew and Kra'vyx was the one to explain when it became evident that neither of his friends would talk about it.
"The Ancients once spoke of these Khiande Amedha, Primarchs I think they were called." Kra'vyx told Alaric, trying to remember the stories from so long ago. "Gods among prey, they spread through out the stars, destroying whole worlds and devouring entire races. And one clan of hunters, warriors without equals, sacrificed themselves to destroy and seal away the last of them."
"Sounds like they were quite the warriors." Alaric commended, getting back to the charge he was working on.
"Those stories are only half forgotten legends." Fel'tak pointed out. "There are no records of that time and no one knows what exactly happened. Not even the most ancient of the Ancients."
"But they believe in the stories." Ly'enta stated, turning to Fel'tak. "You could see it in their eyes whenever they talked about it. They were terrified."
"Is there a name for this clan?" Alaric asked, working on the final charge.
"No, nothing about them is known." Mal'fax answered. "Only that they sacrificed themselves to imprison the God-Prey."
Alaric pulled out lengths of wire and started rigging the charges together. He paused for a moment to think about what Mal'fax just said in his head.
Nothing known about a clan who did something as heroic as that? Isn't taking down the greatest prey a hunter could ever dream of something worth recording? And if so, why was this not?
"Don't any of you find that odd?" Alaric asked, resuming his work. "Something as important as that happened, yet there are no records of who was involved?"
Speaking of records, Mal'fax had been thinking of logging what had happened since they had crashed and, despite taking a few still images of the Xenomorphs from the colony, he had yet to record anything of great significance.
Mal'fax nodded to himself.
"We should record this and get it to Kal'deris and the Elders." Mal'fax said, slipping on his mask reaching for his wrist-comp. "Shed some light as to what's been going on."
"Do that and then let's get out of here before we're seen." Fel'tak added, reaching for his. "That hive is freaking me out."
Mal'fax went about taking images of the temple, the bridge, and the tunnel. Ly'enta and Fel'tak were doing the same as well. Kra'vyx Alaric in the meantime had finished preparing all the charges.
"I'm placing the charges." He told them. "Get ready to move."
Alaric moved to the entrance of the tunnel, crouched to the base of the wall, and started to hack at the ice covering the stone tunnel with his axe as discreetly as he could. When he had cleared a sizable space, he attached the demo charge to the stone wall. He then wired up the mining charges in the same manner around the tunnel, placing them where stone blocks met for maximum effect.
Mal'fax and Fel'tak kept a sharp lookout as Alaric worked on the charges. Kra'vyx was readjusting his armor and was slowly regaining his balance as he took a few steps away from the wall unaided.
"I'm setting the timer for sixty minutes." Alaric said, punching in the keys. "Should give us enough time to clear the mines and refinery before they detonate."
He then hit the arming switch and the charges all gave a beep and a red light shone on each one. The timer on the demo charge started counting down.
"Let's go." Alaric said, switching his cloak field on. "We don't want to be here when these bugs find out they've been locked up."
The initiates didn't need telling twice and they all began running as fast as they could back up the tunnel. The charges gave of a steady series of beeps as the timer counted down to detonation. Their footsteps crunching through the snow and pounded on the stone floor gave the false impression of a stampede of beasts roaring down the tunnel. Alaric took this time to place one of those plasma barriers not far from the charges as a further deterrent from escaping, setting it to active via motion tracking. He then deftly chucked it on the ceiling where it latched with a click and then the circuitry started to glimmer as it went about it's detection cycles.
A thought crept into Ly'enta's mind at that point making her stop in her tracks.
"I just remembered something." Ly'enta said, raising a finger.
Everyone skidded to a stop, almost slipping over each other in the confines of the tunnel.
"Don't tell me you dropped something back there?" Fel'tak barked at her.
He was silenced by a smack over the head by Mal'fax.
"Shut up!" he whispered. "Don't give away our position!"
He turned his head to Ly'enta as Fel'tak readjusted his mask and muttered to himself.
"What is it?" Mal'fax asked her.
"Its something that occurred the same time as those stories." Ly'enta explained. "It was one of those mass extinctions that took place."
Alaric caught Kra'vyx who stumbled over into the tunnel wall and overheard what she said.
"Mass extinctions?" Alaric questioned. "Did you Yautja over hunt a previous species or was it from those bugs?"
"Neither. Many animal species simply disappeared around the same time." Ly'enta answered. "Nothing much is known about those either, despite investigation."
Alaric pushed Kra'vyx on and followed as he took that information in.
"Disappearing animals and a clan, a clan of great warriors, that vanished from history without a trace." Alaric composed, putting the two facts together. "Is this getting difficult to follow or is there some pattern to it?"
"As I said, nothing is known. One day they were there and the next, they vanished." Ly'enta stated. "And the god-prey had nothing to do with it as far as could be searched, being on worlds far from their reach."
"And again, there's no explanation on how? I'm starting to think there's something else going on."
The initiates looked to each other.
"Either records were lost by accident or they were wiped by some hidden party." Alaric clarified.
"What? Are you insinuating that records had been deleted?" Mal'kah questioned. "That is against ancient law to delete vital historical records."
"That or maybe someone didn't want anyone to learn about it at the time it happened." Fel'tak proposed.
They all looked at Fel'tak in disbelief at what Fel'tak said. He had actually said something constructive for a change, other than griping about the misery of their time on the planet.
"Congratulations. That is the first helpful thing you said since we crashed here." Mal'fax praised.
"I try." Fel'tak said.
Alaric then hushed them.
"We can bicker about natural or unnatural extinctions back at the colony. Let's just get a move on." Alaric said, putting more speed into his legs.
The initiates followed suit in quick succession.
They exited the tunnel within minutes, evading nearly all the hidden ice slicks within and Alaric immediately dashed for the mining drill rig that Kra'vyx was leaning on previously. It was in perfect position to be pushed into the tunnel. He walked past the massive boring drill head, hopped into the cabin, and, with great effort, released all the frozen brakes. He then tried to start the engine, the engine failed to even make a sound. He hopped out, lifted the maintenance hatch, and checked the engine. He cursed loudly when he saw that the Xenomorphs had done a fine job of shredding the engine to ribbons.
Another bit of too-intelligent thinking.
Right, he thought. Plan B.
He moved to the back of the rig, preparing to push it.
"Come give me a hand." he said to the initiates before giving the rig a shove with his shoulder.
His shoulder connected with the metal plating with a metallic thud and the rig shuddered, shaking off some of the snow and ice that was accumulating on it. He rubbed his shoulder before he tried again.
"What are you doing?" Fel'tak asked, watching as Alaric tried again, but this time the rig inched forward.
"Plugging the hole. What does it look like?" Alaric told him, muscles bulging as he strained to move the rig. "I want to keep the bastards in there for the bang!"
Mal'fax understood what Alaric was doing and he rushed over to help, followed by Ly'enta and then Kra'vyx. Fel'tak looked back at the tunnel, thought hesitantly for a second about delaying their escape and then rushed to help. After a moment of near bursting muscles from all of them, with Mal'fax using his bulk as a battering ram, the ice encrusting the rig's tracks started to crack and then shattered, giving the tracks freedom to move. The rig's internal workings protested loudly to this rough treatment to its frozen gears as it clattered along to the tunnel entry. After much exhausting, muscle rupturing pushing, and shoving, the rig plugged the hole with a nice solid thud accompanied by snow falling from the wall.
Alaric climbed to the cabin again while everyone gained their breaths and applied the brakes, even slicing the handle off with his axe for good measure before jumping out. He tossed the handle over his back and dusted his hands.
'Just in case.' He thought.
"Right, let's get back to the refinery and the Archangels." Alaric told the initiates. "And let's hope none of those bugs are lurking about on the way."
Alaric led the way with the initiates following behind. Kra'vyx had now recovered enough of his strength to run unaided. Ly'enta followed close to him in case he needed support. Alaric, to save them time from getting lost on the way back had left identifiable marks, arrows to be exact, to mark the way they came.
Their biggest intention at the moment was to get back to safer territory before the charges detonate, as things were guaranteed to get frantic when the Xenomorphs learned that they had been locked up again. They would likely try to dig their way back out or, if there was a sizable force of them already away from the hive, launch a full scale attack on the colony.
And in it's pitiful state, the colony couldn't withstand another attack on that scale.
That didn't really matter to the initiates as it meant more prey for which to prove themselves.
"What do we do when we get back to the colony?" Mal'fax asked.
"Bunker down and rest." Alaric said.
"Me and Kra'vyx still need to bring home a trophy." Ly'enta pointed out. "It would be an insult to the clan if with we came back empty handed."
"Well, I'm not in much shape to fight at the moment." Kra'vyx pointed out. "Head's still throbbing like hell and..." He fell over but quickly regained his footing. "Still wobbly."
"When the hive is blocked off, we can hunt down every single one of those bugs not imprisoned. You'll get your trophy before we leave this ice ball." Alaric assured before looking at the timer on his wrist. "Forty minutes to go. We gotta pick up the pace!"
He then started running faster, putting more power into his legs and the initiates followed suit. They zipped down the winding tunnels, nimbly moving past wrecked mining rigs and scattered equipment. Alaric's parkour skills came into effect as he effortlessly maneuvered around and rolled or flipped over obstacles. Kra'vyx wasn't doing too bad himself, though his landings were mistimed a few times and he got a face full of snow for his failure. But he was doing great considering his current state. Mal'fax, Ly'enta, and Fel'tak were also covering ground well but were not as fluid in their movements as Alaric.
They eventually emerged from the mines, breathing hard, exhausted, and limbs burning with exertion from their long, hard sprint. Alaric and the initiates stopped to catch their breaths next to a wrecked truck. Fel'tak out of all them fell to the ground, panting hard. Seemed he had boasted much about his speed in the past. Alaric who was only lightly panting looked down to the timer, having lost track of time in the long run.
Thirty minutes, he thought. We made it. Faster then I thought, too.
Now all they had to do was navigate through the refinery, link up with the Archangels at the main entrance, and head back to the colony. After that, some serious hunting could begin.
Gesturing the initiates to follow, somewhat begrudgingly from their body language, Alaric led them into the courtyard. They followed behind with Fel'tak mumbling for them to stop for one moment. Alaric in turn stated to him that the Archangels are not too far ahead. They moved around the courtyard's raised platform, the refinery coming into view and they saw something that threw the timing of the whole operation into disarray.
Something that Alaric had not expected after all the butchering he had done beforehand.
"You have... gotta be... shitting me." Alaric panted, cocking his pulse rifle.