A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far (WhoWritesThisCrap, Master-Debater69, and darkfinder)! It truly means a lot to me, and helps motivate me to write more.
As always, reviews are welcome, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!
XXX
Zivos Station
Miranda Lawson was uneasy.
She, Garrus and Mordin had been travelling down darkened, silent hallways for an indefinite amount of time, finding nothing of their mission. That in itself wasn't cause for alarm. The walls, ceiling, and floor seemed to be sculpted from some type of solidified liquid resin.
Her first thought was of the Collectors, and their partially organic-looking interior of their starships. However, just by looking at it she could tell that it didn't match the insectoids' aesthetic sense. This resin was entirely black; indeed, it seemed to suck up all light in the area, leaving only darkness in its place.
Garrus was on full alert, constantly scanning the shadowy corridors down the scope of his Vindicator for any signs of movement. He cursed under his breath when it became clear he was wasting his time; the "webbing" coating the environment made it nearly impossible to distinguish any and all visual cues. It would make it very easy for the group to be ambushed. Garrus didn't like being ambushed.
Mordin seemed to be the only one thoroughly intrigued by the peculiar substance.
"Warmer temperature in areas containing resin suggests manipulation of temperature. Or perhaps, material merely grows in warmer climates?"
Miranda quickened her pace, her squadmates following suit.
"Let's keep moving. We'll find someone eventually."
As the squad navigated through the maze-like corridors, they didn't notice the shadows that detached from the walls, silently pursuing them.
XXX
Specimen Three joined up with its Kin on their journey, navigating the twisting passageways of the Hive. The Queen was sending them somewhere; that much was for certain. Three could hear Her guiding it, and assumed the others felt the same.
The miniature swarm of Xenomorphs exited the familiar, resin-coated environment and stepped forth onto the cold, polished floor. This area was not yet secure; once the Armed Prey had been totally eradicated, then the Drones could continue the process of terraforming the station.
Why the Armed Prey hadn't already been destroyed was a question that Three and its cohorts would soon correct.
The hallway ahead of them terminated in a door, utterly unremarkable save for the fact that it barred their path. Although the path branched off to the left, the Queen's guidance insisted that the way they were going was past the closed door.
The door was locked, as shown by the orange holographic symbol in its center. The Xenomorphs couldn't make use of the Armed Prey's glowing arm devices to bypass the lock, and the group lacked any Spitters among them.
However, all hope was not lost.
From their number strode a member of a New Caste. This Xenomorph, much unlike its brethren, was a pale white; a stark contrast from the ebony carapaces of its Kin. Furthermore, it favored standing on its hind legs rather than on all four. As a result of this, it could stand up straighter than the Xenomorphs around it.
Its Kin parted ranks to allow it through, waiting for the New Caste member to show its solution of bypassing the blocked portal.
A blue aura flared up around its body as it reared its head back. Once its attack was fully charged, the pale Xenomorph let loose an ear-bursting scream, its intensity rivaling that of even a Queen's. The biotically-charged soundwave making contact with the metal door, rending it asunder.
Their path no longer obstructed, the Xenomorphs flooded into the newly-opened room. Said room was an atrium, the area above marked with a lattice work of bridges and gangways allowing unhindered movement to higher levels.
The atrium had signs of battle. Corpses belonging to the Armed Prey as well as Kin littered the floor in various poses of death. Some of them, most notably Kin, were riddled with bullet holes. However, some of the Armed Prey's bodies also sported gunshot wounds, suggesting friendly fire. Yet more cadavers sported lacerations and puncture marks, as if they were slashed and impaled by a highly-skilled swords master. One of the Armed Prey was lying face down towards the entrance, one hand stretched in front of him, as if in his last moments of life he was reaching for salvation. Unfortunately for him, his fatal wound put an end to that dream, and any other dream he would have had; there was a sizeable chunk missing from the back of his head, the probable cause being a headbite received from a Xenomorph.
Specimen Three and its brethren surveyed the environment, searching for the quarry their Queen had sent them after.
From two levels above, another door slid open, and from it a dark shape was hurled, pitching over the railing and dropping to the floor below. The shape was revealed to be a headless Drone, drops of acidic blood splatting on the floor tiles and hissing as they made contact.
The eight Xenomorphs hissed in agitation at the sight of their deceased sibling. Loud, booming footsteps emanated from the other side of the door, drawing the attention of the Queen's envoys.
A Hunter, clad in full armor and wielding a Combi-Stick, stood in the doorway, illuminated by the lighting behind it. On its weapon was an impaled Xenomorph head.
As one, the Xenomorphs screeched their fury, their cries joined by the Hunter's own war cry. Whereas the nightmarish creatures' were shrill and panic-inducing, the Yautja's shout was a deep baritone, amplified by the speakers in its snub-nosed Bio-Mask.
Pointing its weapon at the group of Xenomorphs, the Hunter vaulted over the railing and dropped towards its opponents.
XXX
It had been long and arduous, with the sinister feeling of being watched looming over them for practically the entire journey. The threat of the unknown creatures infesting the station was quite real. The fact that Miranda and her squad had yet to actually see these creatures weighed heavily on her mind.
Finally, the Cerberus operative glanced down at the motion tracker application on her Omni-Tool, halting in her advance so as to not walk blindly into an ambush. Mordin and Garrus stopped beside her, watching both ends of the passageway to ensure nothing would sneak up on them.
Miranda ground her teeth in frustration. The motion tracker was picking up a host of sporadic movement signals, just as it had when she had previously checked it. This meant one of two things: first, the enemy (she still wasn't sure just what the enemy was) had them completely surrounded and were just waiting for the opportune time to strike, or the tracker was acting buggy. Of course, now that she thought about it, it could be entirely possible for the strange resin to be screwing with the tracker's operation, though she wasn't sure how.
"Keep checking behind us to see if we're being followed. For now, we'll just keep going straight."
"So… what we've been doing, then?" Garrus quipped.
"Yes Garrus, exactly," Miranda replied.
They continued forward for just a couple more meters when the air around them erupted in high-pitched noise. Behind them, shadowy creatures seemingly pulled themselves out of the walls and ceilings, staring at the Normandy crewmembers with eyeless gazes. The three squadmates instantly trained their weapons on them. A terrible hissing arouse from the area in front of them, causing Miranda to whip her head back around to see another group of the carapaced creatures that had materialized without them noticing.
Slowly, the ebony monsters began to advance, penning in the Cerberus operative and the people under her command.
They were trapped.