Chapter 2: Infection
As the egg opened, LaRone watched in mounting horror as something moved inside it. A flash of motion caught his eye, and he dived to the deck.
But it didn't matter, as the creature that leapt from the egg didn't leap at him, it leapt at the trooper.
LaRone watched as the creature wrapped a long tail around the stormtrooper's neck, trying to attach itself to his face.
LaRone started to get up, thinking that the danger had passed. After all, the trooper's helmet was doing a fine job of stopping the creature from fully hugging his head. But as LaRone was about to reassure the trooper, who was starting to freak out, the creature reared back and spat some green fluid at the trooper's helmet. The fluid immediatly started to burn through the front of the helmet. LaRone immediatly reached for the helmet, trying to remove it before the acidic substance burned through to the skin, but he was too late. The creature pushed through the pulpified mass of the helmet, firmly attaching itself to the trooper's face.
The trooper fell to the deck, his hands clawing at his face desperatly before falling still.
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LaRone immediatly rushed everyone out of the ship, the other stormtroopers carrying their fallen comrade. On LaRone's orders, they placed him on an antigrav strecher, brought by EMTs stationed near the docking bay. Larone walked with the EMTs to the Infirmary, answering their questions as they went.
"What happened?" they asked.
"There was a creature of some sorts in a hidden hold. It jumped out of an egg and attached itself to his face."
How did it get throgh the helmet?"
It spat some kind of acid at him. It got through before I could do anything"
"Okay, we'll do our best to remove it."
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Captain Othune sat at his desk, still as bored as he had been when they had found the freighter. His comlink buzzed.
"Captain, we just recieved a report from the boarding party."
"Well, did they find anything of interest?"
"It depends on what you define as 'of interest' sir."
"What do you mean"
"Apparently a macroparasite of some kind attached itself to a stormtrooper, sir."
"What?!?"
"Yes ,sir. The trooper is in the Infirmary now."
"Alert me to any changes in his condition, and quarantine the freighter until further notice."
"Yes sir."