Chapter 5:

The chestburster twisted its head around, scoping out the environment that it had violently emerged into. Sensing no immediate danger, it removed itself from the body that had housed it, making a sickening sound caused by the remains of its victim's internal organs as they were pushed aside by the chestburster's limbs.

As the last segments of its tail slithered out, the chestburster started searching for a way out of the cell. It looked around, seeing only a small ventilation grille near the ceiling, and of course, the door. It couldn't reach the grille, but the door looked more promising. It shifted up to the door, but it stayed resolutely shut.

The ISB agent watched as the chestburster moved around the cell through the security camera in the detention cell. He could let the thing out of course, but his orders were to assess the creature's capabilities, and this seemed to be as good a test as any. Instead of finding a way out, however, it instead chose to return to the corpse that had birthed it, and started eating. The agent looked on in interest and a slight bit of disgust as the chestburster started using a set of inner jaws to punch holes in the corpse's skull and sucking out the contents.

Suddenly a loud noise sounded from above him. He pulled out his blaster and looked around to see what had caused it. Seeing nothing, he turned back to the computer screen where the chestburster was still eating. Something looked off, though and it only took a few seconds for the agent to figure it out.

The creature was growing.

It didn't seem possible but the creature was getting bigger. It hadn't grown much in the few seconds that the agent had looked away, but as he looked closer, he could see the thing getting bigger every second.

Then he heard another noise, a quieter noise, almost as something was moving across the ceiling. At first he didn't notice it, due to the sight before his eyes, but he took notice as he heard a sizzling sound coming from behind him. He spun around only seeing a dark shape fall from the ceiling. He quickly fired a shot at it, but he missed, blasting a chunk out of the wall. He looked down, and saw a long serpentine tail vanish under his bed. His mind became clouded with disbelief and fear, but changed to satisfaction as he realized that this made things a lot easier for him. He had been planning to sneak on board the freighter so that he could capture one of the macroparasites, and one of them had been kind enough to come to him. Unfortunately, he did not have all the necessary safety equipment, but he had managed to procure a large acid-proof container to keep it in. All he had to do was find it without taking his eyes off the bed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Captain Othune stood on the bridge. He had been doing so ever since his encounter with Colonel Wulmaw; it was really amazing how fear could shake a man out of complacency. He was staring into the empty void ahead, when something occurred to him. He turned to his security officer.

"Has there been any update from the detention level?"

"No, sir."

Othune turned back to the window. "Send a detachment to investigate." he ordered.

"Yes sir."

Othune started pacing the bridge, while the back of his mind worried about what to do with the ISB agent still onboard.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Captain Othune was thinking about him on the bridge, the agent felt his hand come into contact with the rim of the container. He quickly moved it so that it was in front of him, and took the lid off. He then approached the bed, and making sure that his blaster was set to low power, he crouched down and fired.

A flash of motion caught his eye, and he turned to the left just as the parasite leaped at him. He brought the container up and was relieved to hear the creature smack it on. He locked the container, and stood back as the container rattled with into the bottom of it. He dropped his blaster and grabbed the lid and stuck the creature's attempts to get out. Satisfied that the situation was safe, he turned back to the monitor and sat down. The creature, which based on its characteristics the agent had decided was a xenomorph, was still feasting on its host's corpse. The xenomorph had already eaten most of the body, and was now about half the size of the xenomorph on the freighter. Suddenly, the xenomorph snapped its head around, looking at the door that had frustrated its efforts to escape. The agent quickly called up one of the corridor cams, and saw a group of stormtroopers walk past the door.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Larone woke up to the sight of a stormtrooper staring right at him. He shakily got to his feet. "What happened?" he inquired.

"Apparently, somebody unleashed some kind of fast acting nerve gas on this level. We already found the detention crew, they seem fine."

LaRone turned to Jaxter, and he could tell that they were thinking the same thing. ISB.
Suddenly, the sound of blaster fire penetrated the silence. Everyone raced down the corridor, until they came to four stormtroopers.

"We opened the door to check on him and it just leaped out."

"What just leaped out?"

"I don't know, sir. It was too fast, I didn't get a good look at it."

LaRone nodded as he looked into the cell. He was immediately sickened by what he saw. The trooper was completely dismembered. There were gaping holes in his skull, and most of his flesh looked like it had been eaten. There was blood everywhere, staining the walls and floor of the cell. It was all he could do just to not vomit. He had seen some terrible things in the Clone Wars, but nothing came close to this.

"Where did it go?"

The stormtrooper pointed down the corridor. "That way sir." he replied.

LaRone hurried down the corridor. He turned the corner and saw a long tail slithering down a vent near the floor. It vanished as he got closer, and as he approached he saw a gaping hole in the grille. He heard the sound of footsteps behind him.

"Where does this go?" he asked.

"It looks like a garbage disposal vent, sir."

"Stang." Then LaRone smiled. "When is the next garbage dump?"

"Not for several hours, sir."

"Contact Maintenance, tell them to move up their schedule. And alert the captain."

"Yes, sir."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sir, I'm receiving an update from the detention level."

Othune turned around, and walked over to the security officer. "Yes."

After a lengthy pause, Othune began to grow impatient. "Well, what is it."

"Sir, apparently the trooper is dead, and the parasite has escaped into the garbage disposal system. Commander LaRone reports that Maintenance has been informed and they are requesting to move up the dumping schedule."

Othune thought for a second before answering.

"Tell them to stand by."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The xenomorph landed on a pile of discarded trash that rose about three meters from a lake of filth that covered the floor of the compactor. It got up and started investigating its new environment. It moved to the base of the pile and looked around. A quiet splash caught its attention and the xenomorph snapped its head towards the sound. It hissed quietly, extending its inner jaws. Seeing nothing, the xenomorph cautiously edged into the water. It swam to the bottom, looking for anything of interest. However, it failed to notice the large creature slowly following it.