Chapter Twelve
Seth groaned softly, he could hear voices, but they sounded diffuse, as if he was hearing them from underwater. He tried to focus, but felt sleepy and a little queasy. He slowly drifted between sleep and wakefulness, every now and then, he could hear the voices again.
"No, we can't move him. He has a head injury," said a voice he almost recognized. It was a woman's voice, but he couldn't quite place where he had heard it. Whoever she was, she seemed to be talking about him.
A head injury. Maybe he'd fallen down one of the mining shafts. If that was the case, he was lucky to be alive. As he drifted in and out of consciousness, he became aware of a steady rumble, like some great engine. Maybe he really was in the mines, as there were plenty of big machines that had that kind of rumble down there. His head felt hot, but, strangely, it didn't hurt. His left shoulder did, though. Seth then heard another voice, a male voice. It was soft and gentle, a friend's voice. After a little thought, he recognized the name, his lips barely moving, whispered the name.
"Kyle?" Seth barely whispered.
Kyle's head snapped around at the soft croak. Seth was cradled in the Great Mother's arms on a bed of softest, warm silk, his head supported by her larger arm as she gently purred, comforting him.
"I'm here, Seth," Kyle soothed as he looked at his friend's face.
Seth was a real mess.
His face was covered in blood, both his, and that of the Creator who had tried to kill him. Seth weakly groaned, licking his lips. Sophie moaned as she wrapped her arms around Kyle, comforting her mate as he looked at Seth, who was barely alive. Seth groaned softly as he tried to move his head. The Great Mother softly grasped his face with one of her hands, keeping him still. Seth slowly opened his eyes and rolled them towards Kyle.
Kyle felt sick when he saw Seth's eyes. The whites of his eyes were almost completely red from the hemorrhaging blood vessels, but that wasn't what really hit Kyle hard. At the very edges of Seth's eyes, the veins were not red, but knotted harsh silver, as was the very outermost edge of the white of the eye. Kyle felt his heart plummet to the bottom of his feet as Sophie moaned, feeling her mate's distress.
Kyle? What's wrong? Sophie asked as she tightened her grip.
Seth has Second-Stage Thalarium poisoning. He's from Berren Prime, just like me, Sophie was shocked.
Thalarium was one of the most dangerous heavy metals known, and it was everywhere on Berren Prime. The deadly heavy metal settled in the kidneys, lungs and, worst of all, the nerves and brain. Nobody who lived on Berren Prime didn't have it in some amount in their system. It was this deadly element that killed hundreds of children every month.
Sophie recalled an image from Kyle's memories of a vast cavern that stretched off into the distance as far as the eye could see. All along the walls were niches. In each niche was a tiny body, wrapped in a shroud, a small candle and a child's toy. Countless teddy bears, dolls and other marks of the innocence of childhood marked this ghastly, endless cavern as the Berren Prime Childrens' Graveyard. It was this horrible, heartbreaking image that Kyle made into one of his most famous paintings as Trevor Stone: Grave of the Innocents. This amazing, stark, heart-wrenching painting stirred much concern and humanitarian help for Berren Prime. Sophie wasn't the only one who saw the image.
The Great Mother moaned in maternal sorrow at the image of so many children, some not even five years old, dead before their time. It filled her with untold grief. She moaned sadly as she softly nuzzled Seth.
No parent should have to bury their child . . . she wept. She gave a deep rumble, which even Sam and the other humans felt. Diana and Artemis approached, moaning softly as they looked at Seth.
Kyle tried his best to smile, but it was halfhearted.
"Don't worry, Seth. You're safe," Kyle comforted as Diana and Artemis extended their tongues and produced two large blobs of the white Life-Jelly, dripping it onto the Great Mother's hand. She softly crooned as she applied a little to her finger, very gently wiping it on Seth's lips. Seth very weakly licked at his lips as his eyes sagged closed.
"Tastes sweet," he slurred in a mumble. Kyle smiled feebly, but Sophie moaned.
Sam sighed with some mild relief as she watched Seth lick the Royal-Jelly. If anything would help, it would be that. She frowned as she read the readout from the portable medical scanner from her medical kit. Seth had some minor skull fractures, and a very small hemorrhage in his brain. It was the latter that concerned Sam most. Especially the fact that it was on the top of his brain. Sam watched as the Great Mother held Seth in her arms, gently feeding him the Royal-Jelly and softly purring. She looked again at the scan.
"He has a small hemorrhage in his brain," she said as she looked at the scanner, everyone listening. "Right now, it's not serious, but we have to keep him calm and try not to move him. If the blood clot comes off, he'll be dead before we can do anything. So, we have to make sure nothing raises his blood pressure." The Great Mother purred gently, nodding as she gave Seth the last of the jelly. Sam replaced the scanner and removed a small tube. She smiled gently as she looked at Seth. He looked at Sam, his bloody eyes barely open, just slits.
"Is everyone okay?" Seth asked weakly. The Great Mother moaned as she stroked his hair. Sam smiled as best she could.
"Yes, Seth," she replied.
"The babies? Are they okay?" Seth asked, his voice tired and weak.
"They're just fine, thanks to you," said Kyle. Sophie purred her agreement as she softly touched his face. Sam brought up the tiny pressure syringe and pressed it to Seth's neck, injecting the Morphine.
"There. That will help your pain. You just take it easy and sleep. You've done more than anyone," Sam said softly. The Great Mother crooned softly, as did Diana, Artemis, Lissa, and all the rest of her children. Seth gave a soft smile as he closed his eyes and slept in the Great Mother's arms.
"Seth's as tough as they come," said Hugo from where he sat to the side. A-Mos nodded softly in agreement.
"Berrens always are," said A-Mos. Sam sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. It was a small miracle that Seth was alive, after what happened. Her amber eyes drifted to the far wall.
A form was laying by a wall, covered in the cream-colored silk of Sophie's kind, a bloodstain where the head was. Sam couldn't help a few tears. There wasn't anything they could do. By the time they found Terry, it was already too late. Sam blinked her tears away as her gaze settled on the crumpled from of the Creator, laying against the wall where the Great Mother has tossed it.
The body was nearly cut in two from where the Great Mother's tail-blade had pierced the side. If she had been even a second slower, Seth would be dead. She felt someone place something warm on her shoulders. She smiled at Mac as he draped his leather jacket over her shoulders.
With Seth sleeping in the Great Mother's arms, Kyle and Sophie turned to their friends.
"Well, what do we do now?" Victor asked as he ran his hand over his mohawk. A-Mos sighed as he crossed his arms.
"Well, we know the Nazis have a lading craft somewhere around. We need to find it and take care of it," A-Mos said firmly. Mac nodded his agreement.
"He's right." Mac looked at Kyle. "Have the others in the city found anything?" Kyle frowned lightly as Sophie growled.
"They think so. The scent is vague, but they think they came from the beach," Kyle said as he filtered the thoughts from the others with Sophie. A-Mos sighed.
"Sounds like an amphibious dropship," A-Mos grunted. Sergei sighed as he scratched his head.
"That will make things difficult," Sergei muttered. Kyle gave a soft smile as he shook his head.
"Hardly. Sophie's kind are natural swimmers. Believe me, I know," Kyle assured. A-Mos nodded lightly.
"Be that as it may, they'd likely detect them with their sonar before they got close enough to strike," A-Mos pointed out. Kyle smiled wider, and so did Sophie.
"That's where we have an advantage. Two, in fact," Kyle declared as he held up the belt of the Creator's grenades. Diana hissed softly as she approached. "How about we give them a taste of their own history? I think a little Blitzkrieg is in order," Kyle said as he, Sophie and Diana grinned.
XXX
The Nazis on board the dropship/U-Boat were busy as they read dials and screens, pressed buttons and went about their duties. One of them bore a look of frustration.
"Unit four-six-seven, respond!" he growled into his headset. "Unit four-one-eight, respond! Any units, respond at once, damn it!" Only silence answered him. He angrily slammed his fist against a wall. "Those idiots had better be dead, or they'll wish they were!" he declared as he stood up from where he had been stooped by the console.
Suddenly, a clunk made them all turn to the ladder that led up to the entrance hatch. A band was laying there, studded with several metallic oval shapes.
"What the hell is that?" asked one of the crew.
XXX
The explosion could easily be seen from the shore as the blueish column of fire erupted from the conning tower of the U-boat-shuttle and went skywards, the water rippling with the force. There were several loud howls of laughter from the shore at the impromptu fireworks display.
"Boom, baby!" Victor bellowed. Hugo was humming Ride of the Valkyries as loud as he could.
Even A-Mos had a grin as Diana came in for a most graceful landing on the soft sand.
"Nice hit. The bastards didn't know what hit them," A-Mos chuckled. Diana purred at the praise as Kyle sat on Sophie's back, clinging to one of the cliffs as he watched through a pair of binoculars.
"Perfect hit. I can see it sinking," Kyle confirmed. Sophie purred as she turned and crawled down the cliff and onto the sand. MacReady nodded as he watched the Nazi craft sink.
"Great job. That will buy us a little time," Mac said with a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.
The invaders will not so easily be deterred. Return to the Hive, the Great Mother advised. Kyle nodded and relayed her message to the group. A-Mos nodded.
"Good idea. I want to see if we can get into the Creators' armory. We might have a better chance if we have some superior firepower," A-Mos advised. This was met with positive murmurs from everyone.
XXX
Back inside the pyramid, it took a fairly long time, and Sophie, Lissa and several others to break open the resin that sealed the alien armory. Sergei opened the door and switched on the lights, revealing all the strange alien weaponry that was on racks on the walls, waiting to be used.
"Holy moly ravioli!" Victor gasped as he stared at the huge alien weapons. Most of the rifles were as long as he was tall. Some were much smaller, looking more like pistols.
"That's a lot of firepower," Mac whistled as he entered the room. A-Mos hefted up one of the Creator weapons, looking down the sights.
"Rather light for the size," A-Mos observed as he looked at the holes for the hand to grip the large trigger. Sergei was translating as Victor and Hugo looked like two little boys in a toy store.
"Look at that one! That looks so wicked!" said Hugo, almost drooling over a small, compact weapon that reminded them of a submachine gun. Kyle looked up at a particularly large rifle on a wall. It had a folding bipod attached underneath the barrel and looked to be almost ten feet long.
"What's that one?" Kyle asked as Sophie trilled. Sergei typed on his datapad as A-Mos approached. Sergei frowned as he read the translation.
"Huh, it's a little hard to translate, but it seems to say 'Sonic-Electric Disruptor'," Sergei said, seeming confused. A-Mos smiled wide at the name.
"That sounds like fun," A-Mos grinned in much the same way Sophie did.
XXX
It was beginning to rain, the misty clouds hanging low as the second Nazi dropship came in through the clouds. The smaller craft circled the ruined alien city, observing before landing. Shattered alien craft, huge and crescent-shaped sat where they had crashed thousands of years ago. The city was completely still, the only movement from the rain as the ship came in for a landing in a clear area between several ruined buildings.
Below on the ground, a long tube, too small for the cameras on the dropship to see, stuck out of the cracked wall of one of the ruined buildings, a few drops of rain dripping from the shiny surface.
The tube followed the movement of the dropship, carefully aiming at it, waiting patiently for the right moment to strike. The dropship came in, the engines whining as it landed with a metallic clunk. It remained motionless for a few seconds, just sitting in the pattering rain. A hiss emanated from it as the ramp in the underside lowered and the black-clad troops inside disembarked, their rifles raised.
The tube aimed carefully at the front of the dropship. There was a fierce boom as the weapon discharged violently, the amber-colored shot of energy flying straight and hitting the front of the ship with a deafening roar. The glass of the windows on the ship shattered, as did the goggles of the troops as they all were knocked down. Yellow bolts of electricity sparked and flickered as they crawled along the sparking ship.
"Now!" MacReady yelled as a sudden hail of blue energy rounds flew from the ruined building that they had set up the ambush in. Several of the Nazis were killed before they could even rise.
Sophie and her Hive-Sisters charged, pouncing on their enemies and killing them swiftly. Several of them streamed up the ramp and into the dropship. Screams could be heard from within, droplets of blood flew out of the smashed windshield as the pilots within met their end. The fight was over in under a minute. All told, the Nazis managed to fire exactly three shots. The group of humans carefully came out from their hiding place, weapons ready. Sergei smiled as he looked at A-Mos.
"My, my, that rifle came in quite handy, didn't it?" said the linguist as A-Mos hefted up a smaller rifle.
"It really did," A-Mos replied smugly, patting the stock. Kyle smiled as Sophie walked up, wiping the blood from her face.
They're all dead. They never had a chance to radio their ship, Sophie confirmed. Kyle smiled at the good news. A-Mos' plan had worked like a charm. When Sergei found out that the Disruptor-Rifle emitted a combination EMP and sonic round, A-Mos realized it would be perfect to down the Nazi ship and disable all of its gadgetry. Not a single piece of electronics had survived. Even if the Nazis had been able to stand and fight, their targeting computers and laser sights all were destroyed.
Kyle looked at MacReady and smiled.
"Got 'em all," Kyle confirmed. Mac smiled and nodded his head.
"Good," Mac replied as he rolled a dead Nazi over with his boot. Victor and Hugo swept their compact weapons around.
"Man, we fragged 'em good!" Hugo loudly declared, pumping his fist. Victor grinned.
"Yeah! Caught 'em with their pants down!" Victor crowed. As the two grinned, they became aware of a steady rumbling that seemed to be getting louder. Everyone frowned as they looked around for the source of the rumbling. Even the Xenomorphs looked confused. In a very short time, the ground was shaking as the rumble became a deep, distant roar that seemed to be getting closer.
"What the hell is going on?!" Kyle yelled as Sophie growled. MacReady grimaced as he looked up at the clouds.
"Atmospheric entry. We've got company, people!" Mac yelled, just as the clouds were breached by a large, long shape. Everyone tensed and the Xenomorphs screeched as the massive Nazi ship came into view, the white circle and swastika fully visible on the side. Sam looked pale as she watched the main Nazi ship coming closer.
"Oh, my god," she breathed. Victor and Hugo growled as they gripped their weapons.
"Man! Can this day get any worse?!" Victor asked loudly.
They all were taken by surprise when there was a huge blast from above. The Nazi ship suddenly exploded into flame as a massive explosion broke the ship into two in the middle, the two halves of the ship falling down to crash into the cliffs and mountainside. They looked further up as another, larger shape came through the clouds right behind the Nazi ship. It was huge. Massive gun batteries adorned the sides, marking it as a battle-carrier. As the ship fully breached the clouds, they all felt sick when they saw the Weyland-Yutani logo emblazoned on the side of the massive ship. Mac glared at Victor.
"You just had to say something," Mac growled. Sam desperately looked at A-Mos.
"Quick! That rifle! Use it on that ship!" she tried not to panic. A-Mos growled softly.
"Won't work. I can tell from here. That's a battle-carrier, and armored against things like that.
We'd need an anti-aircraft cannon to punch through that armor," A-Mos looked at the group. "Let's get into the pyramid and close the doors!" The group scrambled to do just that as the massive craft moved overhead. When everyone was inside, human and Xenomorph, Sergei closed and locked the large doors of the pyramid.
Once the doors were closed, the group allowed themselves to collapse.
"Great, after everything we've been through, those Weyland-Yutani bastards still found this place!" Victor groaned. A-Mos frowned from where he leaned against a wall.
"I think it's safe to say that Wey-Yu's little partnership with the Nazis is dissolved," A-Mos quipped. MacReady sighed heavily as he scratched his beard.
"They must've followed the Krauts, just like they followed us," Mac sighed as he almost hung his head. Sophie moaned as she hugged Kyle, her tail gently wrapping around him.
Don't be afraid, my love. I'm here, Sophie comforted as she nuzzled him. He smiled as he touched his head to hers. Sergei sighed as he looked at his datapad before placing it in the pocket of his survival suit. MacReady looked at Kyle and Sophie as Sam held Mac's hand.
"How's Seth doing?" Mac asked. Kyle gave a soft smile.
"He's doing much better. He's still sleeping, but he's already healing," Kyle confirmed through his link to the Hive. Mac smiled and nodded. Sergei frowned lightly as he stood from where he had been sitting.
"I think there are defensive systems in the control room," Sergei announced. Everyone looked up at him. "I have a hard time believing that a city like this, made by such an advanced, warlike people was so vulnerable to not have some kind of defense from airborne attack. There have to be some kind of anti-aircraft defenses for this city. Let's find them." This was met by positive murmurs.
The group quickly headed for the control room. All the while, Kyle could feel the Xenomorphs' thoughts, updating the Great Mother, and each other on the situation. Despite how dire things were looking, he constantly could feel the comforting thoughts and feelings from all the others.
As they arrived at the control room, Sergei took a seat in one of the large chairs and began to tap holograms, browsing through files and long strings of alien glyphs. He frowned as he tapped some blinking glyphs. They were surprised when a hologram of two Nazis running through a strange hallway appeared. It almost looked like they were running through halls covered with hive-resin, but these walls seemed to look more mechanical than organic.
They were startled when a large, long tube suddenly shot out of the ceiling, grabbing one of the Nazis, engulfing him from his head downwards. Sophie moaned, shivering from head to toe at the horrible sight. Kyle hugged his frightened mate, comforting her and sending warm feelings through their link.
Don't worry, Sophie. It's far away. It can't get us. We're safe here, Kyle comforted as he gently kissed her on the cheek. Sam turned away as another long tube caught the other Nazi, slowly devouring him from the feet up. Mac looked at Kyle, grim-faced.
"What the hell is that?" MacReady asked as the first Nazi's legs helplessly kicked as he was slowly eaten alive by the living tube with teeth.
"It's the Devourer," Kyle replied darkly. Sergei, barely keeping his own stomach from turning, managed top turn off the display. A-Mos sighed.
"They must have been survivors from the Nazi battle-carrier. Likely from an escape pod that managed to eject," A-Mos stated as he looked at the alien holograms. Sergei nodded his agreement.
"So, that's the Devourer. What a nightmare," said Hugo as he tried to keep his lunch down.
Mac looked at Sergei.
"Can you show us where the W-Y ship is landing?" Sergei nodded as he touched various holograms until a view of the outside was displayed, the Weyland-Yutani ship coming down right next to the even larger Devourer. As the ship came down, the afterburners seared off the vegetation from the ground, showing that it was carved into the rock. The whole place was one large landing field.
Kyle sighed heavily as he watched.
"They're after that ship," Kyle said. Everyone looked at him. "They think it has eggs, Cradles on board, like the ship on Acheron," he explained. Hugo rubbed the side of his neck.
"Um, so what do they want them for? It can't just be for weapons," Hugo said, sounding more than a little confused. MacReady looked at Kyle, who was looking at Sam, then his own hands. Mac blinked as he turned and looked out the door, then back to Kyle as Mac rubbed the back of his head.
"You're right. They don't just want them for weapons," he said as realization hit him. The group looked at MacReady as he spoke. "Before they wiped them out, they used to make all kinds of medicines and important chemicals from Horseshoe Crabs back on Earth. They think they can do the same with Sophie's kind." Kyle gave Mac a grateful smile, glad he didn't have to come out and say it.
A-Mos nodded.
"Right. Especially the Royal-Jelly. They'd make a fortune if they learned about it," A-Mos said as Sophie moaned. Sam frowned.
"And all at the expense of Sophie's people. They'd use them like cattle!" Sam growled. Mac watched as hatches on the side of the W-Y ship opened. He looked at Sergei.
"Can you detonate the engines of that ship?" Mac asked. Everyone looked at Mac. Sergei smiled at him.
"No, not remotely, but I can do something even better," Sergei replied as he tapped holograms, bringing up a grid, displaying what appeared to be the whole valley. "I may not be able to remotely detonate the ships, but I can activate and fly them." This was met with surprised murmurs. Kyle frowned lightly as he looked at the hologram.
"I'm not so sure that will be a permanent solution," Kyle pointed out. Sergei smiled further as he got up from the chair and walked over to the console that had been damaged, and pointed to the hologram of the planet.
"It's not, but this is. Take a closer look at the rings around the planet," Sergei said. They did. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They looked rather like the rings around Saturn. "Those rings aren't natural; they're a planetary defense system," he declared. The group was stunned into silence. Sergei crossed his arms as he looked at the hologram. "This is the control console for it. Thanks to Terry, we have everything we need." MacReady looked at Sergei.
"We don't have any time to lose. Do it!" Sergei smiled as he took his place at the console.
"Okay, let's get this party in the air," Sergei chuckled as he tapped the glyphs and holograms. They watched as ships began to rumble and rise, both on the map, and through the hologram. The humans on the ground hurriedly got back into their ship as the Devourer began to lift from the ground. They were a little surprised when they heard voices, mixed with static.
"Mr. Yutani, the ships are taking off!" said a voice through a radio channel.
"Go after that large ship! Don't lose it! We've worked too hard to lose it now!" replied a deeper voice. They watched as the ship took off again to catch up with the Devourer as it was leaving.
Sergei stood from his chair and walked over to the console for the defense array. He pressed a few of the buttons on the side, then tapped the hologram.
Everyone watched as the rings of the planet began to move. Right before their eyes, the rings turned, one raising, the other lowering until the planet looked like an atom with protons. The ships were tiny dots on the hologram as they flew outwards, towards the rings. Everyone tensed as they watched, hoping for the best. Victor looked at Sergei.
"What if they catch up and board it?" Victor asked. Sergei smiled as he watched.
"It won't matter. They'll just be lunch. They'll never stop a ship that big," Sergei said as they watched the ships near the rings. Strings of alien glyphs ran across the hologram, changing from blue to yellow to red. Then, suddenly, the rings turned red and the dots of the ships all vanished.
Kyle sighed with relief and Sophie purred as Victor and Hugo cheered loudly and Sam threw her arms around Mac's neck. Just like that, the Weyland-Yutani battle-carrier, all the Creator ships, everything was gone, completely vaporized. A-Mos chuckled as he leaned against one of the consoles.
"Not bad, not bad," he chuckled. MacReady sighed with relief as he looked at Kyle and Sophie.
"Now that those bastards are taken care of, let's see to Terry. He saved us all,"
XXX
There was a soft, gentle breeze blowing as the group ascended the cliffs. Kyle rode on Sophie's back, Sam, Mac and the rest rode on others as they climbed the cliffs. As they climbed, Sergei could see the nieces that held the statues of the Ossians. He smiled as the group climbed higher.
"Marvelous," said Sergei. They reached the top of the cliff, overlooking the sea. Diana and Artemis carefully carried a form to the edge of the cliff, carefully placing it upright, softly crooning as they did.
Terry stood, his body encased in resin, like a statue, the face looking so lifelike, he almost looked like he was merely sleeping. Sophie's skill as a sculptor was marvelous and meticulous. The whole group, human and Xenomorph alike, bowed their heads in respect.
"Thank you, Terry. You saved us all," Sam said as she wiped her tears. Mac and all the others paid their last respects, one at a time. A-Mos was last. The former soldier walked up to Terry's interred form and pinned something to the still somewhat-soft resin. As he stood back, Kyle couldn't help a soft gasp at the teal-enameled medal.
It was the Nova Star of Valor, the second-highest award of the Untied Systems Military. A-Mos raised his right hand in a salute.
"You earned it," was all he said before he turned on his heel and walked back to the group.
Just as they were preparing to leave, the clouds parted, and revealed something beautiful. Sam looked up and smiled.
"Look at that!" she gasped. The others looked as they saw the beautiful, soft-violet sky that the clouds had hidden. The group smiled at the beautiful sky as they returned to the city.
XXX
Kyle and Sophie sat on the beach as the evening began turning to dark, just watching the waves. Kyle sat in Sophie's lap as she stroked his hair and he held her hands.
We did it, Sophie. We helped the Great Mother and the others, Kyle said softly. Sophie purred gently.
Yes, we did. Now, they can set right the natural order that the Creators interfered with. Kyle smiled softly as he rubbed Sophie's hands. They were silent for a while, just enjoying each other's company and the closeness.
Do you want to stay? Kyle asked. Sophie hummed softly as she stroked his hair.
No. It is beautiful, and it is the home of my kind, but it's not my home, Sophie replied. Images of their island, their aqua-farm, their studio, the forest, their bedroom all flowed through their minds.
Kyle smiled softly as he kissed Sophie's hands. He could feel the tiny pinch in her heart to leave her kind.
She loved Kyle more than anything in the whole of the cosmos, but a small part of her felt sad to return to a world where she was the only one of her kind. Kyle could feel it, and it hurt his heart as well, but there wasn't anything he could do. He turned in Sophie's lap and wrapped his arms around her.
"I love you, Sophie," Kyle whispered softly. Sophie purred as she stroked his hair.
I love you too, Kyle.
XXX
The Great Mother softly moaned as she felt Kyle and Sophie's conversation. Kyle and Sophie were her children, and she loved them as any mother would. It made her sad to see their quandary.
As she lay on her bed of silk, she softly crooned as she gently rocked Seth in her arms, like a small child. Indeed, that was what he was, compared to her. All humans were. She looked at Seth as he slumbered and smiled softly.
He was healing very quickly, thanks to the Life-Jelly. Kyle was the very first human being she had ever encountered, but he had given the best of impressions about his kind.
Seth had also shown the best qualities of his species. There was something endearing to her about humans. Artemis crooned softly from where she rested beside her Mother.
They are a very resilient race, Artemis said as the Great Mother brushed a strand of hair from Seth's face.
Yes, they are. They also are sad, said the Great Mother as she looked at her daughter as Artemis tilted her head. They are sad, lost, lonely, scared little children, and are worthy of our compassion. Seth moaned softly in his sleep. The Great Mother gently stroked his cheek.
"Shhh . . .," she gently soothed as she rocked him.
Seth's willingness to give his life for them had touched all of the Hive. All her children were concerned for his safety and well-being, and constantly asking their Mother how he was. The Great Mother smiled warmly at him. But they certainly are brave. The Great Mother looked at Artemis. They are flawed, as are we. But, they have something we lack, as do we have something they don't. On our own, we are both imperfect and flawed, but together, there is a beauty and a happiness that we cannot achieve on our own.
Her children agreed with her words. As she thought on this, her mind drifted back to Kyle and Sophie. She purred as she looked through the images from Sophie's memories of their beautiful home on Zerichs II, and the wonderful people there. The Great Mother suddenly thrummed deeply as an idea hit her.
XXX
The next morning, the Great Mother asked Kyle and the others to come to the Hive as soon as they were able. The group filed in as all of the Xenomorphs seemed to be gathered around their mother, purring and trilling.
You wanted to see us, Great Mother? Kyle asked as Sophie trilled. The Great Mother nodded as she stroked Seth's hair as he laid on his bed of silk next to her, awake, but still very tired.
Yes. Now that the horrors of the Creators are gone, we can finally safely walk in the open air again. We can finally set right what was set wrong and Bond with our beloved hosts again. And it's all thanks to you. Kyle felt his cheeks warm at not only the Great Mother's praise, but that of the whole Hive. But I also wanted to ask something of you, all of you, the Great Mother said as she looked at the group of humans.
She shifted her gaze to Kyle and Sophie. I have seen the beautiful world that is your home, and have seen the wonderful people there. As well, I have seen the wonderful, loving Bond you share with Sophie. I could ask for nothing better for my beloved children than for them to have a wonderful, loving Bond to one such as you. The Great Mother thrummed deeply as she gently stroked Kyle's hair. I wanted to ask if one of you would be willing to share this Bond with one of my children, and let her live on your wonderful world. Kyle blinked as he stared at her.
"Kyle, what is she saying?" Sam asked. Kyle looked back at Sam as Sophie trilled.
"She's asking if one of us would be willing to be Bonded to one of her children and take her home with us," Kyle replied. The group looked surprised.
"I will," said a soft voice. All gazes turned to Seth at his words. He smiled softly as he looked at Kyle and Sophie. "I'd be honored to share that kind of Bond with someone like Sophie." The Great Mother crooned, as did her children, filling the Hive with a wonderful sound. Kyle and Sophie both smiled as they looked at Seth.
"She asked if you'd be willing to be Bonded to one of the new Mothers, a Queen," Kyle slowly ventured. Seth only smiled, his eyes looking almost normal.
"I'd be honored," he replied. MacReady chuckled as he shook his head.
"Looks like Zerichs II can expect some new immigrants," he chuckled as he scratched his beard. A-Mos nodded, his arms crossed and a grin adorning his face.
"And they'd be protected from W-Y by Zerichs' Sanctuary Law. Just like the Milurians," A-Mos added. Sam smiled as Sophie hugged her mate, lifting Kyle off the floor as she purred.
"That's wonderful. I'm sure there'd be other people on Zerichs who would love to share the Bond. I'd have to think it through, myself, though," Sam said. The Great Mother looked at Sam and purred as she gently touched Sam's stomach. Kyle and Sophie both froze, Kyle's eyes wide.
"Um, Sam? You already have a little life growing inside you," Kyle chuckled. The whole room went quiet as Sam looked down at her belly as the Great Mother purred. Mac's mouth hung open as he stared at Sam. Before she could speak, Mac wrapped his arms around Sam's waist and whooped as he picked her up and began to dance around the chamber.
"Yeeha! I'm a daddy! I'm a daddy!" Everyone, human and Xenomorph alike grinned at Mac and Sam. Sergei sighed from where he was, watching the whole thing.
"Aw, that's so sweet,"
That night, there was a lot of celebrating and planning as Sam carefully went over the files from Catherine's hard drive about Sophie's gestation and the surgery. She wanted to be as ready as she could be for when it was time for Seth's Bonded to be born.
In the mean time, during the next few days the Xenomorphs were finally able to open the long-sealed room that housed the Cradles and began taking them down to the shore to Bond them to the Mer-Gels. All of them were absolutely stunned at how beautiful the first Xenomorph born from a Mer-Gel was.
She had iridescent colors of blues, golds and greens to her exoskeleton and thin, translucent membranes between her fingers, arms, legs and along her tail. She was as loving and tender with her Bonded as Sophie was with Kyle, and more were being born every few hours. Already, the Hive was growing, and the Great Mother seemed ready to burst with maternal pride.
One person who was absent, however, was Sergei. Kyle rolled his eyes as he and Sophie ventured into the pyramid to find the linguist.
With their departure drawing near, Sergei had practically been sleeping in the pyramid, rushing to translate and download as much information as he could. They found him in the halls, just coming from the control room.
"Ah, here you are. I have some amazing news!" Sergei said, excited as he brought up his datapad. "I managed to translate some of the files on the older race, the Ossians, and it's amazing! Listen to this: We are going beyond now, leaving behind the mortal shells that have served us for so long. We leave behind this world, pristine, a testament to the forms of flesh that we now are transcending. Never shall we forget this, our beloved home, where all life was bound together, in harmony. We leave this dimension with joy in our souls, but the loving memory of this, our beloved world shall stay with us forever."
Sergei looked at Kyle and Sophie. "That was engraved in a ruin that the Creators found. I can't be positive, but it looks like the Ossians created this world, and all the life on it! They made this world to be a symbiotic paradise!" he declared. Sophie purred as Kyle smiled.
"Then, that makes them the true creators," Kyle chuckled. Sergei smiled.
"And we've helped set right what the others set wrong. I hope that, wherever they are, it makes them happy," Sergei said softly. Sophie purred as she nuzzled Kyle.
"I think they are," Kyle replied. Sergei pulled something out of his pocket.
"Lissa brought me this. It's something they hid from the Creators, it seems," said the linguist as he handed Kyle what seemed to be a long card of some kind of crystal. "Before you ask, I already know what it does. It's the control device for the defense array." They looked at him as Sergei smiled.
"Once it's activated, the defense array will literally make this planet invisible. If anything gets close, it will be vaporized. I can't tell if it's something the Creators made, or the Ossians, but it will keep this world safe from Weyland-Yutani and others like them," Sergei said as he stuffed the crystal back in his pocket. Kyle and Sophie were both relieved at the news.
"Come on, you've gotta see the beach. The ones Bonded to the Mer-Gels are amazing to see!" Kyle said as they led Sergei to the beach.
The night before they were to depart, Sam gave Seth a sedative to help him sleep during the implantation process. With him sleeping on his bed of soft silk, the Great Mother gently placed one of the Cradles near Seth's sleeping form. The others all stood back and watched
The Cradle shivered very slightly as the petals opened like a flower. For a few seconds, all was still. Then, the Seeker began to carefully crawl from the Cradle. The Great Mother crooned softly as the Seeker turned towards Seth's sleeping form. Carefully, it crawled out and down the side of the Cradle, onto the floor and onto Seth's chest.
Kyle could feel the mind of the Seeker. It wasn't in any way a complex mind, but it did known enough to follow the Great Mother's urging to be gentle with Seth. It carefully crawled up to his face, the two forelegs gently touching his face. It slowly and carefully settled over his face, the long fingers seeming to caress his face gently as the tail softly slid around his neck. MacReady sighed as he held Sam's hand. He looked at Kyle.
"How long will it take?" Mac asked.
"Not sure. A few hours," Kyle replied. The Great Mother and the others watched carefully while Kyle and the others slept.
When the morning came, the Seeker had fallen off. Seth still slumbered peacefully, a soft smile on his face. Sophie purred as she woke Kyle and the others. The Great Mother gently woke Seth, softly stroking his hair and purring.
"I dreamed about being wrapped in warm blankets," Seth said, his voice a little raspy. Kyle smiled as it brought back his own memories.
"So did I," said Kyle. Seth looked at him. "That's what she's feeling, inside you," Kyle explained. Seth gently stroked his chest. Victor elbowed Hugo.
"Seth's pregnant," Victor snickered.
"What was that?" Seth said, voice low.
"Nothing!" squeaked the mechanic. Mac rolled his eyes at the antics of his crew.
"Alright, let's get our stuff together, people," Mac ordered.
Outside the pyramid, everyone said their farewells to their new friends. Lissa hugged Kyle and Sophie tightly as she purred.
Lissa miss Kyle, Sophie! Kyle smiled as he returned the embrace.
We'll miss you, too, Kyle replied. Lissa whined as she gave them one last hug. Diana and Artemis also gave Kyle and Sophie farewell embraces. When it came time to say goodbye to the Great Mother, Kyle couldn't hold back his tears. He hugged her tightly as she embraced him with all four of her arms. It was agony for Kyle to bid her farewell. She purred gently as she stroked his hair.
Don't cry, my child. We'll meet again, someday, said the Great Mother. She pulled back and gazed into his face. Wherever your parents are, I know they're proud of you, Kyle. She placed a soft kiss on his forehead, filled with motherly tenderness, love and warmth. The Great Mother looked at Sophie as she embraced her mate. Take good care of each other. Kyle and Sophie nodded as the Great Mother turned her attention to Seth. He smiled as she brushed a strand of hair from his face.
"I promise I'll take good care of your daughter," he said firmly. The Great Mother smiled as she embraced him as well.
I know you will. Goodbye, Seth . . .
XXX
Kyle had to take Terry's former position on the bridge as technician as the Vortex lifted off. Kyle sniffed, fighting tears as the ship lifted into the air and headed back into space. Sophie felt her mate's sadness and thrummed as she stroked his shoulder.
Don't cry, Kyle. We'll see them all again someday. Don't be sad, she comforted. Kyle smiled as he focused his attention on the readouts. At they flew into space, they flew past the rings, and could see that instead of being made up of tiny asteroids, the rings were made of millions upon millions of diamond-shaped metal objects, encrusted with eons of space-dust. All of them shared a sense of awe as they flew past the rings. It boggled their minds to think that something so massive had been engineered by someone.
As they left the rings, they were surprised when the whole planet wavered and rippled, like heatwaves on a summer day. Then, right before their very eyes, the planet faded from view, as if it never was.
"Amazing!" said Sergei. Kyle blinked through his tears as he looked at the screens.
"It's not even on radar or CFS. It's like it ceased to be," Kyle confirmed. MacReady sighed as he nodded.
"Good. Now they're really safe. Nobody can harm them or the planet. Let's head home," Mac ordered.
"Yes, sir," replied Kyle as the crew set course for Zerichs II.
XXX
The Great Mother sat on a cliff, her chin resting on her crossed hands as she watched the Vortex take off and become a glowing dot in the sky. She purred deeply as she looked down at the beach below.
Many of her children had been Bonded to the Mer-Gels, who were shedding their skins and becoming adults. It filled her with happiness as her children purred and cooed, but it was the singing of the Mer-Gels that enchanted her. Their soft, haunting chorus of lilting calls filled her with untold joy. They were her children, too, in a way. Something in her, deeper than even Hive Memories reached, was happy at the sound. As she looked up at the violet sky, the statues above her of the Ossians seemed to shimmer in the light, as if they were made from hardened silk by skilled hands, eons ago.