The Aspect of Fire - Book I - Interventions

by Roku - Molester of Science

What was once known as the legend of the Shepard, might very well become something entirely different, when a certain Aspect decides to intervene in the happenings of mortals. The Aspect of Fire will make his move, and change the face of the Galaxy, forever. REWRITING IN PROGRESS, CHAPTER 5 NOW OUT.

28. Noveria - Death and Darkness

And, I'm back.

There's nothing much to say about this chapter that I bet you didn't alredy expect, that we're on Noveria now.

Also, since it's been some time since people paid attention to the poll, I'm closing it when the next chapter comes out. Just a heads-up.

---

Noveria - Death and Darkness

October 10th

Normandy CIC

17:13 (ship time)

"So… Garrus, I noticed you seemed to recognize one of the Turians… any fun stories you would like to share?" I ask as we follow the Turians and the Shepards through the CIC. Now with us being fourteen members of the ground team, while we are also hosting a few hierarchy-marines and their captain, this Decarissa Feltan, I think the name was. Funny how all Turian names sound somewhat Latin. Or, it might just be me. Garrus turns to look at me, eyes almost drilling through my soul. I almost shudder at the gaze, but only almost. Then he sighs, and deliberately slows down as we round the galaxy-map;

"I suppose… just don't go spread it around."

"Sure."

"Back in my days in the Turian navy, maybe ten, fifteen years back, I worked as a recon-sniper, hence the rifle… old gift, don't ask. Well, me and this other recon-scout had been… well, we were at each other throats, to put it mildly." Wait… whoa whoa WHOA! Garrus blew of steam with her?

"Divines… Garrus are you telling me… that the woman you… held a tie-breaker with in her quarters… that's her? You nailed the captain?" I have to restrain my voice in order not to shout or make my voice louder than it can already be heard. Garrus isn't wearing any helmet, carrying it along with him under his left arm. When I'm done, the blood seems to have disappeared from his faceplates, and he almost drops the helmet on the floor;

"Ho- Ho- How did-" He stutters, fumbling with his rifle, looking like he's going to drop it.

"Relax Garrus, it's trans-knowledge… no one except for me and Nic knows it, so your secret is safe." I say in an attempt to calm him down. Hell, if I had known I would actually get to meet his old fling… I would have brought a pencil and written 'reach vs. flexibility' on my armor. When we walk down the stairs, I notice none of the turian honor guards are following, meaning their captain needs body-guards, I guess.

"Spirits, I'm never going to get used to you knowing all you do… besides she was only a sergeant back then…" He says, entering the room where the rest of the crew is waiting for orders.

"Don't worry, I'll try and keep the revelations to a minimum." I say as I sit on one of the chairs. It feels a bit weird sitting down in this armor, but I'm guessing the exoskeleton wasn't really meant for sitting in the end. It isn't uncomfortable, just a bit weird. Garrus nods his thanks and sits down, fiddling with his helmet. Noticing a few plates on one of the tables, I can read a few tags on them. One says Garrus, one Nihlus, one Ashley, one Thomas and one Boss. It looks like all but Jane and John have been accounted for, so I suppose those two already have had whatever is on those plates. Opening the lids, I am greeted by the sight of huge lumps of Swartzenbroot, or just what Danes call 'rye bread', a dark and heavy type of bread, delicious when freshly baked, but rather tedious when having been on the table or in the fridge for a few days. There's a bit of ham to add to it, but I just grab the loaf named 'Thomas', and sit down, starting to dig into it. Yuk, when accustomed to ham, curry chicken and sausages, you forget how bad rye bread tends to taste. Nevertheless, I don't know when we'll eat next, so I just swallow the bites, trying to compensate with some of the ham. The rest of the team looks like my opinion is pretty common, all munching down the loafs with various degrees of distaste.

"Damn… I thought I escaped these when I left Earth…" Kaidan says, holding his bread in front of him.

"Yeah well, at least it's better than the oatmeal on Eden Prime." Ash says, earning a few laughs. Mainly from those familiar with the standard of military food.

"I'll second that" I mutter, forcing down the last bite; "Doesn't mean it tastes good though…"

"It's healthy, therefore it can't taste good." Fixer says, looking like he's on the verge of discarding the bread. At one point or another, people look at Nicolai who apparently doesn't mind the bread.

"Hey, it was the only bread left. I'd planned on restocking in Port Hanshan, but… yeah I don't think that's going to happen now. So… enjoy, that's the bread we'll be eating till we reach another port or the Citadel." He says with a shrug. This is where I actually envy Tali. She's just sucking on her tube, seemingly totally indifferent about the flavor. I bet Nic spiced hers up, just for old memories' sake. Cheeky Bastard…

"Hey Ash?" I ask, with a question in mind that's been bugging me for some time.

"Mm…?"

"This guy… Tennyson. Does he have any verses about going down fighting a horde of alien bugs?" I ask with as much casualness as I can. Okay, the question was actually meant to be 'can you tell me some more about Tennyson?' but I suppose this one works as well.

"Well… none that involves fighting in the sense we're going to… though he have a few good ones for a burial… which I kinda hope we won't need… but William Yeats have one I find very… suiting, for facing certain death…" She says, gaining a slightly darker mood.

"Can I hear it?" I ask, suddenly realizing that most of the chat around the table has ended, most people now focusing on Ash. She slowly nods;

"Nor dread nor hope attend
A dying animal;
A man awaits his end
Dreading and hoping all;
Many times he died,
Many times rose again."

She says, pausing for either effect or thought. I just sit here, mesmerized. I've never actually heard poems being recited before, and Ash does it so vividly, it's like she wrote it herself, or experienced it first-hand. Its both scaring and soothing at the same time;

"A great man in his pride
Confronting murderous men
Casts derision upon
Supersession of breath;
He knows death to the bone
Man has created death." She says, the final tone letting us know that she's done.

At first, there's not a sound around the table as most people are, like me, probably stunned by how dark that was.

"Damn… that was sure as hell a mood-lightener…" Nicolai mumbles, finishing his meal. Ignoring him, I just look at Ash, looking at her face, how silent and yet filled with emotions it is.

Many times he died…many times he rose again…a great man in his pride, confronting murderous men...

"It reminds you of yourself a bit, doesn't it?" Roku asks with an almost solemn voice. A rare thing to hear from him.

"Yeah… yeah I guess so…"

…

October 10th

Normandy Briefing room

17:23 (ship time)

"Alright people, this is the plan." John says, demanding our attention by halfway bellowing to cut through the occasional chatter, demonstrating the seriousness of this situation;

"We have had no further contact from Port Hanshan since the distress call, and all civilians are presumed dead. Unfortunately…" He says, shooting his Turian counterpart a look of irritation and mild distaste; "We can't simply bomb the place to hell from Orbit, even though that would have been the most effective solution. Now, the plan for dealing with these critters, will be as follows: We divide into four teams, with each team securing their own little place in heaven in whatever's left in that shithole, where after we establish radio contact with the Centurion, confirming that we are all very much alive. They will then deploy regular marines to carry out a sweep of the area around the lobby, as well as setting up a secured checkpoint which we will use to fall back to in case of the plan going Kazuat." John says, nodding to Jane who proceeds to pull up a holographic map of the complex, giving us an aerial view of the place;

"Now, the teams will be Able, Baker, Charlie and Delta. Able, will take and hold this point, the garage for the vehicles still there, and seal off the entrance from the inside, making sure we won't be having new visitors from the outside, geth or xeno. Baker will secure the hotel, as well as restore any malfunctioning systems from there. Once done, they are to bunker down and await reinforcements from the Centurion. Once relieved, they are to join Able in the garage and repair any vehicles still there." John says, pausing for a breather. Ah fuck… we're splitting into teams anyway?

"Charlie will secure the perimeter around the plaza, as well as lock down any elevators and vents in the area. Not making same mistake as on Acheron. When they are done, Delta will head in and secure remaining rooms and offices, then head to the former administrative office where most of the data-recordings are supposed to be kept. That way perhaps we can find out just what happened here… any questions?" John says, looking at us, his collective band of uniformed rag-tag troops. Tequila stands up;

"Permission to speak sir?" She says with military precision. John nods;

"Granted."

"Sir, with all due respect, that plan is as close to suicide as it gets. Why are we not just nuking the place from orbit? Hell knows we've got the armaments for it." She says, giving him a hard stare, as well as Decarissa. The Turian doesn't look fazed in the least;

"Because Corporal" She says, stepping forward; "We are here for two reasons. One is to remove the threat from Port Hanshan. The other is to capture specimens for study. Council's orders." I feel my entire body shake from those words 'capture… study' . They… they can't be serious. I stand up as well;

"Yes Corporal Fisher, what is it?" The Turian asks, obviously having been briefed on each person in the room. I can feel how the fear is making my legs tremble, but at the same time the anger is causing my breathing to speed up, resulting in me having to grab onto a chair to prevent myself from falling;

"With… all due respect, captain Feltan… are you or the council by any chance diagnosed with mental disorders?" I say as calmly as I can, wanting to avoid swearing in the face of an officer of the Turian Hierarchy. The response is at first a lethal glare from the predatory eyes of the Turian, but I get the sense that, having not been the only person watching the movie, I'm not the only one with this opinion;

"Corporal… can you please repeat that question? I'm sure I heard wrong, because it sounded like you just questioned, not only my judgment, but also my mental stability and that of the council."

"Oh I can repeat it, you bet I can repeat it. Did you not listen to a single word about those things? I'm assuming you did indeed watch the film on those fuckers, on what happens when people try to study them. If any of those leave this planet, just one… if just one of those things happens to get to a new colony, or even better, the Citadel… then the person giving the order to study instead of killing them will be responsible for FUCKING MILLIONS OF DEAD PEOPLE! I do not care if I have to walk from cage to cage containing what you might catch down there, and put a bullet through the head of each of the bugs, but I will not just stand by and let you TRANSPORT THOSE FUCKERS OFF-WORLD!" I say, shouting half of it into the face of a now severely pissed Turian officer while most of the remaining crew is just looking on in silence. Decarissa's voice turns into a low menacing hissing;

"I said: Council orders. That means that as long as you serve on this mission you will abide by those commands or be placed in the brig. Do I make myself clear?" No one, not even Nihlus or Wrex seem interested in interrupting the standoff.

"Ma'am… I realize that in the Turian military, you just obey orders no matter how insane they are… but please, think about what you are doing here. You are about to order the capture, capture not extermination of a species of aliens more hostile and foreign than the Rachni, and more violent and resilient that the Krogan. On top of that, you want to keep it alive? Can't you see the insanity in that? Listen, I agreed to follow my commander, if need be to the death. 'Know why? Because his orders are only partially suicidal, not insane, suicidal and potentially endangering the entire galaxy. Now, what you want… any world that gets infested with these things would require a nuclear purge to cleanse, and boom, there goes that garden-world. Oh, and its millions of inhabitants."

"Corporal… I can understand your reluctance, I have it myself… but you don't disobey the council's orders, not for any reason unless you are prepared for a court-marshal."

"Easy Thomas… easy…"

"Fuck 'easy'! She wants to bring the xenos off-world!"

"I know. Just let me handle that part when we get to it."

"…Fine. Then let's get this shit over with." I growl, finding my seat again, met with some worried stares. Maybe we should have played all the movies anyway…

…

October 10th

Port Hanshan

Docking bay 2

19:11 (Hanshan time)

Exiting the docking tube, I make the last checks on my gear, fastening the helmet, flexing the gloves, testing the exoskeleton's agility and the spin on the gun. Looking around in the bay, I'm struck by how familiar it seems to be. It looks exactly like the one on Feros, just a helluva lot colder. Other than that, nothing really stands out. It's quiet and no one's here to greet us. Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. I just know one thing: I already hate this place. Rolling my neck, the interface inside the helmet lights up, showing me the position of the others, as well as their status. Green means good, blue means in trouble or wounded, and red… I just hope I don't get to see red. The comm. also ignites;

"Alright people… we do this quiet for as long as possible. Radio-contact and hand signals only. We don't know if they are already on to us, but I sure as hell don't see a reason why we should alert them anyway. We move in unison towards the door, then the teams split up. Affirmative?"

"Affirmative" Nihlus says. He leads Able along with John.

"Roger" Jane says, being the leader of Baker. That's the team assigned to repair both systems and cars… or whatever we might find.

"Got it." Garrus says, leading team Charlie, the one supposed to secure the plaza. It's also my team.

"Understood." Boss says, being the leader of Delta. Logical as it is, Delta-team consists of Delta-squad, along with Liare for Biotic support. Each team has one biotic, in case it should become a necessity to dark-force our way out of a situation. When we finally move past what looks like it used to be a security checkpoint, with lots of scorch marks dotting the walls, we reach a set of shattered double-doors, both made from glass with a steel-frame… bent inwards as if they tried keeping something from escaping the place, not entering it. When Tequila touches the door to open it, it slowly falls inwards, landing on the floor with a sharp clatter, the noise echoing through the place.

"Well, I guess they know we are here now…" Garrus says, gripping his rifle even tighter. John enters first, and then turns to face the group;

"Alright, you know your teams and you know your objectives. Let's get it done and then get the hell out of here." He says, waiting for us to pile into teams. I then give Ash a tight embrace, afraid that this could actually be the last time we see each other. But hell no, not as long as I have a word in it! Finally letting go, I take my helmet off, giving her a kiss on the forehead;

"For good luck." I say, trying to smile, even though I know this time… there isn't anything worth smiling over.

"Just be careful in there, okay?" She says with anxiety in her eyes before putting on her helmet as well.

"Hey, remember who you are talking to here." I say, trying to sound like I'm not scared out of my mind.

"Exactly my point." She says, turning to walk back to her group. Nic stands nearby, watching the two of us. He then walks over to me, for some reason punching my shoulder;

"Ouch, what was that for just now?" I ask, even though I hardly felt a thing due to the armored shoulder-piece;

"Nothing… but you better get your ass out of here intact when we're done. Jane hauled you out one time already, and frankly, I don't think I- I mean Ashley, could take that sight one more time. So… be careful in there shithead." He says, a weak smile portraying on his lips;

"Don't worry ye Greenlandic drunk-hole, I'm going to be fine… just make sure you two come back to me, okay? I would rather not face down the Reapers without the Ron and Hermione of the team." I say, trying to force a smile. He just shakes his head and puts on his helmet, becoming yet another armored figure, all clad alike.

"By the way, you should say 'Harry and Hermione', since Ron and Hermione ended up together…" He says, tapping his helmet, producing a slight thud.

"Hva? Did I miss something?" I ask, nearing the doorway. A nervous chuckle can be heard through my comm., betraying the fact that the entire crew is listening in as well.

"Heh, the last book in the series came out a few weeks after you left us. Hermione and Ron ended up making out in the last one… something with goblins or… I don't know, wasn't really in the mood for reading back then…" He says, stepping over the bent doorframe. Damn…I really missed out…

I sigh and put on my own helmet. Here we go… I think as we walk through the doorway, treading on shattered glass.

Able-team

John'Shepard

Nihlus Kryik

Nicolai Tengberg

Ashley Williams

Baker-team

Jane Shepard

Kaidan Alenko

Tali'Zorah

Decarissa Feltan

Charlie-team

Garrus Vakarian

Thomas Fisher

Teresa "Tequila" Aquila

Urdnot Wrex

Delta-team

Boss -38

Scorch -62

Sev - 07

Fixer - 40

Liara Tsoni

…

"Alright… we all know our jobs, let's get them done and get out of here. Teams… commence." John says, starting to lead his guys down a set of stairs.

…

Able-Team

19:19 (Port Hanshan time)

"Can you guys read the 'creepy' written on the walls here?" Nicolai Tengberg asked, looking around in the large room they were currently located in. everything was made from either concrete or steel, with nothing even resembling wood or other 'soft' materials. In his eyes, the entire place looked like it was made for robots, not sentient life.

"What, you mean there's something wrong here Tengberg?" Ashley responded, aiming her gun at the ceiling, not taking any chances with an attack from above. She had chosen to stick to her own Lancer-IV, apparently not feeling the hype coming with hefting a giant rotary-machine gun on your waist. As she looked at the ceiling, she could have sworn she saw shades and shadows moving about, but each time she focused the infra-red sights from her helmet, there was nothing. Just cold, deserted wall and stone. Not even a single light was flickering, and a blizzard was raging outside the windows, pouring snow and frost through one of the cracked glass-panels

"Shut it Chief, not really in the mood for jokes now… Save it for Thom when you can go about eating each other again." He said, finger dancing over the trigger to the minigun, his new best friend for the time being. Although the exoskeleton had been a little weird getting used to, he had quickly gotten accustomed to it, now walking like a man having just released a wet fart. Hearing the sound of pebble moving, he swung the gun to his right, and almost opened fire when he noticed that the source of the noise had been nothing but a fountain. The still-flowing water occasionally pulled a small stone from its place, causing it to scurry down a small slide before ending in a shallow basin with a plop.

"Jesus, this place is getting on my nerves… why can't we just be attacked and get the shooting done with already?" He sneered, examining the walls for any signs of the growth or whatever it was, that the xenos used to hide in.

"Don't go wishing for what might come sooner than you'd like Tengberg." The voice of Nihlus said over the comm. Inwardly, Nicolai groaned. As if it wasn't enough being sent into a xeno-infested hellhole, he would have to be in the same squad as the single pervy turian in the entire ship's history, present and future.

"I know that Nihlus… but aren't you even the least bit scared? Nervous, anxious?" He asked, not fully expecting a reply.

"I once faced down an entire platoon of rebel turians, killed them all myself… I didn't even know the meaning of that word. Now… now is different. These things don't carry guns, they don't stick to cover. They don't try to trick you or ask you to surrender… they just kill. I've never seen anything like these creatures… those who have, are either really lucky, or the direct opposite."

"Yeah… ain't it a bitch?" Ashley butted in, reminding them of her presence.

"You know what we could have used right now? Motion-trackers. God, I wish I would actually be able to say 'I've got readings' before something raped my asshole with a sharp tail." Nicolai responded, keeping his eyes on a turned over table covered in a dark substance. He held up his hand, using the left to keep a hold on his gun;

"Guys… look at thi-" He said, walking over to the table, not expecting the sight awaiting him. Behind the table laid a human woman, somewhere in her thirties. She was wearing a dark-pink to purple dress, torn in multiple places. Her eyes were open, as if starring into the ceiling while her hands were loosely clutching her chest. At the area with the breasts, it looked as if she had flayed her clothes. Using her pistol to remove the dress-piece, which was covered in the same dark and dry substance, Ashley revealed a gaping hole in the woman's chest, about the size of a fist. There was an area around her where small spots of dark were decorating the floor. Kneeling down to touch it, John'Shepard managed to pick a piece of it up, crushing it between his gloved and armored fingers: Blood. The same substance was covering the table, as well as drawing a thick but thinning trail away from the body.

"What in the spirits… this almost looks like…like…" Nihlus started, but failed to find the words.

"Like shit just got real… this is bad." Nicolai said, eyes following the trail of blood until it simply faded away on the floor. He could feel his hands shaking, probably because of his heart racing faster than his gun would be able to fire rounds.

"Does she carry any kind of ID?" Shepard asked, keeping a lookout while Ashley walked forward to check. Fishing up a wallet, Ashley pulled out a few items, a credit-chit included, and read the name from it;

"Yes… one G. Parrasini… doesn't say anymore." She said, putting the wallet where she found it. she kept one of the items though, a picture of a woman, probably the one lying dead on the floor, smiling with a little boy on her lap;

"Aw… shit…" She said, handing John the picture. Looking at it, he nodded, stowing it away in one of his pockets. If the picture was to be believed, there could be a little boy out there somewhere.

"I guess we've found our first civilian casualty… anyone's got a guess at what did this to her? Well, aside from the possibility of… wait… what's that?" He said, having spotted what looked like a yellow rubber glove with a tail. Picking it up, he quickly dropped it again, recognizing it for what it was: One of those little creatures who fastened themselves on people's faces. Nicolai stepped over to pick it up, examining it;

"Well… thing's a lot uglier in first person view… never imagined I would see one of these in real… in real… in… guys… we have an even bigger problem than before." He said, eyes widening in fear. The rest of the group sighed in irritation, not wanting anymore bad news;

"What is it now?" Nihlus asked as the first. Nicolai responded by kicking the facehugger across the floor to rest at the Turian's feet.

"Guess where these guys come from." Nicolai said in a voice, mixed with desperation and annoyance.

"From eggs, we saw… eggs… come from… are you saying there's a queen here?" Ashley said, seeing as Nihlus appeared to be nowhere near the point of speaking.

"That or someone came here from another planet already infected. I'm sticking to the 'there's a queen here' theory." He said, about to bring his boot down on the dead creature before he stopped himself, remembering the consequences of spilling their blood.

"Nevertheless, we report this to the others, then we keep going. We still have a few hundred meters and hallways to cover before we reach the garage." Nihlus finally said, tapping his arm-comm. to contact the rest while they moved on. Nicolai, being the most shocked of them all, remained at the corpse for a moment before jogging after the others, a feat worth noting since he was wearing the exoskeleton.

"Wait, what about her?" He asked, causing John to stop and look back to the dead woman, still lying as they had found her. John looked at the man's visors for a few moments before nodding slowly, turning around again;

"Nothing we can do for her anyway. Best make her death mean something." He said, checking his shotgun. Giving the signal they moved on through the desolate port, only hearing the sound of the fountain's pebbles sliding to a rest.

Baker-Team

19:19

"Tell me again captain Feltan… why is it the council is so keen on us sacrificing our asses to bring back test-subjects? What are they even going to be used for?" Jane asked, leaning around a corner on their way to the hotel, starring down a long hallway littered with different objects of little importance: papers, tools, datapad and remains of food. It basically looked like a garbage-wagon had been through there, dropping as it went. The Turian looked at the human woman in annoyance, still flustered over this unknown person who didn't seem to be Commander Shepard, yet was still called Shepard by the crew. She would have to ask later, when not in the company of death. The smell of something unnatural hung in the air, forcing its way down her lungs with every intake of breath. She felt on the verge of throwing up. Oddly enough, the others didn't seem to have this difficulty, probably due to their masks and helmets;

"As I said before: I don't question orders. You humans might feel like arguing with every single command, but Turians just obey. I never asked for the reason, was just told to bring back at least a few viable specimens." She said while training her rifle at a suspicious shadow that quickly vanished as he focused on it, giving off the impression that it had simply been her imagination.

"Hmpf… you know, I've fought these critters before, these 'xenos'… they're not joking around." Jane said, walking forward with her rifle trained at her front, Tali following right after, with the Turian captain and Kaidan in tow.

"Yes, you've made that quite clear now. As has the state of this place." She responded, shooting a look at the Quarian girl in front of her, wondering why they had brought her along, seeing as she would probably panic at the first sight of trouble. That was where she was curious about this John'Shepard as well, seeing as he seemed a lot more capable than most Quarians. Another mental note for an inquiry for later.

"So, why not question it? Hell even I admit that Thomas… Corporal Fisher was right. This seems really stupid. As in 'getting in a fight with a krogan' stupid. Catching these things… I'd rather just shoot them and let that be the end of it." Jane said, noticing the way shadows seemed to play at the walls above turned over tables and broken chairs. They seemed to be nearing some sort of lounge, maybe where visitors had used to stay before going on about their business. The walls were riddled with scorch marks, and the floor was damaged by what looked like oozing puddles of green liquid. All the puddles still hissing carried a faint scent of ammoniac through the filters in her helmet, reminding her that it wasn't sealed against a vacuum, only against poisonous gasses. Which made it all the more troubling that the smell seeped through.

"Miss Shepard, you seem to insist on repeating the same questions instead of staying focused." Feltan said, not being able to wonder if she would live to see the next meet-up with an old friend of hers. One who reminded her disturbingly so of both this Jane Shepard, and the young corporal. The name itself had made an impression, and she had caught herself wondering if there was a relation between the Admiral and this hot-head. As they made it around a large wall-section, they were met by an unexpected, yet logical obstruction: The entrance to the Hotel, a double-door, had been blocked by what looked like a large steel table, cut in two and welded across the entrance as a makeshift wall. It was obvious that the xenos had tried clawing their way through the barrier, given the multiple claw-marks and scratches in the caste-steel plates. Somehow, they seemed to have found another way around, seeing as no one were about to open the barricade and let them in with cries of relief.

"This could take some time… Tali, would you mind getting us through?" Jane asked, stepping aside as the young Quarian stepped up to the barricade, quickly giving it a look before opening her Omni-tool, extracting what looked like an elongated metal rod from her wrist before igniting the end of it like a small, yet very bright lamp;

"Just give me a moment… there only seems to be one layer…" she said as the rod, for lack of better words, practically melted through the steel, causing the area around the working to light up in a bright white light as the sparks flew from the hands of the Quarian. After no more than seventy-nine seconds, the doors could be pushed aside, taking the steel plates with them like reinforced doorframes. Patting Tali's shoulder as she went by, Jane signaled the rest of them to follow her inside. She wasn't quite prepared for the sight that met her.

Charlie-Team

19:20

"So… Any advice you can share Corporal?" I ask Tequila, not taking my eyes off my surroundings, keeping a tight grip on the minigun. It has a slight start-up time, so I want to make sure I'm not jumped or suddenly find myself faced with a horde of these things, and then have to start up the gun. That would get me killed pretty fast. We're in a place I can only describe as looking like the inside of a swimming hall, with a tall ceiling, barren walls and a few chairs distributed across the room. There's also a large reinforced door at the lower left of the room, marking the entrance to a bigger room labeled 'Anoleis. Do not disturb'. I'm guessing this Anoleis, or whatever it means, used to be an important place, because why else would it practically be labeled 'Scrooge McDuck, no entrance'? Wrex and Tequila are both standing watch over the corridor closest to us, leading a few dozen meters down before turning into a T-intersection, splitting off in two new directions. All the lights that seemingly used to illuminate the place have gone red, probably some sort of emergency-lightening. Didn't really look like it helped them all that much.

Garrus is in the progress of using his Omni-tool to weld a worn-down piece f metal over an open grate, closing it off as it becomes the seventh broken grate we've sealed so far. I'm just watching the open area, occasionally switching places with either Wrex or Tequila. I've gotta say, this place doesn't resemble what I've been told at all. There's really no fountain in the middle, no shops consisting of a single glass-wall, and there are numerous corridors stretching beneath the stairs and the first floor. Granted, the big windows in the side are there, but other than that, this looks like a whole different place than the pictures showed. I wish I could remember what happened here in the game.

"Not really… other than shoot first, ask later and keep away from their blood." She says, not taking her eyes off the long dimly lit corridor.

"So… you can't take them on in a fistfight? That's no fun at all…" Wrex mumbles from his spot on a crate.

"By the way… these things tend to change appearance after the type of creature they use as a host… we better hope there weren't any Elcor or Krogan here, or we're in trouble." I say, remembering how the xeno in the third movie had been different because it exploded from an ox… or in the other version from a dog. But I'm sticking to the ox, simply because the dog would be too small for a xeno to fit inside.

"Great, so keep an eye out for any space-elephants with sharp tongues…" Tequila mutters through her comm. in the background Garrus is finishing up his sealing, and rocks the plate a few times to see if it'll hold. Seemingly content, he gets up from the ground.

"Alright… let's find the-" He says, but is cut short when the comm. system activates;

"Yes, Charlie here… Nihlus, how's your progression so far?... Damn… okay, I'll tell the others." He says, switching off the squad-leader comm. For some reason the squad-leaders were given their own channels, not something I'm the biggest fan off, but I suppose they have their reasons. Garrus turns to the rest of us, audibly sighing;

"Alright, seems like the universe wants to play hardball with us. The commander's team just found one of the people working here. Dead, from internal eruption, with what Tengberg called a facehugger lying next to her. It appears as if those little critter-fingers from the labs in the movie have arrived as well, and claimed at the very least one person, a woman named Parrasini. They think she might have had a son here, a small kid apparently, so… keep an eye out, just for that small chance." He says.

"We're playing babysitters now? I thought we were here to kill bugs?" Wrex snorts. Tequila gives him a look of death, identifiable even through her helmet. Wrex doesn't seem to notice, as he carries himself with the same usual carelessness he often does while the rest of us are used to covering our asses.

"Hey Space-turtle, we're here to save those alive, if there are any. And if there are any, we don't ignore them, understood?" She says, hammering her forefinger into his chest plate. If I could see his expression through his helmet, it would probably have been either a sneer, or a priceless look of shock.

"Sure… It's not like I didn't want to help them, you know?" He says, sounding almost sorry for what he said earlier. If it wasn't for the situation, I'd call it funny to listen to. I shake my head, turning back to Garrus;

"So… if there are facehuggers… doesn't that mean…" I say, not fully daring to finish the question. The Turian nods;

"Yeah… Tengberg is pretty convinced there's a queen somewhere around… but not here at least. Then this whole place would be covered in the same goo as the kind on Therum."

"I'm still pretty interested in seeing how these fuckers would stand up to me and this baby." Wrex says, almost chuckling as he brandishes his minigun. Seriously, that guy goes from being awe-inspiring, to scary, and back to awe-inspiring. I wonder if that's a krogan thing or what, but he's one hell of a scarecrow at times.

"Wrex… please refrain from wishing out loud that those freaks are gonna keep us company. If all goes well we won't even see them." Garrus mutters, raising his Lancer-V to eyelevel in order to be able to take the perfect shot, should we actually encounter the bugs. We then move on to secure what looks like a major hole in one of the vents. When I'm looking at it, one thought springs to mind. A regular xeno didn't make that… it's about three times the size of the other holes, and a trail of blood is leading into it from a dark and dried puddle on the floor.

"If this was a movie, something nasty would have attacked us by now…" Tequila mutters, keeping her gun trained on our six while Garrus gets to work on the hole, using his Omni-tool to cut lose a large plate of steel from the wall. That's when we hear it. It's not the low hissing one would expect from Xenomorphs, instead, it sound a lot deeper, like coming from something way bigger than a human. And from the sound of it, it's coming our way.

"You know what Corporal… I like the way you think." Wrex says, pushing down the button, causing his gun to spin up, ready to fire at a second's notice. I also ready mine, but I keep my finger away from it, seeing as I might hit someone friendly in a state of panic. Garrus's movements become frantic as he struggles with the plate, and probably realizing that the Turian is getting too nervous, Tequila lowers her gun to float at her hip, and grabs the plate, helping him stabilize it and get it secured over the broken grate. Tequila looks up from their work while exhaling. In the meantime, Garrus gets to work on welding the plate to the wall.

"Alright, I think- Holy Shit!" Tequila suddenly screams as the plate practically explodes our way, flying straight at Wrex who just manages to turn his heavily armored backside to it, causing it to dent in the shape of his hump. Before he can utter a curse, something lunges from the darkness of the grate. Something big.

Delta-Team

"Man, this place looks worse than the Prosecutor… and that's saying something" Fixer uttered as the flashlights on his helmet ran over the room they were currently in. it looked like a intersection of corridors and ventilation-shafts. Not his favorite place to be, having seen how and where the xenos moved around when inside. The room was a mess, to put it mildly. Debris from everything from tables and food-canisters, to broken guns and a severed arm, looking like it had gotten stuck in a door, and then had been cut off when the door had come down on it.

"I know… back then at least we were fighting something we knew how to kill: get there, and stab the fuckers. These things? From what I recall, stabbing isn't exactly the best option, unless you fancy an acidic bathing." Scorch said. His nervous voice came through the comm. like a knife through whatever courage Liara still had. Educated as an archeologist, her main focus in upbringing hadn't been learning how to gun down borderline immortal hostile creatures.

"Alright, cut the chatter folks. Tsoni, keep your barriers ready, in case we need to survive an ambush. Fixer, seal the entrance behind us. Sev, keep an eye out for trouble, and Scorch?"

"Sir."

"Lay down a tripwire around all the corridors but the one we're going through. I want it to be motion-sensitive, as these things don't seem to mind sticking to the walls and ceilings… also, plant charges on every single xeno-made hole we come across. I want there to be no other ways than our way."

"Sure thing Boss… but how do we know what holes are xeno-holes?" Scorch asked, pulling one of his hi-ex packages from his backpack.

"They look like an Aklay's asshole: green, slimy and dark." Sev answered before his commanding officer could say anything.

"How did you know that?" Boss asked him. Looking to where the red-painted commando stood, looking at the wall;

"Because I just found one…" He said, ripping off a good chunk of the material the hole was made from, only to observe how it broke apart like crystallized sugar. Scorch then moved in to plant the charge.

"Good job Oh-seven. Scorch, wait before you blow that hole… how many trip-sensors do you have left?"

"With this Omni-tool? I can make as many as we need… with some time that is. But so far I've got…" He said, rummaging in his belt and backpack before looking at his squad-leader again; "About seven left. Should be enough for the job, plus I can combine those in the corridors to work as one, saving me two extra sensors… something on your mind sir?"

"Yeah… remember how these slimes came out of the walls? I say we prepare a welcome when they do… and… you heard that noise?" Boss said, stopping himself midsentence, looking up at the vent above him, just in time to avoid the grate that fell from it. a growling, like that of a pissed geonosian, came from the grate as four black clawed fingers gripped the edge of it, causing the metal to buckle slightly under the stress it was subjected to. The entire group formed a ring around the vent, ready to blast whatever was in there;

"You know, this is the part of the job I really… really ha-" Scorch muttered, but was cut short as a pair of strong hands gripped him from behind, slamming him into the nearby wall when the powerful hands struck the side of his armored torso. Everything seemed to move in slow-motion for the group as the walls suddenly seemed to come alive, creatures spilling out of the walls left and right, some even detonating the triggers set in the corridors furthest away, yet they simply kept piling out, until all ways out were cut off by black masses of moving bodies, some of them towering above the rest like miniature bug-queens. The constant hissing and screaming grew into a river of noise, drowning out the sound of Sev screaming in rage at the bug that had crashed his brother into the wall.

The screaming even drowned out the sound of Boss ordering the group to open fire. It wasn't needed though, as each member of the squad lashed out with fire and biotic powers before he could even open his mouth to utter the words.

For Liara, time seemed to stand still as she watched her own body act on instincts, flinging biotic fields at the bugs, causing dozens of them to hover in midair, before the field disappeared again, leaving only half the creatures dead from gunshots while the rest moved on, undeterred by the onslaught of firepower sent their way.

"Fire! Fire, Fire!" Boss shouted into the comm., sending a stream of superheated plasma through a herd of the alien creatures trying to force their way down the middlemost corridor, the one where all of Scorch's traps already had claimed the lives of dozens of Xenomorphs. He was forced to watch as Sev struggled with a pair of the aliens who attempted to drag Scorch away, unable to help his brother as a new herd of the aliens tried their luck against the chaotic and discouraged squad of soldiers. Suddenly, Boss realized just why there were so many weapons scattered on the floor, as well as why there were so many bullet holes: they weren't the first to walk into this trap. Watching the counter on his ammo-bar decrease as the blue bolts flew from his gun, the experienced commando felt a familiar sense of dread as it neared zero while more of the unfamiliar enemies continued pouring out from the holes, replacing everyone he shot with two new.

"Fixer, we need covering fire! Who's got the minigun?" He shouted to the clone busy cutting down Xenomorphs streaming out of the holes, focusing on one that seemed twice as big as the rest.

"Scorch did! I don't see him… or Sev! Where the hell did they go?" The commando shouted as he pumped blast after blast from his slug-thrower into the head and chest of the creature, causing it to roar in pain as it swiped at him, crippling two of its lesser cousins, but narrowly missing the clone.

"Tsoni, lay down a barrier, force that thing back so Fixer can finish it off!" Boss shouted at the woman, causing a bewildered and near-panicked Asari to conjure up a blue storm that didn't only block off the creature, but started ripping it and its surroundings to shreds on a molecular level.

"Liara, calm down! Don't exorcize too much of your strength befo- shit!" Fixer shouted, narrowly avoiding a glob of acidic spit that was flung at him from somewhere behind the big alien.

"Sev! Scorch! Where the hell are you?!" Fixer called out, but got no response save for the constant screaming and hissing coming from all directions.

"Delta-squad, fall back!" Boss ordered, issuing the command he had sworn to never again have to give: leaving men behind.

"We can't just leave Sev and Scorch, they'll die if we- fuck! Die you fucking piece of Rancor Shit! Fuck. You! Fuck. You!" Fixer screamed as he unloaded volley after volley into a group of Xenomorphs moving towards him via the ceiling, causing them to explode on impact and fall in pieces all over their fellow critters, showering them with the acid and slowly corroding the otherwise almost impenetrable skin to the point where they started writhing in pain. Fixer didn't let up though, pumping out round after round, blasting apart aliens to the left and right until he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders, dragging him backwards and away from the enemy who had claimed two of his brothers;

"Fixer, we need to follow Boss's orders! I know you want to- Goddess! To save them, so do I! But if we die here, we'll never save-" Liara shouted at him through the comm. as she dragged him backwards. She stopped shouting when one of the acidic blobs impacted on her shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain as the acid reached her skin, having dissolved a part of her armor.

"That's it! You monsters probably already took my mother, and now you try to take my friends?! I'll send you to the deepest reaches of human hell before I allow that! Go TO HELL!" Liara screamed, holding up bother her hands as she let go of the enraged clone and sent forth a wall of massive biotic power, crushing the aliens closest to her, and sending the rest of them flying backwards into the walls and floors with sickening cracks.

Coming close to the point of fainting, she leaned against the wall and only faintly observed how the two remaining clones ran up to her and with an arm around each of her shoulders, started carrying her away from the chaos of the intersection, back towards the sealed door.

…

Meanwhile

Noveria

Thirty-two kilometers above Port Hanshan.

"Alright squad, listen up! This is a rescue mission, so watch your fire! Don't give our position away! We need to get in fast, kill however many of the creatures are loose in there, get the researchers and get out before the Alliance arrives. Any questions?" The afro-American man barked, gripping tightly onto the strap hanging from the ceiling of the shuttle as they soared towards the largest of Noveria's corporate ports.

"Sir! What about the reports on the Normandy and a Turian Hierarchy ship being engaged in this as well?" One of the armored forms asked as he faced him, face hidden behind the helmet of the newest type of armor, made from "borrowed" designs belonging to the Alliance. They had all donned what was, by the alliance, called the 'phase-II' armor, the newest attrition to Cerberus's armory. The SpecOps-teams had been the first to be outfitted with these, seeing as they were the ones going into the fray in the hot-spots, also known as cleanup-zones by Cerberus, as it wasn't the first time they had been sent to remove witnesses, eliminate escaped test-subjects, or capture convicts used in experiments. This particular unit had, due to their history, marked their armor with their team's personal insignia: A three-headed dog holding a hammer in each of its jaws, lighting surround each head.

"For now, we'll avoid them best as we can. We have enough trouble without drawing the attention of Alliance personnel, but if it turns out they are here to either obstruct us, or have the same goals as us, we'll act accordingly. But for now, focus on exterminating the hostiles, and staying alive, understood?"

"Yes sir. Just another bug-hunt, eh lieutenant?" Another trooper, this time female, commented. Lieutenant Taylor nodded;

"Sure is corporal. Just be mindful, these things aren't Rachni. These things are on a whole 'nother scale. Plus, as far as research has provided, having them bleed on you is a bad idea. Molecular acid tends to be a real SOB, and we don't know how well these armor-types stack against it."

"Understood sir." She responded with military effectiveness.

"Alright people, we are twenty seconds from touchdown… I see another ship in the hangar… frigate from the looks of it… hold on, scans mark it as… the SSV Normandy. Looks like the Alliance got here first." The pilot of the shuttle called in, gaining the lieutenant's attention.

"Alright Hawkins… what of the Centurion?"

"Don't know sir… scans aren't picking it up… could be they moved to the far side of the planet, though I don't see why, they are supposed to be on a joint-op, as far as I know. Should we stay in the air or touch down?" The pilot asked, a certain anxiety filling his voice. The Kodiak wouldn't be able to withstand a surprise attack from a fully armed Turian battle-ship.

"No, we've wasted enough time. Put us down, but stay a few miles away from the port, just in case the turians show up."

"Roger that sir, setting you down." The pilot responded as he landed the shuttle on the ground, just outside Port Hanshan's main docking area. Disembarking, Taylor led his squad of six up the hill, heading towards the door leading to the interior of the port.

"Stack up. We head in single-file. Heimdahl, watch our six. Valkyrie, you're on point." He barked, ordering the female corporal to take point while the squad's long-range fighter took up rear-guard at the door. Shaking the handle, Jacob wasn't too surprised to find it locked, and far too strong for him to kick down.

"Loki, get us in. Silent." He said, ordering the team's hacker to start slicing the door. Without a word, the tech-operative moved up and started melting the frame of the door with a specially developed high-temp rod, causing the side of the door with the locks to simply melt away, allowing him to open the door without a sound.

"Alright, squad, enter and clear. If it aint friendly, it aint allowed to live." he ordered, moving in next after the corporal, call sign 'Valkyrie'. The woman in front of him was the second toughest woman Jacob had ever met, matched only by Miranda Lawson, his current love-affair. Both women were strong, independent, and their biotics packed one hell of a punch, capable of stopping a speeding Mako in its tracks. Difference just was, 'Valkyrie' never took off her helmet except to eat or shower. He had some suspicions about just how the other guys in the squad knew about that last part. Technically, these people were hardened professionals, but the folks who had labeled them as such, had obviously never seen them off duty. When not on the battlefield, these six people were like an extended family, taking care of each other, playing games and teasing. They even celebrated each others' birthdays, including their LT's, although Jacob didn't recall ever having told it to them. To this day it was still a mystery just how they knew it. Not that he minded though. Being pulled out of bed at five in the morning to eat cake made from field-rations had its own special charm, plus the enhanced LX3-biotic implants they had somehow afforded. Even with their substantial paychecks it had cost them the equivalent of an expensive skycar, or half a year's salary in total. Jacob had come to trust and think of them as a second family, and would always do his damned best to ensure they all got back home in one piece.

Moving in through the side-entrance, they came upon what was the start of the catwalk to the spaceport's docks, looking down upon the ship parked down below them. Even from above,the Normandy was an impressive sight. Jacob, as well as a few from the team, had been following the ship since it was made clear that it was out there, fighting humanity's enemies, particularly Saren and his geth.

"Alright, we keep it quiet, and we refrain from damaging that ship, clear?" Which was a key reason why he didn't want it, or its crew for that sake, harmed in any way avoidable.

"Yes sir." They all answered over the comm. Even if they were like a big, admittedly odd, family when off duty, these guys were the most professional soldiers Jacob had ever worked with when in the field, and sometimes he could still be shocked at how effective the change was. The term for it was to 'get their game-faces on', like in poker.

As they reached a ladder that extended down to the main level of the docks, on the same level as the ship, they took turns to watch the rear of whoever came after or before them, moving in a perfect unison like a machine. Without a word, Jacob waved a simple hand signal, and the team, led by Valkyrie, entered the port, somewhat prepared as to what they would face in there, given that it was mainly Cerberus's fault that the entire area had been overrun with hostile Xenomorphs. As they reached the door, none of them commented on the state of it, although they probably thought theirs, seeing the multiple scorch marks and places where concrete, as well as metal, had been melted away by the molecular acid their targets had as blood. Truly, not the most favorable enemy to face, but as far as they all knew, this would be just like cleaning out the station where the Rachni had gotten loose, thanks in particular to the Alliance soldiers who had managed to shoot the control-panel to the energy-fields, and had gotten themselves, as well as seven scientists, killed as a result.

Leading his team forward, it wasn't long until he could hear the sound of gunfire, coming from below him. With hand signals, Jacob ordered his squad to move in the general direction of the sound of firearms, now supplemented by the sound of what sounded like a fully-automated weapon going off at full speeds, as well as constant screaming. Screaming that did not come from any species he had ever seen or heard. Sneaking forward to the edge of a large plateau, he lifted his head just over a turned over table in order to be able to see just what was going on, before he would order his men to do anything that could bring attention to them.

…

Charlie-Team

Seven minutes earlier.

"Fuck! Shoot it, shoot it!" Garrus screams out as a bug the size of an Elcor, but with a distinct hunchback leading the thoughts to a krogan, flies through the air, followed by a veritable stream of what looks like regular aliens, rushing out of the vents, even the ones we welded shut. Those fuckers are smart enough that they let the big ones break the blocking plate off before swarming in.

Tequila and I instantly start pressing down on the triggers, letting the guns roar in the general direction of the now small horde of bugs, which is showing no signs of slowing down in appearance or hostility. I must admit: even with all the fear and adrenaline rushing through me, my body isn't slowing down in the least, seemingly knowing what to do even before I think of it. So instead of wondering about that, I just keep the gun pointed at the constant flood of black bodies jumping around to make themselves harder to hit.

"How the hell can there be this many?! Get Delta on the- shit! Just fucking die! How hard can it be to understand!?" I scream as I practically press the minigun into the group of aliens. Some of them are no more than five meters away, and keeping them at bay demands that we end up firing in bursts, as to prevent our guns from overheating. Having been alarmed by the red marker in my HUD, I reluctantly release the trigger for the gun, allowing the gun's systems to switch heatsinks. After a few seconds, I'm ready to shoot again, and I don't hesitate for even one second.

"Fall back! Into the corridor! We can cut them down in the narrow space!" Garrus yells into the comm. in a volume that almost deafens me. We all do our best to comply, but the bugs seem to know what we're trying to do, as more and more of them shift to block the route to the corridor, while others simply appear within it, making it a less than desirable place to be.

"Scratch that! Just don't let them surround us! Tequila, keep up the fire on the left side! Thomas, on the right. Wrex, help me keeping- Wrex!" Garrus shouts, and Tequila and I spin our faces just in time to see what would, at any other time, be a sight to behold: just a few feet to our left, Wrex has dropped his gun and is engaged in what is more or less a fistfight with the biggest of the aliens, sending one punch after the other into its chest, and receiving some nasty cuts in return. As opposed to me, Tequila doesn't stop to admire the view, but promptly spins up her gun and send the big bug staggering to its right after having been on the receiving end of hundreds of accelerated grains of superheated metal. Taking a few seconds to wrap my head around what just happened, I'm faced with one of the regular ones coming a little too close for comfort. Actually it gets too close for me to use the minigun as a firearm, and I'm forced to use it to try and parry the tail that suddenly comes at my head, missing just enough so that I can hear a dry scraping sound in my head as the blade cuts across the helmet, probably leaving a deep gash in it, seeing what their tails tend to do to steel. Lifting up the gun again, and mainly using my artificial arm, I shove the big away with enough force to send it reeling backwards, where after I bring the spinning minigun to bear at it, leaving the creature as an acidic hole in the ground, only with the head and hands remaining, as well as a still writhing tail.

"Fuck you!" I scream at the corpse as I stare at it, resulting in a new Xenomorph slashing at me, leaving a shallow but still large, gash across my chest-plate. I send a kick at the fucker, causing it to step back a bit, but not much else. Instead, seeing as it's too close for the gun, I use the rapid-fire minigun as a club, smashing it into the Xenomorph's 'chest', resulting in it caving in and sinking to the floor with screams of agony. At least as far as I can tell. Not really that I care: it can suffer all the fires of hell for all I care. As long as it dies and stays dead.

Switching the gun upwards again, I, by some insane miracle, manage to catch one of the fuckers in the mouth, just as it was about to bring down a world of pain on my face. Not being able to help a smirk which I'm sure is born more out of desperation than actually having a good time, I press the barrels further in, and with a yank I use strength in my left arm to simply break its neck, leaving the creature to slump down to the ground, looking like a pile of latex and rubber having collapsed. Seeing as there is a small pause, I manage to bring the gun up to normal height again, and let it rip, showering the wall behind the bugs with gore and acid, mostly the latter as I paint the walls with the corroding liquid and goo. Apparently, these things don't have entrails or intestines, heart or lungs. They are simply filled with the same green-yellow goo, making them even more like insects in my opinion.

"We're not doing enough damage!" Garrus yells, and looking to his position, I suddenly realize why I have been able to hold my own. Most of the bugs are focusing their effort on the others, pressing Garrus and Tequila into a corner while Wrex is attempting to use the barrel of his minigun as a haymaker, swinging it from side to side to crush as many of the bugs as he can. I don't know if his weapon broke, or if he, like me, simply found it to be more effective like that at close range.

"Hold on, I'm moving back towards you guys!" I yell into my helmet, starting to shift my fire to my left to help mow down most of the bugs surrounding my teammates. But it looks like no matter how many I gun down, no matter how fast I do it, there are always more of them ready to take their dead comrades' places, and they don't even try to slow down now, or run in circles around us. They simply charge straight at us, and I have to give up trying to help my squad as I suddenly find myself thrown backwards onto the floor by one of the bigger aliens. Before I can even try to get back up, the fucker is on me.

Having my arms strapped between its big hands, or claws, or whatever the hell they are called, the creature starts closing in on my head, opening its maw to show me its second mouth, the small set of sharp teeth placed on the retractable tongue. Fear grips me as I frantically tear my left arm from under its hand, and continue to press it against the side of the thing's head, causing it to shoot out the tongue a few inches to my left;

"Fuck! Garrus! Tequila! Wrex! Anybody help me! I can't- ARGH! fucking shit! Shit, shit SHIT!" I scream as the creature actually manages to bend its head back towards me, actually defying the synthetic muscles Emhart promised could lift five-hundred kilos. When its free hand bashes mine aside, away from its head, it opens its mouth again, ready to punch a fist-sized hole in my helmet. Out of panic, I do what can only be described as either incredibly badass, or incredibly stupid. I snap my hand forward, closing my fist on its tongue as it shoots forward towards me. The only reason I actually manage to catch it, is due to the already strained artificial muscles working at top-capacity to keep the slimy thing away from my head.

Apparently, that wasn't what it expected from its prey, and for a few seconds, I can actually hold its tongue until it snaps back again, the slippery tissue escaping my hand, and before I can grip for it, my hand is held down again, this time by the creature actually standing on it, not taking a second chance.

Seeing the mouth open again, allowing the tongue to snap its jaws a few times just above my head, some kind of eerie calm comes over me, as if accepting the inevitable. For some reason, the last thing I expected to see wasn't a flashback of Ash reciting Yeats.

Nor dread nor hope attend
A dying animal;
A man awaits his end
Dreading and hoping all;
Many times he died,
Many times rose again.
A great man in his pride
Confronting murderous men
Casts derision upon
Supersession of breath;
He knows death to the bone
Man has created death.