The Cygnus System.
USG Ishimura.
The Maintenance Bay.
"Damn, that's a lot of blood."
Isaac carefully swept the hallway with his newly acquired Plasma Cutter for any signs of the monsters infesting the USG Ishimura. Softly muttered whilst gazing at the random splatters of crimson liquid that eerily coated this section of the ship's metallic walls, ceiling and floors. The total absence of the bodies from which the blood splatters originated wasn't a good sign to the Engineer. It meant those creatures either devoured the crew after killing them or took their victims' corpses to another location onboard the vessel.
The implication that those monsters had some end goal to this senseless slaughter was disturbing. Yet, Issac frankly didn't have time to dwell on the subject as Hammond needed him to repair The Ishimura's Tram system so they could reach the bridge.
After ensuring the coast was clear, Issac, never lowering his Plasma Cutter for even a second, headed for the large double doors which lead to the Maintenance Bay. Upon turning the corner, he saw a circuit breaker that could divert power away from other systems to reactivate the Maintenance Bay entrance's automatic opening mechanisms. However, Issac didn't rush over to the circuit breaker since one of those things blocked the path towards it.
It was lying face down on the cold metallic floor and had the same mutations as those that'd attacked his crew mates in the Flight Lounge.
"Obvious trap."
The Voice whispered with a deadpan tone while Issac aimed for the monster, which he decided at that moment to dub a Slasher, and without hesitation fired at the Slasher's legs. A startled squeal thundered from its rotting maw as twin blades of white-hot plasma cut directly through the Slasher's flesh leaving behind two burning stumps. Despite its plan failing, the Slasher still attempted to crawl towards its intended victim. Yet, Issac quickly put a stop to that idea by shooting off the monster's blade arms thus eliminating the threat.
"Okay, that's one problem dealt with," Issac muttered whilst stepping over the now-dead Slasher so he could interact with the circuit breaker. "Now, I just need to divert power to the Maintenance Bay's doors so I can find that data board." It only took a few seconds for The Kellion's Engineer to open the double doors leading into the Maintenance Bay. This particular section of The Ishimura comprised multiple catwalks, elevators and massive mechanical arms meant to hold up damaged machinery so the vessel's crew could've an easier time during repairs.
Giving the general area a quick once over for any signs of the Slashers, and after finding none, Issac slowly advanced towards primary storage where spare equipment and replacement parts for The Ishimura were safely kept until needed for ship repairs.
Unfortunately, Issac didn't get far before a Slasher violently exited a nearby vent. However, the mutated humanoid was swiftly dispatched when the Kellion's Engineer fired upon a fuel canister that birthed an explosion which blasted the monster into hundreds of meaty pieces. The noise must've attracted the attention of other nearby Slashers since two more appeared on the central catwalk and were rushing towards Issac, who calmly waited until they reached several fuel canisters before blasting them into oblivion.
With the threat now gone, Issac went to the main storage and cursed a storm when he saw the door wasn't receiving any power from The Ishimura's power grid. A frustrated sigh escaped Issac's lips while walking to the nearest elevator since he'd need to head to the upper level to find the necessary circuit breaker to divert power to the storage's automatic systems.
Upon reaching the upper level of the Maintenance Bay, Issac was greeted with the sight of a skeletal Tram, held up in the middle of the air by several mechanical arms, which the Engineering crew must've built in an attempt to replace the damaged primary Tram that was currently blocking The Ishimura's transport system. Ignoring the implications of the secondary Tram's incomplete state, Issac moved towards the circuit breaker at the end of the catwalk. The path to it was blocked by several corpses and one downed Slasher.
"Seriously, the same damn trick?" Issac felt somewhat insulted by the Slasher's amateurish attempt at an ambush and, without hesitation, shot off the thing's legs as a precautionary measure. The Slasher roared in pain while blood poured out of the stumps where its limbs used to be. Yet, even with those injuries, the Slasher still tried attacking Issac, who ruthlessly blasted its arm blades into bloody fragments, thus causing the monster to cease all movement as death finally took hold of the mutated monstrosity.
The Kellion Engineer, now free of any obstacles blocking the way forwards, raced past the dead Slasher to get to the circuit breaker on the wall. Upon arrival, Issac carefully reviewed which systems he can divert power from to open the storage's sole entrance. Several curses escaped Issac's lips when he saw the lighting system was the only system available that could safely be devoid of power, which meant Issac would've had to head for primary storage. At the same time, the Maintenance Bay was covered in total darkness.
"Those things will have an advantage in the dark," Issac frowned at the unpleasant idea of fighting in the dark while inserting a fresh battery into his Plasma Cutter. "But I don't have much choice since I need the Data Board to restart the Tram." Breathing deeply to help steel his nerves, Issac switched power away from the lights, which caused the entire area to be bathed in darkness, and diverted it towards his objective.
However, the moment the lights went out, multiple roars thundered throughout the Maintenance Bay, followed shortly by the sounds of metal being ripped apart. Grimacing at the sound of new arrivals, Issac twisted around while raising his Plasma Cutter, which had its inbuilt flashlight already active so its user could have at least some visibility, and sincerely wished he possessed night vision since such an ability would greatly help in this upcoming battle with the Slashers.
"That can be easily arranged." The Voice suddenly spoke while Issac fired upon the Slasher that came into view. The Engineer dispatched the nightmarish humanoid within a few heartbeats. Yet, Issac hadn't the time to celebrate his victory as searing pain swiftly flooded his eyes. Within mere moments Issac saw the darkness within the Maintenance Bay disappear, almost as if the lightning system had turned itself back on, which shouldn't be possible since Issac had removed all power from that particular system.
"What the fuck?" Issac muttered as he surveyed the surrounding machinery and catwalks with a vision that made Maintenance Bay appear as bright as midday back on Earth. The sudden improvement in vision also allowed Issac to see the charging Slashers' who were unaware their target could now see them. The Kellion Engineer, who acted on pure instinct at the time, fired at the remaining fuel canisters on the upper level thus causing an explosion that blasted his enemies into bloody chunks of burned meat.
Now without any immediate foes in the area, Issac shifted his attention to The Voice. "Okay, what the hell have you done to my eyes?!" The Kellion's Engineer mentally demanded to know whilst scanning the now completely bright Maintenance Bay for anything he could possibly scavenge to further increase the odds of his survival onboard The Ishimura.
"Adaptation to see within the darkness," The Voice explained as Issac retrieved a few Plasma batteries and some money from the corpses that littered the catwalk. "Used available biomass to assist with minor evolution. Now you're better prepared for prolonged combat in areas with little visibility."
"Wait, so you've basically modified my eyes to have night vision?" Issac inquired whilst entering the elevator and pushing the down button. The unattended gears groaned loudly as the elevator descended to the lower level, where the Data Board was waiting to be retrieved by Issac.
"Not entirely correct," The Voice replied in the tone of a teacher giving a vital lesson to their student. "Evolution triggered by subconscious desires, biology reacted to such thoughts, thus caused rapid adaptation to ensure survival." Issac gave a thoughtful hm at the explanation whilst exiting through the elevator doors once it hit the lower level. The Engineer then hurriedly entered the primary storage, which apparently doubled as the Maintenance Bay's central office, and the Data Board sat upon a desk.
"So, it was my body responding to subconscious desire which granted me this ability." Issac mentally says while grabbing the Data Board from the office desk. The Kellion Engineer found a text message from a crew member about a poker night. Yet, it contained worrying details about some of the crew seeing phantoms of people that died years ago. Issac wasn't sure what to make of the text message. However, he did save it within his suit's computer as it could prove helpful in figuring out what has happened to The Ishimura's crew.
"Correct."
Issac grunted at the answer but decided to temporarily shelve the unnerving implications of his body randomly adapting for better survival as Hammond, Kendra, and Johnson needed him to stay focused on the task. Exiting the Maintenance Bay's storage/office, Issac ran for the exit and was fortunately not ambushed by any Slashers' on the way. Upon running through the main entrance, the Kellion Engineer quickly manipulated the circuit breaker to divert energy from the Maintenance Bay and return power to the Tram control's side door.
"Alright, I've got the Data Board," Issac breathed with relief while returning to Tram control to replace the burned-out Data Board with a new one. "Now, all I've got to do is install the damn thing and get the Tram fixed." Unfortunately, the Slashers weren't about to make things easy for Issac. A Slasher ripped its way out of the nearest vent, and before Issac could raise his Plasma Cutter to slice and dice his new foe, it swiftly raced towards the Engineer with the full intention of ripping the human apart.
However, before the Slasher even got midway through the hallway, it stumbled onto the floor as something had violently latched onto the monster's feet. Glaring downwards, the Slasher saw a purple carpet of Creep that'd grown underneath the Tram door during Issac's absence. The Creep had sensed the hostile entity, thus causing the purple organism to react by drilling multiple tendrils through the Slasher's feet. Issac, who now had the Plasma Cutter aimed at the monster's head, watched in silent fascination as the Creep began eating its prey alive.
Squeals of agony escaped the Slasher's maw as it fought against the Creep, slowly drilling into more exposed areas of flesh. The thing's bone blades slashed at the Creep. Yet, the damage was repaired within mere seconds, and the purplish organism responded to the hostile act by quickening the rate at which it devoured the Slasher's internal biomass.
The struggling lasted a few more heartbeats, but the Creep eventually overpowered the Slasher, adding its biomass to the purplish carpet's reserves.
"Holy fucking shit," Issac softly whispered as the Slasher's remains dissolved before his eyes. A slight gurgling noise emanated from the Creep, almost as if the purplish flesh carpet was enjoying its recently acquired meal. Yet, the organism wasn't satisfied with devouring the Slasher as more tendrils latched onto the suitcases, papers or any nearby random objects and started the slow process of dissolving them to acquire more biomass.
"All Swarm Organisms are birthed for survival," The Voice whispered with pride while Issac watched the Creep spread throughout the hallway. "Even the humble Creep is a deceiving predator that can devour your enemies."
"Yeah, that's obvious since it just devoured a Slasher," Issac replied, taking a small step upon the Creep. The purplish organism seemed to ripple with happiness as its creator walked across its surface to reach the Tram door. "At least I won't be getting any more surprises while inside the Tram Controls." He muttered under his breath while activating the unlocking mechanism for the side door and immediately regretted his words as Tram Control had undergone many changes since he'd left to retrieve the Data Board.
"Okay, I really need to stop jinxing myself." Issac felt a headache assault his brain when he saw the Tram controls were covered entirely with Creep. However, the most eye-catching feature was the seven pulsating eggs clustered together in the centre of the room. Issac saw that each poisonous green egg held a developing lifeform within itself, six appearing to be child-sized humanoid shadows whilst the seventh contained some serpent that was currently gaining a pair of leathery wings.
"Well, this certainly has taken a turn for the stranger," Issac whispered while carefully walking past the pulsating eggs and then kneeling next to the Tram's central terminal. "But, I can't focus on these eggs. Hammond needs the Tram repaired and I have to find Nicole before anything bad happens to her." Issac started replacing the burned-out Data Board with a working replacement without further delays. A couple of minutes later, Issac was rewarded with the sweet sound of a computer system rebooting.
Satisfied with a job well done, Issac contacted Hammond via the radio. "Hey, Hammond, I've got the terminal up and running again," the Kellion's Engineer reported the good news while sitting next to the eggs since he felt strangely at peace while being near them. "Now, I just need to repair the Tram, and we'll be able to head for the bridge." Sadly, the repair work could take a while since he needed to figure out how much damage the Tram Car had taken during those monsters' mindless rampage throughout The Ishimura.
Static blasted through the comms before Hammond's voice was heard. "Excellent work, Issac," the sound of something heavy being moved could be faintly heard from Hammond's side of the comms. "Kendra and I found a safe place for the moment. We're fortifying it until the Tram comes back online." Well, that certainly explained why Issac could hear objects getting moved around, Hammond was probably blocking any access points that those mutated monsters could use to crawl into their location.
"That's great to hear, Hammond," the Engineer replied happily, watching as the humanoid shadows slowly developed within the large green eggs. "I'd recommend staying hidden since it will take a while for me to get the Tram up and running again."
A grunt of acknowledgement came through the comms, followed shortly by something heavy hitting a wall. "Roger that, and don't worry, Kendra and I fully plan to stay away from the Tram or any other section of this ship until you've fixed the transport system," Hammond promised whilst Issac faintly heard Kendra working on something in the background, probably trying to hack into The Ishimura's mainframe, Issac highly doubted she'd succeed since the Planet Cracker held state of the art anti-hacking systems.
"Understood," Issac checked his Plasma Cutter for any signs that indicated it needed some repair work. "I'll head to the Tram Repair Bay now and find out what needs to be fixed so we can reach the bridge." After finding zero signs of damage, Issac inserted a new battery into his current weapon. A musical humming softly emanated from the Plasma Cutter as its energy cell was restored to full. Issac took comfort in knowing that the engineering tool was operating at maximum efficiency and ready to slice whatever came at him into a hundred pieces.
"I'll have Kendra monitor the transport system, so we'll know when you've fixed it," Hammond said as the sound of heavy lifting cased, indicating the Kellion's captain had finished barricading their hideout. "Stay safe out there, Issac. I don't want to lose anyone else to those fucking things." Hammond's tone held genuine concern for his fellow crew members, and Issac felt gratitude towards the man for caring about his life, most individuals in this kind of situation wouldn't show such concern as they'd prioritise their own lives first.
Issac raised from the fleshy carpet that'd been his temporary seat with renewed determination to get the job done. "Don't worry, guys. I don't intend to die until I've rescued Nicole and gotten us away from this vessel." He'd protect his friends no matter what nightmare or obstacle The Ishimura decided to throw at him. The Creep seemed to respond to its creator's determination as the fleshy mass spread even faster throughout the general area, causing the nearby bodies to be pulled into its creeping embrace.
Hammond chuckled upon hearing his subordinate's promise. "Well, now I pity anything dumb enough to stand in your way, Issac." A quick laugh was exchanged between the duo before Hammond gave a short goodbye and ended the comms link, thus leaving Issac alone within the Creep-covered Tram Controls. The Kellion Engineer headed for the exit point leading towards The Tram Repair Bay, unaware of how six pairs of eyes momentarily opened to watch as their Overmind left to deal with the Tram.
"Calm, children," The Voice soothingly whispered to the developing minds as Issac disappeared from view. "For soon you shall walk with the Overmind and devour the enemies of the Swarm." The gestating humanoids calmed at The Voice's reassurance as their entire purpose was to safeguard the Overmind's currently fragile form until the time came when he evolved into a higher state of existence.
"Yes, sleep now, children and dream of glories yet to be." The Voice soothingly said whilst projecting a feeling of tiredness upon the gestating lifeforms, thus causing them to enter a deep slumber within the Zerg Hive-Mind. The Voice ensured these future warriors of the Swarm had plenty of peaceful adventures within their dreams whilst also implanting knowledge from Issac's brain to further increase their overall usefulness to their Overmind, and Issac could use a few extra hands to deal with The Ishimura's repairs.
"Yes little ones, learn, grow, evolve and overcome all threats such is the nature of the Swarm." The Voice instructed whilst the humanoid bodies within the eggs natured at an alarming rate. Every heartbeat strengthened their connection to the Swarm's Hive-Mind beyond what other species could understand. The Creep underneath these eggs was connected to them via tiny roots, providing enough nutrients and biomass to further assist their growth into fully functional lifeforms.
"For the Zerg shall consume all within this system!" The Voice turned its attention towards Aegis VII where it sensed something similar, although entirely inferior, to the Overmind. A juvenile alien conciseness controlling those meat puppets that'd dared to strike at an entity far more evolved than itself. The Voice felt a deep hunger to consume this creature and take its essence for the Swarm. Yet, it withheld the urge as the new Overmind needed time to evolve before such a confrontation was even possible.
No matter, The Voice was a shadow of something far greater than the mere beast on the planet's surface. It shall patiently wait for its successor to evolve into a true Overmind of the Swarm, and once that happens, none within the Cygnus sector will be able to withstand the might of the Zerg Swarm.
It was only a matter of time before the Swarm feasted upon The Ishimura and Aegis VII.