"Shit! shit! they're down!"
Sergeant Andrew ducked behind a rock outcrop, rifle up, scanning the shadows. The bodies were still twitching. Some of them had holes clean through their helmets, spines punched straight through reinforced plating like paper; they hadn't even had time to activate barriers.
"Who saw it?" he barked. "Anyone got eyes on what the hell hit them?"
"No visual!" came a voice, fast and shaky. "It came from behind, like a sniper, I didn't hear anything! I just saw them drop!"
Another marine stepped back from a body, breathing hard. "No bullet casings. Who can throw these heavy spines like that?"
"Movement underground," called Lopez with the scanner. "I'm seeing… shit, I don't know—heat trails that vanish. It could be tunneling. Fast. Non-human for sure."
"Where the hell's it coming from?" Andrew demanded.
"We don't know! It hit and ran, and as if it's playing with us!"
Someone dry-heaved behind him. Another marine whispered a prayer.
Hale forced himself to stay steady. "Check your rear. Keep your formation tight. No one strays more than two meters. I want probes out, get me 360 visuals at all times now! I'm not letting us get picked off like bugs in the dark."
One of the rookies, barely twenty, choked out, "What the hell is this thing…?"
—-
They've stopped moving.
I can feel it through the stone; their boots are no longer stomping, they are moving slowly and warily. I'm hiding near, just east of them in a burrow hidden behind a rock, my carapace pressed against the cool soil, gills soft with breath, heart steady despite the Aether rampaging in my body, trying to quickly regenerate the pines. I'll need more time before I can strike again.
The rock above me is thin, mixed with dirt. One of the soldiers has crouched near the body of his fallen kin. I see his hands trembling slightly as he holds something up to the light, my spine. Still wet. Still pulsing faintly with residual [Overdrive].
"What the fuck is this?"
His voice is low. I can feel fear in it, I love it when they cry, it's what they deserve before death.
"Organic," another says. "Not metal. Not synthetic. Look, see that line of tissue? That's a gland root. This thing was grown, like hair. Grown to be a weapon."
They're passing it around now. Examining it. Curious little apes, poking at a tooth still red from their blood. One of them puts it under some sort of scanner. The machine whines in protest. The data doesn't match any known species.
"A living weapon or giant Hedgehog?" someone mutters.
They are kind of right…in a sense.
Still hidden, I listen to them argue. Some want to retreat. Others think this is just a fluke, one predator. One creature.
But one of them, a quiet one, looks around slowly and says, "No. This wasn't random. This thing planned the strike. Hit our rear. Took out ten men and left without taking a body. It's not just killing. It's thinking."
I almost smile again.
Yes. I am.
I am thinking.
And I'm learning. Your formation, weapons, and armor. I've also seen their Barrier, it is fortunately weak to my spines, especially if I use overdrive.
I wait for some time till my spines regenerate again. When they are finally regenerated, I start to make my way around the burrow and pick a position north of them, since they are investigating my old burrow south of here, I plan to quickly attack them and run again, I've already wiped half of them, after this volley I will just need one more round of engagement.
As I made my way up the burrow and prepared to fire my barrage, they suddenly turned around an started firing at me, I quickly launched 2 [Spine] with [Overdrive] attached, two soldiers were punctured straight through the head as I thanked my good aim, the rest did not take kindly to that, they seemed shocked but determined.
"It ignores the barrier, don't get hit!"
"Suppressive fire to the north, don't let it engage! Jacob uses shrapnel now!" A soldier shouted, I don't know what shrapnel is, but it sounds dangerous.
I quickly fired 2 more spines from an odd angle, killing one and wounding another soldier, just as a round ball is dropped next to me.
It makes a *click* sounding before blinking red, Ive dealt with grenades before, it seems similar, quickly dashing I rushed down the burrow, but not before a *chk* sound is rung and knife like objects are fired in circular arc, thankfully my carapace stopped most of the shrapnels but it still pierced my weaker thorax a little, spraying a little blood. But it's nothing, I can't heal in a few minutes.
Soon, everything calms down as the soldiers rearrange themselves. My suspicions were correct, they know about the burrows, and are in fact actively gathering motion intel, the ground isn't a viable option anymore…I will have to use the roof.
I use more Aether to power regeneration, healing both the wound and spines. I'm running out of Aether, and they are transporting their dead back to the pods, which are heavily guarded. I cannot keep this war of attrition up I will have to end this quickly, even if I have to reveal myself to their killcams.
I don't plan to sit around this area for their reinforcement anyway. Once my food is secure, I will be going far away from this place.
I use another burrow to come out, and this time, a little further away from them, out in the open, I make my way to the nearest wall and start climbing. As soon as they start coming this way, I prepare my spines. One of them is holding some kind of scanner; they know my position.
My plan is a simple barrage with spines, then engage in melee. This time I will be saving [overdrive] for melee, as hitting with a single spine is impossible at this angle.
As soon as they are just below me, my spines. I attack, [Spine][Spines][Spine][Spine].
Four spines pierced the air and their heads straight through like Seekh kababs.
As soon as they look around and see the dead, slowly realizing the angle of the projectile, it's too late, I unleash 4 more [Spinesx4], one missed while three killed their targets. Only four of them remained before I unhooked myself from the roof, dropping down at them.
When I finally showed myself, the shock and horror on these apes is delightful, aahh, it feels good. Activating [Overdrive] on myself, I quickly used [Claws] to tear apart a nearby soldier before using [Ferocious Bite] to tear another's neck apart. While I'm doing this, two of them run in opposite directions. Looking at their directions, I chose the one going in the wrong one first, the one going toward the pods is…Predictable. I can eat him with the rest of the buffet later.
Quickly sprinting behind the running soldier, I ready my spine, trying to pierce his leg. I don't want him dead. I have other… plans for him. As soon as I have a clear shot at him, I release a spine, cleanly spearing through his leg, evaporating his bones there.
His shouts are satisfying.
"You monster! AAAHHH Bastard fuck! I can't die here! I can't die! FUCK! FUCK! HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP!"
He seems amusing, I understand much of what he is saying, but human language seems to have changed a little, isn't fuck a word for procreation? Wait…humans did use it in my second life to curse…is this bastard cursing me!? He dares!
I pick another spine from my back like a spear and start puncturing holes in his legs, listening to his curses turning into screams, before slicing both his digits off. I don't need his legs for what I'm about to do.
"I will show you how I changed destiny…" I mind linked the maggot.
Before activating my first spark [Mother of All]
"Mother of All selected. Please choose the module"
[Mother's Power]
As soon as I selected it, my Aether became wild, like a galloping horse. After a long time, my signature power was used. This was the gift everyone died to preserve; this power was our salvation. If I were them, I would have done the same.
I had a specific purpose for him, so I concentrated on the module in my throat, calculating the necessary dosage for my result. As soon as I was satisfied with it, I vomited the amniotic fluid with the necessary egg from my mouth.
It would take a few hours for her to hatch; this maggot needs to live till then. Thankfully, the egg opens to become a larva and will quickly heal him. Let's hunt the other till she hatches.
——
"Command! COMMAND! ANYONE THERE!?" Carl shouted on the comm, he was one of two alive, he didn't know where the Sergeant ran off to, but the first thing that came to his mind was the pods, they were like a pseudo base for them, but lacked any real defense, if it came for him, he was helpless.
"We copy marine…We copy"
"What should I do? Everyone's dead, It killed them!" she shouted, looking in all directions before concentrating back on the comm.
"Evac can't get there in a day, we need time, soldier. You have to survive. I've assembled a team to Evac you, but drill pods are too risky to reinforce with. We've assembled a drill team, and they are widening the drill trails. We'd have thrown you a rope if we could, but the trail collapsed midway, give us a day or two."
"I DON'T HAVE THAT IN HOURS! Everyone DEAD!"
"Get a hold of yourself, soldier, don't give up. Know what you fight for, freedom and justice! Think of your family, you can survive this. We gave you an automated turret; it was simply a precaution. But it's an old model and may not even work, try using it if you can." The Commander replied as he sighed, he had been with them all the way.
He saw everything that happened, even the horrendous creature itself. When he gave the order to scan the spines, he had a suspicion, which was later confirmed when the result came back negative.
The reason the barrier failed the marine was the anonymity of the creature; barriers work by mitigating all known threats in the database to their ability. But what happens if an unknown enemy attacks? The barrier would check the database and come up empty, allowing the projectile to pass.
The barrier was by no means impenetrable, but it was better than nothing, especially since the elves don't share too much technology with humans.
24 Federal Marines were a big loss, not in manpower but in terms of prestige. Now the federal army will take over till the issue is resolved, blocking all trade. So much paperwork and bad business.
He had to report to the higher-ups, and the Augustus family would have had to report to the federal army (PFA- Prometheus Federation Army). They would arrive in a day or two if they didn't send the mothership down first.
24 casualties were final, there was no way Marine Carl would survive, the Commander had already given up on him and stopped the rescue efforts, wasting so many resources and doing a risky mission to save a single, likely dead by then, Marine was not worth it. He knew the federation was responsible for their marines; he wouldn't get penalized anyway, but if he sent his rescue worker from the Augustus family and they died…then that's a different story.
The commander sympathized with the young blood, but he had a family of his own to feed.
—
"It's been 6 hours, there's no sign of it, I've got the turret operational outside, it's scared of it, I've closed the doors of the pods. It'll have to tear through thick metal, giving me a warning. Command, when is Evac coming?" Carl spoke in the comms, his eyes becoming heavy with exhaustion, while his shoulders cramping up from stress. The creature had tried to attack them, but the turret had made it give up. Carl even believes it got a few shots in.
"Hold for a few more hours, we're on our way, there's a lot more collapsing in the trails, we are doing everything we can. You will survive, soldier". The commander replied, knowing his hopeless plight.
"Roger, command, I think I can make it that long". Carl replied.
"Hey Kid! Why are you holding in there? Come out, I killed the bastard!" A voice rang in the silence, and the turret did not fire.
But Carl was not a fool either; he knew many predators could mimic sounds. he waited for a while and looked out the window, and there he was! Sergeant Andrew himself!
"Carl report! Who is there?' The commander asked through the comms.
"It's the Sergeant, He's Alive! He killed it." Carl quickly rambled as he grabbed his rifle and headed out of the pods.
Over on the other side, the commander scrunched his face in horror, he had seen the end of Sergeant Andrew through his kill…-ed cam, there was no way the Sergeant would arrive back 'killing it' in his condition. Soon it dawned on him, he didn't understand it, he didn't acknowledge it, but he felt it; something was wrong.
"Marine don't go there! That can't be the Sergeant! He's dead!" The Commander shouted, but Carl was already on his way.
"IT pull up the Sergeant's cam!"The commander ordered his officers as they quickly switched to Sergeant Andrews' cam, and horrifyingly, it was moving; it truly was the Sergeant.
The commander released a breath of air he didn't know he was holding. under the stress, he fell down onto his chair. It seemed like it was all a dream. Miracles do happen.
But he still could understand it, yes, miracles may happen, but right now? With legs cut off?.
"IT pull up Andrew's and the Turret's cam." They quickly did as told. Andrew was still further away and could only see a silhouette in the distance belonging to the Sergeant. But the turret, which was nearer and had a better camera for observation and targeting, could see crisp details.
When the commander ordered to zoom in on the Sergeant, he was left shocked, horrified, and then afraid. The Sergeant was completely healed and healthy, and even the armor was completely fine from the chest to the head. But this initial shock turned to horror soon, when an intern pointed out a few details, the armor was of a different color than the helmet, as if someone had picked both in parts.
Upon zooming more, the horror only increased, while the body itself seemed completely normal…the irises…they were… dangling from one corner to another with every step he took…as if a puppet…
"What the hell is this thing?"
—
"Hey, kid! Got scared without me? Learn to grow up, will ya?" Sergeant Andrew spoke.
"Thank god you're fine, Sergeant. Evac's inbound, let's get the hell out of here, others can clean up later," Carl spoke as he stood on the side of the sergeant.
The sergeant replied with a casual yea yea and then slowly made his way to the turret, deactivating it slowly.
"Hey, Sergeant, what are you doing? Why are you deactivating the turret!?" Carl asked panicking.
"I killed it, remember, kid? It's fine now, I'm deactivating it so it doesn't misfire, you know how these machines are, especially one this old." The Sergeant replied, not meeting Carl's eyes.
Carl would have ignored it and not questioned it before, but right now he was too panicked not to say, "Sorry to disrespect, sir! But please leave it as it is," Carl replied.
"Oh, Carl…you could have survived a few seconds more, but you just had to talk too much." The Sergeant replied, slowly turning around. The first thing Carl noticed was the eyes, followed by the mouth. As he had said the last words when turning round…Carl did not see his mouth move.
Alarm bells started ringing in his head as he quickly aimed his gun at the sergeant and, in his panic, started firing. He kept firing till he had emptied his magazine. As he looked at the body, the armor was battered with holes as blood leaked from all sides.
He was just turning to report back to the Command when a voice rang in his mind, "Ape, you forgot to activate your little toy." Before he could understand the implication of the message, he turned around and locked in on the turret, the sergeant had already deactivated it! As he rushed to activate it, a spine pierced his foot, making him fall over in pain.
As the accursed creature finally showed itself, slowly, with deliberate steps. As it stood over him. "You could've harmed my baby. Changelings are intelligent little creatures, you know?" The creature's mind linked him as he tried to think through the pain.
The creature slowly bent down to the sergeant's corpse and pulled out a worm-like creature before resting it on his arm as it crawled away into his ear. He tried to grab it, but it was too fast for him.
"My my, be honoured, you will bring my firstborn, a happy pregnancy." The creature seemed to be smiling as it grabbed his throat with its sharp, clawed hands, drawing blood. The creature took a few minutes before vomiting a strange liquid into his mouth. he couldn't move or close his mouth; whatever the worm did to him made him unable to move.
"Take care of my children while I eat your friends," The Creature ordered, more of a mockery since the changeling was already controlling him anyway.
He could only watch as the creature speared his friends from the pile to eat one by one, and he had to ask himself, Why did it have to end up like this?