The space between the black battle-frigate and caasiok was immersed in a debris field of Zykra body parts.

  Chunks of the caasiok drifted slowly across space like stray asteroids. Leaving a trail as they fled from the battle-frigate

  The Protectorates pilots flew their jets in sweeping arcs—strafing any targets they saw. It was a soundless theater of activity. The pilots themselves only heard the muffled thuds of their guns. Or the occasional splatter as a piece of zykra smeared across their screen like a bug on a windshield... Literally a bug on their windshield.

  One pilot was humming along to smooth-jazz he had playing on board. A steaming cup of coffee defied gravity on a flat section of his dashboard in front of him. He took a sip from it gingerly with one hand—his other hand expertly steering a centre stick. Pushing a red button on it to fire bright bolts of burning plasma which flew through space speedily. Gradually swooping downwards as they disappeared into the distance.

  The lights the bolts cast shadows in the pilots cockpit surrounded by soft cyan light.

  It was satisfying for the pilot to see his guns turn vespaxyn to mist.

  "Like shooting fish in a barrel..." He grumbled. Somewhat annoyed from the lack of challenge. At least the resistance tried to dodge. These things just flew at you in a straight line—where was the fun in that?

  He rolled his ship to dodge a few beams of acid flung by the Zykra flyers. Then curved around the broadside of the caasiok. A few scantids jumped off the side of the caasiok like a stream of suicidal ants. They clung to his ship and clawed at it desperately. Making very little damage to it.

  They were blocking his vision.

  "Short jump..."

  That was their strategy for this kind of situation. To temporarily activate the ships warp drives to generate a wave of electricity around the ship. It would burn through whatever Zykra clung to the ship.

  Blue arcs of electricity crawled across the ship—stunning the scantids. They all fell off in concordance with the wave of electricity. Spinning off into the void of space. One remained.

  One human shaped scantid.

  "Uh, sarge—we got a-"

  'smash!'

  The jet's alarms went off for just a second before being drowned out by the void of space. The cockpit window had been smashed... Causing the interior cabin to depressurize instantly.

  Selene stepped off the ship and allowed it to speed off into the distance. It was no longer a threat. Transferring the psionic whips connection back to the caasiok changed her momentum to match it instead.

  She couldn't rely on her wings to propel her in space. And so she drifted there for a moment as she searched for another ship. As soon as she saw one she did her trick—she called it a 'psionic whip'. Or that's how she imagined it anyhow.

  Her body flew into sudden motion, seemingly unaffected.

  As her invisible 'whip' connected to a ship passing by. Speed was a funny phenomena in space. There was no air resistance, or anything to burn you as you passed through it at incredible speeds. No g-forces. Thanks to her power.

  She went from almost completely still to over thousands of kph with no consequences.

  It wasn't even disorientating as her body suddenly lurched into motion. If it was a physical rope that connected her to the ship—say it was wrapped around her waist or something like that—it would've snapped her spine from the g-forces. But thanks to the fact that it was a telepathic non-physical connection there was no physical means for the g-forces to transfer to her body.

  That intangible connection to the ship made them travel in lockstep. Selene would crash through floating bits of Zykra meat every so often—but it wasn't damaging to her. Just messy. That was mostly due to how tough her body was.

  She used this new connection to pull herself onto the ship. Her tail grew quadruple in size and impaled it like a massive spike through the center before returning to normal.

  The caasiok grounded her. Every time she began to drift out into space and away from the battle she would just psionic whip back to it. Centering her. She wished that there was some way she could just 'fly' in space like the vespaxyn could. But it was confusing.

  Maybe there was a way she could once she learned better control over her new abilities.

  Boarded

  Selene heard Ku'senai message her. It wasn't a singular word but that was how her mind interpreted the sudden communication. Images of flashlights pouring down a hall within the caasiok filled her mind. Gunfire. Fighting.

  She sighed. Guess that was her que.

  "She's infested!" Commander Desuran shouted angrily at the young noblemen. Who did not seem surprised by this development.

  "She's meeting with the Zykra, commander. What did you expect? We must capture her. Or the Annunaki will not aid us." he said with very little care.

  "Why would we want an infested human?" Agent Weasley asked. No one answered her.

  "She's retreated into the caasiok!" a random operator reported from their hexagon shaped cubical alcove. One of many in rows on the command deck.

  "Alert the ground teams that the target is infested, describe her abilities to them! And remind them that the target must be captured alive at all costs!" Desuran ordered. The battle was intensifying. Their aerial fighters were being defeated—but at a very gradual rate. For every 100 vespaxyn died only one of theirs did.

  Agent Riddick scoffed. If he was on that ground team he'd completely disregard that order. Capture an infested? No chance in hell. Orders like that were suicide.

  "The Zykra vessel is on the move!" an operator reported.

  The caasiok was veering towards a desert planet away from the battle.

  Ben was a soldier in the protectorate army.

  All he ever wanted to do was pay for his daughters tuition and his mothers medical treatment. And the other benefits were nice too. Plus—he didn't even have to hurt actual people! Only bugs. Big bugs. A glorified exterminator really.

  But being inside a giant bug searching for a human?

  He hadn't expected to have a mission like that. He was inside a giant hunk of gore. Somehow there was gravity being generated—as he was grounded to the floor of the fleshy hall. The floor was tiled with carpace most of the places, but it had been cracked and broken through by the ships bombardment.

  A stream of purple blood was flowing next to them like water flooding down a streets gutter.

  It dripped from the ceiling. Which he had to occasionally wipe from his visor. His heart beat wildly as he scanned the hall with his rifles flashlight. A small minimap was projected in the corner of his visor. Full of off-blue dots that represented his squadmates. About 2 dozen of them were clearing the area around him. Nearing the targets projected location.

  A voice crackled through his radio.

  "Delta team. Mission update. Target is infested. Kinetic type telepathic abilities. Capture still priority."

  His heart dropped even more.

  He'd thought he was rescuing some poor human captured by these fucking things. But now they were one of them? How was that even possible? Were all these things just other infested alien races or something?

  A red glint sparkled as his flashlight caught the top of a scantids head that was ducked behind a broken chunk of carapace.

  "OH FUCK!" he shouted and blasted it full-auto.

  It screeched painfully as gnarly purple holes appeared all over it's body. Pieces of it bounced down the hall as it fell over dead.

  Ben breathed heavy. Then flinched in fright when a hand came onto his shoulder.

  "Easy there private. Relax. These things are only a threat if they get the jump on us—which is more likely if you loose your cool."

  Corporal Ajax. A reliable guy who has been sort of a mentor for Ben since he first enlisted. Both of them were promoted to the IBT division during the creation of it's armed responses department.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "Right. Right." Ben said. Steeling himself.

  His flashlight beam centered down the hallway with several others as they carried on. Carefully with tactical precision.

  They moved for a minute longer before they were ordered to hold. Their sergeant heard crying from the targets last reported position. He called Delta unit over to aid in capture. So they all moved towards the gold colored objective marker on their maps.

  It wasn't before long that Ben heard it too.

  The crying seemed faked. Badly. Like a amateur theater kid crying for an audition.

  Delta unit turned the corner entering an open chamber about 12 meters wide. With a girl crying at the center.

  She was stark naked.

  Ben would have looked away for the sake of politeness. But it wasn't protocol. Clearly, that would be unprofessional of him. This could be some trick for all he knew. He kept his sights trained on her as he and the rest of his unit spread themselves out across the room. Over a dozen flashlights created a spotlight on her crouched form.

  "Oh thank god!" she said, still partly sobbing. Her face was tearless though. "You're here! The Zykra—they captured me!" she stood up and took a step towards them.

  "Halt!" the sergeant ordered.

  Just then there was a insectoid roar from down one of the entrances that lined the chamber.

  Then another down an opposite corridor.

  They were coming.

  "Aaah! Save me!" she pleaded, cowering low to the ground from the sounds of Zykra coming closer all around them.

  "Backs to me!" the sergeant ordered. "Form a phalanx!"

  They turned away from the naked girl and faced the tunnels.

  "Secure the target!" they ordered a pair of soldiers who went to the girl as the rest of the unit all kept overwatch on the entrances.

  "Fucking hell..." one of them said nervously.

  "Nut up private!" some random corporal ordered.

  Down the largest entrance- about four meters in diameter- they heard the loudest roar yet. It sounded furious.

  "That's a bull!" the sergeant called out.

  A bull. One of the rarer variants they were warned of. There was some more scientific name for it—but that's what the soldiers called it. And it fit. The thing was a bitch to bring down and charged through defenses like they were made of balsa wood.

  The rhythmic sound of it's charging gait was heard echoing down the fleshy hall.

  "Fire!"

  The soldiers who had their weapons trained down that specific corridor began shooting down it. Leaving yellow colored lines of light disappearing down the hall.

  The bull continued to roar as it approached the chamber.

  "Sir, the encephalon has shown itself! It seems to be guarded by strange Zykra!"

  A monitor near the commander switched from an overall view of the battle-space to a zoomed in view of the surface of the caasiok.

  The Zykra Queen emerged with several other Zykra with her of all kinds of shapes and sizes.

  A waspish Zykra next to the queen took off into the air. Though it had wings it didn't use them as it flew through space. Instead it was propelled by some unseen force.

  It's long legs were tipped in scythed blades. Which it used to cut through ships passing by like butter. The ships broke apart a distance behind it before exploding in blue light.

  Another Zykra variant—a larger one shaped like a frog but armored in thicker than usual carapace stepped forward and rooted itself in the caasiok's armor. It turned away from the battle-frigate and fired spurs from it's back.

  Hundreds of them shot out. The glowing red missiles blasted into the bow of the battle-frigate.

  "Breach!" an operator called out. "Several breaches!"

  "Use the railgun." the commander ordered.

  "Are we no longer capturing the encephalon?" the operator on the railguns console asked.

  Commander Desuran didn't respond. He heard the order.

  The operator pressed a few buttons on his console and a panel below the frigate opened about several meters wide. And a machine arm lowered itself. Carrying a barrel shaped object which began to thrum with power.

  Zykra were swarming the chamber with the target asset.

  Delta unit was being assaulted on all sides. But they were holding their own. The tunnels made it easy to know where their targets were coming from.

  The bull from earlier had managed to reach the chamber before succumbing to gunfire. It's body created cover for the soldiers as they ducked and began to fire from behind it.

  "Sorry..." they heard the women's voice say. Ben turned to face it. In the place of the beautiful naked girl was a infested human with green carapace, blue flesh, brown hair, tan face with purple eyes and antenna.

  Her tail grew in length and whipped around her wildly. Bisecting rows of soldiers all at once.

  "No!" Ben shouted out and fired at her.

  "The cloaking system is activated... Careful now Mr. Erikson.." Dr. Bryant advised.

  They were all in the pilots cabin aboard the Sequester still. Trying to escape the caasiok's 'hangar' before it was destroyed.

  Danny had a cold sweat dripping down the side of his face.

  "Don't worry... I've flown this bitch plenty of times..." he said nervously as the ship floated towards a broken section of the caasioks hull. The void of space beyond it. They would have to push through a bit—but the Sequester was a strong ship for it's size. It should easily handle it.

  Zephyr and Raymond were positioned at the couple gun consoles the ship had. Not that they planned to use them.

  "Can't we call for resistance backup?" Raymond asked.

  Dr. Bryant was leaning over Danny's shoulder as he sat at the pilots seat. Guiding the ship around broken sections of caasiok. A massive intestine a meter thick was twisting through the air in the hangar.

  "No. We don't need them and it would only complicate things if they knew about the other Zykra."

  After a few intense moments the ship finally freed itself from the caasiok's broken interior. And it slowly drifted away from the battle. The queen was mounting an assault from the caasioks back with her royal guard. And she seemed to be turning the tide.

  Dr. Bryant wished her luck. But the Sequesters weapon systems would not make a difference. It would be better to watch from a safe distance and attempt to retrieve Selene when they could.

  "Follow the caasiok Mr. Erikson. 600 meters."

  It wasn't traveling at warp speed- but it was still going faster than most ships were capable of below warp speed. Blazing towards a desert planet it seemed. It could be tactically beneficial if they took this fight to the ground. The protectorates aerial weapons were substantial this fight.

  Selene stood in the chamber, covered in red and purple. The other Zykra had run to fight the other ground teams that were boarding the caasiok. All Protectorate enemies were cleared here. Or at least, that's the order she sent out. Which Ku'senai's brood accepted—due to their temporary alliance.

  There was a man groaning on the ground. A deep gash was in his arm and his weapon laid a distance from him.

  "Please..." he muttered fearfully. "I have a daughter."

  Selene looked down at him in pity. It was tougher to kill now that her human emotions persisted into her Zykra form. She stomped on his rifle, indenting the barrel inwards.

  "Shit." Danny said.

  "What is it?"

  "The hull is breached. Near the kitchens. We probably got nicked earlier when puck shot at the caasiok."

  "Will it be a problem?" Dr. Bryant asked.

  "Only if we care about the Zykra down there. Might've lost a few."

  The scientist shook his head. The only one that matters is the psyphera and it was well connected to the ship. The odds of losing it to the void of space were very low.

  The railgun fired.

  A silver line traced through space directly at the Zykra queen and her entourage.

  The moment it reached her it deflected off a sphere of black-purple energy. Downwards. It cut the caasiok in half as the line of silver light travelled across the queens shield the angle changed. Until it was pointed back the way it came.

  It cut across the side of the battle-frigates engines. Causing a plethora of explosions. The ship began to drift to the side.

  In moments both of their ships were entirely inoperable and in freefall. At the mercy of the desert planets gravity. Which they were near now. Falling into the planets atmosphere.

  Commander Desuran let out a tired sigh.

  "Sir, you should probably get to the escape pods."

  He looked up—surprised he hadn't heard a response.

  Riddick chortled; "Looks like he's way ahead of you sir."

  The young regal man had already left the command deck.

  Selene felt the pull of gravity on her from within the caasiok.

  "What the—?"

  She glanced back down at the soldier.

  "Come on."

  "Like hell!" he protested.

  She ignored him and threw him over her shoulder. He threw some elbows into her back which felt like playful taps to her Zykra form.

  "Knock it off! Or I'll kneecap you! Or something!"

  She started running towards an exit. But it was difficult. Everything was sliding to the side. Bits of broken caasiok was clogging up all the hallways and she had to move at odd angles to get through it.

  "Damn... Do you think Selene would survive crashing into a planet?" Danny asked. Watching from the Sequester a safe distance away.

  The caasiok and battle-frigate had retreated both their aerial fighters now. And were bracing for impact. They were both backlit by the light-brown planet.

  "Yes... But this is growing more complicated..."

  Selene entered the egg chamber where Aboleth was currently held. She couldn't leave her behind.

  She dropped the soldier she held draped over her shoulder to the ground with a squelching thud.

  "W-where are we?" he asked as he pushed his face up from the wet floor.

  "Egg chamber. Nursery. Something like that." Selene said distractedly as she walked to the semi-transcluecent egg. The shape of Aboleth lay suspended within. Backlit by some fires around the chamber. Her lower half was completely changed. She no longer had legs.

  "Praetorian requires essence." Evo said—startling Selene and the soldier.

  "Essence?" Selene asked.

  Evo nodded. "Final stage in process. Will not be strong enough to survive collision otherwise. Must infuse queens essence into cocoon."

  "How?" she asked.

  Evo walked to the egg and put both his pincher hands on it. Then looked up at her.

  She followed his example and did the same. Immediately the egg convulsed. Movement rippled across the surface from where she touched it. And it absorbed her hands.

  Panic surged in her and she tried to pull away. But it was strong. And her legs weren't listening to her. She felt her mind pulled in towards the eggs center.

  "What's happening!" she asked as she frantically yanked herself away. But her arms sank deeper inside. Up to the elbows. Then the shoulders. Her face was pressed up against the eggs outer surface.

  "Absorbing essence. Worry redundant. Process mostly harmless."

  "MOSTLY!?" she glared at him from the side of the egg. Her minds eye- the typhoon inside that represented her power began to split off. Like a hurricane splitting into two. The interior of the egg began to glow purple. Lighting up the interior of the nursery chamber.

  'Slunk'

  Selene fell backwards.

  She tried to push herself up but couldn't. Then she saw why. Her arms were gone. Both of them. They disappeared halfway down her biceps.

  "AAH! MY ARMS!" she held up her little stubs and stared at them. Eyes wide.

  The soldier looked to her in abject horror. A bit of purple blood spurted out of a stub.

  The soldier fell over unconscious.

  "Superficial damage." Evo said. "Prepare for impact."

  "Will Aboleth be okay!?" Selene said, as the planets gravity caused her to slide into the side of the egg. Evo clutched the side of it next to her.

  "Stabilize if can." he advised.

  Selene thought for a second. Then closed her eyes.

  The sound of crinkling paper emerged as several little spider legs grew from her back. They impaled themselves into the bottom of the caasiok and into the egg. Gripping whatever they could.

  One wrapped around Evo and the soldier and held them close.

  "You preserve me?" Evo asked. Seemingly surprised. She felt his fuzzy antennas lick her face curiously.

  "You're too useful to let die—and besides, maybe Aboleth will need you to heal her when we land!"

  Slow

  The command shot through the air for kilometers around the two ships descending onto the planet. Just as the edges of the ships began to burn up in the atmosphere.

  Ku'senai used some telepathic ability last minute to slow the caasiok ever so slightly. Hopefully it would be enough.

  More legs sprouted from her back. Enveloping them like another smaller eggsac.

  She had a feeling this would hurt. Luckily she sensed the Sequester had gotten away. All she had to worry about was Aboleth.

  There was a resounding BOOM as the caasiok collided with desert sands.

  Everything went white.