Xeno Core

Claws scrape across Han's armor. He pushes at the beast with one arm but it's more powerful than he is. It pushes him back until his armor presses against the stone wall.

Yosip's metal foot impacts the monster's arm, crushing the bone. Dark red crystal shards skip across the rough floor.

The beast reals back, unbalanced. Laser fire burns a hole through the creature's head. It falls in a cloud of oily smoke. The laser falls from Han's claws and clatters across the floor.

"Good job," praises Yosip.

"It gets easier with practice," I add, helping to reassure the shaken youth. Yosip nods, a distant look on his face.

Han slides down into a sitting position. All four arm hang loose at his sides. He's silent, breathing deeply.

The youth doesn't respond when Yosip picks up the fallen weapon. Nor when the Supply-Master offers it to him.

"Let's rest here," offers Yosip. "We need to do some minor repairs before we continue, anyway."

He indicates his spear, bent in two places.

"Yeah," grunts Han.

"That's a good soldier," I cheerily exclaim, ignoring how the speaker distorts the sound of my voice.

Yosip turns, stifling a cough. Han makes a noncommittal noise when Yosip places the laser beside him.

"There any chance fixing spears is one of your powers?"

"Sorry, Yosip." The broken speaker fills my voice with static.

"It's hard to express just how helpful you are, Mos," he says, before slamming his spear into the wall.

Han chuckles, reassured by Yosip's enthusiasm. One shaky claw takes hold of the laser. He pulls it into his lap and starts checking it over. The Supply-Master continues banging away, just at the edge of my influence.

When he's satisfied with the corrections he makes to the shaft, Yosip comes over and takes a seat beside Han. He places one metal hand upon the youth's armored shoulder.

"You alright?"

The young Operative sighs heavily. He lifts his armored head and looks up at his superior officer. "Is it always like this?"

Yosip answers by shaking his head.

"Why do they look like Tserri? It's horrible," Han says with a shudder. "They look like people I know, but monsters."

Yosip doesn't have an answer for him, and I'm unwilling to further burden him with additional worries. I fear that these are the corpses of the miners who had entered before us, rebuilt by some ancient system. Perhaps a malfunctioning medical facility following decaying code.

"We have to keep going," Yosip declares as he stands up. "The answers must be in here somewhere."

"Yeah," mutters Han. Yosip offers him a hand, which he accepts with a grunt. The older male pulls the younger onto his feet and we continue exploring.

We pass through the chaotic corridor, following its random turns. The way branches often. At each intersection Yosip stops to compare our options before inevitably choosing the leftmost tunnel. After the fifth left turn we hear grunting in the distance.

Yosip increases our pace. When the sounds are coming from just around the next corner he halts us. It sounds like combat. Are the monsters competing for territory within these tunnels?

A mass of limbs and blue crystals falls in front of us. Black blood spurts from the folds of its neck, spraying around a primitive knife. It struggles to its feet, shaking violently and snapping its azure jaws.

A thrust of the spear finishes it off, and sprays Yosip with black ichor when he tries to free his weapon from the twitching corpse. He doesn't have time to complain, as another beast charges around the corner and knocks the Supply-Master over.

The raging monster grapples the fallen officer and the two roll across the ground. They come to a stop with a slam against the rough stone that knocks the froth out of the abomination. It goes limp, but pins Yosip under its bulk.

Han aims his weapon at the struggling pair, but wisely refrains from firing. A sound from the blind corner has him shift his aim reflexively, and he fires as soon as a large tentacular form emerges from behind the stone. The burst of energy strikes the being in its nine-eyed face.

It looks oddly familiar, like someone I once knew. Ridiculous. This place simply recreates the dead that it harvests, somehow. With magitech. No, it couldn't possibly be-

The newcomer pulls back, glowing magitech spear clutched in muscular tendrils. His movements remind me of my own fighting style, a treasure of my bloodline. A bent haft sails through the air, aimed at the soldier's head, for soldier he is. His tunic, imperial black and silver, swirls around him as he blocks with his own weapon.

Yosip grunts and attacks again. "Wait! Don't," I shout, but static and the sounds of battle cover my cry.

Han fires as another figure, dressed in shimmering black, rolls into the room grappling an orange shard covered abomination. The monster jerks as lethal energy burns into it, and its rival tosses its corpse at Han. Han falls hard and lands against the wall with a loud crack.

My view fills with Yosip, who steps between Han and the two warriors. He straightens, releasing one hand from his much-abused weapon and grunts, then starts coughing.

"I think we're makin' progress, this pair look like elites. Ye think so?"

Three exhausted soldiers march into the room, tentacles sliding in unison.

"Perhaps, Don," answers a voice I know. An older voice than I remember, but one I could never forget. "None of the others used weapons, but that one has an improvised spear."

"Bruen!" I try to shout, but the speaker remains silent. That last impact must have been too much for the thing.

"Monsters!" Han fires again and again until the laser overheats. The beams are rendered harmless by the runes carved into Bruen's laminate encased carapace. He looks like he's doing well for himself. He turns his head, and I can see that his central eye has been replaced with a work of artifice. Very well, indeed.

"Stay back, Han!"

"You can speak?" Bruen turns and glides closer to Yosip, spear pointing at the gray officer's neck. "Lay down your weapons and surrender."

Neither Yosip nor Han understand him. The Supply-Master raises his weapon protectively and growls, "Back off, monster."

"Bruen, let me try," offers the Don. The gray creature, who also sounds familiar, walks closer. When Han peeks around his protector, I'm able to get a good look at him. A Selber? He's dripping with black ooze, but I think that's Gelly Drop's wiry frame under the slime.

"Are ye trapped in here? Lost?"

"Gelly? Jim said you were dead," Yosip exclaims in disbelief.

"Yosip? I were told the same about ye."

Gelly spots his knife and grunts as he pulls it free of one of the corpses oozing blackness onto the stone floor. "Oh, and ye look like shit."

Han's laser clicks. He has such a difficult time remembering to cycle the coolant. The youth growls, still distrustful of the newcomers.

"Mos, could you calm him down for me?" Yosip shrugs apologetically at Gelly.

"I shall try, Merchant," replies Bruen. Pride warms the depths of my being.

"What is he saying? Mos, answer me!" His battered spear shakes in his grasp.

Bruen's eyes focus around him, surveying the area. "Don, is your friend unwell?"

"He always were a bit off," answers Gelly. He closes one eye dramatically while nodding to Yosip. "Had to be to accept a promotion."

"No, you're crazy," shouts Han. "Yosip's a hero and has the spirits' blessing!"

"Please, control your battleshell, it's acting erratically."

Gelly cocks his head, perhaps recognizing the Tserri language.

"Mos, are you still with us?" Yosip's voice comes to me over the radio built into my current housing. I had forgotten that was an option in my shock at seeing Bruen.

"I am, but there seems to be a malfunction with my equipment."

Bruen backs away from Yosip, and waves his lower tendrils to signal his soldiers to surround us. My Bruen, commanding soldiers! "I couldn't be prouder of him."

"What is he saying," Yosip whispers tersely. "What's going on?"

"He's ordering his soldiers to take you alive. You might want to tell Gelly that Han isn't a construct before they kill him."

"Han! Take off your helmet," commands Yosip. "Now!"

The youth hesitates at first, but hastily obeys when the Supply-Master shows signs of angering. The soldiers hesitate at the sight of the dark fur, looking to their general for commands.

"Wait," orders my Bruen, and the soldiers pull back. They still keep their spears ready, however. He has trained them well.

"This one is free of the infection," he continues. "You three, find Somner Zek and bring her here. My translator requires enhancement."

The soldiers hurry to obey. As they leave, they grab the corpses to drag along. Bruen signals his gratitude to them for anticipating his orders.

The two parties separate to opposite sides of the cavern. While we wait, I begin adding my language to the translation program installed in my circuits. I should have done this long ago but had never anticipating encountering another of my own kind again.

Keeping one eye on the other pair, Yosip opens up the back of Han's suit. He grumbles good naturedly as he works. He repairs the speaker, reconnecting a loose connection to restore functionality.

"Alright, how's that?"