Sorry, no Predators in this book. Although, perhaps for a different one . . . hmmm . . .
CHAPTER ELEVEN:
The Blast and the Mark
Parker listened unconcernedly to both Cloak and Gaz's accounts. If there were pirates here, they would most certainly regret it. These creatures, these Xenomorphic Brood, as Gaz had been starting to call them, are creatures without mercy. They would be deaf to pleas of mercy and begging not to impant their embryonic eggs in them. According to what Parker knew, these monsters would actually take great joy, a sadistic joy, in the terror that this would inflict. These creatures were the basest level of evil.
Parker was fully expecting to encounter one or two of the creatures before now. Tyr was keeping him appraised of the statistics, which annoyed him, but he had other concerns than to silence the AI. Besides the sound of hearing someone speak was oddly comforting in this lonely, dead warship. But he couldn't let his guard down. Everything he heard from the others was that these creatures were fast, feral, and fatal.
Parker idly checked his weaponry, including his Megatronian and Galvatronian fusion cannons. He knew that he wouldn't be able to use the Ride Armor Matrix given to him by Cloak oh-so-long ago. Parker felt that he was prepared to take on anything. Their acidic blood couldn't be stronger than the facehugger-faced Firstborn, though Parker didn't know the term.
However, Parker never saw a Xenomorphic Brood in this corridor. But he did see two Sleazoids passed out in the middle of the corridor. Parker dashed to them, and scanned their vitals. Tyr announced they still lived and suggested vacating the area. When Parker queried, Tyr didn't have to answer. The Sleazoid eyes opened, and they didn't looke the same. They were changing. Their eyes become more like insect eyes, and their skin was taking on an exoskeletal sheen.
Parker was taken aback with both pity and disgust. He aimed his rifle and fired. Both fatal shots normal, but it just fragmented the strong exoskeletons that had formed. Clothing ripped, their weapons clattered noisily to the floor. Parker fired again, and both fell. But their shifting, altering flesh -- who knows if they'll stay dead?
Wait -- the queen. There's always a queen. Destroy her, and the rest will die off. It must work -- Parker hoped.
***
Blaze continued down the corridor. He had reverted his bow back to its baseline sword form. It still glowed yellow, and bit of red, green, and blue. He was on high alert. He walked in a very cautious manner, expecting to see one of those Sleazoids, or worse, a Xenomorphic Brood. Blaze did not like this tension, this expectation, this anticipation, or being unable to spread his wings to their full span!
Blaze was looking around him, when he saw two Xenomorphic Brood aliens climbing upon the ceiling. Blaze immediately shifted his sword into his bow and fired as many arrows of flame, at them as he could. There were plenty of misses, but one caught one of the "XB"s in the shoulder, tail and head crest and the other in thigh, back, and throat. The second one somehow survived.
Blaze continued to fire the fire arrows, but gave up as it didn't seem to be working to his liking. All he did was slow them down! He shifted his bow, which was glowing more and more green, into a war hammer and slammed it upon the second one. All it seemed to do was knock him out, but the first was behind Blaze. It tried to implant one of those embryonic eggs into Blaze!
But his Mark burned and the creature was launched several feet away by a blue energy feedback. The embryonic egg quickly died. Blaze blinked, and looked at his hand, where the Mark was etched. Then he looked at the blackened, smoking remains of the XB, in shock. It was dead. It was actually dead. Blaze didn't know that the Mark could kill. . . . He wondered if even Cloak and Goom was aware of this.
However, the second one was coming round, and was approaching Blaze from behind -- only to be ran through with Blaze's sword without him even turning around. His sword's glow now had not evidence of yellow, but was predominately with green, with a little red, blue, and the smallest bit of indigo. He knew these were two of the Sleazoids -- due to the clothing. The first one he ever encountered was completely naked.
Blaze looked up from his musings, and ran down the corridor, hoping to meet up with the others. But relaying this over communications. Cloak didn't seem too surprise.
"Naturally, even without the Mark, your body would have probably rejected the egg." Cloak speculated. "It wouldn't be able to survive in mine, being disintegrated within seconds."
"Yeah, and what about the rest of us?" Gaz asked.
Cloak said, "So, what did you say about a queen, Parker?"
