NOVEL NEXT Chapter 54 - Tactical Retreat
They moved toward the area where the drones had been harvesting, stepping over the twitching, bisected remains of their dead. The smell of burnt chitin and sweet decay clung to the air, thick enough to taste. The ground shifted under Luca's boots, a slush of firm stone and something slick and pulsing.
Fantastic. Alien bug guts and mystery slime. Just what I signed up for when I became a starship captain.
Danny was already crouched by a glowing vein of rock embedded in the cavern floor. "This is incredible," he muttered. "We don't even have a baseline for—"
Joey, ever the practical medic, dragged him back. "Or you could not. Just in case it's, I don't know, radioactive?"
Danny sighed, rubbing his temples. "Damn it. Should've packed the damn rad scanner."
"Should've packed a lot of things, nerd." Ryan grinned, stepping forward. "But that's why you've got me."
And then? Ryan stuck his finger straight into one of the glowing, slimy pools between the rock formations.
"Ryan!" Joey barked. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
For a moment, nothing happened. Ryan pulled his dripping, faintly glowing glove back, watching the viscous substance slide off. "See? It's not burning. Feels kinda nice, actually. Like hot—"
The substance started eating through his glove.
"Shit!" Ryan yelped, yanking his hand back as the material began to dissolve. Steam rose from his fingertips, the alien slime burning through the polymer like acid.
And there it is. Ryan Mitchell. The man who thinks 'don't touch the obviously dangerous alien goo' is more of a suggestion than a rule.
Joey was on him in seconds, grabbing a neutralizing gel from his medical kit. "Don't move," he snapped, spraying Ryan's hand down. The sizzling stopped, but the damage was done. Three fingertips of his glove were completely gone.
"When you mutate into a glow-in-the-dark jackass," Joey muttered, checking Ryan's exposed skin for burns, "I'm not treating you."
Emily smacked Ryan on the back of the head. "You're an idiot."
"A lucky idiot," Joey added, finding no chemical burns. "Another few seconds and it would've reached skin."
Luca exhaled, scanning the shadows beyond. "Right. No more alien chemistry experiments. Let's move."
They pressed on, taking down another group of drones with cleaner, more focused fire. The XP flowed in, faster than anything they'd seen in Sol.
[+14,560 XP]
[+5,625 Credits]
[Item acquired: Power Cell]
By the time they reached the far end of the cavern, the tunnels were narrowing, becoming more organic, and the temperature was rising. The fights kept coming, small packs of drones that cracked and fell under the new plasma fire.
[+37,857 XP]
[+14,625 Credits]
[Item acquired: Power Cell (x2)]
The last drone cracked apart, dropping a shimmering plasma rifle. Chris snatched it from the ground, its weight and balance a clear step up from his old weapon. He checked the power cell.
[Item acquired: Proxima PR-64 'Starfire Lance' Plasma Rifle - TL9].
"Let's see what this can do," he grinned. Luca nodded. Good. The rifle belonged with Chris; he was a better shot than Ryan anyway.
The notifications kept rolling in, but Luca barely had time to process them. They were moving too fast, and honestly? They didn't need to stop. Luca could feel it. His accuracy was better, his situational awareness sharper. Every shot landed more intuitively, every dodge came a fraction faster.
And then, the jackpot.
[Item acquired: Centauri Phantom Mk-64 Tactical Vest - TL9]
Luca lifted the vest. The sleek, matte-black plating felt impossibly light for how sturdy it was. Integrated power-distributing nodes hummed just beneath the surface. It would boost his mobility and damage resistance beyond anything his current suit could manage.
Holy shit. TL9 armor. I'm gonna look like such a badass in this thing.
Zoe gave him a look, one eyebrow cocked, that sharp, knowing gaze already seeing right through him.
He smirked back, projecting pure confidence. "We'll need to check if it's compatible with our TL8 stuff, otherwise it goes into storage until we have a full set."
Hours later, they were all dragging. The hive stretched on, a seemingly endless series of tunnels and brief, brutal skirmishes.
"Alright, break time," Ryan called, dropping his oversized pack with an exaggerated grunt.
They were in a relatively quiet part of the hive, where the stone walls had shifted to a semi-organic surface that pulsed faintly. Danny had managed to scrape a sample of the corrosive slime into a containment vial and was studying it with his handheld scanner. Ryan, despite his damaged glove, peered over his shoulder, offering unsolicited advice about molecular stability.
Across the way, Joey was checking the seals on Emily's damaged arm plate.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
"Still hurts?" he asked quietly.
Emily just nodded, her jaw tight. "It'll hold," she said.
Luca watched them all for a moment. The quiet wouldn't last, and every second they spent resting was a second the hive had to adapt. He had to keep them moving. After a quick rest, Luca was ready to move again.
"Zoe and I will scout ahead," he announced, checking his rifle's charge. "We need to assess the defenses around that gateway before the whole team moves in. Rest of you, gear check and follow in five."
The tunnel opened into a chamber that felt like a goddamn oven.
Luca's visor HUD started blinking as alerts covered his vision.
[O2 Levels: 14.6%] – Respiratory Alert [Ambient Temperature: 103°F | 39°C] – Extreme Heat Detected
"Well," Zoe muttered over their private comm. "This isn't horrifying at all."
The air was thick and wet, fogging the edges of his visor with every breath. The floor squelched under their boots, a thin layer of slimy fluid covering everything.
A low, bass hum vibrated through the soles of his feet, the collective thrum of thousands of lives waiting to hatch. They moved in a low crouch, sticking to the shadows cast by massive, pillar-like growths that pulsed with their own internal light.
Luca pointed, a silent hand gesture toward the far side of the chamber where three patrol drones drifted. Zoe nodded, her movements fluid and silent as a ghost.
Ahead of them, hundreds of eggs pulsed in eerie green light. Drones sat motionless among them, their grotesque bodies almost blending into the pulsating chamber. Waiting. Watching.
Luca and Zoe went prone at the chamber's edge, rifles ready. The sheer silence was more suffocating than the heat, making his armor feel twice as heavy.
"Alright," Zoe murmured, her voice pure challenge. "I see three patrol drones on the perimeter. Silent takedowns only. First one to drop their target without alerting the hive wins."
Luca scanned the chamber through his scope. The patrol drones moved in slow, predictable patterns between the egg clusters. "What's the stakes?"
"Loser buys the first round when we get back to civilization."
"Deal." He lined up a shot on the drone furthest from the others. "On my mark. Three... two..."
Zoe's rifle whispered first. Her target dropped silently, crumpling between two egg clusters.
"Shit," Luca muttered, adjusting his aim as his target continued its patrol route.
"Clock's ticking, hotshot," she whispered.
He exhaled, squeezed the trigger. The energy bolt took the drone in the head, and it collapsed without a sound.
"Nice shot," Zoe admitted. "But I still won."
Before Luca could retort, the third patrol drone suddenly stopped. Its head swiveled toward them, antennae twitching. Then it let out a piercing shriek.
"What the hell?" Luca hissed. They'd been silent, perfectly concealed.
The chamber erupted. Every motionless drone snapped to attention, their multi-faceted eyes locking onto their position. A horrible, synchronized movement as hundreds of creatures began charging.
Well, shit. This is what I get for making bets with Zoe in an alien death trap
"Motion sensors!" Zoe shouted, already scrambling backward. "The eggs must have motion sensors!"
"More like antennae or something," Danny muttered over the radio. "Feeling vibrations in the air."
They bolted, claws swiping the air where they'd just been. Behind them, a chorus of skittering filled the tunnel as the entire hive mobilized.
"Luca? Zoe?" Ryan's voice crackled over the main comm. "What the actual fuck is happening?"
"Tactical retreat!" Luca wheezed, vaulting over a low outcropping. "Entire hive's awake! So much for sneaking up on that gateway!"
"Oh, tactical? With that much screaming?"
"Less talking, more running!" Zoe barked.
They sprinted back toward the team, the sound of pursuit echoing behind them. The others were already up and moving, weapons ready.
"Well," Emily said, checking her plasma sword, "so much for stealth. Guess we're fighting our way to that door after all."
[+20,385 XP]
[+7,875 Credits]
[Item acquired: Power Cell (x2)]
The valve-like doorway at the end of the next chamber pulsed, and Luca felt his stomach turn. Ryan's bio-organic gateway, in all its horrific glory. The thing was alive, its slimy membrane glistening as it rippled like muscle under skin. A thick, translucent film covered the opening, flexing in slow, wet convulsions.
"There's our target," Ryan said, consulting his scanner. "Energy readings are off the charts. The Hive Mother's definitely on the other side."
It was, without a doubt, the single most disgusting thing Luca had ever seen.
Emily took one look and backed up. "That's revolting."
"It's our only way through," Luca said, though his own stomach was doing somersaults. "Ideas?"
Danny, who apparently had zero sense of self-preservation, stomped right up to it in his massive powered armor. "Just an organic barrier. Probably needs some force." He pressed his hands against it and pushed.
The membrane convulsed, then erupted. A wave of thick, steaming slime burst from the opening, drenching Danny from helmet to chest.
They stood in silence, watching Danny drip.
Then Zoe lost it. "Oh my god, Danny! You got slimed!"
Danny just stood there, frozen. "It's... warm."
Joey, not to be outdone, stomped forward. "If we apply even pressure—"
FWOMP.
And there goes Joey, following Danny's brilliant strategy. Sometimes I think they share a brain cell.
Another explosive splatter, this time coating his visor.
"Okay," Emily said, drawing her plasma sword. "My turn."
The blue blade hummed to life. She stepped forward and drove it into the membrane. The organic material began to part, then suddenly constricted around the blade like a living muscle.
"What the—" Emily pulled, but the membrane held tight. Worse, where the plasma touched the tissue, it started secreting a viscous acid that hissed and bubbled against her weapon.
"It's trying to eat my sword!" she grunted, pulling harder.
"Danny, Joey, grab her arms!" Luca ordered. "Ryan, Chris, suppressing fire on the membrane! Zoe, watch our six!"
The two powered-armor users grabbed Emily by the shoulders while Ryan and Chris opened fire on the organic door. Each blast made it convulse and loosen slightly.
"Keep shooting!" Emily shouted, leveraging her weight backward. "It's working!"
With a wet, tearing sound, the membrane finally gave way. Emily stumbled backward into Danny and Joey's arms, her plasma sword smoking with residual acid.
"Well," she panted, deactivating the weapon, "that was disgusting. But we're through."
"Finally," Luca said, staring at the passage beyond. "The central chamber's gotta be close now."
Ryan blinked at the now-open passage. "Why didn't it fight us like that when the drones came through?"
"Because," Danny said, wiping slime from his visor, "we're not supposed to be here."
Four drones stepped through the opening as if summoned by his words, their antennae twitching as they spotted the team.
The fight was quick and brutal. Luca and Zoe moved in deadly sync, headshots dropping targets before they could charge. Ryan lit up the tunnel with his plasma rifle while Emily's sword sliced through exoskeletons like paper. Danny roared and slammed his warhammer into a drone, sending it flying into the pulsing wall. Joey finished the last one with an armored stomp.
[+11,648 XP]
[+4,500 Credits]
[Skill Level up! Situational Awareness Proficiency Level 7 -> Level 8]
[Item acquired: Power Cell (x2)]
The notifications flashed across Luca's HUD. His awareness sharpened, a subtle but tangible upgrade.
"Everyone okay?" Joey asked, already scanning for injuries.
"Define okay," Ryan muttered, looking at his partially dissolved glove.
Emily examined her plasma sword, checking for acid damage. "Weapon's intact. Door's open. Let's call it a win."
"Right," Luca said, stepping toward the passage. "Central chamber, here we come. Let's go find that Hive Mother."