Squire Rale stood there for a moment, trying to see if he could remember anything about ‘Swarms’ when orange light flooded into the room, reflecting roaring fire off of the bloodied floor. The flames burned for only a few seconds before the urgent voice of Bravo Eight, Page Ronald, crackled through their helmets.

“Bravo One, we have contact! Bravo Four is fighting back a wave of some kind of spider mutant things!” The orange light grew brighter as the other hothead met resistance from the opposite side of the hallway, “Bravo Three is being attacked too now, we’re surrounded!” The panic in his voice had risen as the sounds of screeching death echoed down the hall in blistering heat, the Frosties putting their specialized weapons away for their alternative beam rifles. The light from charged energy pulsed yellow as beams bored their way through the flames to reveal horrifying, bug like creatures covered in chitin and doing their best to reach them. Their many eyes reflected the light of the flames as they burned, while their small, sharp hands looked ready to claw them to death. Their knee height forms curled up into tight balls before they popped from the inside out, but blocking the flames for the next creature, allowing them to get closer. It had only been a few seconds before bodies began to pile up and burn, filling the hallway with ash and making it harder to see the creatures if not for the Pages suits.

But the soldiers were soon joined by their comrades from within the data room and the steady, punching sound of the Brutalizer shook their suits as they slammed against the operators who dared to wield them. The violence was short and brutal, over before the barrels of the Pulverizers could start spinning. Orange light remained dimly as the handy work of the hotheads continued to burn, sizzling nearby while the sound of chittering grew distant.

“What...What the hell was that? These things... I swear, this is just like last time! A goddamn bug hunt, but this time we’re aboard an unknown alien vessel and no backup. Awesome! Just fuckin’ great!” Page Durd yelled over the mics.

“Hey, snap out of it! We got a job to do and I need you to calm the fuck down, Page. Check your fuel, your gear and let me know the status of your suit, Bravo Four. Same goes for you too Bravo Three. Bravo Five, give me a scan of these things if you can find one that isn’t cooked well done. The rest of you, keep your eyes peeled and prepare to repel hostiles.”

Stepping back into the room, Squire Rale found agent Rolo leaning against the wall near the door with his eyes closed. The agent’s eyes opened as the Squire took a step closer to him and had his mouth open to speak before he was beaten to the punch.

“That, Squire Rale, is the Swarm. In general, at least. I won’t know more until I find their Queen and rip the information from her brain, but it seems the drones have found us and soon, their bigger, less friendly siblings will be upon us.”

The calm, respectful and deferred tone was replaced with urgency and accusation.

“How do you know what those things are? You knew, didn’t you… this whole time? You could’ve told us, at least something! Those things aren’t natural, they died from our weapons, but they didn’t explode like normal living creatures do! Not when their shot from the fuckin’ Brutalizers!” Squire Rale attempted to hiss quietly through his speakers to avoid spooking the others, though Braco Three had nonchalantly stepped closer to the door. The agent reached over his shoulder and pulled out the double-edged sword from his back. Dark violet, almost black letters were glowing from etchings made all over the metal. Staring at the weapon caused a fear to eclipse that of the horde roasting in the hallway within the Squire, locked in terror as he gazed within the endless depth of the runes. Something smacked into the Squire’s helmet and roused him from his stupor, only to blink in confusion as he saw how close agent Rolo had gotten. The agent pulled back his claw once he saw the light again in the Squire’s eyes.

“Did you flick my helmet just now?”

“Of course not, I was merely testing your reaction speed. Don’t stare at the sword, it hates it when people do that.”

“It? What do you mean it doesn’t...I...huh?”

“Squire Rale, pay attention please. The sword’s not important, it’s a common practice amongst pirates from the Fringe to carry a melee weapon when boarding ships. What is important is the suggestion I was about to make in regards to the Swarm. Specifically, that we should move out as fast as possible before they overwhelm our position.”

Given a semblance of an order, tactics began to flip through the Squire’s mind as he nodded to himself.

“Yes...yes. Of course, sir. Everyone! Get ready to move! Agent Rolo, take point while I alert the other Squads.”

“Very well, Squire.” Walking into the hallway first, agent Rolo kept his sword low to the ground as he walked between members of Bravo squad until he was walking ahead of them down the hallway they were originally heading down. The agent turned his head slightly, as if he was smelling or hearing something that they couldn’t.

“Bravo squad, follow and protect agent Rolo, prepare for more hostiles.” Without waiting for a response, he turned the channel to the main line and began to broadcast.

“Alpha leader, this is Bravo One. We’ve made contact with hostile entities identified as the ‘Swarm’. Be advised, they move in large groups and are susceptible to heat. We fought them back with Incinerators but our...consultant has eluded to more combat oriented life forms aboard Outsider, over.” Static remained after Squire Rale’s alert. When a few moments passed and communications were still a low static, Squire Rale was ready to take over the channel and alert the other squads when the solemn voice of Squire Tungsten was heard.

“Copy that, Bravo One. I’ll let the others know we got another bug hunt, be careful out there.” Cutting the signal, he then switched to the relay channel.

“Bravo Zero, be on alert, we’ve made contact with hostiles. Signal to the Nest that we are under attack from the ‘Swarm’. Remain inside the Infiltrator and stay safe.”

“Wh- what do you me-” Squire Rale cut the signal before the Page could get his question out and stepped in front of the slow moving soldiers to stand close to agent Rolo.

“Got anything?” Squire Rale asked quietly. The agent tilted his head again, flicking out his forked tongue while his ears twitched.

“Hm, I believe the hallway is about to open up. There’s a concentration of iron ahead, but it’s clouding anything else that might be airborne. There’s some skittering, but with all the background noise behind me it’s a guess at best. Let your men know that they’re about to walk into what’s most likely an ambush.” Cursing quietly, Squire Rale dropped back to gather with the rest of Bravo Squad, leaving Bravo Three and Bravo Six towards the rear to guard their backs while the rest prepare for what’s ahead. With the power of the Excalibur suits, Squire Rale and the rest of Bravo squad carrying ballistic weapons had their estimated trajectory projected in their visors like small crosshairs. The suits themselves helped stabilize the weapons and take care of minute movements so that the crosshairs didn’t jump all over the screen.

Page Durd was busy scanning the walls and floor, searching for anything hidden between their probing lights. He and the others had gotten the heads-up of a possible ambush ahead and couldn’t help but have a hard time swallowing, his throat dry and tight. See, he’d been in plenty of fights, they had literally just completed another bug-hunt on Horton so that the local species could continue mining the shit out of their own planet, wrinkly skinned bastards. But bugs don’t plan an ambush, not dumb ones anyways and a dumb enemy was always better than a smart one. Now, he searched for any air vents above them for any possibility of being ambushed en route and all sorts of concerns he didn’t have about five to ten minutes ago. ‘God,’ he thought, ‘we should just get the fuck off this ship and just blast the shit out of it!’. Like it or not though, they had orders and he didn’t know the agent well but was hoping that he knew what he was doing and not leading them into some kind of deathtrap.

They all slowed down until they stopped behind the waiting agent, who was glaring down the hallway that opened up into a wider room ahead, actual light from the walls emitting a dim blue light.

“Something wrong? We know they’re waiting for us.” Nodding slightly, the agent spoke to Squire Rale without taking his eyes off of the opening.

“Indeed, they likely already know we’re here. The problem is, as much as I’d love to just stride in there and take them out in a flurry of blows, I doubt they’ll let me take that avenue of approach without having a plethora of heavy hitters on their side, not to mention having to waste energy before we make contact with the Queen. You or one of your soldiers wouldn’t happen to have something that has a little...bang to it, now would you?” Frowning behind his visor, the Squire shook his head no before he paused and turned to Page Durd.

“Bravo Four, you usually come a little more prepared than usual when we go on space dives, did you bring any… contingency devices with you?” Page Durd was searching everywhere for a threat, his eyes flickering back and forth when the Squire asked him. Turning his head, the Page looked at the Squire and then the agent, before turning back to Squire Rale. A moment later, his shoulders slumped as much as the Excalibur suit would allow before nodding his head and carefully placing his Incinerator on the floor within arms reach. Taking off his large pack, he revealed the many dangerous and questionably legal weapons, mainly because of their explosive nature.

The agent laughed, quietly at first but grew louder as he took in the wide array of explosive devices the Page was carrying.

“Good, very good! But pray tell, why didn’t you inform me that you had brought explosive weapons on a mission where we’d be boarding an unknown vessel, Squire Rale?” Hesitating, Squire Rale weighed the options in his head before he decided to be honest with the agent.

“Well, Page Durd here has a tendency to be overly cautious and I was tired of him begging to bring heavier, more expensive weapons on missions, so I made a concession. As long as he could fit it in his bag, it could handle the pressure of space, wasn’t nuclear or highly illegal then he could bring whatever he felt would make him comfortable and I’d carry a blind eye towards it. I don’t usually inspect his equipment, but I trusted Page Loraine to keep him in check for me.” Chuckling, the agent shook his head slightly before leaning down and itemizing what they had on hand.

“To be honest, Squire Rale, I’m quite glad your subordinate is here and his wide variety of tools. I’m assuming these items were purchased with personal funds?” Agent Rolo looked up from his position, squatting with a questioning look towards Page Durd who nodded back after giving a deferring glance towards Squire Rale.

“In that case, any and all resources will be reimbursed once we make it back to the Vulture’s Nest. Now, last question. How proficient are you with these devices?” agent Rolo asked. This time, it was Squire Rale who laughed.

***

Hai’Tix are not individuals, they follow the will of their Queen and they in turn listen to their Lord. They don’t have strong, personal feelings but those beyond fight or flight and they follow their Queen with utmost loyalty. A group of Hai’Tix warriors patrolling a metal tunnel answered the dying call of the drones, flashes of burning death spread across their surface thoughts from the transfer. The leader of the Hunt growled in anger, ordering the drones to another part of the Steel Hive. The leader had no name, none did but the Queen, who was too far above them to share such knowledge, and possibly the Blooded if they were distinguished enough. But regardless of titles and individualism, the leader could still feel fear. Fear of failure, to protect the Hive from invaders and the greatest fear of all, the death of it’s Queen. In the memories of the passing drones, it could tell that the approaching foe was formidable and sought guidance from its Queen.

The Queen heard and in response, she pillaged it’s thoughts in search of the foe it feared. When it saw the towering figures in black, commanding searing fire, she hissed loudly in her chambers where the elite Blooded of the Hai’Tix stirred. She was seconds from ordering the warriors to charge in the direction of these invaders and slaughter them to the last. But in her infinite wisdom she devised a better plan, one the previous masters of the ship employed to their advantage before succumbing to the mighty force of the Hai’Tix and becoming the Steel Hive.

She had no need for words, she could easily plant concepts and tactics directly into the mind of the Hunt leader, promising it and it’s subordinates honor and strength if they returned victorious. She knew not the full strength of these invaders, but if there was one, then more may have infiltrated. With one pulse of her powerful will, hundreds of ferocious warriors and tides of busy drones stopped their patrols and busy tasks, scattering in all directions abiding the orders of their Queen. They were tasked with eradicating a new enemy, relishing the challenge and honor they may earn. At least for the warriors, which sought to rise to the glorious circle of the Blooded. The drones simply scuttled about on their many legs, their limbs meant for tearing and constructing, but used to cut down doors and search for hidden prey just as easily. Now, the thousands of eyes searched throughout the Hive, pushed to rage at the behest of their Queen.

It wasn’t long before the Queen’s suspicion was validated as multiple places throughout the Hive erupted in violence, small waves of psychic energy rippling out with each death until the information was relayed back to the Queen in a stream. Calculating, she ordered three of her Blooded to join the hunt; one to aid the ambush and the other two to reinforce the warriors in their assault, leaving her a precious claw-full. She could do nothing but wait, so she turned to more productive goals while her children died by the score by the fearsome invaders.

With one pair of arms larger than the other, she continued her work on the last cornerstone of her defence, the lynchpin between life and death, her Guardian. Flesh and metal, it’s towering figure covered in the carapace of her Swarm would be a formidable creature of destruction within the halls of this new Hive. She must hurry and complete it before her Sanctum was defiled. She had faith in her warriors but something was tickling her senses, something that was there in the shadows, hidden from her children.

But while the Hive bustled in activity and the Queen toiled on her Guardian, the warriors waited in ambush. The Hack leader was comforted by the knowledge that a Blooded was coming to reinforce them, but felt strange knowing it feared these invaders so to call on the help of the elites. Something itched underneath it’s carapace, causing it to scratch at the thick carapace, but unable to ease the irritation. It tried it’s best to ignore it once it realized there was no way to relieve the growing itch without the aid of a drone, but then saw it wasn’t the only one. Several of it’s warriors were scratching at their hard exteriors, digging small furrows in their bodies while being distracted and frustrated by this annoying experience.

It took the pack leader a moment to realize, but a bipedal creature unfamiliar from the harvested memories stood near the entrance to the metal tunnel the invaders were travelling from. It’s body was somewhat similar to the invaders but lacked the black carapace and appeared more akin to the Hai’Tix with the light signal being emitted from it. But when the pack leader sent a question through a local ripple, it had turned it’s head and stared up at the pack leader with a predatory grin, not responding to it’s query. Knowing this, it decided to attack, launching from the roof with the intention to squash the imposter with it’s massive blade-like arms. But before it could land its strike, the pack leader’s world turned to fire.

The Hunt leader and many of its warriors blossomed into a beautiful bouquet of orange, blue and green fire, spraying hot giblets from every angle as they went in flames. The agent couldn’t help but grin wider as his body was covered in boiling blood from the corpse explosion of the Hunt leader. His gaze intensified as he took in the survivors clicking in confusion. While his white, pearl like shell was now covered in black and green blood, he couldn’t be bothered to care as he rushed forward. With his sword glowing a dark violet, he pounced, ready to slay and carve his way to the Queen if he had to crawl over a mountain of her dead brood.