/ 2/15/8252 CE
/Corporal John Maxwell
/Playback begin
/Aboard the UEG Corvette "Icarus"
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I felt my mind begin to pull away from the fog of a waking dream as I pulled myself out of my bed, a pounding headache raging. I heard Chrysalis jump of the bed and land on the hard deck plating that made up the floor as I made my way into the small bathroom. She jumped up onto the small table next to the sink as I splashed water on my face. I looked unto the water for a while before I heard Chrysalis make a small cry, about the same time a drop of red landed in the water.
I looked into the mirror on the wall to find that I was bleeding from the nose, along with a small line coming out of my right eye. I was unsurprised as James had told me to expect a small amount of hemorrhaging from the nanites removing the majority of the microorganisms from my body.
Chrysalis let out another squeal and a series of clicks, a second later my HI AIs voice spoke in my head, "You you, give me red, give me warm. Hungry."
I let out a chuckle, "Fine fine." Another series of clicks and whistles, this time coming from me, followed some seconds later.
I wiped a little blood onto my finger and offered it to her, which she happily licked up.
"Thank......you"
There was a long pause as the translation software attempted to find the right word. The translation software was far from complete, or one hundred percent perfect. Some of their language does not translate, one word could have hundreds of meanings, and most of the time was very contextual, and some things they just did not have words for, but we had managed to get the basics down pat. The xenolinguistics told the Chairman though that even though the system was imperfect, we could get our meaning across without causing a interspecies incident.
My thoughts were interrupted by a notification appearing on my HI.
'Corporal, get yourself down to the hanger. - CHRM Prescott'
I sent a reply as I walked out. Beckoning Chrysalis to follow.
"Where.....go?"
I passed by a 'window' giving a quick look at the planet below.
"You're going home, come on."
She gave a buzz and followed.
Out in the darkness of space a black shape moved, then with a flash, it vanished.
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One Hour Later
I rolled my now armored shoulders as I walked into the ships small hanger, Chrysalis giving a annoyed hiss as I knocked her off balance on my shoulder.
"Sorry kid, you need to get off now." I said as I spied the Chairman and...... one of his guards. Wordlessly she jumped off but I could feel a twinge of annoyance from the small insectoid.
"Chairman." I said with a salute.
"John, it's good to see you are making a fast recovery." He said.
I nodded, "I won't complain, sir."
"We’re ready to go as soon as the recon reports a all green." He said nodding to the place the missing Praetorian normally occupied. Then walked into the 'formal' transport we were now using.
I looked to Chrysalis, "Come on." I said as I walked into the transport.
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/ Matriarch
/ Same time
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'It had been four days since that.....thing took daughter.
Where did it take daughter.
Why did it take daughter.
Is daughter alright? Daughters spark is gone.
Is daughter dead? Daughters spark is cold, Daughter's gone.
Queen said it would not hurt Daughter, Queen was wrong, it did hurt Daughter.
It killed daughter.'
The insectoid felt a rage pore through its mind, that rage had no target. It indiscriminately tore through the Hive prompting the other Matriarchs to fall into a similar state of depressed rage. Only to be violently put down as a crushing force slammed down on all of their minds.
'BE SILENT MY CHILDREN.'
That singular thought spread like a wall of water through the Hive, hussing all other thoughts.
'We feel something'
The Matriarch felt the Queens dominion envelop her mind, making her body an extension of the Queens.
The Queen could feel....something near the entrance to her Hive, using the Matriarchs body, she went to investigate.
'Lend me your minds children.'
The Queen extended her influence over her Hive, she would not let anything hurt anymore over her children, she could feel the vibrations in the ground that told that something was making its way slowly down the entrance to her Hive.
'Theres nothing there.'
'I feel it.'
'Something heavy'
The whole of the Hive, hundreds of thousands of minds, all looking for the same thing through a single pair of eyes. As the 'Queen' slowly looked around a uproar of thoughts came flooding through.
'It stopped!'
'Its not moving'
'It knows we're looking for it.'
'We're looking right at it, why else would it stop?'
'Theres nothing there.'
'It has to be there, we just can't see it.'
Another series of soft vibrations came through the ground, each coming closer.
'THE SAND, LOOK!'
The thousands of thoughts cut off as the 'Queen' looked at the ground and saw.....
'Hoofprints'
'But theres nothing there.'
In the thousands of raging thoughts a hatchling thought of something.
'Its invisible'
That gave the Hive a pause, the Hive then began to study the spot.
'Sand, throw sand at it.'
'Yes, throw sand.'
'Do it'
The Queen complied and picked up a large ball of sand, the tossed it at the pair of Hoofprints.
The ball of sand dispersed through the air like a fine mist and settled back down, most of it did anyway, some of the sand however stuck to something.
'THERE!' The entirety of the Hive cried out at once.
The 'Queen' grabbed a bolder two times the size of the Matriarch with her spark and hurled it at the spot.
About half way through the boulders flight to its intended target, the Hive saw a flash of blue/white light. Then the large rock simply was cut in two.
The two pieces hit the ground, the rock bubbling and melting away where it was 'cut'.
The Hive then looked at what had cut the huge rock.
What appeared to be a sliver of the sun was floating in the air, the heat it was casting off causing distortions in the air. The Hive heard a low growl like sound. Then the air wavered intensely and a form began to reveal itself.
'Its the hollow'
The large beast had completely revealed itself, and did something the Hive did not expect.
It let out a couple of bark like noises, then the sliver of sun attached to its arm lost its shape and turned to a gas, coiled up its arm and dispersed through the air. It stared at her for some time before letting out a long string of barks and grunts.
'Thats not the same hollow.'
'What does it want.'
Anymore thoughts were interrupted by the creature again.
"Can you ......understand.....me" The Hollow spoke brokenly.
'It....speaks?'
'But its hollow, its dead, how does it speak?'
The Queen drowned out the other thousands of voices and responded.
"Yes"
It stared at her for a moment before nodding, "Good.....follow."
The Queen, not wanting to anger the Hollow, followed.
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A/N Well here you go, ya I know its a exposition chapter. I wanted to get something out before the 6th, all my gamer bronies know what's going down. You wanna play with me, PM me, one discrepancy If you scream and holler like a 10 year old I won't play with you, sorry.