Seven: Introduction

[Damarik]

...Silence...

A rhythmic beating lulled her mind. Warmth surrounded her growing consciousness. Encased in a delicately bundled layer of fluids and muscle tissue, she slept undisturbed.

...Motionless...

There was sound, from somewhere. Whence it came, the little one did not know. She rested easily in her incubator, shifting ever so slightly as she turned and rolled in her sleep.

...Peace...

The emotion rolled through her tiny frame as she slumbered. The chamber around her was still, save for that steady, rhythmic beating...

...

A violent motion rippled through her new found warmth. She was jostled, thrown up against something hard. Many somethings. Something else began to sharply compress her from underneath before releasing its hold on her once more. It started this in rapid succession, compression and release, over and over again. Then, it squeezed her tightly as a loud noise from above her rattled her cage, tilting the whole world up on end. A hard impact jarred her tiny head off of her confinement of somethings before she was squeezed far too tightly again.

Too Tight!

Waking from her slumber, the little one squirmed, running into squishy masses behind her. She thrashed her tail, trying to clear a path, to no avail.

Cramped!

Surrounded by those horrible somethings, she turned on the squishier masses with her teeth, biting into them. Instantly, her mouth was filled with a foul tasting liquid. Iron burst upon her taste receptors. She spat it out, doubling back on herself in the very limited space she had.

ESCAPE!

Putting her sharp teeth to work, she carved into those hard somethings, using fang and force to make a hole for herself. It didn't have to be big - there was already some space between them. She just had to leverage enough strength behind it.

ESCAPE!!!

Her mind raced as she coiled her tail against the squishy masses behind her, forcing her head against those hard somethings. Making no headway, she chewed more, splinters coming apart in her mouth, cutting into her gumline.

PAIN!

ESCAPE!

PUSH!!!

There was a sharp crack as a few of the somethings of her cage gave a little. She coiled up and pushed one final time, feeling only a thin membrane between her head and freedom now. The iron fluid from before was rushing all around her now, pooling and squirting through gaps in the membrane the somethings had made when they'd cracked.

PUSH!!!

A soft ripping noise touched on her ears as her tiny head broke into a much larger world. Fresh air wafted across her face, cold to the touch, awakening her senses. Underdeveloped eyes failed her in the weak light, but other, more adapted senses kicked in, painting a vivid neon green picture across her black sight.

The tiny mouth yawned wide as a shrill cry burst out into the icy air. Warmth flowed and puddled around her tiny form as she let loose the first of her waking yowls to the world, finally free from her prison.

...

She was alone.

Her tiny head cast around, surveying her surroundings. It was as dark as it was inside her previous chamber, but much more vast. Her sensory receptors told her as much. Something inside of her said this was good. Dark was safe. Dark was life.

The air was stale and hot. How she knew that, she wasn't sure. That same part of her that said dark was safe told her that this chamber hadn't been opened in a fairly decent amount of time.

Feeling comfortable enough to extricate the rest of her serpentine body from her previous chamber, the little one turned back to survey it. Despite how cramped she'd been, she noticed that her previous home was actually rather large. Several times larger than herself for that matter.

There were more of them, too. Cast about the floor of the larger chamber, multiple smaller chamber shapes were strewn. Some of them seemed differently shaped than the others, but all were of similar design.

Moving carefully over to another, she felt a presence. No. Two presences.

Much like herself, there was another inside this chamber. And there was one on the outside of it as well. Deciding to investigate the outsider first, she scuttled up to it.

It had many legs. Its tail, not dissimilar from her own, was wrapped tightly around a pillar near one end of the structure. This presence was slowly fading, however. Getting weaker. It was barely there already.

It was dying.

Its skin had already begun to calcify. She could tell this by the texture of its legs when she rubbed against it. Its scent was fading as well.

She felt saddened, knowing that this creature was dying...but at the same time, a sense of fulfillment coursed through her. Somehow, she knew it had accomplished its purpose.

Turning her attention to the other presence inside the chamber, she only then noticed that the chamber itself was moving. Up and down, one part of the structure moved in a dedicated pattern. This pattern coincided with one the other creature exhibited through large flap-like additives near its tail.

Respiration.

The knowledge came to her, as though plucked out of the air. The creature was breathing into the structure. It provided airflow. Not that she needed to breath, as it were...but the idea fascinated her. What use did that provide? Was it vital?

Scanning about, the little one realized that the other structures were moving in this rhythm as well, though all at their own pace. All except for hers. Her chamber did not move anymore. If the heat signature indicated by her sensory pits was any indication, her chamber was growing colder by the second, while the rest remained a vibrant, radiant yellow and red.

Panic jerked through her for a moment. Had she broken her chamber? Was it necessary? It could still provide a hiding place in an emergency...but hers was now vastly different from the rest. It no longer moved. The exit hole she'd made was far too obvious a difference. She could not hide there again and be safe!

...

A calming sensation rolled over her as the ground began to vibrate beneath her. She could feel a soft, penetrating presence fill her tiny mind.

=Peace, my child. Peace. There is no cause for alarm.=

With those words, she felt no fear. She felt no trepidation. She knew and understood that everything was safe and all was well.

From the far end of the vast chamber, a large, hulking creature came striding into view. It carried a scent she knew by instinct. It cast the same familiar feeling as the presence inside the chamber she had investigated.

-Sister.-

Her mind chimed. This was her sister.

The other stepped through the field of ever moving structures, coming straight for her. Yet she felt no fear. Her sister would not harm her. Her sister's smooth, elongated head tilted in her direction, seeking her out instinctively by the connection they shared. She reached out one long, spindly arm for the little one, gently stroking the tiny head. All the while, the scent comforted and supported the little one.

The touch illicited a response from the little one as something inside of her kicked over into a natural movement. Scent glands, still developing, began to secrete a singular, personal aroma that would forever from that day mark her.

-We are Two. We are a servant of the Hive.-

Her sister's thoughts swam around inside her mind. As the designation of 'two' was now forever ingrained with the sensory information of her sister's particular scent marker, another piece of information wormed its way into the core of her very being.

-Seven.-

Her tiny tail quivered to life as her jaws opened wide, the miniature mouth inside stretching out with a determined, strong hiss.

-We are Seven. We are a servant of the Hive.-

[Martzin]

This is a pretty good read...
For some Xeno scum.

[Karmac]

I want to read this, but at the same time my inner cigar chomping, dual machine gun wielding, paranoid marine wants to ignore its existance.

[Damarik]

Don't worry gaiz. I'll be giving Muhreens some good screen time with bitchin' action. It ain't gonna be 100% about Xeno.

[KEY]

Very nice view from the Aliens mind, that isn't interrupted by things such as " not it for queen" " don't evolve till i'm boiler" or the classic " stop fucking crossed the river "