Chapter 57 - The Queen’s Chamber

Joey tossed out nutrient bars. “It’s refuel time. Boss is up ahead.”

Ryan snatched his out of the air and, predictably, parked himself next to Emily. He leaned in with that trademark grin, the one that said he was God’s gift to this squad and also to women everywhere. “You know, Emily, pretty sure I saw you checking me out back there. Can’t blame you. I was kinda awesome.”

Emily didn’t miss a beat, just unwrapped her bar. “You wish, Ryan. I was impressed you managed not to trip over your own feet while shooting. That was a miracle.”

Some things never changed. Luca shook his head and chewed on his own brick of nutrients, watching the same scene he’d seen since they were kids. He made his move with all the subtlety of a freight train, and she shot him down every time.

“Hey, I’m smooth,” Ryan insisted, leaning a little closer. “But I can give you a private demonstration later. You know, up close.”

Emily actually laughed at that, giving him a light shove. “Yeah, I’ll pass.” She turned from him then, her gaze finding Luca. Her whole posture changed as she scooted over and leaned her head against his shoulder. The familiar weight of her helmet was a comfort. He dropped an arm around her, pulling her in.

Ryan threw his hands up in mock surrender, his grin genuine this time. “Alright, alright, I see how it is. Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

Zoe snorted from her corner. “You two are disgustingly cute. Now eat your damn rations so we can go kill the big one.”

Luca dropped a quick kiss on the top of Emily’s helmet in the dim, pulsing light of the hive.

It was back to business. His HUD showed a wide, open cavern past this wall, filled with shadows perfect for hiding drones. And in the center? A massive form that had to be the Queen.

Fuck. The usual claustrophobia started creeping in. He shoved it down. He was the leader. This was his show.

“Alright, formation,” he said. “Same as always. We burn the swarm first. Emily, Danny, you’re on point. Danny, you draw their fire. Em, you weave around him, use him for cover, and carve through anything that gets close.”

“Chris, Ryan, you set up on opposite flanks. Give them covering fire with the plasma rifles. Zoe, you and I are on overwatch. High ground if we can find it. Joey, you hang back. Shields up, keep us patched.”

Luca adjusted his rifle’s settings, getting ready for the upcoming fight. “We burn them fast. No dragging this out. Everyone stick to the plan, and we come out of this in one piece.”

Ryan smirked. “Yeah, yeah, we know the drill, Cap. Try not to let Emily steal all the glory, alright?”

“Just keep the bugs off my back, Ryan,” she said, not even bothering to look back at him.

Cracking her knuckles, Zoe stretched. “Can we get moving before Ryan starts thinking he’s the boss of me?”

Ryan grinned. “Sweetheart, I’ve been your boss since day one.”

She flicked an empty bar wrapper at his chest, a direct hit. “Shut up and let’s go.”

“Move out,” Luca said. “We have a queen to kill.”

Having activated their suits’ camouflage, Luca and Zoe slipped into the dark. For thirty seconds, they were ghosts.

The tunnel opened into the Queen’s chamber. Holy shit, this place was huge. It was like some kind of twisted cathedral, the walls jagged and pulsing faintly with organic veins.

The Queen was fucking massive. At least five meters tall, her segmented body was coiled at the far end of the cavern, huge mandibles clicking softly. Dozens of multi-faceted eyes scanned the darkness. And the translucent, glowing sac on her abdomen pulsed, slow and sickening.

Across the floor, dozens of leathery eggs shifted. More drones moved among them, and not just drones. His eyes caught the distinct shape of a spitting scout, the same kind that had almost skewered Joey.

Zoe shifted next to him, her voice low over their private comms. “Tell me that thing doesn’t remind you of—”

“Alien. Yeah. I know.”

“Like, we’re seconds away from some facehugger bullshit.”

Luca rolled his eyes. “Keep your visor down, Zoe.”

Two elevated ledges flanked the chamber, offering the only real cover. The ground floor was a deathtrap of eggs and slime. With the Queen settled near the back, they’d have to clear out the small fry first.

Their camo flickered, warning them that time was almost up. They needed a better vantage point.

Luca nudged Zoe and pointed up. “Ledge. Let’s go.”

A grin flashed across her face. “I thought you’d never ask.”

He grunted, bracing himself as he locked his hands together. She used his hands as a springboard without a second’s hesitation, and he shoved her upward with everything he had. She landed on the ledge with a muffled thud, scrambled to her feet, and turned back, reaching down.

“Come on, Scout Leader, before I take all the kills.”

He grabbed her hand, her grip shockingly strong as she hauled him the rest of the way up. They scrambled into cover, rifles up, just as their camo fizzled out completely.

Zoe exhaled, nudging his shoulder. “Alright, Boss. It’s time to bring in the big, loud boys.”

He flicked to squad comms. “Clear. We’ve got movement in there. Drones, eggs, another scout like the one that tagged Joey’s shield. Queen’s in the back, partially covered. We burn the small ones first, then focus fire on her.”

“Translation: Ryan and Chris get to work while the rest of you try not to fuck up?” Ryan said, smug as ever.

Emily cut in, her voice sharp. “Just shoot straight, Ryan.”

Ryan laughed. “Don’t worry, Emily. I’ll keep you covered. Can’t let you have all the fun.”

Luca ignored them, his eyes still on the chamber. The Queen’s sac pulsed again, and two more drones twitched, beginning to stir.

Showtime.

“Move in,” he ordered, gripping his rifle. “Hit them hard.”

The Queen unleashed a screech that tore at the air, a high-frequency spike that rattled the bones inside his armor.

Eggs burst open. Drones surged from the muck. The whole goddamn cavern shook.

Steam and green mist choked the air, rolling up from the cavern floor to obscure the fight. Through the shifting haze, Luca tracked the glowing HUD markers of his team as they moved through the mess of bodies and eggs.

“You got eyes?” Zoe murmured over the comms, her rifle steady.

“Always.” He zoomed in, his scope cutting through the fog. A cluster of drones was scuttling toward Ryan’s flank. “Five of them, moving left. Danny, Ryan, watch your three.”

Danny’s Taunt pulsed. Just like that, the drones changed course, a tide of chitin and claws swarming straight for him. The big guy didn’t even flinch. His warhammer came down with a heavy crunch, cracking through carapace and sending green goo spraying. Emily moved like a phantom, her plasma sword a blur of blue light as she darted in, carving through another drone before it could react.

Across the chamber, Ryan and Chris poured fire downrange, their plasma rifles burning holes through anything dumb enough to charge. Each shot was a flashing red-blue inferno against the hive’s sickly green glow.

“Heads up, three coming from the back,” Luca called out, his scope catching them as they lunged from the walls.

Zoe didn’t wait. Her rifle cracked, and one of them jerked mid-air before tumbling down. “Got one,” she muttered, already shifting her aim. “Two more, moving fast.”

He squeezed the trigger. His sniper round punched through another’s eye socket, dropping it instantly. “Last one’s yours.”

“Race you to it.”

Both of their rifles fired at once. The drone staggered with a high-pitched screech, but its armor barely cracked.

“Shit. Didn’t drop it.”

The bug twitched, recovering, until Zoe put a second shot straight into the soft gap at its side. It collapsed, legs curling inward.

“Got it,” she said. “Soft spot on the side. Let’s kill some more.”

Below, the battlefield was chaos. Danny was a goddamn fortress, swinging that warhammer like the hand of God. Ryan’s Power Surge ability kicked in, overclocking his systems as he burned through energy cells, plasma shots streaking into the mass of bodies.

Emily? Emily was fucking poetry.

Her plasma sword danced, slicing through chitin and carving open thoraxes. She spun, severed legs, ducked under mandibles, and he got so distracted watching her that he almost missed a drone scuttling toward her from the side.

“I’ve got you!” He fired. One shot, right through the bastard’s open mandibles.

She didn’t even look back. Just kept moving, hacking, cutting.

Something low and fast, one of those cockroach scouts, broke through the formation.

“Ryan! Left flank!”

The bug spat a glob of green acid, straight at Chris.

A scream ripped through the comms, raw and full of agony. Chris hit the ground. The sizzling noise of acid eating through armor filled the air.

Double. Fuck.

“Chris is hit!” Joey shouted, his energy shield snapping up like a riot barricade, blocking another soldier-drone. “I’ve got him, but he’s out of the fight!”

Chris was on the ground, his arm a charred and smoking ruin, but he wasn’t screaming anymore. He was just fucking pissed. Joey was slapping a coagulant spray on the wound, working fast.

He’d put Chris on that flank himself. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. That was one of their plasma rifles out of commission. They were already fighting uphill, already underequipped for this TL9 hellhole.

And the Queen was still standing.

Luca’s grip tightened on his rifle. His HUD was a mess of alerts for low ammo and armor damage. Adrenaline pounded in his ears.

He clenched his jaw, forcing it down. They had to end this. Now.

Emily was still in the thick of it, weaving between the drones with that plasma sword like she was untouchable. Danny took hits, drew aggro, and smashed through whatever got in their way.

And Zoe was already lining up the next shot, like none of this fazed her.

They were close. So fucking close.

Luca sucked in a sharp breath. “Zoe, cover Joey! Everyone else, keep pushing!”

Emily glanced back, up toward him. “We need to take her out now, Luca. We can’t let any more spawn.”

Luca smirked, steadied his grip on his rifle. “Then let’s finish this.”

Squad comms clicked. “Everyone, focus on the Queen! Take her down!”

Plasma beams lit up the chamber, cutting through the fog and the swarming drones. Zoe’s sniper cracked again and again, each shot clean, precise, covering Joey and Chris. Below them, the others tightened formation, pushing forward like a battering ram.

Danny held the line, his Taunt pulling the smaller ones toward him. His warhammer caved in chitinous skulls with every swing.

Ryan and Emily? A tag team of destruction. Every time Zoe or Luca exposed a weak spot, they were already there, power surges and plasma fire slamming home.

The Queen thrashed, her grotesque sac pulsing, mandibles clacking in fury, but they were fucking relentless.

Luca’s rifle flared, snapping a shot at a drone creeping up behind Emily. She kept slashing through the sac, melting layers of flesh with every strike.

A scout drone lunged for Danny, jagged claws swinging for his helmet.

Ryan saw it first. His power surge flashed, one precise shot, shattering the drone’s claw mid-air.

“Nice shot, Ryan!” Danny grunted, swinging his hammer into another soldier. “Stay on them, we’re close!”

The Queen reared back, limbs spasming, but she was weakening.

Emily moved in for the final strike, her sword a trail of blue light cutting into the Queen’s engorged sac.

“Now, Emily!” Luca shouted. “Take the opening!”

Her eyes locked on the weak point, blade shifting mid-motion. The plasma sword drove deep, searing through the sac, severing it completely.

The Queen let out one last, deafening screech, her entire body convulsing, before she collapsed.

Dust and debris flew as the ground shook with the impact.

System notifications flickered across Luca’s HUD.

[+186,863 XP]

[+151,826 credits]

[Mission Completed! Destroy the Queen and Escape]

+157,800 XP

+120,000 credits

+1 Ability Point

[Level up! Level 62, +5 attribute points, +2 PER, +1 DEX, +1 MEM, +3 INT]

[Unique Reward Triggered]