He could see nothing but the black smoke that poured from the hole in thick, tuberculin coughs. A stalact.i.te clipped the damaged bow and put the skid into a slow spin. Ridgeway strained to track the oscillating target.

Dammit, Ridgeway snarled. One shot, just give me one shot.

Ridgeway exhaled slowly as he drew the slack from the trigger. Riveted on the target, he never saw the monstrous tattered arm until it smashed into his legs.

CHAPTER 38.

The thunderclap of the skid's detonation was overdue and Taz glanced back as he dashed across the catwalks. He was just shy of the Tower when the sounds of gunfire rang from outside the ship.

"Majah's in trouble," Taz snapped over his shoulder, "We gotta help him."

Monster answered the statement with a shove that propelled Taz even faster.

"I'm goin, I'm goin," Taz b.i.t.c.hed. A second volley of gunfire sounded, heavy booms that came from no weapon in the Marine's inventory. The pace was quick but measured. Whatever was shooting was taking aim, and nothing was shooting back.

Taz started to turn back when a second shove sent him sprawling. Cursing madly, he rolled up to one knee. "s.h.i.t Gunny, we--"

The shape above him looked like a flattened egg on a ma.s.s of whipping tentacles. By far the smallest of the creatures, it moved with a striking agility. The oval body angled down, a dozen shimmering orbs spread across the front of its hull. Amid the eyes, a cl.u.s.ter of small appendages flicked in Gorgonesque fashion, one pair sparking with voltage as they touched. A flat metal bar extended like a tongue turned on-edge, the curved edge a blur of spinning chain.

Taz drove his boot-heels into the creature's underbelly, but it held fast, anch.o.r.ed by the grasp of a dozen prehensile limbs. It forced itself down, driving the howling chainsaw blade closer and closer to the Aussie's facemask. Taz watched the blade dip inexorably closer until a dark shape plowed into the creature's side. Monster's crushing tackle drove the thing to the deck with a loud crash.

As Taz rolled to his feet the Gatling gave a short bark that ended as quickly as it began. Monster fired from one knee, the handful of rounds left in the chambers carving a short but horrific swath across the creature's face. It flinched away, then spun back with a fury.

Monster roared, left arm pressed tight against his chest as he swung the Gatling like a ma.s.sive club. The blow drove the oval body to the floor where the spinning blade threw a fountain of sparks. In a blur of ferocity the heavy gun swung down brutally again and again, sledgehammer blows that spalled metal plates from the creature's sh.e.l.l. When Monster paused, chest heaving, a crumpled ruin lay at his feet.

"Crikey Gunny, I think you killed it."

Monster's only reply was a looping overhead blow that crashed down with so much force that the Gatling tore away from his arm. The creature's torso cracked open and a thick, dark sludge gushed from the wound.

"b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l." Taz could only whisper the words, awestruck at the display of feral violence. The f.u.c.king thing never got in a shot.

As he watched Monster back away, a second image flickered through his mind, the image of an angry young Marine who not so long ago stood on the verge of calling Monster out.

Buggar me, his lip curled ruefully, what the h.e.l.l was I thinking?

A deep, heaving growl in his chest, Monster staggered to the tower door and jabbed at the dark control switch. The door refused to budge, an ill-timed decision given Monster's state of mind. The sergeant hauled back and threw his right forearm into the door so hard that the metal rang. On the third blow it folded. He sagged against the now-open doorframe and motioned for Taz to pa.s.s.

As Taz reached the portal, a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He turned to the bloodstained figure.

"Major's doin his job." Monster swallowed loudly, then huffed a deep breath. "Now I've done mine." The big sergeant leaned forward and hooked a thumb toward the turbolift just inside the door. "You find 'em, bring 'em home, that's your duty."

Taz tried to swallow the dryness in his throat. He only nodded and stepped through the door. The turbolift opened with a hiss and as he boarded, Taz realized what he wanted to say. He looked back at the battered figure that filled the doorway, and the dark cl.u.s.ter of snake-like arms that rose behind him.

Taz screamed.

The big Marine ducked as a metal arm smashed the doorframe just above his helmet. With a snarl Monster slammed his shoulder into the center of the flailing limbs. His legs pistoned madly as he drove the creature backward into the rail with such force that the metal snapped. Locked together, they tumbled from sight.

"Noooooo!" Taz ran forward as the sounds of breaking steel echoed up from below. He reached the ledge to see the ragged gaps smashed through several catwalks below. Bits of metal rained down into the pool, tiny splashes speckling the huge ring of disturbance that spread across its radiant surface. He stared down at the lake until the ripple dispersed and the broken fog closed together once more.

A scream erupted from his lungs as he turned and slammed his fist into the wall. A second blow followed, four-knuckle dents aggregating on the smooth surface. At half a dozen he stopped and slumped against the lumpy, bowl-shaped depression. Curses of vengeance gave way to tortured mutterings.

Duty, he told himself, Monster's last words. Gotta find the team. Monster, Darcy, Ridgeway; he wondered for a moment if anyone was alive to find.

CHAPTER 39.

The wide blood slick extended from the turbolift all the way to the Sickbay door, stretched out like a flat crimson serpent. Streaks of dark red gleamed against the industrial greys of the hallway.

The sanguine trail hooked sharply at the door where the wide pool gave mute testament to time spent trying to get the door to open. Few motion-sensors were attuned for bodies that dragged themselves across the floor.

Once past the door the blood slick curved to the right, avoiding the damaged floor. Merlin lay in a gloss red puddle, free from the remnants of his broken armor that now lay scattered about him. The last of his blood seeped from the wounds that covered his body. He breathed, weak and shallow, due largely to the stimulants St.i.tch had dumped in his system.

The medic dragged himself along the far wall, activating the system that he hoped would save Merlin's life. Dozens of monitors flickered with activity as he leaned back and fumbled to load the infuser with a brain-numbing mix of narcotics and Versed. If the first failed to keep him in oblivion, the second would insure that the ghastly images would be forgotten.

"Merlin, St.i.tch, do you copy?" The voice on the Com was broken but recognizable.

"Taz!" St.i.tch could barely speak, his voice a dry rasp. "We're in Sickbay, where are you?"

"On the way."

A small sigh escaped St.i.tch's lips. Cavalry's coming.

He looked across the room at Merlin and keyed the mike. "Taz, how long before--" The sound of movement in the hall cut short the medic's question.

That was quick, he thought with clouded amazement. The sound in the hall fell suddenly silent and a ripple of uneasiness crawled up the medic's spine. Too quick.

St.i.tch set the infuser on the floor and reached up to the lip of the the console. Cursing against the pain, he dragged himself up the wall. His left leg hung rigid in a cast of carbon armor.

"Taz?" The heavy sc.r.a.pe that came from the hall was not the sound of a man in motion.

With a lurch, Jaws dragged itself around the corner, leaving behind its own trail of fluids. Whips of smoke still curled from the holes burned in its sh.e.l.l. The mangled creature's eyes locked on the medic and its mandible extended weakly. The sawtooth grin snapped only once.

St.i.tch tried to lean from the wall but could no longer balance on one leg. His chest rose and fell as the twin climbing spikes snapped out on both arms, edges glinting in the light. The medic took a deep breath and steeled himself for what he knew would be his last fight.

"All right motherf.u.c.ker," he spat, "you're in MY house now."

The legless hulk gnashed its teeth with renewed defiance as Jaws heaved itself forward like a walrus on land. Thudding forward one heavy wet slap after another, the toothy slug squished along on a slick of its own leaking goo.

St.i.tch raised the spikes to chest-level as the creature slowly closed. He spoke into the Com, a steely urgency his voice. "Taz, if you're coming, you'd better come quick."

The creature was only feet away when Taz's voice came back across the line. "I'm on the lift, almost to your level. Crikey it's a b.l.o.o.d.y mess in here"

Two more wet, heavy flops moved Jaws ever closer. The glistening teeth yawned wide, so close that St.i.tch could see the carrion sc.r.a.ps of human meat that dangled from each serrated blade. The creature drew itself in for the lunge that would bring those teeth down on his own immobile form. St.i.tch threw a wild, roundhouse right, swinging the heavy blade for all he was worth. As his arm swung wildly, he knew.

Missed.

Sick, tired shock flooded his mind as the blow whistled through nothing but air. St.i.tch looked up to see the metal maw snapping inches from his face like a blood-frenzied shark, unable to comprehend why the beast slid backward.

"Not on my watch, you b.l.o.o.d.y s.h.i.te."

Even grunted with such exertion, the accent was unmistakable. St.i.tch looked up to see Taz, both of his own blades buried in the creature's flank. The Aussie heaved backward, his feet scrabbling for purchase on the blood-slick floor.

Another powerful grunt marked a second rearward lurch before Jaws seemd to grasp the change. It folded back, teeth swinging wildly aft as it snapped in the air. Taz lunged to one side, refusing to let go with what struck St.i.tch as a determination worthy of his namesake.

The medic winced as one blade tore free and Taz was whipped around in a bull-riders nightmare, avoiding not horns and hooves but a bite the envy of any Great White to swim the Barrier Reef. Taz held on doggedly, kicking aside the b.l.o.o.d.y jaws as they chomped ever closer. His feet caught floor and he heaved once more, throwing his full weight into the pull. The climbing blade snapped at the hilt and Taz launched back toward the door.

St.i.tch felt his heart sink as Jaws flopped on one side like a beached fish. The rough crumpled texture of the damaged floor beneath its belly helped it turn toward Taz. St.i.tch pushed himself forward, sprawling to the floor as his leg gave out beneath him.

"Game over, motherf.u.c.ker" The words from the right side of the room were laced with wet derision.

Jaws swung its head to the b.l.o.o.d.y wreck of a human being sprawled beneath the console. A severed piece of cable lay pinned beneath the shattered arm, a matching piece clutched in his b.l.o.o.d.y left hand.

Merlin spoke through bloodstained teeth clamped down on a strip of electrical tape as he brought the exposed ends together.

"Cannonball."

With a caustic thrum, power surged and the damaged gravitic coil threw itself into overdrive. A ma.s.sive spike of artificial gravity slammed down like a piledriver and crushed the uncomprehending Jaws into the floor.

CHAPTER 40.

Ridgeway knew the shot went wide before the muzzle flash dissipated. Blindsided by the flailing limb, he sprawled across the roof of the truck. The shotgun skipped off the hood and disappeared with a splash.

A primal scream tore from Ridgeway's gut as his blades snapped open. He slashed at the nearest arm, cutting through a cl.u.s.ter of hose. The heavy limb sagged amid the squeal of pneumatic gas.

The truck's frame crumpled beneath Ridgeway's feet as the Spider heaved itself up in a whirlwind of thrashing arms. He fell beneath the sweep of a corroded stump, the hex-eaten metal bright and pitted. In rapid succession the creature threw two more blows. The limbs swept aimlessly through a wide arc as the head hung skewed to one side, empty sockets bejeweled with fragments of shattered lens.

Blind. The word flashed through Ridgeway's mind as a load-bearing limb stomped down to his left with a crash. He rolled to his right, sloshing through coolant as the roof crumpled down into the lake.

The huge torso hung just above Ridgeway's face. Battle-damage scored the collection of metal plates, stained dark by an amalgam of blood and oil. In the midst of it all, tucked in a sh.e.l.l of heavy steel, Ridgeway spotted a large fleshy ma.s.s that pulsed with blood vessels.

"There you are you son of a b.i.t.c.h." Ridgeway hissed the words as he drew his legs up beneath him. His right arm hauled back, fist closing around the blade's upper grip.

A crushing impact caught Ridgeway on the shoulder and suddenly coolant surrounded him. He struggled against tons of pressure, raking the limb with a flurry of blows. Somewhere in the blue haze, something powerful grabbed Ridgeway's arm. He was yanked up, bursting free of the lake to swing wildly in the creature's grasp.

The creature shook Ridgeway so violently that broken pieces of carbonite came loose. Curved plates spun away as Ridgeway's shoulder screamed. He fought the onrush of darkness and swung weakly with his free arm but struck only air. Blackness devoured him as his imaging system burned out with a flash. All sense of pain and motion subsided.

Several seconds ticked by before he realized that the shaking had actually stopped. Ridgeway's eyes fluttered, dull surprise forming as he noted the flicker that came with every blink.

Facemask gone. Deprived of artificial vision, his brain transitioned on its own to conventional sight. He squinted hard, trying to force the blur before him into clarity.

The creature leaned forward, close enough to bring the dangling Marine within arm's reach. Lost in numbness, he could only watch in silence as a section of torso rocked open like a bulldog's lower jaw.

Great, motherf.u.c.ker's gonna eat me. His brain processed the thought with detatched resignation.

With a broken grind the underbelly maw yawned toothlessly. Something moved in the depths of the throat, a fleshy ma.s.s that rose and extended, bringing the innermost surface to front.

Cold cut through the layers of pain that swaddled Ridgeway's brain. He struggled to focus at the thing that shuddered between the metal panels. Fluids drooled from the aperture, but Ridgeway's gaze went beyond the edge, fixed on the face within.

A single gla.s.sy eye sat deep in the left socket, framed by skin whose translucence was that of deep-sea fish who never saw sunlight. Only a hint of a nose remained, bracketing two misshapen nostrils that flexed rhythmically. Filigree capillaries fanned out across both cheeks, fine blue-grey threads that merged into strings as they swept down beneath spa.r.s.e patches of dry grey beard. Thin wizened lips were drawn tight around blackened, toothless gums.

The pale eye squinted at Ridgeway as though unaccustomed to light. A corroded stump of mechanized arm reached up and, with unexpected care, brushed aside the remaining sc.r.a.ps of Ridgeway's helmet. The Marine was drawn even closer, where the ancient face peered at him with wordless intensity. A long moment pa.s.sed before the hazy eye widened. The hideous figure began to shudder, moisture glistened on the ghostly eye.

How many parts could you replace and still be human? The ghastly answer stared at him from within the metal sh.e.l.l.

The words spilled from his lips in a horse whisper. "The crew. You're part of the crew."

The spider slowly lowered Ridgeway to the ground and released its grip on his arm. He staggered for a moment, then looked at the shape before him, a living thing encased in metal. Ridgeway raised his hand and flexed fingers encased in carbon. Armor. The notion struck him like a thunderbolt. Not designed, but patched together like some kind of ad hoc evolution, layer on layer, year upon year.

He looked up at the ancient face, breath fogging in the intense cold. "I didn't... we didn't," his mind burned with the enormity, "recognize each other." Ridgeway had no idea if the creature could understand his words.

A loud bang echoed from the ceiling. The Marine staggered drunkenly and looked up to see the skid listing badly. His gaze snapped back to the spider. To the truck. To the Thermalite.

"Run!" Ridgeway barked, urgently motioning the creature back. He grabbed the doorframe and yanked, splitting Hex-eaten metal. The spider stood motionless, gazing at the Marine with its one pale eye.

"RUN!" Urgent fear clogged his voice as he repeated the command. Ridgeway shoved a battered mechanical leg but the creature wouldn't budge. "Its gonna fall, right here. This is all gonna blow!"

The spider's heavy forelimb reached up and planted itself against Ridgeway's chest. When it shoved, Ridgeway toppled back in a sprawl. "Wait," he sputtered as he floundered in the lake. "you don't understand."

The sound of tearing metal stopped Ridgeway in his tracks. He does understand. The roof of the rear compartment folded back with an agonized squeal. As the Spider brought the stump of a second limb into play, a third shoved Ridgeway farther back as effortlessly as one would push a child from a powertool. The Marine backed away in slow, sloshing strides.

Without warning, something lanced through the air like a thunderbolt, the streak ripping past the spider's torso. A voice crackled over the Com, weak and gravelly. An impossible voice. A dead voice. "Get down."