Bug Hunts

by Mark Latham

  O’Keefe, somehow still alive, had taken leave of his senses, and was grappling with the already traumatized nurse. In a shower of gore, O’Keefe’s stomach exploded, and three vicious little creatures leapt from his body and instantly began tearing apart the unfortunate nurse, rapidly gorging themselves on her flesh like a shoal of piranhas, before scurrying away to find a hiding place. These creatures were more aggressive and far stronger than the parasites encountered so far, and were characterized by enlarged teeth and claws, earning them the moniker of ‘Soldiers’.

  The battle to keep control of the facility raged for days. The resourceful scientists and their security staff hunted down as many of the miniscule spiders as they could, and sent out distress calls to any nearby Authority vessels that were listening. But as the days passed, the spider-like creatures underwent rapid changes. Security sweeps began to find larger creatures, bearing the distinctive characteristics of the aliens back on Draper’s World. These creatures shunned conflict and fled to the bowels of the station. When the security staff found their lair, they found that dozens of science personnel, missing or feared dead, had been cocooned in a sticky, calcium-rich ooze, suspended from the ceiling of the lower stores, where they served as a food supply for the aliens – a living food supply. The guards had had little time to process this information when they were attacked by a seemingly new form of alien life – three tall, gangrel creatures, all teeth, claws, and lashing tails. Later identified as adult Soldiers, having undergown rapid development, these beasts seemed hell-bent on protecting the smaller creatures, and those guards who survived the encounter could only retreat to the station’s secure command center, where they waited with the terrified scientists for help to arrive

  The Seeds Are Sown

  It took almost five weeks to bring the Kepler facility back under Authority control, as all they could do was bolster the security forces on board whilst waiting for a detachment of Earth’s army to arrive. During that time, the bugs multiplied, using the captured scientists as living hosts. The more numerous strain – called ‘Drones’ – grew in number, and at least one was observed to have rapidly evolved into a ‘Queen’, much like an Earth-native ant. This Queen gave birth to other Drones, and even began to transform the fabric of the station to an environment more conducive to Xeno-Parasite life. None of the combat personnel were trained for the task at hand, and the early skirmishes went badly for the humans as the military underestimated the bugs’ resilience. Finally, they resorted to a scorched earth policy, rendering parts of the facility utterly useless by detonating smart grenades and venting entire hull sections into space.

  Once victory was secured, and the Pan-System Authority reviewed the incident, the Kepler facility underwent a massive refit, taking almost a year. During this time, the survivors, after debriefing, were sent to work in research colonies in other parts of the sub-sector and beyond. What no-one could have guessed – and even the best medical technology couldn’t detect – was that the Xeno-Parasites were capable of implanting a secondary infection within suitable hosts, which lay dormant for days, weeks, or even months before emerging. Even before the Authority’s security review was complete, distress calls began to flood in from ten far-flung worlds, separated by hundreds of light years. The Xeno-Parasites had spread, and over the coming decades would continue to do so. Mankind’s own innovations in interstellar travel had given the aliens the perfect platform to infest the galaxy.

  A Xeno-Parasite Queen attached to its egg-sac.

  THE XENO-PARASITE LIFE-CYCLE

  The parasites (Xeno Parasitus Volcanis) are an incredibly hardy species, and it is easy to see how they spread insidiously throughout Authority territory before their true nature was discerned.

  Drones are the most long-lived of the Xeno-Parasite sub-species. By means of hibernating in a sealed, calcium-rich cocoon, it is surmised that a Drone can survive dormant for many centuries with no food source, in the most extreme environmental conditions. Despite having no visual or olfactory organs, they are incredibly sensitive to vibrations and minute temperature change, and can sense when prey is nearby. This brings a dormant Drone to life, and it will systematically hunt its prey. Its immediate purpose is to gather a food supply for its nest and offspring; its secondary objective is to implant one or more of its victims with eggs, by means of its vicious spike-like proboscis. Victims that are implanted fall into a deep coma, usually lasting for around 24 Earth-hours. When they awake, their blood – now tainted with the Xeno-Parasite’s own DNA – begins to increase in temperature. Once it reaches boiling point, a chain reaction is set into motion. First, the victim vomits a swarm of infant Drones in a torrent of his own boiling blood. These set about finding a place to hide, or easy victims to feed upon, until they have grown in strength.

  Next, still alive, the victim involuntarily staggers towards the nearest source of food for his parasitic masters. Once he is in close proximity, the three eggs within him grow with extreme rapidity, and the new born Soldiers burst out of his stomach, killing the host instantly. The Soldiers gorge on their victims, and possess incredible strength given their small size. Through a process of “shedding,” the Soldiers grow to ten times their embryonic size within 24–72 hours, depending on how much food is available, at which point they begin to capture living hosts for the Drones to feed on.

  Where the chance of establishing a successful colony seems low, the tiny, infant Drones are capable of implanting a handful of eggs into a host by means of a small, yet painful, bite. Undetectable for weeks, these microscopic eggs actively evade detection in the host’s bloodstream, moving like nanites. In this way, the Xeno-Parasites were able to infect over a dozen Kepler DSRS scientists without their knowing – later, these scientists traveled to other facilities or colonies, where the parasites finally hatched. Without Soldiers to protect them, the chances of success are slim, but thanks to mankind’s advances in space travel, the Xeno-Parasites have been able to gain a foothold on worlds far beyond their point of origin.

  At least one in every 300 infant Drones develops into a Queen. This is the weakest of the three strains, although they will always fight each other to the death until only one remains. Queens are capable of bio-forming the locale into a more conducive environment, vomiting forth pools of gestation fluid, and creating massive egg-sacs to which they attach themselves, before laying countless Drone eggs. In the absence of a Queen, the Drones will hibernate until they are able to start the process again. With a Queen present, however, the entire species shows signs of higher intellectual function; they become able to direct their efforts efficiently and effectively even against an organized military force.

  Known in the field as Hammerheads, these bugs are brutal monsters, larger and stronger than even an exo-suit marine.

  Combating the Threat

  After the Kepler Incident, several small Xeno-Parasite incursions were reported across the galaxy. It was four years before the first STAR marines were deployed in a bug-infested warzone, and when they were, the lessons learned from their somewhat inadequate predecessors were immediately put into practice. The Xeno-Parasites, however, taught the STAR Marine Corps that standardized “bug-hunting” tactics were virtually useless, and that every species of bug required the use of specialist tactics and the deployment of tailored hardware load-outs to effectively eradicate them.

  All of the strains of Xeno-Parasite have a high level of resistance to energy and flame-based weaponry, largely due to the bugs’ tough exo-skeletons and the unique composition of the alien blood. Xeno-Parasite blood (if it can be called such) is more akin to lava, being a highly toxic and thixotropic mix of molten metal, enriched with calcium and sulfur. Their internal body temperature runs between 1112 and 1652°F (600 and 940°C), making them immune to the effects of extreme temperatures and most hostile environments. Cooling their outer shells with concentrated blasts of nitrogen can make the creatures sluggish, though it cannot incapacitate them fully. One of the more peculiar traits of the
species has been discovered within the Soldier strain. These creatures have virtually no external pain receptors, as evinced by several documented exchanges with STAR marines in which the bugs had limbs blown off and continued to fight. However, internally it is a different story. Uniquely amongst their species, the Soldiers seem to feel the pain of their own magma-like blood, living with extreme internal burning for their entire sorry existence. This curse of evolution, Earth’s exo-biologists postulate, drives Xeno-Parasite Soldiers into a near-permanent state of rage of madness – if, of course, they are capable of such emotion.

  STAR marines understand that Xeno-Parasites are not to be engaged in close combat except in the most desperate circumstances. Although Drones and Queens are not much stronger than a man, the Soldiers certainly are, and the boiling blood of all three strains is a very real combat hazard, capable of reducing even polymer blades to molten slag in moments. As a result of battles against Xeno-Parasites, marines are often kitted out with Kevlar-weave heat-resistant fatigues along with their usual body armor, although its efficacy is dubious.

  Xeno-Parasites tend to gather in confined spaces, and therefore opportunities to bring heavy weapons to bear are limited (the attack on Perdition Alpha being a notable exception). With time to prepare, the most effective combat measures to employ against the Draper’s World bugs are sentry guns and heavy exo-suit troopers.

  Despite the undoubted efficiency of the STAR marines’ military response, the Xeno-Parasites always seem to find a way to survive. Sometimes they will re-emerge upon a world long thought cleared of all alien nests. Other times an infection will occur on a previously unaffected colony, or on a bulk spacecraft light years from home. The Xeno-Parasite is like the mythical Hydra – you can cut off one head, but two more grow to take its place. Thanks to mankind, this aggressive and tenacious species now has a secure foothold in many parts of the galaxy.

  Centauran Araknyds

  The RSGC2 cluster of red giant stars, also known as Stephenson’s Reach, is something of a galactic anomaly located within the Centaurus galactic arm. It had long been coveted by STAR Industries, as its hundreds of planets, planetoids, and super-sized meteorites were believed to hold not just a wealth of alien mineral deposits, but also myriad simple life-forms that would prove invaluable to mankind’s advances into bio-technology. The majority of those worlds were so hostile to human life, and so eternally bathed in the dull red glow of the giant stars, that the region became known as Hell’s Reach by the long-haul exploration parties and ill-fated terraformers sent to study it. Six separate expeditions were sent to Hell’s Reach over a 15-year period, and every one was forced to abandon its mission owing to unforeseen circumstances. When the fourth mission vanished without a trace while attempting to establish a research base on the remote planetoid of Lycea, the region earned a fell reputation, with many fleet captains proclaiming it “cursed,” like the fabled Bermuda Triangle of Earth.

  STAR Industries, however, were nothing if not persistent. Convinced that untold wealth lay in Hell’s Reach, they prepared one of the largest expeditions ever assembled, and dispatched it to RSGC2 in 2246, less than a year after the failure of the previous mission. This time, two large research vessels carrying almost 200 scientists, terraformers, and engineers were dispatched to settle twin colonies on Lycea and its sister object, Pallas. These two tiny, ice-bound planetoids spun in a synchronistic orbit, and STAR Industries hoped not only that the initial survey of those worlds would prove lucrative, but also that later they would make prime fleet bases for further expeditions into the region.

  Far from home, on an icy rock where the blizzards never ceased and the snow reflected the blood-red suns, the colonists who set down the first structures on Lycea didn’t need to be reminded of the region’s devilish nickname.

  STAR Industries had secretly been worried about the reasons behind the loss of the fourth Hell’s Reach mission, largely due to the strange but indistinct transmissions they had received shortly before losing contact with the expedition. For this reason, the fifth mission was escorted by a single marine platoon of the 12th Lunar Regiment, aboard the Lincoln-class corvette MSS Bodega. The marines’ mission was highly classified, and the civilian and tech staff – kept in the dark about the reason for the marines’ presence – became duly concerned about the nature of their mission. The STAR marines were still an experimental taskforce, though their ranks had swelled with new recruits since the previous year’s incursion on the moon Io, too close to home for most people’s comfort.

  With their ships in orbit around Lycea, the engineering teams were first to the planet, and began laying the foundations for a semi-permanent research station. It was during this initial period of construction – scheduled to last eight days – that a violent meteor storm hit the northern hemisphere of the planetoid. The storm was not predicted by any met-cog scanners, and its sudden appearance cut off all comms with the engineering team for several hours. When the storm subsided and the comms-net was finally brought back online, there was no sign of the engineers. As a precaution, the STAR marines prohibited any civilian search and rescue operation until they had assessed the danger, and two full fireteams made planetfall at the engineers’ base camp. Even though they had been warned by HQ of a possible extra-terrestrial threat in the area, they soon discovered that they were woefully underprepared for what came next.

  ATTACK ON PERDITION ALPHA

  The Perdition system, approximately 2.6 parsecs rimward of Barnard’s Star, seems an unusually isolated and backwater world for a major STAR Marine Corps engagement. However, upon a remote fracking colony on this far-flung ice world, the marines completed their greatest ever victory against the Xeno-Parasites, at great cost.

  After three unsuccessful attempts to eradicate Xeno-Parasite infestations from human colonies, STAR Marine Command had come up with a variety of possible new tactics. When a distress call was picked up from Perdition’s Alpha Station in early 2248, the chance to put those tactics into use was seized.

  A platoon of marines under the corps’ poster-child, Captain Ana Carter, made planetfall two klicks from Perdition Alpha, setting up a mobile firebase before sending two fireteams into the station. There, the marines discovered 60 survivors of the station’s 205-man complement barricaded in the central comms tower, and a network of cramped corridors and mining tunnels swarming with bug Soldiers.

  The sub-levels of Ice Station Alpha had been transformed by the Xeno-Parasites. Whole sections of the basements were flooded with viscous ooze, much like the underground lake found on Draper’s World. The aliens had huddled close to the facility’s power core, seeking out warmth and creating a nest for themselves. Walls and ceilings were covered in calcium-rich deposits, which seemed to act as atmospheric filters. As a result, the air had become poisonous to humans, with most of the oxygen and carbon dioxide from the artificial atmos-processor being replaced with gaseous sulfur. Although the Xeno-Parasites are capable of existing in almost any atmosphere, they had apparently gone to great lengths to make the station more amenable.

  The fireteams were unable to gain a foothold in the station itself, and the Xeno-Parasites’ attacks prevented them from evacuating the refugees. And so the ultimate sanction was called for – the sacrifice of the human colonists. The order was not issued lightly; STAR Command demanded that the planet – rich in mineral resources and ripe for terraforming – be completely scoured of the alien threat. Marine Corps intelligence suggested that the only way to achieve this goal was to cut the bugs off from any sustainable source of food or hosts, and engage them in open war. The mines and the surrounding facility represented the only viable sources of cover on the entire planet, and if that cover was eliminated, the bugs would have nowhere to hide.

  With this in mind, the marines pulled back to their firebase, and detonated three remote smart-nukes in the mines. Although some bugs survived the initial destruction, the marines soon pressed home their advantage, using motorized breacher units and exo-suits to pic
k through the debris. Uncovering the last remaining Queen and her nest of Soldier bugs, the marines drove the creatures out onto the ice-fields, where they were mown down by heavy weapon teams. The engagement wiped out every Xeno-Parasite on Perdition, at a cost of 60 colonists’ lives, an acceptable 12 percent marine casualty rate, and the destruction of a single fracking facility.

  Captain Ana Carter of Zero Platoon, surveying the infested facility at Perdition Alpha.

  Escape from Lycea

  Against the relentless storm of blood-red snow and hail that battered the marines, it was almost impossible to find any trace of life on the surface of Lycea. Their multi-trackers were useless, and the visual targeting matrices in their environmental suits suffered massive interference. In such extreme conditions, the marines had to rely on only their own senses; which is how the bugs got so close before being detected.

  Fewer than half the marines present had seen action against bugs before, and certainly never anything like this. From the raging blizzard came a horde of scurrying, clawed creatures, covered in thick bony plates and carrying what looked like weapons – albeit ones made of organic matter. The eight-limbed bugs looked at first glance like spiders, although the creatures’ scaly hide and intricate patternation placed them more akin to large reptiles than arachnids.

  An Araknyd Warrior. Forelimbs are always fused to the bug’s organic weaponry. This one is armed with a scythe talon and a ‘stinger’ – a pistol-like bio-weapon that seems to exhibit low-level intelligence of its own.

  Araknyd stingers appear to be living, parasitic organisms. Due to the development of the stinger’s brain stem, it is unclear whether the Warriors use these bio-weapons as guns, or whether the guns themselves are the intelligence, guiding their hosts around the battlefield.