Interview # 122234451

Cycle. 4,013 after Assembly Establishment

First contact w/ death-worlders

Species: Homo sapiens sapiens

Subject: Ket

Species Bran hexanim

The unknown vessel tore through the cosmos with a terrible roll of energy that warped the universal plane for a horrible moment. The Bran felt it in their bodies, rattling their skeletal structures as proximity alerts waved on deck and scouts were assembled.

"What is that?" They wondered as the strange craft limped through the universe spitting fire and jutting metal in all directions strange archaic symbols carved onto its sides in splashes of red and black. Dark energy pulsed from its center projecting outward onto the warped plane. It glowed with firelight from dark interior propelling itself through the universe with predatory ease. They had no time to prep their ship for exit, so they had no other choice but to allow a detachment to land aboard their asteroid.

Ket was sent forward as a scout deep within the bowls of the ship watching from the atmospheric bubble as the strange fire breathing craft landed. His body shook as the silence ushered the creatures form the ship. They scuttled down the ramp horribly quick with fluid strides balancing incredibly on only two limbs. Limbs that were too long and too thin terminating at spidery, twitching appendages at their ends. The exo-skeletons moved seamlessly around them as they panned their heads through the darkness. A large glittering eye peered from the darkness revealing a fleshy expanse of inner meat.

Ghastly white orbs glittered in the light dripping in slime. Red slits in this fleshy expanse opened and closed exposing a dark gooey interior and jagged white points. Pink muscle churned inwards poking out to taste at the air.

Ket felt like fleeing, but his horror kept him grounded as the creatures moved seamlessly muscles churning with a terrible power and grace below their bodies. They moved together with horrible ease...

"A predator species" This knowledge rolled through the link to his brethren, and he felt their collective horror.

Predator species were rare, sentient predator species were nonexistent.

This spelled death to them all.

Flaps of flesh passed over the white, and chromatic orbs, leaving a layer of wetness behind them.

They passed through the atmospheric bubble without so much as a flinch as if they didn't notice the change. Their skeletons glinted with the glittering of precious metals. Tubes and gears churned with them..... as if they had fused themselves to the metals.

Ket backed into the darkness as the alien creatures made entry to his ship. He kept high to the walls keeping silent behind the organic structure that served as the structure for their ship.

In the atmosphere he could hear them now. They communicated through a measure of guttural clicks, hisses and grunts aggressively using body posture to indicate their displeasure dominating each other with every step and gesture.... A clear hierarchy.

The group moved themselves towards one of the structural columns leaving one of the lone monsters to explore the chamber. When he looked up, his slimy orbs glowed with the color of a reactor core. A single hole of darkness cut through the color, a deep void of nothingness, predatory hunting instinct.

Red flesh parted showing glittering slime on the white protrusions. Muscles churned.

Light glittered from the creature's luminescent skin, and it lowered its head to contemplate the colors shoulders hunching.

Ket went to step back as the creature turned, and in a horrible moment heard the scrape of his claws across rock.

The monsters head snapped towards him unnatural fast on the instant given to it by terrible gods, dark orbs contracted as it sensed the vibrations in the air zeroing in on his exact location.

IT HAD SEEN HIM.

He ran, as the creature lunged behind him scuttling up the side of the incline cloudy orbs glittering locked onto him, and with terrible speed spidery limps propelling itself upward with a horrible power lurching and hunched coming onto the trail on all fours before fluidly transitioning to its feet.

Predatory cries of anger followed from its companions.

Ket took a corner at his fastest speed listening to the persistent THUD THUD THUD behind him.

The horror. A terrible, earth shattering rumble followed as the creature slammed into the wall before continuing it's pursuit, like nothing had happened. THUD THUD. It was gaining, the rattling of its feet jarred the ground below Ket as he turned another corner.

The creature followed him with a hunting cry, a horrible halting noise that repeated the same tone repeatedly over, and over. THUD, THUD.

The tunnel rocked, but there, ahead, a shaft. If he could just make it.

He darted inwards scampering onto the rope and allowing it to haul him upwards with its contraction.

He looked down, and the horror grew as the things fleshy face looked up at him glittering orbs oozing with slime dark slit open into its cavernous maw. It scuttled up after him using all four limbs to climb, faster, and faster it came. Ket screamed in pure terror as the creature reached for him. Its terrible spidery digest closed just shy of his tail as it forced itself up after him clawing at the walls.

He made it to the top and raced towards the bridge. They had to save him.... Please, save him.

They heard his call, and as they broke into the bridge where his brethren held fast.

"Unleash the weapon." He heard, the glorious chorus of his brethren.

And there it came, a cascade of their most rare and potent poison, dihydrogen monoxide, in its potent liquid form trapping the creature in a cage of its streams.

The predator came to a halt when confronted by the horrible substance, and Ket spilled to the ground body heaving vision fading. He was so exhausted. He watched from the haze of his exhaustion and horror as the creature lifted one of its horrible protrusions angrily grunting and clicking at them from inside its prison.

"What is it saying/" one asked

"I don't know." Another said

And then to his horror, the creature stepped into the stream of poison droplets spraying form its exoskeleton and onto the floor. It walked through the wall as if it could not feel the horrible pain of the poison eating away at its body, wiping droplets from its big glowing eye.

Screaming started up around them, and cannons were aimed at the creature firing again and again saturating the room with the poison as it stood fast unfazed by their hopeless attacks. Ket could feel the creature's eyes on him surrounded by a poison cloud slimy orbs slapping shut and opening as he watched.

The last of their weapon ran out, and the poison wicked from its exoskeleton and to the floor, like it had never been touched.

Its horrible chatter filled the room.

No one made a move. Ket wished to rise, to run, but he couldn't. Even as the creature came THUD, THUD across the ground looming in his vision. Muscles churning, body working with seamless predatory perfection. Ket pressed himself against the wall. It raked it's claws against the wall, and then reached out spidery fingers stretching towards him.

He pulled away as far as he could.

Its touch was cold as it traced a hand over Ket's back, once, twice. Ket lay very still.

Oddly the creature's touch was soft, almost gentle. He closed his eyes ready for death.

Thunder broke through the room as a swarm burst through the doors fanning out into the room like they communicated with each other like a hive mind. Ket watched as the creature leaped to its feat and raced to confront its companions hands raised clicking and bellowing at them.

It was staking its claim on him, on them.

They paused muscles tensed ready to pounce at any moment.

The creature approached the small creature at their head grunting and clicking, hissing.

And was violently attacked, as this newcomer attempted to dominate him into submission clubbing him about the head with terrible blows. The pounding of their altercation rattled the doors and the floor. Their hissing and screeching rose to higher volumes as the original creature was finally cowed into silence and thrust to the back of the group.

Ket passed out.

Knowing that he would likely never wake up again simple gad he wouldn't have to be as the creatures consumed him.