See Part One for Disclaimers

The landing bay doors stood open from the previous exodus and Galen landed his ship just inside its doors.  Setting his automatic guards, they left the sanctuary of his vessel with trepidation.  The air was thin, stifling and Matheson quickly ran to the nearest chest, pulling out breathers for them all.  Oxygen mix flooded into their systems, allowing them to breathe with ease.  Each tank would last two hours, if they had not dealt with the problem by then, chances are they were never going to succeed.

"We must split up, kill every invader that you see, once an area is cleansed, seal it off and go to the next.  If we can get access to the communications system, I can initiate a high frequency burst that will stun them for approximately thirty minutes.  Until then, we must do what we can.  Dureena, start with this level, secure the tubes if at all possible, Matheson and I will head toward the flight deck, but we must secure each level as we go, understood?"

As the two men rushed off, she stood uncertain of her next move.  The wand felt heavy in her hand and she inspected it closely for the first time.  There seemed no firing mechanism, neither button nor depression, no hint how to use the thing.  Did she even have it the right way around!  The thought jolted her, and she held it away from her body careful to make sure it did not point at her.  A skittering noise reached her ears; something was coming up behind her.  She span and what she saw rooted her to the spot.  Heading toward her were three of the creatures, a lot bigger than she had expected standing well over her own height.  A dozen eyes swung her way, each glittering with ill-concealed menace.

Without thinking, she raised the wand and sent a burst of blue fire into the first of the creatures, her terror surpassed her control however and what should have been a measured burst flared into a small conflagration.  All three attackers burst into flames, the fire so intense nothing remained of their bodies.  Unfortunately the burst also spread well beyond her attackers and into the bulkhead, leaving a hole big enough to drive a shuttle through.

"Guess that was little too much, Dureena," she chided herself.  Sweeping through the hanger she found no more of the creatures and sealed the entrance, making her way up the corridor to the next opening.  The storage room held more breathers, evac suits and general paraphernalia used by the pilots, it also contained two downed crewmen wrapped in a sticky white mesh reminiscent of cobwebs.  Unsheathing her knife, she sawed at the confining strands, which gave way with reluctance to her insistent blade.  Grabbing breathers from the lockers she fitted one to each man and waited impatiently for them to come around.  Still groggy from the lack of oxygen the crewmen staggered to their feet, listening to her instructions with barely concealed trepidation.

"Look, Galen and Matheson are on route to the bridge, we have to gather as many of the crew as we can in one place, away from these creatures.  Grab some of those breathers and follow me."

The stone round her neck suddenly warmed then died down and she realised that Galen had encountered resistance, that she was feeling the surge of his power as he dealt with whatever lay in his path.  It was disturbing yet at the same time reassuring to know that they were still linked.

More of the spider-like invaders were rushing down the corridor and she blasted them from her path, her accuracy and deployment an improvement on her first effort, though the corridor would need a lick of paint to hide the huge black mark her volley had produced.  With her confidence building, she ran to each room, securing it and moving on.  The crewmen released their fellow victims and passed out breathers, sending the recovered men and women back to the locker rooms to gather more breathers and to follow Dureena's cleared path, helping the downed crew as they went.  Within half an hour that deck was secure and she made her way up to the next level, leaving the majority of the crew behind her, taking only two companions to act as lookout as she made her way down the next section.

The door to Sarah's office and the attached medical bays slid open to reveal bodies strewn across the room in various stages of decomposition.  Attached to one body was a huge black creature, its mandibles tearing flesh from the still warm med.  tec.  Fire spurted from her wand, frying the beast and its prey as bile rose in her throat threatening to choke her.  They searched each bay, finding a few more of the aliens intent on feeding, and as Dureena's fire cleansed the area, she felt the stone flare again and again.

By now Matheson and the Mage should have reached the bridge, and yet there was no sign that life support had been restored.  As she searched through the downed crew, intent on finding Dr Chambers, she became aware of the lights beginning to fade.  The crewman beside her cursed, "Back-up systems are going down.  If we don't get control soon it won't matter a damn how many of these things we kill."

Sarah was finally found, wrapped in the same sticky strands that Dureena had come across time and again on her cleansing campaign.  She had been lucky, one of the creatures had decided to save her as a snack for later and she had come to no more harm than lack of oxygen and the mild soporific Shelob's children used to keep their victims quiet.

With the medical facility secured, Dureena hurried on, sending the rescued crew back to gather in the mess hall.  As they secured floor after floor, they found less of the creatures in their path, almost as though they knew she was coming for them.  Slowing down, she held the wand tightly, her hand ached from clutching the slim stem, her head was pounding with the strain of keeping a rein on her horror and anger.  Each flare of the stone made her flinch as she imagined Galen's struggle.

Gritting her teeth she ploughed onward.  Ahead, lay the heart of the great ship, the engine room.  They had not encountered any of the aliens on this level though trussed personnel littered the corridors; she had a bad feeling about what lay behind the closed door.  Unlike any other entrance on the ship, this door did not open by sensors detecting a person approaching; a coded lock had to be opened from either side to allow admittance.  Should any of the creatures be inside they were effectively trapped.

"Do you know the codes?" Her terse inquiry elicited no reply.  Turning she saw what had muted her companions.  Down the corridor, for as far as her eyes could see, massed a seething crowd of Shelob's children.  Terrifying enough in one's or two's, the prospect of dozen's of the creatures in her path rooted Dureena to the spot.  For a heartbeat she could not breathe, terror filled her as the creatures suddenly rushed forward, their metallic appendages clicking against the floor even as their mandibles snapped together in anticipation.

Bringing up the wand she aimed its tip at the nearest creature and directed her will to bring forth the deadly blue fire.  Nothing happened; the wand lay inert in her hand.  She tried again and again with the same lack of success until they were nearly upon her.  Throwing the weapon to the ground she reached for the stone that still warmed her breast and, wrapping her hand around it, screamed his name in her mind even as her other hand reached for her knife.  The closest alien, huge and terrifying grabbed her arm, dragging her toward its gaping jaws; its snapping mouth inches from her flesh as its smaller companions swamped her body.

***

Galen and Matheson had finally reached the bridge, their passage littered with scorch marks as they fought their way through the invaders.   As they secured each room, Matheson cut free those of the crew who still lived.  On their journey through the ship, they had encountered more than one poor wretch who had already supplied the creatures with sustenance.  Both men were grim faced as they finally entered the dim grey area.  A few minutes before the emergency lighting had begun to flicker and fade, the Excalibur had a back-up system in case the engines went down, but that too was beginning to fail.  If they could not get the engines back on line, if they could not incapacitate the aliens soon, then all was lost.

They made short work of the three creatures blocking their way as Galen headed for the nearest control, Matheson watching his back as the Mage linked with the computer, vulnerable whilst he searched the downed systems, triggering initiation sequences, bringing the massive ship back to life.

As one, the two men looked up as Dureena's scream filled both their minds.  Matheson, almost knocked back by the strength of her telepathic signal saw Galen's head lift, and heard him mutter her name.  Without thinking he opened his thoughts to the Technomage's mind and found - nothing.  The man was a total blank to the telepath's probes.

"Dureena is in trouble!" he yelled to the black clad man who still held his place at the console, his hands moving over the now lit keypad with a speed that was almost too fast for Matheson to keep up with.

"I know," came the terse reply.  And Galen's mouth creased into a grim line as he continued with his task.  "I must get the signal out or we are all lost!"

A sudden high-pitched tone screamed over the communications system, spiralling higher and higher until the two men could no longer hear it.

"Quickly now."  Galen rushed off the bridge, Matheson close behind him as they tore through the ship.  Here and there, they came across the spider creatures, curled into balls as the now inaudible whine rendered them incapable of functioning.  At each encounter either Galen or Matheson blasted the being, leaving a blackened smudge in their wake.  Their final destination was Dureena's position outside the door to the engine room.  Matheson had not asked how the Mage knew her location; he ran at the man's side busy with his own chaotic thoughts.

The corridor was littered with the aliens, maybe a hundred of them barred their way, and they began the grim task of destroying them, crunching on the charred remains as they waded through the bodies.  As they got closer to the door Galen's fire became more accurate, picking each parasite away from the next before smashing it with his fire, he had no intention of hurting any victim that may lay under one of the vile creatures.

His questing uncovered the two crewmen, one beyond his help, his throat torn out; the vicious mandibles still sunk in his cooling flesh.  Galen's fire destroyed the creature in a blaze of blue white fury.  His eyes bleak and hard as he continued his search.

There, her back still pressed against the unyielding door, a huge black monstrosity pinned Dureena to the cold grey metal.  He made his way quickly to her leaving Matheson to deal with the remaining bodies.  She hung in the alien's grasp; her flesh caught on the razor edge of its mouth, blood trickling down her neck to stain the gashed top she wore.  Her eyes were open but he did not think she saw him.

As he prised the creature's mandibles from her throat, a gush of putrid smelling liquid streamed down her neck.  The paralysing poison had been pumping into her all the time she had been held in its grasp.

Dragging the thing from her, he sent his fire into it until nothing remained.  Attached to every limb, were a myriad of the creatures, small and tenacious they too were pumping their poison into her systems, her body ripped by their sharp mouths, invaded by their drugs.  Prising each one away, Galen's anger grew as did his concern, the one feeding the other until he fairly blazed with it.

Laying a gentle hand against her cheek, he felt the warmth of her breath on his palm and her eyes finally focussed on his, recognition registering briefly before she finally gave in to the trauma her body had held off for so long.

"Is she okay?"  Matheson joined him as Galen lifted her from the floor, a small burden that he carried with infinite care.  Her eyes were closed now, her body limp in his embrace, a brief nod all the answer he would give.

Continued

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