Out of Darkness

by Anna Carven

  An announcement came over the speakers, interrupting her thoughts. “All workers, I repeat, all workers, return to quarters. This station is on lockdown until further notice. Do not leave your quarters unless directed to do so.”

  “Well, I guess that answers that,” Jia shrugged, trying to ignore her growing unease. No matter what she tried to tell herself, the Kordolians were here, and no-one knew what their objective was.

  Jia got the feeling that life on Fortuna Tau would never be the same again. She just hoped they weren’t all about to be shipped off to Kythia to be sold as slaves.

  Perhaps it was time for the peacekeepers to consider a rebellion. But what could they do against soldiers who could survive a direct hit from a plasma gun?

  Jia shook her head, picked up her kit-case and headed for her quarters.

  On the bright side, it was time for a well-deserved warm shower, one of the few luxuries still available to her onboard this giant chunk of floating metal.

  CHAPTER NINE

  A torrent of water rushed from the narrow spout above her head as Jia slapped her palm to the shower panel. The familiar, irritating red clock appeared, starting at 3:00 and counting down.

  She was allowed three minutes of warm, steamy bliss.

  After exactly three minutes, the shower would shut off, and she would have exhausted her wash-water ration for the day.

  The limited water supply on Fortuna Tau made showers a valuable commodity. Some workers, who didn’t mind being dirty, traded their shower time for Spike or cash or whatever other contraband they could get their hands on.

  Jia closed her eyes and scrubbed herself clean. She took a deep breath, inhaling the soothing scent of the sandalwood and vanilla soap that she’d brought with her from Earth. It one of her small indulgences; after a hard day’s work, she liked to feel clean again, and she liked to smell nice.

  Not that she was planning to smell nice for anyone in particular, but when she wasn’t working, Jia liked to be presentable.

  As the warm water cascaded down her body, Jia’s thoughts turned to Kalan. The way he’d looked at her had made her feel funny. He’d made her go all warm and fuzzy inside, and a little bit giddy.

  That was ridiculous, because he was a gun-toting, armored, silver-skinned badass, and she was, well, a first-rank Human mechanic from Earth.

  But Jia had a decent imagination, and from time to time, she liked to fantasize, even if it was about super-beings from a cruel alien race who might be about to enslave them all.

  Would they really?

  Only time would tell.

  Her hand slid down between her thighs as she wondered what it would be like to run her fingers over the Kordolian’s hard, honed body. Jia glanced at the clock.

  Two minutes.

  She slipped a finger between the moist folds of her pussy, letting out a soft gasp.

  Everything was hyper-sensitive.

  She needed release.

  She might be a virgin, but she was a damn horny one, with a dirty mind to boot. Jia loved to fantasize about things she couldn’t have.

  She recalled Kalan’s violet eyes, and the way they seemed to look right into her, as if he could read her thoughts.

  Telepathy wasn’t a talent Kordolians possessed, was it?

  That would make them very scary beings, indeed.

  One minute, thirty-nine seconds.

  A shudder coursed down Jia’s spine as she moved her fingers back and forth, thinking about how it would feel to have Kalan’s bare arms around her, caressing her breasts, slipping down to feel her hips and thighs, exploring the tender, delicate lips of her pussy, his large, callused fingers sliding into her.

  She rocked her hips back and forth, letting out a slow, deep breath as the heat of the shower caused steam to rise all around her.

  Fifty-eight seconds.

  She imagined him, all hard, sculptured muscle, curling himself possessively around her, entering her, fucking her with raw, savage need.

  Jia whimpered and caressed her throbbing clit with her finger, leaning forward and pressing her other hand against the opaque screen of the shower.

  Twenty seconds.

  She stroked herself faster and faster, gasping as she sought that elusive climax.

  Eleven seconds.

  Ten.

  Nine.

  She was on the edge, so very close.

  “Come on,” she gasped, but still, satisfaction evaded her.

  Seven.

  Six.

  She was almost there, so close. She closed her eyes and thought of Kalan, imagining his dark lips on her skin, tasting her.

  She rubbed herself harder, faster.

  Three, two, one.

  A tightness rose in her core, delicious and insistent, but just as it started to build, the water shut off.

  Zero.

  “Fuck,” Jia gasped. Her time was up. Outside, someone started banging on the door of her stall.

  “You done in there already?” a voice boomed. “Hurry up.”

  “Hold on,” Jia grumbled in frustration, that ever elusive orgasm having evaded her once again. Her nipples were erect, her pussy throbbed, and she was completely unsatisfied. She hit the QuickDry, and suddenly all moisture was sucked out of the cubicle, leaving her completely dry from head to toe.

  Jia stepped out of the shower and slid into her fluffy slippers. She slipped into her favorite pink robe, belting the soft, silky garment at her waist.

  That was when something dropped from the roof, landing on the floor beside her.

  Jia yelped, jumping back. She slammed her hand against the door-panel and the doors slid open, revealing a line of tired, disheveled workers clutching sleepwear and bathroom gear.

  A woman tried to brush past her, eager to enter the shower cubicle, but Jia put a hand on her shoulder. “I wouldn’t, if I were you.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Jia nodded towards the thing, which was circling the floor inside the stall.

  It was a Xargek larva. It looked to be in the early stage, as it was no bigger than a football. It had multiple spindly legs on both sides and a oval-shaped black body that shone dully in the bright light. Large, gleaming, triangular black eyes looked at them, and as Jia stared at it, it started to crawl towards her. Alarmed, she took a step backwards.

  “What the fuck is that?” The impatient woman’s eyes went wide. Someone in the shower line shrieked, and suddenly, people were backing towards the exit.

  “Xargek,” Jia said in dismay, as another one dropped from the roof. She glanced up and saw that the exhaust vent was loose. “We’ve gotta kill that thing.”

  “H-how?” The Xargek larva ran towards them, making a chchchch sound. Jia saw a small dark maw with sharp looking pincers. She had no doubt the thing was out for blood.

  She wished she had something she could use as a weapon. Any blunt instrument would be better than the small wash bag she was clutching.

  She looked around frantically, but there was nothing in the bathroom that looked remotely weapon-like.

  The larva went for her feet, and she narrowly managed to evade it as the people behind her scattered. Jia briefly considered trying to stomp on it, but she didn’t think her fluffy slippers would do much damage.

  In that case, it was time to evacuate.

  “Sorry, guys,” she called out, raising her voice. “You’re going to have to find another quadrant to shower in. This one’s been hit by a Xargek infestation. Get the hell out of here, now!”

  People seemed to have gotten the idea, because they were already flooding out of the exit, creating a minor bottleneck. Jia rushed towards the door, her silky robes fluttering around her bare ankles.

  Eventually, the people managed to file out of the shower room, and Jia slipped out just as the Xargek reached the door area. She began to run down the hallway, relief coursing through her, when a scream reached her ears.

  A woman’s voice.

  Someone was still in there.
>
  “Call the peacekeepers,” she yelled at the fleeing crowd. “Or even better, try and get one of those Kordolians down here.”

  She would really love to have Kalan around right now.

  Jia ran back towards the shower room. The doors were closed, and the woman’s screams were becoming louder. The sound that reached Jia’s ears conveyed terror and pain. It made her skin crawl.

  She could easily flee, but if she didn’t do something, whoever was in there would probably die.

  They were flesh-eating insects, after all.

  Jia looked around, searching for something, anything she could use.

  She spotted a fire extinguisher port at the far end of the corridor. Jia ran, her fluffy slippers skidding on the cold grey floor. The extinguisher was a long device shaped like a gun. She knew from her emergency training that it shot out a mixture of supercooled gases that would kill the kinetic energy of the fire, instantly putting it out.

  Perhaps the insects could be snap-frozen. It was worth a try.

  She grabbed the extinguisher and raced back to the shower room, slapping her hand on the door-panel. The twin doors slid open, but Jia didn’t enter straight away. Instead, she waited against the wall, craning her neck to peer around the corner.

  There was a person lying on the floor. Jia recognized her as the impatient woman from earlier. She was flailing about and shrieking, her ear-splitting screams echoing down the corridor. One of the Xargek larva had attached itself to her leg, and the other was on her chest. A pool of blood had formed around her body.

  Jia scanned the room and saw that there were no other Xargek in sight. Cautiously, she walked forward, holding the extinguisher in front of her.

  The Xargek seemed to have latched onto the poor woman, in the same way a leech or a tick might. She was in a panic, desperately trying to get them off.

  Jia would probably do the same thing if some giant, bloodsucking insect with tiny, spindly legs had attached itself to her.

  “Hey, lady,” she said, trying to sound reassuring, even thought the sight before her made her skin crawl. “I’m going to try and get these things off you, but you need to be still.”

  The woman looked up, her grey eyes filled with terror. Jia lifted up the extinguisher, showing it to the lady. “It’s worth a try,” she said.

  One of the Xargek moved, its maw burrowing further into the woman’s flesh. It made that horrible skittering sound again. A wave of revulsion swept over Jia. The woman screamed.

  “Hold still,” Jia said. She pressed the tip of the extinguisher against the Xargek that had attached itself to the woman’s leg and pulled the trigger.

  A cloud of supercooled gas was released, turning to vapor around them. The Xargek turned white, frosting over. Jia lifted the gun and pressed it against the body of the second Xargek, the one attached to the woman’s chest.

  She pulled the trigger again, and a cloud of vapor engulfed them both. Jia’s heart was hammering at a hundred miles an hour. She was moving on autopilot, doing what needed to be done before thinking about it.

  The woman screamed. The Xargek turned white, and its awful skittering noise stopped.

  But it was still stuck on the woman’s chest. It wasn’t moving anymore, though.

  “I think they’re dead,” Jia said, fighting back her disgust as she grabbed the monster on the woman’s chest and yanked at it. Some of its frozen legs broke off in her hands, causing her to shudder.

  Its maw, however, was still lodged in the woman’s chest, right above her sternum. Jia yanked harder and the body came free, leaving two rigid fangs embedded in her sternum. They seemed to have gone right into the bone.

  Jia hoped they weren’t venomous.

  “Oh, thank the fucking stars,” the woman gasped, her face drained of all color. “What the hell was that thing?”

  “You don’t want to know,” Jia said dryly. “Hang on. I’m going to get the other one off your leg.” She pulled the frozen Xargek from the woman’s left leg. Again, two long fangs remained embedded in the thick muscle of the woman’s calf. “You’re going to have to go down to the medical bay to get those removed.”

  The woman was shaking. Blood had trickled down from where the Xargek had bit her, and it was rapidly drying, forming dark streaks across her skin.

  “Th-thank you,” the woman gasped, as she stared in horror at the fangs that were still stuck in her skin. The ones in her chest had actually gone through bone. Luckily, they didn’t seem long enough to have penetrated her lungs or heart.

  Jia held out a hand and helped the woman to her feet as a faint rattling sound reached her ears. It was coming from the roof. The sound became louder and louder. Jia grabbed the woman’s shoulder. She gasped in pain. She was shaky on her feet, but she could stand. At this point in time, she had no choice.

  “Run,” Jia said, her horror growing as Xargek larvae started to fall from the hole in the vent.

  It was raining bugs. There were dozens of them.

  They dashed for the exit, and Jia slammed her palm against the door-panel as they skidded out of the shower-room. The doors slid closed behind them, and Jia took a moment to catch her breath and steady her frayed nerves.

  The woman beside her winced in agony, her breathing shallow and rapid. “We really need to get you to the medical bay,” Jia said. She glanced over one shoulder, looking towards one end of the corridor, then down the other. The coast was clear for now.

  Through the closed doors of the shower room, Jia could hear that now-familiar skittering sound, but now, it was magnified tenfold.

  There was no way she was going back in there.

  They started to run, Jia slowing down to keep pace with the woman, who couldn’t move very fast, due to the pain in her chest. In one hand, she held the extinguisher gun. They ran until they almost collided with a group of peacekeepers, who were running in their direction.

  The leader took one look at the woman and signaled for his people to take her to the med bay. She collapsed in their arms and allowed herself to be supported by the men.

  Their leader turned to Jia as the three other peacekeepers disappeared around the corner. “We’ve gotten reports of a disturbance in the area. What’s your name, citizen, and what’s the problem?”

  “First-rank mech Jia Morgan, Sir. There’s an, uh, infestation in the ladies’ shower room. I think the Xargek have gotten into the vents.”

  “Xargek?” The team leader blinked as he lifted up the visor of his regulation helmet. His biceps bulged as he shifted his grip on his bolt-rifle. Jia glanced at his rank and badge. He was a Sergeant, and his name was Jones.

  “You know, the insects.”

  “Insects?” Jones looked at Jia as if she were speaking Euphrenian. Clearly, not all the peacekeeping squads had been clued in on the latest developments.

  And where the hell had all the Kordolians gone?

  Jia sighed. “Whatever you do, don’t open the doors to the ladies’ shower room.”

  The peacekeeper blinked, irritation crossing his features. “I don’t have time for jokes, Morgan. Why was that woman bleeding?”

  “She was attacked,” Jia said. “By giant alien insects called Xargek. If you don’t believe me, ask the medic after they remove the fangs that are embedded in her freaking sternum.”

  “In the shower room?” Jones’ dark eyes narrowed. He glanced towards the closed doors of the washroom. “I find that highly unlikely.”

  “Don’t go in there, Sergeant. The place is crawling with them.”

  “If there’s a threat, Morgan, it needs to be dealt with.” The look he gave her was dismissive. “Go back to your quarters, citizen. The station’s still on lockdown. You’re prohibited from leaving this residential quadrant until we give the all-clear. And if I find out you’ve been wasting my time, I’ll put you on report. We’ve got fucking Kordolians onboard the station. I don’t have time to be dealing with petty complaints.” He was chewing on something; a wad of Spike, probably. That would expl
ain the slight aggression.

  “Sir,” Jia said respectfully, frustration creeping into her voice. “That shower room is crawling with Xargek. They are blood-sucking monsters, and once they latch onto you, they’re a bitch to pull off. I’d strongly suggest at least waiting for your team before you go in there.”

  “I think you’re getting a little hysterical, Morgan,” Jones said, a condescending note creeping into his tone. “Return to your quarters,” he snapped. “And put that goddamn fire extinguisher back where you got it from. That’s an order, citizen.”

  “Please don’t go in there alone, soldier.”

  Jones ignored her. “I think it’s past your bedtime, mechanic. Get back to your quarters, now, or I’ll put you on report for dissent!”

  Dissent? What the…? Jia glared as he shouldered past her. Typical peacekeeper. Most of them were assholes, their muscles and their egos pumped up with extra doses of growth hormone and Spike. They liked to throw around trumped up charges and abuse their power, because on a remote mining station such as Fortuna Tau, they could usually get away with such things.

  In the face of such arrogance, she couldn’t do a thing.

  At least he had a bolt-gun. He could defend himself, unlike the poor woman who had almost been sucked dry by the parasitic Xargek.

  Jia waited until Jones had passed, before walking slowly back to her room. She didn’t put the extinguisher back. She carried it with her, because if Xargek suddenly started dropping from the vent in her quarters, she wanted to be able to do something about it.

  CHAPTER TEN

  The leader of this disintegrating rust-bucket was a jowl-faced Human called Emin, who held the dubious sounding title of ‘Station Boss’. He stared at Kalan, slack-jawed, as the Kordolian put his booted feet up on the Human’s polished desk, casually chewing on a bar of protein-mix.

  “Issue another announcement,” Kalan said between mouthfuls, taking his time.

  The Human nodded attentively. His right eye twitched every now and then, due to some sort of nervous tic. Whatever General Tarak had said to him had intimidated him enough that he’d become nicely biddable. “Wh-what do you want me to say?”