Joey, our medic, finally started carrying his weight a little and tossed out nutrient bars. “Alright, refuel time,” he said, sliding down the wall like he was about to pass out. “Boss is up ahead, so eat up. Last thing we need is someone’s stomach growling mid-fight.”
Ryan caught his bar and, of course, sat right down next to Emily. “You know, Em, I’m pretty sure I saw you checking me out back there,” he said, leaning in like he had all the energy in the world. “I mean, can’t blame you. I was kinda awesome, wasn’t I?”
Emily, completely unbothered, just smirked. "You wish, Ryan," she said, unwrapping her bar. "I was actually impressed with how you managed to not trip over your own feet while shooting. A real miracle, honestly."
Ryan grinned, unfazed. He lived for the challenge. "Hey, I’m smooth. What can I say?" He leaned just a little closer. "But if you want, I can give you a private demonstration later. You know, up close."
Emily laughed and nudged him. Laughed. "Yeah, I’ll pass, thanks," she said, taking a bite of her bar like he hadn’t just hit on her in front of me.
I just shook my head, chewing on my own bar. I’d already had this conversation with Ryan more than once. He liked Emily. Emily didn’t seem to mind. And me? I wasn’t about to start acting like some possessive asshole.
She could flirt, Ryan could shoot his shot, and I wasn’t about to lose my shit over it. Still, I had to give the guy credit for trying.
"Keep at it, Ry," I said, smirking as I leaned back against the wall. "One of these days, she might even let you hold her hand."
Zoe snorted from across the room. "Yeah, right. Ryan, if you ever get past first base, I’ll personally throw you a party."
Ryan shot her a grin. "Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Woods."
Emily just rolled her eyes, amused, but she didn''t shut him down completely. Interesting.
I popped the last bite of my bar into my mouth and let it slide. Ryan was gonna do his thing. Emily wasn’t mine to control. And honestly? If he made her happy, who the hell was I to complain?
Across the room, Zoe grinned at Danny as he groaned, shifting uncomfortably against the wall. He was wrecked. Even with powered armor, exhaustion was setting in, his legs probably felt like concrete.
“Oh, come on,” Zoe drawled, stretching her arms dramatically. “You’re telling me that big, bad Power Armor isn’t helping with circulation?”
Danny snorted. “Yeah, tell that to my legs.” He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension. “Next time, I’m strapping in a cooling system.”
Zoe made a mock gasp, placing a dramatic hand over his chestplate. “Oh no, the mighty Danny Thompson, Slayer of Bugs, Crusher of Chitin, needs a leg massage? What will the history books say?”
Danny rolled his eyes. “I swear to God, Zoe.”
Joey perked up immediately. He held up a hypo, smirking through his visor. “Oh, please. Tempt me. I’ll dose you up so good you won’t feel your legs.”
Danny shook his head. “Yeah, because that’s exactly what I need before we fight a goddamn Queen. Totally trust you, Joey.”
Zoe chuckled. “Too bad we can’t take our helmets off. Otherwise, I’d give you a real massage.” She paused for effect, tilting her head just enough to make it sound suggestive.
Danny blinked. “…Wait, seriously?”
Zoe smirked, stepping past him toward the ammo packs. “Nope.”
Danny let out the most defeated sigh I’d ever heard.
The banter, the teasing, it should have been reassuring. But all I could focus on was the passage ahead.
The narrow tunnel leading to the final chamber loomed at the edge of my vision, its walls pulsing slightly with organic growth. It had been hours. We were exhausted, running on stims, nutrient bars, and pure adrenaline at this point. But there was no turning back.
I checked my HUD. The layout of the chamber ahead flickered into view, a wide, open space, but full of shadows. Perfect for drones to hide in. And in the center?
A massive form. The Queen.
<hr>
My heart was still hammering from that damn tunnel, but this… this was different. This was the good kind of adrenaline. The kind that made you want to charge in, guns blazing. The kind that made you feel alive. Almost made all that crawling through tight spaces worthwhile. Almost.
Let’s just get this over with and hope we don’t have to squeeze through any more fucking holes to get out.
Ryan was already talking, going over positioning, making sure everyone was ready. Good. That was his job now. He’d handle crowd control with Chris, keeping the small fry off our backs. Zoe would snipe from somewhere high, picking off anything that got too close. Joey would hang back, keeping shields up and patching us up when things got rough. And Emily…
She’d be right there with me. Close. Fast. Slicing through defenses with that plasma sword. Normally, just the thought of her moving like that, all grace and deadly precision, would have me practically drooling. But right now? I needed my head in the game. No distractions.
I exhaled, forcing myself to focus. The team was slumped against the wall, laughing, bantering. Tired, yeah, but ready. We’d come too far to turn back. And they trusted me. Fuck. That was a lot of pressure. Especially when I was still trying to shake off the feeling of being buried alive.
Ryan caught my eye, sharp as always. He tilted his head toward Emily, lowering his voice just enough for only me to hear. “You good, Cap?”
I blinked. “Yeah. I’m good.”
He didn’t buy it, not for a second. Ryan knew me too well. But he just smirked and clapped my shoulder. “Then focus up. I’ve got the plan, you do your thing.”
I exhaled, nodding. Right. Ryan was handling it. I wasn’t in charge in here. That was the whole point.
We knew how this worked. The System wasn’t that creative.
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We’d done Hive Queen fights a hundred times before in Sol. The delves were shorter, the monsters weaker, but the setup? Always the same. First, the swarm. Drones pouring in, trying to overwhelm us. Maybe another Scout or five to make our lives hell. Then, finally, the Queen.
The fight always had two phases, more if you weren’t fast enough, wipe the small ones fast, then take on Momma Bug.
Ryan adjusted his grip on his plasma rifle, his cocky grin already in place. “Alright, formation. We do this clean.”
Danny rolled his shoulders, lifting his warhammer. “Same setup as always?”
Ryan nodded. “We burn the swarm first.”
Emily and Danny take point. Danny could take the hits, Emily was fast enough to weave around him, using him as cover while she carved through the bastards.
Chris and Ryan set up on opposite flanks, offering covering fire with the plasma rifles. The drones were tough, but the new rifles shredded them way faster than our old energy weapons.
Joey stays in the rear, keeping an eye on our health and ready to push up with his shield if things go south.
Zoe and I stay at the back, sniping anything trying to flank us. Once the swarm was down? We’d be the ones closing the distance on the Queen if needed.
I flicked my scope up, adjusting my rifle’s settings. “We burn them fast,” I said. “No dragging this out. The longer we take, the worse it gets.”
Ryan smirked. “Yeah, yeah, we know the drill, Cap. Try not to let Em steal all the glory, alright?”
Emily didn’t even bother looking at him. “Just keep the bugs off my back, Ryan.”
I exhaled, tightening my grip. This was always the hardest part of the delve.
Zoe stretched, cracking her knuckles. “Sounds good. Can we get moving before Ryan starts thinking he’s the boss of me?”
Ryan grinned. “Sweetheart, I’ve been your boss since day one.”
She flicked an empty bar wrapper at his chest. Direct hit. “Shut up and let’s go.”
Chris rolled his shoulders, gripping his plasma rifle. “Formation set. Call the play, Luca.”
I took a breath, nodding.
“Alright. We burn the swarm fast. No dragging this out. Everyone stick to the plan, and we come out of this in one piece.”
I lifted my rifle, my gut still tight, but my focus locked in. No more second-guessing. No more thinking about Ryan or Emily or any of that shit.
We had a Queen to kill.
Time to get this show on the road. This was it. Time to kill a Queen and hopefully not die in the process. And maybe, just maybe, once the adrenaline settled and the claustrophobia faded, I could get back to appreciating a certain sword-wielding badass the way she deserved.
<hr>
We moved to the entrance of the tunnel, shifting back into mission mode. One last check, gear secured, visors down, weapons primed. The tension in the air was thick, but I lived for this shit. So did Zoe.
She shot me a look, that sharp, mischievous grin just barely visible under her visor. "Scout Leader, you ready?"
I smirked. "Try to keep up."
We activated our Active Camo, slipping into the dark. For thirty seconds, we were ghosts.
The tunnel opened into the Queen’s chamber, and holy shit, this place was huge. Like some kind of twisted cathedral, the walls jagged and pulsing faintly with organic veins. The air? Thick, humid, and toxic as hell. My HUD threw up multiple warnings, but my focus was locked on the thing in the center.
The Queen.
Fucking massive. Five meters tall, her segmented body coiled at the far end, mandibles clicking, multi-faceted eyes scanning the dark. And that sac on her abdomen? It was glowing. Pulsing. Alive.
Eggs were scattered across the floor, dozens of them, shifting slightly. Movement. More of those drones. But not just drones. There, another one of those spitting scouts, the same kind that nearly skewered us earlier. Fuck. This wasn’t just a breeding ground.
It was a goddamn war zone waiting to happen.
Zoe shifted next to me, voice low over private comms. "Tell me that thing doesn’t remind you of-"
"Alien. Yeah. I know."
"Like, we’re seconds away from some facehugger bullshit."
I rolled my eyes. "Stay focused, Woods."
She grinned but kept moving, scanning the chamber from her scope. I did the same. Two elevated ledges on the sides, decent sniper positions. The ground was a maze of eggs, half-formed chitin, and slime. The Queen was settled near the back, partially protected by the terrain, which meant we’d have to clear the small fry before engaging.
Our camo flickered, warning us time was almost up. We needed a better vantage point. The ledge above had a clear shot at the Queen, and from up there, we could cover the team and thin the horde before they got overwhelmed.
I nudged Zoe and pointed up. "Ledge. We take it."
She grinned. "Thought you''d never ask."
I crouched, cupping my hands together. She stepped into my grip without hesitation, and with a sharp push, I hoisted her nimble, tight little frame up onto the ledge. Damn, she made that look effortless.
She landed light as a whisper, rolled to her feet, and turned back, reaching down. “Come on, Scout Leader, before I take all the kills.”
Her smirk was pure adrenaline.
I grabbed her wrist, and she hauled me up with surprising strength, or maybe I was just too distracted by the view. Yeah. Okay. Bad time to notice how good Zoe looked when she was in her element.
I landed next to her, shaking off the thought. Focus, Luca.
We settled into position, rifles raised, just as our camo flickered out completely.
Zoe exhaled, nudging my shoulder. "Alright, Boss. Time to bring in the big, loud boys."
I flicked to squad comms. "Clear. We’ve got movement in there, drones, eggs, another scout like the one that tagged Joey’s shield earlier. Queen’s in the back, partially covered. Snipers can use the ledges. We burn the small ones first, then focus fire on her."
Silence. Then Ryan’s voice, smug as ever.
"Translation: Ryan and Chris get to work while the rest of you try not to fuck up?"
Emily cut in. "Just shut up and shoot straight, Mitchell."
Ryan chuckled. "Don’t worry, Em. I’ll keep you covered. Can’t let you have all the fun."
I ignored them, eyes still on the chamber. The Queen’s sac pulsed again, and two more drones twitched, beginning to stir.
Showtime.
"Move in," I ordered, gripping my rifle. "Hit them hard."
And then the Queen let out a screech that sent a shiver down my fucking spine.
Eggs burst open. Drones rose from the muck. The cavern shook.
<hr>
Zoe and I hunkered down on the ledge, steam curling up from below, obscuring the battlefield in shifting layers of green mist. The Queen’s hive was hot, humid, disgusting, but we could still make out the team moving through it, their HUD markers glowing bright against the mess of bodies and eggs.
“You got eyes?” Zoe murmured, her rifle aimed down.
“Always.” I zoomed in, spotting a cluster of drones shifting in the fog, moving toward Ryan’s flank.
“Five, moving left. Danny, Ryan, watch your three!”
Danny’s aggro beacon pulsed, and just like that, the fuckers changed course, swarming straight for him. The big guy didn’t even flinch. His warhammer came down like a meteor, cracking through carapace, sending green goo spraying. Emily moved like a goddamn phantom, darting in with her plasma sword, carving through the next one before it even had a chance to react.
Ryan and Chris were pouring hellfire downrange, their plasma rifles burning holes through anything dumb enough to charge. Every shot lit up the chamber, a flashing red-blue inferno against the hive’s sickly green glow.
Chris''s Energy Driver? A fucking star in a collapsing galaxy.
“Heads up, three coming from the back!” I called out, sighting them just as they lunged from the walls.
Zoe didn’t wait.
Her rifle cracked, and one of them jerked mid-air, tumbling down.
“Got one,” she muttered, shifting her aim. “Two more, moving fast.”
I squeezed the trigger. My sniper round punched through another’s eye, dropping it instantly.
“Last one’s yours, Zoe.”
She grinned. “Race you to it.”
Both of our rifles fired at once. The drone staggered, screeching, but its chitin barely cracked.
“Shit. Didn’t drop it.”
The bug twitched, already recovering, until Zoe put another shot straight into the soft gap at its side. It collapsed, legs curling inward.
“Confirmed weak point.” She grinned. “Now, let’s kill some more.”
Below, the battlefield was chaos. Danny was a goddamn fortress, his exo-powered armor swinging that warhammer like the hand of God. Ryan’s Power Surge ability kicked in, overclocking his systems as he burned through energy cells, plasma shots streaking into the mass of bodies.
Emily? Emily was fucking poetry.
Her plasma sword danced, slicing through chitin, carving open thoraxes. She spun, severed legs, ducked under mandibles, and I was so goddamn distracted watching her move that I almost missed a drone scuttling toward her from the side.
"I’ve got you!" I fired. One shot, right through the bastard’s open mandibles.
She didn’t even look back. Just kept moving, hacking, cutting.
And then? Because the universe hates us, something low and fast, one of those goddamn cockroach scouts, broke through the formation.
“Ryan! Left flank!”
The bug hocked a loogie of green acid, straight at Chris.
He screamed. The kind that curdles milk and makes grown men want to cry.
His arm hit the ground first. Then his knees. Then the sizzling smell of acid eating through armor, melting through his goddamn skin.
Double. Fuck.