Kaden's Breeder (16 page)

This was not the Mantra ship. She had spent enough time on one to remember the layout. She backed up only to get caught in a sticky web. Screaming she clawed at the substance desperately ripping it offer her arms and legs. She turned wide-eyed at the Mantra who had delivered her to this place

"Where am I?"

The Mantra stared at her for a moment, and then called out in a high-pitched screech, almost deafening her. Carina clamped her hands over her ears and cringed as she felt the piercing call penetrate through her body.

An instant later, the webbing at the far end of the room parted and the most terrifying creature she had ever seen stepped into the dimly lit room

"Oh, my God!” Carina suddenly realized where she was and who this creature was. Grath. Turning towards the Mantra she threw her foot up laying a kick as hard as she could to the side of the creature's torso

It caused the Commander to stumble to the side, giving her enough room to bolt for the entrance she had come in through. Unfortunately the entrance had disappeared and she had no idea how to part the slimy webbing

She swung around and looked desperately for an alternate way to escape. Thick layers of webbing left no evidence of an exit let alone a way in. The mantra chirped something to Grath, making her turn towards him

As Grath approached, the insect man bowed his head low to the ground, so low that his abdomen barely scraped the floor. Grath passed him and made his way towards Carina

Her heart began to pound furiously in her chest. She could barely catch her breath as fear took over her senses. Backing away from the Grub King she tried to feel her way through the sticky webbing, which was sticking to her arms and back

Grath was well over seven and a half feet tall standing on four lower limbs. Like the Mantra his torso was elongated like a banana. However unlike the Mantra there was nothing humanoid about him

His deep green and brown body was actually more similar to an exoskeleton and instead of a head with eyes and a mouth, he possessed a deadly looking set of mandibles, two enormous round black eyes covered most of his face

He reminded Carina of the Praying Mantis insect back on earth the way his head and body was shaped. Two thin arms protruded from loose sockets mid-way up his torso that thinned out into a long skinny neck. At the end of his arms were four bony fingers; three were tipped with black curved claws, which were dripping fluid from the sharp pointed ends.

Vile musky scent wafted towards her as he approached

He smelled like rotting meat and it made her gag

Grath stood approximately a foot away from her. “Do not fear Breeder, you should be honored to have been chosen to carry my larvae."

He tilted his head to the side studying her a while. She cringed. Her legs went weak. The coldness of the room hit her as all the blood drained from her face. She felt like she would pass out at any moment. Shivers raced through her but she forced herself to face Grath's terrifying presence

"There is a m-mistake...” her teeth chattered and she spoke so low that she wondered if he had even heard her. Unable to keep her eyes on him, she backed further into the dense web behind her

An instant later, Grath was hovering directly over her. He was so close that her head was almost pressed against his mid-section. Carina let out a short scream, surprised and frightened by his sudden movement. She hadn't even seen him move, it was extremely distressing and she realized that she was completely at his mercy

Carina watched Grath's mouth open as he took in a deep breath. A few seconds later, he abruptly leapt away from her. At first she thought he may have given up on the idea that she was a suitable host, but that quickly vanished when he turned towards her and stood tall before opening his mandibles wide at either side of his head and screeching loudly

His mouth shut and he glared at her, growling through his clenched razor sharp teeth. Panic began to build, because his reaction to her was obviously one of frustrated anger. What had she done? He had smelled her then backed away and screamed at her threateningly.

Then it suddenly dawned on her why he was so angry, “Oh my God...” She was pregnant. A surge of hope passed through her. Maybe she could use this to her advantage. After all if she was already pregnant with another species, especially one with a dire need for procreation, then maybe she could use the laws of the Galactic Governing Council against him

Not sure if her suspicion was accurate or not, she still had no choice but to at least try. “You know I'm pregnant. I guess the Mantra forgot to tell you huh."

Carina tried to remain as calm as possible. She needed to give him the impression that the Mantra had made the mistake and brought her here to him in her condition

She unstuck herself from the webbed wall and took a few steps towards Grath and stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. “I tried to tell you that there was a mistake.” Trying to look as indignant as possible, she turned her nose up at him, “I will have you know that I will make sure a full report about this little mishap is presented to the Galactic Governing Council at my first opportunity. If you cooperate and send me back to Yor unharmed, I will make sure that they are aware you had no idea about my condition until I arrived here."

There that should do it. Taking a deep breath, Carina waited for Grath's response. Surely he would see the error and take her up on the deal

Grath penetrated her with black bulbous eyes. He made a few clicking noises before rearing back and causing his body to stretch up, towering over her.

"I could care less what the Council has to say about this. You were taken from a planet outside their jurisdiction. The Mantra made the mistake when delivering you to Yor in the first place. Trust me human, the Galactic Governing Council is well aware of the reasons behind your abduction."

He moved closer and began circling Carina, as he spoke in that raspy high pitched voice of his that sounded like a swarm of buzzing insects forming words. “You see, the Council and I have an agreement. As long as I do not attack the inhabitants of the three galaxies, then I can obtain what my kind needs from planets outside the borders of the Galaxies’ territories

Carina's body went cold again. “But they can unite against you and your empire. There are many planets with the technology that could defeat you."

Grath threw his head back and stretched his mandibles as he let out what sounded like a bellowing laugh.

"Ignorant slug. The Grub Empire is so vast that we could swarm any planet and devour every living thing on it in a matter of hours. No race could withstand an onslaught of thousands of billions of Grub. And that is only a small percentage."

Carina shrank her bravado completely disintegrated. What was her fate now?

"But you still can't use me! Please let me go. You can find another method for hosting your eggs.” Her desperate plea only seemed to amuse Grath.

"Other methods result in a lower survival rate for my Grub."

He moved to stand directly in front of her and lowered his head so that his face was just inches from hers, “And humans not only provide a host but under the right conditions we can keep them alive long enough for our young to feed until their first molt. Your condition will not impede my children; it will only provide more nourishment."

Carina backed away from Grath, placing her shaking hands on her abdomen, “No!"

His implications were to horrifying to imagine. She fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself. It was hopeless she thought. Her shoulders slumped as she gave into defeat.

Grath approached and ran his long bony had through her hair. “We will of course need to make room for my eggs however. That is why I will remove the Dreg fetus and incubate it until it is old enough to host Grub larvae."

He moved away leaving her on the floor, her sobs echoing through the cocooned room. A few moments later two similar looking Grubs entered the room and grabbed Carina by the elbows hauling her up

They walked her through a hole in the webbing into another room much the same as Grath's command center, except it had a table in the center and a strange looking device hanging from the ceiling which was covered with corded vines and strange looking vegetation

It appeared to be some type of robotic arm that had several different instruments circling its base that hung just below a clamp like claw. Without much ceremony, the two Grub strapped Carina securely to the table and left. She stared blankly at the hovering arm and felt a wave of nausea, she knew was the fear of her impending fate, consume her

"God help me...” but the plea was useless.

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Zeth and Corbin knelt near the entrance they had created in the hull of the Grub vessel. The ship was part organic and it started to repair its self as instantly as they door way was blasted through. Kaden quickly entered followed by Nal and five other Dreg warriors

Once they were in, Zeth and Corbin placed a sensory marker on the wall that could only be detected by the Dreg warriors, marking where their exit would be once they had Carina safely in their hands. This particular part of the ship was chosen because it was less guarded than the rest of the ship

The Grubs preferred wet moist atmospheres but the cargo hold was kept dry and colder so it could be used to store supplies from trade with other species. It was quite empty, which did not surprise Kaden. The Grubs were self-sufficient and extremely adaptable, which made them quite dangerous

They could survive in the harshest environment. Most of their colonies were little more than giant asteroids that had been carved out and turned into hives. What made that particularly unwelcome, was the fact that they could take up residence anywhere in the galaxy and often did

It was no wonder that the Council saw fit to appease them as much as possible. The Grub population over whelmed any inhabited planet by more the a thousand to one. Like a festering virus they could annihilate any planet in a matter of days without the aid of weapons. All the Grub needed to do was swarm in and literally devour any living thing in their path

A swarm of Grub was a very bad thing. And here he was attempting a rescue, which could provoke the Grub to attack Yor. It was a chance he was willing to take as Carina's face floated through his mind. He hoped it wasn't too late.

Zeth reached the entrance into the lower deck of the ship. He motioned to Corbin to let the others know they were heading in the right direction

The walls of the Grub ship as well as its exits were covered with webbing that the Grub used for cocooning their young once the first molting had been completed. Since several hundred eggs were implanted at a time in a host, it was easier to use the entire ship as a nursery for the larvae

As the warriors walked down the hallway, they passed half eaten carcasses that had been brought to the lower decks to preserve the flesh in the cooler temperatures. It was a disgusting sight, however Kaden barely acknowledge it. He was focused on getting to his Breeder

They stopped abruptly at another entrance. Cutting a small hole into the webbed doorway, Kaden peered out and noticed about twenty Grub Drones preparing new hosts in breeding sacks in order to hang them along the other corpses. The only difference these hosts were alive.

Most were human females and some were Zen males. He had heard the planet Zen often condemned their most violent criminals to death by turning them over to the Grub for hosting. The thought was enough to make his stomach turn

There were about six in all being prepared and he felt anger burn his gut knowing that the females would be used in such a horrible manner. It was too late to save them. At this point the only thing he could do was kill them out of mercy.

Nal appeared beside him. “There are twenty total, all worker drones."

Corbin nodded, “Easy enough then. On your order Dar Kaden."

Kaden signaled the other warriors, using three fingers to indicate when to charge. When the last finger went down, Kaden and Nal burst through the doorway and instantly engaged the startled Grub. Immediately Kaden felled three Grub at once

The gauntlets he wore on his forearms were loaded with three deadly razor sharp twelve-inch blades. The blades retracted and sprang out with muscle pulses that Dreg warriors had learned to perfect. As the three he decapitated fell to the floor, two more charged him baring their sharp talons that were filled with fatal poison. They expanded their mandibles and hissed at him

Using his locks, Kaden whipped his head around and wrapped two locks around one of the creature's thin neck, while he faced the other and sliced him in half, twisting his body away from its lethal talons

The momentum of his body forced his locks to tighten around the others neck and he yanked his body back snapping the Grubs neck before releasing his lifeless carcass and letting it slump to the ground

Around him the other Dregs and Prince Nal were making quick work of the remaining drones, until all of them had been slain. He then turned to see the hosts. The pain on their faces told him what he had to do.

Nal looked over at him and nodded in agreement, knowing without words that it was the only merciful thing that could be done. One by one he killed the hosts trying to cause as little pain as possible. Although, he knew that the pain they were in from being eaten alive from the inside out was far worse than any he could inflict

He indicated the dead Grub littering the floor, “These were easy to defeat, but as we make our way to the central cocoon where Grath resides, they Grubs will be much harder to defeat."

They cut their way through the webbing into another room filled with more hosts and feeding larvae

Zeth grimaced at the sight.

Adjusting his gauntlet he fisted his left hand and aimed towards the hanging bodies. With a slight flick of his wrist, laser fire shot out from an opening in the center of the gauntlet and incinerated every single host and larvae in the room.

They continued on through hallways filled with drones, which they were able to defeat. As Kaden had stated, the further they got to the main control center of the ship, the stronger the Grub became. The fighting lasted longer and the number of Grub increased.