Sigma 16 - Chapter 20 – Unwanted Guest (Patreon)

[Warning: An unidentified creature is attacking Bootstrap Module. Sentinel Turret appears to be ineffective.]

A roar vibrated through the structure. Whatever made it sounded angry.

Talia knew why. “The turret is just pissing it off!”

She was lucky most of the suit prep was automated and it was waiting for her to pull on. Despite taking about as much time as it had when she’d been escaping her crashing ship, things continued to escalate outside, and it seemed like the creature was trying to shake her Habitat apart.

Maybe that was exactly what it was trying to do. As soon as the airlock cycled, she rushed upwards to her makeshift hatch and poked out onto the reinforced railing she had built.

A large, gray four-legged creature the size of a car came into view as it backed away from the Bootstrap Module. Its legs ended in a series of forearm long sharp claws and its skin seemed to be made from some type of hardened chitin. Long, dangerous looking spikes protruded from its head and back and random angles.

The Sentinel turret whirred, and then a series of hypersonic cracks filled the air as the device pelted the creature with projectiles.

A roar proceeded another crash, right into the module at ground level. Right where the decontamination chamber was. If the repeated impacts knocked something loose or broke a weld, it would undo all her work and she’d have to redo her new habitat!

“Stop that, you stupid animal!” Her shout was lost in a flurry of chaotic metal crunches. Instead of backing away, it had begun to headbutt the module’s side repeatedly.

Talia leaned over the side of the scaffold’s railing and pulled out her multi-tool. It buzzed to life and her HUD reported it was set to maximum power discharge as she confirmed her lethal intent.

A blue beam filled the space between them before a liquid squelch and whoosh of flesh being flash fired filled the air. Rather than killing the thing, it darted backward and let out a horrendous screech of pain. The sentinel turret opened fire again, but instead of paying the weapon any mind, the monster turned its short snout and fangs up towards her.

“Shit,” Talia muttered under her breath as she raised her multi-tool and aimed for a second shot. The creature stared at her, and she got a good look at its eyes - two glowing orbs that seemed to be filled with rage.

Her second shot glanced off its back, eliciting another angry screech. The third went wide as the creature jumped to the side faster than its bulk suggested possible. It was suddenly bounding forward and then it leapt straight up into the air.

Straight for her.

She jumped back just in time to miss being rendered by the thing’s claws, but the railing and scaffold were not as lucky. Metal shrieked in protest as it was sliced and torn apart as the creature fell back to the ground.

[Alert: Creature is resistant to current weapon output.]

“Neo! Do something to help!” Talia shouted.

[Notice: This unit is located in User’s pre-frontal cortex. It is physically unable to assist User in combat.]

The creature rolled back onto its feet before glaring back up at her. Talia scooted backward off the railing, only to find that her foot had been lodged between two metal rails. A hateful growl erupted while she struggled to free herself. It landed beside her, and she raised her multi-tool at the same time it pulled back a limb to claw her.

The confrontation was aborted when her RSU-7S emitted a whirr and then slammed into the alien’s side, sending them both flying off the edge. One of the creature’s legs got caught in the scaffolding and suddenly the entire structure that she had spent ample time reinforcing tore away in a metallic screech as the welds popped and bolts came loose sending the entire mess—including her—straight for the rocky ground below.

The jarring impact left her dazed, but her suit’s impact gel cushioned most of it. A yellow flashing icon on her HUD warned her about damage, but since it wasn’t red, she ignored it. A metal plate covered her and the sound of the creature fighting rose in volume. It had a hold of her ATV and was rolling along the ground with it, claws scraping against metal in an attempt to gut the vehicle.

Except the RSU-7S didn’t have guts and wasn’t an animal, the tires were run flat solid synthetics, and while the creature’s claws left gouges in the metal, it wasn’t killing the high-pitched horn the vehicle was blaring back at it.

[Notice: Alien fauna is currently distracted. This unit recommends retreat for User safety.]

“Screw that. We don’t have anywhere to retreat to!” Talia yelled. The scaffolding had fallen around her like a cage, and a hasty plan formed in her mind. She took careful aim and fired at the alien’s flanks. Her shot connected, eliciting a shriek while burning away more of the chitin-like skin on its flank.

Talia’s heart pounded as it released the ATV and landed on its feet, turning back toward her.

“That hurt fucker? Come gets some more!” Talia taunted. She didn’t need to continue. It bounded straight towards her.

She fired another shot, scoring a hit on one of its legs. It almost faltered, but regained its balance. Just as it reached her, she jumped back.

It crashed into the metal scaffold tubing, claw ended appendages struggling to swipe at her in a mad fury. Metal bent inward and groaned as it struggled to halt the alien’s mad fury.

The mode on her multi-tool flipped instantly, and then she sprayed a sheet of liquid Durasteel over the thing’s face.

It reeled away immediately, falling to the ground, then scrambling to escape. She stepped forward, grabbing a length of steel that had come loose and threw it like a javelin as hard as she could. The exoskeleton assistance propelled it much more powerfully than she expected, and the creature spun in the air as the metal cracked against the creature’s side.

It couldn’t shriek because it had inhaled the liquid metal; its face continued to sizzle as it seized on the ground. She stepped out of the metal ruins of her walkway and aimed at its head. The second lethal-mode burst put an end to the alien’s writhing.

[Notice: Threat neutralized.]

Talia’s chest heaved as she caught her breath. She kept her multi-tool aimed at the creature as she walked a circle around it. The Durasteel coating she’d sprayed had melted through its skull and caved in its head. The sight made her stomach feel queasy, or maybe it was the crash from the sudden adrenaline rush.

Not wanting to waste the effort, she switched her multi-tool to scan mode and did another circle with the scanner active.

| Cortex Inc. Credit Value: +500 |

| Cortex Inc. Credit Balance: 645 |

[Notice: Due to damage, only half the value has been earned. Please locate and scan a fully intact specimen to receive full credit value for this species.]

She felt incredulous that Neo thought she’d get one intact without dying. “I am not sure how that’s going to be possible.”

[Informative: Scans indicate that this creature has a highly adaptive metabolism and regenerative capabilities. Its skeletal structure contains large amounts of elements that consist of Advanced Alloys and High-Conductive Materials. It is recommended to completely destroy the body to prevent potential revival.]

She stared at the carcass. It was hard to imagine that anything could revival or regenerate from having its brain burned through and destroyed. It had been hard enough to deal with one of them. What if there had been more than one?

“Right,” Talia muttered, taking a step back and switching her multi-tool to its highest intensity setting. She aimed at the creature’s body and activated deconstruction mode.

It took nearly ten minutes to dissolve the entire corpse, several hexagon resource blanks clanking on the ground as she worked. When she checked their contents, it was clear what was holding up the process: each hexagonal ingot was a hundred units of pure Advanced Alloy or Hi-Con Material.

It was nearly enough to finish the fabricator repairs!

Once she was done, nothing remained of the once fearsome beast.

“I need a damage report and we need to focus on the fabricator,” Talia said quietly as she turned to look back up at the damaged catwalk.

[Affirmative: User should focus on restoring Bootstrap Module functionality as soon as possible.]

[Status]

| Suit AI, NEO: Level 1 |

| Health: [85% (Reduce Exertion Levels to Improve)] |

| Oxygen Level: [0% (Switched to atmospheric filtration)] |

| Suit Power Level: [48%, [Batteries (x4)]] |

| Hazard Protection: [100%] |

| Nutri-Paste Reserve: [100%] |

| Suit Upgrades: [Survival Tool, Exo-Skeleton Upgrade, Drone Control Upgrade, NCS Cannister MK1] |

| Inventory: [Survival Ration Bar x2], [Flare Gun], [Medi-Gel Cylinder],

[Datapad], [Batteries (x6)] |

| Located Equipment: [Battpack Array (Charging)], [Survival Fabricator (Idle)], [RSU-7S (Damaged)], [Fusion Cells (x11)], [QCD-2P (Damaged)], [Sentinel Survival Turret (Operational)] |

| Control-Link: [Cortex Scan Affiliate], [RSU-7S], [QCD-2P], [Bootstrap Module] |

| Bootstrap Module Status: Partially Operational; Habitat Compartment Pressurized and Sterilized; Fabricator Inoperative; Decontamination Chamber Fully Operational. |

| Cortex Inc. Credit Balance: 645 |