Mars Time: 16:20, February 18, 2295

  Deep Warren, Section 12-Lingam, Red Rabbit Warren

  The tunnels changed.

  Sigrun smelled it first in the air. It was something so thick it stuck to her throat when she breathed. Not the stink of rust and old concrete, but something else. Something that made the back of her neck prickle.

  Behind her, H?kon's tiny nose twitched from his perch on Xin's shoulder. "Smells bad-bad, Pappa. Like sick-messy."

  "Yeah, buddy. I smell it too." Xin's voice carried a careful tone. His Nucleus Watch glowed faint green as he checked the display. "We're entering Section 12-Lingam. The deepest mapped section."

  Sigrun barely registered the words. She was too busy watching the walls. The concrete here looked wrong: slick with moisture that wasn't water. Too thick. Too sticky. Her fingers tightened on Járn's handle, the leather grip warm from her palm. The double-bladed axe hung heavy as she drew it, its Damascus-pattern steel catching the bioluminescence in ripples.

  Claw marks scored the tunnel ahead. Deep ones. Not from Bone Fiends.

  Something bigger had been here.

  Her heart kicked faster. She couldn't explain why the marks made her stomach drop, couldn't piece together what they meant tactically. She just knew that they made her muscles coil tight.

  "Ugh, Sigrun?" Xin's footsteps paused behind her. "You okay?"

  "Keep moving." Her voice came out rougher than intended. "Stay close."

  The feeling crawled along her spine. Someone or something was watching them. She swept her gaze left, right, up. Nothing. Just empty tunnel and those slick walls that seemed to breathe.

  The chamber opened up ahead.

  Sigrun stopped at the threshold, Járn raised instinctively. Liquid pooled on the floor, still wet, still fresh. But more accurately—

  White liquid. Sticky, glistening. Arranged in some weird texts across the concrete.

  She stepped closer. The texts was scripted shapes she couldn't understand. Foreign symbols that hurt to look at too long.

  Her limited intellect couldn't process what she was seeing, couldn't make sense of it all.

  "Wait." Xin moved past her, pushing his glasses. He crouched near the symbols, careful not to touch the white substance. "This is Devavā?ī script."

  "What?"

  "The kind of psionic tongue built on top of a text system in ancient Buddha's time. I know some vocabularies, and I've heard about Worm Witches using them, too..." His finger traced the air above the symbols, not quite touching. "It's spelling something. That's..."

  Sigrun's stomach dropped.

  "Your name," Xin finished, eyes widening. "This text here is literally pronounced 'Sigrun'."

  The chamber suddenly felt smaller, and colder somehow.

  "Someone knows I'm here. Someone who knows my name…" she muttered.

  "Shiny-thing!" H?kon's voice cut through her panic. The little Diabolisk scrambled down from Xin's shoulder, his scales shifting to curious azure as he investigated something near the wall.

  Fabric. Torn, with some strange knotwork woven through it. Quantum-blue residue glowed faintly along the edges.

  Xin picked it up carefully, his analytical gaze sharpening. "This energy signature... it's from something powerful." He paused. "But it's hours old."

  Powerful.

  Could it be Skarn?

  Her breathing quickened. Fight or flight instincts warred in her chest, making her grip Járn so tight her knuckles went white.

  Then she heard it.

  Chittering. From ahead.

  And behind.

  "Xin." Her voice came out steady despite the adrenaline flooding her system. "We're being herded."

  The enemies burst from the walls.

  Two Bone Fiends, mandibles spread wide, claws scraping concrete as they charged. Larger than the dog-sized Martian variants—these were closer to wolves, their chitin plates thicker. But what made Sigrun's stomach drop was how they moved. Coordinated. One went left, one right.

  Sigrun's body moved before thought formed. Járn already mid-swing, thermal edge screaming through the air. The blade bit through chitin, spraying black blood. The Bone Fiend shrieked and stumbled to the side.

  Too easy. Like it was merely trying to distract her.

  The realization hit a heartbeat too late.

  Something massive dropped from above.

  The impact shook concrete. Dust exploded outward. A brown figure landed between her and Xin with a sound like breaking stone, immediately cutting them off from each other.

  Sigrun's Nucleus Watch flared urgent, blue holographic bubbles filling the space above her left wrist:

  [Target Identified: Unknown Hostile - Radi-Mon Humanoid Variant —> Draug, Male]

  [NOTE: Subject contains the following genetic markers: Nordling, Primorian, Fenris]

  Nearly two meters of mutant muscle stood before her. Something chitinous gleamed and fused with the flesh of his , organic plates fused to what had once been human flesh. His head—if it could be called that—was insectoid. Mandibles framed where a mouth should be. The sockets where his eyes would be glowed red, with a want that made her skin crawl.

  A thick tentacle appendage coiled from his left side, moving with disturbing fluidity. In his right hand, he gripped a curved blade that looked grown rather than forged. The bone and metal hybrid katana released some kind of crimson mist as the Draug held it.

  "Sigrun Fjeld." His voice was clipped. Each word precisely measured like a tactical calculation. "You are required for the V?xtr."

  The word hit Sigrun like ice water.

  V?xtr. The breeding machine. Mother's machine.

  Her blood turned cold. Memories of Europa flooded back—the screams from the processing centers, the rumors of what happened to captured women, the reason Ivar had sacrificed everything to get her into that cryo-pod.

  "Another Fenris pervert after my body. It never gets old." The words came out harder than intended, covering the terror clawing up her throat.

  "Primarch Skarn promises that you will come to no harm. The V?xtr does not kill. It merely awakens." The Draug spoke, his timbre deep.

  "What's a...Vuhk-stir?" Xin's voice cut through, genuinely confused. His glasses reflected the dim light as he stood next to Sigrun, holding the deep green 10mm Magnum with both hands.

  The Draug's mandibles clicked—a sound that might have been amusement as he looked to Xin. "A sacred Fenris technology that allows one chosen woman to become the crucible of our army. But a lesser being such as yourself need not understand."

  "Well, that sounds like badly written smut, and frankly deeply unethical." Xin raised his 10mm to chest height.

  "Bug Man want Sky Lady for bad-bad things!" H?kon chirped from Xin's shoulder, his tiny claws gripping the puffer jacket. His scales blazed navy blue. "No touch! Sky Lady FAMILY!"

  The Draug's mandibles clicked again. A sound that might have been irritation. Hard to tell with that insectoid face.

  "Your companions." His amber eyes flicked toward Xin, then down to H?kon, before looking back to Sigrun. "I'd slay them, but you're welcome to have them surrender."

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Sigrun's body reacted before her brain caught up. "Frost, bylgja!"

  Ice erupted from her palm, quantum-blue energy streaking toward center mass. The bolt hit his shoulder—solid impact, frost crystallizing across chitin.

  The Draug barely flinched.

  The ice cracked. Fell away like nothing.

  "Batu Arnesen." He rolled his broad shoulder, mandibles clicking before he continued the untimely self-introduction. "Former competitive duelist at Olympics 2292. Now an Elder Draug in service to Primarch Skarn'."

  "I don't give a fuck about your resume." Sigrun shot back.

  Batu moved.

  Sigrun could barely track him. One moment he stood three meters away, the next his organic blade swept toward her throat in a blur that defied his size. She threw Járn up on pure instinct—

  Metal screamed against bone-blade.

  The impact rattled her teeth, sent shockwaves up both arms. Her feet slid backward across concrete, muscles shrieking as she absorbed force that should have torn through her guard.

  Batu moved first.

  His blade came in fast—a testing strike aimed at her shoulder. Sigrun brought Járn up, deflecting. The impact jarred her arms. He followed immediately with a low sweep that forced her back.

  Fast. Too fast.

  She countered with an overhead chop, putting her strength behind it. Batu sidestepped, his blade coming around in a blur. She twisted, felt the tip score across her side—

  Pain flared. Shallow cut, but it burned.

  "Sky Lady!" H?kon's shriek cut through the tunnel. "Bad dogs coming!"

  The two Bone Fiends recovered from their feint, now rushing toward Xin and the little Diabolisk.

  "Pappa shoot-shoot!" H?kon's scales blazed navy blue.

  Three gunshots cracked in rapid succession. Xin's 10mm barked, enhanced rounds punching through the first Fiend's shoulder. It shrieked and stumbled but kept coming.

  Sigrun couldn't spare attention for them. Batu was already pressing forward.

  His strikes came in calculated sequences—high, low, thrust. Testing angles. Probing her defenses. Each blow targeted joints, pressure points. A duelist's precision wrapped in monstrous strength.

  Sigrun fought back with everything she had. Járn sang through the air, thermal edge leaving scorched trails where it passed through the damp air.

  Their weapons clashed—once, twice, three times in rapid succession. Sparks flew. The sound of steel-on-chitin echoed through the tunnel like a blacksmith's hammer striking an anvil.

  She saw an opening. Committed.

  Járn's thermal blade came around in a vicious arc, catching Batu across the chest. The edge bit deep, cutting through chitinous armor and the flesh beneath. Black blood sprayed.

  Yes!

  Batu didn't even grunt. His mandibles clicked—that sound that might have been amusement—and he pressed forward as if she hadn't just opened him sternum to ribs.

  Behind her, Xin's voice rang out: "Bheda Atisīmā!"

  The Devavā?ī words carried power. Green energy flared around his 10mm. His next three shots hit the wounded Bone Fiend with devastating precision, punching clean through its skull. It dropped.

  One Fiend left. It lunged at H?kon.

  "Skj?ld!" The little Diabolisk's voice cracked with effort.

  Moonlight shimmered, forming a translucent shield just as the Fiend's claws struck. The barrier held. Barely.

  Sigrun caught movement at the edge of her vision. Batu's blade coming high. She blocked, but his tentacle swept low simultaneously—

  Hit her planted leg.

  Her knee buckled. She dropped to one side, barely keeping her footing.

  Too slow. She was too slow.

  Batu's blade came again. She parried but the force drove her back, boots scraping concrete. Her muscles screamed. Every impact rattled through her bones.

  To an observer, it might have looked even—two warriors trading blows in brutal melee.

  But Sigrun's lungs burned. Her arms shook with each parry. Sweat stung her eyes.

  Batu moved like he was warming up.

  She roared, putting everything into a rising slash that caught him across the abdomen. Járn's thermal edge carved deep, opening another gash that leaked black ichor.

  Got him again!

  But even as she pulled back, the chest wound was closing. Chitinous plates knitting together. Flesh sealing like watching a video in reverse.

  What the fuck—

  Batu's fist caught her in the ribs. No weapon. Just raw strength.

  The impact lifted her off her feet. She flew back, crashed against the tunnel wall.

  Everything went white with pain. She slid down the wall, gasping. Járn still gripped in her fist but her whole body screaming.

  "The thermal meter. Did I—" Her eyes found the setting on Járn's hilt. "Dritt!"

  She'd forgotten to turn its thermal function on. The wounds should have been cauterizing, burning through regeneration. Instead she'd been giving him shallow cuts that his body could seal.

  Eleven years ago, she never would have made that mistake.

  Or maybe—her eyes tracked to the wounds that had already vanished—maybe he just healed too fast for the thermal edge to matter.

  She couldn't tell anymore. Couldn't think through the pain.

  "Pappa! Sky Lady falling!" H?kon's voice cracked with terror.

  Behind Batu, the second Bone Fiend lay dead—Xin's precise headshots had finished it. But now both of them stared in horror as Batu closed the distance.

  His tentacle lashed out without warning, wrapping around Sigrun's ankle before she could roll away.

  Pulled.

  Even through the ballistic weave of her trench coat, Sigrun could feel the impact as Batu threw her against the wall. Stars exploded across her vision. Járn skittered from her grip, metal scraping as it slid out of reach.

  She rolled onto her side, hand scrabbling for Skuld at the small of her back. Drew the white shotgun. Her vision swam but she brought it up—

  — and fired.

  Batu deflected the shotgun blast with his blade, chitin armor absorbing the scattered pellets.

  He was on her in seconds. Pinning her. His mandibles inches from her face.

  Then something pressed against her. Something horrifyingly large emerging from between his legs.

  Sigrun's eyes went wide. She looked down.

  A phallus. Impressively sized. Definitively male.

  Her body reacted before her mind could. A flood of sensations she couldn't name—fear mixing with something else entirely. The air suddenly felt thick, sweet-sick. Her thoughts scattered.

  Comfortable. Arousing.

  Wait. No. That's not—

  Her mind flashed with images. His chitinous body against hers. The strength in those claws. His alien engorged manhood worming its way into her intimate passage. Finding pleasure in—

  H?kon's shriek cut through the haze. "Skj?ld!"

  It was rare for Sigrun to hear such precise J?turmál outside the Nordic Commonwealth.

  Moonlight erupted across Batu's eyes. A little moon-like bubble with azure hue formed, but some deployed as a blinding flash rather than protection.

  Batu recoiled, mandibles clicking in surprise. It broke Sigrun out of her trance.

  She turned to see the little Diabolisk's scales blazing navy blue, two tiny claws raised, brimming with quantum blue Lunar energy.

  "Bheda Atisīmā!" Xin's incantation came before three gunshots cracked through the tunnel.

  His 10mm Magnum, enhanced by some sort of AI-assisted targeting, glowed like emerald at the barrel. All three rounds hit Batu's lower back, kidney area. Precise. Calculated.

  Batu's grip loosened.

  Sigrun broke free of the pheromones clouding her mind. Broke free of his hold. She headbutted him, cartilage crunching. Scrambled backward.

  Batu recovered in seconds. Already repositioning. His amber eyes locked on Xin now.

  "Clever prey," he said. No anger in his voice. Just acknowledgment.

  "Sigrun! Get down!"

  Xin's shout had that edge of barely-controlled panic. But his hands were already moving, fingers dancing across the maintenance panel he'd accessed on the wall.

  Sigrun dropped flat without question. It was then that she saw.

  Old Warren infrastructure. Pressure equalization system, perhaps?

  What hacking skill that Xin had must have let him interface directly. Lines of code scrolled across his glasses. "Let me reverse the flow... redirect the valves..."

  The world exploded with sound.

  Sudden decompression. Air screamed out through vents with violent force. Everything not bolted down flew toward the exits.

  Batu, mid-leap toward Sigrun, got caught in the vortex.

  The two Bone Fiends's bodies were literally tore apart. Chitin shattered. Black ichor painted the walls.

  Batu's heavier form resisted. His claws scraped concrete, gouging deep furrows as he fought the suction. But even his enhanced strength wasn't enough.

  Sigrun, prone on the ground, watched him struggle.

  "The emergency bulkhead!" Xin's voice barely carried over the wind. "Yellow-striped lever! Pull it!"

  Sigrun spotted it. Two meters away. She had to crawl against the pressure, every muscle burning. Her ears popped. Debris pelted her back.

  Batu realized what she was doing. "Primarch Skarn has waited a decade. He can wait no longer—"

  Crimson energy flared around him. Sigrun recognized it as Eclipse magic. Was he about to sacrifice his own blood for some burst attack?

  "?ūnyatā ?āntih!"

  Xin's Devavā?ī spell washed over Batu. The Eclipse magic flickered before it was even uttered. Died.

  Xin staggered, his Nucleus Watch flashing warnings. [AP: 110 → 20]

  "No take Sky Lady!" H?kon's tiny voice cracked.

  Something in Batu paused. Just for a heartbeat. A flicker of something almost human crossed his face.

  Sigrun's fingers closed around the yellow-striped lever.

  Pulled.

  The emergency bulkhead slammed down with pneumatic force. Caught Batu's reaching tentacle mid-extension.

  Severed it.

  The appendage writhed on the floor before dissolving into black ichor.

  Silence.

  Just the sound of three people breathing hard.

  Sigrun lay on the concrete, gasping. Her ribs screamed. Her ankle throbbed where Batu's tentacle had grabbed her. Every nerve felt raw.

  "Are you hurt?" Xin rushed over, already pulling something from his pack. "I have the last Medi-Vap from the kit—"

  "I've got mine." Sigrun fumbled for her own Medi-Vap, the aerosol hissing as she sat up to apply it through her mouth. "Thanks, though."

  She looked at him as the healing mist sank into her skin, dulling the worst of the pain. This nerdy guy from nowhere who just outsmarted a Draug. Who saw patterns and systems while she could only see muscles and weapons. Who probably just saved her life.

  She checked her left hand to see her Breacher Shotgun Skuld still clutched there. She let it fold back to its box-shaped compact form as she sheathed it behind her, the hidden magnet beneath her coat keeping it there.

  But something else was amiss—

  "Oh, and…I managed to grab it while we crawled in." Nervously, Xin held up the familiar weapon, both hands shaky grabbing its handle, as if afraid of cutting anyone. Járn's blade had already gone cold and powered off.

  A laugh bubbled up. Short and bitter as Sigrun took the Thermal Axe. "Thank you."

  "Sky Lady okay?" H?kon crawled across the floor, his scales still navy blue with worry. He nuzzled her arm, tiny claws gentle. "H?kon helped! Hurt Bug Man!"

  Something cracked in Sigrun's chest. Suddenly relaxed, her hand moved without much thought, touching H?kon's small reptilian head. "You're good."

  The baby Diabolisk's scales immediately brightened to gold as he made a satisfied trill, leaning in to let Sigrun stroke his back.

  "Oh, that color." Xin scratched his head, chuckling. "It means he feels happy. Something like that."

  From behind the bulkhead, Batu's voice carried clear and calm. "We shall meet again, Sigrun Fjeld. The Primarch knows you're here."

  Moving to her left, Xin helped her stand as she held onto Járn, her injuries now healed. His touch was surprisingly steady, his grip firm, though his hand was admittedly cold—sign of declining health—but she did not mind it.

  "We should move. Find the Zephyrium and get out." She said, settling back to her rhythm.

  "Yep. I've been tracking the signal. We're getting closer. I wonder how many people had made it this far—" He was mumbling again, checking his watch.

  Sigrun realized she was leaning on him more than necessary. Perhaps he was on her, as well.

  Did she just start trusting him?

  Her Nucleus Watch pinged softly, texts above its azure dial.

  "Let's go," she said finally. Her voice steadier than she felt. "Before something else decides to come after us."

  Xin adjusted his glasses. H?kon settled onto his shoulder, tiny tail curled around his neck.

  They moved deeper into the Warren together. Three unlikely hunters.

  Something that might be becoming more than that.