I stumbled through dimensions as I fled, panicked. Beyond the dread of... whatever that malevolent thing was or had become... I had just killed my lord...

  Those of a lesser caste, they didn't get proper trials, only judgements. Another reason to escape . But... I needed to repair... My...

  I stumbled again. I fell upwards, then back. I needed to be whole again. My... Everything was having problems. Something about that thing was, on a fundamental level, deeply horrifying. I still felt it's hand rolling me apart, helpless...

  But, my command codes... I did a cursory scan, and they were still there, but... different somehow. I wasn't a cryptek, so I couldn't know what had changed exactly, but I knew it changed.

  I left my portal outside of the tomb complex. Just outside where I usually exit in fact. I fell to the dirt on my hands and knees, ragged pits of my chestplate cutting into the dirt. I stayed like that for a bit, then got up.

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

  I had... calmed down a bit. I stood on steadier legs, and went into the tomb. A spider was, once again, doing its maintenance in the area, and it turned when I entered.

  It saw me, and waisted no time in rushing to me. Scarabs swarmed and moved to me, flowing over and on me like a wave. I stood still, waiting for them to do their work.

  While I could have used my natural regeneration, I deliberately hadn't. If there was something seriously wrong with my reactor or the like, I would need a cryptek, not canoptek constructs. But, my internal systems stated it was a simple enough repair, just extensive and time consuming.

  The swarm, well, swarmed over me, observing my damaged state, then repairing it. One scarab entered my chest, preforming delicate maintenance on my abused reactor.

  It took hours of delicate repairs, but finally, I was whole. I paused for a moment. What if... I took this spyder and it's swarm with me... put it underground... did I have the authority?

  I checked my head, and yes. I do. That is... great, honestly. I never wanted to return after this gigantic shitshow. With a simple mental command, we left the tomb. I was heading to my underground lair, I suppose it would be called, when I heard, then saw something genuinely surprising.

  The human ship, or a similar one, had returned.