Aventus spun on his heel with a speed and precision born of instinct, his phaser snapping up in a fluid motion. His finger curled against the trigger, pulling the slack out with barely a hair's breadth of hesitation. The weapon hummed softly, primed to unleash a searing beam of energy with just the slightest pressure.
The flashlight beam from the phaser cut through the dimly lit room in a sharp arc, illuminating every corner, every shadow, every surface. His indigo eyes, intense and unyielding, scanned for the source of the sound, searching for even the faintest flicker of movement.
The air was still.
The faint glow of the medical bay's overhead lights reflected off sterile surfaces, casting long, static shadows across the room. The beam from the phaser's light revealed nothing but the empty walls and floor, the vent in the corner still sealed tight. No signs of disturbance. No scuttling movements. Just the hum of the station and the muted vibrations beneath his boots.
But the sensation lingered—something had been there. Aventus's breaths were controlled, steady, but his muscles remained tense, his body poised like a coiled spring. He held his stance for a long moment, the phaser trained on the space just behind where he had stood, the trigger primed.
His mind raced through possibilities. Whatever it was had been close—too close. It had exhaled against his neck, warm and deliberate, almost as if to tease or test him. And now it was gone, retreating into the unseen spaces of the station, leaving no trace of its presence but the faint unease hanging in the air.
Aventus stood frozen in the center of the room, his phaser raised and steady, scanning every corner, every shadow, every crevice for the faintest sign of movement. The oppressive silence pressed in around him, the hum of the station's systems and the soft vibration beneath his boots the only constant. His breaths were slow, measured, his indigo eyes locked onto the room as though daring whatever had been there to show itself again.
Time stretched unnaturally, seconds feeling like minutes as Aventus maintained his stance, his back angled defensively toward the wall. Every muscle in his wiry frame was taut, every fiber of his being ready to spring into action at the first flicker of a threat.
Then, light.
It burst into his vision suddenly, blinding and disorienting. A harsh beam, brighter than the phaser's flashlight, pierced through his focus, aimed directly at his eyes. He blinked hard, his body tensing further as his grip on the phaser tightened. The room around him seemed to warp, sounds becoming muted and distant, like the muffled ambiance of being submerged underwater. Voices—indistinct and garbled—reached his ears, but they felt distant, as though coming from miles away.
The light moved slightly, giving him glimpses of a figure standing before him. A woman, her face partially obscured by the glow of the beam she directed at him. Her posture was calm, professional, but there was a sense of urgency in the way she moved, the way her free hand gestured toward him as if testing for a reaction.
The muffled sounds began to sharpen, clarity returning in bursts.
"...he's… still tense. Lower the—"
"… hearing me? Aventus?"
The words snapped into focus as the underwater sensation faded, replaced by the crisp, cool ambiance of the medical bay. The woman stepped back slightly, her face coming into full view now that the light was no longer aimed at him. She had sharp features, her eyes quick and analytical, framed by a tight braid of dark auburn hair. Her uniform was practical, marked with insignias Aventus didn't immediately recognize.
Behind her, K'Raal's imposing figure filled the doorway, his amber eyes narrowing as he assessed the scene. His ridged crest flared slightly before settling, his gaze moving from Aventus to the woman and back again.
"Aventus," the woman said firmly, her voice calm but carrying a no-nonsense edge. "Lower your weapon. You're safe. I need to know if you can hear me."
The intensity of the moment lingered, the echoes of the clicking and the sensation behind his neck still vivid in Aventus's mind.
Aventus's fingers twitched against the phaser's grip before he slowly lowered the weapon, his movements deliberate and controlled. The hum of the phaser's charge faded as he slid it back into its holster with a soft click. He blinked several times, his dark indigo eyes momentarily unfocused as if struggling to reconcile what had just happened. His breathing steadied, but the tension in his posture remained, his wiry frame still coiled with unease.
Confusion and fear began to seep into his expression, softening the hard lines of his face. His voice, usually calm and measured, carried an edge of vulnerability as he spoke. "I hear you," he said, his words deliberate. He blinked again, his gaze shifting between the woman and K'Raal, trying to find something familiar to anchor himself. "What happened? How long was I out?"
The woman studied him carefully, her sharp eyes narrowing slightly as she assessed his state. She crossed her arms, the insignias on her uniform catching the faint light of the medical bay. "Out?" she repeated, her tone calm but questioning. "Aventus, you weren't out. You were standing here, weapon drawn, scanning the room. We just arrived."
K'Raal stepped further into the room, his imposing form moving with fluid precision. His amber eyes flicked toward the vent and then back to Aventus, his ridged crest rising slightly in what could only be described as wary curiosity. "You've been awake and active since you called," he said, his deep, deliberate voice carrying an edge of caution. "What exactly did you experience?"
Aventus's jaw tightened as he tried to piece together his fragmented thoughts. "I… something was in here," he began, his voice steadier now but still laced with tension. "The sound—clicking. It was behind me. I felt it. Like… like mandibles snapping shut right at my neck." His hand brushed the back of his neck instinctively, the memory of the warmth and the sound still fresh.
The woman exchanged a glance with K'Raal, her sharp features tightening slightly. "Did you see anything?" she asked, her voice softer now but still probing. "Anything unusual besides the sound?"
Aventus shook his head slowly, frustration flickering in his indigo eyes. "No. By the time I turned, it was gone. Nothing in the room, nothing visible." He exhaled sharply, his fingers twitching slightly as if itching to draw his phaser again. "But it was here. I'm not imagining that."
K'Raal's crest twitched faintly as he stepped closer to the vent, his tall, sinewy frame moving with predatory grace. He knelt slightly, peering at the slats with his sharp amber eyes. "Whatever it was," K'Raal said, his voice low and thoughtful, "it's using the vents to move. And it's deliberate. This isn't random scuttling—it's calculated."
The woman nodded, her expression grim but focused. "We'll run a scan of the station's interior pathways," she said, her tone decisive. "If something is moving through the vents, it won't stay hidden for long."
Aventus exhaled slowly, the tension in his wiry frame starting to ebb, though his hands remained loose and ready at his sides. His indigo eyes shifted between K'Raal and the woman, the weight of the situation etched into his expression. His voice, still steady but now edged with urgency, broke the silence.
"Good, good," he said, his words deliberate. "We've gotta find it fast and make sure you know where everyone is at all times." He ran a hand through his dark hair, pushing it back from his face as he shook his head slightly. "If I'm right, someone may already be dead."
K'Raal's amber eyes narrowed, his crest rising faintly as the gravity of Aventus's statement sank in. "You believe this thing has already acted?" he asked, his tone sharp and deliberate.
Aventus nodded solemnly, his expression grim as he met K'Raal's sharp amber gaze. "There's a good chance it's already acted," he said, his voice calm but carrying an undercurrent of urgency. "And if my assumptions are correct, we're dealing with a Vortirrackt."
The weight of his words hung in the air, the low hum of the medical bay's systems amplifying the silence that followed. The woman turned fully from the console, her sharp eyes narrowing, while K'Raal's crest flared slightly, his posture stiffening. "Explain," K'Raal said, his tone measured but laced with an edge of concern.
Aventus exhaled, running a hand through his hair as if to gather his thoughts. "The vortirrackt isn't just some predator. It's a nightmare from the far edges of the multiverse. Pale, slimy skin. Long, sinewy limbs with six joints each. Razor-sharp teeth, claw-like fingers—just looking at one tells you it wasn't meant to exist anywhere normal. And it's not just about the physical threat." He paused, his indigo eyes flicking to the vent before locking back on K'Raal. "They're smart. Insidiously smart."
He gestured to the vent with a subtle nod. "They don't just kill—they hunt, cunningly. They'll test their prey, lay traps, and use their intellect to manipulate and terrify. And that's the real problem. Vortirrackts aren't driven by hunger or survival; they revel in the torment they cause. They'll even learn the names of their prey. Mock them, whisper them telepathically. Whatever they can do to break you before they strike."
K'Raal's claws flexed slightly at his sides, his gaze shifting to the vent as if expecting movement at any moment. "And its physiology?" he asked, his voice steady despite the tension in his stance. "Weaknesses?"
"They're resistant to most weapons, especially energy-based ones," Aventus said, his voice steady but firm. "But they're vulnerable to fire—sustained heat can disrupt their biology. And focused, intense light can disorient them, though only for a short time. They adapt quickly."
The woman stepped closer, her brow furrowed. "How does it move through the station? How did it even get here?"
"Their origins are… dimensional," Aventus explained. "The multiverse is crisscrossed with dimensional pits—tunnels that link realities. A vortirrackt doesn't need an open door to arrive. It can slip through those pits anywhere, even into shielded places like this station. Once here, it uses conduits, vents, anything it can fit through to turn the environment into a hunting ground."
K'Raal's crest rose sharply, his amber eyes narrowing further. "And its behavior? What's its endgame?"
Aventus's expression darkened. "It doesn't just kill to survive. It transforms its territory into a labyrinth of traps, weaving passages through air vents and conduits. One by one, it isolates its prey, hunts them down, and… it toys with them. Torments them. Sometimes it eats them outright. Other times, it uses them for its reproduction cycle."
The woman's eyes widened slightly, but she kept her composure. "Reproduction cycle?"
Aventus nodded grimly. "If it's a mature vortirrackt, it'll release parasitic worms into its victims. These larvae grow inside the bodies of other creatures, bursting out once they're large enough. In a few days, they cocoon into smaller versions of the vortirrackt—fully capable of continuing the cycle. If we're dealing with one of these, and it's already been active for a while, we could be looking at more than one creature soon."
K'Raal's clawed hand rested on the hilt of the weapon at his side. "If you're right," he said, his tone low and deliberate, "then every second counts."
Aventus nodded, his voice calm but urgent. "We need to track it down now, before it has a chance to spread. And we need to know where every crew member is—because if even one is unaccounted for, they may already be gone."