{14:03 PM, 09/07/2024}
Burns POV
As I stared at the convoys prepared for us, my mind drifted toward the harsh possibility: not everyone here was coming back home. Families and friends waved, their smiles glowing with optimism. They didn't know the gravity of what awaited us—or maybe they did but chose to believe in our strength. That belief meant I had to be strong as their captain. I couldn't repeat my last mistake.
John, Rita, Joan, Ken, Rukius, and Martha made up my squad. Only three of them had served in the army, while the rest had come from different walks of life—some driven by circumstances, others by personal conviction. Among them, Rukius stood out. He had graduated at the top of the symbiote training program's first batch, excelling in both physical and supernatural combat. His flame manipulation ability was essential since it was one of the rare things capable of harming negrons.
Ken's sensory extension ability was equally unique; he could heighten his five senses to supernatural levels, allowing him to detect enemies and threats even in near-complete darkness. Rita, on the other hand, had an unconventional but deadly ability—venom synthesis. She could generate and weaponize potent toxins, making her a terrifying opponent against organic enemies like the negrons.
Our mission was clear: locate and destroy the orb, which was theorized to serve as a control node for the negrons. Joe's team shared this task with us. Meanwhile, Six and Nelly's teams were assigned to surveillance, monitoring for potential uncharted outposts. The doctor had developed a breakthrough technology—a psychic connection established through the symbiote in each squad member, ensuring we could communicate with base and track one another if someone went missing. It was a significant improvement over our last reconnaissance mission.
As the passage opened, signaling our departure through the rift, I muttered under my breath, "I'm coming, Kate. Just wait for me." Then, with a firm signal to my squad, we moved out.
Once through the rift, our squads separated, each heading toward their respective objectives. The journey to our checkpoint was estimated to take three days, with another week required for the return trip, as we'd take a longer route to avoid enemy territories.
A total of ten day on Omicron and twenty five days back on earth, due to the time difference of time in both worlds. Contingency plans were already in place for when things inevitably went wrong.
The team was tense; I could feel it in their silence. I wanted to lighten the mood with some conversation, but my words caught in my throat. They needed to process their nerves themselves. No amount of reassurance could prepare them for the monsters we were about to face.
"Hey, Cap," Ken broke the silence, leaning toward me with his usual cocky grin. "How big are these negrons? You've seen them in action, right?"
I glanced at him, recalling his file. Ken was a paradox—his lean, wiry frame belied his sharp instincts and deadly precision. His messy, dark hair fell over his brow, barely tamed by the headband he always wore.
Before I could answer, Martha chimed in, her voice loud and boyish. "Yeah, how big are we talking? I've only ever seen the images from our briefing. Never stood in front of one."
Rita snickered from behind, her voice a low, almost eerie murmur. "Oh, you'll meet them soon enough." She twirled a strand of her fiery-red hair, her eyes gleaming with an unsettling excitement.
I sighed, realizing the mood had finally eased up thanks to Ken. But as I glanced at their faces, I knew I couldn't sugarcoat the truth. "The only thing you need to know is this: when you're face-to-face with a negron, it's kill or be killed. They have no sense of reason and won't hesitate to rip you apart."
The terror that flickered across their expressions told me I'd done the exact opposite of easing their nerves.
Rukius, however, remained silent. He sat with his arms crossed, his stern gaze fixed on the horizon as if lost in thought.
"Hey, Rukius, you alive over there?" Ken taunted, clearly trying to provoke a reaction.
"Nope," Rukius replied flatly, not even looking up.
Ken groaned dramatically. "Come on, man! You've gotta loosen up sometime."
"And you've gotta learn to take things seriously," Rukius shot back.
Their banter was both irritating and comforting. While we needed to stay alert, I also knew that tension would only lead to mistakes.
"Why haven't we run into any negrons yet?" Joan's soft voice cut through the chatter.
I turned to her, surprised. She rarely spoke, preferring to remain in the background. Her quiet nature made her the emotional anchor of the team—shy but deeply empathetic.
"That's probably because they're all concentrated near the checkpoint," I said, keeping my tone neutral. "But don't get complacent. They could strike at any time."
As if on cue, Martha's voice rang out. "Captain, I'm picking up zeta radiations up ahead."
"How many?" I asked, immediately snapping to attention.
"Hard to say… They're clustered, but I'd guess around twelve or thirteen," she replied, her fingers deftly adjusting the device in her hands.
Zeta radiation was the telltale signature of a negron, emitted by their unique biological makeup. Unlike other living organisms, negrons didn't produce heat; instead, their bodies radiated an energy similar to zeta fluid, their primary energy source. This made them immune to most environmental changes and far deadlier than anything Earth had ever known.
"Rukius, Ken, John, you're up," I commanded, preparing the squad for combat.
Rukius responded immediately, leaping from the vehicle—while in motion —without hesitation. Ken and John followed, albeit less enthusiastically. "We're seriously fighting all of them?" Ken muttered under his breath.
"Yes," I replied firmly.
As the negrons came into view, Rukius wasted no time. His symbiote extended from his arm like a living weapon, piercing the first negron's core with lethal precision. Flames erupted from his body as he unleashed his ability, incinerating three more in a single, fiery arc.
Ken, meanwhile, used his heightened senses to maneuver through the chaos. He darted around the battlefield with uncanny speed, his reflexes allowing him to anticipate and evade the negrons' attacks. He struck with calculated precision, his blade finding the weak points in their armor-like exoskeletons. John on the other hand seemed withheld, simply waiting for gaps in their attacks before launching his.
The battle seemed to be going well—too well. That uneasy feeling crept into my gut again as more negrons emerged from the shadows, their movements eerily coordinated. But thanks to the more evolved form of the Z fluid my team had taken, I didn't have to worry much.
"Captain, their numbers just doubled!" Martha shouted, her voice tinged with panic.
I clenched my fists. These weren't mindless predators—they were adapting, learning. The doctor had dismissed the theory of external control, but what I was seeing made me question everything.
Then it happened.
A negron lunged at John, who had been holding back, relying on his weapons rather than his ability. I started to move, but he raised a hand to stop me.
His eyes burned with an intensity I hadn't seen before.
"Oh no… He's gonna do it," Joan whispered, her voice trembling.
John took a deep breath, and the air around him seemed to shift, shadows making their presence from besides him. The shadows elongated, twisting and coiling like living things.
And then, with a single, guttural roar, his ability activated.
"Here it comes, the touch of death!".