Chapter 3: Fight!

Luis pressed himself harder against the cold metal wall, his heart hammering wildly against his ribs. He bit down hard on his lower lip, forcing himself to stay completely still, not daring to make even the tiniest sound.

His eyes were fixed on the scene five meters ahead, and what he saw made his blood run colder than the void of space outside.

The thing wriggling inside the torn-open torso was no ordinary insect.

It was a pale, milky-white beetle-like creature, roughly half a meter in length. Its shell looked softer and thinner than the ones he had seen earlier, almost translucent, allowing faint glimpses of its twitching internal organs beneath.

Six spindly, sharp legs protruded from its sides, each tipped with a claw that gleamed like polished steel. At its front, two long, whip-like antennae swayed back and forth, sensing the air, while its mouthparts worked rapidly, producing those wet, sickening crunching sounds.

A juvenile? Or a different type entirely? Luis thought, his grip tightening until his knuckles whitened around the plasma weapon.

"Commander, analysis complete," the System whispered directly into his mind, keeping her voice low so it would not carry.

"This variant is classified as a White Burrower. They are smaller but more aggressive than the standard soldier beetles. Their shells are weaker, but they are faster, more agile, and their claws can cut through standard alloy plating. They also have a highly sensitive sense of vibration and air movement."

"Great~ just what I needed."

"So it can hear and feel even if I hold my breath."

He slowly raised the weapon, his movements slow and controlled, compensating carefully for the lack of gravity. If he fired now, the sound and the flash would definitely alert it, but if he waited, it might finish its meal and wander directly into his hiding spot.

No time to hesitate. Two hours of oxygen left, and every minute counts.

Luis steadied his aim, lining up the narrow slit of the muzzle with the creature's exposed underbelly, its weakest point, according to the System's quick scan.

Pshhh!

The shot was silent, just a soft hiss of energy.

The blue-white plasma blade shot forward, piercing straight through the floating corpse and slamming directly into the White Burrower.

Screeeech!

A high-pitched, ear-splitting shriek echoed through the corridor, sharp enough to make Luis's teeth ache. The creature was thrown backward by the impact, its body convulsing violently as it tumbled away from the body.

A smoking, clean hole had been burned through its midsection, and pale, viscous fluid oozed out into the air, forming floating globs in the zero-gravity environment.

But to Luis's horror, it did not die instantly.

The wounded creature spun in the air, its legs thrashing wildly, and those long antennae whipped around until they locked onto Luis's position. Its small, black eyes glinted with pure, feral rage.

"Damn it! It's still moving!"

Before he could fire a second shot, the White Burrower pushed off against the wall with all six legs and launched itself straight at him like a living projectile.

It moved much faster than he expected, its body twisting and turning in the air with unnatural ease.

Luis ducked instinctively, kicking off the floor to drift backward. The monster's claws slashed through the spot where his head had been a split second earlier, scraping sparks from the metal bulkhead.

The force of its swipe sent Luis spinning uncontrollably backward.

"System! Any weak points besides the belly!?"

"The joints of its legs and the base of its antennae are unarmored! Its head shell is thin as well!"

"Got it!"

Luis aimed again, but this time the creature did not give him a clear shot. It darted left and right, using the floating debris and pipes along the corridor as cover, closing the distance rapidly. Every time it moved, it released that same high-pitched clicking sound, a warning that it was preparing to strike again.

Pshhh!

He fired twice in quick succession, but the agile monster twisted away, the plasma blades missing by mere centimeters, burning holes into the wall behind it.

Energy indicator dropped to 20%! Luis glanced at the panel on the weapon and felt a jolt of panic. If I miss too many times, I'll be left defenseless!

The White Burrower saw its chance. It launched itself upward, then pushed off the ceiling, dropping down toward Luis from above, its claws spread wide and its mouthparts opening to reveal a sharp, needle-like proboscis.

Luis had no time to aim properly. He raised the weapon and fired almost blindly, but at the same time, he grabbed onto a pipe beside him and swung his body sideways like a pendulum.

Pshhh!

This time, luck was on his side. The plasma blade caught the creature's right front leg at the joint, slicing it clean off.

Screeeech!

Another scream of pain echoed. The creature veered off course, spinning in the air as it lost its balance. Dark fluid sprayed out from the severed limb, floating in the air like dark bubbles.

"Now!"

Luis kicked off the wall, propelling himself forward. He closed the distance in an instant, his mind clear now that the fight had begun, there was no more room for fear, only survival.

He raised the weapon and pressed the muzzle directly against the side of the creature's head before it could turn around.

Pshhh!

A short, concentrated burst of energy pierced through the thin skull. The White Burrower convulsed once, twice, then went completely rigid. Its legs curled inward, and its body went limp, floating motionless in the air.

Luis exhaled a long breath he felt like he had been holding for minutes, his chest heaving. He drifted backward, keeping his eyes on the corpse until he was sure it was truly dead. Only then did he check the weapon's status 10% energy remaining.

"Just enough to finish it off, that was way too close," he whispered, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. His heart was still pounding, and his arms felt slightly weak from the tension.

"Commander, excellent reaction and execution," the System commented, her tone showing a hint of approval.

"Your movements were unrefined, but you adapted well to the zero-gravity conditions. This is the first step toward becoming a true commander."

"Save the praise for later," Luis replied, glancing at the two floating corpses and the floating globs of blood and fluids.

"We still have a long way to go, and this thing was just the smallest fry. If the bigger ones are twice as tough, I don't want to imagine it."

He pushed himself past the remains, trying not to breathe in the stench any longer than necessary. He wiped the weapon against his suit to clean off the slime, then gripped it firmly once more.

"System, confirm the route again. Did that noise attract any more of them?"

"Scanning now~ three sectors ahead show increased movement, but nothing is approaching our immediate location yet. The path to the Central Lift remains clear for the next three minutes."

"Three minutes? Then we move faster!"

Luis stopped drifting and began to pull himself along the handholds mounted on the walls, moving much quicker than before. The fight had awakened his adrenaline, sharpening his senses.

He could hear every small sound, see every shadow more clearly, and his body was slowly learning how to maneuver in this strange weightless environment.

As he turned the corner of the intersection, he saw the corridor stretch out ahead, dimly lit by those same flashing red lights. Further down, large double doors marked with glowing symbols came into view, Central Lift Station.

"We're getting close."

"If we can get into that lift, we skip most of the dangerous sections."

But as he drifted closer, the System's voice suddenly turned sharp with warning.

"Commander! Alert! Two more lifeforms detected ahead! Same signature, White Burrowers! They are moving fast, coming from the direction of the lift!"

Luis froze, raising his weapon immediately. Sure enough, from the shadows near the lift doors, two beetles emerged, their antennae twitching wildly as they caught the scent of blood and movement.

They were tla meter big, bigger than the one he had just killed, moving in a pair, their movements synchronized.

"One was hard enough, now two, and only 10% power left!" Luis gritted his teeth.

"System, any advice?"

"Target their antennae first, disrupt their sensing ability. Use the walls and ceiling to change direction unexpectedly. In zero gravity, momentum is your greatest advantage and your greatest weakness."

"Understood!"

The two creatures spotted him instantly. They let out a series of clicking sounds and separated, one moving low along the floor, the other drifting high near the ceiling, trying to box him in.

Luis didn't wait for them to strike. He fired once at the lower one, but missed on purpose, the shot made it flinch, giving him time to kick off the wall and shoot upward, aiming at the antennae of the upper monster.

Pshhh!

One antenna was severed, spinning away into the darkness. The creature screeched, its movements becoming erratic and disoriented.

The lower one charged immediately. Luis pushed off the ceiling to dodge, the claws scraping just centimeters from his chest. He twisted in mid-air, lined up the shot, and fired, direct hit to the leg joint.

Pshhh!

Only 5% energy left now.

The second monster, still half-blind, lunged blindly. Luis ducked, grabbed one of its legs, and used its own momentum to spin it around, slamming it hard against the metal wall. Before it could recover, he pressed the muzzle against its head and fired the last of the charge.

Pshhh!

The light from the weapon flickered and died. The indicator went completely dark, out of energy.

The second creature slumped against the wall, lifeless.

Luis floated there, breathing heavily, his hands empty now that the weapon was useless. He looked toward the lift doors, now just twenty meters away, and smiled bitterly.

"Just in time~ and now I'm unarmed again. Perfect."

"Commander, the lift control panel is accessible. I can unlock it immediately," the System said.

"Then do it! Quickly!"

As the doors slid open with a soft hiss, Luis glanced back down the corridor, listening intently.

The sounds of fighting had definitely traveled far. He could already hear faint clicking noises echoing from deeper sections of the ship, more were coming.

He dove into the lift just as the doors began to slide shut, sealing him inside.

"Set destination for the upper mid-decks, full speed!"

"Confirmed. Moving now."

As the lift hummed to life and began its ascent, Luis slid down the wall, his legs finally feeling weak now that the danger was temporarily gone. He looked at the empty weapon in his hand, then up at the ceiling, knowing that the worst was yet to come.

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