The Orion Project (Rewrite) (indefinite hiatus)

Chapter 16

Hydros stood frozen in fear at the sight of the Queen. It was even larger than the Atlas that brought them here. He looked at his rifle with hopelessness.

There's no way. A Queen of that size has probably been around over a thousand years!

     He was yanked out of his stupor when Vick pulled him back, just in time to avoid the Queen from impaling him on the end of its leg. They ran to the Hornets, watching as the horde bowed down to the Queen. They moved out the way, seemingly to let it stretch as though it had woken up from a long nap.

      The Queen shook its body like a dog shaking water off its fur. Seven spikes sprang up on its back, each covered in bones, almost like trophies. Skulls and claws adorned the spikes in an almost ornate manner. Hydros motioned for his men to fall back as the Queen surveyed the corpses of her children and fellow horde mates.

        Hydros surmised that they must have pissed her off as she let out a blood curdling screech that made them all cover their ears through their helmets. She spat out a wide net of ilk, trapping three of Hydros' men along with one of the Hornets. It melted through the vehicle, causing it to explode. Their armor barely kept them alive. His men tried crawling away but to no avail as the Queen began to feast upon them as they burned alive. Her mandibles taking large chunks out of them. They dripped with blood and flesh as she moved her attention to the rest of the squad.

"Fall back! We need reinforcements!" Hydros bellowed.

"I've already called in the Atlas sir! It'll be here so-" Vick was cut off as a violent barrage of plasma assaulted the Queen and her horde. She screamed in agony, her horde crawling on her to try and act as a shield. The Atlas hovered above them, raining a hellfire upon her.

"Hunter! Light her up!" Hydros ordered as he open fired.

"On it!" He fired off three rockets, hitting various parts of her body. She shook off the Arachnids that caught fire and was trying to put out the fires on her legs.

       The rest of the squad joined in, lighting up the forest once more. Vick tapped a few buttons on his wrist, starting the remaining Hornet. The armor on its front shifted into something resembling a spear and he sent it crashing into the nearest leg. It pierced through her leg and stayed there like a arrow.

      The Queen squealed and tried to shake it off. Hydros pointed at it and his squad focused their fire. The little vehicle exploded, taking away one of her legs along with it. She stumbled back, crashing into the side of the cave, crushing some of the horde on her back. 

"I think we just pissed it off Sarge!" Hunter called out.

The spikes snapped and cracked, grotesquely moving up and out from her back. They extended out before bending and pointing straight at them. It was like she had just grown seven more pairs of arms, as sharp as spears, that could impale them at anytime.

"Take cover!" Hydros shouted.

The Queen began rapidly moving towards them, completely ignoring the Atlas above. Her horde scurried across her, shielding her from the continuous plasma fire. She swung each arm in unison, digging up large chunks of dirt for every time she missed. The few who were unlucky enough to be caught were immediately brought before her mandibles and consumed in an instant.

"We need to leave sir! We won't be leaving this place alive if we stay!" Kal said.

"Fall back! We need to regroup! Atlas! Get ready for a hot pickup!" Hydros said to the pilot.

"Yes sir!"

     Arcturus seemed to be gliding across the ground, his hands shoved in his pockets. He watched the scene unfolding before him with boredom. He was never one to take on these kinds of assignments. He liked going it alone, the thrill of it kept him on his toes and it enhanced his senses. Working with others, usually, yielded poor results from him as he found the missions too easy and boring to even care.