King of Stars Volume 1 (An interstellar ATEEZ Hongjoong fanfiction)

Part Eleven: In Which 10-24 Learns the Importance of Teamwork

"Are you certain this is going to work?" Wooyoung panted as he rolled the last barrel to the side of the thruster. Sweat dripped from his brow from the effort as he stood and smoothed back his silver hair.

"There's no certainty in anything only probability," I hefted a plastic barrel over my shoulder. The contents within sloshed from side to side as I walked. "But this is the scenario in which we will least likely die."

It didn't look like my words gave Wooyoung any confidence.

I noticed his reluctance and nodded to the railing up above. "One thing that is certain is if we fail to act quickly our chances of success will diminish."

Wooyoung clicked his tongue at me. "Shit I know what to do. Just don't screw up anything on your end."

"It's impossible for me to 'screw up' as you say. I will always make the correct calculated choices in any given situation. But you're human," I tried to explain to him. "'therefore 'screwing up' is in your nature. Not mine."

Somehow saying this gave me great satisfaction.

Wooyoung gave me a strange look, seemingly at a loss for what to say, and pointed an accusatory finger at me. "If I didn't know any better cyborg I'd think you were being a smart ass." He retreated to the steps up to the perch. Looking at his receding back I noticed a flush of bright red that had crept up his neck and covered his ears.

Once in position and hidden from view he gave me the thumbs up. I closed my eyes and pulled up the blueprints once more. The heat signatures I had seen earlier were making their way to the hangar, no doubt searching for us after slaying their siblings.

I pulled the cap off of the barrel and carefully dumped the contents into the thruster, wary of the splash back. The acid sizzled melting through everything it touched, metal and eggs alike. The ones that had yet to hatch bubbled and writhed, screams of the unborn ringing through the air.

The heat signatures were on the move now rapidly approaching the hangar from all sides. Soon enough I could make out the sounds of them chittering angrily through the walls.

Holes bore through metal and the thruster creaked as it's foundation weakened, acid dripping onto the floor in a steady hiss. Wooyoung and I had already set out a nullifying solution to prevent it from eating through the bottom of the ship.

I pulled two pistols from my waistband and referred to the heat scanner. Reds, yellows, and oranges flooded my view and an alarm rang in my head as the horde of them closed in.

ENTERING BARRAGE MODE

Mind completely focused the world around me became more sharply defined within my eyes. As I waited for targets my arms became taunt, holding the guns steady in front of me I waited for the spiders to make their appearance.

The thunder of hundreds of legs tapping filled the hangar as spider's burst forth from between crevices, under machinery, and out from ventilation ducts. Down the walls and across the floor they ran, hairy bodies clambering over one another as they fought their way in my direction.

With a bang and pop I pulled the trigger annihilating one spider after another.

Many of them leapt through the air towards me with their fangs bared. I fired off my guns and nailed the airborne arachnids with deadly precision.

"Now!" I shouted and kicked the first barrel over. The liquid spilled out over the ground washing away the first line of spiders. It seared through their bodies and acrid smelling plumes rose up from the wave. Some didn't stop in time and hit the acid at a run, legs and bodies dissolving on impact.