Page 73 of Stripped By the Alien

Then the Queen speaks. The sound emerges from deep within her enormous body. It isn't loud, yet it fills the chamber completely. The voice is ancient. It carries the weight of centuries, of Harvests beyond counting, of decisions that reshaped entire worlds. "Approach."

Nobody moves as the Kast flower at Nora’s ear translates it into her own speech.

For a moment, uncertainty spreads through the chamber. The Queen hasn't specified who she's addressing. Several courtiers glance toward me. Others look toward Morr'ak.

Then one of the Queen's eyes turns in my direction. I understand immediately. She isn't speaking to me.

She's speaking to Nora.

22

- Nora -

The Queen's head lowers.

Movement spreads through the immense bulk of her body. Coils of flesh slide across the platform. Nutrient tubes sway overhead. Servants scramble out of the way as entire sections of her enormous form adjust around the simple act of turning toward me. Somewhere beneath the platform, something wet splashes.

The Kast flower at my ear translates a single command. "Approach."

For a moment I hesitate. The chamber has become so still that I can hear the pulse of the Nest moving through the walls. Then I become aware that every eye in the room is fixed on me.

I glance up at Krix'vorr. His expression doesn't change, though one antenna gives the smallest movement. I have a strong feeling that if I stay where I am, the silence will only grow more uncomfortable.

So I walk towards the Queen. The distance isn't great, but it feels much longer than it should. With every step, the smell grows stronger. I'd noticed it when we entered the chamber, though now there's no ignoring it. Something sour hangs beneath the scents of living tissue, nutrient fluid, and strange chemicals.

It reminds me of a hospital ward that hasn't been cleaned properly. Beneath that lingers another odor, older and heavier, something that makes me think of stagnant water and decay. I try to keep from reacting.

From across the chamber the Queen seemed enormous. Up close, she feels closer to a landscape than a living creature. I’m sure entire buildings on Earth could disappear beneath the coils piled around her platform.

Servants of various species move constantly across her body. Some clean cracked armor plates. Others tend nutrient lines. A few carry big containers I decide I don't want to think about too carefully.

The Queen herself is worse. One side of her face hangs lower than the other. Her organic armor is cracked and patched. Pale growths cling around old wounds. One eye looks cloudy. The other follows me with unsettling precision. The contrast between those two eyes somehow makes the whole thing more disturbing.

For the first time since arriving in the Nest, I understand why Krix'vorr seemed uneasy. I imagined a locust basically similar to him, more like a human queen. But this is an ancient biological machine that has survived for centuries and accumulated power beyond anything I can properly comprehend.

I’m starting to wonder if I maybe would have preferred to die in that minefield.

I stop one pace from where the platform begins. The Queen studies me with her small eyes. I study her right back. I may be in trouble here, deep in the heart of the Space Locust swarm. But I’m still a Space Force officer.

The silence stretches long enough for discomfort to creep in. Nobody appears eager to rescue me from it. The locust courtiers remain motionless. An important-looking locust stands beside the platform like a carved statue. Even Krix'vorr doesn't move.

Then the Queen's voice rolls through the chamber, creaky and muddled. "What are you called?"

The Kast flower translates the words instantly.

"My name is Nora,” I reply slowly. A many-stalked creature by the Queen’s head translates to their language.

The Queen remains motionless for several heartbeats. "Nora." She says my name slowly, as though examining it from different angles. "Your species?"

"Human."

Another pause follows. I can feel the room listening. "Your world?"

"We call it Earth." That is about the most I’m willing to tell her about it. Whatever happens, I can’t tell these people exactly where Earth is. They know it’s on the other side of the minefield, but so is most of the galaxy.

One of the Queen's eyes narrows. The movement is small, though somehow it carries more weight than a shouted order. A strange feeling settles into my stomach. The Queen is gathering information for her swarm to plunder Earth and strip it of everything.

"You are fully mature?" the Queen asks.