One cannot believe in light, but not in dark

Adam ducked his head as he stepped into the communal bathroom. The quick sealing hatches might have saved their lives during the last fight, but he was getting tired of feeling like a playing duck or ding. Even with enhanced reflexes, he still wasn't used to being this huge. There were a half dozen new dents in his head and more broken trinkets or busted stanchions than he'd care to admit. It was this clumsiness that led him out of the master bathroom, just off from where Katerina was getting some well deserved rest, anddown to the main level. It didn't matter anyway. The ship was huge for four people and the chances of running into someone else here at this hour was-

The sight of Sam's prizewinning ass almost made him walk into a wall. It was a ripe, jiggling peach, lightly dusted with soapy suds and just begging for his touch. His mouth watered at the sight. Last night with Katerina, he'd been the perfect gentleman, which of course meant his erection this morning was even angrier than usual. Sleeping, just sleeping, all night next to his gorgeous stacked aunt had been pure ****, but it seemed her daughter was her to finish him off. Just not the way he wanted.

"Oh hey, Adam." Sam called from over her shoulder. "Glad you're here."

"You are?" Were they skipping straight to the make-up sex?

She held out a lump of soap. "Wanna get my back?"

Adam didn't think he'd ever gotten out of his clothes faster. He was in the warm steamy communal shower with his cousin in under five seconds, lathering up her trapezius in under ten. His cock was begging him for a reunion with the rest of Sam's body. He nearly jumped out of his skin, when Sam pushed back with her hips ever so slightly. The sensation of touching bare cock to her backside, felt like pure electricity. He couldn't help it. He moaned. Sam purred in response, her hips pressing back firmly to gently swallow his painful erection.

"Say, I think I missed a spot on my front, just below my belly button, would you?"

She barely got the words out of her mouth, before Adam was smearing his soap covered hands across her tight stomach.

"Careful." Sam moaned as his fingertips grazed her labia. Adam could feel the heat leaking out of her tight quim, but when he reached down to caress it, she stopped him. "Not ....yet. Here." She said as she dragged his hands upwards. Not that he complain. Sam's breasts were pert and firm, so different from the mountains the rest of the Carter women possessed, but no less perfect.

"You're being bad Adam." Sam lied. Her delighted giggle and the set of feminine hands dragging their hips together told another story. His cock was nestled between the fleshy half moons of her rear, and she was clenching it reflexively.

"That's it. Get me nice and clean, cuz." Sam moaned.

Sam soon abandoned her grip on his hips to run her fingers through his hair. Hips grinding a slow circle. Adam wanted so desperately to align his weapon with the dark star of her asshole and finally penetrate her again after far too long, but Sam seemed content to **** each other.

"Sam." Adam groaned.

"Uh?" Sam grunted.

"You're such a little tease."

"Uh huh." He could hear the smile in her voice.

She worked him up and down now. Adam's dick trapped between the delicious firmness of her glutes as she stroked him off. She'd made it clear that he couldn't go south of the border, so Adam contented himself with gentle strokes from navel to nipple. Guiding her up and down on his shaft. He could feel the millions of microscopic little Adam's in his ball, **** to get out.

And then, it was gone. Painful, cool air and no sexy little cousin grinding on his cock. He shot Sam a glare. 'Really?'

"Lay down." She growled. No sooner had Adam's head hit the floor, before Sam squatted over his face. "You know what to do." She said as she cupped her breasts above him.

Adam tore into her warm cunt like it was breakfast. He licked. He kissed. He blew. Hell he even bit. Not gently either, not after that teasing. It didn't matter. Sam LOVED it all. In seconds she was writhing and moaning out her climax above him. Adam drank deep as his sexy cousin ground her sweet pussy into his mouth; she smeared the tangy juices across his face. Marking him for her property.

As she stood up on wobbly knees, Sam actually giggled when Adam playfully snapped his teeth at her. "I'm still hungry."

"I...(gasping breath) can barely .... walk."

"Well then maybe you come back down here and..." He waved to his straining flagpole

Sam bit her lip, one hand lightly tracing her belly, just below her navel, before shaking her head. "I'm good." She grabbed a towel. "I really needed that."

Adam gaped at her. "You can't just leave me like this!" His poor cock felt like it might explode.

She actually blushed. "I don't wanna waste my free pass."

"Wha- Free pass?" Adam reached for her, but she danced around him.

"This makes us even!". She called back from the door, still giggling.

"I don't want to be even, Sam!" Adam's words chased her into the hall.

---

Kat was working in the medbay when Adam stalking past her open door, soaked and agitated. "Adam?"

He skidded to a halt, almost lost his footing, then recovered with a grimace. "Have you seen, Sam?"

"No. Is everything all right?" Kat looked him up and down. She could watch the water drip off her half naked nephew all day. Stop it girl, now's not the time. "I'm glad you came by, I'd love to go down on you later."

"What?"

Kat flushed. "I meant, go out with you-I want to explore you- WITH you." She took a breath. "I want to accompany you when you go on your scavenging trip." Kat mentally worked over the preceding sentence, judged it free of double entendres and **** innuendos. 'In your endo'. She couldn't help herself. She giggled. Puns were always a weakness with her.

"Oh." Adam gave her a level look, his mind finally seeming to catch up to the conversation. "Yeah, whatever you think. I got to find Sam, she..."

"You two are back to your old playbook I see? Did she put superglue in your shampoo again?" Kat smiled, remembering the fierce back and forth rivalry from their youth. It was nice to see some things never changed.

"No, she-" Adam cut himself off with a strangled expression, that could only mean one thing- sex. Kat wasn't going to pry. They were going to have to deal with the romantic web they found themselves in later. No use trying to sort it all out now.

"I see." Was all Kat said. There was a very awkward pause that followed. "Well-

"You don't have to ask me for permission, you know." Adam interjected. "Sam's wrong. I'm not trying to be the captain."

"Why not?" Kat asked. To which her beloved nephew just sort of shrugged. Boys these days. "You've been on your own for a few years, so maybe you've forgotten, but we can't just float from crisis to crisis without a plan. We need leadership."

"Miss Fox and I never needed to boss each other around."

Kat stomped down on a rising flame of jealousy. She would not behave like a schoolgirl with her first crush! Curious how she didn't feel that same green-eyed monster when she thought about Adam and Cindi, whereas Adam with her daughter- she shivered. She would unpack those particular emotions at a later date.

"People need to be led. They WANT to be led. Even headstrong mules like my daughter. They like a plan, structure, knowing things are in their place."

"Sam does not want me telling her what to do." Adam blanched. "Not in any aspect of her personality. Trust me, she prefers to be in the driver's seat."

"Have you ever given her any other option?" Kat probed.

"What? Like try and control her?" Adam paled at the thought.

"Control is what weak men do to women they fear are stronger than themselves." Kat admonished her nephew. "A strong men leads, and has the confidence that a women will follow. She builds him up, and he shelters them both. He may make the decision, but she still has a voice, a woman can be a trusted counsel."

"The way you talk about it, it sounds almost organic. Symbiotic." Adam mused. "And when did we start talking about ....relationship....things?"

"It's all the same stuff, hun. Relationships, romantic or not, are two people, coming together to form a third person." Kat recited. "That doesn't mean the two people disappear, but someone has to protect this new person, to look out for it. If the woman trusts that her man's true ambition is the protection, the elevation of this 'new person', if the man trusts that woman can give him insight that no one else can, then they truly are one."

"You sound like you've had some experience with this. Have you ever..." Adam trailed off expectantly.

"No. But I've glimpsed it. And it is powerful Adam."

"And you think Sam would go for all that?"

"Don't underestimate my daughter." Kat's tone turned fierce. "She has depths and layers that you could not even imagine. You would be surprised at what Sam desires. It can be powerful. Freeing, to give up control. But it requires a bond of absolute trust and unconditional love to put your life and choices, in someone else hands. The question you should be asking is not, doesn't my daughter want this, it's are you worthy of her, Adam?"

Adam squirmed under her pointed stare, but Kat pushed on relentless. She was caught up in it now.

"You're not a master. A woman must choose her submission. Acknowledge her place at your side, each of you part of a greater whole. That is the difference between control, and leadership. When will you step up and lead us, Adam?"

Adam gaped at her, his mouth worked wordlessly, trying to find some reply. Kat tossed him a softball.

"Do you think it would be a good idea for me to accompany you outside, hun?"

"Yeah-" Adam caught Kat's sharp look. "I mean- Yes? Yes. You should come with me. I could use your help."

"Of course, Adam. Just tell me when to meet you by the airlock."

---

Taking it all in, Ya Fen was creepy as hell. Adam knew the history, hell he'd reread every scrap of information he could find recently, but it hardly did it justice. It was weird. Quiet beyond quiet. Barren. An empty shell, so still that the sight of it made your eyes water. The Confederates had been the ones to purge it, not that it mattered, the SOP was the same for either fleet. Blockades, quarantines. Tactical nukes to contain outbreaks, then evacuations followed by a nuclear bombardment large enough to create a perpetual winter. They didn't bother to glass the surface, just starve every living thing into extinction. It didn't target the Typhons, it targeted their food. And then the Typhons themselves starved.

Only, having seen the files his Aunt had found on Thiidian, Adam wasn't so sure that was the case. If Subject Alpha could survive down there, who was to say there weren't a fun ravenous monsters hidden away in their underground lairs here as well? It was a disturbing thought, and from the way his Aunt peered into every shadow in the half ruined buildings around them, he wasn't the only one who shared it.

They still had the hoverbike from Thiidian, lashed to the back and dragging on the ground was a half shredded piece of armor they planned to use for a sledge. Cindi had come out to see them off, but she'd brought a wish list longer than he arm. She was nearly hopping from foot to foot in anxiety, looking for all the while, like she wished she'd never left the cockpit.

"All right, let's have it." Adam said as he finished tying the sledge off. They'd be moving like a fat drunk pig, but they could move. Cindi handed the flimsy to her brother. Adam's eyes got wider and wider as he scrolled.

"A ferromagnetic lathe? Industrial grade materials printer?" Adam felt his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. "A water cooled, 10,000 watt, argon laser cutting station with liquid nitrogen tempering? Cindi, what the fuck?"

His sister put her hands on her hips, her indignation momentarily overpowering her fear. "With this stuff we could set up a fabrication bay in one of the old..." She shuddered. "-Orgy rooms. We could keep the Invader running with just a few basic materials. Unless you think, this is the last time we'll take damage." Her chin pushed out defiantly, daring him to say otherwise.

"That's great and all, but how are we supposed to carry it, even with the sledge, that cutting station has got to be at least five hundred kilos. I don't think you want me cutting it into smaller pieces either." Adam waved his plasma cutting torch for effect. He and Katerina had each grabbed one to speed their salvage efforts.

Cindi shot a quick glance at their aunt before replying. "Well...I think you might be able to handle it,if you didn't take your Halcyon dose." The words came tumbling out in a rush at the end.

Kat reacted faster than he. "Absolutely not! That dose is the only thing keeping you normal, Adam! This is not the time to play around with medication!"

"We're already doing that! You're not a doctor. You don't even know what that stuff is doing to him!" Cindi retorted.

"Without it, he can't control himself!" Katerina cried. "He could be a danger to you, to himself."

"Adam and I got along just fine without it, before we met up with you Aunt Kat." Cindi met her Aunt, stare for stare.

Adam tugged his sister on the arm, but she refused to budge.

"Maybe you should let someone with a bit more ...experience handle Adam's needs, Cindi dear." Katerina's words had more than a hint condescension. Adam got the distinct impression of being a piece of meat, locked in a tug of war between two lionesses.

"That's funny." His sister's eyes blazed with righteous indignation. "Cause from where I'm standing, it seems like you're scared to be around him, unless he's all doped up. Why don't you step back and let me handle my brother's needs? After I make him nice and safe for you, you can sit and read a book together!" Cindi bit out.

Adam grabbed his sister and threw her over his shoulder before she could throw more gas on the fire. He hauled her around a corner before dropping her in front of him.

"What was all that?"

"I don't want you taking that stuff anymore! I see how it hurts you. You can just be yourself. I can handle it. I did last time!" His little sister whined.

"Cindi." Adam began gently. "The last time I was myself around you, I almost killed you!"

"I was fine!"

"You said 'no', Cindi! And I didn't stop." He reminded her.

"I didn't mean it!" Cindi pleaded with him.

"Cindi, I don't even know if I could have stopped." Adam admitted. "Without the BB, without the medicine, I don't feel in control. I don't feel like me."

"So what? You just keep taking poison for the rest of your life and hope it's not rotting your insides or something?" Cindi demanded furiously, eyes welling up. "It's not fair!"

"When we get to Constantine-

"That's not right either!" Cindi stomped her foot in agitation, her voice breaking as her face turned blotchy. "I want you to be YOU, not stuck full of nanotech that we don't understand! I want my brother, even if he's a little messed up!"

"Cindi-

"How can you ever learn to control if you don't try? Just this once. Please. You can do this. I know you can." Cindi pleaded, those big blue eyes were even shinier through the tears.

Adam was torn, his Aunt's words had seemed so wise just hours ago, but how does one trust and listen to TWO different women with opposite opinions? Clearly this love duo dodecahedron he'd made for himself wasn't going to be simple. And at least this time, he was going to have to leave one of them unhappy.

"You can even fuck her, if you need to." Cindi squeaked.

"What?"

"Aunt Kat." Cindi looked mortified, her voice dropped to a whisper. "I know you need it and I'm not...we can't...if you need to."

"Cindi."

"We know you hooked up with her before."

"Cindi!"

"And Sam and I trust you. We know its just something you're trying to get control of. I'm not jealous. Neither is Sam."

"CINDI!"

"Sorry. I know, I know. It's not the time!" Cindi looked up at him hopefully. "What do you say? Trust me?"

Adam looked down at her, sighed. It wasn't easy being someone's hero. "Of course. Just let me tell Aunt Kat. And maybe you could apologize?" She nodded, but she barely kept herself from skipping on the way back. Kat gave them an questioning eyebrow, Adam figured she probably heard most of their conversation.

"We'll bring the Halcyon with us and I'll take it as soon as we get back." Adam's tone was firm, and to his surprise, Katerina simply nodded her head in acceptance.

Cindi looked back and forth between them, her eyes narrowed and mouth pursed in suspicion. "Sorry." She finally mumbled, still wary of some double cross.

Adam climbed onto the bike, his Aunt just behind him, she gripped him tightly around the waist. "I'll keep him safe, Cindi." It sounded perfectly innocent, but his sister's lips twisted into a sour sulk.

Adam fired the ignition and the bike rose up to hip height.

"Wait!" Cindi cried, before she grabbed Adam by the collar and planted a kiss on him that he felt in his bones. One of her hands slid through his hair, while the other wrapped around the back of his neck, dragging him closer. She purred into his open mouth before diving her tongue inside to explore his own. By the time it was over, Adam had to catch his breath. Cindi pulled back, though oddly enough her eyes looked past him, with a challenging stare.

Yep. He was a piece of meat all right.

---

The bike was incredible. Fast and responsive, just like her remembered from riding with Sam. Even towing the sledge, it was still a treat just to watch the scenery blur by, especially with Katerina burrowed so pleasantly into him. Maybe there would be time to play around with this thing at some point?
"You should really see this!" Adam called back. The wind whipping through his hair. Katerina moaned into his back wordlessly. Clearly not a fan.

The hours passed quickly, they scavenged, they hauled, they went back for more. It was on the fifth such run, when Adam felt the Halcyon wear off enough to try and dig out the laser that the incident occurred They were over 2 KM away from the ship, when he felt it. The tiniest tug. So soft and gentle Adam could almost think he imagined it. But he felt it again, stronger this time.

"What is that?" He called back to his aunt, but she was in no mood to answer. Adam checked his pad and aimed the bike at the site they suspected would have their laser, an old refinery complex. Hopefully sheltered from the worst of the deterioration that had rotten this planet. He put the odd sensation out of his mind and focused on the feel of his Aunt's hands on his chest.

She had a way about her, that was for sure. She had a warmth that he found most appealing. It was like sitting in a sunbeam. And her hugs were the stuff of legends. She was so unlike the rest of them, so open and healthy, he only hoped he wasn't dragging her down into the muck where he usually resided. Of course that wasn't his only hope, for the past few hours, he'd been increasingly wishing she used a different part of his body for a hand hold. Interestingly enough, Kat seemed to have similar thoughts, her head wasn't just buried in his back to block out the sight of the ground, she was positively drinking in his scent, nose sniffing away. And her breasts seemed to be pushing into him more than was strictly necessary. As Adam slowed the bike to a halt, he wondered if he was going to act on that permission his sister gave him? But before he could offer, his Aunt opened her eyes and looked around in confusion.

"Adam. Where have you taken me?"

"What do you mean? We're here." Adam replied, twisting to look back at her with no small amount of lust. But his eyes wariness, killed the mood fast. She stopped gripping him entirely. Her eyes quickly taking in everything around them, the half collapsed roof of an old subterranean sports arena loomed in front of them. Adam blinked in confusion. Wait that wasn't right.

"This isn't the refinery, Adam." Katerina looked at the map on her pad. "We passed that four klicks ago."

"No, I just..." Adam looked around in confusion. He'd known they were going the right way. He'd felt it. Only that didn't make any sense. But the tugging feeling...He realized it had grown until he felt it in his whole body now. A pull so strong, he could nearly hear it as a voice in his head. 'Come over here.'

This was wrong. Very wrong. And yet, he couldn't fight it. "I have to go inside."

"What? No!" Katerina exclaimed. "Adam you're scaring me."

"I'll just be a minute." Adam said absently, his thoughts already pouring into the darkness. He knew, in his bones he knew what was in there. He could feel it. And yet, that thought didn't disturb him. He knew it was supposed to. That he was supposed to feel disgust or fear or hatred, but all he felt was need. He needed to go inside. He was at the threshold when his aunt finally threw herself in front of him.

"It's waiting for me inside." He tried to explain.

"What is?" His aunt demanded, but she knew. He could see it in her eyes. She darted a glance at the halcyon in his hip pouch. Adam gave her a flat look.

"Wait out here, Katerina."

She took a deep steadying breath. "No. I promised Cindi, I'd keep you safe. If you're going in, I'm going with you. Just don't let go of me." Taking his hand, she followed him as they plunged into the pitch black cavernous space. Adam couldn't see much more than a few blurs, but he didn't need to, the Instinct and his need guided him through the maze of hallways, collapsed tunnels and broken walls. They pushed deeper and deeper, the air great thick and rank, untasted by life for countless years. Katerina whimpered, several times, her hand tightened on his and he knew she was on the verge of demanding they go back, but Adam kept dragging her forward. At last, he could feel it, the need had spread out before him into a slow, steady heartbeat. His 'brother' was inside. Resting. Waiting for the time to live again. Adam would awaken him.

"Wait here." Adam commanded and dropped his Aunt's hand. He had dissipated into the inky blackness of the room before she could even react.

"Adam." She hissed. "Adam. Where did you go?"

He ignored her. The walls hers thick with webbing, most of it dried and desiccated, but some small strands still fresh and living remained. They reached out to touch him as he passed, flashes of memory filled his mind, birth, ****, spreading the glory of their race. He saw through their eyes as they came to this world, hungry for prey. They consumed. Indulged. Metastasized. Until their glory was the only light left shining. As it always was. As it would always be. They were like a tidal wave, dangerous on their own, but merely a piece of an endless ocean that rose up to swallow entire species. As each living strand touched him, he saw back deeper and deeper, to the father of the one sleeping before him, to its father before that, and further still; a chain of ancestors stretching back farther than he could see, hunts and reproduction, the legacy of his people. How glorious they were, as they spread. How many they were and would be again. He felt his mind begin to fade, the memories threatened to swallow him whole; to shatter the mind of 'Adam', whoever that was. Fighting would only bring pain and failure. They were the beginning and the end. To live was to die. It was the natural order of things. Existence was no circle, spiral or curve. It was a flat line from creation to destruction. Branching. Reconnecting. But always moving in one direction. And at each ending, they were there. This was their place. Their purpose. The Typhons were the end of everything.

The monster crouching in front of him opened its eyes. Muscles that had laid dormant for decades slowly came back to life. A handful of strands fell away from its skin as it stretched to its full height, a bit shorter than he was. He? He. He. He. The word tasted strange, as if it must contain some deeper meaning, but instead it merely rang empty. He was he, no more, no less.

Don't listen to them! A voice in his head cut in. He ignored it. His brother had awoken. The hunt would resume. The glory was almost upon him. The strands had nearly wrapped his entire body now, comforting, soothing away his doubts and troublesome thoughts.

"Adam." A prey was here. She had come with him, he realized. That was good. His brother was hungry, they would devour this prey, but no matter. There were others on the surface. One for each of them. The troublesome thoughts inside his head grew louder at the idea. So loud even the strands could not sooth them away. Fight this!

His brother moved, lazily slow, circling the prey. He did not like this. His brother should not play with the prey. It did not deserve that. The strands reminded him that the prey deserved nothing. They were nothing. Only his brothers were real. If his brother wished to slake his lusts before indulging his hunger, so be it. The prey would provide. It is going to **** and eat Katerina.

Adam shook his head. Who was Adam? You are. No. He was he. But still, perhaps his brother could be persuaded to find other prey?

That is not the way, the voices told him. They were screaming now. No. That was the prey. The darkness lit up with her plasma torch. His brother had taken a deep slash across his face before he snatched it out of her hand. The voices explained that this was not good or bad. Merely the way. Their wisdom did not sound so compelling as Katerina tried to crawl away, whimpering in fear and pain. His brother pounced on her and her whimpers turned to screams. "Help me Adam!" She begged.

The doubting voice had faded, the strand soothed him. It promised him glory and an end to pain. It promised him....him....

"Adam." The pretty prey sobbed. Her hand reached out for him, somehow able to sense he was close even in the pitch black. She nearly reached him. Her hand stretched, fingers straining, even as she writhed to get free of his brother's embrace. And then her sobs were silenced as his brother bit deep into her flesh. He could have sworn he felt sad, but that was impossible. To each a beginning and an ending. The strand touched every part of him. It became him.

...

..

.

And yet, the dissenting voice returned one final time as a beggar, seeking to be heard.

What is your name?

He was he. The strand was absolute. There could be no other way. And yet...Adam was he?

He needed to listen. _Who? _Adam. He. The strand grew insistent, voices growing in intensity as they tried to drown out all dissent.

You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He. You are He,

YOU ARE HE!

The voices scoured him clean, he was an empty vessel. A shell for their glory. The world went silent, even Katerina's whimpers were gone. There was only the void. But from those depths came a question. And at last he understood, it was not a question at all.

It was a choice.

Who are you?

"Adaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam Carter!" Adam screamed his own name as he tore his way free of the strand.

He tackled the Typhon looming over his aunt and threw it aside. The creature was smaller than the one he fought on Thiidian. He could sense its weakness. It roared a challenge, Adam drowned it out with a bellow of his own. It sprang at him, all lethal speed and murderous bulk, its fangs and claws poised-

Adam snapped his hands to its neck and drove it to the ground. He ignored its feeble thrashes and scratches, instead he **** his fingers into its mouth and gripped its jaw with one hand, the other stabbing into its eyes, and tore its jaw clean off. As the blind monster tried and failed to hiss its misery, Adam reached into his pouch and stabbed it with Halcyon. He watched it seize and writhe for one more moment before diving to check on his aunt.

Katerina was bleeding only from a few places, but most concerning was the silvery ooze leaking from her neck. He could smell her body going into reproductive overdrive. Her eyes were closed, every molecule of her being dedicated to fighting off the urges planted by that bite. Adam grabbed another vial of Halcyon- his last- and gently stabbed her in the forearm. Katerina arched her back and her eyes sought him out.

She tried to reach her pad, but her hands were shaking to badly, instead she whispered. "Chem cocktail number 1."

Adam punched it in, and heard the snap release as her body was flooded with whatever was inside. To his relief, his Aunt went slack, a step from her seizures a moment before. Satisfied that she was stable for the moment Adam turned back to the monster as it pathetically tried to crawl away with a body that was barely cooperating. Still, he knew that stuff wore off.

Adam grabbed the adolescent Typhon by the leg and flipped it on its back. It's face had neither fear or malice written upon it. It was blank. That was fine. He didn't really care about its feelings anyway.

Adam growled down at it, then smashed its knee until the joint snapped inward. It was going to hurt Katerina. His Katerina. The Typhon thrashed in pain, still unable to do more than exhale from its gaping face hole as its broken leg jutted uselessly to the side.

"Does that hurt?" Adam asked it coldly. "Maybe you should walk it off?"

Adam trotted back to Katerina just in time to help her to her feet. "Slowly, slowly." He cautioned.

She clung to him as she rose. But when he offered his forgotten revolver to her to finish the creature off, she shook her head. "Help me get it to the surface."

"Can't we just kill it down here?"

"We need it alive, Adam." Kat explained. "This may be our only chance to study it. If there's a cure. This is it."

Adam wanted to argue, but after what just happened...

"I'm so sorry I-

"Stop." Katerina put a finger on his lips. "You saved me. I don't know what those things were doing to you, but you saved me. Thank you Adam."

As they prepared to leave, Adam was supporting his aunt and dragging the nearly catatonic Typhon by the broken leg; she suddenly stopped him.

"Give me your torch." He handed it over wordlessly. Kat lit it up, illuminating the thousands of strands, some still reaching desperately for Adam. She ignored them, instead she started a half dozen fires in the refuse piles across the room then retreated to the door with Adam. She watched with savage satisfaction as the fire consumed the room and began to cook the strands.

"They killed our family Adam." Katerina said as they watched the blaze. "I was so young I barely remember, but your mom saw a bit of it. There was a minor infestation on Sirius Prime. It got a few neighborhoods. They caught it quick. But not quick enough. They took your grandparents, our cousins, aunts and uncles. Our home was destroyed. We lost everything because of them."

She looked at Adam, hazel eyes burning with a fire of their own, "Your mother promised me we'd make a new family and a new home. And we have. But I'm making you a promise. We'll get **** for what these things did to our family. I swear we will."

---

The trip back to the ship was mercifully uneventful. They even stopped in, at Katerina's insistence, to grab the laser for Cindi. They were overdue however, and both girls were waiting for them upon their return. When Sam saw her mother's bloody wounds, her relief quickly turned to concern and she dashed forward to clutch at Katerina, her face nearly white. Cindi followed close behind, to add another hug to the back. They were content to ignore Adam right until they noticed what he was dragging off the sledge.

Sam, pushed herself between the Typhon and the other women, and leveled her plasma rifle at monster. She was just about to squeeze off a shot, when Adam stepped between them.

"What the hell is your problem? It almost killed my mom!" Sam demanded. "Why did you even bring it here?"

"I asked him to." Kat tried to pull her daughter into another hug, but Sam stepped back like she'd just been bitten.

"I don't under-understand?" Sam looked at her mother like she'd never seen her before.

"We need to know more about these creatures if we're going to stop them. Help your cousin too." Kat explained. She turned her gaze to Cindi. "This may be the key to reversing whatever metamorphosis infected Adam. With some study, I may be able to eliminate his need for Halcyon, just like you wanted."

Cindi looked distinctly uncomfortable as Sam swung her gaze over to her next. "That's great, Aunt Kat." She managed.

Sam looked her mother dead in the eye, all concern gone. "I'm not letting that thing on the ship, so it can **** us to **** in our sleep!"

"We'll take precautions." Kat told her daughter. "But this is important and...." She trailed off as Sam started laughing derisively.

"Sorry. It's just, listening to your bullshit always makes me laugh." Sam chortled, though she certainly wasn't smiling.

"Watch your tone, young lady!" Kat snapped.

"Or you'll what? Kill me? Get in line. This thing has got dibs." Sam nodded to the Typhon weakly trying to crawl away. Cindi looked away from it, disgust and fear at war on her face.

"I already have a containment area in mind that will serve well. This is an unprecedented opportunity." Kat countered.

"There's that little glimmer of truth." Sam remarked acidly.

"What is it now?"

"This isn't about saving Adam. You don't even think Adam CAN be saved."

"Are you the scientist with advanced degrees now Samara?" Kat's question was hair shy of being a taunt.

"No. But I'm a full on expert on your bullshit. I have lifetime work experience knowing when you're feeding us a line. It's all for our own good. This is important. You got everybody fooled. Even yourself, mom. But not me. You want this thing onboard for your own reasons. Test it. **** it. Whatever the fuck you want to do to it, it's not about Adam, so don't go giving him false hope. And don't put the rest of us in danger to satisfy that part of you that always HAS to know the answer to everything."

"You're right about one thing. I am curious to understand this creature. I have a thirst for knowledge, its a trait I wished we shared. But you seem content to wallow in mediocrity."

The words hung in the air for a full second. Adam and Cindi exchanged wide eyed looks. Neither of them knew what to do.

Sam's eyes widened for a split second, before they narrowed to slits. She dropped the rifle back to its shoulder strap and pulled her electroblade free. She walked over to the crippled Typhon and started hacking like a madwoman, her vicious glare daring anyone to tell her to stop. Seconds later, the monster was limbless in addition to blind and jawless.

Sam turned back to her mother, her body caked in Typhon blood and gore. "You don't have to thank me, but I probably just saved your life. Not bad for a mediocre disappointment of a daughter."

---

Adam avoided the others after that. He stopped off at the medbay just long enough to dose himself with Halycyon, then spent most of the next hour, hauling in the last of the salvage and making a few quick repairs. He'd just ducked back inside to test the cameras he'd replaced when Cindi came on the shipwide.

"Hey guys. There's another ship headed right at us. I think they found-

Cindi's voice cut off, and in its place came the same cold high-pitched voice he'd heard in his nightmares for weeks.

"Surrender Subject Alpha-09 or we will kill you all."