Spot led the way deep into the compound, keeping his nose close to the ground as he went. He stopped at junctions to walk in circles and decide which way to go, before bounding off down the hallways. At one corner he paused to look back, as if urging the others to hurry and follow. Sweat dripped from the men's brows as they struggled to keep up. Blood pounded past their ears and their breaths came short, but Spot wasn't about to waste any time and off he went again, leaving Dane wishing Spot had come with a leash.
After several minutes of frantic sprinting through the compound they managed to catch up with Spot, who was busy sniffing the air at the top of a staircase that led down into a dark basement. The second they reached the stairs, Spot was off again. He descended the stairs slowly, his ears pricked. Dane couldn't suppress the shiver that raced up his spine, gripping the rifle tighter as the darkness began to surround them. Many of the basement lights had long since stopped working, but there was just enough light for them to see by. A hard, green substance lined the walls and floor, resembling the Scutter's armored scales.
Kaidan reached out to run his hand along the rough surface of the wall. “What is this stuff?”
Dane shrugged. “Beats me. This must be the entrance to their lair. We probably alerted them when we powered up the systems.”
Up ahead, Spot had paused to look out over a chitin-covered walkway. He crouched low to the ground, and they all watched as a group of nine Scutters passed by below them, dragging a large bundle behind them. Dane crouched down to peer over the ledge and get a better look. Their haul appeared to be wrapped in the same hard material that covered the basement. Dane squinted his eyes, trying to make out the details in the dim light. It passed under one of the few working lights, and what Dane saw made him clap a hand over his mouth to stop any noise from escaping. A woman's head could be seen at the top of the casing, presumably left exposed to keep the victim alive—presumably one of the Coalition's grunts. Dane turned away from the sight to regain his breath.
“What do you think they're going to do to her?” Kaidan asked.
“Nothing good,” Dane replied. “Come on. I don't want to have to stay here any longer than is absolutely necessary.”
Kaidan nodded, and the group travelled slowly across the walkway, being careful to make as little noise as possible. Their path took them parallel to that of the Scutters below, leading them into what was once a large storage room. There they stopped in front of what appeared to be a large blob of green slime. They took the human they had been dragging with them and placed it next to the blob before backing off a few meters.
Dane watched in horror as the blob began to move, two tentacles extending from its body to encircle the helpless human. He closed his eyes, unable to watch as it drew her into it, but he was unable to block out the sounds of screaming as she awoke and realized what was happening to her. The cries for help were soon muffled by the gelatinous mass, the hard shell encasing her quickly disintegrating into nothingness, followed by her skin, muscles and bones.
“It's over,” Kaidan whispered, his eyes having never left the horrific scene. It had digested her in a matter of seconds, leaving behind not a single scrap of waste.
Dane opened his eyes upon hearing Kaidan's words, thankful that it was over with quickly—thankful that the nameless woman hadn't suffered for long. He went to continue moving along the platform, not wanting to stay in the room any longer, when Kaidan's hand caught his shoulder.
“Wait, something's happening,” he said.
The blob was moving again, the back of its body curling around to the side. Its color was darker there, opaque where the rest of it was translucent. The tail-shaped rear began to undulate in wave-like motions, squeezing out a viscous liquid. The Scutters that had been waiting patiently until then, descended upon it with their mouths wide open as they sucked up the goo through long, hollow tubes.
“It's digesting people to feed the Scutters,” Dane said quietly, before swallowing hard.
“That would explain why there's no animal life on Genera,” Kaidan replied. “They've probably been hibernating down here, waiting for the next meal to arrive.”
“Yeah. We'd better move quick before it's Jace's turn.”
Dane tore his eyes from the feeding frenzy below to find Spot had already begun to wander off. He kept low to the ground, behind what little cover the walkway had to offer, and started to follow. Before long they had come to a dead end, where the walkway had collapsed. It left them with no choice but to drop down to the lower level and continue their search. Spot leapt down, landing gracefully on all fours, while Dane and Kaidan clambered down, their fingers gripping desperately onto what was left of the walkway until they were low enough to drop without injuring themselves.
Spot began to search the area, clearly sniffing for any trace he could find. He stopped at one of the four archways leading off from the room, his ears pricking up as he bolted down the passage.
Dane and Kaidan followed after him, once again struggling to keep up with the leopard's speed. They soon arrived at a cylindrical room, stopping in their tracks as they took in the sight before them. Fixed to the walls were the same hard shells that they had seen the Scutters dragging, and in each of them a blank face peered out. Spot had stopped at one, clawing at the casing. Dane's heart sped up, his thoughts immediately going to the worst-case scenario upon seeing Jace's face, empty and motionless. Jace's eyes began to open, stirred by the sounds of scraping at his feet. Dane let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and rushed towards Jace, slinging the rifle over his shoulder. He began peeling away at the layers of hard shell.
“You came for me,” Jace said weakly, his voice hoarse.
“Of course I did,” Dane replied, pulling away a large chunk of the shell. “What happened?”
Jace shook his head, now able to manage the slightest of movements. “I thought I saw someone human out of the corner of my eye. I stopped to look, and next thing I know these things are all over me.” His head hung, eyes unable to hold Dane's gaze. “There were so many of them, I couldn't fight back. I'm sorry I keep causing trouble for you.”
“Don't apologize,” Dane said, still digging furiously until there was a sudden crack and Jace fell forward into his arms, body sagging beneath him. “Can you stand?”
Jace found his feet, using Dane to steady him. “I think so. They did something to me after I was caught. I couldn't move. Scared the shit out of me. I should be okay now that I've got you to hold onto.”
Spot rubbed his cheek against Jace's legs, craning his head up and purring softly. Jace reached down to stroke the back of his neck. “And of course I've got you too.”
“I hate to interrupt this touching little reunion,” Kaidan said, firing up the flame-thrower again, “but we have company, and it doesn't look pleased that you freed the main course.”
“Main course?” Jace gasped. “You mean...”
“Best not to think about it,” Dane interrupted him, his gaze turning to one of the exits where a group of three Scutters sat watching them. Their jaws snapped, feet stamping against the floor, but they held their ground. Probably awaiting reinforcements. “Let's concentrate on finding a way out of this hell-hole before any more of them show up.”
Kaidan let loose a stream of flames, forcing back the Scutters as Dane made for the nearest exit with Jace's arm draped over his shoulders. The Scutters followed slowly after, staying just out of the flame's reach. Upon reaching the next room they paused, deciding on which way to go next. The answer was decided for them as more Scutter's approached from one of the passageways.
“They're gonna surround us,” Dane shouted above the roar of flames. He reached for his rifle, struggling with only one hand as his other was wrapped around Jace's waist.
“I can manage on my own now,” Jace said.
Dane nodded and took hold of the rifle in both hands, firing a few bursts into the swarm of Scutters. Most of the bullets bounced off their thick armor, but a few managed to find soft flesh to bury themselves in. A single Scutter collapsed to the ground, leaking green slime from a bullet wound that pierced its upper jaw.
“I guess almost anything doesn't include Scutter armor,” Dane said, firing off more bursts to push back the swarm. Another two Scutters fell, but more were joining their ranks by the second.
“Shit,” Kaidan gasped, swinging round to torch a group of Scutters that had crept along a ledge along the wall beside him. “We need to fall back before they trap us in.”
“Left or straight ahead. We need to choose now,” Dane shouted.
Spot, who had been busy sniffing at the exits, gave a loud mew. “Guess that means left,” Jace said, hobbling over to Spot. Dane and Kaidan followed, keeping their backs to the exit and their eyes on the Scutters that seemed to pour into the room.
“Run,” Dane shouted as they reached the passage, firing one last spray of bullets before turning and doing just that. The group bolted through the corridor and up a set of stairs with Spot once again taking the lead. They passed under another walkway, focused entirely on the exit up ahead and staying ahead of the swarm that pursued them through the dark depths.
Dane paused for a moment, turning to shoot down the passage at their pursuers. A dark shadow dropped from above, taking him down to the ground.
Kaidan pulled a knife from his belt and took a step forward to help his Captain when a blur of yellow and black sped past him, tackling the Scutter and sending them both tumbling to the ledge below. Dane sat up quickly, grabbing his gun and peering over the ledge to where Spot was facing down the Scutter. He pounced, his jaws locking around its exposed throat and shaking it until it crumpled in a broken heap. More of them were closing in, backing Spot into a corner.
“Spot!” Jace yelled, watching as the net closed in on him. Dane fired a few bursts, being careful to avoid aiming anywhere near Spot, but from above his bullets could do nothing but bounce off the thick armor plating.
“Can't you do something?” Jace asked, his eyes wide with panic. He threw himself at Dane, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Please, you have to help him.”
Dane closed his eyes and shook his head, unable to bear the sight of Jace's eyes, their sparkle hidden behind a veil of tears. “There's nothing we can do.”
“There has to be something. I'm not going to leave him down here with those things!” Jace's arms shook, holding on tighter to Dane's jacket.
A blast of heat rushed past their faces. Kaidan's flame-thrower beat back the Scutters that had managed to catch up with them. “Look, I'm sorry about your friend there, but I'm running out of fuel here. If we don't get a move on right now, then we're gonna end up as that thing's next meal.”
Dane opened his eyes, his gaze meeting Jace's. “He's right. If we go down there to help, there's no guarantee we can make it back up. Spot came down here because he wanted to save you. He's fighting right now to protect us. We need to go now or all of that will be for nothing.”
Jace pushed away from Dane, anger burning in his eyes. “Well now it's my turn to protect him. If you won't help him, then I'll do it alone.”
He turned to the ledge in time to see Spot diving at another Scutter, breaking through the net that had almost closed in on him. Seizing the opportunity, the leopard sprinted away from them, down the nearest corridor and out of sight, leaving Jace gasping for breath.
“There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry, Jace,” Dane said, gripping his wrist. “We need to go. Now.”
Jace didn't reply, but let the hand around his wrist guide him, his body shaking as they continued toward the exit. Up ahead a shaft of light broke through the darkness, a set of ladders leading up into the main part of the colony. Dane pushed Jace into the ladders first, urging him to climb. He felt as though he had neither the will nor the energy to climb, but with Dane coming up behind him he had no choice but to continue until he collapsed onto the cold metal floor above. Dane and Kaidan followed shortly after, firing a spray of bullets at the Scutters who had reached the ladder and were attempting to climb their way out while the men above attempted to close the hatch. It slammed shut with an echoing crash that made Jace jump and gasp.
Dane crouched by him, wrapping his arms around Jace's chest. “I'm sorry,” he whispered. “I know how much he meant to you.”
Jace let loose a ragged cry and threw Dane's arms off him. “He did it to help you. How could you... How could you just leave him?” Jace slammed his fist into the ground. “There had to have been something you could have done!”
“Jace,” Dane breathed, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I know what Spot did for me, but there was nothing I could have done to help him. I know what I need to do now though. Spot's wish was to make sure you're safe. I'm going to make sure his wish comes true. That's how I'll thank him for helping me.”
Jace swallowed hard and nodded. He took a shaky breath and stood, his eyes darting back to the hatch. Dane worried he might be thinking about trying to go back down and rescue Spot. Heck, Dane would have done it himself—anything to wipe the look of sorrow from Jace's face—but he knew the Scutters would find them, and their deaths would accomplish nothing.
They jogged through the colony, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of the Scutters as they made their way back to the landing zone. Dane radioed in ahead of time, letting the crew know to expect them back. The cheers that followed that message were soon smothered by the news of their loss. Even though Spot had only been with the crew a short time, he had managed to work his way into their hearts.
Alessa was waiting with the cargo ramp lowered when they reached the exit, panting for breath. They collapsed into the cargo hold with heavy sighs, and Dane ordered Aria to get them 'the fuck off this damned planet'. The engines fired up and Alessa lifted off the ground as the cargo ramp began to close.
Jace pulled himself to his feet and watched out of the window as the colony began to grow smaller beneath them.
“Wait!” he yelled. “Down there.”
Dane rushed to the window, scanning the ground below them. To his surprise, he saw a patch of yellow and black stood outside the compound where they had taken off from not moments ago.
“Aria, take us back down,” he said, looking on in horror as a sea of black and green emerged from one of the other exits. “And hurry. Our furred friend needs our help.”
“Sure thing, Captain,” Aria replied, the delight evident in her voice. “Hold on. We're coming, Spot.”
The cargo ramp opened again as they descended upon the ruins, Indra hitting the emergency override on the ship's safety protocol.
“Spot, run!” Jace shouted.
Spot could only manage to hobble towards them, and as he drew closer it became evident why. The yellow fur on his back leg was stained red.
“He's not gonna make it,” Dane said. The Scutters were approaching fast, now coming into sight behind Spot. “Aria, touch the ship down and be ready to lift off on my command!”
Dane grabbed the rifle from the floor and jumped out of the ship before it had even touched down, with Jace right behind him. He ran to Spot and began firing into the Scutters, while Jace lifted Spot into his arms and ran back to the ship.
Dane fired the last of the bullets and turned to run, the Scutters almost snapping at his heels. “Go,” he yelled into the radio as they reached the ramp. Alessa began to lift into the air and the cargo hatch slammed shut behind them. Dane collapsed onto the floor of the cargo bay clutching his chest, his heart beating frantically against the palm of his hand.
“Close one,” he panted.
Jace laid Spot carefully down on the floor and turned to Dane who had pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and was in the middle of standing up. Jace grabbed him by the jacket and pulled him close, their lips colliding before Dane could regain his breath.
“Thank you,” Jace whispered as their mouths parted.
“Thank me later,” Dane replied. “We need to see about saving that leg first.”