Freyr gulped, looking into the black eyes of the beast. It had stalled just outside of the glow of the torch she had aimed at the floor, and appeared to be waiting for her to do something. Shifting the light ever so slightly upwards, she noticed exposed cartilage between the top of its legs and the thorax, which presented a potential weak spot. She also observed significant scar tissue around the edges of the human face looking straight at her. It was like the face had grown from the insectoid head not long ago, in a not too pleasant transition.

She vaguely registered the scaled alien talking somewhere in the dark. But none of that concerned her right now; the only reason she was face to face with it was to ask one thing: “David?” she ventured. Her voice was wobbly and high pitched. “David, it’s Freyr. Is...is that you?” She took a few steps toward the creature as it tilted its head to one side. “Who...is David?” A wet, crunchy voice replied to her. “He...he’s my husband. Your face reminds me of him.”

After a couple of seconds, the creature laughed. Freyr could hear tools rattling on a shelf nearby. “They’re mine.” It replied. A glow of hope lighted in Freyr's head, mixed with incandescent anger. She rushed forward, until her torch clearly illuminated it’s large ant-like frame. “You let them go!” She screamed. The creature growled, revealing sharp knife-like teeth. It's black eyes bore directly into hers. “I have a better idea.” It squelched. Freyr felt the tendrils grasping the back of her legs a split-second before they pulled her off her feet. The ground rushed up to greet her as she fell over, her outstretched arms taking most of the impact.

Suddenly the warehouse was lit up by energy rounds, with dozens impacting the creature before it reared up on hind legs and screamed. Slithering round onto her back, Freyr spotted Major Osman behind her. In the flashing glare she could see her shouting, but it was drowned out by the deafening ‘drdrdrdrdr’ of her weapon. The creature charged toward the Major, stepping over Freyr but then dragging her behind by her legs.