In Orbit Of Shadows Ch 01

Grey skies met with black nothingness, spanning as far as the eye could see, this planet was yet another bleak expanse of miserable rock. Yet it was either the life of a planet hopper or a life scavenging in bins, clinging on to a life that barely resembled the meaning of the word. Elucia didn't have much choice, her parents died before her memories began and she had only ever known a life within the Frontier. It wasn't all bad, at least she had a place to sleep and food to eat. Yet, the life of a TITAN was far removed from what human civilisation had become.

The end of Earth as it was formerly known came to pass through the invention of the dark matter core in 2238; infinite energy combined with robotic automation left billions of people obsolete, reliant on the huge corporations to share in the profits of the new age; yet it did not come. Whole cities fell into ruin as those that had, left those who did not, to fight amongst themselves, until there was hardly anyone left to fight. Technology accelerated, safe havens for the rich were created and the rest of earth faded into nothing. Yet even these havens were becoming tiresome to those that had created them, they craved more, more power, more life. So, the powers that be saw to the rise of a new field of exploration, planet hopping.

TITAN, was one of the many facets of the Frontier, they loved their acronyms but they really had bent the job to meet the cool sounding abbreviation. Travel, Identify, Track, Analyse and Neutralize. Elucia thought it was stupid, especially considering she had never found a single thing, nobody had, well not really, unless you count the odd single cell lifeform, the life of a TITAN wasn't all it was made out to be. Growing up Elucia had imagined planets full of life, huge trees, mountains, colours you couldn't begin to describe, creatures that had the potential to change their lives, to provide hope for hybrid living or a new world to conquer but the reality was, nothingness. In Elucia's experience planets were nothing but endless rocks, yet she still scanned.

Stood on the top of the highest rock she could find, she lazily scanned the horizon with her HoloLens not expecting to pick up anything on the myriad of wavelengths, frequencies and metrics it displayed through the AR lens. This planet was not flat, but not mountainous either, the rock formation made an undulating landscape of jagged black obelisk-like rocks, like an upside down cave, with each plinth barely the length of her foot across. Moving with any great speed was almost impossible, unless you want to slice your foot open in the process. Each platform was flat yet the sides shined a threatening black, slipping and grabbing onto the edge would be a serious problem, most likely gutting her from head to toe in the process. She had therefore made the sensible decision to stay relatively close to her ship and only go as far as a moderately improved view had provided.

Elucia often found herself lost in daydreams while the HoloLens handled her tasks, longing for the ideal life on Haven and imagining what it would be like to have genuine connections and relationships. Yet, she knew such aspirations were impossible; whether stranded on a desolate planet or confined to her cryopod, this way of living meant that life left her behind. Her interactions during scheduled check-ins on Haven were fleeting moments difficult to build upon, as time passed differently for her in cryosleep. Despite advancements in cryopod technology and genetic engineering that had extended the human lifespan, it couldn't compare to a life spent traveling close to the speed of light, permanently suspended in stasis except for the occasional days spent planet-side, doing a duty as a TITAN. Whenever she returned the people she had met during the last check-in had noticeably aged or their children greeted her instead as they passed on their roles to the next generation. It wasn't like she was incapable if the opportunity presented itself but it rarely did. By all classic standards Elucia was beautiful in a rugged sort of way, she stood at just over 5ft with blonde hair that fell in soft curls until it kissed her shoulders. 19 years of age but with a face that said older; varying gravity levels had that effect on people. The training she was put through from a young age had made her strong, thick set legs and a well-toned torso, topped off with a pair of breasts she despised, too big to fit comfortably within her exosuit, with the only silver lining being the additional back support it provided, otherwise she knew the pain would be unbearable. So, the daydreams were all she had, all she had to cling to, the money she made planet hopping would eventually be enough for a place within Haven but what state it would be in when that time came she did not know, only 8763 more Haven years to go.

She signed, breathing in deeply the oxygen levels on the planet made her chest tingle, too high to warrant wearing the exotank, too low for the exploration to be a comfortable experience,

"Focus." she muttered to herself, scanning the individual rocks in her 360 degree scan, up, down, right, up, down, right, slowly making a circle making sure she gathered the required amount of data. Almost finished and then she could return to her ship, her nonchalance made the sharp beep take her by surprise. She blinked with purpose, pressing the HoloLens firmly against her brow to bring the image into sharper focus. Yet there was nothing. Just the same expanse of black rock stretching endlessly before her. A sharp rap of her knuckles against the machine's side, as if to jog it from some errant slumber, yielded only the same persistent beep. Frowning, she stared deeper into the murky void, into the grey nothingness that seemed to devour the edges of her vision. Still, there was nothing no shape, no movement only the machine's readout insisting otherwise, whatever was out there it was moving fast or the obelisk structures were disrupting the signal. Either way she wasn't going to stick around to find out, getting killed before she made it to the 'I' of TITAN, was not the end she wanted.

Her holster clicked as her blaster replaced the HoloLens that now swung from her belt instead, knowing if she made it to her ship and took off, she could perform a broader scan from the there. It was against the rules to leave the ship vulnerable during a thruster reset but she wasn't going to risk being unable to move quicker than a snail over these rocks, while there was potentially something fast out there. Moving slowly, she made her way across the rocks, making sure she hopped accurately from platform to platform, planting her feet firmly before she launched to the next. She moved slowly making frequent scans of her surroundings before moving forwards. Her ship loomed no more than a hundred yards away, perched precariously on the only patch of flat-ish ground she'd managed to find. Yet, with each step, it felt no closer, as if the distance stretched subtly with her every breath. Gritting her teeth, she shifted her right foot forward, only for the treacherous rock beneath her to crumble. She stumbled, her balance teetering dangerously, and clawed desperately at the jagged stone beside her. Her fingers found purchase, but not without cost, a sharp slice carved across her palm, the sting biting deep as blood slicked her grip

"Fuck!" she screamed as blood begin to pool at the surface of the wound, her feet dangling, kicking out each way trying to find a stable rock to steady herself. She glanced over her shoulder looking for a solution, she smelt it before her eyes registered anything. The smell of sulphur mixed with ethanol reminding her of the foundation training year in the frontier academy, hiking up the basalt volcanoes pouring alcohol on other recruits arms as they inevitably fell racing to the top.

Six limbs was what she noticed first, two normal legs, black, muscular, scarred with bright red lines, another two connected like a grasshopper from its hamstrings, coiled and bent. Their function quickly becoming apparent as the behemoth of a creature sprang from rock to rock, the back legs effortlessly propelling the 8ft monster at a frightening speed, moving further than her frantic head movements could track. The front two legs used to land before its long arms swung itself around the obelisk before launching itself to the next. Identify, well she had definitely done that but she wasn't tracking it, it was tracking her and it was closing in at an alarming rate.

She scrambled to the top of the rock, eyes locked on her ship, then back to the creature, losing it every time it jumped, desperately trying to find it again, the smell getting strong and stronger, almost stinging her nostrils. She wasn't going to make it, her ship was too far and this thing was too fast, she balanced on top of the rock, perched with one hand between her legs to steady herself. The blaster shifted uncomfortably in her hand, her blood pouring down the handle, falling like crazed tears onto the black rock. She shifted her eyes from left to right it was no more than three jumps from her, waiting for the right moment to shoot, these blasters were powerful but if she missed she knew she wouldn't get another chance. Its last jump before it reached her, that's when she would fire, that is when she would have the best chance to hit it. It spun itself around the rock seemingly unfazed by its sharp edges, its hind legs springing into action, long black arms extended towards her, she exhaled slowly trying to steady her hand as the laser sight struggled to find its target. Elucia pulled the trigger the recoil of the blast nearly throwing her from her rock, the blue energy bolt flying towards the centre of the creatures mass, its black eyes visible now, it lacked a nose but its teeth were large and sharp, four huge fangs with nothing in between, a tongue like that of a snake but longer and fatter, dotted with rough nodules. She stared on, time moving in slow motion as its eyes seemed to disappear, and its hind legs appeared beneath it, then nothing.

* * *

A dry cough escaped her mouth as she tried to open her eyes, the room spinning as she did, blinking wildly, desperately trying to bring the room into focus, blood trickling down her face. She groaned in pain, instinctively she tried to wipe her eyes but her hand wouldn't move, she tried again but both hands were trapped, lashed to the ceiling somehow, she couldn't see, the room was too dark and her vision too blurred. Her chest was tight with panic, her head was spinning. "Remember your training, remember your training," she repeated it over and over in her head, searching for a solution.

"Breathe" she whispered to herself. She had to establish where she was, her training had taught her that much but she wiped her eyes against her upper arm trying to clear her vision, the metal of the suit not the ideal tool for the job but good enough. She scanned the room, which she decided was more like a cave, what had first seemed to be completely black was now lined with green spindles like lightening through the black rock of the walls creating a gentle glow in the room, just enough to make out that in fact she was definitely in a cave, how big she couldn't tell but flat enclaves were sporadically dug into the walls almost like bunk beds. The scanning quickly came to an end as the sound of hundreds of legs scuttling across the ceiling echoed through the cave, a relentless symphony of skittering and scratching that sent shivers down Elucia's spine, she glanced upwards, her breath catching in her throat. The creature, with half of its body clinging to the ceiling while the other half dangled freely in the air, she was frozen, as the gigantic millipede cautiously explored the contours of Elucia's face, trying to determine if she was food. Then there it was again, as if summoned from a nightmare, drifting in the air, that smell. A sharp flash of red as it spiralled through the air meeting its target with a resounding crunch. It devoured it in seconds, ripping it to pieces, the rank smell of its innards flung against the wall. The smell was unbearable, Elucia desperately tried to keep it in eye line, her feet barely on the floor, the tips of her boots spinning her annoyingly around on the spot. It moved slowly, eyeing her closely, its tongue tasting the air in front of her face, it grunted and groaned, the sound came from its throat not its mouth, a small hole, covered with folds of skin vibrated the noise around the cave. If this was its language it was primitive and not one which she was going to understand. Now it was up close it was more like 10ft than 8, its eyes still black but flashed to white when it occasionally blinked, it was thicker than it had first appeared, deep set, wide and extremely muscular.

"Hey," she gasped, forcing herself to form a coherent sentence, "I... know you probably... can't understand me, but I'm not a threat! I'm just here exploring... the... the planet, I mean you now harm," pleaded Elucia, it was futile but she had to try something. The creatures forked tongue began probe her face as if it was searching for answers to questions she did not know.

"Ok now, let's...let's... I don't know. Fuck, just stop that,"

The creature's guttural response filled Elucia with nothing but despair. What did this creature want? Why hadn't it just eaten her like that millipede? She didnt want to stick around to find out so she spun and writhed but nothing would free her from the vines that lashed her hands to the ceiling. She tried to lash out, kick the creature, scare it maybe, but the exosuit had no power, the battery must have been damaged during her capture.

"Eurgghhh!" groaned the beast

"STOP!" Elucia begged the creature whose rough tongue was probing her ears, she could hear it deep in her brain, like the hum of a wasp trapped deep in her skull.

"Stop, please, arrrrrrrrggggggggghhhh," screamed Elucia hoping for the monstrous creature to stop but it only spurred it on, its claw shaped fingers each several inches long scratched at the front of her exosuit, its tongue pushed at her pursed lips, to which Elucia locked them tightly shut in response. Its throat rippling with a cacophony of reverberations pulled straight from the gates of hell. It pushed hard against her lips but she held them firmly shut, she gagged as it wasn't enough, its tongue finding its way inside and the taste immediately bringing sick to her throat. Elucia was overcome with emotions, she couldn't think, couldn't rationalise the best course of action, not wanting to anger the creature further she stopped fighting and let explore. Maybe if it realised it wasn't its normal prey, that she tasted awful, after all she was 90% metal in this exosuit, then maybe it would leave her alone.

"Gah"

"Ack"

"Urk" she gagged again and again, tears forming in her eyes, as it forced its arm-long tongue down her throat, the nodules rubbing harshly against her oesophagus, she was going to throw up. She wretched violently, covering the monster in bile and freeze-dried lasagne, its tongue recoiled, smashing the back of its clawed hand across Elucia's face simultaneously, pausing only momentarily before it sliced the restraints with its other hand, before she could react she was snatched violently with one of its hands, its claws slicing into the midriff of her exosuit before being thrown across the room, head smashing against wall.

* * *

It was always the scent that always hit her first, knowing he was close, she pulled propped herself up against the wall that had kindly put her to sleep, giving her a well needed rest from the madness of the situation. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, nor did the answer help much in her escape. The smell seemed to be fading, Elucia knew this may be her only chance and pushed herself cumbersomely to her feet. The faint green glow was barely enough to fill the cave, casting feeble shadows that danced ominously across the jagged walls, her head throbbed with a relentless ache and dried blood streaked her face, both a grim testament to the ordeal she had endured. The cut still seared across her hand, every movement sending a jolt of pain through her trembling body as she reached out into the oppressive blackness, her fingers tracing the rough surface of the cave walls, seeking any hint of an exit.

Elucia's hand grasped at thin air as she stumbled forward into a tunnel that extended out from the cave. Crouching she crept forwards, both hands gliding across the narrow walls, moving only as quick as she dared, and slow enough to not make a sound. The tunnel began to bend right and with it light slowly beginning to unfurl like a spring flower before her as she entered the clearing. The vast chamber spread before her, the ceiling towering high above. In the centre, a beam of sunlight pierced through an opening, casting its grey glow onto a solitary black slab, smooth and unyielding, it stood in stark contrast to the jagged, rugged terrain of the planet outside, like a solemn monument amidst chaos. It was two meters wide and about four meters long, its eerie resemblance to an altar of sacrifice stirred a primal fear within her.

Back against the wall Elucia skirted her way around the vast cavern, staring longingly at the opening above, so close but without any means of reaching it. As she surveyed the towering height of the chamber's ceiling, realization dawned upon her, reaching the opening above seemed an impossible feat. The initially jagged wall, promised an ascent, yet curved unpromisingly, teasing the possibility of an upside-down climb towards the elusive exit. If she could fix her exosuit battery then maybe she could maintain a hold, but right now it was potentially the only thing holding her together, providing some protection at least if the monster was to return; was it worth the risk.

Before Elucia could weigh up her decision a sudden gut-wrenching scream shattered the silence, the monster's abrupt appearance halted her thoughts in their tracks, leaving her paralyzed with terror as its menacing black and white flickering eyes loomed ominously over the rim of the skylight entrance. It dropped effortlessly into the cavern landing silently on the black slab, its hind legs absorbing the impact of the fall.

Without thinking Elucia began to climb, frantically trying to escape this nightmare, she had barely made it three meters up the wall before it grabbed her from behind. Its claws once again piercing the titanium plating of the exosuit, this time it didn't throw her but marched slowly towards the central slab pinning her to its edge, her eyes hopelessly locked to the sky outside, its grey misery the only hope she still had.

Elucia's back was pinned to the slab by the creatures left hand, her legs dangling off the end, leaving its right hand to resume its exploration from before, its sharp claws scratch against the exosuit, like it was trying to find a weakness. Working its way towards Elucia's neck the sharp claws tips grazing against the metal with a sinister whisper. Holding her aloft with its left hand it paused, eyeing its prize. Then, in one swift, merciless stroke, it cleaved through the exosuit from top to bottom. Like a river bursting its banks, the suit surrendered its secrets, scattering its heavy cargo in a chaotic flurry of motion and sound, as the exosuit thudded to the floor and her breasts were laid bare, slick with sweat from hours of terror. The cold air of the cavern bit at her soft legs and ass, her smooth form a jarring juxtaposition to the black, harsh nature of the room and creature that surrounded her. The monsters eyes widened, flickering rapidly between colours.

Elucia's unprotected back was slammed into the slab, knocking the air from her lungs. Her head was tucked into chest trying to see what the creature was doing, trying to catch her breath, gasping as she saw it.