The 'X' shaped doors of the alien construct's slick exterior hissed apart; circular ports emitting small jets of pneumatically sealed air in the wake of triangle shaped doors. There was something strangely familiar about the outer shell of the half-buried structure and it was difficult not to ponder just how such a durable installation had sunken halfway into a drifting asteroid like VX-912.
"Someone got eyes on this?" I spoke into my helmet's integrated communications system, giving its mounted camera a few tweaks for good visuals.
On the other end, safe within the confines of our mining vessel's control bridge, was Captain Guadalupe Ortega, "Yeah, never seen anything like it; proceed, with caution."
Much like a stereotypical Latina, Ortega was–a bit abrasive, blunt even, but she too was at a loss for words while taking in the alien derelict.
It wasn't often that a no-name mining crew like ours stumbled upon the ancient remains of what was once Katari civilization. Supposedly, they were an alien race that had conquered the stars far before human sentience; a mollusk-like people, as depicted by their hieroglyphs.
In the absence of any standing interstellar empire, what they did leave behind were strange facilities and scraps of technology. Humanity wasting no time in pilfering the myriad of uniquely built constructs of various shapes and sizes that remained.
Earth-Gov had preemptively declared that most, if not all, reliquary sites had been discovered or were at least charted for reclamation by government funded research fleets. More importantly, that civilian or contractor vessels were not to approach such sites. To the government, the best course of action was pinging the nearest web-node for assistance; sure.
Privateers knew such regulations were little more than bureaucratic greed, eager to get their hands on the commission that such archeological finds earned.
"It looks clean, untouched. I suppose we've hit the jackpot." I reported, unable to withhold some burgeoning excitement.
Charting the inky void once thrilled humanity, but now it was mundane work, its opportunities limited by monopolistic mega-corporations and their government patsies; finding Katari ruins were the only thing that really inspired a starry-eyed miner anymore. I felt privileged, if not scared shitless, to be delving into a such place.
The entire crew, some twelve strong, had more than likely joined Captain Ortega in the viewing cabin and watched with bated breath as I truly began to explore the labyrinthian hold; it seemed much larger than initially believed. "If you spot something don't be a hero; run." Clem, the ship's easy-going cargo tech spoke up; my earlier presumption most likely correct.
I chuckled, fog filling my spherical visor, breathing shallow with a mixture of impending dread and boundless excitement, "Yeah, copy that."
The slick, black floors of the interior seemed faded, layered by a thin coating of dust. Air levels were unsuitable for unassisted respiration, but only by a slightly marginal amount.
I found myself charting tube-like tunnels, noting the strange runes and symbols that lined their obsidian surfaces; the darkness was oppressive.
Another door, this one much smaller than the entry's and considerably more damaged. Its terminal bore resemblance to the main gate's: a strange collection of buttons and dials, but it seemed that they were almost purposefully destroyed.
"Come on back; we'll sort it out later. This is a big fucking haul as is." Ortega reminded me of her far-flung presence, "even if we don't find anything particularly useful the commission on this sucker will cover half of our retirements; you did good. Now don't be an idiot."
That wasn't enough for me. Something prodded a deeper curiosity. Greed? Maybe. Or was it some indiscernible sense of discovery? "Give me just a sec, the front door opened pretty easy with a little tweaking; those squid-heads weren't that smart."
Ortega berated, "Listen, dumbass, just because we're practically family doesn't mean I won't make you swallow my fucking boot; you'll be sneezing shoelaces if you don't–"
"Cracked it." I interrupted, watching as the doors creaked apart, a bit slower and with less air release than the other gates I'd passed through.
"What the hell?" Unlike the pristine, albeit slightly neglected nature of the rest of the alien pyramid, this chamber was coated in a viscous black substance; it webbed from corner to corner in gunky strands of inky sinew.
I could sense Ortega's unease as her 'hard ass' persona faltered, "Seriously, I want you to come back. Now. I don't need you getting hurt some thirty lightyears from the nearest port."
Now I was eager to comply, feeling this almost malevolent aura oozing from the slime laden room. Something primal within me begged to wash my hands of this madness and flee; a feeling affirmed too late.
"Copy. I'm heading home, we can take commission and leave this mess for some egghead to–"
Like a lasso tightening around my throat, a ropy tendril leapt forward and caught my neck mid turn. Had it not been for the thick plating of my hard-suit I doubt the thing wouldn't have ripped my head clean off. "ACK!"
My earpiece played a frantic symphony of crewmates' screams and static, intermingled with the choked gurgling of my own saliva as the tarry substance fought for a purchase on my windpipe.
There was no pulling it away either, as by grasping at the tendril around my jugular I only invited for a smaller host of whip-like ooze to secure my fingers; the horror was only beginning.
The mass moved with sentient malice, pooling around my prone form and suctioning at every piece of fabric and plating. Soon it made an entrance.
A hollow scream, like a newborn being dunked in scalding hot water, as the symbiotic sludge seared my flesh from the inner confines of the hard-suit. Never had I felt more violated, so helpless, as the alien entity bonded with my body in the most terrible ways. No orifice was saved, teary eyes streaming hot saltwater as the 'creature' searched for my inner core; oh did it find it.
To say I begged for death was an understatement, I would've welcomed her sweet caress at any moment, anything to be released from the rapacious hold of the invader both outside and now within.
Then, silence.
I, or something like me, stood. My feet found their footing with an awkward gait, legs struggling to straighten the spine that had just moments ago received a horrendous throttling. Surely every muscle in my weak and ragged body had been splayed apart and restructured; all at once I realize what had occurred. A horrible thing had melded with me, tightening around my bones, sloshing in my stomach, exploring the nooks and crannies of its new home. My mind felt full with the thoughts of another, formless and confused; learning. I wanted to scream, to tell my crewmates to lift off of this nightmarish rock and fling VX-921 into the depths of the void, yet I couldn't; transformed into a mockery of human form, pooling black sludge from the corners of my lips. It was time to spread a dark gospel, and soon the only thoughts that occupied my mind were of just that.