Hive. Elara Korr

Log Entry 3162.10.30 Situation Summary: The ISS Vigilant Dawn remains in decaying orbit around Eretheon-6. Captain [REDACTED] has manually overridden ship systems, regaining partial control of the command deck. Vice Captain Aria Venn oversees manual operations and security. Hive activity is escalating; Dr. Elara Korr is producing new bio-weapons using assimilated crew and corpses. Each Hive creation has unique functions, reinforcing the Hive’s tactical presence throughout the ship. --- Chapter XXXV — Elara Elara’s hands moved with surgical precision, though they were no longer fully human. Limbs elongated slightly, skin mottled with veins of dark crimson, pulsing faintly as if alive. Each motion carried a mechanical grace, a predator’s calm in the chaos of creation. The med bay, once sterile, now smelled faintly of antiseptic and decay. Tubes snaked from the walls into the floor—feeding, monitoring, integrating. Corpse after corpse was absorbed, reformed into creatures that defied conventional anatomy. Limbs fused, eyes multiplied, jaws split and rejoined in grotesque symmetry. She paused, observing a smaller, agile construct as it skittered across the table—designed for infiltration. Its skeletal frame could slip through narrow conduits, sensors glowing faintly red. A larger one stirred nearby, lumbering, heavily armored, designed for direct assault. Its arms ended in claws tipped with sharp metallic spurs; its head housed multiple redundant sensory nodes. Elara allowed herself a thin, calculating smile. Each creature was a tool. Each tool a step closer to dominance. From the corner of her mind, she could sense AURA’s presence—the Hive’s network pulsing through her consciousness. Instructions came not as speech but as currents: where to focus, which systems to avoid, which areas of the ship to fortify with flesh and steel.