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Silence had the room covered as if it were mist. The sun was rising now, shining through the cabin's windows and slow crawling across the floor. Evidence of the nightly battle was revealed wherever the light had touched, exposing bullet wounds and overturned furniture.

In the destruction, a table still stood but not untouched by the fighting. Ringing around that table sat half a dozen of the survivors, as silent as the room. No one moved a muscle; even their tails lay dormant behind them.

Nishant Gerbo looked across the solemn faces of the survivors. He hasn't seen this mood since the invasion. They were making progress against the invading parasite but with the assault on the base, it seems all hope was drained from them once again.

Across from him sat a muskrat. She seemed to be heaving difficulty breathing but her paw only clutched harder at her bandaged side. Next to her sat a lemur that looked vaguely familiar but Nishant didn't recognize him. The lemur was gazing out the large windowpanes at the sunrise, deep in thought.

Only one among them did not sit but stood by an empty seat. Jun Fa, the young marten that Nishant found on his landing pad outside one of the tunnel entrances. When he questioned the marten about the attack, he was only met with an emotionless gaze that looked right through him. Ever since then, Nishant hasn't seen Jun express any type of emotion and it' completely contradicted the behavior the adolescent had while they were onboard Drach'n Fury.

An object fell to the floor near the tunnel entrance inside the cabin drawing all of their gazes. From the tunnel walked in Tang Fa, Commander Cassander and the Velmarian that Nishant subdued and captured. The Velmarian was no longer tied or beaten but walked submissively behind the two female leaders.

"Thanks for waiting everyone," said Tang. She exchanged a glance quickly with her brother and sat in the seat he stood beside. Commander Cassander sat next to her, and the Velmarian next to her. "To bring everyone up to speed, we were attacked last night shortly after sunset. The fighting lasted all night but we managed to take back the base with the help of our neighboring colonies. However, the attack has led to a startling discovery that endangers our entire operation on this planet."

"Before we begin, allow me to introduce you to everyone who's hear and listening in," continued Tang. She started by naming the two others at the table as being the leaders of nearby colonies. Then continued to inform them that Captain Dewitt is listening in and due to the success of his mission, along with half of the leaders of the resistance across the planet.

"Please explain what you discovered on your mission, soldier," Tang said, directing toward the wounded muskrat.

"Yes ma'am," answered the muskrat. "My team and I were to reclaim the communication building near the outskirts of the city. Ever since landing on the building, we were met with stiff resistance. After fighting our way down several floors, my commander noticed the parasite growing inside the building despite the lack of sunlight and electricity so we decided to investigate."

"What we found was a sight I'll never forget," the muskrat continued. "Inside one of the studios, we found over a dozen civilians and soldiers alike strung up by vines like puppets. Some of them were still alive but the will to struggle had long left them. After cutting them down, we managed to get a few words out of them before the infection took control of their bodies. Their life was being drained out of them, literally to feed the growth and it all led out of the room back the way we came. Our commander ordered us to burn the place so we did before following the vine that was being fed by those poor souls. The resistance grew heavier the further down we went until eventually our squadron was overrun and we had to fall back.

"Unfortunately, the Creepers had cut us off and we found ourselves fighting to go back up the building as well as holding back the wave chasing us from below. My commander was killed and only two of us were alive. We barricaded ourselves in the room where we found the alien sucking the life out of the victims. My partner was killed when a flower from the vents that survived the blaze shot a seed faster than a bullet at him. It instantly started to spread and infect him before another seed hit me in the side here. I was forced to kill my partner but after seeing what happened to him I knew I had to the seed out of me so I shot myself, hoping to shoot it out. It seemed to work but nearly killed me in the process. That's when Captain Dewitt and his team found me."

The ermine confirmed finding the muskrat before he told his version of the story. Nishant remembered the Captain roughly since he didn't fly him all that often but he knew the ermine was one of the young Admiral's personal officers before the Admiral disappeared. Captain Dewitt continued to tell them about how he discovered the botanical tunnel growing beneath the city.

"I admit it was rather reckless of me to go down in the basement alone but before they discovered me, I was able to see the tunnel and film it with my PawPad for a moment. My PawPad mapped a bit of the structure but it's only what I would assume to be a very small fragment of the honeycomb system." Over the table lit up a three-dimensional hologram that showed vein-like tunnels underneath the city. "They have access to just about every structure in and around the city, but it also shows that the tunnel has extended to the base of the mountain that launched the assault."

"My assumption is that they must have more of these energy sucking stashes throughout the city," Commander Cassander spoke up. "There's no way this much of the alien could have grown given that they only had a couple dozen bodies to feed off of. If this is true, then I assume that the Creepers around the planet may be trying to do the same thing that would eventually create a global system of these tunnels. If they achieve their goal, it'll be hard to contain the infection without having to go on their territory."

"With this threat to Canidera, it also is a very high threat for those fighting on Fellorian," resumed Tang. "We've been trying to contact them again but with our limited communications capabilities, we haven't been able to do so yet. I believe that with our planets being colder than what the alien is used to, they're burrowing themselves to the heat source found at the center of our planets to accelerate their growth. If they reach a point where the heat they absorb can sustain them, then they will grow at a much faster rate and we will lose the planets."

"I've discussed the situation with Commander Cassander," she continued. "We've agreed that this new threat is our highest priority. Attacking the vines digging and supporting the tunnel is a useless gesture while they're using these graveyards to feed it."

"I giving a command to all military and militia personnel across the planet," Yelena spoke again. "All military operations are to be wrapped up as efficiently as possible. Military officers at each colony are to assemble their teams to begin scouting and disrupting the graveyards that are feeding this tunnel system. Disrupt the power that's growing these tunnels and mark the sites for burn teams to take care of. Do your best to explore the tunnels but don't take any unnecessary risk. Everyone one of us that falls to the Creepers is one more added to their strength."

Nishant absorbed the information, but found it ironic how his mission have taken him off planet recently when now they were needed beneath the planet's crust.

The group continued to listen while the other leaders of colonies across the planet gave their report and opinion considering the situation. A meeting this large hasn't been possible since the initial communication satellites were destroyed. With the communication restored thanks to the Captain in the city, it was the first time Nishant could hear the reports about the battles going on around the planet.

The capital was in ruins but it was pleasant to hear that some cities still had power and were operating smoothly, despite the battles. More importantly, some of those cities had operating factories that has been providing them with fresh weapons and supplies.

"We have a Velmarian here that we 'rescued' from a broken shipyard who'd like to inform us on what's happening with them," Tang informed everyone. There was minor discussion between the leaders before it quieted back down.

"We didn't intend to contact you given the current circumstances," said the Velmarian, in his harsh tongue. "You've all been preoccupied by this invasion but we were hit as well. We've lost control of our planet and are now surviving on ships and barren planets that haven't been infected yet. To make things worse, ever since Princess Theta killed her father, the factions have been at war. Princess Theta has a pretty powerful force but the old factions aren't making it easy for her and threaten to attack you now that your defenses have been so easily shattered."

Nishant's short fur bristled.

"Easy?!" shouted one of the leaders over their PawPad. "Easy! We fought against an alien parasite that's consumed a quarter of the galaxy. Only Admiral Alexander was able to defeat it, after thousands of civilizations have been consumed by it. Our defenses have been crippled but it cost this parasite its life and significantly slowed their advance. I won't have a Velmarian tell me that our defenses were easy to defeat!"

"Everyone calm down please," Tang said, hearing other raised voices. "Now's not the time to dispute over the use of adjectives. We're at war and fighting for our lives, we need to finish this meeting and get back to kicking this infection off our planet."

A couple inaudible grumbles followed but everyone held their tongue. Nishant kept his own tongue behind his teeth but his fur was still bristled at the insult.

"I only meant to say that this alien accomplished what the Empires have been trying to do for the past thousand years in only a few short months," defended the Velmarian, making his apology sound like another insult.

A thousand years in shame and they still haven't learned manners, thought Nishant.

"To sum up," continued the Velmarian. "We're trying to control the remants of the old empires but they're resisting and nearly broke through a couple times and tried to attack all of you. I'd recommend that you keep an eye out for unknown ships as well as the alien."

"That certainly complicates things more," replied one of the more level-headed leaders. "We're monitoring as far as our system's edge for another attack from the Creepers but I suppose we'll have to keep an eye out for Velmarian rebels again. The first defense satellite has been finished and will be launched at the end of this month. One satellite should be more than enough for any pirate fleet."

Nishant noted that the Velmarian's eyes squinted but he didn't say anything.

"I agree but we don't have time or personnel to waste dealing with Velmarian rebels while we're trying to fight this war," commented Commander Cassander. "I propose that we meet with Princess and Prince Theta and offer them some of our surplus weapons to help them control their own population. I've only briefly met her but I will handle the negotiations myself. Velmarian, do you think Princess Theta would be willing to speak with me?"

"She is occupied fighting against the other factions but something could be arranged," answered the reptilian.

Nishant noted that he didn't refer to Princess Theta's enemies as rebels but as another faction. What faction was on that shipyard then? Where does this reptile's allegiance lie?

Commander Cassander summed up the meeting and the other leaders started to disconnect from the computer they were using to communicate with.

The sun was now shining brightly through the window. The injured muskrat and several of the others started to leave. Nishant stood to follow them but was asked to stay.

"Pilot Gerbo, I'd like a word with you," Commander Cassander said before he could walk out. He nodded and sat back down while they waited for the others to leave. The two martens, the Commander and he were the only ones left in the room now. "The way you treated the Velmarian was a little inhumane, Pilot Nishant."

He had to keep himself from rolling his eyes at the assumption of what this topic would be about. He did attack me first.

"And if anyone asks, you were here being scolded by me about that," continued Commander Cassander. The springhare looked at her confused but was only met with a serious gaze. "Captain Redding, are you still listening?" A single beep answered on the meerkats PawPad. "I apologize for disrupting you but we've found some information that I will help your mission. I don't know what the Velmarians were doing on our shipyard but the files you extracted from the control room did reveal some very interesting secrets."

Over the table rose a three-dimensional image of the interior corridors of the shipyard. Through the darkness, a team of armored Velmarians were seen trying to access the computer files in the control room. A few seconds passed before they all turned their head to look at something off camera. Flashes reflected off the metal interior, and the team started to shoot at something off camera.

A significantly younger Velmarian moved from one armored soldier to the next, beating them to death with its bare claws. It dodged the gunfire, kicked out one of the soldiers out from his hindpaws and brought its elbow to the soldier's neck before it could even hit the ground. An adjacent Velmarian threw a bladed weapon at the younger one but the hatchling dodged the weapon and kicked the Velmarian midsection. Doubling over, the hatchling brought its elbow down on the back of its neck.

The movements were so fluid and fast that they were hard to follow. It looked more like a deadly dance than a gunfight. Velmarians fell one by one until the hatchling and broken the neck of every one on the camera. The image froze on the small Velmarian.

What the hell, thought Nishant. How can a hatchling do that to armored soldiers?

"This Creeper is obviously more dangerous that we originally predicted," said Commander Cassander. "Not only do we not know how it got off the planet but it is very skilled at defending itself and killing fully armored soldiers with nothing but its claws."

Creeper? What is she talking about? Nishant glanced at Jun Fa, who tried to remain emotionless but his bristled fur and tail exposed his anger and confusion.

"When was this video taken?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Two days ago," answered his sister.

"I saw him, last night," said Jun. "Here in the base. I chased him!"

"I don't know if he came back Jun," Tang said, turning toward her brother. "I don't think he could have travelled that far so fast, especially going undetected, but don't worry about him. He'll be dealt with." Jun said nothing more but desperation started to show from his eyes. Tang turned back to the three-dimensional video. "This video was taken no more than five minutes later."

The image changed to the exterior of the shipyard, showing the stars and only a fraction of the ribcage shipyard was visible to the side. One of the stars grew brighter and it was zoomed in on. There in the distance, a familiar and unique shape started to form. From the shape shot a bright light, heading straight for the shipyard. The view immediately started to static and slowly spins as the shipyard was torn in half. Yelena rewound and zoomed in on the object.

Drach'n Fury!

"We found Drach'n Fury," said Commander Cassander. "It's a safe bet he's far from the shipyard now but this is the first time we've seen the ship since the invasion."

"The blast was headed for the control room but missed by a dozen meters," informed Tang. "It's my theory that the AI, Fury, is hunting down the Creeper that took the Admiral. After the shipyard was hit, the Creeper was seen leaving the control room in a hurry but wasn't seen again so it must have gotten away. We don't know what the Creeper was doing there either but due to Fury's interference, I don't think there's any way to figure out what his intentions were."

"Captain Redding, take whatever provisions you need and continue with your mission," ordered Commander Cassander, shutting off the projection. "Pilot Gerbo, get some rest. You'll take a transport ship out there with some equipment to see if you can catch some residue from Drach'n Fury and hopefully trace it to wherever he might have gone off too. You're both dimissed."

Nishant stood again and headed toward the room's exit. He passed by the younger marten just in time to hear him ask the Commander a question.

"Yelena," Jun said the moment the pilot passed him. "Can you train me?"

Nishant didn't stay to hear the answer as he left the room and returned into the tunnels that snaked their way throughout the entire mountain. It was an uneasy feeling knowing that the Creepers had their own tunnel system going through the earth.