Blood Debt at the Uplink Station

The hatch opens on a white, flickering archive. K'hark spots his family crouched behind a server rack, while a corporate security drone hovers between them and the door, scanning their vitals in cold pulses.

Red emergency light strobes across the racks. A second presence moves in the reflections, too low and quick for the drone to classify. The family stays frozen, trying not to draw a scan ping.

The Auditor edges to the threshold, scanner whining as corporate surveillance feeds continue to cycle overhead. The drone turns a fraction, tracking the room, its optics locking toward the server rack.

K'hark has one clean problem to solve, the drone is the immediate barrier between him and his family, and the unknown mover inside the archive means the rescue must be fast.

K'hark gives the xenomorph a quick, steadying pat, then points two claws toward the drone. The creature launches low and silent, a black streak under the strobing red.

The drone jerks to reacquire, but the Auditor's override pulse hits its loop at the same instant. Its optics flare, then stutter off target.

The xenomorph slams into the drone's housing and wraps it in its limbs. A sharp crack of metal follows, and the drone drops hard, spinning sparks across the floor.

The family flinches as the drone skids past their rack, but they hold position when the xenomorph veers away from them and toward the machine. The unknown mover still shifts in the reflections behind the server banks.

K'hark's family is no longer pinned by the drone, but the impact shatters one of the archive lights and the room drops into harsher shadow.