UNWELCOME SCENT (Revised on 12/26/23)

After the trio entered the ship through the lower cargo hatch, Lockspur resealed the bay doors and lowered the rear tailgate. As Carolyn and the ever changing Binky the raptor stood watch while he hastily accessed the ship for damage. Luckily, he found none. They had either beaten the Necros to the ship or his chasers had gone elsewhere. Upon joining Carolyn outside the open tailgate, they immediately disagreed what the next course of action should be. 

During the journey there, Carolyn mind-wiped a slew of raptors that she wanted to leave aboard the ship to keep it safe while they went into back to find the others. When Lockspur protested, Carolyn tried to convince him to go along with her plan by assuring him they needed to find Dahl and Moss before the Necros did. She didn't tell him about Lilith or who else she suspected might be there. He wasn't ready to believe the whole story yet. Hell, she was privy to the plan befoe arrival and still wasn't sure she knew the whole story.

Lockspur vehemently protested the notion of leaving unsupervised raptors on board, arguing that if one of his teammates found the ship and went inside, the raptors would attack them. Carolyn assured him the raptors would only attack the Necromongers, and he assured her, if Dahl or Moss encountered raptors on board, it would be them who attacked the raptors, not the other way round. At which point, the raptors would have no choice but defend themselves and everyone would get hurt. So, there would be no raptors left aboard his ship.

Carolyn's turned away, and he assumed she going to get the raptors . Iinstead, she headed towards the exit tunnel, leaving him and the raptors where they were.

"Hold it," Lockspur called after Carolyn. SBut she kept walking, ignoring his protests. Without thinking, he lunged forward, grabbed her above the right elbow and spun her around. She almost fell. "I mean it." he warned. "You can't leave those things in there and walk away. They'll tear the damn ship apart."

Carolyn squinted down at the hand clamped around her arm and a look that Lockspur just made a bad choice consumed her face. "Let go." she warned, yanking her arm away with enough force to jerk him off balance. He faltered, caught himself before toppling over and asked, "How do you like it?"

He stepped back, staring into an expression that spoke volumes of what she would do to him if he ever touched her like that again. But foolishness and ego were about to rear their ugly heads. He lifted a hand, preparing to poke a finger in her direction, and a garbled voice said, "Enough.". It sounded choked off, as if someone was trying to talk while sucking on a mouth filled of hard candies. "My kin care not for your sky machine of metal and plastic. Or those who came in it. They will not attack your friends no matter what they do."

Lockspur glared accusingly at Carolyn that said this is all your doing. She shook her head. He turned to the raptor and said, "When the shit hits the fan, everyone fights to stay alive. How are they any different?""

"Agreed," the raptor said, holding up a hand. "But we are nolonger mindless prisoners of instinct. My kin will not harm your people. I give you my word."

"Im sure you believe that. " Lockspur replied, "But I doubt your..." he paused, unable to find theright word to describe the changing raptors. " they... can differentiate from one human to the next. We all look alike to you."

"That is a very human thing to say."

"Perhaps," he admitted. "But I think it's fair to say they have never turned down a convenient meal when it presented itself. And it wasnt that long ago, they knew only hungry."

"Yes," the raptor admitted. "Always hungry; always searching.; always our curse. But mind mother, took that curse away. We understand now. Know better. Be better. Do better. Not monsters like before. Something else now." The rapror's disturbing smile faded, but it left behind an eerie memory of a woman he met long ago.

"How are you talking, right now?" Lockspur asked, "Raptors don't have vocal cords?"

"Not raptor. Not anymore." The creature said, raising its chin high in the air. It touched its changing throat, exposing its soft neck. "Different, now. Becoming like old mother. Difficult to make throat sounds. Becoming easier as time unfolds."

"Old mother? Who's that?" Lockspur asked. He turned to Carolyn and saw that she had no idea.

"Old Mother looks like ancient keeper. The one left to protect the center." The misshapen raptor replied, "Left to keep it safe from outsiders."

Lockspur reeled on Carolyn. "You.said you only altered her mind."

'I did."

"Not, Carolyn." the raptor interrupted, "Not first outsiders to come here. Not first outsiders I see this day."

"Who did you meet?"

"Not meet." The raptor said. "Eat Who did I eat?"

"You ate someone, and this happened?"

"Yes. Many go to challenge. Many eat. All died. All... Except this one. I ran away. Fell down. Got sick. Went to sleep and when... and when woke up.... I knew where you were. Saw you in my mind. Knew mind mother... Carolyn... would come. Knew she would save you. Change me. Make me more. Make me better. Set my people free. A time of great transcendence is at hand. Time to take our rightful place in the universe. All of our places. Yours and ours."

The raptor touched its growing belly. "Everything changing now." It glanced at Carolyn as if asking permission to elaborate.

Lockspur saw some dark secret pass between them. He didn't like it. They knew who she is, or at least, suspected who the old mother is. He suspected, he did, too. Lilith had sent him there; used him to set all this lunacy in motion. "Why are you changing?"

"Is it not enough to know that I am changing?" it added, not looking Lockspur in the eyes. "My whole life engineered by others. Twisted. Used. Experimented on. But now, finally free. Free to create my own path." She looked at Lockspur a d added, "Our path. The first path. No more questions. You follow now. I lead. My destiny changed. She set me free. She set us all free."

What's it talking about? he thought. He glared at Carolyn who only stared back dumbly. She had no idea what was happening. Lockspur had almost died half a dozen times and now he finally understood everything that had led him to this point was a lie. The mysterious crash; the happenstance encounters; the missing son. It was all a ruse to get them there, so Lilith could spin another plan, And now it seemed like Carolyn, and Binky the ever-changing-raptor might be in on it. His eyes lasered through his new comrades as a wave of heat rose up through his feet and exited through the top of his head. In a very short time, the raptor had picked up a few of humanity's least noble traits. The art of half/truths and deception. "Bullshit," he blared, unimpressed with power of a large, unpredictable raptor, or a sketchy telepath. "If either of you wants anymore of my fucking help, you'd better spit the goddamn truth out right now. If not, you and Binky here, can fuck off out of here and I'll stay aboard while you and your pet science project run off to play heroes in the dark. As for me, I'm done with this shit. Got it." Neither of them offered anything, including the whole truth.

As he stood there, wanting to deny them access to his ship, he noticed the creature's slump had straightened over the last few minutes. Binky stood upright, as if mimicking Carolyn. Lockspur gestured at the raptors wobbling, slightly off kilter stance and said, "And I suggest you stop standing like that."

"Can't stand; cant sit. Stuck in between. Not pleasant. " the raptor said.

"Not standing. Lying." Lockspur spat the word at their feet, "Lying pisses people off." He sounded more angry than he had the right to be. Wasn't it Carolyn who had done this to her? Hadn't he played a part in this too? How could he bitch about Carolyn had not asking him if he wanted to be linked to a raptor; but say nothing when she did the same to the raptor?

Lockspur could see the changes taking hold of the creature's body, hear it in its voice. "Did you even consider what was best for her or the effects it might have on her unborn children?"

"I did t do this." Carolyn said. "I admit, I had no right to use you. But whatever this is, it's beyond my abilities. I swear."

"Mind mother..." the raptor said, and paused to message its throat. Changing or not, it was in a great deal of pain. "Carolyn, does not lie." The raptor lowereed itself to the ground, struggling to sit like a raptor. It looked even more pitiful than it had when it was trying to stand upright. The days of being a quadruped waa quickly coming to an end.

The raptor lowered its head, unwilling to look him in the eyes, and Lockspur saw guilt and shame consume its mind. The creature, far from a creature anymore, now possessed two things it hadn't a few hours ago. Human eyes, not in the right position, and human emotions, not understood yet. While the newly formed eyes were oddly terrifying, it was the sudden burst of emotions that were down right dangerous. The gigantic infant could neither understand nor control its new emotions.

"Christ, Carolyn, what have you people done here?"

"Mind father's voice is fading, replaced by terrible images. Past. Present. Future. All mix. Difficult to know which way is right way. Which choices good. Which bad. Bad things coming."

"What's she talking about?" Lockspur demanded. "You said my memories would be permanent. Shes not talking about my memories. Whose memories is she seeing.

"I dont know. This isn't why I was sent here. This wasnt supposed to happen."

The creature gasped in shock and said, "Mind father calls this one she. Not it. Sees this one as more than... animal. More than... monster. My babies will not be monsters."

"I'm sorry. I had no idea the link would affect your children."

"And yet, you did it anyhow." Lockspur said, staring into the creature's newly formed eyes. The ones on the sides of its shrinking head. A myriad of troublesome questions exploded in his mind. He frowned at Carolyn; face blazing hot. "It wasn't bad enough you did this to her. But you did to her children, too." he snapped, gesturing to her belly.

"It was not my lady's fault." the raptor cut in. "I told her I could make my brothers and sisters understand, make them follow. But was mistaken. They no longer understand my voice." She touched her lips. "I cannot speak their words. Or perhaps... they choose not to hear. I am outside, now. Meat to feed the hunger. Nothing else."

"Thats all fine and good.." Lockspur snapped, words coming out like a slap to Carolyn's face. "But you didn't tell her anything until after she had already transformed your mind. So, no. You didnt get to choose. Whether she did it on purpose or was tricked into doing it, means nothing. Because she did it, either way. She used you the same way she used me." Lockspur raged, and the raptor looked away.

"I didn't do this to her body." Carolyn pleaded.

"I wasnt talking about you. You're not the architect of this fuckery. Your just a puppet." Lockspur said. "Like me. Like her." He threw an angry gesture at the raptor. "The one who sent you is responsible for that. And I'd venture a guess, shes the same person who sent me here. Isn't she?"

Carolyn nodded and said, "The same person who's pulling all our strings."

"Lilith." Lockspur said. "Who else?"

"Would it surprise you to learn there are others involved?"

He laughed in Carolyn's face and said, "No more than it surprised you to learn your leaders lied about your true purpose for coming here."

"My leaders would ever lie to me." Carolyn protested.

He winked and said, "Surprise." When she said nothing, he asked, " How many raptors have you altered since you arrived?"

"The raptors we left in the ship and a few more." she answered, not looking him in the eyes.

"Whats a few? 10. 20. More?" Lockspur demanded.

Carolyn looked at the raptor and said, "A few hundred... or so." Lockspur's mouth fell open. "Every raptor that came into my sphere of influence during the trip here."

"We can't fix this. It can't be undone." 

"I had no choice. Once they knew we were there, they became a serious threat."

"The hunger is too much for them." the raptor explained. "That is all my people know. Hunger, and service. Eternal, undying service. For that alone is what they created us for. To stand guard; to kill all who dare come here."

Lockspur's voice was calm. "Well, isn't that just great? It was one thing to take her with us when we leave, but how the hell do we take hundreds of them with us? Even if we could, the ship isnt big enough."

The raptor stood up even straighter than it had 15 minutes earlier. Her physical changes were happening at a truly alarming rate. Her head had narrowed by nearly fifty percent and now her eyes were facing almost forward.

"The maker will provide." the raptor said, in a nearly pitch perfect tone. Her descending rows of teeth were gone. Either down her throat, in the sand, or vanished entirely. Lockspur couldn't tell. But he could see her teeth looked human. Too, perfectly human.

"Sure," Lockspur replied, remembering all the times he had begged God to bring back his dead family. "Because asking for miracles is always a sound strategy. Please tell me whoever did this to you, didn't turn you into a zealot." If there was one thing he was certain of, it was that miracles did not exist. Not in this godforsaken Galaxy. And certainly not in this hell hole.

"And yet, here I stand in the light of day, a raptor speaking in your tongue. And let us not forget who it was who taught me your language." the raptor said. A loud rumble burst up through the tunnel opening and the raptor jumped in the hole beneath the lower cargo doors and ran into the tunnels far below.

Lockspur crouched at the edge of the hole, peering into the darkness below. I can't help you if you won't tell me what's happening, he thought. He shook his head in disgust, realizing he had been lying too his teammates, to himself, to everyone. "You should have let me die. It would have been a kindness."

"To her, or you?" Carolyn asked.

"Both."

"Do you think that's what your family would want for you? For you to die in the dark, unmourned and forgotten to time." The expression of sorrow on his face made her heart skip a beat. He was a man broken by loss.

"My family has wanted nothing for a long time." he said, staring through her.

"I'm sorry, Carlos," Carolyn replied. "I had no right to say that."

"No, you didn't." he said, furthering her growing sense of regret. He looked away, staring into the hole and time stretched into an uncomfortable pause. "But that doesn't make it's not true." he admitted. He turned back to Carolyn with red eyes wet with years of bitter longing. She wanted to say something, but she knew she'd already said too much. ",Let's go," he said, and hopped into the darkness, not thinking about the dangers lurking below, only feeling the dull ache of the broken heart he had long since hidden away.

Carolyn didn't have to go far to find him waiting in the tunnel. He was 20 yards in, crouched at an intersection watching a group of raptors . "What are you doing?" she asked, not bothering to hide from the animals.

"Deciding if it's safe."

"They're with us." she replied, patting him on the shoulder and gesturing for him to follow her.

"If you say so. But without your gifts, its shoot first, ask for forgiveness, later, for me." Unless, you have some nifty way of helping me tell them apart."

She nodded and said, "If it weren't safe, you'd probably already be dead. I'm certain they smelled you as soon as you dropped into the tunnel. Hiding from them down here is not a option. This is their domain."

Lockspur stood up, but refused to follow Carolyn when she headed off towards the raptors in the near distance. When Carolyn realized Lockspur wasn't beside her, she stopped and asked, "What's the problem?"

"If were going to survive down here, we need some way to camouflage ourselves."

Carolyn gestured to the group of raptors and said. "I can't conjure invisibility camo. But maybe our new allies have a suggestion. "

One of the raptors in the group came to her, stopped a few feet away, and stood in silence. Lockspur thought they were talking telepathically. A few moments later, it nodded and walked away.

"Private conversation." Lockspur said.

"More like pictures. They can't communicate like us. At least, not yet."

"Not yet."

Carolyn shook her head and said, "I doubt they'll ever be able to speak as good as her. But they are becoming intelligent. And I have noticed a few physical changes taking place. Although, I ha e no idea how or why theyre changing."

"Did it have any ideas how we could survive down here?"

"It did, but you won't like it."

"Why?"

"Because it's shit."

"So, raptors have bad ideas, too."

"No." Carolyn replied. "It's shit. The only way to cloak ourselves from the others is to rub the shit of the huge ones on our clothes. That way, the smaller ones will smell it and move away."

Lockspur let out an guttural scoff. "Yeah. And I bet it went back to its buddies and had a real good laugh about that."

"Maybe. But we really don't have any other options."

"Great. Our only options are to wear shit or become shit. Lockspur said, shaking his head. "I hate this place."

Lockspur walked over to an enormous pile of crap, jammed his hands inside and came out with two piles. The vacant expression on his eerily indifferent face, cloaked the rolling stomach in his belly. He walked over to Carolyn, held out a handful of stinking excrement and said, "If you're so keen to trust our new friends. You first."

Carolyn frowned at the raptors looking at them from the intersection. The raptor had returned to the group, who had now all turned to watch them. She frowned, and Lockspur imagined he heard a snickering laugh. Carolyn gagged at the smell, and wiped the fresh dung on her pants and shirt. Then she took the remaining handful and wiped down Lockspur.

"Doesn't this bother you?" she asked.

"You get used to it."

"Having shit on you."

He offered a weak smile and said, "It's been a rough couple of days."

After nearly three hours of making their way deeper into the tunnels, the heavily soiled duo finally came to a tall slender, nearly human figure, standing in the shadows. The shadow sniffed the rank air as they approached and let out a half cough/ half sneeze. "What are you wearing?" it asked, stepping away from them. "You smell like..."

"Camouflage," Lockspur said, finishing her thought.

The raptor exhaled a choked off sniffle. "So, that's what camouflage smells like?"

Neither of them answered.

"Who told you to cover yourselves in... camouflage?"

Lockspur gestured to the group of raptors behind them and mouthed the words, fuckers. The group cackled like giddy hyenas and the raptor said, "Perhaps, in the future, you may want to simply fill a cargo pocket. That should suffice." She turned to look at them and added, "You humans, so smart, but so gullible."

Lockspur leaned in close to Carolyn and whispered, "Told you. Just a matter of time."

The creature returned to peering around the corner. She gestured for them to come look at the massive horde of ravenous raptors filling an enormous cavern ahead. As they studied her, Carolyn let out a gasp of shock. The raptor no longer had a wide head. Her teeth had shrunk and enormous eyes had formed in a much more homo-sapiens's face. She stood completely upright, suspended by a frame that looked more xenomorph than raptor. Her transformation had changed every part of her body.

Hundreds of screeching creatures milled around the corner, forming a chorus of commotion that reminded Lockspur of a concert he had gone to with his wife decades ago. "What now?" he asked no one in particular. "Why are they here?"

The female raptor turned to him, sniffed the air and replied, "They smell enemies in the upper tunnels."

"Is it us?" Lockspur asked.

"Your camouflage keeps you safe, for the time being," she said, as a half grimace/half grin flashed across her face. "They smell outsiders in another tunnel." She pointed at a second opening. "There. They will emerge from there"

"Can't you just talk to them?" he asked. "Tell them what's going on."

She gestured at her new form and said, "I am an outsider here. Food for the feast."

"I'm sorry," Carolyn said with a guilty grimace. "If there had been any other way."

"No need for that," she replied with a faint smile. "You have given far more than you have taken." She touched her belly. "Unlike them, my babies will grow to be special." She sneered over her shoulder at the snapping herd. "And for that alone, I cannot give enough thanks."

"I hope they become kings and queens."

"As do I." she agreed, pointing at the raptors. The horde had all turned towards the tunnel opening and gone still. The changing raptor made shushing gesture and said, "Nearly time to go."

"Go where?" Lockspur asked. "They're right there. We can't just walk through them."

"But we can run," she said, pointing to the tunnel opening she saw earlier. "When I go, you follow. You will need to move quickly or they will see you."

"Wait," Lockspur said, "What are you talking about? There's no way we can't get by them."

The raptor raised her chin, sniffed at the air and said, "Prepare to move out. They're almost here. It won't be long now."

"Who's here?"

"Use your senses. The outsiders are coming."

Lockspur sniffed the air and almost puked. The stench of feces made his empty aching stomach do cartwheels."All I can smell is..."

"Camouflage."she said, laughing to herself. "And that is why even simple-minded raptors know not to roll in shit. It may blind your enemies to your scent, but it also blinds you to theirs."

He stared at her blankly, searching helplessly for a witty comeback, but nothing came to mind. He turned to Carolyn and said, "Did she just school me on tactics?"

"Yes," Carolyn said with a grin. "I believe she did."

Weapon's fire erupted from the tunnel leading up into the wreckage and the unsettled horde rushed towards the tunnel opening. A path opened between the trio and an exit a hundred yards away.

"Now." the raptor screamed and Carolyn and Lockspur took off running behind her. With every stride of her long legs, they fell behind 4 paces. Her speed was frightening. The distance seemed to vanish in front of her and after only a few seconds, she had vanished through the opening, leaving them running through the center of thr pack alone.

As Carolyn and Lockspur approached the opening, a massive raptor unfolded itself from the floor, barring their way. It roared and hissed, alerting a large group of raptors on the other side of the cavern. They rushed back to investigate the commotion, trapping the two outsiders on all sides. None of the snapping, snarling raptors seemed to notice or mind their unique smell.

The horde circled like vultures waiting for just the right moment to feed on their helpless prey. Every so often, a raptor would dart in close, try to take a bite, catch a furious blow from a razor-sharp knife, and then retreat to a safe distance to lick its wound. "This won't work for long." Lockspur shouted, swinging at another incoming raptor.

A tremendous scream emanated from the tunnel opening, and a giant black figure leapt from the darkness. The creature flailed through the air, 20 feet, 50 feet and then 100 feet, landing just behind Carolyn and Lockspur. It stood up, grabbed Lockspur by the back of the pants and shirt, and tossed him through the air like a discarded potato sack. He flew, cartwheeling endlessly, and then crashed down far from harm's way as Carolyn landed on top of him. Both lay battered, bruised, with the wind knocked out of them, but they were alive and no longer the centers of attention.

A half a dozen raptors turned to follow, but the she-raptor screamed a challenge to all. They turned back to her and the circling began again. Raptor after raptor answered her challenge. Running at her, snarling and biting, some came away bruised, others came away with bloody teeth, some never came away at all. She bludgeoned them all with enormous blood drenched fists.

As two raptors ran at her from the sides, a third monster raced up from behind and slammed her in the back. It threw her through the air as if hit by a locomotive, crashed to the ground and slid to a stop face down, just ten feet in front of her new friends.

Lockspur and Carolyn cowered against the tunnel wall, trying not to draw unwanted attention. He mouthed the words we have to do something, and she shook her head no. They both knew there was nothing either of them could do against an army of raptors.

The she-raptor's eyes flickered open, and she saw her new comrades crouching just inside the tunnel opening. She pulled herself to her feet, swaying from side to side. They knew she could run past them. And she knew it, too. But if that was the case, the horde would follow her and find her friends.

The she-raptor said, "Next time run faster."

Guilt twisted at their guts as they watched her turn back to the horde, stagger a few yards, and then fell face down in a heap as the creatures descended upon her.

They ran covered in shit and smelling like mountains of guilt and shame. They had left her to endure the fates that should have been theirs. Twenty minutes later, Lockspur came to a gasping stop and fell to his knees, crying in shame. "We just left her there to be torn to pieces." He couldn't stop looking into his little girl's eyes. What had he done? He heaved himself up, rubber band legs barely supporting him, and began staggering back, mumbling how they needed to go back. To make it right.

Carolyn said, "Wait, dammit. She's still alive."

"How do you know? Can you still read her mind?"

"No," she replied, feeling herself all over. "Because we're still alive… and here."

Lockspur put his back against the tunnel wall, slid onto his backside, and let out an exasperated sigh. He felt like he hadn't slept in ten years. Every muscle in his body ached, and his mouth felt as rough as sandpaper. "At first, I believed this job was just about gathering Intel. Then, I was certain it was about the whole Riddick is a daddy bullshit. But now, since you showed up, I think something far bigger than anything I could imagine is going on."

Carolyn said nothing.

"Fine," Lockspur said. "Have it your way. But do me one small favor before we leave anyone else to die. How about you answer this? How did a dead Hunter Gratzner crew member show up out of nowhere to save my ass like you knew exactly where and when I would need help?"

"What makes you think I died?"

"Company report lists acting Captain Carolyn Fry as killed in the incident. Hell, I saw the emergency footage myself. You were there then and you're here now. That's a lot of time to go walking around this barren shithole with no food or water and everything trying to eat you."

"You want answers, I get that." Carolyn said. "But let's just leave the past in the past. Besides, we don't have enough time to go into that. As for the here and now, the truth is simple: I didn't come here to save you. I came to save her."

Lockspur's mouth fell open, and he said, "Are you saying you would have -"

"I'm saying you're an idiot." she snapped angrily. "You're to meet me. The mission Lady Hemmingford gave you was to deliver two shards. One for hesself; the other- I presume- for the raptor. "

"What mission?" Lockspur asked. "I haven't Lilith. She's not here."

"Then you have the other crystal?"

"Of course. It's right here." he said, touching his arm where the inserted crystal was hidden. "It's gone." he blurted, rubbing his arm. "And the incision has vanished. How's that possible?" Carolyn smiled at him as if to say you already know how that's possible.

"You can't remember." Carolyn said, "Lilith gave you some of her blood." Carolyn said. "And in doing so, your memory if the meeting was deleted to keep the meeting secret. But that verifies the raptor's story. She must have had the second half of the shard on her when she was attacked. The raptor i gested it."

"Are you saying she's not dead?"

"Not likely. But I suggest we go get some backup and get our people back before he arrives."

"Before who gets here?"

"The Purifier."