Fragment by Paul G Swanson (me reader .txt) 📕

murderous demon.
Grendal had beaten him here as usual, but the specimen had not yet arrived, so as far as John was concerned it was all cool. He would put the minor rivalry he held with his partner behind them for just today. The task at hand was most likely more important, they only received messages like that when something urgent comes up, which was for the most part, never.
The door behind them slid open and a man walked in wearing a lab coat like their own. However, this man, they knew was just the guy that drops the funn stuff off. After signing some paper work he left saying it would be dropped off momentarily. Not even a minute after he left they saw the trapdoor in the containment chamber on the opposite side of the room slid open. As the floor rose up they saw a six maybe seven foot reptile bound in an electric net. When the floor clicked into place the binding on the beast vanished.
Startled it leaped to its feet and immediately attacked the glass with its tail. Three small cracks spider webbed across the surface. It was about to attack again when the rooms automatic defense systems kicked in and when it struck again a hundred thousand volts of electricity tossed it across the room. They watch as it slammed into the back wall. It was only down for a moment.
"So Gren, what do think so far?" The beast repeated the process three more times before it stopped, stunned and dizzy it gave up. "What is it, exactly?"
"Not very bright, obviously." Grendal remarked.
"At least its consistently stupid." John didn't want to be left out of the quip session.
"Well, look at the carapace, and the jaw, and the sheer size of the damn thing." He started gettimng down to buisness. This was the first lizard he had seen with body armor, a beak and a tail that ended in stingers. This had to be a new species. "I've never seen anything like it in my life. At least outside of history books." Grendal couldn't help but feel like he was looking at a prehistoric predator.
"It's freakin huge!" He cried out almost with joy when it began to pace the chamber. He walked three feet over to the chamber and put his hand on the cracks. "Didn't you say this glass could take bullets and not even get scratched?" He asked with amazement.
"I doubt its all that. Probably just an exaggeration."
"It damn near broke it, with one hit." He pushed a button on the console in front of him. A holographic keyboard ad monitor materialized next to him. "Gren, scan it please."
"One sec." He pulled up his own monitor and typed in the command, seconds later X-rays of the things body. It didn't seem to have bones. "That's."
"Impossible. Oh my god, its spectacular!" His jaw dropped, he had been told this thing was running around like a raptor, and yet he had just seen it bash the wall in front of him. "It can't possibly." He had studied creatures without bones once before; but those were insects the size of a pen, not as big as an alligator. "We need a blood sample from it." He said in disbelief.
"I ain't getting it." John looked at him anyway. "And you can be damn sure about that!" In an effort to change to subject from him sticking a needle into the damn monster, to something, anything, he said something so stupid he wanted to punch himself. "So, uh, don't you think the, uh, thing deserves a name?"
"Oh, yeah I got one already."
"You do?"
"Oh yeah.you're gonna just love it too." The tone in his voice made him not even want to ask, but he did it anyway.
"Beowulf." Apparently John knew the story as well. "But, don't worry. I doubt it'll rip your arm off and hang it above the thresholds door for some Scandinavian King." Much to his dismay John definitely knew the story.
"You're a bastard." He said and uttered a nervous laugh. "I'm still not going in there."
"You can do it later. For now I need an MRI."
"Ok." He did what he was told and the images showed up on both their screens.
"Multichamber heart."
"Two stomachs?"
"It's Heterosexual." John explained looking at the tail section of the images. The spines appeared to be a delivery system for the eggs.
"A brain to rival the size of our own. But look where its located." Looking at the images the could see the creatures brain was located between its shoulder blades. "Thats an unusual place for that."
"Computer. Retreive DNA sample." John commanded. While the robotic arm in the chamber was fighting with the creature for a blood sample he told Grendal what he thought. "I think I know what this is." He furrowed his eyebrows as he explained. "Until the computer aquires what we need I can't be sure, but I think what we are looking at here is a true Chimera." He saw the unsettled look in Grendals face. "Yeah, this was intellegently designed not natural selection."
"Who would make something like this, and why?"
"We can only speculate. Obviously it was malicious intent. Meaning this is either the distraction or the main event. My money is on diversion."
"Diversion? For what?"
"That my friend is the million dollar question. I have my suspicions though. Did I ever tell you about-" He was inturupted a thud in the chamber caused by the creature thrashing the robotic arm in the chamber against the wall cracking the cement. "Damn glad I'm not in there." He muttered as he watched the arm and the creature dance around the room avoiding each other. As the arm would move in the creature would either leap back out of ranger or attack it with its body. "Anyways," He continued turning his back to the commotion, "I was once commisioned by a private enterprise to identify various specimens from Earth. They had about sixty or so. It paid well, so I went along with it. Everything was completely normal until I arrived at the final sample. It was unlike anything I had ever seen."
"What did you find?"
"A Triple helix recombinate mutation."
"Triple helix?"
"Meaning it was either a very young developing creature or bacteria that I was viewing. Normaly triple helix dna strands are only found during stages of bacteria as they merge enzymes, or in extremely rare reptilian species. Even then, it's only during their zygote forms. meaning they haven't even finished developing." The crashing and thudding in the background ceased as the computer reported that a successful DNA sample was retrieved. "What I saw was absoulutely not a stand a bacteria. Nor was it even recognized by the world databank." He stopped momentarily. "Computer run DNA trace and identify possible pathogens and genus tree." He continued, "I thought t was extremly strange. The company was happy with my results all the same. It peaked my curiousity however. I later tried to look up the company, AAOA no longer existed. It had been destroyed by terrorists a year earlier. Not only that it was a military corporation. Meaning they should have been able to fight back."
"Then, you think it was stolen, from that agency from within?"
"Precisely, which means it was extremly dangerous in the right hands. I suspect that corporation fused several species into what I was look at in that capsule."
Another ding signaled the comuter was done with its analysis. It displayed the results on the left is displayed a spinning DNA strand on the right screen it showed possible Genus trees.
"Lets see what we have here, what do you say?" John said turning around to face the screen. "Oh my."
"Is that what you saw in the capsule?" Asked Grendal slowly. John didn't answer him at first. "You're telling me this is what you saw?"
"Yeah. This is exactly it." On the screen displaying the possible species tree they saw all branches displayed categorically.
"Even the computer can't narrow it down more than superclass."
"We have to find the one that escaped, it cannot be allowed to breed! The entire colony is in danger! Computer gather what we have into a report and submit it to the colonies security forces and forward another the scientific counse!" John threw his lab coat onto the ground revealing the uniform for the space goverment officials. "Lets go Grendal, we have a meeting to attend." The door closed behind them. In its chamber the creature paced hungrily.

* * *

Eventually Psylix and Moumoru had woken up a few hours later, Seth and the others left them alone, and then they started to inspect the remains of the spacecraft with bitter resolve. Few things had survived the explosion let alone the fire. Only half of the second floor was still attached to the stairs, but it wobbled precariously as they stepped upon it. Psylix sadly kneeled down and picked up some of the ashes in his hand. As it fell through his fingers he knew this was related to Tio. He just didn't know how yet. ANd just who was it he was supposed to protect Tio from? His father wasn't very specific. Balling his fist he walked back down to the first floor. Using his frustration he smashed his arm through the support hold the second floor up. It fell heavily and scattered what was left. He saw the remains of Moumoru's prized pistols laying in ash.
He knelt down and picked them up. The ivory handles had melted onto the metal scarring them horribly and rendered them unsalvagable. I'll have to make sure to get his some new ones, he thought himself as he handed them over. Moumorus face contorted sadly as he viewed the damage.
"Goes without saying, ya know." Psylix told Moumoru. Grinning he turned to Moumoru an said, "Sure glad I took your advice and insured this thing."
"Yup." Moumoru rubbed his still throbbing head. "I don't really feel like I wanna say it, but-"
"No need, I'll say it for you. We need a new ship." He sighed dejectedly.
"I've heard there was a ship graveyard with a crazy cyborg to the south."
"A cyborg, eh?" He frowned. His tail flicked instincivly.
"Maybe he can help us out. At least he might point us in the right direction" Moumoru urged him with his voice to at least check it out.
"Possibly. It's worth checking into I guess." The few pieces still properly fused together of the ship creaked with iinstability. "Lets go there. We're in serious danger it seems. Haschel has tried