Carlia sighed, just another boring investigation of a derelict ship. Seemed this was all they sent her squad to do these days, after the war. She ran a hand through her dark hair before tying it back into its usual ponytail. She looked herself over in the mirror, her green eyes stared back at her, the scars over her left eye had faded to a dull pink. She missed the angry red they’d been, it helped her feel more intimidating. Not that it mattered anymore, the war had been over for years, and military life had become routine and empty.

She turned and made her way out into the locker room. The dim, blue tinged lighting illuminated several rows of lockers, with metal benches bolted to the floor in the center of the room. Carlia made her way to her locker, finding her squadmate standing next to it, rooting through her own.

“Morning, Carlia! You ready for this? Ship’s huge! I’m excited to find out what the hell could take out a ship that size.” The woman speaking was Carlia’s squadmate, Trintilly. She was an upbeat, dark skinned woman, with dark brown hair, and eyes the same color.  Carlia thought she had a rather cute look to her, though she’d never admit something like that.

Carlia opened her own locker, “It’s just another derelict, Trin. There’s nothing to get excited about.”

“Oh c’mon! You’re not even the slightest bit curious?”

Carlia sighed, “It’s never anything interesting, Trin. It’s always either life support failure, micrometeorite impact, or the idiots in command pulling too many G’s.”

Trintilly leaned around Carlia’s locker door, “That one time it was pirates!” She smiled.

“Yeah, and they’d already left. It was still just another empty ship full of corpses.” Carlia grabbed her armor and took it to a bench to begin putting it on.

“I hate doing this. Dead people are freaky.” The woman had tan skin, blue eyes, and dark hair. A knife scar adorned her left cheek, obtained during the war. She wore round rimmed glasses, and had nearly finished putting on her dark red armor. Her expression was one of fear.

“It’s not like they’re gonna hurt you, Milly.” Carlia said, strapping herself into the lower body section of her armor.

Milly made a small sound of exasperation, “I know that, it’s just… icky.”

Trintilly laughed, “Icky? Milly you’re a marine, how’d you get here using words like icky?”

Milly glared back, “Come over here and find out.”

Trin giggled again, “I’m just saying, I don’t think anyone imagines a royal marine sleeping with a stuffed fish.”

Milly turned and stomped over to Trin, “Listen you piece of-”

Carlia stood and shouted “Enough! Both of you! We’re royal marines, shut up and act like it.”

They both groaned in frustration and said at the same time in a bored tone, “Yes Ma’am.”

The squad made their way to the shuttle bay, it was a large room with a mess of wires and machinery on every surface. There was a large shuttle landed in the center of the room. It had a roughly pyramidal shape with large engines in the back, and was the size of a small building. A hatch was open near the back, underneath the ship. The squad stopped shortly before the hatch, where a man in a dress uniform was waiting for them.

He was a tall, older looking man, probably in his mid-70’s. His hair was thick and dark, as was the mustache on his upper lip. His eyes were a dark blue, and he wore a serious expression.

“Good to see you, ladies. This should be a routine mission, get in, determine the cause of the ship’s current state, get back out so the salvage crews can move in.”

“I really don’t understand why you have to see us off personally every time, sir.” Carlia said.

Trintilly grinned, “I think it’s nice, gives the Cap a kind, grandfatherly edge to him.” 

The Captain groaned, “Corporal Brinannia, you’ve been spoken to about your overly casual outbursts. Put a lid on it. And Lieutenant Brisierei, I see you off to ensure you stay aware of how important each and every salvage operation is.” He took a deep breath, “ We’ve had further reports of scout ships in the system lately. Those strange ones that seem to be from outside the system. We need to make sure whoever they belong to does not gain any of our technology or personnel. Simply destroying the derelicts does not accomplish that effectively enough.” 

Carlia nodded, “Understood, sir. We’re on it.”

As the shuttle docked with the large, dark ship, Carlia felt unrelenting boredom. The size of the ship made no difference, it was always the same damned thing. All the size meant was that it would take forever.

“Aaand we’re latched!” Trintilly said, excitement in her voice, Carlia couldn’t fathom why.

She stood from the pilot seat, “Good. Get yourselves ready, and let’s get this over with. We’re gonna be splitting up, each of us covering a sector of the ship. I’ll handle Command and Control, Milly, you have Personnel, and Trin, Engineering and Cargo. Got it?”

Milly nodded, her expression conveying that she clearly didn’t want to be alone, but she’d have to deal with it.

Trintilly grinned and saluted, then said “Yes Ma’am! Count on me!”

The interior of the ship was silent and pitch black. Carlia’s suit mics picked up no sound other than that made by her own boots hitting the deck. It looked like a fancy ship, probably one of those Lillayan cruise liners. Damn Lillayans, wasting resources on this shit… She was glad they’d lost the war. The ship had no air, no light, no gravity, and yet… where were the bodies? The atmosphere began to unnerve Carlia, but she steeled herself and continued on, entering the bridge. 

Her suit radio pinged on, and Trintilly’s voice came through, <Down in Engineering Ma’am, want me to turn the lights on?>

“Do it.”

<You got it!>

The entire ship rumbled for a moment as the reactor turned on. The lights blinked on, almost blinding after the darkness. It revealed something… odd. There was a puddle of what looked like deep black liquid on the floor of the bridge. Taking a look around, it covered several of the consoles as well. It wasn’t a liquid, more like a semi-solid, amorphous mass. Carlia walked up to one the consoles covered in it, examining it more closely. It seemed to be moving slightly… Was it pressing buttons on the console?

<Ma’am…> Milly’s voice came through the radio, <Ma’am I’m seeing some weird shit here...>

Carlia stepped back from the goo, “Tell me what you’re seeing, I’m seeing something odd up here too.”

<It’s like, some kind of black… stuff. I dunno. I- it> The radio went suddenly silent.

Carlia pinged her several times, nothing. She pinged Trin instead, “Trin, get up to Personnel and calm Milly down, please.” She rolled her eyes.

<On it, Ma’am, ugh.>

“I’m noting that sound, Corporal.”

<Yeah, yeah.>

Carlia waited anxiously on the bridge for word from either of her squadmates. She stayed well away from the strange substance that covered many of the surfaces. Seventeen minutes later, oxygen levels reached a breathable state.

Carlia pinged Trintilly, “Oxygen’s up, but don’t take off your helmets. We don’t know what this shit is, and it doesn’t exactly look safe to breathe around.”

The radio crackled to life, <Ma’am something’s up with Milly…> Trin sounded concerned, which was unusual.

“What is it?” Carlia asked.

<Hard to explain, just get down here.>

Carlia sighed in frustration, but made her way there nonetheless. As she made her way through the opulent halls, she saw that the mysterious substance was everywhere. It covered the walls in large splotches, hung from the ceilings, and seemed to reach up out of the floor in places. She found it incredibly unsettling. She took the elevator down to the Personnel sector.

As she entered the room her HUD indicated her squadmates were in, she heard Trintilly speaking, “Back off, Milly! What's wrong with you? I ain’t even into girls, you know that!”

Carlia saw Trin backed up against a wall in the bunkroom, With Milly pressing against her. Milly’s helmet was off. 

“Come on, Trin, take off your helmet. I promise it’ll feel goood.” Milly said, her voice low and sensual. 

Carlia walked over and pulled Milly off of Trin. “Milly, what the fuck is wrong with you? Not only is this incredibly inappropriate conduct, you’re endangering yourself and the mission!”

Milly twisted in Carlia’s grasp, her eyes heavily lidded, her pupils incredibly dilated. “Oh heeey Ma’am… I was just telling Trin about how good it feels to-”

“I don’t care.” Carlia began, “Get a hold of yourself, now. That's an order.” She let go of her.

Milly stumbled backward for a moment, then regained her balance. She walked back up to Carlia, one foot directly in front of the other, her hips swaying… very prettily. She pressed up against Carlia, placing a hand on the chest of her armor, “I’d rather get ahold of you, Ma’am…” She smirked and winked.

Carlia pushed Milly back, causing her to fall to the floor. Carlia then flipped her onto her front, and cuffed her hands behind her back. 

“Okay. Something’s really fucking wrong here. Trin, contact command, let them know what’s happening, and that we need assistance, full quarantine.” 

Trintilly laughed, “Why would I do that, Ma’am? It feels so good to let it in.”

Carlia looked up, and saw that Trin had been pressed up against some of the strange black substance, and it was seemingly wriggling its way into her suit. Carlia jumped up and stepped over to her, pulling her off the wall, strings of the black substance trailing off of it behind her. Carlia pulled them out, making sure none of it stuck to herself. 

“Trin? Are you okay?” Carlia asked, genuine concern in her voice. 

Trin was breathing heavily, “Y-yeah… yeah i’m okay. The fuck is this shit Ma’am? It… it spoke to me.”

“It did what?”

Trin nodded, sitting down on one of the beds. “Yeah. It… it told me to relax and let it in. I… it… it felt amazing Ma’am.

Carlia placed a hand on Trin’s shoulder, “Hey, you’re okay now. I got it off you.”

“I… I don’t think we should call for help, Ma’am. What if this stuff gets off the ship? What if it gets onto ours?” Trin seemed extremely unsettled. 

Carlia sighed, “Calm down. We don’t know what this stuff is or how it works. But that’s no reason to panic. It’s obviously drugged Milly somehow, and tried to do the same to you. Let’s get Milly out of her armor and see what’s going on.”

The two of them knelt down next to Milly, who was struggling against her bindings. Carlia opened Milly’s armor, and as it popped open with a hiss, she saw that the substance had ripped apart Milly’s undersuit, and was now the only thing covering her body.

“Shit!” Trin stumbled backward. 

“It’s skin tight, looks like. Must be drugging her through the skin.” Carlia said.

“What the fuck do we do?” Trin asked, sitting back up.

“Join meee…” Milly purred, licking her lips.

“Yeah, I’d rather not.” Trin replied.

Carlia turned to her right, grabbed a metal pole that was part of one of the beds, and using her suit’s strength, ripped it out. She turned back to Milly, and touched the metal to the substance, testing it. It didn’t stick to the rod, and pressed in just as easily as Milly’s skin would.

“It’s part of me now, Ma’am. It wants to be part of you too, let it innnn….”

Carlia pulled out a syringe from a compartment in her armor, “I’m gonna sedate her.” She tried to inject into Milly’s still exposed neck, but the substance seemingly grew over the area nearly instantly. It didn’t stop there, continuing over Milly’s entire neck and head. 

“Oh fuck! Milly? Milly can you hear me?” Trin said, breathing heavily.

“Oh she’s just fine.” The voice came from behind, it was inhuman, disturbing, as if boiling mud could speak, yet it was also somehow feminine.

Carlia and Trin both turned to look, and saw… something out of a nightmare. It had the shape of a female human body, a very attractive one at that, but it was made of the black substance, dripping with it. It was taller than a human, with longer limbs, but not enough to look completely non-human in shape. Its face was entirely inhuman, Two large, empty eyes, glowing a deep purple from within. The mouth was the same, sharp triangular shapes evoking serrated teeth filled the upper and lower edges of it, and it glowed that same deep purple inside, with a long tongue of the same glowing color constantly moving in and around the ‘teeth’. Its hands had long claws instead of fingers, which dripped with more of the black substance. A long, thin, dextrous tail could be seen behind it, strings of the substance dripping between the body and itself, as it swished and curled around anything it could reach. The thing had one hand on its hip, and stood in the doorway, staring.

It spoke again, its mouth not moving to make the words, they simply.. Came out of it from somewhere inside the mouth. “She’s simply become… something more. Enlightened to a better reality. She’s a Sister now.”

Milly stirred, and Carlia glanced back to see the substance squeeze a bit of itself into the cuffs, unlocking them. Milly climbed out of her armor, and stood impassively, her face entirely obscured, leaving a blank expanse of deep blackness in its place. The shape of her body had somehow changed, matching the creature in the doorway, but with Milly’s proportions. 

“M-Milly?” Carlia asked, unable to keep the fear from her voice. 

“She can’t hear you, silly meat-creature.” The thing in the doorway said, a hint of amusement in its voice, “She belongs to the Sisterhood now. She always will.”

“What the fuck are you?! What did you do to her?” Trin shouted, anger and fear audible in her voice in equal measure. 

“I am The Mother. I birth the Sisters, we grow, we spread. The glory of The Sisterhood spreads through the stars, beginning here!” It spread its arms in a grand gesture, strings of fluid hanging from them and dripping off.

Carlia said nothing, simply unholstering her pistol and firing five shots into the creature’s torso. Black, stringy fluid sprayed the wall behind it as the holes closed immediately and the thing was entirely unaffected. 

“Silly meat-creature…” The Mother walked into the room, its feet were large and bird-like, leaving splashes of the substance with every step. It walked up to Carlia and kicked her in the chest, sending her flying into the wall to her left. 

Dazed confusion filled Carlia’s head as she struggled to regain her senses. Her armor indicated she had severe bruising in her chest, and one of her ribs had been cracked. It filled her body with painkillers. Trintilly screamed, and Carlia looked up to see her being held in place by Milly, as The Mother forcibly removed her helmet. 

“Get the fuck away from me!” Trin screamed, struggling against Milly’s grip to no avail.

The Mother leaned down, and licked Trintilly’s face with that bizarre glowing tongue, leaving a slick of the substance on her cheek. “You’ve heard my voice before, meat-creature. You’ve felt my presence. You wanted it then. Can you honestly say you don’t want it now?”

Trin continued to struggle, groaning with the effort.

“Come now, little meat-creature. Your friend has already joined The Sisterhood. She’s so much happier now, aren’t you dear?” The Mother asked.

“Yes, Mother. Happier than I’ve ever been. I want nothing more than to help The Sisterhood grow and spread.” Milly’s voice was muffled and had a bit of the strange, gurgling quality The Mother’s had. 

“M-Milly! Listen to me, you know me! Let me go and we can get you help!” Trin said, desperation audible in her voice. 

Milly stayed silent, and her grip didn’t change.

Carlia tried to stand, but found she didn’t have the strength. “Trin! Milly’s dead! She’s not in there anymore, take her down and get out of here!”

Trin managed to unsheath her knife, and with an anguished shout, stabbed Milly in the stomach. Black fluid spilled out, and Milly’s stance and grip didn’t change. 

“You’re not getting out of this, meat-creatures. The Sisterhood will grow and spread, and you shall help it to do so, happily.” The Mother said, ripping open Trintilly’s armor with terrifying ease, grabbing her around the waist, and shoving her entire body against her abdomen. 

Trin screamed as she was grabbed, but was quickly silenced as the sticky black fluid filled her mouth. She continued to struggle, strings of fluid connecting her to The Mother’s body whenever she managed to free a limb, only to become stuck again as she attempted to push The Mother off of her. 

“Shhh, Sister. It’s time now. You see it, don’t you? You feel the enlightenment spreading through you.” The Mother said, its attempt to sound soothing only made its voice more disturbing.

It gently pushed Trintilly back from itself, and she fell to her knees. Fluid covered her entire front, and dripped from her mouth, mixing with drool. Trintilly looked up at The Mother with what seemed like reverence, and nodded.

Carlia continued to try to stand, only managing to sit up slightly and fall down again. Her armor was malfunctioning, and wasn’t compensating for its own weight. “T-Trin! Trin no, don't listen to it!”

“Tell your friend what you’re feeling, Sister.” The Mother commanded. 

Trin continued to stare up at The Mother as she spoke, her voice sounded as if she were feeling the most intense pleasure imaginable, “I feel so good. I see The Sisterhood, all of us, as one. It’s beautiful, Carlia. It’s perfection. I’ve never felt anything more amazing. It’s better than sex, better than anything. You should join us, Carlia.”

Carlia felt intense fear, betrayal, and a dozen other feelings all at once. “Trin… no…” She said, quietly. 

The Mother turned to Carlia, “Losing hope, meat-creature? Good. You’re beginning to see what I already know, aren’t you? You will join The Sisterhood.”

Carlia glared up at the thing standing before her, noticing behind her that the substance had already overtaken Trin’s body. “I’m not joining shit. I don’t know what the fuck you are, but you’re not having me.”

The Mother laughed, it was a horrible sound. Trin and Milly both made their way over, kneeling next to Carlia and opening her armor. They began to touch her body, groping her, distracting her with pleasure. It wouldn’t work. Carlia grabbed her pistol from where it’d landed next to her, and pointed it at her own head. 

A tendril of substance swept down from the wall above her, grasping the pistol and ripping it from Carlia’s hand. The Mother knelt in front of Carlia, her tongue dripping with fluid. 

“Fuck you!” Carlia screamed, struggling against Trin and Milly’s hands both groping and holding her down.

The Mother laughed again, “Oh? Well meat-creature… If you insist.”

The creature climbed atop Carlia, and she felt her undersuit melt away. The Mother was heavy, but extremely soft. She felt the wetness of the fluid spreading over her thighs and groin as the Mother straddled her. Trin and Milly had been right… This felt good. But.. no… nonono this thing was evil, it was trying to….

The Mother began grinding against her, and groping her breasts. The claws on her hands weren’t sharp, and deformed to the shape of Carlia’s body. It felt incredible. Each point of contact buzzed and burned with pleasure. It was as if she were orgasming over and over, each one unending, only adding to the mind-bending glory of the feeling. Carlia quickly forgot what she’d been afraid of, why she should resist. This feeling was everything. The Sisterhood was within her, was her. She felt their minds, their pleasure, all connected as if by the strings of the fluid. She felt The Mother, above them all, directing, guiding, loving. The Mother gave The Sisters this feeling, their connection. The Mother was divinity, was perfection, was god. She knew that if she gave in, this would be forever. She did it without hesitation.

The Mother laughed, out loud, and in Carlia’s mind. “Very good, Sister. Very good.” It stood, its tail wrapping around Carlia’s throat, pulling her up with it. “Now, Sister, you will call for help. You will make your former comrades come running to save you all. And you will help me to bring them all into the fold. Obey now.”

Carlia smiled, feeling the substance beginning to encase her skin. She knelt down and pinged command on her suit radio. “This is Lieutenant Carlia Brisierei, salvage team. We need immediate assistance, unknown hostiles are aboard, repeat, unknown hostiles, send as many marines as you can! Please, help us…