Best Laid Plans

We had only gotten to the lift at the end of the corridor when the little Istar in my arms started to vibrate in agitation. Letting him down, I watched him completely disappear from sight. Not even the multiple vision settings of my helmet allowed me to be able to see him.

I looked at the men, wondering if I should be concerned, but they didn't see anything wrong with what just happened. Or maybe they were hoping that I would forget about it and let them kill him the next time he appeared.

There was a strangled squeak, causing all of us to look up at the ceiling. I jumped back as a drop of red acid dripped from the darkness of the ceiling and onto the floor, landing right where my head would have been.

Before I could process what was going on, I heard a thud, and the carcass of something brown dropped down in front of me. Red acid poured out of the body where the head of the Istar would have been, eating its way through the floor.