Relk sat still at the Ops console on The Pillar’s C.I.C., watching the events outside unfold through a meter-wide rupture in the hull.

The two vessels hung motionless in space, just like before. The alien monstrosity…

Which is alien to me now? Relk’s thoughts interrupted. Dismissing that uncomfortable question, he studied its surface.

Spaceships have a certain design. There are certain characteristics which are always there: longer than it is tall, engines burning in the rear. This thing had no recognizable features. It was jagged, inconsistent, and ugly.

Suddenly, a forward section of the thing glowed a cold blue. The same sensations as before thundered through his mind, but without the noise this time.

Relk knew what has about to happen to The Hammer’s crew. They were either being destroyed or adapted, just as he had been. And there was nothing he could do to stop it, trapped on this broken hulk.

He simply stared through the gap, horrified to suddenly find the smile on his own alien face.