"The Duos Seems to be doing better."

"Yes, yes we are very relieved. We think it was stress related, nothing to take it out on."

"And the puzzles weren't working?"

"No, food doesn't seem to be a good motivator for this creature."
The scientist shook her large head and neck, the entire body wiggling with the distributed energy.

"Than why did it stop?"

She sighed, "We cannot be sure, though perhaps it has grown used to its new environment. It may have just been early on."

The two of them walked through the park, mostly closed now except for the cleaning drones.

"And the other creatures."

"They seem alright." Together they moved to the side where they could see into one of the other new enclosures, where the small plant-like creature was floating at its center. This one didn't move much, for it didn't really need to, and inside the cage – which was heavily climate controlled – it didn't have to worry much, "I am most worried about the duos. It has taken to hiding at the top of the cage."

"The top?"

"Yes, it hangs from the upper bars upside down. If it were to fall, I am worried what might happen. I did some calculations, and I don't think the creature was meant to be doing that. Based on it's current anatomy, I would consider it a ground-based animal."

"That is strange. Do you think it is stress related?"

"I believe so?" She responded, the two of them walking past the other enclosures and towards the duos cage, which was down towards the center of the park.

They stopped just outside the enclosure.

"You see it, just right there?"

"Huh, that is strange."

"IT likes to hook its legs through the bars."

They shook their head, "That cannot be comfortable, can it?"

"I wouldn't imagine so. We think it is trying to get away from the crowds. So we are thinking about building a little tower for it, so it can be high up without causing harm to itself?"

"That sounds like a good idea, do that."

"Yes, right away."

***

I didn't exactly expert my plan to work of course, but it turned out better than expected. For the last few days, I had been spending time up at the high far end of the cage furthest away from the cameras. I was sort of hoping that they would take note and do something about the situation, because my legs and hands were getting soar as hell. I knew I could pull off my plan without their intervention of course, but a little unwitting help was nice.

Imagine my gleeful surprise when the cleaning drones came into the pen, and started rigging up a tarp from the top of the cage bars. They even went and filled that bitch with leaves and shit. They pretty much made me a hammock thirty or fourty feet in the air, which would have been cool to sleep in, but was even cooler when considering my escape plan.

I crawled over, and tested it after they were gone, pleased with how secure it was.

Then I did a bit of building myself, grabbing some leaves and vines and making a sort of curtain in the direction of the cameras. After that, I slept for most of the day, making sure to go down a few times to get food, so my sudden absence wouldn't arouse suspicion. I wanted them to think I was nice and comfortable, and I wanted myself ready for that night.

For tonight was my great escape.

I went out one more time late that night. I know it was probably spiteful of me, and very childish, but I definitely peed on the viewing window. Not that anyone was there to view, but it made me feel better, and they would have to clean it up if they wanted to use the pen again. I imagine that would be the least of their worries by the end of tonight.

Lying up there in my hammock, I waited a few minutes listening and watching for the late night drone activity. Predictably, a drone came and left from my pen and then the neighboring one, cleaning up after us. It even came to check on me with it's cameras.

I made to look asleep, and it flew off.

Once it was gone I rolled onto my hands and knees, and began piling leaves in a human-shape towards it's center.

With that done, I rolled onto my back reaching up to grab the bars with my hands and then pressing against another with my feet.

I took a few quick, breaths and then pushed.

At first, nothing happened. It was just me straining against metal, but sensing the increased activity and the straining, the iron eye suit booted up with a sharp hiss. The pneumatic actuators on the legs and arms strained with me. I dropped off the pressure for a second, and waited. A sharp rumbling started up in the next pen over, and with one sharp movement, and a burst of power from the actuators and slammed my feet against the metal straining with my back and arms as leverage.

There was a sharp squeal, and I nearly pulled something in my leg as the bar gave way.

I had to stop myself from shouting in triumph, and quickly hunkered down, listening to make sure no one had been alerted by the noise. In the other pen, that large creature let off from its moaning, and the zoo grew quiet once again.

Heart hammering in my chest, and hands tingling, I turned towards where my feet had been and peered at the broken and bent bars. It would probably be just barely big enough.

And when I say just barely big enough, I mean, getting through that hole was like pulling on a pair of wet skin tight jeans, where you have to practically do a rain dance to the god of clothing in order to get out. By the time I was crouched on top of the cage, my back and arms were marred with livid red marks from where my skin had scraped against the bars.

Crouched atop the structure, I looked around at the zoo for the first time, and what I saw there made my jaw drop to the cage floor forty feet below. The place was huge, stretching on in all directions for miles and miles. I couldn't see the end. And in all that,I could hear a thousand animal calls from all areas of the enclosure.

I had to quickly pick my jaw up off the floor and quietly scramble across the top of the enclosure, dropping down to one of the viewing pathways quietly knees bending with cat-like stealth.

The Iron eyes suit helped to cushion the fall, and I quickly moved up the path, avoiding some cleaning drones, and moving over to the next cage.

I wanted me to be the last thing they had to worry about.

I knew what the locking mechanism looked like, and it wasn't anything complicated. It required a series of patterned actions to open, too complex for animals, and to complex for park guests to manage, but I had been watching from the cage.

I grabbed the locking mechanism and began pushing the pieces into position.

WIth a soft hiss, the door opened, and I hurried off in the other direction, not entirely sure what I had just let out of its cage.

I went around like that, under cover of darkness, opening cages and working to create mayhem.

Most of the animals didn't notice the open doors at first, which was all fine and good for me. The last thing I needed was to be noticed by something that could eat my face.

The first animal I saw wonder by was some kind of large bird, about the size of my chest and with a thick beak and large stumpy feet.

I only had to make an expeditious retreat once , up the side of an enclosure, when a massive ass snake thing came chagrin up the pathway. It slithered past as I clung to the bars and continued on its merry way.

"Whose there!"

The voice froze me in place,and with my eyes wide, I turned down to look into the cage hardly able to believe my eyes.

***

The battle on the ground was going more poorly than the battle in the air.

Burg warships and their stealth capabilities made it much easier to fight the invasion force from space.

Seven GA ships had been destroyed, one of them a human ship, and one of them — to the glee of the Burg – a Celzex ship, but despite GA losses, it was clear who was going to win, and it was not the burg.

If anything, the battle on the ground would decide what was happening. Large swaths of the burg population had already surrendered and were being occupied by human shock troopers, a large number of which, who had not died despite grievous injury in some cases.

They were still a distance form the main hive, and pushing forward was becoming harder and harder as the burg fell back and began to rally. Of course none of that really mattered for the small group of insurgents that had dropped down behind enemy lines. Most of the burg had pushed forward to defend their queen and central hub against attack, leaving much of the middle ground open for attackers.

Sunny was the first down into the cave system, sliding over slimy rocks and plants into the darkness of the burg cave.

Behind her came Ramirez and Maverick, shadowed at the rear by Thomas and Cannon.

Sunny landed on her knees nearly silent, spear held tight in one hand behind her back and at the ready.

The other two slid into a kneeling position beside her, their guns held up.

She motioned forward with one hand, and the group of them quietly moved forward into the darkness. Voices, from further inward, and Sunny motioned them all into a side passage as a burg troop marched by.

They hurried from their cover as the group passed, heading silently inwards, through the dripping tunnels, occasionally cut through by warm beams of light which somehow managed to make their way through cracks in the cave walls and ceiling.

A burg century stood guard just up ahead blocking the path.

Sunny held up a hand, but Maverick was already moving.

She cut silently over the rocks coming up behind the burg.

Before the creature knew what was happening, the sharp steel of a blade snaked around front and cut a quick slash over the creature's throat. Maverick knew what she was doing, for it severed the creature's voice mechanism, making it unable to scream as she finished the job with a hard jab to the back of the head.

The body was concealed, and they continued forward.

Ramirez nodded with an impressed look on his face, Sunny shot them a look.

Thomas was wide eyed and open mouthed staring at Maverick who just grinned wolfishly.

They moved through another few passageways heading towards their target, when they heard another group of voices coming up the hall. This time it wasn't just a small patrol, but the shouted voices of troops heading towards the front, what must have been an entire company of them as their voices rattled through the cave.

Even with their skill, there was no way they would survive that.

They had to act fast, and it was Sunny who first spotted the open crack in the nearest wall, and ushered the others through. Luckily it was just big enough for Cannon, and they all made it through into the small tunnel as the burg passed by, marching feet causing stones and droplets of water to trickle from the ceiling. At the front of the group, Sunny quietly motioned them forward. Hurrying them further down the path so as not to be spotted.

They cut through another small crack forced to push a large rock aside as they spilled into a large, dark room.

There was hardly any light here, only a small illumination catching them from behind and filtering in across the floor.

A large white green mushroom sat before them, and as Sunny moved forward to examine it, the mushroom began to glow softly, diffused green light spilling out across the room.

Sunny stepped back as another mushroom winked on not some distance off, followed by another, and another and another until the entire room was lit.

Sunny and the others stepped back as the entire room began to move, the floor churning and the walls shifting.

A sharp shuffling rose up through the interior of the cavern.

And the churning walls coalesced into shapes

Moving

Shapes

Before them, a mass sitting next to a mushroom shifted and turned.

A Large yellow eye glittered at them from the darkness and antenna wriggled above its head.

Ramirez and Maverick raised their weapons, Thomas cursed violently.

Cannon and Sunny drew their spears.

A murmuring rose up around the room as a thousand bright yellow eyes fell upon them.

And then.

"You seem to have taken a wrong turn."

The burg's voice rose up before them, and they raised their weapons. Sunny cursed inwardly knowing that she had killed them all.

The light form the mushrooms continued to brighten.

Until a shape coalesced form the darkness.

Their weapons quivered in their hands in confusion as the shape walked towards them from the darkness

IT had shiny black carapace, large golden eyes, eight appendages, two long antenna and two gently folded, magnificently colored wings.

The thing, the burg, or the thing that spoke burg stopped in front of them, its hands folded before it.

"I assume you are the advance force to the invading army?"

When they did not answer it simply waved its antenna.

It didn't seem concerned.

"Welcome to the burg capital. I don't suppose you have a few moments to spare?"