Kharaa Data :: Species :: Gorge: Observation

Summary: Belligerent and obese, Gorges serve as a kind of mobile hive and support unit. Their most important role is triggering new hives and creating chambers from lumps of raw matter
they … un-digest. Without them the aliens cannot keep pace with marine research and upgrades. To this end, they receive resources much faster than other species, and can tap a larger amount. They can also spray healing bacteria from their mouths, restoring chambers and other aliens to full effectiveness. Though their role is not as aggressive as the other species, they consistently find ways to cause mischief and support attacks on enemy positions. And with their spit, web and babbler abilities, underestimating them in combat is a dangerous mistake.        [Name]

Gorge

"[Deej: Andre, crawl over here. Stay down!]

[Andre: on my way.]

I dropped down between the stainless steel laboratory tables, and ran, hunched over, to Deej's forward position. At the doorway to the room he was in I paused, and slowly poked my head around. It was the observation area for the testing room beyond – designed to protect the viewers from whatever dangerous (and probably illegal) experiments the Mercantile League was conducting. The viewing window ran the entire length of the wall. The airlock into the test room was not registering on my HUD – it must have gone into lock-down mode after the gridlock kicked in.

Deej was crouched beneath the window, motioning me over. I got onto my stomach and scooted across the floor. When I got alongside, he pointed at his eye, then at the window. I nodded, and slowly lifted my head to get a view.

The experiment room had a resource node in it. A Gorge was building on top of it – or more accurately, was ejecting from its mouth a thick mass of purplish-orange organic goop, that its mucous-dripping oral organ was working feverishly to shape, mold, and coat with enzymes.

[Deej: Can we please please kill that thing?]

I smirked at the text on my HUD, and pulled my HMG off my back. He gripped his shotgun. We both stood up. The Gorge was facing sideways, too occupied to notice us. I glanced at Deej, he nodded, and we both opened fire.

The glass buckled into a mass of pockmarks and fissures, but amazingly, held. Deej cursed and shouldered his shotgun, pulling a trip mine from his belt. I shoved the barrel of my heavy into a pock mark and the tip just poked through. I held the stock up above my head to angle it down into the room, and let loose another half a clip as the Gorge ran for the back airlock to the experiment room. This one was working – it began to cycle open. Deej slapped the trip mine onto the bottom sill of the window so only two of its legs were gripping. "Back off!" he yelled, and we ran back into the lab room. Mines self-detonate if placed "incorrectly". It beeped a few times in warning. We expected shards to come with the explosion – but there was only the mine's concussion, and then a ripping sound.

We ran back to find the window peeled up from the sill into a strange curved white form, like a frozen curtain. The back door had cycled open, the Gorge must have just gone through. I covered Deej as he slipped through the gap, then pushed my heavy through and followed. The HMG is a bitch to run with – I shouted for Deej to hold up, but he was already through the lock, shoving another shell into his gun as he ran. As I was approaching the corridor beyond, I heard a "schlitch" – the telltale sound of a web constricting – and the rapid wet sound of alien weapons. I came around the corner to find Deej covered in glistening strands, frantically shuffling backwards as three offensive chambers and the Gorge nailed him over and over. From behind I heard the glug-glug of at least one defensive chamber healing everything nearby. I stood in front of Deej and unloaded onto everything in sight. The Gorge dropped behind the chambers, I took a few hits, and Deej and I fell back around the corner. His armor was around as thin as cardboard, and he wasn't doing much better. Meanwhile I heard more movement. Great, reinforcements. We'd never take them with the mini-base they had going. I shoved him back through the airlock and sent a command-request for medkits, while the doors began to close. I took out my frustrations on the resource chamber."