Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Klein awoke, the smell of rotting flesh filling his nostrils. The door to the room opened, the two aliens who had interrogated him earlier entering the room. The small one spoke, “I trust your night was unpleasant. You will now tell us where your planet is, or you may join your friend.”

Sweat beaded on Klein’s forehead as he stared at Sanders’ cold, stiff corpse. Blood had dried on the floor all around her, a trickle of it crusted onto Klein’s boots. A drop of sweat dripped into Klein’s eyes, he blinked it out, feeling the alien eyes watching him, filled with unimaginable hatred. “No, I can’t. I can’t sell out my entire planet!” Klein shouted, a note of pleading in his voice. “Please, understand, I can’t! I can’t do it!”

S’Tallen leaned forward, whispering conspiratorially, motioning to S’Olonny, who stood as rigid as a statue, fury in his eyes. “Do you think you will be the last? We have at least twenty of your fellows in custody, he will kill each and every one until he finds what he wants to know. He will not stop because he enjoys killing, because he lusts for blood. Your leader we captured, you remember her?”

Klein thought of Rosaro and nodded his head. S’Tallen continued, “He butchered her, bathing in her blood as he cut her into tiny pieces.” S’Tallen stopped, letting the image soak into Klein’s brain. “If you do not talk, he will do the same to you.”

Tears came to Klein’s eyes as he whined, “I can’t tell you! If I could, I would, but I can’t!”

S’Tallen’s reptilian mouth imitated a smile as he whispered, “I know that you think this will save your planet, but it will not. A deep space probe led us here, and right now there are dozens of the same probes scouring space for any signs of life. It is only a matter of time before one of those probes finds your world; you are only sacrificing your life needlessly. You can tell us what we will find out eventually, or…” S’Tallen paused dramatically, gesturing to Sanders’ corpse. “Or you can end up like her.”

Klein looked over at Sanders then up at S’Olonny. There was a long moment of silence, Klein’s mind racing. He saw the sword at S’Olonny’s hip, its naked blade covered in blood. Rosaro’s blood, Klein thought. She was probably the toughest one of us, and the alien bastard slaughtered her like a hog. He had cut Sanders open without even thinking, just sliced her open and let her bleed to death. That’s not how I go, it can’t be how I go!

“Have you made your decision?” S’Tallen asked, loud enough for S’Olonny to hear.

Klein nodded slowly. “Yes. I…I’ll need a star chart.”

S’Tallen clapped his hands together happily while S’Olonny grunted in disappointment. “Excellent. Our ship’s navigator will be here soon.” S’Tallen called for the guards outside the door, pointing a clawed finger to Sanders. “Dispose of that and show Lieutenant S’Quivay in.” Klein turned away as Sanders was hauled out of the room, too ashamed to face her cold gaze.

S’Olonny met with S’Tallen outside of the room. “Well done, S’Tallen, your gift for deception has finally paid dividends.”

S’Tallen snorted at the remark, “He was already out of his mind, it was easy enough to manipulate him. I must congratulate you on your performance, he would rather allow his race to die out than to make you angry with him.”

“There was no performance,” S’Olonny snarled. “I would have gutted him and every last of his kind. These dishonorable scum, I will make certain that their stink is wiped from the face of the universe.”

Before S’Tallen could reply, his communicator beeped. “What is it?” He hissed, seeing that one of his guards was on the other end.

“Director, your experiment is beginning to regain consciousness.”

S’Tallen’s eyes lit up from the thought that he would soon realize his dream. “I will be right there.” He looked up at S’Olonny, trying to keep the joy from his voice. “I have to go tend to an experiment.”

S’Olonny growled, “I need you here, to translate that maggot’s words to Lieutenant S’Quivay.”

S’Tallen tossed a small device to one of the guards standing by the door. “Tell S’Quivay to use that so he can know what the beast is saying. He does not need to have a lengthy discussion, just have the prisoner point to some spot on a map.” S’Tallen brushed by S’Olonny quickly, walking as briskly as his legs could carry him. At last, the time had come.

***

S’Revlar crouched in the darkness, waiting for his prey to arrive. The S’Parnian scout was hiding on the balcony of a conical building overlooking the energy fountain in the center of the city. The fountain projected colorful waves of energy high into the air, an effect that would dazzle most people, but to S’Revlar it was a weapon to use against his enemy. Lying at the base of the fountain was a device transmitting S’Revlar’s bio-readings to draw his prey to the fountain.

It had been two hours of waiting, but S’Revlar knew that his plan would work. As if on cue, he saw Laurants cautiously near the fountain, searching the area for some sign of the S’Parnian scout. Laurants studied the fountain for a moment, finding the tiny cube S’Revlar had placed there to broadcast a phony lifesign reading.

Steadying himself on the edge of the balcony with his tail, S’Revlar sprang from the balcony like a cat, crashing into Laurants before the ensign could even see the attack coming. Laurants’s rifle flew from his hands into the fountain, obscured by geysers of energy. Both human and S’Parnian lay on the ground dazed for a moment, S’Revlar recovering first. Laurants was rolling over to his side when S’Revlar kicked him squarely in the midsection, the S’Parnian’s clawed feet puncturing Laurants’s flesh, though not deep enough to cause serious injury.

Laurants collapsed onto his back in pain, S’Revlar taking out his knife to finish the job. S’Revlar squatted on top of Laurants, the knife plunging down towards the young ensign’s stomach. Laurants threw up his hands, grunting as he struggled with S’Revlar to keep the knife at bay. Looking about him for some sign of a weapon, he saw Shaw standing to one side of the fountain, the lights casting a shadow over her face. “Lisa!” He called out, but she seemed not to hear him. “Lisa!” He shouted again.

Laurants could feel the knife point grazing his clothes, S’Revlar snarling as he attempted to drive the weapon home. Still looking at Shaw’s apparition, Laurants’s eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched, every muscle in his body tightening. Ever so slowly, the knife’s point began to move away from Laurants, the human finally twisting the weapon around in the S’Parnian’s grip. With one last heave, Laurants forced the knife into S’Revlar’s throat.

S’Revlar clawed at his throat, plucking the knife out, the weapon falling to the ground, the S’Parnian’s hand stained by his own blood. Laurants delivered a vicious punch to S’Revlar’s head, toppling the alien. Kneeling beside the dying scout, Laurants took the knife, plunging it into the exact spot of S’Revlar’s chest where Shaw had been stabbed. “I hope you’re feeling the same pain that she did as she bled to death, you alien bastard.” Coming to his feet, Laurants turned towards the fountain, but Shaw was gone. A scream echoed through the empty city, but it was too distant to have come from S’Revlar. Making certain that the S’Parnian scout was dead, Laurants ran down the empty streets, searching for the source of the scream and wondering just what he had seen at the fountain.

***

There was a muffled scream as the blue gel began to drain around Arsa Veranda. S’Tallen watched his specimen slowly gain consciousness, his finest moment almost at hand. Punching a button on his console, a vacuum was created all around Veranda, sucking any remaining gel from her body. While the vacuum performed its job, S’Tallen studied his masterpiece.

Still retaining some human physical traits, S’Tallen admitted to himself that while she was his most attractive creation to date, she looked predominantly S’Parnian. The skin over Veranda’s entire body had turned dark green and scaly, a tail protruded from above her rear, her hands had only four clawed fingers while her feet had only three clawed toes, and her reptilian eyes were orange. She still resembled a human in some ways: her face retained its human bone structure, black stubble covered her scalp, and mammalian breasts protruded from her chest.

Veranda’s body suddenly pitched forward as the vacuum disengaged, but she stopped her fall with one hand. Veranda held the hand up to her face, examining the four, clawed fingers. She moved each dark green digit experimentally, as though moving it for the first time. Her orange, reptilian eyes went wide with panic as she realized that something was not right.

“What have you done to me?” She screamed in S’Parnian. She pounded against the glass, S’Tallen jumping back in fright. Slapping her tail hard against the glass, S’Tallen could see cracks forming in the tank. He shouted for his guards, but was rooted in place by fascination of his creation.

Veranda continued to smash her fists and tail against the tank, until the cracks widened. S’Tallen’s guards stepped into the room with their rifles at ready, but Veranda did not even seem to notice them. Veranda stopped for a moment, leaning against the back of the tank. It seemed for a moment that she might give up, that her rage was spent, but then she slammed her entire body into the tank, the glass shattering in a hail of tiny pieces. Veranda leapt towards S’Tallen, the scientist watching her body fly towards him, his creation poised to strike him down with her claws. Veranda was knocked to the floor at the apex of her jump by S’Tallen’s guards, who pinned the human-S’Parnian hybrid down. “I will kill you for this!” Veranda screeched, struggling to free herself to finish S’Tallen.

Slowly, the S’Parnian scientist came to his senses. He shook his head sadly, watching Veranda fight to free herself. “She is not the one,” he said quietly. He raised his voice so his guards could hear, “She is not the one, dispose of her.”

Veranda could hear the S’Parnian weapons charging, her end imminent. The guards started to pull the triggers, but never finished the motion. Veranda watched a shadow descend behind the two guards, followed by a flash of something brilliantly orange. Both S’Parnian guards pitched forward onto Veranda, their severed heads rolling to the floor.

S’Tallen took a step backward, the shadow turning towards him. “Who are you?” He asked first in S’Parnian, then in English. The shadow stepped forward into the light, revealing the human female S’Olonny had killed in the honor duel. “No! You are dead! S’Olonny told me he watched you die!”

Rosaro took another step towards S’Tallen, her orange S’Zai blade poised to strike. S’Tallen backed into a wall, looking desperately for somewhere to run, but he knew that it was hopeless. Even though he had been a scientist his entire life, S’Tallen could find no logical explanation for how Rosaro could have survived the deadly fall S’Olonny described. Rosaro came closer, S’Tallen quaking in terror at Rosaro’s black eyes filled with fury, her mouth snarling like some animal, the orange S’Zai blade in her hand coated with blood.

The point of the crystal sword grazed S’Tallen’s throat. “You did this to her?” Rosaro rasped.

“I did,” S’Tallen squeaked. “I did it to save my people…”

“Silence!” Rosaro barked. “I should kill you know for what you did to her, and the part you played in my death, but I will need you if we are to escape this ship.”

“Escape?” S’Tallen blinked unknowingly.

“You will be my hostage,” Rosaro began, twisting the sword blade slightly to make a tiny nick on S’Tallen’s neck. “And if you cross me, I will kill you. Understand?”

S’Tallen nodded, “Of course, of course.”

Rosaro lowered the sword, her entire body seeming to shiver for a moment. S’Tallen watched as Rosaro’s eyes turned back to their natural brown color, her mouth pressing into a straight line. “Stay here,” Rosaro commanded, her voice returning to normal.

Veranda slowly came to her feet, “Thank-you,” she said in English. “Who are you?”

“I’m Lieutenant Amanda Rosaro. I’ve come to rescue you. Are you Commander Arsa Veranda?”

Veranda shook her head, “I don’t know.”

Two S’Parnian soldiers stood guard at the door of the room housing the captured humans, the guards milling about leisurely, perceiving no real threat to their position. There was a noise, a slight rattle from down the corridor, one of the guards turning to see what had made the sound. Seeing nothing, the guard turned around only to find blood gushing from the neck of his comrade. The S’Parnian soldier was about to raise the alarm when he saw a flash of orange, then felt something tear into his neck. Collapsing to the deck, the guard saw a human looming over him, an orange sword in the its hands.

With what was almost a smile, Rosaro plunged the S’Zai blade into the chest of each guard, then motioned to S’Tallen. “Open the door,” Rosaro rasped. Observing the murderous gleam in Rosaro’s black eyes, S’Tallen uneasily entered the combination to open the door. Veranda was left to watch for any more guards while S’Tallen and Rosaro entered the cell.

The over twenty humans in the room jumped to their feet, seeing Rosaro enter the room. “Lieutenant!” Cromwell burst out. “We thought you were dead.”

“Come on, we don’t have much time,” Rosaro hissed.

“Is something wrong, sir? Your voice sounds different,” Flanders asked.

Rosaro snarled, her S’Zai blade touching Flanders’ neck. “Shut up and move!” Rosaro shouted. Flanders jumped back a step, his eyes widening with fear.

“Um…sure thing, Lieutenant,” Flanders stammered, helping some of the other humans to their feet.

“We are going to the nearest hangar, once the shooting starts, everyone find somewhere to hide and let me handle it,” Rosaro commanded. Some of the Fifth Platoon survivors thought to point out how suicidal Rosaro’s plan was, but looking at the sword in her hand, they thought better of it.

“Someone is coming!” Veranda shouted. Rosaro motioned for everyone to stay in the cell, poking her head out the doorway. She saw nothing, but she could sense that at least two S’Parnians were coming, a human prisoner with them.

Rosaro shut the door, the prisoners waiting nervously for what was about to happen. The suspense built for a long minute, footsteps coming closer and closer, until they stopped at last in front of the cell. Rosaro motioned for the prisoners to duck down while she stood squarely in the middle of the doorway.

Two S’Parnian warriors, carrying Klein’s limp form between them, opened the door. Before they could react, they heard a throaty growl and saw an orange blade arcing towards them. One of the guards was beheaded, the other dropped Klein to the floor, ducking down to avoid Rosaro’s sword. Scrambling to take the rifle from his back, the S’Parnian guard watched, as if in slow motion, as the orange S’Zai blade plunged through his armor and into his midsection. The guard fell backwards to the deck, firing a single shot that harmlessly struck the ceiling. Klaxons all over the ship began to sound, the highly-trained S’Parnian crew immediately stopping all other activities to rush to their battle stations.

Rosaro cursed to herself, then took the rifles from the four dead S’Parnian soldiers. She tossed the weapons to members of the Fifth Platoon, hissing, “They’re going to know we’ve escaped. We have to hurry.” The humans quickly organized into a line, Rosaro in the lead while Cromwell and Flanders took the rear. Two Explorer survivors shouldered Klein between them, dragging the unconscious alien.

“There is no chance for escape now,” S’Tallen whispered in Rosaro’s ear. “S’Olonny will have soldiers waiting for you in every hangar.”

“You have a better plan?” Rosaro asked angrily.

“No, but I thought I would warn you.”

“If we die, I’ll make sure that you die with us,” Rosaro growled. From the look in her eyes, S’Tallen knew that she was serious.

Alarm klaxons sounded across the collection vessel, S’Parnian crewers racing to battle stations. On the bridge of the ship, S’Segar called out, “Sir, the prisoners have escaped!”

“What? How?” S’Olonny demanded.

“We do not know, sir.”

S’Olonny tapped the armrest on his chair with a clawed finger, trying to think of how the prisoners could have made their escape, but he decided that line of thought could wait until later. Right now, he had to stop the fugitives from leaving the ship. “Status of the hangar bays?”

“Hangars Two through Four are unavailable with collection operations, no ships can get in or out.”

“Then order all available forces to assemble in Hangar One and prepare to repel the intruders. I will leave you in command of the bridge, I want to deal with this matter personally.” S’Segar nodded, knowing better than to question S’Olonny’s orders. Instead, S’Segar passed along the command while S’Olonny stomped from the bridge, fury in his eyes. However they managed to escape, it will not be for long, S’Olonny told himself.

After S’Olonny had gone, the sensor officer called out, “Commander, we have detected bio-energy readings on the surface!”

“Where are they coming from?” S’Segar asked, walking over to the sensor terminal. The officer pointed to a spot on the map, a location along the shore of one of the planet’s oceans. “It is them!”

“Who, sir?” The sensor officer asked.

“The aliens who slaughtered one of our patrols,” S’Segar replied, looking over to the communications station. “I want a full platoon and two escort ships dispatched to the surface immediately!”

“Two escort ships? Sir…”

“Do not question my orders! These aliens have already killed an elite scout team, they will not escape again!” The communications officer nodded, relaying the order. S’Segar sank down into S’Olonny’s command chair, wishing that he could leave his post to go to the surface. I would love to see the look on their faces as they are butchered in the same manner as that scout team, S’Segar thought almost gleefully. But I will have to settle for the knowledge that the deaths caused by their alien hands will soon be avenged.

***

Davis’ss head leaned forward so that he could wipe the sweat from his brow without losing his grip on the side of the cliff. Taking a look down, Davis could see the steel gray ocean below, large waves crashing onto the pale gray sand. Thornton and S’Amleng were standing near an outcropping of rock on the shore, waiting for Davis to survey the top of the cliff to determine if he could anchor a rope to throw down to them.

Taking a deep breath, Davis reached up to punch new holes for his climbing claws. Being so high up, with only the claws for support, made Davis feel a little nervous, but he focused on the task, creating a rhythm to his climbing. He was nearly three-quarters up the cliff, when the comm in his helmet beeped. “What is it?” Davis grunted.

“We’re picking up three ships on the sensors. Sam says that they’re two escort ships and a troop transport. I’m not sure what an escort ship is, but it doesn’t sound very pleasant. You’d better hurry,” Thornton said nervously.

“I’m going,” Davis replied, his pace quickening. He nearly plunged to his death, one set of claws failing to penetrate the rock, but he managed to hang on. Davis stopped, hearing something over the sound of his breathing and his pounding heart. He turned his head, seeing three shapes coming quickly over the horizon. “Oh shit,” Davis breathed, throwing caution to the wind as he tried to scale the remainder of the cliff.

“Hurry, Davis, they’re almost here!” Thornton shouted.

“I see them, I see them!” Davis growled irritably. “You and Sam find somewhere to hide…”

“We cannot just abandon you here,” Davis heard Sam say.

“I’m grateful,” Davis stopped, grunting as he slammed his claws home into the rock. “But there’s no sense in you two being captured.”

“They will find us anyway. Perhaps if we can delay them long enough, you will be able to locate these weapons of yours.”

Davis was only a few feet from the top, the S’Parnian ships in plain view now. He recognized the transport, but the other two ships were completely foreign to him. They had a tapered fuselage, two small wings on the side, and with their gray paint schemes they seemed like some kind of flying shark. Although he was not an expert on S’Parnian shipbuilding, Davis knew that the escort ships were packed with firepower, more than enough to blow him from the cliff.

As though they could read his thoughts, the escort ships opened fire, streams of green energy coming from cannons on the sides of each vessel. The shots hit just to the right and left of Davis, the shockwave nearly tearing from the cliff, but his claws held, a storm of debris and dust flying into his face. Davis put down the face shield of his helmet, concentrating on getting up the last few feet the cliff, where hopefully he could find some cover. The escort ships hovered in the air, their wide noses swinging to track Davis.

The human sergeant’s hand reached the top of the cliff, just as the two escort ships unleashed another volley. Helplessly watching the scene from below, Thornton could see Davis disappear in a thick cloud of dust and rock that cleared after a few moments to reveal only shattered, blackened rock where Davis had just been. The escort ships, content that their mission was accomplished, hovered down towards the shore, the troop transport coming in after them.

“Davis!” Thornton screamed, but there was no response.

“He is gone now,” S’Amleng said slowly. “We must go.”

“Stop!” A voice called out in the S’Parnian tongue, a full platoon of alien warriors rushing towards Thornton and S’Amleng. Thornton raised her rifle to make a last stand in memory of Davis, but S’Amleng snatched the weapon from her hands, training his own rifle on her.

“I have her!” S’Amleng shouted in S’Parnian.

“Who are you?” The commander of the alien warriors asked.

“Corporal S’Amleng, S’Aclav Regiment. I was taken captive by these barbarians, but now I am ready to return to duty.” S’Amleng handed both weapons to the S’Parnian soldiers, putting up his hands so that he could be searched.

“You traitor!” Thornton screamed with fury, trying to rush at S’Amleng to claw his eyes out with her bare hands, but she was roughly held in place by two S’Parnian soldiers.

“Very good, Corporal,” the S’Parnian commander said, turning to one of his subordinates. “Make certain there are no more of them.” While a dozen of the S’Parnians hurried off to check the trees nearby, Thronton stared at S’Amleng in cold hatred, waiting for the chance when she could pay him back for his betrayal.

***

Rosaro felt a chill down her spine as she and the other humans neared the hangar. “It’s a trap,” she growled to herself. Turning to S’Tallen, she demanded, “How many are there?”

S’Tallen shrugged, “How am I supposed to know?” Seeing the murderous glint in Rosaro’s eyes, S’Tallen continued, “I would expect at least a hundred, probably more.”

“Then I’ll just have to even the odds.” Rosaro motioned to Cromwell, who nervously stepped forward. “Find somewhere to hide and wait for my signal.”

“You can’t take them on by yourself, that’s suicide!” Cromwell blurted out.

“Maybe it is,” Rosaro snarled. Looking up at the ceiling, she saw an air shaft similar to the ones she had crawled through before. With any luck, it would take her right to the hangar. In one fluid motion, Rosaro leapt into the air, slicing open the vent and pulling herself in. Cromwell’s eyes went wide with shock, grabbing S’Tallen’s arm, he asked, “Where can we hide out?”

“Follow me,” S’Tallen sighed, leading the humans to the supply room he had used to take the tissue sample from S’Amleng. “They should not look in here, at least for now.”

Cromwell motioned for everyone else to pile into the room, placing the barrel of his weapon against S’Tallen’s neck. “If you betray us, I’m going to make sure that you don’t live a second longer than any of us.”

“I will not betray you, but in the end S’Olonny will hunt you down and slaughter you like your comrades.”

“We’ll see about that,” Cromwell replied, shoving S’Tallen into the dark room to wait.

Rosaro carefully removed the grate from the ventilation shaft, staring out at the massive hangar below. As she suspected, she saw dozens of S’Parnian soldiers waiting, their weapons trained on the door. Just below her, Rosaro could see a gray ship that resembled a shark in its shape. Placing her hands on the wall just below the shaft, Rosaro hurled herself from the air shaft and onto the hull of the escort ship. No one appeared to have noticed her as Rosaro made her way along the hull and down to the hatch. The escort ship’s side hatch required a handprint to open, but Rosaro’s S’Zai made short work of the door. Rosaro ducked into the cockpit, which for the most part was similar to that of a human cockpit, although the control layouts were different.

Sitting in what she assumed was the pilot’s seat, Rosaro studied the controls of the ship, finding those controls she would need to carry out her plan. Rosaro touched a red button, engines slowly whining to life. She put her hands on the steering yoke, turning it to the left, she watched as alien troops spun around in surprise. Too late, Rosaro thought, punching the triggers on the steering yoke. A pair of green laser beams lanced out of the sides of the escort ship, vaporizing a half-dozen of the startled S’Parnians.

Rosaro eased the escort ship forward, searching for more S’Parnian soldiers. She felt shots hit the sides of the escort ship, but the armored hull of the escort ship held up to the punishment. Firing another burst, Rosaro saw more S’Parnians disintegrate, then she spied a group of soldiers hoping to use a transport for cover, but Rosaro simply blasted the transport, the resulting explosion killing the S’Parnians who had sought refuge around the ship. Inspired by the flaming transport, Rosaro destroyed transports and escort ships strategically placed around the hangar. She watched from the protected cockpit of the escort ship as the hangar became an inferno. Firefighting systems activated in the hangar, putting out the flames, but it was too late for almost all of the S’Parnian soldiers.

Stepping out of the escort ship’s hatch, Rosaro surveyed the hangar. The blackened corpses of S’Parnian warriors were everywhere, a few still moaning in pain, their lives draining away slowly. Rosaro knelt down next to one soldier, taking a scorched communicator from the S’Parnian’s belt. She touched a button on the device, hoping that S’Tallen was listening. “S’Tallen?” She asked.

“I am here,” the S’Parnian scientist replied.

“I’m finished.”

“We’re on our way, Lieutenant,” Rosaro heard Cromwell say. A minute later, the doors to the hangar opened, Cromwell leading the human survivors.

“We’ll take one of those transports,” Rosaro commanded. “How can we get the hangar doors open?” She asked S’Tallen.

“I can try to access the computer controls, but I may be overridden from the bridge,” S’Tallen answered.

“Bullshit,” Rosaro replied acidly. “I’m sure you have a way around that. If I don’t see those doors open in five minutes, I will slice you open so that you can see what your innards look like.”

There was suddenly the sound of crates crashing to the deck across the hangar, Rosaro turned to see a massive shape rise up from the crates, then stride boldly towards her, a green S’Zai in its hand. Cromwell and the others aimed their weapons, but Rosaro waved them off. “He’s mine!” She hissed, taking out her own sword. She waited for S’Olonny to cross the distance between them, snarling in anticipation. S’Olonny finally reached her, there were no words exchanged, just a simple look into each other’s eyes, then their blades crashed against each other.

Cromwell watched S’Olonny and Rosaro’s duel for a moment, then shoved S’Tallen towards the transport. “You’d better get that door open.” S’Tallen nodded just as the doors to the hangar opened. Two platoons of S’Parnian warriors charged into the room, firing at the group of humans. “Take cover!” Cromwell commanded. S’Tallen, Veranda, and the humans without weapons piled into the transport, leaving the four members of the Fifth Platoon to face the alien soldiers. Ducking under a piece of service equipment, Cromwell could see Rosaro and S’Olonny still fighting, oblivious to anything else.

“What do we do now?” Flanders asked.

“We give S’Tallen time to open the door,” Cromwell replied, firing a shot that hit an alien warrior in the leg, then dove under the machine he was using for cover, wondering how they were going to get out of this.

***

Laurants’s heart pounded in his chest as he climbed the steps to the train platform. He skidded to a stop at the hatch to the train, his weapon ready for any sign of trouble. The train car was dark, Laurants just able to make out the motionless form of Lothgamm. He thought he heard something move in one of the corners, but he saw nothing. Laurants carefully made his way towards where he thought the sound had orgininated from, stopping when he heard another noise. Before he could react, something slammed into Laurants, knocking him to the ground. The ensign managed to fire a shot that hit the ceiling, then his weapon was knocked away. He and his attacker grappled for several moments before Laurants pinned the assailant to the floor. Reaching into his pocket, Laurants fumbled for some kind of light, finally taking out his compad, the computer’s screen providing just enough light to make out a familiar face.

“Lisa? I thought you were dead,” Laurants breathed, letting Shaw up.

“I thought I was dead too, then I woke up here. I saw that…thing lying next to me and I guess I panicked a little. I’m sorry if I hurt you, Ensign,” Shaw said, stepping over Lothgamm and onto the platform.

“No, I’m fine,” Laurants replied quietly, noticing Shaw’s sudden return to formality in calling him by his rank.

Shaw turned to Laurants, frowning, “So where exactly are we?”

Laurants was stunned, finally stammering, “You don’t remember?”

Shaw shook her head, rubbing her right temple with one hand. “No, the last thing I remember I was on the Explorer’s bridge. We were under attack, there was an explosion, I was thrown against a bulkhead and blacked out. How long have I been unconscious?”

Laurants thought for a moment, trying to think of how to best phrase his response. “Actually, sir, you weren’t out for very long. You were conscious when Ensign Thornton and I came onto the bridge and helped you into an escape pod. After linking up with other survivors on the surface, you and I climbed into the mountains to find the ExoArmors. We were escaping from an alien patrol when we ended up here.”

“Here? Where exactly is here?”

“It’s hard to explain, but this is an ancient city of a people called the Rygans who used to inhabit this planet. The alien lying next to you was the last Rygan alive, his name was Lothgamm.” Laurants stopped, asking, “You don’t remember any of that?”

Shaw shook her head, “No, I don’t.” Shaw stopped, reaching into her pocket to take out a tiny silver cube. “I found this on me when I woke up. It doesn’t seem to do anything, maybe you know what it is.”

Laurants took the cube from Shaw, the device suddenly changing shape as it came into contact with Laurants’s skin. The cube flattened to a rectangle, a rose-colored circle of light in the center of the rectangle. Laurants cupped the object in his hands, watching in fascination as a tiny hologram of Lothgamm appeared. “Jack, if you are seeing this holographic representation of myself, then I must be dead. What I have to tell you is personal, it should be viewed alone.”

Shaw’s eyes were wide, she finally stuttered, “I’ll be in there.” Disappearing into the train car, Laurants was left alone on the train platform, a shiver going up his spine.

Lothgamm continued, “You may notice some slight change in your friend, that is unfortunate, but it is often a side effect of what I had to do. You must understand that the memories and knowledge of the Rygan people cannot perish, or all will be lost. In order to keep that knowledge alive, I was forced to transfer it into the mind of your friend. Even in a transfer between two Rygans there can be some mental damage to the receiver, in another species the effects could be far more severe, including some memory loss. I apologize for what I had to do, but it was the only way.”

Lothgamm paused, as if letting his words sink in, then he went on, “Lisa has a great destiny ahead of her, I am already certain of this. It will be up to you, Jack, to make sure that she is allowed to fulfill her destiny. You must take her to the Avenger, so that she may lead the last Rygan ship into battle against those who would threaten the future of the universe. It will not be easy for either one of you, but your actions now will secure peace for an infinite number of lives in the future. The path to my ship, the Avenger is stored in this holosquare. Good luck, Jack.” Lothgamm’s image faded, replaced by a map of Telle. Laurants motioned for Shaw to come out of the train car, too shocked to speak.

“So what do we do now?” Shaw finally asked.

“We follow the yellow brick road,” Laurants said quietly. He stepped off of the train platform, Shaw a few steps behind. As he walked through the deserted city, Laurants felt rage building. Lothgamm had taken away the thing that mattered the most to him, the Rygan had taken Shaw from him, possibly forever. The time they had spent together, the bond that had been created between them was gone and Laurants knew that no matter what happened, that could never again be truly rebuilt.

***

Davis slowly awoke, finding himself lying on his back at the top of the cliff. He remembered that he had just reached the top as the alien ships fired, the ground beneath his feet vaporizing. Rubbing his head gingerly, Davis recalled that he had been thrown into a snow bank, hitting his head on something. He saw that he was still lying in the snow, wondering for a moment why none of the aliens had come to finish him off.

Davis stood up, looking around him, but there was nothing except snow-covered rocks and the gray expanse of the ocean stretching into infinity. He turned around, but there were only rocks and snow behind him, then he noticed something green where his body had punched through the snow. Davis knelt down, sweeping snow away to reveal an Alliance military logo. The ExoArmors! He thought gleefully, feverishly shoveling snow off of the ExoArmor transport. After a few minutes of frantic digging, Davis found an emergency hatch on the top of the transport. He pulled down the manual release lever, the hatch slowly creaking open, then slipped down into the ExoArmor transport, plunged into darkness when he reached the deck.

Davis could feel the cold, smooth surface of an ExoArmor and groped his way to the back of the unit. He searched the back of the ExoArmor with his hands, finally finding the release mechanism near the left armpit that caused the backpack of the machine to swing outward, nearly striking Davis in the head, to reveal the opening to the suit. Davis carefully ducked into the ExoArmor, putting his legs and arms through their respective holes, the limbs of the suit seemingly several sizes too large for Davis’s body. He awkwardly moved his arms up, reaching the round helmet suspended over the ExoArmor, and gently placed the helmet on top of the ExoArmor’s shoulders. There was a hissing sound as the airtight seals of the helmet closed, the limbs of the suit also adjusting to fit Davis’s body. Displays came to life in the helmet of the ExoArmor, sensor readings, topographic maps, and status reports filling Davis’s vision.

Davis took a cautious step forward, adjusting to the weight of the ExoArmor. He had run through simulations and a few practices in an actual ExoArmor, but this was the first time he would be piloting one in combat, the first time anyone would pilot one in combat. His sensors showed that the transport’s exit ramp was about fifty feet to his left, but once he made his way to the door, he found that something was pinning the ramp shut. Davis studied his weapons inventory, but he couldn’t risk using any of the weapons for fear of injuring himself or damaging the other ExoArmors.

After a moment of thought, Davis took a few steps backward, then charged at the door, his left shoulder smashing through the metal ramp. Davis lost his balance, falling through the door and landing on his back in a pile of snow. He uneasily levered himself back to his feet, turning to study the transport he discovered the reason the ramp had been held in place. The shattered remains of a boulder lay scattered about the area, yet the ExoArmor reported no damage. These things are tough, he thought. Let’s hope they’re tough enough.

Thornton looked over at S’Amleng, who was standing next to the S’Parnian commander. “How could you sell us out, Sam? I thought you said you wouldn’t go back,” She spat at S’Amleng. The young S’Parnian took a step towards her, his tongue flicking in and out of his mouth anxiously.

“I do not want to go back,” S’Amleng replied in English. “When I give the signal, I want you to dive behind those rocks.” Thornton turned her head slightly, picking up the rock formation S’Amleng indicated with a subtle flick of his tongue.

Without warning, S’Amleng slapped Thornton across the face, his claws making deep gashes in her flesh. Thornton cried out, hoping that the attack was part of whatever ruse S’Amleng had devised. Striding over to the S’Parnian commander, S’Amleng shouted in S’Parnian, “Let me execute this vermin!”

“No, it must be returned to the ship, it may have valuable information,” the commander replied.

S’Amleng reared up to his full height, his eyes burning into those of his superior. “She humiliated me, stripping me of my weapons and armor, staining my honor. For that, I am entitled to take her life!”

The commander relented, handing S’Amleng a rifle. “Very well, you may take your vengeance on her.”

S’Amleng nodded, turning to face Thornton. He powered up his weapon, aiming it directly at Thornton’s heart before shouting, “Go!” Thornton dove to her right, rolling behind the rocks, S’Amleng turning quickly, pumping a pair of shots into the S’Parnian commander. Before the other soldiers could react, S’Amleng blasted two more, then took cover next to Thornton.

The remaining S’Parnian soldiers sought what cover they could find, the two escort ships rising into the air. Thornton peeked over the rocks, watching the escort ships approach her position, their weapons charging to eradicate her and S’Amleng. Just as the S’Parnian vessels were about to fire, a swarm of missiles slammed into each escort ship, the shots meant for S’Amleng and Thornton harmlessly boiling ocean water instead.

Davis’ss gray ExoArmor appeared, pumping round after round from the ExoArmor’s plasma cannon into the escort ships. The two alien craft seemed to wobble in the air for a moment, then both slammed into the ground. A pair of missiles launched from the sides of the ExoArmor’s arms, destroying the S’Parnian transport before it could lift off. Davis landed roughly on the beach, the ExoArmor’s small thrusters folding into its hips, the anti-personnel lasers appearing below each arm. Davis sprayed bursts from the lasers into the trees, killing the alien soldiers using the trees for cover in a hail of energy and splintered wood.

“Are you two all right?” Davis asked.

“We’re…Look out!” Thornton shouted. The S’Parnian warriors who had gone in search of any further human resistance appeared on the beach, a shot from one of their weapons striking Davis squarely in the chest. The ExoArmor absorbed the punishment, returning fire with its lasers. The S’Parnian soldiers were slaughtered in short order, Davis turning to check on S’Amleng and Thornton.

“Thanks for the warning,” Davis said.

“You’re welcome,” Thornton replied, stepping from behind the rocks.

“And you,” Davis motioned to S’Amleng. “I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”

“I did nothing,” S’Amleng responded. “We would have been killed if not for you.”

Thornton shook her head, “No, S’Amleng, you saved me. I’m sorry about what I said.” She kissed the S’Parnian on the side of his face, ignoring the strange feel of his flesh.

S’Amleng’s facial muscles contorted into what was almost a smile. “You are welcome,” he said quietly, then turned to Davis. “What do we do now?”

“Well, I guess we better get you two suited up in case they have reinforcements coming.” The thrusters folded out from the ExoArmor’s hips, Davis smiling to himself as he hefted Thornton from the ground, cradling her in his arms. “Up, up, and away,” Davis teased, shooting up into the air towards the ExoArmor transport. Thornton screamed for a moment, but then her scream turned into a joyous shout.

“This is great!” She screamed. “Maybe now we’ll be able to find Jack and the captain, if they’re still alive.”

***

Laurants walked through the empty city streets, completely oblivious to everything around him. He halfheartedly followed the map Lothgamm had given him, unable to shake the gloomy thoughts from his head. Whether it had been intentional or not, Lothgamm had erased from Shaw’s mind those magical moments when they had come together, when they had forged a relationship that was more than professional, more than friendship even. As much as Laurants wanted to think that he could somehow make it happen again, that lightning could strike twice, he knew that it was unlikely, and even if it did happen, it would not be the same.

He felt something touch his arm, turning he saw Shaw frowning at him. “Is something wrong? You haven’t said a single word since the train station.”

“I guess I don’t feel like talking,” Laurants replied noncommittally.

“I keep getting the feeling that there’s something you haven’t told me.”

“I don’t think I left anything out, at least nothing important.” Laurants stopped, pointing to a spot just ahead. “According to the map, there’s some kind of elevator over there that will take us the rest of the way.”

“I don’t see anything,” Shaw replied. “It looks the same as the rest of the street.”

“It’s probably hidden somehow,” Laurants shrugged, carefully making his way to where the map said the elevator would be. Sure enough, as Laurants touched the pavement, it disappeared to reveal a silver tube. Stepping back, Laurants watched as something shot up the tube and emerged on the street. The object was a cylinder, its clear sides tinted a smoky brown color with a single silver panel in the middle of the cylinder. One side of the cylinder seemed to disappear, allowing Laurants and Shaw to squeeze into the object. Laurants saw nothing besides the silver panel against the wall, so he carefully reached out and touched a blue button on the panel. For a moment he thought he had hit the wrong button, then the cylinder shot back down the tube at tremendous speed. Shaw screamed, her face turning green as the cylinder executed an impossible series of rapid twists and turns, some kind of force field pinning the two humans against the sides so that they could not be thrown about by the cylinder’s quick movements.

After nearly a minute, the cylinder came to a rough stop, opening to a cliff in an enormous underground cavern that contained the most beautiful ship Laurants had ever seen. “My God,” he breathed. The ship was probably a half-mile long, its entire frame glinting silver in the dim light of the cavern. Like the buildings of Telle, the teardrop-shaped hull was smooth, looking as though it were carved rather than assembled. Laurants could make out slight bumps in the hull’s surface, whether they were for weapons or sensors he could not be certain of. He turned to Shaw to see her reaction, but her eyes seemed glazed over, staring unblinkingly into the distance. “Captain? Is something wrong?”

Shaw did not seem to hear him, her entire body shaking with spasms. She collapsed to the ground, her body continuing to twitch while white foam spewed from her mouth. Laurants knelt down beside her, unsure of what was happening or what he could do. “Lisa? Lisa!” He shouted, hoping to reach her.

Shaw sat up suddenly, waving away Laurants’s attempts to help her to her feet. “I’m fine,” she gasped.

“Fine? A minute ago you were lying on the ground, shaking and foaming at the mouth, how can you be fine now?”

“I…I heard voices, millions of them overlapping so that they all seemed to be one. Then there was one voice that seemed to rise above the others, it knew me and spoke to me about the Avenger, about the Rygans, about what we have to do now,” Shaw replied.

“What do we have to do?” Laurants asked incredulously.

“We have to free the others, but we have to hurry or we’ll be too late.”

Shaw turned towards the ship, and to his amazement, Laurants saw a gray boarding tube bridging the gap from the ship to the cliff. Once the tube had grounded itself on the surface of the cliff, Shaw stepped into the tube, striding briskly as though she had walked through it a hundred. Laurants followed cautiously behind her, unsure of the tube’s stability, and wondering to himself just what had caused the boarding tube to come out from the ship.

By the time Laurants reached the end of the tube, Shaw had already opened the airlock to the ship. She motioned for him to hurry, guiding Laurants through a series of white corridors too quickly for the ensign to notice anything about the Rygan ship. Finally stopping at a large gray door, Shaw typed in an access code, the door seeming to instantly dematerialize.

Laurants followed Shaw into a huge space that was almost empty, save for some crates and small pieces of equipment scattered about, leading Laurants to think that the room was a hangar or cargo bay of some sort. Shaw motioned for Laurants to follow her over to a computer terminal against the wall to Laurants’s left. “Stay back against the wall,” Shaw instructed Laurants. Before he could ask why, the deck just a few feet ahead began to vibrate, then a circular section about fifty feet across peeled away.

Through the hole in the deck appeared a small Rygan vehicle, Laurants assumed that it was some kind of shuttlecraft. The tiny vessel was arrowhead shaped, its thin wings gracefully curved downward and two tailfins arching delicately out of the craft’s rear so that there was not a single sharp angle on the outside of the shuttle. A portion of the shuttle’s side seemed to vanish, revealing the interior that seemed far too spacious for such a small vehicle. “That’s our ride,” Shaw said dryly, climbing into the shuttle. “Are you coming or do you want to wait for the next one?”

Laurants, too shocked to speak, simply nodded. He followed Shaw up to the cockpit, which was completely empty except for two large, plush chairs. “Where are the controls?” Laurants asked, dumbfounded.

“Don’t worry about it,” Shaw replied. She sat in the chair on the right side of the cockpit, banks of computers suddenly appearing all around the cockpit. “It’s an anti-theft device,” Shaw explained before Laurants could ask.

Laurants took the seat next to Shaw, feeling straps automatically bind him to the chair. “Did the Rygans give you a flying lesson while they were talking to you?” Laurants asked, trying to keep the anxiety from his voice.

Without answering, Shaw touched a series of controls on the displays in front of her, then took hold of the control joystick. The shuttle lifted slowly into the air, then turned one hundred eighty degrees to face the now-open hangar door. “Hold on,” Shaw said, then touched a button to her right. Laurants felt a kick in the back as the shuttle shot forward and out of the hangar. Shaw whipped the vehicle through an amazingly fast series of twists and turns through dark passages before the shuttle emerged in the bright light of the Rygan surface.

Shaw reached over, gently tapping a portion of the instrument display to Laurants’s right. “When I tell you to, I want you to hit that green button, understand?”

“Sure,” Laurants nodded as the shuttle climbed higher and higher into the air. He looked over at Shaw, wondering just what exactly had happened to her back at the ship and whether she was still the same woman he had loved. Only minutes ago she had not even known what a Rygan was, now she was expertly flying one of their ships into battle. Was this woman sitting across from him the same Lisa Shaw he had fallen in love with? Watching her fly the Rygan ship, he wondered if she was even human any more, of if Lothgamm had someone changed her.

“Sir, we are detecting a ship coming from the planet’s surface. Its profile does not match anything of S’Parnian design,” the sensor officer reported. S’Segar walked over to the officer’s station, examining the sensor readings.

“If it is not one of ours, then it must be an enemy ship. I want it destroyed immediately!” S’Segar barked.

“Commander, I cannot acquire the target,” the weapons officer called out.

“What? Why not?”

“I do not know, sir. The targeting systems do not recognize the alien vessel’s existence.”

“Then go to manual targeting systems!”

Beams of light lanced past the Rygan shuttle, the tiny ship too quick to be hit. S’Segar cursed to himself, wondering what the alien vessel was doing. Could it be on some kind of suicide run? He wondered. “Can we launch escort ships from the hangars?”

“No, sir, all contact has been lost with the Hangar One, the others are still engaged in collection operations.”

S’Segar cursed again, trying to control his emotions. He had little doubt that if the collection vessel were badly damaged by this alien ship, his head would be taken from his shoulders, his body processed for collection. Even if S’Olonny did not kill him, S’Segar knew that his career would be all but finished. “Keep firing!” He roared, hurling himself into the command chair, his hands clamping down tightly on the armrests.

Laurants thought he was going to be sick, the Rygan ship weaving violently back and forth to avoid the shots coming from the S’Parnian ship. “That was close,” he heard Shaw mumble as a blast went only a few inches past the shuttle’s nose. “Ensign Laurants, I want you to push the button in front of you when I count to three. Got it?”

“I got it, but what the hell are we doing? We can’t possibly destroy them or even cause any real damage with a ship this small.”

“We don’t need much damage, just enough to make a door.” Shaw rocked the Rygan shuttle hard to the right once again, the massive S’Parnian ship looming before them, then she looked over to Laurants. “Ready? One…two…three!”

Laurants stabbed the green button Shaw had indicated, watching two purple fireballs streak from the shuttle into the hull of the S’Parnian vessel. There was a small explosion, chunks of debris breaking off, Shaw expertly dodging the shrapnel to line the shuttle up with the tiny hole blasted into the hull. A last barrage from the alien ship blazed just past where the shuttle had been, then Shaw brought the Rygan vessel through the hole and into the hangar bay.

“They have landed in the hangar!” The S’Parnian sensor officer shouted.

“Dispatch all available troops to Hangar One immediately!” S’Segar bellowed. “They are not to leave this ship alive!”

Rosaro parried S’Olonny’s thrust, her own counterattack stopped before her S’Zai could slice into S’Olonny’s arm. She kicked S’Olonny in the midsection, causing him to stumble back a few steps, but he still managed to block Rosaro’s S’Zai blade. The two warriors’ swords were locked for a moment, both growling as they summoned every ounce of strength to push the other backwards. S’Olonny finally pushed Rosaro’s sword arm away, taking a vicious swing at her exposed chest. Rosaro jumped back, S’Olonny’s S’Zai blade just grazing her abdomen, a thin line of blood trickling from the wound. Oblivious to the pain, Rosaro managed to bring her S’Zai around, but her swing was weak and easily taken by S’Olonny’s weapon. Spitting a curse, Rosaro brought her left arm around, cuffing the S’Parnian warrior on the side of the head.

S’Olonny lurched back a step, nearly losing his balance when Rosaro tried to sweep his legs out from under him. Rosaro let out a victorious yell, the momentum clearly on her side as she forced S’Olonny back more and more. S’Olonny tried to find an opening, but this S’Zai-wielding demon was not the same weakling who had opposed him before. Rosaro stopped suddenly, as a scream echoed across the hangar. Turning her head for an instant, she could see that Flanders had been hit in the shoulder, the S’Parnian soldiers pressing their attack now.

Rosaro was frozen in place, a snarl fixed on her lips as she was torn between finishing her duel with S’Olonny or coming to the rescue of her human comrades. Finally, she did a back-flip away from S’Olonny, racing towards the S’Parnian soldiers. She could hear S’Olonny scream something from behind her, some of the alien soldiers turning in her direction at the shout. Rosaro easily dodged the shots from the S’Parnian warriors, then she smashed into them, her S’Zai blade brutally making short work of them.

Cromwell and the others could only watch as Rosaro fought like a woman possessed, throwing aside bodies like they were nothing at all. “Jesus Christ!” Cromwell swore, using Rosaro’s distraction to help the injured Flanders into the S’Parnian transport. “Any luck with the doors?”

“No,” S’Tallen replied fearfully as he half-watched Rosaro slaughter his compatriots. “The bridge has locked out all outside computer access. There is no way around it.”

“Then we have to find some other way to get that hangar door open before they bring in reinforcements.”

Rosaro continued to tear apart the S’Parnian forces, turning just as S’Olonny’s S’Zai blade was about to cut her in half. Rosaro unsteadily blocked the S’Parnian captain’s swing, leaping into the air just as an alien soldier was about to grab her. S’Olonny watched Rosaro reach the apex of her jump, then just as she was coming down the hangar door blasted open. The entire hangar bay was turned into a vacuum, machinery and corpses sucked out into space before emergency systems could seal the rupture. Rosaro was carried through the air, reaching out with one hand to grab anything to stop herself from being blown out into space, her hand catching the tail fin of a S’Parnian transport just a yard short of the door.

A small silver craft suddenly shot through the opening in the hangar door, coming to a stop only a few feet from Rosaro. Emergency systems kicked in just before Rosaro’s fingers lost their grip on the alien transport, allowing her to drop her S’Zai to the deck and make her way down the transport. Rosaro took a rifle from a fallen S’Parnian soldier, using the rifle to cover the others as they dodged alien fire to transfer from the transport to the Rygan shuttle.

S’Tallen was the last to leave the transport, clearly torn about which direction he should take. Rosaro ended his conflict by shoving him roughly into the shuttle then diving aboard. “Go, go!” She screamed up to Shaw in the cockpit. The Rygan shuttle lifted off, turning one hundred eighty degrees as it hovered in the air, absorbing the punishment from the S’Parnian reinforcements below.

S’Olonny watched helplessly as the strange vessel shot out of the hangar bay and back into space. Slamming the flat of his S’Zai into a wall, S’Olonny angrily stormed out of the hangar. Not only had the enemy escaped, but he had still not completed the honor duel. No matter, he mused. I will soon crush their homeworld and bring its bio-energy back to S’Parni, where it will feed generations of S’Parnians.

***

S’Segar grabbed the weapons officer by the back of his armor then shoved the officer into his own computer terminal. All activity on the bridge ceased immediately, scared S’Parnian officers staring at S’Segar. The first officer seemed to tremble like a volcano about to erupt, but then he calmly pulled the dead weapons officer’s head back from the shattered computer screen. “Are any of our forces still on the surface?” He asked.

“No, sir. We have lost contact with the two escort ships sent to the surface,” the communications officer reported nervously.

S’Segar fumed, about to explode into violence once again when the bridge doors parted, S’Olonny stomping into the room. Without speaking, S’Olonny slapped S’Segar across the face. There was a tense moment of silence, then S’Olonny bellowed, “I left you in command and you not only allowed the ship to be damaged, you let the prisoners escape! I should kill you now for your incompetence!” S’Olonny plucked his S’Zai from its sheath, holding the point just under S’Segar’s throat. “But instead I will allow you to redeem yourself. Navigation, take the ship out of orbit, then set course for Earth.”

“We are going to let the prisoners live?” S’Segar asked, feeling the point of the crystal sword still against his neck.

“We have wasted enough resources on this rabble. Now it is time to go to the source of this vermin and wipe their contagion from the galaxy,” S’Olonny growled, finally taking the S’Zai from S’Segar’s neck. S’Olonny sat in his command chair, fuming quietly as the collection vessel’s mighty engines propelled it from orbit and back into deep space. Before the ship disappeared into hyperspace, S’Olonny could not help but take one last look at the planet and think of the humans who had escaped his grasp. I will finish you one day, once your home planet is reduced to smoldering ashes and my cargo is delivered to S’Parni, I will make it my life’s work to find you and kill you for your treachery.