Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
SLAVIC
As I anticipate the battle I’m instigating, there is no containing the smile on my face as the shuttle powers up underneath me. No matter how many I kill, I’ll never be able to destroy enough of these abominations that plague this part of our solar system. Several times I’ve considered moving our operations into another region. Nonetheless , the Commanders have too many ships regulating those areas and our way of life is highly frowned upon.
The Void has kept us hidden for many orbital rotations, allowing me and my brothers to survive. But that thought takes the smile from my face, as I know all we are doing is surviving. Many a darkness I dream of the life we should have had, but dreams turn to ash the moment I open my eyes.
Red settles into my gaze as my anger renews with the thoughts of all that has been taken from me and my family. Knowing I am a danger to myself and all others around me when I allow the past to rise up in my thoughts, I bottle these emotions up for the enemy. Backing the shuttle out of the bay, I maneuver it away from the main dock in a daze, my body working automatically as I fight to get my thoughts back on the battle ahead. As soon as I am out, I see Einar’s shuttle cloak the second it clears the ship’s hull. I confirm the coordinates that Bikar has pre-programmed into the shuttle and initiate the launch.
“ Einar , are you with me, brother?”
“ Right behind you. I will take the bottom bay and you take the other.”
“ Sounds like a plan. Are we going to keep any prisoners alive for Murgul to play with?”
“ Depends on how much fun I am having, or if I have any restraint left once we secure the ship.”
I click our communicator off as we get closer. Einar and I both circle the ship slowly making sure that neither of us are walking into a trap. These bugs have not spread all over the solar system by being dumb. When Falon sends back a confirmation on the thruster failure, I give the signal for Einar to proceed. He will infiltrate the lower cargo dock while I slide right into the main one. For a moment I contemplate turning the shuttle’s cloaking system off just to see how much fun I can have all by myself.
Einar pings me, verifying that he is attached safely, and I feel the ship jerk as he cuts off their power. Opening the shuttle door, I pause long enough to make sure the atmospheric shield is still active. This fun activity would end abruptly if I was suddenly sucked out into the void of space.
The moment my boots touch the surface of their ship, alarms start going off. I smile as I anticipate the blood of my enemy flowing all along the floor around me. Then I stand there simply allowing the bugs to come to me. My swords swing around and around, an extension of my arms as I hear them approaching.
Entering the dock, they immediately spread out and their leader steps up like I am going to cower away. “ What is the meaning of this, Rukuhk ? You are here tempting your gods if you believe you can rescue your princess alone.”
“ A princess you say? I did not know there was still such a thing bug, but now you have given me even more reasons to shed your blood upon the walls surrounding us.”
The larger one thinks that his words have distracted me long enough for his crew to sneak up behind me. I lower my swords and shake my head, “ One thing you bugs will never learn.” Swinging my sword straight back hard, I hear the crunch of an exoskeleton. “is that you cannot hide the clipity-clop of those feet of yours. You really should invest in coverings.”
Snarling , I leap forward, ducking and slicing at the multiple legs like a madman. A loud bellow has me turning with a smirk on my face as Einar engages in the fight from behind them. With wicked smiles on our faces, we cut them into multiple pieces effortlessly. Unfortunately , the fight seems to end too soon, and I find myself covered in bug gore standing next to Einar as he rolls his enormous neck.
“ I haven’t enjoyed a rising quite this much, in well, some time! Are you injured, Slavic ?”, he asks, motioning toward my arm with a look of concern on his homely face.
“ One of the frackers tried to stab me with his tail, but he just nicked me. I got sidetracked playing with that last one who was teetering back and forth on the two legs I had not cut off yet. I just managed to get my arm up in time, or you might have had to finish them off by yourself.”
“ That is what you get for playing with your enemies, instead of focusing on the matter at hand. Their upper bodies, at least, have several weak points, but those fracking tails are deadly. Let’s go see if there is anything worth salvaging on this stinking heap. Then let us get out of here before their filth settles into our skin and we cannot scrub it off. I will comm Bikar and let him know it is safe to hard dock.”
“ Sounds like a plan. I will check the rest of this upper corridor while you head back toward the lower deck. Keep your eyes open, there could still be a few hiding.”
Walking through the ship, I have to fight my gag reflex as the smell of death permeates the air all around me. The ship is relatively small compared to the Zenith , and it does not take long to clear each room. The bugs devour everything, so there isn’t much that can be salvaged in the upper chambers.
My comm unit goes off. “ Slavic , did you find anything interesting up there?”
“ Negative , Einar . There are only two more doors in this area, so once I clear both of them, I will be down to help with the cargo.”
Opening the next door, I stick my head in, instantly disgusted when I realize what this is…the leader’s breeding nest. Movement in a middle one has me drawing my sword, rushing forward ready to destroy any and all young in there, only to slide to a stop when large, amber eyes blink up at me.
“ Slavic , is that really you or am I dreaming?”
“ Gods of Ruk , Kallen ? You are dead, you all perished. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“ Not all Slavic , but I am not long for this world, my old friend.”
I immediately sheathe my sword and reach down for her only to notice a chain attached to her emaciated leg. Grasping it between my hands, I tear the links apart with a growl on my face. Stopping , I take a second to look at her. She is nothing but skin and bones. Dark blood cakes her inner thighs and there is some sort of homemade bandage under her left breast.
“ Kallen , I need to lift you up out of there. Gods , what have they done to you? I will be as gentle as I can, Princess .”
Kneeling on one knee, I slip my arms under her. Tears form in her eyes as I lift her up. She is so weak she simply hangs on me, and I have to stop long enough to secure her head against my shoulder.
“ I thought you were a ghost sent to bring me home”, she whispers.
“ We will get you better Kallen , do not give up on me now.”
“ Do not forget Ruby .”
“ Who ? I know no Ruby .”
At first, I think she is talking out of her head until I see movement in another bowl nest. I hit the comm unit on my wrist.
“ Einar , I need some help up here.”
“ Be right there.”
Taking a second to look around, I quickly realize that there are several humans in the breeding nests next to the outer wall. Thankfully , I hear loud footsteps stomping toward me, and for once I am glad my other brothers are a curious lot.
Einar is the first through the door, and before I can say a word, he is storming past me across the room, a snarl on his lips. Tearing a bowl nest apart as he searches for the chain’s connection that is draped over its side, for a moment, I am confused by his actions. Then I see the spines on his back emerge and start fluttering, darkening in color. Expecting him to lift another of our kind out of the nest, I am stunned when he pulls up a frail, multicolored human female instead.
He turns, practically running toward the door. The female is wrapped so tightly in his arms that you can barely see her. “ I will meet you on the Zenith .” That is all he says as he sprints past me.
Ruarc barely jumps out of his way as he walks in. Both of us glance down the hallway after Einar’s departing form. “ Slavic , the cargo is loaded, but I sent Falon and Murgul to the bottom deck to ensure we got everything and to check out the other heat signatures Bikar keeps nagging about.” The moment he turns toward me it’s like he sees a ghost. His eyes flare as he starts clinching his fists, like he is trying to control himself.
“ Give her to me NOW Slavic , before I cannot hold back any longer!”
“ What the frack is going on with everyone?”
“ Ruarc , get your head out of your ass and check the rest of this room out. If any of them are alive, bring them back to the ship. If they have been infested with the bugs young, … kill them.”
“ Slavic , I am not joking, brother.”
A sound in one of the nests has both of us turning, only to see a pair of dark brown eyes staring at me over its edge. Without thinking, I hand Kallen to Ruarc . Everything else fades away as my whole world shifts.