Chapter Thirty-Eight #2
“Many greetings, why are you here? The sun is on the other side of the planet,” she laughed sheepishly.
Poking her head up meerkat style, she glanced around at one of the many shops that stayed permanent on Orvian.
The shop keep explained to her, happily to lay against the floor and talk to her through the trap door floor.
They explained, while many of the Orv were nomadic, traveling to keep in the sun, there were a sect of Orv who were subterranean.
They were still Orv, as the shop keep explained, but they were built for the shadows.
A special evolution. Some stayed in their permanent structures and traveled through the tunnels she was currently traversing.
They pointed out that’s why they were pale in color.
The Orv staring at her curiously was a glow in the dark, muted yellow in the light of their shop, dressed in thick purple fabric with wiggling spines around their head like a collar.
Aphrodite spoke one last time to them, “Have you seen any corpses or Brexzkit around here?”
“No, not after the Orv stabbed them many times. However, we do avoid tunnels right now. The walls are moving and not safe for Orv. Biting shadows and all.”
“Ah, thanks, have you had any shadows knock at this door?” She jabbed a thumb at the door the Orv held open.
“Of course not, Mphronatch, shadows can’t knock. They don’t have knuckles.” The Orv beamed at her a gummy smile.
“Right,” she laughed, feeling silly for even knocking. “Okay, well, keep it shut just in case, until we’ve cleared the planet of the pest.”
“Many thanks, Mphronatch, for killing the pest. Have a healthy night!”
She waved to the shop keep before drifting down the tunnel back to Xexis. The door shut and a distinct click of a lock echoed around her ears. When she touched down, she glanced at her data pad. Buddy’s text filled the screen.
Orv are naturally immune to Brexzkit, as when they die, their body naturally combusts. Brexzkit can only use organisms that leave behind corpses, bodies with calcium and organic material for them to feed upon. I scanned their room as you spoke; no pests nearby.
Aphrodite showed the screen to Xexis. He nodded, motioning quietly down the hall with his fingers. They continued down the hall.
“Kannatch, check in.” Reevar’s voice crackled to life on the comms.
“We’re still clearing the tunnel,” Xexis breathed into the microphone.
“That may not be necessary…” Kiefgr panted for air.
Xexis halted their movements. “Explain.”
“Kern and Rexna were able to land nearby, they warned the Orv of the cleansing we were doing. All Orv have been ordered out of the tunnels. They will be locking their entrance to the tunnels.” Reevar’s voice filled Aphrodite with a fantastic, ridiculous idea.
“Kiefgr…do you still have the cannon?” Aphrodite grinned, glancing up at Xexis.
“Already on your way, Mphronatch. Rexna said you could likely amplify the blast,” Kiefgr giggled wickedly. The sound of his boots beating against the ground behind them bounced off the walls.
Xexis stared at her, his visor keeping her from seeing his face.
She could imagine what they would look like.
Grinning from ear to ear, she pulled out the organism jar they’d brought to capture one.
She handed it to him, “We still need one to study, but then after that, there’s no reason we can’t just blast the tunnels. ”
He took the jar before turning to the hall. Kiefgr caught up with them as they crept slowly, looking for any specimen. Aphrodite helped the young hunter carry the cannon down the hall while Xexis hunted.
It didn’t take long to find one. Much like how Kiefgr had yelped earlier, the Brexzkit were sticky.
A glob of something dropped from the ceiling onto Xexis’ armor.
Buddy zapped the walls randomly with his light compaction as Xexis fought to peel the substance off his visor.
Aphrodite lurched to help only to be caught by the ankle.
Like stepping in wet cement, it took physical effort to peel her foot out of a sticky substance.
Setting her claws to light impact, she jabbed them into the sticky organism and blasted it from the inside.
A jelly-like substance broke apart, hissing and shrieking like a stabbed rabbit.
Kiefgr set the cannon’s aim down the hall as Xexis stuffed most of the organism into the jar and bound out of the way. Buddy zipped to her mate’s side and cleansed him of any lingering Brexzkit.
Something bit onto the metal of her armored ankles.
Aphrodite heard the crunch of metal and felt it press against her body.
She wrenched her foot away, stabbing into the being biting down onto her.
It exploded into foam as lights went off around her.
Bouncing on one foot, she juggled everything she had till she was out of the blast zone. Kiefgr pulled the trigger.
Aphrodite and Xexis were knocked back into the floor.
She wheezed for air as it was pushed out of her lungs.
Her breathers struggled to keep up with the damage.
Xexis grabbed her by the back of the helmet and dragged her off the ground, into his chest. All she heard was the whirling of their suits and breathers while Kiefgr cackled madly behind them.
Dust and debris knocked around the tunnel, covering them in a light layer of dust.
“Ow,” Aphrodite whined, finally able to inhale again.
“Kiefgr,” Xexis warned.
“Tunnel cleared, Kannatch!” Kiefgr beamed as he twisted to face the pair on the ground. “Mphronatch, shall we amplify the cannon?”
She climbed to her feet weakly. Xexis sat up, grunting and speaking under his breath. Aphrodite twisted, offering him a hand. He took it without question before pointing a finger at Kiefgr. “We are discussing your rash decisions later.”
Kiefgr laughed nervously while Aphrodite and Buddy worked to upgrade the cannon’s capabilities. Her body ached, but as she hunched over the cannon, there was something oddly freeing about the bickering on comms and Buddy’s chirping in her ear that felt…like home.