Epilogue 2
Naomi
The strip mall was buzzing with activity. Every eye was on the fireball streaking through the atmosphere and the massive shadow of the cruiser hovering overhead.
“Talk to us, Uriish,” snapped the spiky-haired redhead I’d met a few days ago. “Your stupid scanners have to have something useful to say.”
The smooth, oval shaped spaceship look completely out of place in the parking lot, the ramp was open so we could hear the syto captain as he monitored the spectacle happening above us.
“They’re not attacking,” he snapped back at Taz. “The fireball is the Qwin’s emergency shuttle crash landing. The cruiser is dead. There’s no sign of life and the engines are cold.”
The crowd of turochs cheered at the announcement but I still shivered under the shadow of the hulking cruiser.
“Then why is it getting closer?” Adak demanded. He had a massive ax strapped to his back and was halfway to crushing his tiny mate into his side.
When Carn and I had ventured outside this morning, we’d spotted the cruiser and high tailed it back to the new camp, which Taz had started calling Camp Horny. Because of all the horned males, she’d claimed. I was nine hundred percent certain it was an innuendo, but Taz had a stellar poker face.
Chuck was tucked under Carn’s arm and we’d gotten a few confused looks from the other turochs. No one had asked about the dog yet, but I knew the questions were coming. I was just happy Chuck had taken to Carn.
In the three days since we’d found the dog, he’d become Carn’s little buddy, trotting around after him and begging for treats. If my mate didn’t start ignoring him, Chuck was going to be the fattest dog in the apocalypse.
Uriish emerged from the shuttle, still dressed in a spotless officer’s uniform.
“It’s caught in the planet’s gravitational pull. It’ll be there long after we’re all dead, but it’s not a threat. I assume they were trying to land on the planet when their systems failed.”
“It won’t crash?” I asked, eyeing the massive shape. My brain couldn't process the scale, it might be the size of Rhode Island.
“I doubt it.” Uriish’s dismissive answer didn’t comfort me but I suppose there wasn’t anything we could do even if it did crash.
“The bigger issue is the Qwin’s shuttle.
I don’t know how many sytos escaped the cruiser before life support failed, but if the Qwin survives, she’ll start gathering her forces. ”
“Let her,” Kalhu drawled. “Sytos have never faced us on even ground. Without their scout ships and reinforcements, they don’t stand a chance.”
Uriish looked like he was sucking on a lemon. I craned my neck until I found Gigi in the crowd. He met my eyes and shrugged. My blue friend didn’t look worried by the captain’s warning, but he didn’t look as confident as the turochs around him, either.
“We’ll deal with the Qwin if, and when, she becomes a problem,” Adak declared. The whole camp looked his way and his shoulders squared. “We’ve lost one home before, we won’t let it happen again.”
The rumble of approval around us told me that he wasn’t alone in the sentiment. I wrapped an arm around Carn’s waist and rested my head on his chest. Earth was never going to be the same, but as long as I had Carn, I knew we’d be okay.
Adak was right. The sytos had taken a home away from every person here, but if they tried again, they’d have a hell of a fight on their hands.